Samsung S4 -- BMW Signal Bars - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Heya all, hope you are all well
So, the topic says most of it, but here is the long version.
This is the first time I am owning a Samsung phone, and I do really like this, it is new, and sometimes you need to try new stuff rather than sticking to "what you think you know"
Anyways, so the S4 has 4 signal strength bars where my previous phone (HTC One X) had 5. My BMW be default shows 5 signal bars also so when my Samsung connects to the car via Bluetooth, it will only show a max of 4 / 5 bars on full signal strength. I want to know, is there a way or app out there that will change my 4 bars to 5 without rooting the phone?
Any help would be appreciated.
Much thanks

think you have to root the phone for that

Sookels said:
Heya all, hope you are all well
So, the topic says most of it, but here is the long version.
This is the first time I am owning a Samsung phone, and I do really like this, it is new, and sometimes you need to try new stuff rather than sticking to "what you think you know"
Anyways, so the S4 has 4 signal strength bars where my previous phone (HTC One X) had 5. My BMW be default shows 5 signal bars also so when my Samsung connects to the car via Bluetooth, it will only show a max of 4 / 5 bars on full signal strength. I want to know, is there a way or app out there that will change my 4 bars to 5 without rooting the phone?
Any help would be appreciated.
Much thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Bars" are not by any means a scientific measurement. HTC and Samsung s/w are reading the signal strength and correlating it to "X" number of bars. In reality, five HTC bars may be weaker than four Samsung bars. What's showing up in your car isn't determined by the car; it's what is being sent to the car by the phone that's driving what you're seeing. If you're not having reception issues then I'd call it good. Get a signal analyzer from Play to see what the "real" signal being received is if you're comparing two devices.

Thanks for the information.
I am thou not comparing the signal strength between the 2 devices. I understand that with 4 bars, each bar can be in the area of 0% to 25% per bar, thus 70% signal equals 3 bars, where with the 5 bar it is 0% to 20% thus 70% will be 4 bars. What it seems like is that with the Samsung having the 4 bars, it tells the car over Bluetooth "hey car, i'm on 3 bars now" and the car displays 3 bars. So the MAX the Samsung can send is 4 bars, but the max the car can show is 5 bars.
So the idea is the change the Samsung to divide the signal strength between 5 bars (0% to 20% per bar) and send that to the car. It is just a display thing, not technically a fault.

Sookels said:
Heya all, hope you are all well
So, the topic says most of it, but here is the long version.
This is the first time I am owning a Samsung phone, and I do really like this, it is new, and sometimes you need to try new stuff rather than sticking to "what you think you know"
Anyways, so the S4 has 4 signal strength bars where my previous phone (HTC One X) had 5. My BMW be default shows 5 signal bars also so when my Samsung connects to the car via Bluetooth, it will only show a max of 4 / 5 bars on full signal strength. I want to know, is there a way or app out there that will change my 4 bars to 5 without rooting the phone?
Any help would be appreciated.
Much thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditch the Beemer?

Sookels said:
Thanks for the information.
I am thou not comparing the signal strength between the 2 devices. I understand that with 4 bars, each bar can be in the area of 0% to 25% per bar, thus 70% signal equals 3 bars, where with the 5 bar it is 0% to 20% thus 70% will be 4 bars. What it seems like is that with the Samsung having the 4 bars, it tells the car over Bluetooth "hey car, i'm on 3 bars now" and the car displays 3 bars. So the MAX the Samsung can send is 4 bars, but the max the car can show is 5 bars.
So the idea is the change the Samsung to divide the signal strength between 5 bars (0% to 20% per bar) and send that to the car. It is just a display thing, not technically a fault.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything you said means nothing. When in the car in the same place at the same time each device is receiving a signal at a certain dB. Let's assume it's 65dB (lower is better). Software created by Samsung and HTC look at 65dB and say "let's display 'X' number of bars." If HTC's aggressive that could equal 5 displayed bars. If Samsung's less aggressive it could be 4. Either way, the devices would still be receiving a 65Db signal which is why a signal meter off of Play is your best judge of actual signal stength. It's kind of like car gas guages. What's actually in the tank when the guage shows 1/4 varies between makes and even models and it's most likely more or less than 1/4.

Sookels said:
Heya all, hope you are all well
So, the topic says most of it, but here is the long version.
This is the first time I am owning a Samsung phone, and I do really like this, it is new, and sometimes you need to try new stuff rather than sticking to "what you think you know"
Anyways, so the S4 has 4 signal strength bars where my previous phone (HTC One X) had 5. My BMW be default shows 5 signal bars also so when my Samsung connects to the car via Bluetooth, it will only show a max of 4 / 5 bars on full signal strength. I want to know, is there a way or app out there that will change my 4 bars to 5 without rooting the phone?
Any help would be appreciated.
Much thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have this problem, there is a way to have 5 bars on S4? Even doing the root.

My GT-R always shows the last bar greyed out, even though the S4 has full signal. It doesn't bother me as long as I get and receive calls fine.
You drive a performance car, stop worrying how many bars are showing and DRIVE!

