Nexus S Has Terrible 4G Radio, Terrible Wifi Radio, and Wifi Tethering Crashes Data

[fixxxer1022]

I wanna take a second and chime in here.

First off, everybody involved here needs to tell ragnarokx, KSmithInNy, and Adrynalyne thanks for the work they do in the Nexus S 4G forums. You guys certainly are keeping them busy

Now for the meat of what I'd like to say --
The Nexus S 4G has signal problems. How do I know? Not because I have one, but because of the sheer number of issues and questions people, who aren't hackers but fell in love with the look of the NS4G and the screen, and found Android Central's help & tips email to ask about things. These are normal people coming from non-smartphones or another platform -- they're not trolls or people with an agenda, they just want help with their phone.

Having said that, not everyone is going to see these problems. If they aren't affecting you, GREAT! They do exist, and it's going to take work from Sprint to get it fixed. The Evo was the same way. The Epic was the same way. The Shift was the same way. New hardware, or existing hardware on a new network is going to be buggy. People unsatisfied aren't automatically trolling. They want their phone to work.

But -- fighting and feuding, driving moderators out of their minds, or attacking each other isn't going to do a damn thing to fix any of the affected phones. I know we are all passionate about our smartphones -- I am, too. But please remember two simple things:

1. If what you're going to say is hurtful or disrespectful, please don't say it.
2. If what you read is hurtful or disrespectful, please listen to ragnorokx's advice a few posts up -- report the post, and the fellas will take care of it.

I'm here, asking as your friend. Let's keep it calm, because we are the face of Android. We're scaring newbies away.

Thanks

well said, thanks for the words gbhil... first off i cannot do a side by side as the nexus is the only phone i have other than my wifes blackberry. and number two my camera doesn't take a clear shot of the phone. this radio issue is common sense people, there already has been side by side reviews of the horrid data issues. im a power user who just asks the companies to publicly acknowledge the issues as htc did with th locked bootloader. i don't expect a fix to happen right away. i really do not see the reason for anybody to be upset i made a video about it. it's the same as phil and jerry & crew doing the podcast giving their thoughts.

i think one of the biggest issues is the nexus s doesn't have the fanbase the evo & 3d have. if it did we would of heard something by now. for the users that are not having problems, good for you. but the number of people who are trump you, two fold!

 

[fixxxer1022]

Have any of you had better luck with your second or third Nexus S? I'm considering exchanging mine to see if I have any luck before the hard 30 day deadline, but I don't want to waste my time.

i wouldn't exchange it, getting another at this point will not fix the issues. lets wait and see if the companies respond, if not just get a different phone. we all know samsung are very, very slow with updates and fixes. shame that filtered down to the nexus brand.

EDIT: i got a response back from samsung about my youtube video... they claim they are unaware of the issue and that they want me to send them my phone for testing. samsung is totally clueless to our problems people. we need to push harder here.

 

[jtfishbein]

Have any of you had better luck with your second or third Nexus S? I'm considering exchanging mine to see if I have any luck before the hard 30 day deadline, but I don't want to waste my time.

Don't bother. This is the third one I've gotten and it's the same. I exchanged mine due to the speakerphone echoing, which each of mine seem to do as it's a hardware issue. I'm pretty attached to this phone now, so I'm just dealing with it.

As for Samsung responding, it's about time bc you can only claim ignorance for so long. So many have been complaining about the signal. Samsung is too involved in their smart refrigerator, I guess, haha.

I've to say I love this thing even though the reception and 3g are horrendous.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Richard1864]

for the users that are not having problems, good for you. but the number of people who are trump you, two fold!

First, there is no factual proof that the number of people who have problems is 2x the number of people who are NOT having problems. Since there are now more than 19,185 views of this thread specifically, but only 265 postings to it, using that as evidence EITHER WAY is not valid.

Second, polls, while informative, do not give the whole story, that has been proven over and over again, both in politics and in polls on other topics.

Third, there are lots of threads here and elsewhere on this topic, many with lots of views, but the number of postings in those threads is LESS THAN 5% of the people viewing them.

Fourth, I work in a Sprint store, and can testify that we have an extremely LOW number of these phones coming back, less than ANY of the other phones sold in the stores. On those that do come back with the signal issue, as I have stated in a previous post, we do factory reset from the Recovery Menu, and the phones have good signal. In phone conversations with customer we have done this with, more than 80% say that they no longer have the issue any more.

