Related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2g5J4qPp54
A video clearly showing the cause of the 3G/Edge switching, and quite "WTF" at that
Does your phone do this?
(P.S. You can access Phone Info like in the video to see your signal strength by getting AnyCut from the Market -> Long press home screen -> Shortcuts -> AnyCut -> Activity -> Phone Info)
Easier way to access phone info:
Open up the dialer, *#*#INFO#*#*
Is this really all that suprising? I'd put money on the same thing happening with most phones with the antenna in a similar position.
Not had any noticable problems with 3G in the UK.
After watching all these videos I started freaking myself out about the 3g issue, but then I realized that 1. I never did any of this and wasn't constantly checking my G1 to see if I was on edge and 2. the only time that anything close to what happens in that video (for me at least) happens to me is if I'm somewhere with spotty 3g anyway. I'm sitting at my house right now where I get great 3g and if I cover the phone with my hands I lose maybe 8db at the most. I think the rumors of the 3g issue are greatly exaggerated.
If your in a poor 3g area it will do this. And like dude above said it'll do that on most phones. I remember getting my tp it had in the instructions Something about not covering the radio at the top of the phone (tps was at the top). Now I'm on horrible 3 g area and tested this and it did switch back n forth while doing that, but it also does it to my tp2 also, so it gonna happen on most phones in bad coverage, now when I'm closer to a tower it wont do that...
Any phone will act like that.. most I mean.
In my house I usually have around -97 through -101 dBm (with the phone on my desk, no hands).
What do you guys see as your average signal strength?
staulkor said:
Easier way to access phone info:
Open up the dialer, *#*#INFO#*#*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Typing that every single time you want to see the phone info is easier than tapping one shortcut?
Paul22000 said:
Typing that every single time you want to see the phone info is easier than tapping one shortcut?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you can not download anything and just go to settings, about phone and status and get the same info....
Paul22000 said:
In my house I usually have around -97 through -101 dBm (with the phone on my desk, no hands).
What do you guys see as your average signal strength?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-70dBm to -79dBm no hands -77dBm to -81dBm in hand.
Not had any noticable problems with 3G at home...may loose 1 bar once in a while.
wow, i just tried the exact same test and got the same results and i am in a very strong 3g area (tempe)...
You are covering the antenna - of course you are going to see a loss of signal strength. If you are in an area where that loss causes you to bounce to edge then you are going to bounce to edge. This will happen with any phone although it is more noticeable with smartphones in my experience due to the lack of an exterior antenna (perhaps you'd see the same with bar style phones).
The N1 happens to have the antenna at the bottom of the phone (maybe not the smartest placement) whereas many other smart phones have it at the top of the phone. Whether or not you get the results in the video merely represent your relative signal strength in your area.
I've been trying to force myself to use my N1 with my left hand more then my right to keep the singal strength up...seems to be on the bottom right of the phone...
krohnjw said:
You are covering the antenna - of course you are going to see a loss of signal strength. If you are in an area where that loss causes you to bounce to edge then you are going to bounce to edge. This will happen with any phone although it is more noticeable with smartphones in my experience due to the lack of an exterior antenna (perhaps you'd see the same with bar style phones).
The N1 happens to have the antenna at the bottom of the phone (maybe not the smartest placement) whereas many other smart phones have it at the top of the phone. Whether or not you get the results in the video merely represent your relative signal strength in your area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it's very natural to want to hold the phone at the bottom. So basically it's just bad design then?...
This strikes me as pretty much of a non-issue. Yes, human flesh is not very transparent to radio at these frequencies, so if you wrap a couple of centimeters of it around the antenna, you'll see a drop in signal strength. They have to put the antenna somewhere, so it's just a matter of putting your hand somewhere else. For myself, I hold the phone with my thumb on one side edge, my two middle fingers on the other side edge, and my index finger on the back next to the camera to press the earpiece against my ear. It feels very comfortable and quite natural that way, and it leaves plenty of air space around the antenna at the bottom. Holding it this way, I never have any signal strength problems or dropped calls.
