Reception on Sprint Moto X

[HollyDolly]

So I received my Moto X last night and the true test of any phone's signal strength is taking it into work. I'm coming from the Photon and, it's problems aside, it got very decent reception at work compared with the Galaxy S3 (no reception at all), the iPhone 5S (poor-to-no reception), the Blackberry Bold (poor reception), and the HTC One (very poor reception). I figured since the Photon was decent, the Moto X should certainly be better. But today at work, I am not getting emails on time, send emails are taking a while (and I have to finally go on Wifi), and calls are not that great. For example, I tried to re-record my outgoing voicemail and just even the playback of my recorded name came back all...muffled and garbled. This worries me.

My current reception reads at -113 to -115 dBm. Also, my battery was at 100% at 8:30 a.m. and with very minimal usage (a few tweets, a couple of emails, and otherwise left alone), it's at 85% at 12:30 p.m.

I'd like some feedback on what others think of this or your experiences/tweaks with same. I really like the phone, but it has to be functional for me to keep it...you know?

 

[ttwiitch]

15% battery drop in 4 hours? Wow, that's awesome.

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[Paisley]

So I received my Moto X last night and the true test of any phone's signal strength is taking it into work. I'm coming from the Photon and, it's problems aside, it got very decent reception at work compared with the Galaxy S3 (no reception at all), the iPhone 5S (poor-to-no reception), the Blackberry Bold (poor reception), and the HTC One (very poor reception). I figured since the Photon was decent, the Moto X should certainly be better. But today at work, I am not getting emails on time, send emails are taking a while (and I have to finally go on Wifi), and calls are not that great. For example, I tried to re-record my outgoing voicemail and just even the playback of my recorded name came back all...muffled and garbled. This worries me.

My current reception reads at -113 to -115 dBm. Also, my battery was at 100% at 8:30 a.m. and with very minimal usage (a few tweets, a couple of emails, and otherwise left alone), it's at 85% at 12:30.

I'd like some feedback on what others think of this or your experiences/tweaks with same. I really like the phone, but it has to be functional for me to keep it...you know?

How the 4G in your area? I'm with Sprint and often will lock my phone to 3G because our 4G in nyc is spotty. When i'm on 4G my reception reads at the -113/-115db but then i got to 3G and i'm -74db (right now for example). And the battery takes a little while for you to see what you'll ultimately get for battery life. Most people here report the change in battery life experience from day 1 vs. day 4 shows a big difference.

can't speak to the voice quality issue though.

 

[scrounger]

My current reception reads at -113 to -115 dBm. Also, my battery was at 100% at 8:30 a.m. and with very minimal usage (a few tweets, a couple of emails, and otherwise left alone), it's at 85% at 12:30.

I'd like some feedback on what others think of this or your experiences/tweaks with same. I really like the phone, but it has to be functional for me to keep it...you know?

Based on battery percentage & time, it seems like after 24 hours you will be @ 10%. It probably will take less than 2 hours to recharge.

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[HollyDolly]

15% battery drop in 4 hours? Wow, that's awesome.

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Really? With barely any use?

 

[HollyDolly]

How the 4G in your area? I'm with Sprint and often will lock my phone to 3G because our 4G in nyc is spotty. When i'm on 4G my reception reads at the -113/-115db but then i got to 3G and i'm -74db (right now for example). And the battery takes a little while for you to see what you'll ultimately get for battery life. Most people here report the change in battery life experience from day 1 vs. day 4 shows a big difference.

can't speak to the voice quality issue though.

The 4G in my area is not bad at all, normally. But with the phones I mentioned that I've tried (except the Photon that I've owned for 2 yrs), it was very spotty. I tried 3G and barely any reception. I even tried Wifi and I notice the Wifi signal is even weaker on the Moto X vs the Photon. I wouldn't mind the battery issue so much if I actually was doing something on the phone, but the fact that it's just sitting there...and emails aren't coming through b/c of the reception is making me worried this phone might not work for me. Work is where I spend the bulk of my time and if the phone doesn't do its job, back it goes....

- - - Updated - - -

Based on battery percentage & time, it seems like after 24 hours you will be @ 10%. It probably will take less than 2 hours to recharge.

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Except it lost 15% charge from just sitting there on my desk. What happens when I start talking on phone, etc.? I will give it a couple of days to "settle" down, but the signal issue is a deal breaker.

 

[BeerBuggy]

I think you are overlooking one thing... Having poor reception is very hard on the battery. I too go places with weak signal and I?ve even seen phones drop like 60% in like 2 hrs or so because of the weak signal. The phones will contently try to stay connected or search for other cell options (like a different tower or roaming). The weaker the signal the more the phone has to work.

 

[HollyDolly]

I think you are overlooking one thing... Having poor reception is very hard on the battery. I too go places with weak signal and I’ve even seen phones drop like 60% in like 2 hrs or so because of the weak signal. The phones will contently try to stay connected or search for other cell options (like a different tower or roaming). The weaker the signal the more the phone has to work.

Oh, I definitely agree with this. But I'd gladly trade a few % of battery for good reception.

My biggest issue right now with this phone is reception - and why it's so much more poor than my Photon?

 

[JoeNM84]

The 4G in my area is not bad at all, normally. But with the phones I mentioned that I've tried (except the Photon that I've owned for 2 yrs), it was very spotty. I tried 3G and barely any reception. I even tried Wifi and I notice the Wifi signal is even weaker on the Moto X vs the Photon. I wouldn't mind the battery issue so much if I actually was doing something on the phone, but the fact that it's just sitting there...and emails aren't coming through b/c of the reception is making me worried this phone might not work for me. Work is where I spend the bulk of my time and if the phone doesn't do its job, back it goes....

