PSA - Serious Flaw in the Verizon Galaxy Nexus

[YourMobileGuru]

I'm betting if there is an end to the Nexus it will be due to it's roll out on the Sprint network. Sprint Galaxy Nexus Training Slides Leak
That is a CDMA network with some major coverage issues of it's own. So when you mix in the inherent signal strength issues the current Nexus has, I believe it's a recipe for disaster for Samsung. So unless the RF section is better than Verizon's CDMA Nexus. This could get real dicey for the new generation of Nexus owners. Time will tell.

I'm not sure about LTE, but I know the CDMA200 1xRTT components of their network are the same as Verizon so in all likelyhood some if not all of the same radio code will be used.

Although this may also be part of the reason the device launch on that network has been delayed so much.

 

[Paul627g]

Me personally being on Sprint, I was amped at first to get at a GNex... Now almost 6 months old I'm looking to pass on this being a current NS4G owner and previous Samsung Epic 4g owner. Bottom line, Samsung has issues with their radios... They just have never worked like they should no matter what they do to the supporting software. If they could ever look into different modem/radios all Samsung phones would be so much better off. Its a shame so many Samsung devices are ruined because of a sub par radio.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[jroc]

When all all the data is presented and all the talk has quieted and the dust finally settles the only thing that matters is: Does this phone work for me. This is the same question we all ask ourselves. We don't really care if it works for you, your brother, your mother or anyone else. The data doesn't matter at that point.

If I spend 15 minutes a month on phone calls do I really care if it drops calls? No.

If I live where there's no 4G do I really care if the transition between 4G and 3G isn't smooth? No.

If I only read forums and send text messages do I care if 4G is unstable? No.

It boils down to one thing and one thing only: Does it do what I need to do? If the answer is yes then it matters not what the data on the original post shows. It's that simple.

I kinda agree with this. Basically its about wants n needs. My thing about the examples tho is....why not just get a 3G phone or a tablet, pmp? Save money with no phone bill.

What about folks that travel, even if its from time to time? I go in between 2 states on a regular basis: DC and MD. Sometimes VA.

What about the times when its a dire emergency.....

But I agree...it all comes down to wants n needs, or should. Figure out what yours are and it will tell you what you are willing/not willing to deal with. I just got a PS Vita...and so far seems like data reception is better on AT&T. So much that I may get a AT&T phone to see if its true. If so.....I may be switching carriers.

Wants n needs. If your issues arent as severe as others, great. If it is....find out what can be done about it.

 

[ShinyTop]

In spite of your good intentions PSA makes it sound like something official which it is not. I have the same issue with posters who title their thread official. Not a bad conversation, just a very misleading title.

 

[rbess1965]

I'm not sure about LTE, but I know the CDMA200 1xRTT components of their network are the same as Verizon so in all likelyhood some if not all of the same radio code will be used.

Although this may also be part of the reason the device launch on that network has been delayed so much.

I have friends on Sprint that hate the coverage using their current phones. I'm a communications tech and wireless administrator for my company responsible for supplying our executives with their devices and we will never use Sprint. We have accounts with ATT, T-Mobile and Verizon only. I feel badly for Sprint users if they don't get an option for the Razr Maxx or equally reliable device.

 

[Paul627g]

Probably my final point to add.. I live in the suburbs of Chicago.. Chicagoland area is a heavily covered market by all carriers.

My neighbor on Verizon, in the past she had a Moto and then a TBolt.. Both at home grabbed full 3g and good 4g. Now she grabs the GNex a few weeks ago.. 3g is all she sees at home.. No 4g, she has to drive 1/2 mile to get in range... To me thats hardware quality speaking for itself.

My other neighbor he's on AT & T... Similar probs, he was good with other brands but then he got a Samsung late last year and there went his signal...