There may indeed be some 3G/EDGE issues where the algorithm for when to switch isn't quite right; I can't tell about that because I only get EDGE inside my house and always get 3G outside my house, so I've never seen the flipping back and forth that seems to be the basis of most folks' complaints on this topic. I'm just not terribly impressed by an experiment showing that wrapping your hand around the antenna causes the signal strength to go down -- I mean, who'd have expected that? ;-)
Paul22000 said:
Well, it's very natural to want to hold the phone at the bottom. So basically it's just bad design then?...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it is definitely a design that is not the most friendly, but the N1 is not the first phone to do it and likely won't be the last.
The video in question doesn't "show" anything new other than human flesh isn't very transparent to radio signals - anyone in a weaker coverage area can replicate the video while those in very strong 3G coverage areas (where you get a strong 3G signal not where the map says it's best) likely won't see any drop to edge unless they have hulk hands.
This doesn't appear to be any sort of newly discovered build issue (to be fair the manual that comes with the N1 states to avoid placing your hand/fingers on the bottom of the phone, with illustration on pg 12 ), rather it's a flaw in the design of the phone due to the location of the antenna and people's tendency to hold the phone covering the antenna.
@wmm and krohnjw
I'm just not terribly impressed by an experiment showing that wrapping your hand around the antenna causes the signal strength to go down -- I mean, who'd have expected that? ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but the N1 is not the first phone to do it and likely won't be the last.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point isn't that [wrapping your hand around an antenna decreasing signal strength] is new information.
The point is, why does this happen so EASILY with the Nexus One?
And why has this phenomenon never appeared in the news so prominently for any other phone in the history of mobile phones, as it has with the Nexus One? THAT is the issue.
Also, the Motorla Droid has the antenna at the bottom (the bottom lip), does it not? Why doesn't that phone have any issues?
.... Why exactly are we placing the antennas at the bottom of any phone.. I mean you hold the phone on the bottom, like seriously? Is there a reason for this o_0
Paul22000 said:
And why has this phenomenon never appeared in the news so prominently for any other phone in the history of mobile phones, as it has with the Nexus One?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's probably because there actually was a problem with the software originally released with the N1 that caused it to switch between EDGE and 3G when it really didn't need to, and the resulting hue and cry about that over-sensitized people to this particular non-issue.
Paul22000 said:
And why has this phenomenon never appeared in the news so prominently for any other phone in the history of mobile phones, as it has with the Nexus One? THAT is the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean like this phone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN6265QQwhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ0NkLqh3nU&NR=1
Just because you have some people *****ing loudly doesn't mean this is the first high profile phone that the issue has come up with...
Paul22000 said:
Also, the Motorla Droid has the antenna at the bottom (the bottom lip), does it not? Why doesn't that phone have any issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well there could be a few things off of the top of my head (if it has the antenna at the bottom)
Motorola may have wired other surfaces to act as additional antennas (as apple claimed to do with the iPhone 3G) on the droid.
If they did not then it's entirely possible that the N1 may have poor automatic gain control set up currently while the droid appropriately boosts gain when the signal drops.
When I cover the back of the antenna and hold it covered the signal drops out of what should be "acceptable" after 10-15s. I don't lose 3G but there is a significant degradation in signal (down to -93 dBm to -95 dBm). Perhaps the ACG controls aren't allowing gain to be boosted high enough for the radio to get a stronger signal or the thresh hold of what is "acceptable" is set too low.
/watch?v=LROTHrTR92k&feature=player_embedded#at=22
sorry I can't post links quite yet, add this onto the end of youtube.
It better not be like this when I pick it up Sunday.........
wow. i really have to wonder what he did to make it look like that.
When losing reception, phones don't go 100%-0% in a split second.
I bet he's just going for ratings after the whole iPhone mess.
Also, i can assure you that it doesn't matter how you hold it, even if you bury it in your hands from all sides, there's no catastrophic signal loss.
Mine has that problem. Full signal. Hold on the phone down the bottom and it drops down to 1 or 2 bars. As soon as you let go of the bottom, back up to full bars.
Signal loss when covering the antenna area is not a "problem", it's the laws of physics at work.
1 bar is totally reasonable, and depending on signal quality, 2 as well.
But going 100%-0%... that's pure BS.
I think this appears only when in 3G mode.
The VDO might not be telling the whole truth. From a user point of view, I have never seen signal dropped drastically like that.
Evans_Prophet said:
I think this appears only when in 3G mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it would still appear in GSM -mode, but the signal drop is nowhere near the amount when using UMTS.
