Having reception issues with N920i on AT&T

[anon(9652351)]

Have been having poor reception issues with the N920i on AT&T. Spent an hour at the AT&T store and made sure the IMEI is properly registered and even replaced the SIM. Then called tech support at AT&T and got it escalated and went through a whole other process. AT&T has been pretty decent about it. I just can't figure out if it's a defective international Note 5, or just a Note 5 thing in general. No towers are down in my area according to AT&T. My neighbors iPhone 6 and his wifes Galaxy S6 has a consistent 3-4 bars. My Note is stuck on 1 bar.

Any ideas from other N920i owners on AT&T are welcome...

Thanks

 

[Rukbat]

Since the phone has band 17(700), it should work with AT&T 4G. (Voice/text is standard - there shouldn't be a problem with any carrier.)

I'd guess it's a bad antenna connection or a bad radio.

 

[OceanView]

I had some reception issues as well on my Note 5. Personally I think the radios are not as sensitive as the previous model but I can't prove it. All I know is that my phone calls are not as clear as when I use my Note 4 in the same areas (office & home)

 

[anon(9652351)]

All my calls are crystal clear on both ends and since I have had the N920i I don't believe I have dropped a call. The problem is that I have only 1 bar or -107 to -111 dBm. This is a problem because it is killing my battery life.

 

[anon(9652351)]

Here is a screen shot not talking on the phone, it is on standby. When I place a call the "Mobile Network Type" line says HSUPA instead of LTE and the signal on HSUPA is in the -99 to -103 range.

 

[Almeuit]

Here is a screen shot not talking on the phone, it is on standby. When I place a call the "Mobile Network Type" line says HSUPA instead of LTE and the signal on HSUPA is in the -99 to -103 range.

Yeah I don't think the International Model supports VoLTE for AT&T.

 

[anon(9652351)]

Yeah I don't think the International Model supports VoLTE for AT&T.

No it does not. But that is not my issue. My issue is simply signal strength or lack of.
So basically the International Note 5's on AT&T use "HSUPA" for voice calls and "LTE" for data, which shows up as 4G in the status bar. Either way....I only see 1 bar of signal.

 

[Almeuit]

No it does not. But that is not my issue. My issue is simply signal strength or lack of.
So basically the International Note 5's on AT&T use "HSUPA" for voice calls and "LTE" for data, which shows up as 4G in the status bar. Either way....I only see 1 bar of signal.

Yep that is normal (the call thing) due to no VoLTE over there.

As for the signal issue I would have to go look at the bands for both phones. It may be missing a few AT&T bands which can cause weak / bad signal.

 

[linkiik121]

Here is a screen shot not talking on the phone, it is on standby. When I place a call the "Mobile Network Type" line says HSUPA instead of LTE and the signal on HSUPA is in the -99 to -103 range.

I have the AT&T branded Note 5 and it's signal is always in the same range as yours tested it with my old galaxy S5 and it's identical. Despite having the low signal, calls and Internet work great.

I live in NYC, public transportation (under ground trains) kill the battery. So, when I add the transit with overall bad signal outside, my battery goes to sh**
At work or home I get around 7 SOT and when I have a lot of traveling I'm lucky to get 2.5. But this has been a problem since the galaxy S4 with AT&T.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(9652351)]

Yep that is normal (the call thing) due to no VoLTE over there.

As for the signal issue I would have to go look at the bands for both phones. It may be missing a few AT&T bands which can cause weak / bad signal.

Everything I have read on the 920i states it has the exact same bands at&t uses.....maybe i missed something?

 

[anon(9652351)]

I have the AT&T branded Note 5 and it's signal is always in the same range as yours tested it with my old galaxy S5 and it's identical. Despite having the low signal, calls and Internet work great.

I live in NYC, public transportation (under ground trains) kill the battery. So, when I add the transit with overall bad signal outside, my battery goes to sh**
At work or home I get around 7 SOT and when I have a lot of traveling I'm lucky to get 2.5. But this has been a problem since the galaxy S4 with AT&T.

Posted via the Android Central App

What is SOT?

 

[Kelly Kearns]

What is SOT?

SOT=screen on time, how many hours your screen was actually on.

 

[anon(9652351)]

SOT=screen on time, how many hours your screen was actually on.

Thanks Kelly

 

[Almeuit]

Everything I have read on the 920i states it has the exact same bands at&t uses.....maybe i missed something?

That is what I wasn't sure about. I haven't checked yet.

 

[anon(9652351)]

That is what I wasn't sure about. I haven't checked yet.

I'm looking too

 

[anon(9652351)]

Something very strange happens.....When I remove the SIM card I see the message up top that says something like "For Emergency Call Only" but what I also see is 3 rock solid bars that don't fluctuate at all. When I put the SIM card back in the bars instantly drop to 1 bar and stays there.

Why do I see better stronger signal with no SIM card installed???

 

[Almeuit]

Something very strange happens.....When I remove the SIM card I see the message up top that says something like "For Emergency Call Only" but what I also see is 3 rock solid bars that don't fluctuate at all. When I put the SIM card back in the bars instantly drop to 1 bar and stays there.

Why do I see better stronger signal with no SIM card installed???

It is strictly running voice only (no data or anything). Android shows the signal strength (bars) in relation to data signal strength.