Discovery re: signal quality and antenna location

[zymog]

Hey all,

I made a discovery that your call quality, especially in poor signal areas, will improve significantly if you do not hold the phone at the bottom, avoiding the "chin" area. The antenna is located there. I had been having some call drops in areas where my other Verizon phone had no trouble, but I was holding the phone closer to the bottom. I now try to hold the phone away from the chin and get better call quality.

I have made calls in a weak signal areas, and if I keep my hand off the Droids "chin" call quality is greatly improved. Move the hand down and touch the antenna area- voice calls often become choppy immediately. You can also experiment by going to settings-about phone-status and look at the signal strength as you move your hand over the chin and then away.

Hope this helps anyone who may be puzzled at why they get poor call quality in some fringe areas! I had a hard time finding info on antenna location and proper way to hold the Droid, even from Verizon support.

Best,

Chris

 

[fmcgirt]

Yep, true not only for the Droid but for the Nexus One and iPhone. I don't know what they were thinking!

 

[droidweasel]

thx for the heads up.

 

[mclarryjr]

Good to know, thanks

 

[shovelheadhd]

Nice find, now I just have to try and train myself to not hold my phone at the bottom anymore!

 

[prometheus]

Agreed that it is a very poor design to put the antennae right where the user would hold it and muffle the reception. good find. I do recall with my blackberry that the dbm level would alter drastically within a few feet. I would get -110dbm at one spot, simply move the phone 2 feet to the right and increase to -80dbm.

 

[Dapke36]

I wouldn't be surprised that they have to put the antenna in the chin. It is the only place on the phone that's uniform in thickness, and the LCD/captive electronics would not interfere with direct signal (I would assume).