Mine does it as well, in 2G and 3G, drops from -111dBm to 0dBm
My blackberry bold 9700 lose some signal when i cover the bottom. Every phone lose some signals when cover the bottom.
i can confrim this also happens with my Samsung Galaxy s aswell, and to those who say this is normal and happens to every phone, then you are wrong, i have a bunch of old nokias and NONE of them lose signal no matter where you hold it. the phones i tried it on are, the e71, 5800, the 6220 classic and the 6630. none of these phones loses any signal when gripped from anywhere. im so disappointed in this phone now
coldlazymo said:
i have a bunch of old nokias and NONE of them lose signal no matter where you hold it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes they do. It's physically impossible to make an antenna that doesn't lose signal when covered. You can code the bars to show the signalstrength any way you like though. If I code the bars to show 4 bars 1-20% and a fifth at 20%-100% you'll very rarely see less than "full" signal.
Nokia is always been the best when it comes to reception quality. Am happy with my GS signal quality.
mickeko said:
Yes they do. It's physically impossible to make an antenna that doesn't lose signal when covered. You can code the bars to show the signalstrength any way you like though. If I code the bars to show 4 bars 1-20% and a fifth at 20%-100% you'll very rarely see less than "full" signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tested those phones, i covered them up entirely with my hands, and there was no signal loss. it stayed at 5 bars. and its not a matter of coding since even with one bar i get good call quality.
but as Hassan said, nokia have always been very good with reception quality. and maybe i am overreacting since this is the first time i have come across this, having had all nokias before and this is my first samsung/android phone. but that doesnt really mean its acceptable, i cant get a decent signal when i hold my phone, at first i thought it was the network, since this was a different network than i was with before, but now that i have tested it and this happens, i cant help but feel like i have been screwed over a bit. going from 3-4 bars when not holding the phone to it dropping to 0 is not something i like in a phone
btw, it's best to know the difference between "no bars" and "no reception".
In contrast to most phones on the market, no bars at all means you have minimal reception.
It is still possible to make calls like this.
When there's absolutely no reception, you'll see a circle with a crossout line.
coldlazymo said:
i tested those phones, i covered them up entirely with my hands, and there was no signal loss. it stayed at 5 bars. and its not a matter of coding since even with one bar i get good call quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, now read this carefully: Just because the bars don't go down doesn't mean you don't have any signal loss. You get signal loss on ALL phones when covering the antenna. You having 5 bars doesn't change that, it only tells us that the signal loss isn't severe enough to show on the display. That IS a matter of coding.
Obviously there's ALSO a quality difference. Depending on what transmitter/receiver is being used, the quality, location and size of the antenna and whatever will affect the quality of the signal. Some hardware have less signal loss than other when being covered, but fact is the signal loss is ALWAYS there regardless of the number of bars Nokia, Samsung, Apple or Anheuser-Busch brewery decide to show for whatever signal strength.
You can kill your data connection by covering the antenna on the GS...
Try with the speedtest app. Especially upload _WILL_ be killed proper, when the antenna is covered.
I put some standard kitchen aluminium foil between the phone and the backcover, It still drops bars, but uploading works a lot better.
its fine, i take it back now anyway, turns out i was right the first time, it is just the network. i lose bars even when the phone is sitting on a desk. and when i say lose bars, i mean the bars will actually fluctuate randomly, from having full bars to no bars, then back again, when the phone is in a stationary position on a table, near a window. it just happened to be coincidence that when i was testing it the timing was close enough for me to blame it on this. my apologies
Why is it most of the reception issues are in the US? I don't hear anything for Iphone 4 users in Japan and I'm using Galaxy S in Singapore, no drop calls, no drop signals blah blah. I think it is the network not the phone!
Oh noes, the world has come to an end, flee for your lives.....
If you are seriously disappointed that a phone made by imperfect people is not "perfect", then plz just return it and don't come back to this forum.
Unless you are getting dropped/crappy calls all the time, then wtf are you people complaining about? This forum is full of whiners.
Not as much whiners as hysterical people.
I can understand it a bit, since this isn't exactly a cheap phone, and is supposed to be one of the best (if not THE best) devices around.
