Database Users

reception sucks!

I hate to say it but I am having 3g issues. By that I mean no 3g and one to two bars. Usually I have perfect reception.
Sent from my ADR6300 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

i've noticed on the incredible that my displayed signal strength isn't as strong as it is on my droid. haven't noticed a difference in call reception or data speeds though...yet.

Eris users have noticed the same thing as you bzbz when compared to the Droid. Could be the cpu or something else HTC vs Motorola.

i've noticed on the incredible that my displayed signal strength isn't as strong as it is on my droid. haven't noticed a difference in call reception or data speeds though...yet.
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I noticed the same thing but my download/upload speeds are just as fast if not faster. I gave my Droid to my mom and took her upgrade so I have both side by side, off WiFi downloading a movie and the Incredible is actually 20-50kbs faster than my old Droid and yes the Droid is over clocked with petes 1ghz kernel.

I have had the Incredible for a couple of days, and I've noticed a lower displayed signal strength than I'd see on my Droid in the same locations.
But I've not experienced any reception issues, and my internet speed seems the same or faster.
This is what I expected. We all know that you can't count on those reception bars to compare different phones, and also that Moto tends to have better radios/reception than everyone else anyway. As long as you're phone's radio is close to Moto's in the ability to make/receive calls, then normally you're not doing bad.

well it's good to know that the signal strength concern may be more of a "cosmetic" issue than a legitimate performance issue.

daftlush said:
I hate to say it but I am having 3g issues. By that I mean no 3g and one to two bars. Usually I have perfect reception.
Sent from my ADR6300 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
how is the quality on said reception? Other people's replies seem to indicate good quality even with less bars.

BzBz said:
well it's good to know that the signal strength concern may be more of a "cosmetic" issue than a legitimate performance issue.
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Click to collapse
This...
It is definitely cosmetic, the newest radio i have installed on my eris does the same. The reception on my eris is better then my friends with the older radio, but he has more 3G bars.

designerfx said:
how is the quality on said reception? Other people's replies seem to indicate good quality even with less bars.
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Click to collapse
It may just be the way HTC displays the signal. I know on the Touch Pro 2 and Touch Pro, the signal indicator frequently shows incorrect (lower) signal strength but works fine.

I compared signal strength between my BB Curve 8330 and my new Incredible.
In spite of the indicated signal strength being lower on the Incredible, the dBm was the same. It's only one location and one user, but I suspect it's not an actual signal strength issue.

i used my incredible all day. i work in a downtown area with many tall building surrounded and i still got a good 3g signal and speed.
from Boston.

the 3G speeds on my incredible are slower that my 2G G1 running on AT&T. i get les than 200 kbps downstream. My friend with a droid standing in the same room will get aound 1100 Kbps. What gives??

if you are haveing a tough time with a signal.. I update my roaming towers... I had an issue today where I couldn't get much.. I did *228 option 2 and it updated my roaming towers and have had no problems since... sometimes you need to do that with a new phone so it knows exactly what towers to look for

tried the *228 to update. Update was successful but no improvment. still have very slow data speeds and terrible call quality. reception stays about around -100 dBm

I'm also noticing what appears to be poor reception. I was getting better reception with my Droid than I am with Incredible. I've tried the *228 last night and this morning but that hasn't helped. Hopefully there will eventually be some kind of software fix for this. I'm seeing other threads on other sites with the same kind of complaints so I don't think it's a select few who are experiencing this issue.

hoop762 said:
the 3G speeds on my incredible are slower that my 2G G1 running on AT&T. i get les than 200 kbps downstream. My friend with a droid standing in the same room will get aound 1100 Kbps. What gives??
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Your speed will depend on what tower your connected to. on my Eris, I've gone from 1mbps/0.70mbps in New York, NY to 2mbps/2mbps in West Haven, CT. It's not the phone. The newer radio on the Incredible will show less bars, but your signal strength will be fine .(dBm)

My phone keeps dropping 3G my droid never has done this in the location the incredible is. I will go into airplane mode then back out and I will have 3g again

