SM-G930U and wi-fi sensitivity

[ZoneXQ]

I have a 930U here. It's the 3rd one I have possessed - I returned the first 2 due to low wi-fi sensitivity. This one is the best of the 3 as far as wi-fi sensitivity. But its wi-fi receiver still doesn't match that of a SM-G930F that I have here as well. Nor does it match that of a motorola atrix that I also have here.

There are 3 wi-fi nodes within range of my home. I've conducted a careful side-by-side comparison of the 930U and the 930F. The 930F beats the 930U hands down! Two thirds of the time, the 930U can't see any of the 3 wi-fi nodes. And when it does see one of them, the signal strength of the node is less than that of the 930F. These node signals near my home aren't the greatest, though. In a strong wi-fi field, such as one produced by your local wi-fi router, there shouldn't be an issue. But when that's not possible, there may be. And that's assuming that my three 930U samples are typical.

I just wanted to report this.

 

[dpham00]

Interesting assessment. Wonder what the difference is.

 

[ZoneXQ]

I'm not sure. I suppose it's possible that they've physically changed something with regard to the components... like perhaps the internal wi-fi antenna's shape and/or size may now be different. Or it might be that they're now using a different RF chip altogether. I know that the 930Us are manufactured in Vietnam, whereas I'm told the 930Fs are made in Australia. The Samsung manufacturing plants in various parts of the world may not always acquire identical components to be placed into their products. Or perhaps they change suppliers on occasion for cost reasons. That's all speculation, mind you. I really have no opinion on which theory may best explain what the observed wi-fi difference between U and F versions might be attributed to.

EDIT:
For what it's worth, I recorded the IMEI numbers on the 3 aforementioned 930Us. Assuming that these devices are produced in relative sequence to the serial portion of their IMEIs, the following may serve someone to identify whether their U model was produced before of after the ones I've tested. Listed below are the serial portions of the 930Us I've tested:

259###
255###
263### < the one I currently possess.