How is the Rural reception on the AT&T Galaxy S4?

[felloffthetruck]

Wondering how the reception on the AT&T version of the galaxy S4 is compared other 4G phones?
We live out in the middle of the woods and had the iPhone 5 on AT&T and there was 0-1 bars of reception. Most of the time there was "No Service" displayed on the phone. :-\
Would the Galaxy S4 be better or worst at signal grabbing in a rural type area like this?

 

[SpookDroid]

I'm not on AT&T but I know for sure I have the same model (Mexico's Telcel uses the same LTE band, so the models are always the same as AT&T's). I just took a trip to the woods this weekend and my phone had no problem getting a signal, even data (Edge most of the time, but at least I could post stuff to my social networks). I compared the signal to my Note 2 and my friend's Galaxy S2 and they both had similar readings (1-2 bars). Our neighbor's iPhone, however, hardly had any signal at all, and things got worse if he was holding the phone. I believe he went to switch phones this morning

 

[aggie]

Just depends on where you are and how close your rural area is to the nearest tower. I've been all over Texas with mine in the last week and have had zero issues but AT&T is notoriously strong throughout Texas.

 

[felloffthetruck]

Have the Note 2 on Verizon here and it only has 1-2 bars of 3G, data & phone works 100% of the time though.
I'm so close to trying the AT&T S4. Guess I can always return it if there is no reception.

 

[ashkir]

I live in the Central Valley of California.So far on other smartphones that my siblings have it's pretty good in the rural areas. Much faster than LA or San Francisco for sure. But, the rural areas here gained a huge metro pop recently and ATT got rated worst carrier here so they've been building towers all over the place like crazy. About 7 went up in the last few months.

 

[Raptor007]

I have Verizon LTE modems for my internet at my house and just moved over a couple of lines to ATT for voice. My S4 comes up 4G but quickly drops to E (Edge) only and I am in a solid 4G (Non LTE) area that I know, so not sure what the issue is. I don't have any other AT&T 4G devices to test, but I was trying out a Samsung Tab 2 yesterday before I returned it (thought it was a GN 10.1) and it was also showing 4G but kept the 4G so I am a bit concerned though not a huge concern per se.

 

[ashkir]

Hello again! I have gotten the Galaxy s4 now. And the rural reception is amazing. . Good speed, when I walk around through the fields no problem, works well even in the oil fields.

 

[snookasnoo]

Typically AT&T has noticeably poorer or no connections than Verizon in rural areas.

 

[Dreamliner330]

I'm on Verizon and have had a plethora of Android phones. I've typically found Motorola to have the best signal and Samsung the worst. The Note 2 was the first Samsung device I've used that had excellent reception. I'm temporarily using an iPhone 5 and it has a stronger signal than even the Motorola's I've had (as measured by db numbers, not bars).

I was looking at the S4 in the ATT store and it seems to be on par with the Note 2, easily besting the S3 (again, as measured by db numbers, not bars). Then, I noticed something interesting:

 

[aggie]

I'm on Verizon and have had a plethora of Android phones. I've typically found Motorola to have the best signal and Samsung the worst. The Note 2 was the first Samsung device I've used that had excellent reception. I'm temporarily using an iPhone 5 and it has a stronger signal than even the Motorola's I've had (as measured by db numbers, not bars).

I was looking at the S4 in the ATT store and it seems to be on par with the Note 2, easily besting the S3 (again, as measured by db numbers, not bars). Then, I noticed something interesting:

http://imageshack.us/a/img198/1435/4svshtc1signal.jpg

I've got both and can pretty much agree with what is going on in your photo. While the s4 is pretty solid overall as far as reception goes I've found my One to be stronger. I've yet to see my One drop from LTE whereas my s4 seems to do so in a couple of spots that I pass through daily. Again, not a huge issue it's still more solid than most phones I've used and still my device of choice.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[jneusch]

I was in the car with a coworker yesterday. We both have ATT. He has an iPhone 5 and I have the S4. He had no service while I was carrying on a conversation. Mine was showing 2 bars while his was showing none. This was in a very rural stretch of road known for poor reception.

Posted via Android Central App