Over at Androidforums there is a thread going regarding reception issues. On page 2 is some help in running a debug on the phone that will give you dbm levels and some other info. I'm not sure how to use the info the debug gives but perhaps it may be of some use to someone here.
The link is http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/70223-weak-signal-strength.html

rckeystone said:
Over at Androidforums there is a thread going regarding reception issues. On page 2 is some help in running a debug on the phone that will give you dbm levels and some other info. I'm not sure how to use the info the debug gives but perhaps it may be of some use to someone here.
The link is http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/70223-weak-signal-strength.html
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Click to collapse
You don't need to go into field test mode like this guy said, all you need to do is from the home screen > menu > setting > about phone > network.
Here you will see signal strength (typical between -100 to -80dBm) the closer to 0 you are the better your signal is (ie: 80dBm > 90dBm)
Hope that clears up some confusion. I've tested both the motodroid and the incredible side by side in a location with low signal and can say that my incredible gets better signal than the droid, even though the "bars" don't indicate as such.

my signal always stays at -81, is that a good thing?
im a new android and 3g user

Possible bug in Fascinate's signal strength

I believe there is a bug in the signal strength indication on the Fascinate, the one that shows the signal strength in -dBm.
You can see the signal strength of the cell signal on the Menu, Settings, About, Status screen. Or you can place a widget on your Home screen. There are several widgets available, I'm using Mobile Signal Widget.
I have a network extender, which basically creates a cell tower right in your home. With my Motorola Droid, I used to get signal strengths down to about -50 something and 60's in indicated signal strength. I can hold both of our Fascinates right next to the network extender's antenna and they will read no better than -86 dBm. So far I've seen signal strengths from -86 dBm to -106 dBm (terrible).
I believe there is a bug in the software (Baseband) on the Fascinate. Previously, I thought the hardware (antenna/radio) wasn't very good, but now it may be software related.
Has anyone seen a signal strength stronger than -86 dBm on the Fascinate?

That's a good point. Mine has never gone below -86dbm either. It fluctuates between -86 at it's best and -106 at it's worst.

Ill keep an eye on this with my phone
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

I have no experience with cell phone radios so take this with the appropriate helping of salt.
Most radios have input protection that attenuates any signals greater than a set maximum level to prevent damage to the radio. I'm guessing the Fascinate reports it's receive signal level post input protection. It appears you just discovered this threshold for the Fascinate. Honestly, -86 dBm is plenty of signal, anything more is just for show
Again, I'm only speculating here.
Martian21

Interesting theory. I have emailed Verizon support as well. Hopefully, I will get a technical response and not a canned response from them.

With mine, it only fluctuates in -5dBm increments lol. I thought it was a litle wierd. I've seen -86, -91, -96, -101, and -106 lol.
As far as what the OP is talking about, my BB Tour (alltel) is the same way. It won't ever display anything lower than a -80.

Anyone else have a consistently high TWS(Time Without Signal) percentage? Mine almost never goes below 50%, and I've seen it up in the 80s. I think my battery life is really suffering from this. You can see yours in Settings > About Phone > Battery Use > Cell Standby. I've tried a few "fixes" that I've found through researching the issue on other android phones in general, but haven't seen any results.

shazbonk said:
Anyone else have a consistently high TWS(Time Without Signal) percentage? Mine almost never goes below 50%, and I've seen it up in the 80s. I think my battery life is really suffering from this. You can see yours in Settings > About Phone > Battery Use > Cell Standby. I've tried a few "fixes" that I've found through researching the issue on other android phones in general, but haven't seen any results.
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Click to collapse
I was thinking about this the other day. Is it possible "time without signal" is simply a poor translation? The reason I ask this is when taking my phone off the charger overnight, I went directly to this setting to see what it reported. The phone reported having been unplugged for 2 minutes and already showed 5% TWS. I had been looking at the phone the whole time and didn't see it drop at all. What I did see is it going from 3G w/ arrows to 3Gd. So maybe this percentage isn't time without signal but rather time not active (i.e. 3G d).

I agree w/ the 3g d, I did not update to DI01 yet and it said I have 20% TWS throughout the day, but the phone didnt make a no service sound.

On my drive home everday I pass a Verizon owned tower.
I've stopped at a liquor store about 200 yards away from it and they maximum signal my Fascinate would pull down was -86dBm (4 bars as well).
My Cell Standby is usually around 11%.
Battery life of my Fascinate is very good.

xliderider: Any news/word from Verizon on this? What kind of Network Extender do you have? Got a brand/model #? Been thinking of picking something up like this.

So it isn't just my phone. My Fascinate goes from -86 to -106 as well. I had my Droid and Fascinate sitting next to each other, both reporting 4 bars. I went into status, and my Droid's signal strength was -77. The Fascinate was at -86. It's gotta be capped.

