Database Users

Zero Signal Bars

I think the bars are inaccurate it's showing zero bars when it says 3g and internet and text messages work fine

Yea I've noticed the same thing. Maybe Samsung wanted to avoid a class action lawsuit for exaggerating signal strength?

lol right and at first i thought i had full bars since nothing was showing but the unlighted bars

It just seems like a minor issue. I've yet to experience poor call quality at zero bars... sucks because it's all in our heads really. Bars have taken over!

Your holding the phone wrong (sorry couldn't resist)
Lets take 2 possibilities...it is either a display bug...
or maybe just maybe..your signal is too strong which goes above the meter and shows 0...(that would be funny)\
more realistically look at this:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/01/cell-phone-rece/

Interesting that may be true

heygrl said:
It just seems like a minor issue. I've yet to experience poor call quality at zero bars... sucks because it's all in our heads really. Bars have taken over!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. In my living room I go between 0dBm and -111dBm but I have never lost 3g data nor had a call dropped. Although I can't see the dB reading while on a call I do see the bars go from 0 to 3 bars and as soon as I'm off the call and they go back to zero,

I'm thinking it's a software issue that will be fixed

Same issue here. Zero bars most of the time in my home but 3G is working and calls are fine!!!

It has a death grip
I notice that when I hold the phone, bars go down very quickly, but they typically come back up for the most part.
I set the phone down on my bed - bars go up to full.
I hold the phone naturally in my hand - bars start dropping one by one.
For the most part they hit 0 bars, but connection seems fine. I was on a call and made the bars go down. My friend on the other end didn't notice any problems with the line. I didn't notice any problems either.
I can replicate the issue easily just by holding the phone. Looks like Apple was on to something with their claims. I wonder if Consumer Reports will put this phone it's list of not recommended phones too...

Never lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

iceshinobi said:
Never lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue when i hold the phone in the lower left hand corner. I thought getting a case would correct the issue like on the iphone, but even with a case it still happens.

g2 problems

i just watched my phone restart no less than 15 times. every time the phone comes on the screen is flickering at the g2 tmobile screen be4 the os loads. wtf? it hasnt been dropped or got wet.. not a scratch on it

Happens. Happend to me once and never happend again. Solution was pulling the batter off for 1 min then powerin back up
Sent from my HTC Vision G2

ill give that a shot. its ****ing pissing me off

from tmobile regarding the "loose hinges":
After investigating various hinge tension settings to find the best user experience, HTC engineered the T-Mobile G2 in such a way that it can be easily opened and closed with just one finger. While this tension level may let the phone open on its own if held in an inverse position, this does not represent a defect in the hinge mechanism.
regarding the random restarts:
As for the phone randomly restarting this is a known issue and is being researched for resolution. I would need to transfer you to our Technical Care Department for further assistance.

cbmm said:
from tmobile regarding the "loose hinges":
After investigating various hinge tension settings to find the best user experience, HTC engineered the T-Mobile G2 in such a way that it can be easily opened and closed with just one finger. While this tension level may let the phone open on its own if held in an inverse position, this does not represent a defect in the hinge mechanism.if it smell like..$#@t it must be BS!!!!
regarding the random restarts:
As for the phone randomly restarting this is a known issue and is being researched for resolution. I would need to transfer you to our Technical Care Department for further assistance.I got the same thing from them....tech support actually tried to tell me that I installed something that conflicts with the phone....I said PLEASE!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On a side note, I OC'ed my phone using the VISIONary temp root and and I am running @ 1.42 Mhz, and this this thing is not only flying, but I no longer have reboots, or at least as frequent. I had one today, but it was after it had dropped back to 800 Mhz, and the batt was somewhere around 25%...this maybe due to the profiles I have set....as the batt dwindles down, I am gutting down on the power requirements to conserve batt.
2nd side note....my first G2 got stuck a few time on reboot on the G2 screen as you mentioned.....they replaced that one without any objections.
As for the OTA, Tech Suppoirt does not ahve any news nor knowledge that one is coming out. They actually referred me to TMONews.com to see what is developing....lol...they refered me to a blog!!! SAD!!!!