The thing is that every time a POSSIBLE issue pops up, everyone start going crazy like "OH MY GOD IT'S 100% A PROBLEM THE PHONE IS NOT OK GET ME A DOCTOR"
Instead of, let's say, inspecting the matter rationally, and seeing if there's really a problem.
The Galaxy S has an almost full plastic body. There's no way it could share the iPhone's antenna problem, since the antenna is not exposed to our hands.
That video looks like an attempt to pull attention, for whatever reason. The only way i manage to replicate his results is by putting tinfoil on the back of my hand (which kind of leads me to think- we don't see the back of his hand even once in the video, nor there is sound, so possible raffling cannot be heared)
And even then, the results are not as drastic.
Everyone should calm a bit down and enjoy the device instead of inspecting it under a microscope for problems.
If a problem that affects your use somehow (e.g GPS, lags) appears, THEN do the complaining.
Than you did with your last phone?
For Me, Yes I get some signal loss covering the back, but only in a really poor signal area. If Im in a strong 3g area I cant make a bar drop if I cover the whole phone, and even when signal drops its still fast as can be and no call drops.
Now, compared to my Nexus one, I say its better, If I set my old n1 next to the vibrant, the Vibrant will more than likely be on 3g and the n1 not. The Vibrant has picked up 3g in places my n1 never would, unless of course I switched it to 3g only in settings using the *#*#4636#*#* Trick.
This also goes for my wifes TP2, it also will not pick up 3g as fast as my Vibrant or hold it as well...
SO, For Me, I think the Vibrants reception is better than my old N1 and TP2...... I just wish Tmobile would up their service to more areas. Then I bet we wouldnt see this issue as much.....
SO. Whos happy with their reception? I am....
I cannot attest for the data connection, but my overall phone reception has improved since I got the Vibrant. My previous phone was Nokia N95 - home I would have a choppy phone conversations, in the office I would get no service.
With Vibrant, my calls are crystal clear at home, and I occasionally drop to 2 bars on EDGE in the office from full bar 3G signal, but I never saw the phone loose the signal completely.
Definite better reception. However I'm coming from a Sidekick '08, which wasn't even 3G. Not sure how much difference that makes.
lqaddict said:
I cannot attest for the data connection, but my overall phone reception has improved since I got the Vibrant. My previous phone was Nokia N95 - home I would have a choppy phone conversations, in the office I would get no service.
With Vibrant, my calls are crystal clear at home, and I occasionally drop to 2 bars on EDGE in the office from full bar 3G signal, but I never saw the phone loose the signal completely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats another thing. Holding my n1 in my home over the antenna would totally lose signal. Not this, itll hold it alot longer...
Hell even edge is faster than my other phones...
temperbad said:
thats another thing. Holding my n1 in my home over the antenna would totally lose signal. Not this, itll hold it alot longer...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried the "death grip" but I thought I would physically break my phone before I loose signal all together.
I noticed that I have much less reception on my new vibrant. I use to have full 3g in my house or outside my area with G1. Now I see zero bars to one bar and scattered throughout my area. I know this is a problem with other as well...
i guess my question is if there is any tips to increase the reception like the gps fix. Or if having wifi or gps on help with reception? Or just wait for a update.
Thanks
the vibrant shows less bars of reception than most other phones. However, this doesn't mean it is actually getting less reception. It's all how it displays the signal.
My vibrant is great at holding onto a signal in low coverage areas, much better than my last phone.
zumbahlenm said:
I noticed that I have much less reception on my new vibrant. I use to have full 3g in my house or outside my area with G1. Now I see zero bars to one bar and scattered throughout my area. I know this is a problem with other as well...
i guess my question is if there is any tips to increase the reception like the gps fix. Or if having wifi or gps on help with reception? Or just wait for a update.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i feel the same with my vibrant. i think this phone has the death grip syndrome like the iphone 4. maybe a hard case will help out.
b0ricuaguerrero said:
i feel the same with my vibrant. i think this phone has the death grip syndrome like the iphone 4. maybe a hard case will help out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No other phone has it's antenna made like the iPhone 4, use your brain. NO other phone with an internal antenna or otherwise COVERED antenna will have the same problem as the iPhone
Ok, but I'm with the guys that say their G1 had better reception. I had 2 bars 3g in my house with G1 and only get edge in my house on my Vibrant.