However, the point of my missive here is this: again, there is no proof that the number of people with signal problems with this phone outnumbers those who do not. The ONLY fact that is true is that people with problems are 50% more likely to say anything than those who have no problems. That does NOT IN ANY WAY mean that people with signal problems outnumber those that do.

Also, as has been stated elsewhere, fixes for this kind of issue do NOT come overnight. They take a long time to track down and fix, as there may be lots of other things causing them problem or related to it that have to be fixed as well. Anything from an IRQ conflict to a software conflict to a corrupt file (for examples) could cause these issues on the phone. Or similar problems in the towers (yes they use software too). Or a bad update on the servers. Or bad radios, either in the phones or the towers or both, or anywhere inbetween (bad cables in the ground, misaligned towers, etc.) Either way, it takes time to track down these problems and fix them, and they can take more than 2 weeks to find and fix. Expecting an overnight fix is crazy.

And final reminder, it has been noted again and again and again on this thread that Google, Sprint, and Samsung are aware of the issue and are working on it. ENOUGH ON THIS ISSUE ALREADY!!! Constantly harping on it does NO GOOD except to annoy people who have made their comments already and are ready to move on to other things, or to scare newbies who need help away from Android Central's forums because these constant complaints from the same posters make us all look like a bunch of cry babies.

 

[fixxxer1022]

First, there is no factual proof that the number of people who have problems is 2x the number of people who are NOT having problems. Since there are now more than 19,185 views of this thread specifically, but only 265 postings to it, using that as evidence EITHER WAY is not valid.

Second, polls, while informative, do not give the whole story, that has been proven over and over again, both in politics and in polls on other topics.

Third, there are lots of threads here and elsewhere on this topic, many with lots of views, but the number of postings in those threads is LESS THAN 5% of the people viewing them.

Fourth, I work in a Sprint store, and can testify that we have an extremely LOW number of these phones coming back, less than ANY of the other phones sold in the stores. On those that do come back with the signal issue, as I have stated in a previous post, we do factory reset from the Recovery Menu, and the phones have good signal. In phone conversations with customer we have done this with, more than 80% say that they no longer have the issue any more.

However, the point of my missive here is this: again, there is no proof that the number of people with signal problems with this phone outnumbers those who do not. The ONLY fact that is true is that people with problems are 50% more likely to say anything than those who have no problems. That does NOT IN ANY WAY mean that people with signal problems outnumber those that do.

Also, as has been stated elsewhere, fixes for this kind of issue do NOT come overnight. They take a long time to track down and fix, as there may be lots of other things causing them problem or related to it that have to be fixed as well. Anything from an IRQ conflict to a software conflict to a corrupt file (for examples) could cause these issues on the phone. Or similar problems in the towers (yes they use software too). Or a bad update on the servers. Or bad radios, either in the phones or the towers or both, or anywhere inbetween (bad cables in the ground, misaligned towers, etc.) Either way, it takes time to track down these problems and fix them, and they can take more than 2 weeks to find and fix. Expecting an overnight fix is crazy.

And final reminder, it has been noted again and again and again on this thread that Google, Sprint, and Samsung are aware of the issue and are working on it. ENOUGH ON THIS ISSUE ALREADY!!! Constantly harping on it does NO GOOD except to annoy people who have made their comments already and are ready to move on to other things, or to scare newbies who need help away from Android Central's forums because these constant complaints from the same posters make us all look like a bunch of cry babies.

and ill quote again for some of you... there has been ZERO confirmation that this is even being looked at other than random posts on a forum. the email i recived today from samsung confirms they are not even aware of any issues. remember this isn't the only android tech site out there reporting this.

 

[gabbott]

and ill quote again for some of you... there has been ZERO confirmation that this is even being looked at other than random posts on a forum. the email i recived today from samsung confirms they are not even aware of any issues. remember this isn't the only android tech site out there reporting this.

As far as Google, I think unfortunately, a post from a Google employee on their help forum is as close as you'll probably get to them saying they'll investigate, but it is at least an acknowledgement.

 

[fixxxer1022]

As far as Google, I think unfortunately, a post from a Google employee on their help forum is as close as you'll probably get to them saying they'll investigate, but it is at least an acknowledgement.

it would be nice for them to inform samsung of this though.

 

[3dognate]

ENOUGH ON THIS ISSUE ALREADY!!! Constantly harping on it does NO GOOD except to annoy people who have made their comments already and are ready to move on to other things, or to scare newbies who need help away from Android Central's forums because these constant complaints from the same posters make us all look like a bunch of cry babies.

