Official Signal Strength and Reception Thread

[2010BmwM3]

Re: low signal strength?

I'm sitting at 3 bars on 3G connection, I live in the middle of nowhere so I am contempt with it lol.

 

[wtherrell]

Re: low signal strength?

Anyone try a factory rest to see if it helped?

Does not help. I finished reset and am seeing 1 bar in 4G and dropping to 3G. -100 db.
Speed 2.94 mbps down 0.59 mbps up. I don't think that's very good considering I get
20.36 mbps down but still only about 1.05 mbps up on my WiFi.

 

[snppr22]

Re: low signal strength?

I've definitely noticed a weaker signal compared to my bionic and girlfriends incredible. Hopefully there's a software update to remedy this.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

So I have been noticing some very interesting numbers. I have my girlfriend's Incredible and my old DX on the table with my Nexus and when my Nexus is on CDMA only the Nexus is at -100, the Inc at -99, the X at -94. When I switch to LTE/CDMA (which I dont get in my apartment) the Nexus scores -100, the Inc -96, and the X -92.

I then tried out the SpeedTest.net app. When my Nexus is on CDMA only it scores 0.11/0.11Mbps. Her Inc scored 0.15/0.24Mbps. When I switched to LTE/CDMA my Nexus scored 0.18/0.16Mbps while her Inc scored 0.10/0.17Mbps.

If you havent noticed, we live in a (almost) dead zone.

Running them one after the other on WiFi my Nexus scored 21.05/4.48Mbps, her Inc scored 14.79/4.13Mbps. For comparison my MacBook Pro scored 24.87/4.35Mbps and my old DROID X scored 8.90/3.25Mbps.

I know these are not entirely conclusive, but its what I have seen so far. I wish I had the results from my RAZR, but I dont. I do remember the tests barely outpacing my DX which is why I switched back to the X before the Nexus came out.

 

[ac7822]

Re: low signal strength?

Ya I usually get about 3 bars in my house but the download speed is abysmal. Browsing the internet isnt slow but sometimes I get stutters with google music at 2 or 3 bars, it has to stop to sync more of the song after it already started playing and sometimes song syncs in 5 seconds and sometimes it 15-20 seconds (unacceptable). With speed test my download speed are anywhere from 300 to 800 at 2-3 BARS. Not what I consider impressive, also whats weird is my upload speed is consistently 550-900 usually around 800. I have even gotten download speed at 2-3 bars as low as 198kbps. But call quality is excellent the only problem is 3g data

Went into a verizon store today and compared the signal because I thought something might be wrong with my radio and sitting next to the demo nexus both signal were consistent 3 bars at -75, next to the razor the razor was -45 nexus at -75 and next to the rezound the rezound was -57 nexus again -75. So hopefully theres a software fix that can be applied because thats about the only thing in this phone im dissapointed about.

 

[genecio]

Re: low signal strength?

I noticed the same thing with signal strength....however im getting at least two bars and the call quality is good at worst. Im in the house so i have the wifi on and LTE off.

 

[Premium1]

Re: low signal strength?

You are absolutely right. I had a Charge and that too had a dismal radio. People thinking this will be fixed with a software update may really be kidding themselves. I hope I'm wrong, but I've got less than 2 weeks to make a decision. If I hear no acknowledgement and an assurance of a fix by then, it goes back.

Yes the screen is nice and so is ICS, but if you can't hold on to a 4G signal in marginal areas, to me it's not worth it. The Rezound has a great screen too and will be getting ICS down the road. But I KNOW the Rezound has a fabulous radio in it as does the Motorolas. I can't believe at this late date that Samsung still hasn't learned.

Then go get a rezound and quit crying, that is all you do on A/C and phandroid. If the phone sucks so much get something else. That is why you have choice and a return period.....

 

[ace0187420]

Re: low signal strength?

So can it get better or not? Im confused but the siginal is just about the most important part. I love the phone but wish the signal was better this is my first verizon phone and with all the great things I hear about the network guess i expected it to have more bars and a more consistant connection. Is it the phone? Would a razr or rezound be that much better?

 

[Stelv]

I don't know about the GNex, but I know the Razr gets good connection. I hear the Rezound is good too.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[ace0187420]

Re: low signal strength?

It sucks i feel like ive waited for this phone forever now i cant believe im contemplating getting something else.

 

[Premium1]

Re: low signal strength?

So can it get better or not? Im confused but the siginal is just about the most important part. I love the phone but wish the signal was better this is my first verizon phone and with all the great things I hear about the network guess i expected it to have more bars and a more consistant connection. Is it the phone? Would a razr or rezound be that much better?

Yes it can and will get better. Every phone gets radio updates that help. Each phone has their own set of bugs so if you get something else you are going to have other bugs that you might have not had on another phone.

 

[Willis]

Re: low signal strength?

Willis, you really need to consider this, it's NOT the speed in question, it's the ability to hold on to a 4G signal in a marginal area. I will bet you anything that once the other phones get down to about 95db, the Nexus will no longer have a 4G signal. THAT'S the problem, not the speed when it's still getting a 4G signal.