Sent from my Vibrant using the XDA app.
Shagman68 said:
Ok, but I'm with the guys that say their G1 had better reception. I had 2 bars 3g in my house with G1 and only get edge in my house on my Vibrant.
Sent from my Vibrant using the XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G1 doesn't have better reception, just better antenna placement. I'm sure if you moved your hand away from the antenna or put it in the same orientation as the G1 it would pick up 3G. The G1 has a medicre antenna, -101dBm at my house where there is no LOS with ANY cell tower. It would occasionally get worse. That's pathetic. My CLIQ got -91dBm even with my hand blocking the antenna. Not getting 3G doesn't mean the phone has poor reception, it's a number of things and most of them being a weak 3G signal to begin with. First thing to check would be the CID's for the 3G and 2G network around your house to see if they're coming from the same tower.
././. nevermind
well theres something screwy....
g1 def held better calls, i can barely have a phone call with the vibrant cutting out.
I guess i have to take my finger off the antenna?
Have been using my N6P (on Verizon) for a few days now, and compared with my Moto X Pure, the signal on the N6P is really, really bad.... To the point that I might have to return the N6P and stick with the Moto.
Seeing there are many out there praising the N6P's cell reception, it's also possible there might be quality issues with my particular unit.
For those who like the cell reception on their N6P, could you try this simple experiment? Check if covering the visor area with your hand affects cell signal and data transfer speed? (You will inevitably cover part of it when holding the phone horizontally with both hands or just the left hand) On my phone, just loosely covering the visor area with my hand lowers signal by two(!!) bars, and lowers LTE data transfer rate from averaging ~16MBps to less than 10MBps.. In comparison, the Moto X Pure and even the iPhone 6s+ would give much more consistent reception regardless of the way you're holding the phone.
Moto X pureeee is the shizzle
I've been using my 6p for almost twelve hours straight since I received it on Verizon and it gets noticeably better reception than my moto x 2014 ever did. Lte in places the moto would lose signal in and streaming music at insane quality at the same time with no issues. (Yes, I have unlimited) maybe you do have an issue with your 6p!
Bestreception compared to previous devices
Sent from my Nexus 6P
I had to return a GS6 for this reason. Whatever phone I bought next had to be as good as or better than my M8. I was happy to see after comparing with a Signal Reception app that the 6P performs better than the M8. If you are having trouble I'd RMA it now. Poor signal is not an issue for the 6P.
Download "Network Signal Info" and compare the reading. Remember a lower figure is better. -70dBm is better than - 75dBM . Check both phones are on the same cell for a correct comparison.
I'm on Verizon and just came from a moto x pure to nexus 6p and mine has better signal strength and download speeds than the pure.
I also get better signal strength, and it holds onto LTE much longer than my Verizon G4 or Note5 did.
I'm on Tmobile. I get better reception everywhere compared to my Moto X 2014 Pure.
tacosrdelicioso said:
I've been using my 6p for almost twelve hours straight since I received it on Verizon and it gets noticeably better reception than my moto x 2014 ever did. Lte in places the moto would lose signal in and streaming music at insane quality at the same time with no issues. (Yes, I have unlimited) maybe you do have an issue with your 6p!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good to know, thanks!
Could you try the little experiment with the covering the visor? Just hold the phone horizontally with both hands loosely covering the visor and the little plastic area at the bottom, and see if that has an impact on your LTE signal and data transfer speeds? (Since you're also on UDP I won't feel bad wasting your data
I have very good reception on my 6p, on Verizon. Try setting it to lte +cdma only
I'm on Verizon, coming from an HTC One M7, and the reception is exponentially better. Our house has been a signal dead zone for most phones on CDMA, with GSM carriers doing better. With the 6P my reception is clearer than the landline (VOIP) most of the time, and where before calls would deteriorate on the driveway I can now make pretty clear calls from the basement.
I tried your experiment and covered up the vizor - cell reception actually improved briefly the first time! I assume that was a coincidence because I've tried it a few more times, and tried both cell data and wifi and not seen that again.
Covering the vizor does appear to have an effect on the wifi signal, it deteriorates slightly, but (having turned of wifi to test) not on the cell signal/LTE enough to change the display.