You are incorrect... It is not enough until a fix has been issued... Stop reading the thread it's a real simple solution for you.

The more individuals that issue a complaint the more that management will push for a fix from the techs / developers. The more complainers... the higher the priority.

This thread is a place where we can vent about the issue... not a place for you to come in and be dismissive of our issue... go away now if you cannot contribute in a constructive manner...

 

[Wiley_11]

You are incorrect... It is not enough until a fix has been issued... Stop reading the thread it's a real simple solution for you.

The more individuals that issue a complaint the more that management will push for a fix from the techs / developers. The more complainers... the higher the priority.

This thread is a place where we can vent about the issue... not a place for you to come in and be dismissive of our issue... go away now if you cannot contribute in a constructive manner...

Are you a mind reader???

 

[Richard1864]

the email i recived today from samsung confirms they are not even aware of any issues. remember this isn't the only android tech site out there reporting this.

Fixxer1022, have you tried to actually CALL Samsung on the phone? I have talked to them several times OVER THE PHONE about this issue. Samsung's supervisors and most of their call center personnel are very much aware of the issue and that it is being worked on.

Samsung is like any other company though, not everyone reads their internal emails. Not everyone checks their knowledgebases before saying something to customers (I used to work at a company where there were employees who did just that, and then I had to help extremely irate customers get the help they should have gotten with their first call - no it was not Sprint or Samsung or Google).

I have also talked to some of the developers at Google about this issue OVER THE PHONE, and they are actively troubleshooting it on their end too. And no, before you ask, i am not allowed to give out internal phone numbers. Unfortunately, with Google, on their forums all you in terms of acknowledgement of an issue is just a littly ditty from a Google employee. This is normal for Google.

I have been working with cell phones professionally for Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile since 1996, both troubleshooting, repairing, and selling, I have found that talking to them POLITELY over the phone, in emails, and in forums, usually gets results. Constantly bashing them over and over again about the same issue in the forums does NOT do your cause any good, and eventually results in no one bothering to help you anymore because the constant bashing just makes you look like a fool or worse to the carriers and the vendors.

Please stop the flood of complaints about this issue; Sprint, Samsung, and Google are aware of the issue and working on it. IF you keep going on it about like you are, then YOU could be the reason the issue never gets resolved - you are on the verge of making this thread be viewed as harassment by those same three companies, and they could decide to do the following:

1. No longer bother reading this thread or any other like it in this forum and/or other forums, to the detriment of those who have genuine concerns and do not mean to harass anyone..
2. Ask for you to be removed from the forum claiming you are harassing them.
3. Take legal action against you because of Point 2.

This missive is not meant as harassment of anyone, but to just point out some facts about whether Sprint, Samsung, and Google are aware of the signal strength issue, and of the consequences of what may happen of things are not calmed down here in this thread and elsewhere.

 

[Richard1864]

You are incorrect... It is not enough until a fix has been issued... Stop reading the thread it's a real simple solution for you.

The more individuals that issue a complaint the more that management will push for a fix from the techs / developers. The more complainers... the higher the priority.

This thread is a place where we can vent about the issue... not a place for you to come in and be dismissive of our issue... go away now if you cannot contribute in a constructive manner...

I am not going after everyone posting here, just those who don't listen to the advice made to them by other posters. There are some posters who post the same thing over and over again without reading what has been mentioned in other posts on the same thread. Comments can be made, issues raised etc, but when posters insist that others are not aware of the issue(s) even after being shown links to posts showing THEY are aware of the issue(s) in question, then that is what harms our cause.

 

[krisnicaj]

Just switched over from my lovely Palm Pre- and I did alot of reading about the Nexus S 4G before buying it 3 days ago. One thing that I read the most was about this radio issue. I was hoping that the one I got wouldn't have this issue but hey guys I do.

In my house where I have wifi and the airave, my signal jumps around from a couple bars to none, most of the time it's at zero bars for the tower signal and 1 bar for my wifi. I hope to God this can be fixed with an update. I'm in Michigan.

PS I love this this tapatalk forum app definitely worth the $2.99 that I paid for it. Big ups to the developers.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Richard1864]

Just switched over from my lovely Palm Pre- and I did alot of reading about the Nexus S 4G before buying it 3 days ago. One thing that I read the most was about this radio issue. I was hoping that the one I got wouldn't have this issue but hey guys I do.

In my house where I have wifi and the airave, my signal jumps around from a couple bars to none, most of the time it's at zero bars for the tower signal and 1 bar for my wifi. I hope to God this can be fixed with an update. I'm in Michigan.

