Sammy radio quality Vs Moto

[carlosrey23]

I have a quick question....I have a SGS3 on pre-order from VZW. I am using as a loaner (friend) the Moto Droid X, and previously a BB8130. With both of these devices I am having issues with connecting to the network given the area where I work.

So with that in mind...I was hoping the Droid X would out perform the bb8130 in signal strength, but it hasn't yet. I have a SGS3 coming, but I am not sure if the vzw will work for me. I work in an area where AT&T is boosted, thus always having strong signal. In your experiences how much better, or worst, has the Moto signal strength is in relation to Sammy radios?

 

[NightxFall]

From what I've heard, Samsung radios usually suck. Reports for the GS3 have been generally good though but we won't know til we get our hands on the device and test out the radio ourselves.

Sent from my Ally using Android Central Forums

 

[Geikamir]

I have the Galaxy S1, and have no radio problems at all.

 

[rage151]

Moto has always had the best radio, IMO. BB is pretty good, but my experience when owning both - Moto always won. HTC is up there too.

I've always heard that Sammy radios are pretty bad. I found this about the S3: Link

Hopefully, it performs much better than its predecessors. If it is bad, I will exercise the 14-day return to stock option and keep rolling with my Thunderbolt.

 

[Cruiserdude]

My Razr radio is alot better than the Charge was, but each new device will be different. I would expect it to be even better than the Razr, given that its a newer device, with a fully integrated Qualcomm SoC, and Sammy knows their past devices had a reputation for poor radios.

 

[metz65]

In my own personal experience I had an OG Droid, then the Droid X and they both worked fine in my area. I bought the Nexus went thru 4 of them and never did get one that could hold a signal. Switched to the Maxx and have no problems again.

Some people have great signal on their Nexus and I have read on here that the 3 has a different radio setup. You have nothing to lose by giving it a shot, if it doesn't work just make sure to get it returned during the grace period.

I don't care what kind of phone you use, that's not how I judge someone's worth or intelligence. Sent using tapatalk 2.

 

[jamesbecker79]

Is it possible for us all to agree to stop calling Samsung "Sammy." It's just creepy.

 

[radyoactive]

I have had the Thunderbolt, Charge, GNex, and Maxx and the two Samsung phones had horrible radios. I live in a fringe area and my TB and Maxx would hold the 4G signal fairly well, not so with the Charge and Gnex. Also, on my commute, there are a couple of long bridges I need to cross depending on the way I take and I could tell you exactly where the Charge and Gnex would drop the call where the other two phones will make it through without dropping.

I'm hoping this has all be resolved with the S4 processor.

 

[KSmithInNY]

Moto has a lock on the radio strength, but hate's users or rather, hates consumer warranties so they lock the crap out of their phones to prevent tampering.

Samsung has never prevented the community from playing and infact has given early access to code for developers to assist with a bug they created, and donated 4 development phones to the CM guys to guarantee CM support for GS2, but radios are the pits and recently it seems they've been tracking rooted devices. The root tracking is no biggie to me, but I'll let you off the hook willingly if you ask instead of secretly track. Or instead do something like watermark if rooted ( a la N1) or something but integrating tracking into the device is a bit much IMHO.

HTC has been ok with their unlocked bootloader program, but given their storied history with QC issues (to be expected when they make so many phones), do you really want to let them off the hook on the warranty when your phone could stop charging tomorrow due to a build issue? Happened to my EVO 6 months into owning it, was a common issue and listed on the "known issues", and no ROM has ever caused a micro USB cage to loosen so it's not a result of modding my phone.

LG ... well they make a decent phone and have been good to the mod community (see Optimus S/M/V/etc), but their lack of ground breaking device or flagship devices has limited adoption to mainly that line of devices. Hopefully future devices will be better received because i REALLY loved my Optimus, best phone I've ever developed for. It's lack of specs were overshadowed by it's friendliness to the mod/hacking community.

Sony has done great things for the community including heavily contributing to googles source allowing for quicker updates to their devices, and support for the mod community, but their limited US market penetration has been a draw back and the US devices certainly aren't groundbreaking or flagship phones.

As you can see every OEM has ups and downs. Most importantly is what matters to you. If carrier signal is a concern then maybe avoid Samsung or find a carrier that might offer a better solution for you. If a moto phone is having signal issues, it might be time to face the music and shop providers.

 

[japetty]

I had a moto droid x and never had problems. I purchased a gnex and I always had problems in places where I never had problems with the droid x. I returned the gnex after 7 days and I now have a moto razr maxx and don't have any problems where I normally travel. I also remember my wife having a samsung flip phone on one of her upgrades and 2 days later she went to the store and she came back with a moto flip phone. She still has that same flip phone 6 years later. She won't trade cause she says no I have a phone that works and I am not wanting to trade for something that may not.

 

[tirith]

Using a moto right now. Beautiful signal strength and never drop calls...

Switched to a samsung (nexus) for a little bit, and... Switched back because places I got reception I was no longer getting it...

Sent using my MoPho-King photon

 

[ProvDev]

FYI... leaks seem to indicate next moto is using S4 soc. Will likely have same radios as the GS3 and US HOX since the radios are part of the Qualcomm soc.

http://www.droid-life.com/2012/06/0...a-benchmark-snapdragon-s4-processor-on-board/

 

[Suntan]

There's a lot more to reception than just the soc.

