Galaxy S6 Cell Reception Problems?

[Cirilo Caparanga]

Hi TrekScout. So what exactly did you do to fix it. I have the same problem. Thank you in advance.

 

[makaroni]

I changed mobile networks from Global to LTE/CDMA and it's working a little better so far. Try it and see

 

[Red Arceo]

Just turned off 4g and boom 4 bars of reception. Will see how it goes.


dreaming of electric sheep

I'm from the Philippines, and I've been suffering from the same problem with S6, as you guys. Brought my phone to Samsung Service Center and they advised me to switch mobile network to GSM only in areas with very poor signal. I came from an S3, and did not experience any of these incoveniences.

What good is an LTE phone when I have to switch it to GSM only mode just to get good call/text reception? I hope this can be fixed through an update.

 

[Hquinn81]

I am on ATT. This phone (s6) does not seem to have as good reception as my S5. With this phone, it drops calls and gets no reception in areas that I have always had reception with my 5. I was thinking may e it was my imagination, but not after reading this thread. Btw, where is that pencil icon that I think TrekScout was talking about? I don't seem to have as many options as those with Verizon.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[drone3]

Really just want to know if this is a hardware or firmware issue. I'm forced to go on 3g because LTE doesn't work. It seems this problem is occurring across the globe. Someone must know what the problem is?

dreaming of electric sheep

 

[razza1987]

I have the same issue here in Australia. Only one bar of 4g coverage on the Telstra network which has the strongest signal in Australia

 

[razza1987]

You people who think you know it all really annoy those who really do know it all.



(Okay, so I've yet to meet anyone like that. I've gotten as far as knowing how little I know.)

BTW, read The Care and Feeding of Lithium Polymer Batteries. 3 or 4 cycles shouldn't make much difference in conditioning (not "Dead, Jim, Dead", but "Plug in the charger" dead), but normal charging should be 100% plus 30 minutes. (The 100% indication comes on at about 98% charge, due to the fact that the charger raises the terminal voltage, and that's what's indicating the state of charge - doing it chemically would be more accurate, but the battery would cost more than the phone.) As for leaving the battery on the charger all night - I have batteries that are years old and have been left on chargers for months. The charge terminates at 100%. As the charge drops (lithium batteries are self-discharging even if they're not in the phone, and even a phone that's turned off draws a tiny amount of current), the charger kicks in for a few seconds to bring the charge back to 100%. Heat will kill a battery faster than leaving it on a charger all night, so wireless charging should be done only to 100% plus 30 minutes. But wired? Testing with good chargers (and these days, they all are - the price difference between a good charger and a bad one is in the plastic - the charger itself is a commodity) hasn't shown any difference in lifetime between 7 day charges and "just enough for a full charge" charges. About the only risk of leaving a battery on the charger for long periods is that the charger could go bad while the battery is connected. But that could happen 5 minutes after you start to charge a dead battery also.

Is this why my phone battery drops very quickly from 100-98% when I take it off the charger and then drops like normal rest of the charge?

 

[drone3]

I have been doing some tests to try figure this reception issue out.

So it seems that even with no reception on 4g LTE the data is still working fine and is fast. But the problem seems to be that phone calls go straight to voicemail the phone doesn't even ring.

Assuming that phone calls are made on 3g and data is using 4g, perhaps there is software bug that is preventing the radio to switch from 4g to 3g.

This is really strange, but I think I'm on to something.

dreaming of electric sheep

 

[Gator352]

I have been doing some tests to try figure this reception issue out.

So it seems that even with no reception on 4g LTE the data is still working fine and is fast. But the problem seems to be that phone calls go straight to voicemail the phone doesn't even ring.

Assuming that phone calls are made on 3g and data is using 4g, perhaps there is software bug that is preventing the radio to switch from 4g to 3g.

This is really strange, but I think I'm on to something.

dreaming of electric sheep

Don't worry Verizon guys. Us Sprint users have the same issue. Well, at least i do.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[dave0holla]

Ś

I have been doing some tests to try figure this reception issue out.

So it seems that even with no reception on 4g LTE the data is still working fine and is fast. But the problem seems to be that phone calls go straight to voicemail the phone doesn't even ring.

Assuming that phone calls are made on 3g and data is using 4g, perhaps there is software bug that is preventing the radio to switch from 4g to 3g.

This is really strange, but I think I'm on to something.

dreaming of electric sheep

I too think that there is a issue with the phone dropping from 4g to 3G. I'm hoping that this is a software issue and that it can be fixed. I'm on AT&T and this is ridiculous that a great phone has this issue. I hope the powers that be are working on this.

 

[drone3]

In settings (Australian firmware) you can actually see the signal strength it's in About Device/Status/Signal Strength.

