Sprint Galaxy Tab 3 SM-T217S Poor 3g/4g signal reception

[glen4cindy]

Hello,

My wife and I each purchased the $49.99 Galaxy Tab 3 from Sprint, and while our Wi-Fi signal reception is great, our cellular reception is dismal.

I've even been to the store to look at their demo where they have their repeater system in use, and the demo tablet had full bars and my tablet had almost nothing.

When I arrived home today, I tried a profile and PRL update, and when those 2 didn't help, I performed a factory data reset.

Still, my reception is dismal. I do have an Airave and while my Galaxy Note II has awesome signal, that does not guarantee the Airave is compatible with the Tab 3.

I've not found any evidence on the web of Tab 3 3g/4g signal, but, I wanted to check here and see what everyone's experience is.

I suppose this leaves me with contacting Samsung as Sprint does not service tablets as they do the phones.

Thanks in advance.

 

[B. Diddy]

It sure sounds like your Tab 3 has a problem with its 3G/4G reception, so I would suspect either the antenna or the SIM card. Did you ask Sprint for a replacement SIM to see if that helps?

Otherwise, if you bought the tablet recently, why doesn't Sprint replace it? It sure seems to me that they should just give you a replacement if they sold you a faulty unit.

 

[glen4cindy]

They won't touch it in any way since it's beyond 14 days......

 

[B. Diddy]

Have you asked them? If it's a faulty unit, they might be more amenable to replacing it. I would guess they're stricter about the 14 day deadline for people who decide they just don't like the phone or the service.

 

[STARGATE]

It sure sounds like your Tab 3 has a problem with its 3G/4G reception, so I would suspect either the antenna or the SIM card. Did you ask Sprint for a replacement SIM to see if that helps?

Otherwise, if you bought the tablet recently, why doesn't Sprint replace it? It sure seems to me that they should just give you a replacement if they sold you a faulty unit.

They won't touch it in any way since it's beyond 14 days......

Ouch! :banghead:

Why didn't you exchanged it when you had the time on your side???

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[STARGATE]

I just got one a couple of hours ago! Well, they didn't have any in the store so they ordered it and said it'll arrive in about 5 business days.

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[glen4cindy]

I tried another factory wipe, this time booting from recovery, but, I don't think that was really the deciding factor. I changed the mode from LTE/CDMA to just CDMA and now I have full bars.

I know Sprint is doing a full rollout of LTE around my area, and my phone is just now starting to light up with 4G, but, only every now and then. So, maybe, until our area is fully saturated....

That still doesn't answer why it didn't work in the store, but, I'm happy for now.

 

[STARGATE]

I tried another factory wipe, this time booting from recovery, but, I don't think that was really the deciding factor. I changed the mode from LTE/CDMA to just CDMA and now I have full bars.

I know Sprint is doing a full rollout of LTE around my area, and my phone is just now starting to light up with 4G, but, only every now and then. So, maybe, until our area is fully saturated....

That still doesn't answer why it didn't work in the store, but, I'm happy for now.

Did the site demo have 4G or was it just full bars or 3G?

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[glen4cindy]

To be honest, I didn't really notice it in time. I wasn't really looking that close! My bad!

 

[glen4cindy]

Have you asked them? If it's a faulty unit, they might be more amenable to replacing it. I would guess they're stricter about the 14 day deadline for people who decide they just don't like the phone or the service.

Oh yes, I've asked. They say it's a system limitation. Anything over 14 days and the system won't even allow and exchange.

 

[glen4cindy]

Did the site demo have 4G or was it just full bars or 3G?

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

I'm not 100% certain. The 4G rollout in the St. Louis area is very sporadic. You might have 4G in your living room, and not in your bedroom! I will have to go to an area very soon that I know has 4G live. I'm an IT contractor by trade, and I was in Florissant, MO the other day, and 4G was live. I did a speed test, and the result was 26 Meg down and 8 Meg Up. That will be the place to test.

 

[STARGATE]

I'm not 100% certain. The 4G rollout in the St. Louis area is very sporadic. You might have 4G in your living room, and not in your bedroom! I will have to go to an area very soon that I know has 4G live. I'm an IT contractor by trade, and I was in Florissant, MO the other day, and 4G was live. I did a speed test, and the result was 26 Meg down and 8 Meg Up. That will be the place to test.

Good deal!
That's about the same speed I get on my Galaxy S4 most of the time at work.
Unfortunately most of Raleigh NC had very, VERY bad low speeds.
Check the screenshots below.

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[Bolo4GS3]

Your not going to get 4g using Airave, cause its only 3g.

 

[glen4cindy]

That might be so, but, my phone is constantly showing a full bar 4G signal while I am at home.

I heard they pushed an update to the new model Airave devices to enable 4G. That may not be accurate.

I do know that it is an "area" specific issue. I traveled around to some different places in the St. Louis market, where there is a much stronger 4G signal saturation, and I had a much better reading on the screen display then I do at home, so this tells me that there is nothing wrong with the radio in my device.



This is my screen from my Galaxy Note 2 showing a full 4G signal. The software in the phone might be configured, however to be displaying something differently than the tablet is, since the tablet is not voice capable.

 

[stlersguy]

I just got this same tablet and am loving it I got ride of an iPad mini for it and have never looked back

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy

 

[STARGATE]

I've been testing my Galaxy Tab 3 in many places.
It does get the same amount of bars and signal (3G and 4G), compared to my Galaxy S4.
Speed tests are also really close.

Sent From Inside The TARDIS in a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[axllebeer]

Interesting, I find that I get better 3G 4G signal with it than wifi. In fact, I get amazing signal with it. Better than any other Samsung phone I've ever used by light years! The wifi strength is far better on my Galaxy Note 10.1 however.

Heres my Tab 3.
This is at home on my wifi and using the Airave 2.5.

Just before grabbing the screen shot it was green and full on ev-do and less than 1/2 on wifi.

 

[axllebeer]

I have discovered something odd with My Sprint Tab 3. When I connect a bluetooth keyboard or stream audio over Bluetooth while using wifi, frequently the wifi will drop. Only wifi and not the cellular network. Ideas?

Sent from my Sprint Tab 3

 

[Relgoshan]

Interference, or reserved bandwidth internally on a shared link. The antenna setup looks odd to me.