The Nexus radio is broken...certainly compared to other phones. If I had only seen the quantitative measurements today, I might have thought "Well, maybe the Nexus is not reporting the number accurately". However I know this is not the case since when I did go to a marginal 4G area, the Nexus dropped its 4G and the Rezound & Bionic kept it.

Ken7
Thanks, I didnt think of that. The radio for sure seems to have some issues based on what everyone is saying. That along with the fact that my limited experience with the nexus at the store didnt really wow me, I have at this point decided to stick with my Razr which has been pretty solid so far.

 

[Stelv]

I feel like blogs and websites have made this phone into something mythical before it even arrived in the wild. Its has some nice features but the gsm and cdma phones are not the same technology. Only time will tell how it will go. The best thing for you guys to find out would be if the radio hardware in the charge is the same as the GNex....that would not be good. Don't take radio issues lightly on Samsung phones. The GNex may get updates faster and is totally unlocked which is really nice, but I would not trust Samsungs radio hardware if my life depended on it...but I am just basing this on fascinate and charge.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[mitra88]

Re: low signal strength?

Though some forum members seem to be concerned that the signal strength will not get any better because the radio itself is a hardware property, I do not agree with it.

It is a software called the baseband which controls the radio hardware, and this baseband does always have room for improvements. D1 had that. DX had that. TBolt had that, too. Practially all android phones ever produced have at least a couple of baseband updates, to improve radio function. Then, why assume not for GN? Plus, this is Nexus. Update is from Google, not from Samsung. Also, being a Nexus phone means that virtually every android developers including those from XDA will have this phone. Who knows? There might be a solution coming out from XDA even before Google.

 

[Stelv]

Again I am not trying to troll, but from my experience with the fascinate no kernel, radio software, etc. was able to fix it's radio issues. It had a great developer community but no piece of software helped that phone. Most of us gave up on trying to fix the phone and just got different ones. I had mine for 6 months. The GNex is not the fascinate for sure but Samsung tends to have a bad reputation with its radios. Just search Google and you will see.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[Premium1]

Re: low signal strength?

Well the flaw in your logic is that update might NOT make it better in terms of 4G. The Charge never got better. If it's hardware there is nothing that can be done. So it's not good reasoning to be certain that software will solve the many people battling with this issues.

Except the charge did get better, as did the thunderbolt and many other phones through updates.

 

[theduder]

Again I am not trying to troll, but from my experience with the fascinate no kernel, radio software, etc. was able to fix it's radio issues. It had a great developer community but no piece of software helped that phone. Most of us gave up on trying to fix the phone and just got different ones. I had mine for 6 months. The GNex is not the fascinate for sure but Samsung tends to have a bad reputation with its radios. Just search Google and you will see.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

I am telling you first hand, this is the exact thing that happened at the launch of the Nexus S 4G. It was lower than other Sprint phones, and after a few months, the 2.3.5 update doubled throughput and brought it inline with other handsets on that network.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[mitra88]

Re: low signal strength?

Again I am not trying to troll, but from my experience with the fascinate no kernel, radio software, etc. was able to fix it's radio issues. It had a great developer community but no piece of software helped that phone. Most of us gave up on trying to fix the phone and just got different ones. I had mine for 6 months. The GNex is not the fascinate for sure but Samsung tends to have a bad reputation with its radios. Just search Google and you will see.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

Stelv, don't worry. I know you are not. I am also aware of Fascinate radio issue. If there is a definite HARDWARE FAULT, yes, it could be hard to overcome eventually. Provided that the issue is from software, it will be a lot better than Fascinate or Charge. Though each of those phones may have its own dedicated devs, it is nominal compared with the entire population who will eventually have one GN for developing.

 

[qnet]

Re: low signal strength?

My signal strength is very weak in my home. It's always been that way with my Verizon phones but seems worse with the LTE phones. I've thought about getting a network extender. I don't think it has anything to do it being a Samsung phone because, my GSM version of the G-nex show 3-4 bars most of the time.

I've never had any dropped calls surprisingly, even when it show no signal at all. If all it takes is a software update to fix this I'll be happy.

 

[Premium1]

Re: low signal strength?

Again I am not trying to troll, but from my experience with the fascinate no kernel, radio software, etc. was able to fix it's radio issues. It had a great developer community but no piece of software helped that phone. Most of us gave up on trying to fix the phone and just got different ones. I had mine for 6 months. The GNex is not the fascinate for sure but Samsung tends to have a bad reputation with its radios. Just search Google and you will see.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

When I had a fascinate, after some updates the radio was much better than when it started. I know this was also the case for a few of my friends that also had the phone at the time. The gps was another story but radio did improve after updates.

 

[mitra88]

Re: low signal strength?

My signal strength is very weak in my home. It's always been that way with my Verizon phones but seems worse with the LTE phones. I've thought about getting a network extender. I don't think it has anything to do it being a Samsung phone because, my GSM version of the G-nex show 3-4 bars most of the time.

I've never had any dropped calls surprisingly, even when it show no signal at all. If all it takes is a software update to fix this I'll be happy.

3G and 4G will utilize the different signals. So, the signal strength and 'bars' will also be different between 3G and 4G, at the same location, at the same time.