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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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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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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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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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

A cross-country trip, the Froyo Radio and what it might mean to you!

So I just recently took a trip from northern California to Tennessee and had some interesting results with the Froyo radio. For reference I own the ATT-version Nexus One and have data roaming enabled.
When I used the phone before Froyo radio I had many problems with the 3G switching to Edge and back when needed which caused random data dropouts. Even turning the phone off and back wouldn't force the phone to switch connections to Edge when needed which would make me very frustrated in times of need.
On my trip I found something very interesting, not only did 3G and Edge switch almost perfectly, but Edge performed MUCH faster than before. While it isn't as important now in a world of 3G coverage, when I was on the "edge" of civilization I still got surfing speeds that were not far behind that of 3G speeds. My browsing, and most importantly Google Maps usage rarely suffered a performance hit despite where I was or what type of connection was available to my phone.
There was a difference between performance; 3G would act like Comcast and Edge would be a little behind, but in terms of actually surfing the Internet the extra 2-5 seconds it took to load up a desktop webpage didn't make a difference.
Technically the bandwidth speeds were much different. 3G performed from 1 to a max of 2 megabits down and .3-1 megabits up, while Edge showed speeds of 300-500 kbps down and 100-200 up.
One thing I did notice throughout the trip is the Nexus One's signal meter did not report correctly, there were times where it showed no signal and I had super fast connection, and also times when it would show full or near-full bars and there was no connection.
Hope someone finds this info useful!!! I'm very happy with the coverage my Nexus One gets with the Froyo radio now!

I have always found that my nexus holds calls and has fast data showing zero bars. One reason I've always loved the nexus

Just a point of clarification, EDGE has a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 473.6 kbits/s for 8 timeslots.
In real world conditions EDGE should have throughput of 236.8kbit/s with 4 timeslots(which is what most carriers employ).
Dan

Wonder if there's and app/mod to replace the signal bar with the actual signal #s?

Hey Sellitus, what else did you find working/not working on that trip?
I am considering a longer drive (SF to NY) and want to know about battery life, apps that were really handy, and which weren't.

SiNJiN76 said:
Wonder if there's and app/mod to replace the signal bar with the actual signal #s?
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hey that would be nice. just like how cyanogen puts the battery percentage, it would be nice to have the dBm level of signal overtop of the signal meter.

RogerPodacter said:
hey that would be nice. just like how cyanogen puts the battery percentage, it would be nice to have the dBm level of signal overtop of the signal meter.
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The dBm and signal bar IMO opinion are rather pointless in regards to data. Having a very poor 3G signal will always be faster than a full GPRS signal.

Also, a signal meter in terms of DB would jump around quite a bit...

sprinkles said:
Hey Sellitus, what else did you find working/not working on that trip?
I am considering a longer drive (SF to NY) and want to know about battery life, apps that were really handy, and which weren't.
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Click to collapse
Well for ATT I hit data roaming quite a few times, and although it worked on edge pretty quickly during those times it would randomly drop when the R was showing randomly. I think what happened a lot on the trip is when I was out in the middle of nowhere bouncing between towers would cause random dropouts, but they were usually no more than a few seconds.
I don't remember which apps specifically though a few also did not like the trip, but most would hang and resume in a few seconds after data was reconnected even if the signal strength showed it was connected the entire time with signal. Sometimes Google Maps hung, though it was rare and I noticed it more because I used it near constantly on the trip.
If I were to give advice to anyone looking at a cross country trip, buy a map or get offline GPS maps to help. We bought a map and it proved valuable at times, though we rarely needed it.

I wonder if the "enable data while roaming" setting had anything to do with that. Maybe an internal bug.

torchedlh said:
Also, a signal meter in terms of DB would jump around quite a bit...
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I don't know how a number jumping around would be any different than a graphical signal meter jumping around. The iPhone has had this hack for a long time where you can replace the signal meter with the dBm reading. Though I've never owned the iPhone, but seen it on friend's iPhone before.
I know I'm often going into the android settings to look at my dBm reading, didn't jump around too much for me to see.