You're holding it wrong.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

You are probably right. With 4 full bars I can't get better than -86

I've been having the same problem...I was told by Verizon that it just has a "weaker" antenna. I go throughout the day with about 20% TWS. Never had that with my other Verizon phones.

do you get dropped calls or otherwise poor service?

I am returning my incredible due to dropped calls (while at home) using Verizons network Extender. I have had the incredible since April 29th (I believe that was the first day it was released). I have had the signal boosted twice by Verizon but still can't get close to 40' without dropping. One thing I noticed on the incredible while in the same room with the Extender is it would read let's say a -86dbm before placing a call then when placed and on the Extender network the signal would automatically go to -56dbm (stronger signal than -86dbm) and then back up after my call. What I saw was the Extender wasn't active until you make a call... Having said that, I am hoping the Fascinate will be better than the inc was... I will let you know when the Fascinate gets to me Wed or Thursday.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

Got the Facinate a day early : )
So far it is defiantly working better than my Incredible on my verizon network extender!
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Mines 0%
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Sounds like it could have the same problem that affected the Vibrant. It NEVER showed higher than -81dBm, and would often reflect no signal (-0dBm is spectacular but it really means no signal within the Android system). Now with the update it reflects up to -51dBm like it should for GSM/WCDMA with Android and doesn't drop to -0dBm anymore. This of course effected the bars, often dropping to no bars or 1. Now after it's been fixed, plenty of bars and proper -dBm readings.

[BUG] Signal Strenght Indicator

so here i got 3 Android phones
all sitting on the same spot
2 of them (SGS / XT720) shows 3 or 4 bars signal strength, but SNS only shows 1 bar, 2 at best.
however a quick test using 3G speedtest confirms the same download/upload speed as the 2 other phones.
and there's no problem calling even when it only shows 1 bar.
Can any body confirm this?

Go to settings > about phone > status and post the signal strength of each of them (should be in dBa). If they're the same, then ya either the SGS phones are overinflating their strength or the Nexus is reporting lower than it should.
AllGamer said:
so here i got 3 Android phones
all sitting on the same spot
2 of them (SGS / XT720) shows 3 or 4 bars signal strength, but SNS only shows 1 bar, 2 at best.
however a quick test using 3G speedtest confirms the same download/upload speed as the 2 other phones.
and there's no problem calling even when it only shows 1 bar.
Can any body confirm this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

your prolly just holding it wrong
*sarcasm*

slowz3r said:
your prolly just holding it wrong
*sarcasm*
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Click to collapse
I c wut u did thur!
Touche, good sir, touche.

SGS -97 dBm 8 asu
SNS -107 dBm 5 asu
XT720 -84 dBm 7 asu
does that mean anything to you guys?

AllGamer said:
SGS -97 dBm 8 asu
SNS -107 dBm 5 asu
XT720 -84 dBm 7 asu
does that mean anything to you guys?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seems like it is displaying signal strength wrong, I believe it is the farther from 0 the better the signal
im at -75 and full bars 3G

anyways... that's what i'm saying the actual usage is good, and 3G speed is good
but the bar indicator is always like in 1 bar or 2 bar... which is kinda wrong

AllGamer said:
anyways... that's what i'm saying the actual usage is good, and 3G speed is good
but the bar indicator is always like in 1 bar or 2 bar... which is kinda wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try restarting your phone? so it re-associates itself with the network

that would have been the first thing i do when i try to nail a bug
that's why i wanted to hear the experiences from the rest of you
just trying to find out if this is a bug specific to my phone, or if it's something that is affecting everyone

-97db with three bars displayed here.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

The farther it is from 0 in the negative, the worse the strength is. The best strength I've ever seen on an android phone was -69. Worst is in the -100's so it looks like the Nexus is actually getting worse signal, not just reporting worse...maybe an antenna problem =(

dinan said:
The farther it is from 0 in the negative, the worse the strength is. The best strength I've ever seen on an android phone was -69. Worst is in the -100's so it looks like the Nexus is actually getting worse signal, not just reporting worse...maybe an antenna problem =(
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quite the opposite, 0 is just a reference point, the farther from zero the better

Mine is -101 with 2 bars.

