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

[maryinredding]

My phone says in the settings that it has had 65% without signal. Do you guys think I should take it back and have it replaced????

 

[splmonster]

My phone says in the settings that it has had 65% without signal. Do you guys think I should take it back and have it replaced????

Does this number seem to fluctuate? Maybe getting a replacement wouldn't be such a bad idea. How about the other devices in the house? What do they say for time without signal?

 

[j_grouchy]

From the Engadget blog :"That said, the Nexus S 4G's speeds are still commendable for a WiMAX device, falling within the carrier's range of advertised performance (3 to 6Mbps). "

Heck if I were getting the speeds of the device tested in that post I wouldn't even be complaining on this forum. Fact is that i have been unable to get more than 1.5 MB/s on my device on either 4g or 3g. That blog post leads me to conclude that my device might be worse off than even the others out there with reported issues...

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

If I were getting ANY 4G signal at ALL...where an EVO gets full, uninterrupted signal...I wouldn't complain.

 

[redtooth]

Thanks, I would appreciate it. Again, I would recommended comparing the devices using either "Network Signal Info" or "Real Signal" both available in the Android Market.

"Network Signal Info" is probably the best one to use as it will compare the raw dBm values of both your Sprint 3G connection as well as your WiFi signal strength. If there really is a signal issue affecting the Nexus, it should be very obvious using this type of comparison.

Today I ran "network signal info" on 2 nexus s phones and an evo. All were connected to 3g. The evo's signal stayed at -66 dbm (ash 20) most of the time but once or twice dropped to -76dbm (ash 18) both nexus s phones bounced around from -76 to -101dbm but spent most time at -91dbm and shows one bar. I ran several speed tests and the evo avg 545 down, 278 up. Nexus s avg 76 down 188 up. All of the phones pinged about the same no big difference. Around 140

 

[Richard1864]

So I just spoke to a friend of mine who is a Sprint tech. He mentioned a Samsung rep came into the store today to go over some products. He was carrying a Nexus S, and he noticed that it was running a different build then the current one available. He said by putting them side by side it also showed this new build having a much better dBm signal then the one he had. However he did not tell me what the build was. I will keep everyone posted.

Was it a Sprint NS4G?

 

[DJ Nfinity]

Was it a Sprint NS4G?

NS4G = Nexus S 4 G

 

[Richard1864]

NS4G = Nexus S 4 G

Yup. Guess I should have explained that.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[lingo622]

So has anyone tried getting a new device? From what I've been reading not all the devices have this issue and I'm really considering getting a replacement. My call quality absolutely sucks at this point, it wasn't too bad but it gets increasingly worse.

So I think I might go to Sprint today and get a new NS4G because I really enjoy the phone, but I don't wanna go through the trouble of redownloading all the apps I have. Although it should be pretty easy if I use the same gmail account correct?

 

[ftrengineer]

Someone a few posts back said they returned theirs and had the same exact issues. I guess it's worth a try, but don't get your hopes up.

 

[The SPCS Guy]

People need to complain! I am upset that, even though I get the phone at new user pricing, $200 is still a lot of money for something that performs like it should cost $2.00! GRRRR GOOGLE and Samsung!

 

[maryinredding]

Today was a good signal day. My phone is showing 0% loss of signal for most of the day. Maybe there is hope after all....

 

[wstevens]

Today I ran "network signal info" on 2 nexus s phones and an evo. All were connected to 3g. The evo's signal stayed at -66 dbm (ash 20) most of the time but once or twice dropped to -76dbm (ash 18) both nexus s phones bounced around from -76 to -101dbm but spent most time at -91dbm and shows one bar. I ran several speed tests and the evo avg 545 down, 278 up. Nexus s avg 76 down 188 up. All of the phones pinged about the same no big difference. Around 140

Thanks for performing this test. The Nexus S 4G devices definitely seem to be receiving a weaker signal than the EVO according to the results. OTA update to the radios should be able to resolve this. Let's hope that comes sooner rather than later.

 

[MacGuyInNC]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet (and I'm not about to sift through 12 pages to find out), but if you call *2 and complain that you're getting dropped calls at home, Sprint may send you an Airave. It plugs into your high speed internet and creates a "mini tower" in your house that covers approximately 5,000 sq. feet, giving you full signal with 3G and 4G at home, including data.

Mine should be on its way. I know it doesn't solve the problem for when you're not at home, but it could certainly help when you ARE at home.

 

[Thrasherx2k1]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet (and I'm not about to sift through 12 pages to find out), but if you call *2 and complain that you're getting dropped calls at home, Sprint may send you an Airave. It plugs into your high speed internet and creates a "mini tower" in your house that covers approximately 5,000 sq. feet, giving you full signal with 3G and 4G at home, including data.

Mine should be on its way. I know it doesn't solve the problem for when you're not at home, but it could certainly help when you ARE at home.

Already called 2 days ago and got them to send me one as well. Free Airave with free service. Can't beat that! Go Sprint!!!

 

[redtooth]

can you get a 4g sinal from an Airave even if your in an area with no 4g? Or does it only boost a signal that you already have?

 

[chrismc]

can you get a 4g sinal from an Airave even if your in an area with no 4g? Or does it only boost a signal that you already have?

No Airave will have anything to do with a 4G signal. The first-generation Airave would only provide a CDMA 1x signal, while the newer second-generation Samsung "Airvana" Airave can provide 3G signal (often at a much-faster speed than a "real" 3G network). 4G is an entirely different type of radio that works in parallel with and is not compatible with the traditional cellular network. 4G (IEEE 802.16, or "WiMax") has much more in common with wi-fi (IEEE 802.11) than Sprint's cellular (CDMA).

 

[wetwaterdog]

Signal quality still sucks. Love the phone...but even though I am in a 4g area, I don't get it.

 

[MacGuyInNC]

can you get a 4g sinal from an Airave even if your in an area with no 4g? Or does it only boost a signal that you already have?

It's not a repeater. It's a device that creates a virtual cell tower in your home. According to the Sprint rep, it provides both voice and data (3G and 4G).

 

[NOMster]

It does not carry 4g

 

[dmora01_AC]

The nexus s 4G is not worst than the htc Evo in the beginning, I had a lot of problems with the radios, bad signal, slow speed, drop calls and after 4 refurbishes phones after I paid for a new one, looks like is working fine, htc took 3 months to fix the radio problems and if I am not wrong Palm Pre was the same problem, so wait for the fix and stop complain for something that is going to be fixed.
What i did with my phone was to call sprint bc a had a old prl and told them that I want a complete reset of the phone bc the update prl was not working so they did it and I wrote my msl number for a future fixes, after they did the reset, my prl updated to 01115, I unlocked the phone, rooted and install all my apps I is working a lot better. I installed roam control and when I force roaming, most of the time I have 3 bars so looks the radio is fine for me, the problem looks like is between sprint and the phone, signal issue!!