Orale.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I think I figured out the random reboots with the help of some others.. here out my story. So me and my best friend both have G2's. Love the phone btw. he has never had a random reboot until this day and I allways get them. I live in a basement and he lives in a house with perfect reception. I am pretty certain it has something to do with the reception going in and out. he came over the other day and we were hanging out at my house and his phone random rebooted for the first time ever.. and I allways get them because most of the time I am down here. But when I am out and about for the day above level lol.. I never get them.. or RARELY get them. Hinges have been fine for the both of us also. Other than that I love the phone.. HOpfully with the OTA update I heard about will fix that because I hear the update includes a new radio update.. and last time the radio update REALLY Fixed my reception issues with the G1 in my basement.. SO can't wait for that. Thanx a lot for reading

[Q] How's your Shift Signal Strength?

How is your Evo Shift Signal strength???
Just got my Shift two days ago and I generally like the size, speed, etc. Getting used to Android as I previously used a lot of WinMo and Blackberry devices.
The signal strength on this phone doesn't seem very good for me. My home has marginal Sprint coverage but Touch Pro2 seemed to have better signal strength and reception. It was rare that I ever missed an incoming call.
The shift gets a very weak signal and it sometimes drops to "no bars" for awhile.
I've also observed that the signal meter and my ability to initiate and maintain calls varies with how I hold it. I hold the phone with my right-hand, and have to hold it with my fingers near the top of the phone to get the best reception. Some other folks have posted similar problems. So I'm wondering if this is a general defect with the Shift or if my specific phone has issues.

geekdaddy said:
How is your Evo Shift Signal strength???
Just got my Shift two days ago and I generally like the size, speed, etc. Getting used to Android as I previously used a lot of WinMo and Blackberry devices.
The signal strength on this phone doesn't seem very good for me. My home has marginal Sprint coverage but Touch Pro2 seemed to have better signal strength and reception. It was rare that I ever missed an incoming call.
The shift gets a very weak signal and it sometimes drops to "no bars" for awhile.
I've also observed that the signal meter and my ability to initiate and maintain calls varies with how I hold it. I hold the phone with my right-hand, and have to hold it with my fingers near the top of the phone to get the best reception. Some other folks have posted similar problems. So I'm wondering if this is a general defect with the Shift or if my specific phone has issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first of all, update your PRL and your Profile, just to be sure.
But yes, the antenna seems to be at the bottom of the phone, and holding your hand over that area will indeed have an effect on signal strength. But unless you're already at your signal strength limit for calls, I don't think it makes much of a difference. I don't think the bars are entirely accurate, since my signal strength currently says -101, but I have full bars.
I haven't had any issues getting signal in places I've always had signal, and I actually seem to get better service in areas I couldn't get any service with my Hero, so I think it's an improvement.

Signal strength is ok, but not as good as my Evo was.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

Its worse than my Hero, that's for sure.
Sent from my bathroom, with toilet paper.

Mine seems pretty bad so far. I seem to be roaming allot. Isn't that the triangle above the signal? I will go from one bar and then it will switch to roaming and 4 bars. Seems to go back and forth like that.
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk

This:
EricSS619 said:
Signal strength is ok, but not as good as my Evo was.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and this:
Heelfan71 said:
Mine seems pretty bad so far. I seem to be roaming allot. Isn't that the triangle above the signal? I will go from one bar and then it will switch to roaming and 4 bars. Seems to go back and forth like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF mate, in places where i'd get sometimes full bars with my evo i'm now down to 1 or 2 or even roaming. very strange. In my bedroom on the evo i'd generally stay around 2-3 bars and now i find myself in roaming on occasion. Hoping a radio update helps.

johnnycross22 said:
This:
and this:
WTF mate, in places where i'd get sometimes full bars with my evo i'm now down to 1 or 2 or even roaming. very strange. In my bedroom on the evo i'd generally stay around 2-3 bars and now i find myself in roaming on occasion. Hoping a radio update helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indoors seem to be my biggest problem. Outside I get a good signal but if I am inside anywhere the bars go down drastically.

not to mention the GPS is total crap vs my Evo that I traded in!
Stilll worth the trade though =)

EricSS619 said:
not to mention the GPS is total crap vs my Evo that I traded in!
Stilll worth the trade though =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why did you not like the evo? just curious.