I'm not sure where you're getting this from, but you're saying -100dbm is better signal reception than -70dbm? If that's the case then the signal strength reporting is completely reversed... as I have full bars in my apartment and it shows -72dbm, and at work I have 1 to 0 bars and it says -101dbm. It's been like this for all of my phones.
Also speed tests at home give me 500k/s down and 50k/s up while at work I only get 60k/s down and 20k/s up...
slowz3r said:
quite the opposite, 0 is just a reference point, the farther from zero the better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

AllGamer said:
SGS -97 dBm 8 asu
SNS -107 dBm 5 asu
XT720 -84 dBm 7 asu
does that mean anything to you guys?
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Click to collapse
It seems like the SNS is getting far worse ACTUAL reception than the other two phone.
-107 is very bad comparing to -97 and -84.
Are all 3 phones on the same carrier?

clubtech said:
It seems like the SNS is getting far worse ACTUAL reception than the other two phone.
-107 is very bad comparing to -97 and -84.
Are all 3 phones on the same carrier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XT720 and SNS both are on Wind 1700/2100
SGS is on Fido 850/1900

AllGamer said:
XT720 and SNS both are on Wind 1700/2100
SGS is on Fido 850/1900
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Click to collapse
That's interesting as there is a huge difference between the SNS and the XT720.
-84dbm means very good reception and -107 is at the end of the workable spectrum (at -113 you basically can not place calls).
I am also noticing very bad reception on my SNS but i thought that it is due to T-Mobile's crappy network. i have no other T-mobile device to compare it with though so i start to wonder if its the Nexus S that has crappy reception or T-mobile.
Try to do more tests in other locations with the XT720 and the SNS and see if you always see such a huge difference when both devices are in exactly the same spot.
I am interested in your findings.

And as for your initial question, there is no bug in the signal indicator as -107db is very bad signal so the indicator is correct.

Okay please allow me to clear up some misunderstanding in this thread...
First of all, dBm is a logarithmic measure of signal strength with respect to 1mW. So, a smaller (i.e. more negative) reading means that you have lower signal strength.
Just to give an example: -50dBm is a much better signal than -100dBm.
Alright, so now let's move on to the next issue: You can't compare signal strength on two phones which are running on different networks. Why? It's possible that you have a strong signal from Fido and a weak signal from Wind, or vice-versa. If you want to compare the RF capabilities of two phones, you should make sure that they are connected to the same network and even the same cell (you can check the service menu to make sure that they are on the same cell).
And finally: The Settings>About Phone>Status is usually not a very accurate measure of signal strength, since they are rounded off to some pre-determined list of values (So for example, if it is jumping between -100 and -110, it might actually be jumping between -104 and -105). You should instead go to the phone's service menu (i.e. you type in some code into the keypad) where you will get an exact measurement.

My friend happened to have the XT720 while I have SNS, and we happened to be at a same location where my SNS can't maintain the connection (only able to connect at one room spot with 0 bars and unable to hear a thing due to choppy voice when I tried to check voicemail) and XT720 still got 2~3 bars anywhere in the room and able to make phone calls. We are both from same carrier. We left our phone on table side by side without touching it. So despite the bars on phone nor the signal number in setting menu, real life experience tells me XT720 does have better reception than SNS sadly D: I was embarassed that night when other friends laughted at my supposely better phone

G2 signal attenuation - any better?

I briefly had a G2 and quickly returned it to T-Mo and stayed with Verizon due to the signal attenuation issues I had. Additionally, I saw numerous posts about this on AF, XDA, T-Mo Forums and a few other places I cannot remember. My question is, have the software updates that have been pushed through helped this problem any? I really liked this phone, aside from the signal problems and now with it being free through the 20th at T-Mo, I would like to give it another shot, but not if I am going to have more problems.
For those who are wondering what I am talking about, the G2 issues I (and many others) had were similar to the problems iPhone 4 users had where the signal dropped down to very low or nothing by simply holding the phone. I could sit at my desk and watch it go from an H with full bars, then drop to E, to no service, then it would gradually return when I placed it back on my desk.
Additionally, the reason I made a post about this is that the forum topics about this seem to just have stopped, nobody really seems to be screaming "it's fixed!!!" So just trying to get some input as to whether it really is fixed.
Thanks for your input!

ive noticed this as well. It usually happens when I surf the web. No idea? It is annoying but it won't cause me to send it back. I love it too much compared to all the others i've gone through. I'm sure they will isolate the problem and it will get better. (here's hoping)

Never had any places on the phone that I touch where signal will just drop, though out here in the middle of practically nowhere my signal will randomly drop sometimes regardless of what I'm doing with the phone.