I've been having some reception issue lately with AT&T around my hometown (usually its quite good),so I did some googling, and found plenty of info on radio signal, and how to interpret -dBm, but I'm still baffled by the ASU. I really couldn't find much, just some random post on a random forum that left me with some questions:
In a 3G network your cell phone tries to open three channels to three radios so they can locate you and hand you off properly.
Those three channels make up you ACTIVE SET.
ASU is ACTIVE SET UPDATES or the rate at which your phone is able to update its location to the towers/radios.
This rate is affected by signal strength, load, and probably a lot of other factors that I haven't puzzled out yet.
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Can anyone shed some more light on this? Usually at home I have 2 bars of HSDPA, somehwere in the -90s dBm, and anywhere from 4-8 asu.

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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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.

Weird reception issues?

So I've had the phone for 2 weeks now, and I finally activated it yesterday. To my dismay, I am not getting reception in the common areas of my house. I'm on T-Mobile and their coverage map says that I should be getting "Good" reception in my area. But it seems like the reception just goes in and out. If I am using my phone in my hands while sitting on the couch in my living room, I get no reception. However I left the phone sitting on the couch and went to get a drink, and when I came back I had received 2 texts. Wtf?
The same thing happens in my room. When I'm leaning against the stairs to my loft bed, I get no bars. However, if I move literally 6 inches to the left, I get 3 bars to full reception. What's the deal?
And when I say I get no reception, the phone is showing a "hollow" triangle, like with black as it's background. Is that normal? On my old phone that ran ICS (CM9), when I had no bars, it would show a gray triangle with a little X in it. I was getting this hollow triangle when I had no SIM card in it, so I thought it was odd that it shows the same thing when I have no reception.
Any ideas anyone?

I've noticed that the reception on this device can take a nosedive when it is held. And yes, when you have no reception it is normal to show the hollow triangle.

aron7awol said:
I've noticed that the reception on this device can take a nosedive when it is held. And yes, when you have no reception it is normal to show the hollow triangle.
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Huh, thanks for the reply. I'll try holding it differently. And thanks for letting me know, I wasn't sure.

I've been having the same problem. I drop signal a lot even when its just in my pocket. I'm starting to think the radios in the N4 just suck
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

lowrider262 said:
I've been having the same problem. I drop signal a lot even when its just in my pocket. I'm starting to think the radios in the N4 just suck
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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I think I would have to agree with this. It's so weird. Like sitting in the same exact spot, I can go from full signal to no signal in a matter of seconds. It's really actually beginning to get in my nerves, and I'm wondering if I have a bad unit.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²

From past experience with TMo, 2 year subscriber from 2003-2005, and just signed up for the $30 Monthly plan, their coverage just plain sucks. I'm in a good coverage area according to their map too but I get 1 bar in my house, -109 dBm (measured with Network Signal Info) while my Verizon phone gets -60 dBm, and full bars. I took my phone outside and I had to walk half a block towards the main street before I got a decent signal, -90 dBm and was even up to 3g data speeds, no HSPA+. However, this is still an improvement from my previous experience with them as I used to have to take my phone a mile up to the Interstate to get a signal (I live in a medium sized city by the way mentioned in a TMo commercial). I'm looking at purchasing a signal booster but haven't decided if I want to go that route or just switch to StraightTalk running off AT&T's network and see if its any better.
I should also mention that at work, in a different town, inside my office I get crappy reception, 1-2 bars but if I go out into the hallway 5 feet away I get 4-5 bars. The signal strength fluctuates all the time so not sure what is going on, maybe a lot of interference from wireless devices.