Heelfan71 said:
why did you not like the evo? just curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly I think mine was just messed up, it lagged terribly and I tried everything to fix it. After I saw my girlfriends lag free shift it was a no brainer for me.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

wow my Shift has great signal strength, way better than my Evo was.
i'm on my second Shift (first one had a bad ear piece speaker) and same experience with both. great reception so far

I was torn between getting an Evo and an Evo Shift. I played with them at my local Sprint store as they were side by side. When the phones were just sitting, both of them had 5 bars. When I picked the Evo up, it still had five bars and when I picked up the Evo Shift, the bars dropped to three. At that moment, I was going to get the Evo. After that, I kept hearing nothing but good reviews about the Evo Shift (amongst whiny minor complaints), saw that the Evo Shift's quadrants were pwning amongst non-rooted devices, and heard 1 too many complaints about the Evo's battery life; this pretty much sealed the deal for me. I had decided that I could live with the Evo Shift's apparent signal strength issues... Can HTC do something about the radio?
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

I can't replicate the grip of death but sometimes I do notice my bars going from 0 or 1 to 5 or 6, it will just jump. I don't know why. But I haven't had any problems because of this so I don't really mind.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

i have cupped my shift in both hands and held it against my chest and my battery only dropped one bar. I think that is a good sign and will not bother me at all.

dnalevelc said:
i have cupped my shift in both hands and held it against my chest and my battery only dropped one bar. I think that is a good sign and will not bother me at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Err, you mean the signal not the battery right? If your battery dropped that much from cupping the phone, you have issues, lol

dnalevelc said:
i have cupped my shift in both hands and held it against my chest and my battery only dropped one bar. I think that is a good sign and will not bother me at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
God I wish people didn't obsess over "bars" and were reasonable like you. Bars don't mean anything, really. Monitoring signal levels in db makes sense, but people who talk about bars remind me of those who smack their TVs for better reception!
If you can make and hold a call without problems, it doesn't matter how many bars you have. Or if your phone shows 7 bars but you can't make calls, is that a good thing? There are no clear guidelines or standards on bars, so people need to stop obsessing about them.

hammondnav said:
God I wish people didn't obsess over "bars" and were reasonable like you. Bars don't mean anything, really. Monitoring signal levels in db makes sense, but people who talk about bars remind me of those who smack their TVs for better reception!
If you can make and hold a call without problems, it doesn't matter how many bars you have. Or if your phone shows 7 bars but you can't make calls, is that a good thing? There are no clear guidelines or standards on bars, so people need to stop obsessing about them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I honestly couldn't tell you what my bars were at any given time. Other than in the bathroom, I know it's 0-1 there.

wardfan220 said:
Agreed, I honestly couldn't tell you what my bars were at any given time. Other than in the bathroom, I know it's 0-1 there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd because I get the best signal front Sprint in my house in the bathroom lol.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

Bars seem to make a difference to me when they go to zero and I lose my call. Now I know why this happens randomly with this phone.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

After exactly 14 days with my evo shift, i had the same symptoms with my phone yesterday. i woke up with my phone showing full bars, no bars, x, no bars, full bars, no bars, etc etc every 30-45 sec's. i figured possibly a tower down or something....then drove to work 20 miles away had the same issue in out and out service, texts not going through, browser timing out. i tried updating, resetting, battery pull, nothing fixed it.
I went into a sprint store and they were able to verify the problem as they watched the screen. i am officially the first warranty exchanged evo shift at that corporate store...according to the tech (who i know for the last several years, my phone failed the signal test of some sort. so if your phone sounds like mine more than likely its a defective radio/part inside and you should be able to get a exchange for it. hope that helps someone out in what to do.