PS I love this this tapatalk forum app definitely worth the $2.99 that I paid for it. Big ups to the developers.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

I love Tapatalk too. If you go to Settings>About phone>Status, what does it say for your dBm under Signal Strength? And what PRL do you have?

 

[splmonster]

I have already been on the phone with both Sprint and Samsung. They have been aware of the issue for a couple of days. Google also emailed me that testing is going on. So please stop posting the same stuff everyday saying they aren't acknowledging it. They are aware, but not every single person in that company is going to know yet. So enough be patient or return the phone. Simple as that

 

[Richard1864]

I have already been on the phone with both Sprint and Samsung. They have been aware of the issue for a couple of days. Google also emailed me that testing is going on. So please stop posting the same stuff everyday saying they aren't acknowledging it. They are aware, but not every single person in that company is going to know yet. So enough be patient or return the phone. Simple as that

Thank you for the support on this issue. I appreciate it.

 

[Teddy Brukshut]

Google/Sprint/Samsung being aware of this issue is not enough. I just ported my # to Sprint specifically for this phone and the issues I am having make it unusable at times, even with the assistance of an airave. I have 2 more weeks to decide what to do with this phone, because being locked into a 2-year contract with a phone that is defective is not something a smart consumer would do. I am not going to put my faith in the hopes that an OTA will fix this.

Without an Official statement by one of those three parties, they are essentially off the hook from claiming ownership over this issue, which is why none has been given. A random Google or Samsung employee saying they are aware of an issue is not enough, as that can be dismissed later on down the road as a misstatement. HTC's CEO made an Official statement, so now his company can be held totally accountable if he reneges on the locked bootloader issue.

I refuse to stay silent on an issue and don't see why someone should be silenced on an open forum. The way things work when dealing with companies is that if an issue is widespread and has press coverage, they will be forced to respond or run the risk of losing customers and money. That is how the system works. If a company could keep an issue silent, without having to address it, they will do just that, and the consumer will be left holding more than their phone in their hand.

my 2cents

 

[fretless]

First, there is no factual proof that the number of people who have problems is 2x the number of people who are NOT having problems. Since there are now more than 19,185 views of this thread specifically, but only 265 postings to it, using that as evidence EITHER WAY is not valid.

>snip<

Third, there are lots of threads here and elsewhere on this topic, many with lots of views, but the number of postings in those threads is LESS THAN 5% of the people viewing them.

Fourth, I work in a Sprint store, and can testify that we have an extremely LOW number of these phones coming back, less than ANY of the other phones sold in the stores.

>snip<

I just wanted to chime in because I'm among those viewing who have not posted. There may be many others like me who saw no need to post since our problems have been well documented by others. We quietly follow this and other threads, waiting for word of an official response and timeline for a fix. Likewise, I have not visited my local Sprint store, since the procedure to do a hard reset is also well known (and in my case, ineffective at mitigating the issue). Typing your observations in uppercase doesn't qualify them as a more representative sample.

I really like the Nexus S 4G and want it to be a success, which is why I've been lurking here hoping to see news of progress made on a resolution. I sat in a restaurant last night struggling to get data service while my wife's connection on her old Palm Pre zipped along happily. That is embarrassing. If this was my first ever phone on Sprint, maybe I would think these reception issues were normal based on my location. However, long-time Sprint customers know better.

We understand that troubleshooting a problem like this is time consuming and difficult. Just tell me it's being worked on and I will wait patiently while enjoying other outstanding features of this device. Sure I could go back to my old phone and look for something else, but switching phones again isn't my idea of fun. I simply want this one to work properly. Is that too much to ask?

 

[ragnarokx]

Subscribed.

From this point on, this thread will stay 100% on topic. We are addressing problems with the Nexus S, not with each other. Any posts of direct references/criticisms toward other members will be deleted and/or receive an infraction. I appreciate everyone's understanding and cooperation in advance.

 

[darealm]

Has anyone had luck with doing a complete factory reset? On a related note, if I were to try this, is there an easy way to see a list of all applications that I have purchased in the past so that it makes redownloading the apps much easier?

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[gabbott]

Has anyone had luck with doing a complete factory reset? On a related note, if I were to try this, is there an easy way to see a list of all applications that I have purchased in the past so that it makes redownloading the apps much easier?

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

GB has a built in feature to restore settings/applications from the market. It is under the privacy settings where it is enabled/disabled.