That's it.. I've spoken my 2 cents.. I love Samsung devices but they need a different radio.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Me personally being on Sprint, I was amped at first to get at a GNex... Now almost 6 months old I'm looking to pass on this being a current NS4G owner and previous Samsung Epic 4g owner. Bottom line, Samsung has issues with their radios... They just have never worked like they should no matter what they do to the supporting software. If they could ever look into different modem/radios all Samsung phones would be so much better off. Its a shame so many Samsung devices are ruined because of a sub par radio.

Just my 2 cents.

What does this phone even really have over the NS4G once it gets ICS? I mean besides the obvious (on screen buttons and larger screen)?

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I just got a PS Vita...and so far seems like data reception is better on AT&T. So much that I may get a AT&T phone to see if its true. If so.....I may be switching carriers.

For all the crap that AT&T gets their network really isn't that bad, at least around here (Duluth, MN). The phones work most places and the data is generally reliable. My only issue is data speed, they advertize H+ (and some of the phones even show 4g indicators) but the minimum for that is supposed to be 7-8meg and the minimum I get here on the Vivid is 3.5 meg or so (HTC Vivid), generally a lot less. But I digress I could talk for hours on the H+ being 4G or not debate lol. Don't even get me started on how long it will take to get LTE up here

 

[YourMobileGuru]

In spite of your good intentions PSA makes it sound like something official which it is not. I have the same issue with posters who title their thread official. Not a bad conversation, just a very misleading title.

Fair enough, you're entitled to your view

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

Here's an aside...

I use my Nexus as a wifi hotspot to feed data to my Galaxy Tab 10.1. I often watch TV using my Vulkano Flow (it's similar to Slingbox) on the Tab. Tonight, while my wife was driving, I watched the NCAA championship game while we drove from Santa Monica to Ventura county. For those of you that know the area you know I went through 3 mountain ranges in that drive. I lost connection to my Vulkano Flow only twice and it connected immediately when I did a retry. For me, that's success. I watched the basketball game successfully for 45 minutes while traveling down freeways in Southern California.

Success.

I've been up and over the grapevine many times while on using my phone and haven't had a dropped call.

 

[Paul627g]

What does this phone even really have over the NS4G once it gets ICS? I mean besides the obvious (on screen buttons and larger screen)?

Not too much I guess... Little more improved camera, dual core but that hasn't really shown any real knock your socks off speeds yet.

I've been running ICS builds from source for months now on the NS4G and it handles things great.. I've used my neighbors GNex and really other than screen size and few other small things its my NS4G, super sized...

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Not too much I guess... Little more improved camera, dual core but that hasn't really shown any real knock your socks off speeds yet.

I've been running ICS builds from source for months now on the NS4G and it handles things great.. I've used my neighbors GNex and really other than screen size and few other small things its my NS4G, super sized...

Them my advice would be to skip this one, there will be a new Nexus in Nov or so anyway.

 

[Paul627g]

I hear ya.. I'm not ruling out grabbing one used a few months down the road after it hits Sprint and the fuss wears off.... After all its a Nexus and developing and ROM flashing is a piece of cake on these things..

Who knows... Maybe Samsung will find some magic in the LTE radio and ICS code to help improve the signal quality on the GNex. I know our latest leaked NS4G ICS 4.0.4 had a new radio and signal reception has seemed to improve from early reports.. So thats a good sign.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I hear ya.. I'm not ruling out grabbing one used a few months down the road after it hits Sprint and the fuss wears off.... After all its a Nexus and developing and ROM flashing is a piece of cake on these things..

Who knows... Maybe Samsung will find some magic in the LTE radio and ICS code to help improve the signal quality on the GNex. I know our latest leaked NS4G ICS 4.0.4 had a new radio and signal reception has seemed to improve from early reports.. So thats a good sign.

Yeah we shall see, I just am having a real problem personally justifying giving Samsing any more money (at least on a CDMA carrier, the SGSII on AT&T has been really nice).

 

[mattbourge]

I sincerely hope that the upcoming OTA fixes this issue.

