Google, Samsung, Sprint investigate Nexus S Problems

[Richard1864]

This is a complaint thread isn't it?

The phone should work as well or BETTER than other devices like the Evo which was released over a year ago in terms of reception. Clearly it does not. Some people like that other guy are trying to wait it out and see if it gets fixed sooner than later.

Telling people not to talk about the problem is just plain stupid!!! People need to talk about these issues in as many places as possible that way they are more likely to get the attention they deserve. This will actually help everyone....even you.

I started this thread as INFORMATIONAL THREAD to let people know that this problem was being worked on in search of a resolution, NOT as a specifically as a COMPLAINT thread. I thought it would for an insightful discussion about what has been done to research the problem and what workarounds may have been found to alleviate the problem till a fix comes out. Please do NOT put words in my mouth, or any one else's, about why they start a thread.

I do not have the signal issues that others do, but I am trying to help in the search for a solution for those that do have it, that is why I posted this. The phone DOES work better than the EVO in many ways; unfortunately, like virtually EVERY NEW cell phone that has been released there are bugs in it. Sometimes the bugs are in signal areas, sometimes in software, sometimes in hardware. We need to work together to find solutions to these bugs as they come up. Putting words in the mouths of thread starters, or others who make comments on a thread, are in my opinion unacceptable. Do not tell people why a thread is started unless YOU started the thread yourself. Thank you.

 

[wirelessness#AC]

Richard,
You are right this is not a complaint thread. I misspoke and I apologize. I still maintain that someone trying to tell another person not to talk about the issues in a thread like this is pretty silly. I guess since you agree with Focus and don't have the issues that is why you ripped me instead of him.

 

[ragnarokx]

I'm happy to see you guys could straighten this out yourselves

I know it's a frustrating time for many, and this is a great thread to get information from.

 

[Richard1864]

Wirelessness, I'm sorry, my comments weren't supposed. To be aimed at you specifically; they were more of a general complaint on my part. They were typed on iPad which I haven't installed Tapatalk on yet, so wasn't able to edit the quote properly. I hope you can forgive me too. No personal offense was intended. And you were also right in stating that everyone should be allowed to have their say, no one should be told not to speak their piece. Are you and I OK?

And I hope everyone forgives me my misspellings, fat fingers on small keys <g>

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Richard1864]

I'm happy to see you guys could straighten this out yourselves

I know it's a frustrating time for many, and this is a great thread to get information from.

We are trying our best to work things out peaceably. Have you heard anything more on the search for a fix yourself that you are able to tell us?


Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[ragnarokx]

The last news I heard was what gbhil stated earlier. Hang in there!

 

[wirelessness#AC]

It's all good.

The only good news I've really heard so far is the leaked info from gbhil. The 'Corporate' responses have been pretty feeble so far. It seems like they consider this a 'small' problem

For me the phone is very much usable. I just don't like the feeling of having a somewhat hamstringed device. I wouldn't even be considering returning it at this point if the 3D and other compelling handsets weren't so close to release.

 

[lingo622]

I'm starting to feel more and more that this is a gb problem with all the issues that have been popping up about the Evo troubles

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[wirelessness#AC]

I'm starting to feel more and more that this is a gb problem with all the issues that have been popping up about the Evo troubles

OK, so give is Honeycomb. Problem Solved!!!

 

[Richard1864]

GBHill, in your thumbnail, it shows the Android Version as 2.4, but the kernel is the same as what we have now, 2.6.35.7. Does that mean that 2.4 is due out soon for Nexus S/One? If so, what is 2.4 supposed to be? I don't think it is Ice Cream, which is not due out till 3rd/4th quarter of this year. Is it Gingerbread with the majority of the bugs fixed?

 

[clindner]

the way a phone interprets signal strength is done in the software. remember when the iphone 4 first came out, there were complaints about low signal strength (separate from the youre holding it wrong thing). it turned out that all previous iphones had a software bug that was having the signal showing a bar or two stronger than it really was.

So, it seems like you are saying that there is no problem with the phone's signal, it is just a software interpretation issue.


This is the concern that I have. If the phone is really getting a good signal, just not reporting it, then people would not be having issues. Conversely, if the phone has a hardware issue that is causing this problem, it seems unlikely that this can be fixed in software.

My phone cannot hold a 4G signal, and the WiFi range is dismal. I have a few days left to decide if I want to risk waiting for a fix, or give up.

 

[Kloneicle]

the way a phone interprets signal strength is done in the software. remember when the iphone 4 first came out, there were complaints about low signal strength (separate from the youre holding it wrong thing). it turned out that all previous iphones had a software bug that was having the signal showing a bar or two stronger than it really was.