Better 3G and Reception Modification.

I'm only sharing this to give those with intermittent 3G data to improve theirs as well since I had such good success with it. I know it's strange, and if you don't have any issues with your 3G signal quality than there is no purpose in trying this.
To those of you who have done the hardware GPS fix, this is very similar.
There is another metal tab on the opposite side of the phone, it looks exactly like the one you bend up for the GPS fix.
I was having very spotty and slow 3G covereage, so was my fiance. It would just hang when trying to load websites or using the XDA app. The download arrow would take FOREVER before finally lighting up and going somewhere.
So I opened the phones and bent up that other metal tab, assuming it is the antenna for the phone. I have found out, apparently, it is the WiFi contact. But strangely enough, this has had a huge impact on my 3G consistency.
DarkSandz93 said he noticed two more tabs near the bottom of the phone. You might also bend those a bit to make a better contact. I don't have any pictures of them but With some looking you should find them. I can confirm this fix works without bending the ones on the bottom, but it Wouldn't hurt to try as it will only improve the weak contacts.
When I put the phone back together me and my Fiance's phone both have great consistent 3G and reception went up a bar or two.
I've been testing this for two days and it has definitely helped!
***PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN BENDING UP THE TAB, IT MAY BE FRAGILE*** Take it slow, Its almost flat when you start but you need to bend it up a bit to make a good contact with the antenna.
I'm not responsible for any damage you do to your phone.
Thank you AndroidMonkey for the pic.
Labeled is both the GPS on the left and the Antenna on the right. The one on the right in the one I bent up slightly to improve the contact and get better signal.
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn210/imitebewrong/?action=view&current=phone.jpg
DarkSandz93 said he noticed two more tabs near the bottom of the phone. You might also bend those a bit to make a better contact. I don't have any pictures of them but With some looking you should find them. I can confirm this fix works without bending the ones on the bottom, but it Wouldn't hurt to try as it will only improve the weak contacts.
Here is a video of my phone browsing AFTER the mod was performed. Before I could barely surf at all, it would take around 5 minutes to load ANY web page. The download arrow would hardly ever light up. These pages are not cached and are using my 3G connection.
I just want to clarify this fix did not improve my actual download speed (kb/s), but made my connection more reliable and steady. Fixed the hanging and having to reload constantly to try and get a connection.
Also, thank you Plato56, who came up with the original Hardware GPS Fix. I would not have ever tried this if it wasn't for KWKSLVR's thread.

UPDATED: I've tried this in many different areas now and it works great. No more waiting on the download arrow to light up.. kicks on and stays on
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I Thought that was the wifi contact and the cell antenna was on the bottom of the phone.
In any case.. I'll prolly give this a shot since the GPS fix worked so well for me. Instead of trying to bend it up though I think Ill follow the lead of some people in the GPS thread and place a small piece of rubberband under the contact. Dont wana have to solder due to breaking the contract a second time lol.

You might be right. I wasn't 100 percent sure it was the antenna. But In any case it definitely improved my signal quality on two seperate phones.
Please let me know if this works for you!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I'm interested in hearing if anyone else tries it. This sounds very promising!
Sent from my mobile

sorry to go off topic, but is this real? - http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn210/imitebewrong/storm.jpg

Haha yeah that's real. I took that picture I think in 08. That storm produced a tornado that killed a few boyscouts near Omaha nebraska. I was driving to visit a friend in Omaha and I got hit with 80 mph winds while in my car! It was nuts.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I can confirm this, when i did the hardware fix i noticed 2 of the same tabs at the bottom and the one on the left that the OP is talking about so i decided to bend ALL of them up and voila getting pretty good signal ever since

haha *sigh* I guess I'll give it a go! Taking the phone apart is a real B*[email protected]# though. I'll report back when it's done

darksandz93 said:
I can confirm this, when i did the hardware fix i noticed 2 of the same tabs at the bottom and the one on the left that the OP is talking about so i decided to bend ALL of them up and voila getting pretty good signal ever since
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing, I'll post the option of bending the other tabs in the OP. Doesn't hurt to try.