From what I hear the 4.0.5. update we should get soon should fix this issue some are having. I'm in a big city so I don't have to worry about weak signals in the country. I have had no signal problems either when I'm traveling. My only problem is why the heck is it April now and I have not gotten an update on my NEXUS device..with minor flaws people are having they should've pit this update together a long time ago. This is disappointing, I think Verizon needs to GTFO of our way and allow google to handle their own current nexus device. This is Google's issue for letting Verizon boss them around. If Verizon wants to be complicated then they can suck it and just sell those crappy glass bricks I hear people call an iPhone.

This OTA update is way past due and i hope it fixes your problem. Nice experimentation you did there. :thumbup:

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[YourMobileGuru]

From what I hear the 4.0.5. update we should get soon should fix this issue some are having. I'm in a big city so I don't have to worry about weak signals in the country. I have had no signal problems either when I'm traveling. My only problem is why the heck is it April now and I have not gotten an update on my NEXUS device..with minor flaws people are having they should've pit this update together a long time ago. This is disappointing, I think Verizon needs to GTFO of our way and allow google to handle their own current nexus device. This is Google's issue for letting Verizon boss them around. If Verizon wants to be complicated then they can suck it and just sell those crappy glass bricks I hear people call an iPhone.

This OTA update is way past due and i hope it fixes your problem. Nice experimentation you did there. :thumbup:

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Thanks, and yes what I have read and heard the new radios SHOULD fix things, emphasize should since we all know how things sometimes get messed up at the last minute on these things.

It's not a matter of Verizon getting in the way as much as it is that the CDMA code is proprietary and Samsung has to be the ones to write it and we all know how they are with software updates *couch caught* Fascinate *cough* Charge *cough*

 

[ConTejas]

A Public Service Announcement?! You have to kidding me. FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS....

Otherwise, nice work. Fortunately, I'm one of the "wouldn't know wtf you were talking about" persons if I didn't visit this site. MY gnex is incredible. Seriously

 

[thebignewt]

To all those who hope the software 4.05 fixes the reception issue: you're probably gonna be waiting to see what the Easter Bunny leaves you on Sunday. To my scientific mind I can't see that happening. I think that it could fix the suspected swithching from 3G to LTE issue that people thought sucked batteries, but not make a -120 signal into a -90. I was in Scottsdale over the weekend so I turned my LTE on, and I never got any that I saw. Here my 3G signal's the same as it was on my HTC Incredible before this phone.

 

[Strommer]

Too long a thread to read the whole thing, but I can probably guess most of it.
I'm in the camp that Samsung radios just kind of suck. On my second GN, and it still squeals, cuts out the mic, and has crappy reception. My wife's Fascinate is better, but not great. Both of my kids phones, Droid X and Droid 2 work well. All of my friends and families phones work here also, most are dumb phones.
I know this isn't "scientific", but I carried the X for a year and a half so I am familiar with it's reception. It will even work in the basement where the Gnex has no signal at all.
Having said that, I will not be getting rid of the phone as it is a great device. I love everything else about it, and don't really use the phone that much anymore. Kinda usefull to have the "phone is crappy" excuse when I DON'T want to answer..

 

[YourMobileGuru]

To all those who hope the software 4.05 fixes the reception issue: you're probably gonna be waiting to see what the Easter Bunny leaves you on Sunday. To my scientific mind I can't see that happening. I think that it could fix the suspected swithching from 3G to LTE issue that people thought sucked batteries, but not make a -120 signal into a -90. I was in Scottsdale over the weekend so I turned my LTE on, and I never got any that I saw. Here my 3G signal's the same as it was on my HTC Incredible before this phone.

Well nothing's gonna be that much of a miracle cure, but frankly I would be ticked pink by even a 10 dBm improvement would at least make the phone more usable to me. More often than not in order to use my Nexus it is connected via WiFi to my Bionic.