I hope the GS3 has great reception too, and the early reports are positive, but Motorola has been working on analog signal processing for many decades and there's a reason why their phones have good reception. Don't expect that all the new phones will have the same capabilities just because they use the same soc.

-Suntan

 

[KSmithInNY]

There's a lot more to reception than just the soc.

I hope the GS3 has great reception too, and the early reports are positive, but Motorola has been working on analog signal processing for many decades and there's a reason why their phones have good reception. Don't expect that all the new phones will have the same capabilities just because they use the same soc.

-Suntan

I was going to let sleeping dogs lie but ding ding ding. Anyone that thinks the manufacturers using the same SOC is going to level the playing field will be floored when Moto launches. Moto is a founding father of this game, and whatever black magic stuff they have up their sleeve is unbelievable. I pray Google "fixes" them because their build quality and reception would be nice to have on an officially supported developer device (moto nexus??)

 

[jroc]

There's a lot more to reception than just the soc.

I hope the GS3 has great reception too, and the early reports are positive, but Motorola has been working on analog signal processing for many decades and there's a reason why their phones have good reception. Don't expect that all the new phones will have the same capabilities just because they use the same soc.

-Suntan

Which goes with what I have been saying lately....All phones aren't created equal.

Agree with the last 2 posts. IIRC...moto uses Qualcomm stuff in their phones now....but add or do al lil something extra for better reception. Whatever it is....its the reason my Rezound has been not been charged up for months...and the reason I no longer have a g nex.

It's also part of the reason moto equipment has been used by the NFL and the military for a loooong time.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Android Central Forums

 

[KSmithInNY]

I know this will sound like a BS fish story and honestly, I wouldn't fully believe an internet stranger myself, but my dual core moto OCd to 1.3 has about 50% left after 18 hours of light use. Light use combined with spending all day using wifi for data could net 2 days.

Having owned 7ish android devices, several I developed for, i would have told anyone saying that they are full of crap and they need to stop convincing themselves cause nobody else is buying it lmfao

 

[ProvDev]

There's a lot more to reception than just the soc.

I hope the GS3 has great reception too, and the early reports are positive, but Motorola has been working on analog signal processing for many decades and there's a reason why their phones have good reception. Don't expect that all the new phones will have the same capabilities just because they use the same soc.

-Suntan

Moto in the past has used radios that they developed. Signs indicate that moving forward everyone using the S4 will be using the same hardware - radios, cpu, BT, and gpu. The only difference will be software.

Hate to break it to you guys... but the best software can't fix crap radios - ala Gnex. Unfortunately, for this generation of phones that all use the S4 SoC if the reception sucks there is going to be no place to hide.

 

[KSmithInNY]

Moto in the past has used radios that they developed. Signs indicate that moving forward everyone using the S4 will be using the same hardware - radios, cpu, BT, and gpu. The only difference will be software.

Hate to break it to you guys... but the best software can't fix crap radios - ala Gnex. Unfortunately, for this generation of phones that all use the S4 SoC if the reception sucks there is going to be no place to hide.

I'd take that friendly bet. Win lose or draw, as long as the SOC is the same, friendly bets on. Common sense rules apply like someone will need to compare dBm on an activated GS3 and upcomming moto, no fem to cell, a couple fair side by side tests to reduce anomalies, tester is preferably neither of us lol ... nothing crazy just fair rules for all.

No money, no finger wagging i told you so, just a simple friendly bet.

 

[ProvDev]

I'd take that friendly bet. Win lose or draw, as long as the SOC is the same, friendly bets on. Common sense rules apply like someone will need to compare dBm on an activated GS3 and upcomming moto, no fem to cell, a couple fair side by side tests to reduce anomalies, tester is preferably neither of us lol ... nothing crazy just fair rules for all.

No money, no finger wagging i told you so, just a simple friendly bet.

I'll take that bet. IF the Moto ends up using the S4 SoC and some one has both phones in the same location

I won't argue that Moto historically has the best radios/reception. Just with everybody (HTC/Moto/Samsung) going to the S4 SoC they are now using the same radios... so reception should be the same.

Honestly, if the fighter had launched already.. I would strongly consider it. I have nothing against moto.

 

[Sta11i0n]

I have not used any Moto devices for any extended period of time but I do have a good amount of experience with Samsung and BB. In my opinion, Samsung has the better radio of the 2, if you just use it instead of worrying about bars. I believe the framework coding on Samsungs shows lower bars on the signal meter than signal strength is in dBm compared to other devices. For example, my BB Bold 9930 I use for work will show 4 bars when it has -85dBM, and my Galaxy S (Fascinate) will show 2 bars with the same strength in the same area. My job requires me to do a lot of driving into remote areas which usually have poor or no cell service. I find that my BB will have no service in a lot more of these areas than my Fascinate. Also, when my Fascinate only shows 1 bar, I still have full functionality and great call quality, whereas, when my BB has 1 or 2 bars, messages and emails will fail to send, and calls are very broken up and dropped frequently. As long as my Samsung has service, no matter how many bars (I tend to just ignore them) everything works the way it should, whereas I need to have at least 3 bars to get reliable service out of my BB.