yea sounds good but don't forget to mention in big giant bold letters to take EXTREME caution so as not to snap any of the connections off, don't want anyone coming back here to ***** at everyone because they made a stupid mistake.

darksandz93 said:
yea sounds good but don't forget to mention in big giant bold letters to take EXTREME caution so as not to snap any of the connections off, don't want anyone coming back here to ***** at everyone because they made a stupid mistake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, good point. OP updated.

man i want to try this because i don't have 3g at my place when i'm holding the phone on the bottom. I'm just scared, really scared.

Alright I just tried the hardware fix and I can report that it has not improved my 3g connection dramatically. I'm not sure if I'm under placebo effect but I think it is helping a tiny bit with keeping the connection strong; could be wrong. Report back after some more testing.

I just want to clarify this fix did not improve my actual speed, but made my connection more reliable and steady. before I could barely browse, now i can very consistently go from page to page with no hanging or having to reload many times.

yupp...so the unthinkable ,while having a very heated discussion with girlfriend on instant messenger via computer ,i broke the little copper contact ,,,,
if your as dumb as me (argueing with girlfriend )while bending the little tabs, all hope is not lost i stripped some copper wire out of a phone cord and looped it through the little hole where the copper is attached to the phone twisted it together tight snapped the phone together and did some intense browsing ,seems to be working great

Unless you're using wifi this shouldnt do anything. The tab you are bending is used for wifi only. The tab that is used for cellular is on the bottom.

I tried this, and now my phone is out of commission. Might be a coincidence since I have been doing some modem changes but any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. I posted in the Vibrant Q&A forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=949089

If everything is in place inside the phone and its just the screen you can get it into odin (Plug in USB and hold volume buttons while booting.) and then flash back to stock and warranty the thing. You dont even need to see the screen to do it, your computer should tell you if the phone is connected.
My instructions suck, try these
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=848737

I did this too sometime last month and saw an improvement. I decided to take it a step farther like the a couple guys did in the GPS thread did. All 4 of the contacts now have a small drop of solder on them, filed down to the right height, and I am seeing improvements across the board (nothing dramatic, but more of consistency). I need to file 1 down just a hair more though.

Dropped my HD2 and now it gets horrible reception :/

So an irresponsible night of heavy drinking and dancing led to my phone making a crashing debut on the dance floor. I lost my battery cover, and I figured that's why my reception became so horrible and couldn't get data ANYWHERE.
I got a new cover, and still I get horrible reception. SMS won't work sometimes, I drop calls like made and data is terribly slow (Edge) if it even works at all. Sometimes 3g, gprs, or hpsda (is that right?) will work but only when I'm really close to a cell tower.
Anyone know wtf i did?

Sounds like you damaged the phones radio on the inside when it hit the ground.
Captivate 2.2.1 OCed
Atrix Root
Nexus 1 2.3.3

aari13 said:
Anyone know wtf i did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes... purely on speculation you broke one of the two brass clips that make attachment to the radio antenna on the rear case.
Nothing a quick look inside can't fix...
Good luck..

I like the sounds of that
I'll crack it open tomorrow. THX!!

WOOHOO!!!!
Turns out due to the soft case, i one of the antenna tabs was bend down. Bent it back and voila!
Thx guy! I give you internet wines, 12 internet goats, and i shall dance at your wedding!

Great to hear of your success. Glad my speculation turned out to be a validation.
Awesome

hmm, my gps stopped working a few mths ago when i dropped it, , , hope my repair goes as well as yours! (when i get around to buying a new screen)