kzoodroid said:
From past experience with TMo, 2 year subscriber from 2003-2005, and just signed up for the $30 Monthly plan, their coverage just plain sucks. I'm in a good coverage area according to their map too but I get 1 bar in my house, -109 dBm (measured with Network Signal Info) while my Verizon phone gets -60 dBm, and full bars. I took my phone outside and I had to walk half a block towards the main street before I got a decent signal, -90 dBm and was even up to 3g data speeds, no HSPA+. However, this is still an improvement from my previous experience with them as I used to have to take my phone a mile up to the Interstate to get a signal (I live in a medium sized city by the way mentioned in a TMo commercial). I'm looking at purchasing a signal booster but haven't decided if I want to go that route or just switch to StraightTalk running off AT&T's network and see if its any better.
I should also mention that at work, in a different town, inside my office I get crappy reception, 1-2 bars but if I go out into the hallway 5 feet away I get 4-5 bars. The signal strength fluctuates all the time so not sure what is going on, maybe a lot of interference from wireless devices.
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with my previous phones I never had an issue keeping a signal (s2, amaze, sensation, g2x, gnex) but with my N4 I can't even keep edge for too long without it dropping. and I get the gray signal bar thing a lot too. aside from that i love this phone its perfect but its just not worth it if im at risk of missing callsthinking about trying ST at&t or maybe trade someone on cl for a note 2.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Yeah I almost always get the gray signal bars. It seems like edge takes forever to kick in. When it finally does it's reasonably fast (at least compared to my old Virgin Mobile phone that averaged 10-15kbps on a good day) but it just takes absolutely forever.
But for example, right now I'm sitting in the dining room in my house. The signal bars are hollow. A couple of minutes ago, I went to the kitchen, set the phone down on the table, and when I came back, I had gotten a text message! I just can't comprehend this.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²

are all of you using tmobile? anyone on att straight talk have issues?

kcls said:
Yeah I almost always get the gray signal bars. It seems like edge takes forever to kick in. When it finally does it's reasonably fast (at least compared to my old Virgin Mobile phone that averaged 10-15kbps on a good day) but it just takes absolutely forever.
But for example, right now I'm sitting in the dining room in my house. The signal bars are hollow. A couple of minutes ago, I went to the kitchen, set the phone down on the table, and when I came back, I had gotten a text message! I just can't comprehend this.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²
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are u on stock? i recently flashed project cold fusion (cm10 based) and i immediately noticed my signal both WiFi and data/voice were stronger (or showing more bars anyway). i wont be able to fully test this theory till tomorrow at work, where my signal has been dropping like crazy on stock ROM. but its something to consider trying if u havent already
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

I've noticed these issues in areas with low Tmo reception. One minute the phone will have 3 bars and the next it will be the hollow triangle. I don't have any of these issues at my house because I get a very strong edge signal.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T

Mine is strong wherever I go. From my college to home I get no less than 2 bars. I live in a small town in NC.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

lowrider262 said:
are u on stock? i recently flashed project cold fusion (cm10 based) and i immediately noticed my signal both WiFi and data/voice were stronger (or showing more bars anyway). i wont be able to fully test this theory till tomorrow at work, where my signal has been dropping like crazy on stock ROM. but its something to consider trying if u havent already
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Yeah I'm on stock. I was planning on flashing ParanoidAndroid this weekend though, I'm REALLY hoping that improves things. This is just so frustrating.
sporez said:
I've noticed these issues in areas with low Tmo reception. One minute the phone will have 3 bars and the next it will be the hollow triangle. I don't have any of these issues at my house because I get a very strong edge signal.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T
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I'm new to GSM. Is E or H better in the statusbar?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²

kcls said:
I'm new to GSM. Is E or H better in the statusbar?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²
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H is better. E means you're on edge (2g) which is slow. When you're on H you should be getting at least 3g speeds and sometimes much more.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Ugh. I've only seen H for a short time last night. I get E pretty much all the time. Just another reason to hate T-Mobile and this phone now.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²

I'm on AT&T, using a MEdia Net plan and have been getting weird connection drops on HSPA+. I haven't ever seen the phone go on EDGE, so I can't comment about 2G connections.
It's seems like the phone just drops a connection randomly and frequently. I can't even stream NPR anymore. On WiFi, the connection is flawless. I didn't have his issue a week ago, and I've flash many different ROMs since then. I not sure if this is a modem issue or an AT&T network issue. My account still shows that the N4 is recognized as a plain old dumb phone, so I don't think that they've restricted my access, but knowing AT&T, any annoyance is possible.