I think I suffer from this as well. It constantly drops my data, especially at my house. If I set it on my desk with mobile hotspot it works great, and I'm not touching it so I may have issues with that

I've yet to have this happen. Constant h in my status bar and signal is strong.
Probably a defect phone?
Sent from my Pear phone.

It happens. It happens with every phone, including the G2. It just depends on where the antenna is and how it's held. You can play around with attenuation by enabling dBm signal strength in CM.
To enable it, go to Settings > CyanogenMod Settings > User interface > Status bar > Check Show dBm.
dBm is measured in negative numbers. A higher (less negative) number indicates higher signal strength.
-80dBm is stronger than -100dBm for example.

This is actually a non-issue.
Explanation:
The phone actually picks up signal BETTER than other phones... especially when the signal is weak. The effect that you are seeing is actually the reception returning to a *normal* level when you happen to be holding it in some particular way.
I have two phones; an HTC DREAM and an HTC VISION. Sitting on my desk at work, the DREAM will show 0-1 bars, but connected, the VISION will show 2-3 bars. Holding both in my hand, the DREAM will continue to show 0-1 bars, the VISION will drop to 0-1 bars and both will read the same dBm. Same signal when held, the VISION is just more sensitive (i.e. sensitive in terms of able to hang on to a weaker signal, not sensitive in terms of flakiness).
In contrast to apple junk, the apple junk actually has the antenna wrapped around the outside of the phone. When you hold it in your hand and the signal drops, it isn't suffering from attenuation, its being GROUNDED OUT.

dhkr123 said:
This is actually a non-issue.
Explanation:
The phone actually picks up signal BETTER than other phones... especially when the signal is weak. The effect that you are seeing is actually the reception returning to a *normal* level when you happen to be holding it in some particular way.
I have two phones; an HTC DREAM and an HTC VISION. Sitting on my desk at work, the DREAM will show 0-1 bars, but connected, the VISION will show 2-3 bars. Holding both in my hand, the DREAM will continue to show 0-1 bars, the VISION will drop to 0-1 bars and both will read the same dBm. Same signal when held, the VISION is just more sensitive (i.e. sensitive in terms of able to hang on to a weaker signal, not sensitive in terms of flakiness).
In contrast to apple junk, the apple junk actually has the antenna wrapped around the outside of the phone. When you hold it in your hand and the signal drops, it isn't suffering from attenuation, its being GROUNDED OUT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whatever the cause is, the phone was unusable when I held it in my hand normally. The only semi-fix was to hold the phone at the top near the earpiece, which was uncomfortable...or never touch it.

miller7796 said:
Whatever the cause is, the phone was unusable when I held it in my hand normally. The only semi-fix was to hold the phone at the top near the earpiece, which was uncomfortable...or never touch it.
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Click to collapse
Seems like you just have a poor signal or faulty phone to begin with. I don't have that issue at all. In fact this phone seems to hold a data connection in weak areas better than my previous android phone did. If yours was that bad then there was something horribly wrong that warrants replacement.
You may also try CM7, it seems to keep a signal even better than my current ROM does. Not sure why, maybe it's just a placebo effect.

Humm, no issues with Wifi, H or G3 dropping, Bell network though, BUT when I switch from H/ G3 to wifi, if I am on bluetooth, it gets all garbled and I have to hangup call. I would think a location issue or some form of interference you guys are having.

KCRic said:
Seems like you just have a poor signal or faulty phone to begin with. I don't have that issue at all. In fact this phone seems to hold a data connection in weak areas better than my previous android phone did. If yours was that bad then there was something horribly wrong that warrants replacement.
You may also try CM7, it seems to keep a signal even better than my current ROM does. Not sure why, maybe it's just a placebo effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, I'm positive that the sentiment is that the radio hardware does suck and there are definite attenuation challenges. I've now verified this through a myriad of different Desire Z's here.
At my work desk I get HSPA and HSPA+ speeds at times. However holding it drops it down so there are 0 bars and it stays on HSPA, drops to 3G with no bars, back up to HSPA, etc... lots of unnecessary band switching whereas other handsets will not do this. They'll get a lower signal/dB all together though. And their attenuation is a lot less.
If you hold the phone upright the reception is much better. Drop it down and hold it in landscape mode and there is an immediate drop and sometimes it begins switching bands depending on the service area you're in. It can be quite annoying being right on the cusp because that's a huge battery killer.
I really wish there was at least some modest software fixes to accommodate for this flaw. I know that much can't be done hardware wise at this point but I think some improvements should be attainable through updates and optimizations. Hears to hoping because I love my Desire Z!!