On Telstra, my LTE is hovering around from -112dBm to -120dBm

If I switch mobile networks to 3g signal strength is -95dBm to -99dBm

Good signal strength is around -80dBm and weak signal strength is around -120dBm.

What signal strength and carrier are others getting so we can compare?

dreaming of electric sheep

 

[HikenGruven]

I'm a current OG Moto X. The phone is working ok, but I need to upgrade since my wife is upgrading her iPhone and we both need to go on a shared data plan with Verizon. I was holding out for the Moto X3, but am turned-off to it out due to the ridiculous size it has become compared to the OG Moto X. I was considering the Galaxy S6, but this forum scares me, primarily because I had the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which was plagued by reception/signal problems. My wife's iPhone 4S worked fine, while I was running around the room trying to get a single bar.

 

[MADASHELL20]

Yeah I hand the same problem with my s6, I thought it was my carrier, so I left them and went to Verizon and got the same s6 phone and had the same damn issues. 1x, x, no service at all then 3g and 4g. So pissed I left my previous provider when the Phone was the issue. Very bad reception, I hope Samsung know this so can fix it some how.

 

[9900Boldfan]

I tried this smartphone on T-Mobile,Taiwan Mobile,DTAC,China Mobile and CSL in Hong Kong. In every country I visited and used this Galaxy S6 Edge with a local unlocked sim card I got horrible reception so I am quite sure that either they put in a horrible antenna or they programmed the radio inside of this smartphone to save battery on the reception end for cell reception and wifi reception because these two literally suck on this phone. The screen on the Galaxy S6 Edge along with the camera literally shine but the signal for both the wifi and cell reception are complete shi* to say the least. Hopefully Samsung can get their act together and get things straightened out for future smartphones. The speaker sound is also bad. Try talking to someone from a car while driving on speakerphone to see how many other parties tell you that you sound horrible.

 

[9900Boldfan]

iPhone has better reception by far compared to the Galaxy S6 Edge. My Galaxy S6 Edge has horrible reception for both wifi and cell signal reception. Always low and poor. Tried this in many countries with various telecom providers and reception came in much better on my iPhone 6 and my older HTC One M7 compared to this new Galaxy S6 Edge. While the screen looks amazing and camera takes great picture the reception on the smartphone is beyond horrible.

 

[CKBOSS]

Dial #832 to conduct a text call ... Re: Galaxy S6 Cell Reception Problems?

I recently purchased a Verizon GS6 Edge from a Best Buy in MN and since moving to CA this month I have been having identical issues. Constant roaming, loss of 4G signal, high battery usage etc.

I had been using the old method of tower reset by dialing *228 (old 3G tower reset method) to no avail, and after speaking with Verizon technical support, they identified that for 4G users, there is a new method known as a txt call, conducted by dialing #832.

I just applied the #832 method and the phone immediately switched from 1x non 4G signal to a 4G LTE signal. The rep stated it may take some time to correct the issues but I did notice an immediate improvement in signal quality.

Further, I would recommend a battery care application such as the free application provided by Avast. Prior to the #832 fix, the Avast battery saver application did noticeably improve my battery performance; if I had to guess in the order of a 20% to 30% improvement.

 

[drone3]

Re: Dial #832 to conduct a text call ... Re: Galaxy S6 Cell Reception Problems?

I recently purchased a Verizon GS6 Edge from a Best Buy in MN and since moving to CA this month I have been having identical issues. Constant roaming, loss of 4G signal, high battery usage etc.

I had been using the old method of tower reset by dialing *228 (old 3G tower reset method) to no avail, and after speaking with Verizon technical support, they identified that for 4G users, there is a new method known as a txt call, conducted by dialing #832.

I just applied the #832 method and the phone immediately switched from 1x non 4G signal to a 4G LTE signal. The rep stated it may take some time to correct the issues but I did notice an immediate improvement in signal quality.

Further, I would recommend a battery care application such as the free application provided by Avast. Prior to the #832 fix, the Avast battery saver application did noticeably improve my battery performance; if I had to guess in the order of a 20% to 30% improvement.

Thanks for this info, I will try out these to tips

dreaming of electric sheep

 

[Kurz Malenda]

I have Sprint with the EXACT same issue, I had a galaxy S5, just this weds I updated to the S6, and the signal is TERRIBLE~ my text messages constantly fail / and it always says no netwrk avail.

Change network setting from automatic to 4lte/cmda

 

[Kurz Malenda]

Thank you, this information helped me

 

[Br007Te]

Thanks for the detailed assistance!

My 6s Edge frequently loses local wifi and having made some of the changes you identified I hope this resolves that issue as well.