So - my conclusion would be there's the possibility of covering the vizor causing interference, but it's not significant in this little test. (Phone has a Verus Case on it, for completeness of data )
sadboyzz said:
That's good to know, thanks!
Could you try the little experiment with the covering the visor? Just hold the phone horizontally with both hands loosely covering the visor and the little plastic area at the bottom, and see if that has an impact on your LTE signal and data transfer speeds? (Since you're also on UDP I won't feel bad wasting your data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my signal to change from -90 to -93 cupping my hands around the visor. Data did slow down a little on the back go back tests. 55mbps down to 47mbps. Not really anything significant
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
tacosrdelicioso said:
I got my signal to change from -90 to -93 cupping my hands around the visor. Data did slow down a little on the back go back tests. 55mbps down to 47mbps. Not really anything significant
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for doing the test!
So from what I can tell, at least this does seem like a general issue and not a quality issue with my unit, but the weaker the signal in the area, the more noticeable the "horizontal grip" problem becomes. For me, gripping the visor area and the bottom plastic area lowers signal strength from ~-110dbM to ~-116dbM, and LTE speed from ~16Mbps to ~10Mbps, and it's consistently reproduceable every time.
Rainstalk said:
I have very good reception on my 6p, on Verizon. Try setting it to lte +cdma only
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, tried that and "Global", doesn't seem to make any difference.
sadboyzz said:
Thanks for doing the test!
So from what I can tell, at least this does seem like a general issue and not a quality issue with my unit, but the weaker the signal in the area, the more noticeable the "horizontal grip" problem becomes..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually noticed this the very first day when I got the phone. I was at work where signal was either very weak or non existent, and I noticed anytime I was trying to surf the Web with my palm covering the bottom plastic area, the Web page wouldn't load until I moved my hand away and uncovered it. My first thought was "ruh roh, antenna gate".. But it only acted this way with very poor signal. When I'm anywhere with decent signal, this phone gets better reception than any other phone I've had.
I have to day I've had phenomenal reception with this phone. My Samsung phones sucked... And my G3 was much better... But this blows the G3 out of the water. My work is a cinder block fortress where cell signal goes to die.... But this phone gets 4g signal where no other phone of mine did.
Just a followup, turned out to be defective unit. The symptoms were subtle, I'd get wild signal fluctuations, from 3 bars to no bars for no reason. But what pushed me over the edge was that I was also getting random wifi disconnects. So I talked to customer support and Google sent a replacement with zero hassles, which has been working flawlessly so far.
Overall, I'd say signal wise it's on par with the Moto X Pure, which is also the best of all the phones I've used.
sadboyzz said:
Just a followup, turned out to be defective unit. The symptoms were subtle, I'd get wild signal fluctuations, from 3 bars to no bars for no reason. But what pushed me over the edge was that I was also getting random wifi disconnects. So I talked to customer support and Google sent a replacement with zero hassles, which has been working flawlessly so far.
Overall, I'd say signal wise it's on par with the Moto X Pure, which is also the best of all the phones I've used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got it worked out. My daughter takes soccer lessons at a place that is a steel building. It's a low signal area anyway outside the building but inside nobody gets service.... Att, sprint, Verizon... Nothing. Other parents with iphones, galaxies... My old G3. Nothing. Non of them really get a usable signal inside. Last night I was able to surf/Facebook/twitter... You name it. Everything worked. I've never had a usable signal like this on any phone I've ever used. For that alone this phone rules.
On T-Mobile here, signal has been good for me. At my work building it does seem to hold onto the LTE band a bit better than my M9 that keeps switching between LTE and HSPA+ so frequently that I have to set it to HSPA+ only. So I have seen a moderate increase in cell reception in the phone versus my M9. But I also have a GS6 and I'd say the cell reception is pretty close to that.
One thing I noticed kind of weird is that it goes to showing all bars when just at -97 dbm. That's probably a stock 6.0 thing that's with all phones on 6.0 version. But weird considering on the scale of dbm, that's on kind of the low end. That should really be like 2 out of 4 bars, or 3 out of 5 bars.
I can render Bluetooth completely useless gripping the visor area. But all phones do this if you can find the correct area to block. Usually things like cell signal and WiFi just degrade unless it's already borderline. All phones do this.
Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P