- - - Updated - - -

Except it lost 15% charge from just sitting there on my desk. What happens when I start talking on phone, etc.? I will give it a couple of days to "settle" down, but the signal issue is a deal breaker.

The signal issue is probably why your battery goes down "fast." I have a Galaxy Nexus, I'd love that kind of battery life sitting in my pocket doing nothing. Maybe you have a bad X? Seems like most people see better reception with the X than any of their past phones.

 

[HollyDolly]

The signal issue is probably why your battery goes down "fast." I have a Galaxy Nexus, I'd love that kind of battery life sitting in my pocket doing nothing. Maybe you have a bad X? Seems like most people see better reception with the X than any of their past phones.

Yes, and that's why I bought it - because I read very good reviews about its reception. What shall I do? Send it back for an exchange? Wait a few days? Call Sprint (who are useless, anyhow)?

I'm open to suggestions.

 

[JoeNM84]

Know anyone else with an X on Sprint that could come into your work to see how their reception is? At least then you could see if it is just a bad one. Or you could exchange it and hope that works, I doubt you would get 2 bad ones in a row if there is a problem with yours and then you can return it if it is no better with the 2nd one?

 

[HollyDolly]

Know anyone else with an X on Sprint that could come into your work to see how their reception is? At least then you could see if it is just a bad one. Or you could exchange it and hope that works, I doubt you would get 2 bad ones in a row if there is a problem with yours and then you can return it if it is no better with the 2nd one?

I'm the only one with Sprint. I may just exchange it then... *sigh*

Thank you.

 

[orangezebra]

If you're still within 14 days I'd try a new one, and if it's not working for you you may need something else. Mine gets better reception than my previous phones, but none of my previous are Motorola.

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[gabbott]

Give it a few days to see if battery life levels out for you.

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[HollyDolly]

If you're still within 14 days I'd try a new one, and if it's not working for you you may need something else. Mine gets better reception than my previous phones, but none of my previous are Motorola.

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I believe I have 30 days, as I'm in California and I only received it yesterday (albeit a 5 day delay due to the storms in Texas) since I bought it via the Motomaker. I'll contact them and find out how an exchange is done. I'd definitely want a new replacement.

The Sprint store just offered to "reset" the phone for me in store, but I don't want problems right out of the box, you know?

I've tried all the other phones Sprint offer and this is my last hope, or it's back to my trusty (but dying) Photon. Dammit, Sprint!

 

[HollyDolly]

For anyone else with this phone on Sprint, you can try these steps (straight from a Sprint rep) to reset the phone (will not wipe it!) and see if that helps:

1. On the phone dial pad press ##72786#.
2. On the Reset Warning screen, click Yes.
3. Phone turns off then back on, performs Hands Free Activation again, and checks for a PRL.
4. Once complete, phone automatically turns off then back on and performs a Firmware Update check.
5. When complete, tap OK.
6. Home screen appears and setup is complete.
7. Phone is now ready to make voice and data calls

I tried it and it my phone issue stands.

I also hear a very low-level hissing sound in the background when there's a pause in the conversation with anyone.

I'm just surprised that a flagship phone is doing worse than a Photon which was not known to be the best phone (though it worked for me, mostly).

Now Sprint says to exchange it with Motorola, which of course they would say.

 

[orangezebra]

You could always break your contact and change carriers

Posted via Android Central App

 

[orangezebra]

For anyone else with this phone on Sprint, you can try these steps (straight from a Sprint rep) to reset the phone (will not wipe it!) and see if that helps:

1. On the phone dial pad press ##72786#.
2. On the Reset Warning screen, click Yes.
3. Phone turns off then back on, performs Hands Free Activation again, and checks for a PRL.
4. Once complete, phone automatically turns off then back on and performs a Firmware Update check.
5. When complete, tap OK.
6. Home screen appears and setup is complete.
7. Phone is now ready to make voice and data calls

I tried it and it my phone issue stands.

I also hear a very low-level hissing sound in the background when there's a pause in the conversation with anyone.

I'm just surprised that a flagship phone is doing worse than a Photon which was not known to be the best phone (though it worked for me, mostly).

Now Sprint says to exchange it with Motorola, which of course they would.

Mine has no hiss for sure, and call quality is very good, my mom thought I was on a land line the other day. You should exchange

Posted via Android Central App

 

[HollyDolly]

You could always break your contact and change carriers

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I have done, believe me. I went with Verizon for a while - worst service in my area. So I switched back (T-mobile is not even an option and I can't stand ATT)

 

[HollyDolly]

Mine has no hiss for sure, and call quality is very good, my mom thought I was on a land line the other day. You should exchange

Posted via Android Central App

I'm trying to contact Motorola right now. We'll see how it goes. So far, Motorola reps who are on tech chat can't seem to understand English. Oh, the joys of this process!

ETA: Motorola tech says to "clear the partition in case of problematic temporary files". I told them it's been like this straight out of the box, not even before I had a chance to add any files. So I said I wanted to exchange it, and now I have to call the Motomaker support on the phone.

I'm going to be sending this phone back and re-ordering another one. It'll be another 2 weeks before I have the phone in hand. Please let this be a lemon and not a general Moto x issue... :'(

ETA 2: Apparently, there are other users who have problems with call quality/reception with the Moto X and some say Motorla/Google is aware of it and will "fix" it in the next OTA update. Apparently, I'm also one of the lucky ones with this issue as well...