I see you're one of the sheep that actually bought into that. The only complaints brought from the "less bars" issue was apple reporting it as one. People started with the if you hold it this way it looses signal, then apple responded saying there were less bars then actual being shown. There weren't people reporting less bars. That was apples excuse.

There IS a problem with this phone, weather it be less powerful receivers or bad firmware/software. Something is screwed up somewhere.

Its always corporate PR when it comes to problems to report a small number of users. Look at ANY problem ever its the same story. When seagate hard drives started to die due to a bad firmware. They said it was a limited number of users. When apple first came out with a response on the attennagate, they said it was a small number of users before finally saying it was a software issue.

 

[wirelessness#AC]

When apple first came out with a response on the attennagate, they said it was a small number of users before finally saying it was a software issue.

Technically, I think the iPhone 4 issue was/is primarily a hardware design problem. The signal actually does drop when you cover that one section of the external antennae. The software problem was only considered an over exaggeration of the number of bars lost by doing this.

The fact seems to be that some (not all) people are reporting significantly weaker reception with the NS4G compared to other 4G devices. That weaker reception is manifested in lower data rates and even missed/dropped calls for some. These issues may be a hardware and or a software problem, no one seems to know for sure yet.

One thing to note (not sure if it was mentioned already) is pure Google Experience devices use a 4 Bar Maximum Scale to represent signal strength as compared to the more typical 6 Bars on other devices. So an NS4G with the exact same 75% signal strength will always show less bars than an Evo 4G for example.

 

[corndog22cl]

Technically, I think the iPhone 4 issue was/is primarily a hardware design problem. The signal actually does drop when you cover that one section of the external antennae. The software problem was only considered an over exaggeration of the number of bars lost by doing this.

iPhone 4 was definitely a hardware issue, as it's the reason I now have a Nexus S 4G. Every time I'd touch the band on the lower left-hand side of the phone, a F'n call would drop or the signal would start to fade. Apple really did a fantastic cover up job and just addressed the calculation of the signal bar issue rather than address the actual problem. I actually got so fed up (after dropping 4 calls in a row with full bars), that I just went to Sprint and paid the ETF with AT&T. Then I get a Nexus S 4G.......with signal issues.

Moral of this story, just don't buy any phones that I buy because I'm 2 for 2 on signal issues.

 

[moonoverparma00]

what do u mean get rid of it...im not asking for opinion am letting u guys know that this is the worat pjone.am pretty sure evo is going to have bugs but hopefully ill be a good phone(to make calls atleast)

proofread dude.

 

[Kloneicle]

One thing to note (not sure if it was mentioned already) is pure Google Experience devices use a 4 Bar Maximum Scale to represent signal strength as compared to the more typical 6 Bars on other devices. So an NS4G with the exact same 75% signal strength will always show less bars than an Evo 4G for example.

When a EVO and Nexus are next to each other and the Nexus has 1 bar, while the EVO has 4, I think thats quite alot LESS then exact.

 

[font1975]

If you're comparing the signal strength on two Android phones:

Go to Settings / About Phone / Status and see the actual dBm reading. That will tell you right away if the EVO and Nexus 4G are seeing the same signal strength.

 

[wirelessness#AC]

When a EVO and Nexus are next to each other and the Nexus has 1 bar, while the EVO has 4, I think thats quite alot LESS then exact.

My point was...if (and we know it is for many) the NS4G is in fact suffering from weaker reception it might appear worse than it is if one was to only use the signal strength bars as an indicator.

When I look at the actual signal strength in 'settings' the NS4G is always within a few db for 3G.

Does anyone know a good app for checking the actual WiMax signal strength?

 

[3dognate]

My point was...if (and we know it is for many) the NS4G is in fact suffering from weaker reception it might appear worse than it is if one was to only use the signal strength bars as an indicator.

When I look at the actual signal strength in 'settings' the NS4G is always within a few db for 3G.

Does anyone know a good app for checking the actual WiMax signal strength?

dbm aside... signal "strength" aside... the Problem manifests itself in dropping connection re-establishing itself for no apparent reason... and resulting in very, very poor throughput. "signal strength" puh... More likely should be written as "Signal Loss"...

 

[TheNip73]

iPhone 4 was definitely a hardware issue, as it's the reason I now have a Nexus S 4G. Every time I'd touch the band on the lower left-hand side of the phone, a F'n call would drop or the signal would start to fade. Apple really did a fantastic cover up job and just addressed the calculation of the signal bar issue rather than address the actual problem. I actually got so fed up (after dropping 4 calls in a row with full bars), that I just went to Sprint and paid the ETF with AT&T. Then I get a Nexus S 4G.......with signal issues.

Moral of this story, just don't buy any phones that I buy because I'm 2 for 2 on signal issues.

Ouch.