bongd said:
Nah, I'm positive that the sentiment is that the radio hardware does suck and there are definite attenuation challenges. I've now verified this through a myriad of different Desire Z's here.
At my work desk I get HSPA and HSPA+ speeds at times. However holding it drops it down so there are 0 bars and it stays on HSPA, drops to 3G with no bars, back up to HSPA, etc... lots of unnecessary band switching whereas other handsets will not do this. They'll get a lower signal/dB all together though. And their attenuation is a lot less.
If you hold the phone upright the reception is much better. Drop it down and hold it in landscape mode and there is an immediate drop and sometimes it begins switching bands depending on the service area you're in. It can be quite annoying being right on the cusp because that's a huge battery killer.
I really wish there was at least some modest software fixes to accommodate for this flaw. I know that much can't be done hardware wise at this point but I think some improvements should be attainable through updates and optimizations. Hears to hoping because I love my Desire Z!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I experience this the most when I browse the web since I usually browse with the keyboard open.

There is a SIGNIFICANT amount of drop in Wi-Fi signal strenght whem the keyboard is open and your hand is covering the left side (top for portrait). However when the keyboard is closed and you cover the TOP again the signal drop is maybe by 1 bar....
As far as 3G/4G to EDGR drops are concerned.... that can be taken care of... if you go into radio diagnostics (*#*4636#*#* > Phone information) and selecting WCDMA ONLY...... this will prevent phone going into EDGE if minor fluctuations occur in the cell signal. Mind you, this option is only useful if you are in a GOOD 3G/HSPA+ coverage area....
Cheers

funkadesi said:
There is a SIGNIFICANT amount of drop in Wi-Fi signal strenght whem the keyboard is open and your hand is covering the left side (top for portrait). However when the keyboard is closed and you cover the TOP again the signal drop is maybe by 1 bar....
As far as 3G/4G to EDGR drops are concerned.... that can be taken care of... if you go into radio diagnostics (*#*4636#*#* > Phone information) and selecting WCDMA ONLY...... this will prevent phone going into EDGE if minor fluctuations occur in the cell signal. Mind you, this option is only useful if you are in a GOOD 3G/HSPA+ coverage area....
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just remember to change it back to allowing Edge if you are going to travel outside the 3G/HSPA area.

I have noticed this since day one. It was very obvious at weak signal locations such as were I work. Inside a steel building with 20 machines running on 480 volts. I have enabled 180 degree rotation in CM settings and have used it this way so much that I have no doubt that the signal is reduced when the phone is held the "normal" way, in either hand. If I hold it upside down, trackpade at top, then it is fine.... also if the H signal is strong, more than 2 bars.. then it doesn't matter how you hold it.
I have compared this to my G1, that I still own. And the problem is that the G2 seems to have trouble switching from weak H to weak E and I can replicate a loss of signal everytime. I mean that an"x" Is displayed over the signal strength meter. And I can not make calls. This never happened on the G1. I have even disabled the ability to use H and it solved the problem. So then I took the htclib_ril.so from the G1 and used it in the G2. This didn't seem to change much.... So I believe that it IS a problem with the radio, or a problem in the librilswitch.so that does not get referenced in the G1 build.prop. But is in the G2...
If anyone knows how to make adjustments to when the phone switches from H to 3G to G to E I would really like to know. I think it could be the solution we need....
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

When I check my phone it always say HSPA and never HSPA+ whats up when will I know if I'm on 4G I'm in a 4G market Philly!!

I received my G2 yesterday, and it is a lot better at handling a signal when you hold it in your hand. There's still a slight drop in reception when you hold the phone, but more of what you should expect to happen rather than a complete drop down to the dreaded X. Still testing it out a for a few days before deciding to drop Verizon, but I sure do like that I can talk and use data at the same time on the G2.