kcls said:
Ugh. I've only seen H for a short time last night. I get E pretty much all the time. Just another reason to hate T-Mobile and this phone now.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²
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T-Mobile does suck when it comes to hspa coverage. They have soooooo much edge coverage. Unless you are in a city you're quite likely to be on edge.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

My connection isn't great inside my house, but is LTE quality a hundred yards from my house. Still get better in house reception than the ATT iPhone 5 living here. If there are a lot of tall buildings around and you live in a solid structure your signal will suffer.

MrSmileyJr said:
are all of you using tmobile? anyone on att straight talk have issues?
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I used to have T-Mobile but switched to straight talk and don't have any issue. According to T-Mobile coverage map, I should have sorry voice coverage and excellent data coverage yet it was the other way around. I dried then the other day and love having a constant signal now! T-Mobile just sucked where I lived, AT&T/straight talk is awesome
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I'm definitely getting worse reception on the Nexus 4 in my home than I did with my Nexus One. I have a weak signal at home, but the Nexus One was able to hold onto it. The Nexus 4 goes in and out. The Nexus 4 is also worse in other places that I regularly go, which have weak signal. I've missed quite a few calls, in the couple weeks I've had the phone. That pretty much never happened with the Nexus One.

signal bars at Zero?! is this normal?

Hello guys! I don't know what's going on but since I have this device almost every time the signal bars are at zero. Anyone having this issue?

Yep, this phone has terrible reception. Although, the signal bars don't necessarily reveal how strong the signal really is. Indoor reception is worse than outdoor. I have one or even no bars inside my house, but I can still get lte+ speeds. As soon as I walk outside I have full bars, and not much difference in download speed. I have missed more calls with this phone than any other phone I've had though. Really bummed cuz this phone is so close to being the best phone I've ever had.

atrix_noob said:
Hello guys! I don't know what's going on but since I have this device almost every time the signal bars are at zero. Anyone having this issue?
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Click to collapse
(On T-Mobile network) At home phone shows more than half of bars, at work, outside and in most places phone shows at least half of the bars. I did see no bars couple of times in few places, but it didn't create any issues. Comparing it to other phones and if dB signal is to be believed, then it is safe to assume that Essential has about -6 to -8 dB less than devices from leading manufacturers.

Airwolf79 said:
Yep, this phone has terrible reception. Although, the signal bars don't necessarily reveal how strong the signal really is. Indoor reception is worse than outdoor. I have one or even no bars inside my house, but I can still get lte+ speeds. As soon as I walk outside I have full bars, and not much difference in download speed. I have missed more calls with this phone than any other phone I've had though. Really bummed cuz this phone is so close to being the best phone I've ever had.
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Yes, I agree. The reception on this phone is super weak

Charkatak said:
(On T-Mobile network) At home phone shows more than half of bars, at work, outside and in most places phone shows at least half of the bars. I did see no bars couple of times in few places, but it didn't create any issues. Comparing it to other phones and if dB signal is to be believed, then it is safe to assume that Essential has about -6 to -8 dB less than devices from leading manufacturers.
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Agree I have a Note 8 and on tye Essential the signal is much weaker.

atrix_noob said:
Hello guys! I don't know what's going on but since I have this device almost every time the signal bars are at zero. Anyone having this issue?
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I'll get this on certain stretches of highway. It will go to no bars, then bars with no internet. I set to airplane mode and then I'll get bars and LTE again.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

cfclay said:
I'll get this on certain stretches of highway. It will go to no bars, then bars with no internet. I set to airplane mode and then I'll get bars and LTE again.
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Yes, sometimes even if I have no bars at all the service seems to function properly. Maybe it's a software related thing.
Right now I'm at zero bars but the LTE keeps working fine. Idk what is going on lol

I live in a fringe area of Verizon. This phone is no weaker than my old Samsung S4.