I've had this problem with my new G2. With either the stock ROM or CM 6.1.1 when I hold it the signal drops. This is a non-issue in areas where there's good coverage, but at my house where the signal is quite weak this usually means the difference between signal and no signal. If I don't hold it the signal improves. My Cliq gets better signal here than my G2 does. Also, the Cliq doesn't suffer any noticeable signal issues when I'm holding it.
It's funny, as I go about my daily routine with my G2 instead of my Cliq, I notice these things. I get much weaker signal in certain areas with my G2 where I got acceptable signal with my Cliq.

trees247 said:
When I check my phone it always say HSPA and never HSPA+ whats up when will I know if I'm on 4G I'm in a 4G market Philly!!
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I don't believe there's an HSPA+ icon. Just H.
Try using the Speedtest.net app to check your speeds. There's no HSPA+ on my network but I still get decent speeds. I just wish coverage was better so I wouldn't switch bands and lose signal all the time. The radio hardware on the G2/DZ sucks!

dhilberg said:
I've had this problem with my new G2. With either the stock ROM or CM 6.1.1 when I hold it the signal drops. This is a non-issue in areas where there's good coverage, but at my house where the signal is quite weak this usually means the difference between signal and no signal. If I don't hold it the signal improves. My Cliq gets better signal here than my G2 does. Also, the Cliq doesn't suffer any noticeable signal issues when I'm holding it.
It's funny, as I go about my daily routine with my G2 instead of my Cliq, I notice these things. I get much weaker signal in certain areas with my G2 where I got acceptable signal with my Cliq.
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The only option I have found yet,(limited time to tinker) is to turn on 180 degree rotation and hold the phone "upside down" it seems to work every time.... So when I am in a place that has weak signal and I need to use data, I flip it around, and it works fine.... I know this is lame considering I paid so much for the phone but.... it does work.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

signal strength gives no indication of 4g speed?

Experimenting with modems to try and find a better one and came across something very irritating. It seems after my testing that the number of bars of signal and the signal strength reported in Network Signal Info seem to have no relation what so ever to the 4g data speed you may get.
Earlier I was testing with 4 out of 6 bars of signal, NSI showing 94dbm and something like 60% signal.....and I consistently got speed tests of around 1mbps or less and even that was slow and stuttery. On other occasions with only a 40% signal at 106dbm in NSI I was able to get 22mbps in speed tests. All these tests were done using the same speedtest server as well as subjective testing by running various apps and seeing how quick or slow they were (and the performance of all the apps matched the performance of the download tests). So what the hell is going on? It looks like signal strength has nothing to do with the 4g connection speeds.
Is the signal strength even indicating the strength of the 4g signal or is it merely indicating the strength of the phone signal because that's what it kinda looks like.
I am on EE UK with their 'double speed' 4g (which gives me 97.5mbps download when at home with a perfect signal).

ewokuk said:
Experimenting with modems to try and find a better one and came across something very irritating. It seems after my testing that the number of bars of signal and the signal strength reported in Network Signal Info seem to have no relation what so ever to the 4g data speed you may get.
Earlier I was testing with 4 out of 6 bars of signal, NSI showing 94dbm and something like 60% signal.....and I consistently got speed tests of around 1mbps or less and even that was slow and stuttery. On other occasions with only a 40% signal at 106dbm in NSI I was able to get 22mbps in speed tests. All these tests were done using the same speedtest server as well as subjective testing by running various apps and seeing how quick or slow they were (and the performance of all the apps matched the performance of the download tests). So what the hell is going on? It looks like signal strength has nothing to do with the 4g connection speeds.
Is the signal strength even indicating the strength of the 4g signal or is it merely indicating the strength of the phone signal because that's what it kinda looks like.
I am on EE UK with their 'double speed' 4g (which gives me 97.5mbps download when at home with a perfect signal).
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Yes, in fact the signal strength and data speed are different things and they do (most likely) not affect to each other.
By detailed, signal strength is depend on if you are far or near from the mobile tower.
While data speed depend on many other factors: max capability of the network, your subscription with the service provider, and the congestion on the network.
The signal strength will also impact on data speed, but only when you are very far from the tower, when the signal strength is very weak. That may impact the data speed.

Exactly what I was afraid of. This would mean it is not even possible to test how good your signal is (for data) without running endless speed tests (which are going to kill your data usage in no time). There is no other way to test data strength?

ewokuk said:
Exactly what I was afraid of. This would mean it is not even possible to test how good your signal is (for data) without running endless speed tests (which are going to kill your data usage in no time). There is no other way to test data strength?
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The term "data strength" has no meaning. If you want to test for signal strength, it is the received level. If you want to test for data speed, there is no way without actually testing it.
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