Related

Dropped calls from my X1

Hello guys,
I just got my X1 (Generic_UK) few days ago, and i was shocked by the poor reception or i might say the dropped calls by the phone.
In fact each conversation the phone was managed to dropp the call by itself after 2 -3 minutes maximum, so i had to call the other party all over again.
I updated the firmware to R2AA010 yesterday and switch the network to GSM only, and that didn't fix this problem, and i also used my friend's card (different carrier and end up with same result)
Any one can help me with this issue ? if I'd never fix this problem , I'd definetly sell it out.
Thanks.
probably won't help, but my phone shows exactly the same behaviour.
i am on a 1800 GSM network.
an update of the radio rom to the newest version that is available here on the forum did not help.
TBH this sounds like a phone fault... mine works flawlessly and now that I have 010 ROM its even better... are you in a very remote area? if not perhaps its a fault and you might need to take it back?
The HTC Touch HD seems to be affected by exactly the same problem. (link)
Strange
Well, I'm running the Voda X1i but flashed to Generic UK R2A_10. I have had nothing but perfect calls, only 1 call dropped but I don't think it was my fault because my signal was max.
It's true the signal is often low, I keep it next to my iPhone which is also on voda and comparatively the iPhone has better signal, but the sound quality in my iphone is appauling and in comparison, when I make a call on my Xperia it's like the person is standing next to me.
I have put up with the BS from my iPhone for too long, as well as the horrendous echo that anyone that calls me suffers from and invariably complains about and refuses to call me.
If you're in a good signal area and you're still getting problems on R2A_10 i'd recommend returning it for a replacement.
X1 definitely has serious reception problem.
I am not taking about the number of bars but off and on signal are comepltely gone and it will start searching for a network.
I have tested this by putting the phone on the table and by observing the signals bars over a long period of time. Often I have noticed full signal bars and many time there are not signals at all.
Service is weak in my area but none of my pervious mobiles have shown such a poor reception.
zeemalik said:
X1 definitely has serious reception problem.
I am not taking about the number of bars but off and on signal are comepltely gone and it will start searching for a network.
I have tested this by putting the phone on the table and by observing the signals bars over a long period of time. Often I have noticed full signal bars and many time there are not signals at all.
Service is weak in my area but none of my pervious mobiles have shown such a poor reception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here, ive had major reception issues compared to other handsets on same network
I have never had any problems with reception or dropped calls.
?????????

Weird reception

Whenever I'm doing anything on my phone, the bars jump around constantly. Also it switches from 3g to 1x a lot. However, when I'm using turn by turn navigation, I get full bars on 3g and it stays there the entire time I'm using navigation, even when I drive through areas where it usually drops to 1x.
Anyone know why this is?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
There are other threads regarding this as well. This is common for this phone and others but does not mean this is the actual signal strength you are getting.You can go into Settings-about phone-status to see your actual signal value i believe the lower the value the better.

Hardware WiFi defect, very weak signal.

1-2 months ago my nexus 7 fell from my hand and it has a small dent in its left top edge. Since then (not sure, noticed it first time 2-3 days after that happened) I have noticed that my N7's WiFi signal has been very weak. The router is 15-20 meters away in some other room and I used to get 2/3 bars in my room and it was basically just great, never had problems with WiFi before. But now I get 1 bar mostly, 2 bars rarely, sometimes I get no bars (WiFi still works, as per usual belief there are not 4 levels cause there are 4 bars, there is also a 5th level of WiFi on android with no bars, fully grey WiFi icon in status bar but WiFi still works but very slow and weak) and sometimes it just disconnects and I have to manually reconnect it in settings or wait some minutes for it to get reconnected.
Something weird I have noticed is that I get normal (like it was in old and normal case, 2-3 bars and no drops and choppyness) WiFi signal sometimes when I have held the tablet in portrait but as soon as I rotate it to right, signal jumps right back to weak (1 bar or no bar or disconnects even) and when I rotate it to left it also jumps to weak (1 bar or 2 bars or no bars) but not as weak as when I rotate to right (upside down is also similarly weak as left side).
Earlier I used to think its software problem cause I believed that if WiFi chip has been damaged then WiFi would have stopped working altogether but now I am pretty sure its hardware damage since I have updated through many night lies of cm10.1/10.2 and I have even tried absolute stock 4.2.2/4.3 and wiping many times. I have also tried many kernels.
My device was bought from US from office max by a relative of mine. I live in India and since the bootloader is also unlocked I doubt warranty will work.
I need help to decide what should I do, it wouldn't have been a problem it signal was just a bit weak but speeds slow down and sometimes WiFi disconnects so it is a problem.
Is there something I can do myself? Should I contact Asus support? The thing with Asus support here in my part of country (my city) is that they take long times to process things.
And also I want to know if someone has any idea how much it (the repair, if any) might cost.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Bump
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
It sounds like you have probably damaged the wifi antenna.
ASUS warranty support doesn't cover customer damage, but non-warranty support ought to be able to repair it. I don't know how much they would charge, but you can ask them.
It's possible someone with more hardware knowledge could tell you how to troubleshoot it yourself, but I don't know how.

Note 4 Phone Signal Gradual Increase

I have a N910C Exynos, and I noticed something weird with my phone signal. I did a quick search if this has been covered before in the forum and through Google, but couldn't find any.
When the phone has been left asleep for say about at least 10 minutes, then I wake it up (be it with Home or Power button), my phone signal bars (be it on 4G, H+, 3G, or Edge) will show no bar at all as if no signal. Then a couple secs later, it will show 1 bar, then a second later 2 bars, then 3, then 4. This happens anywhere, and I have rebooted the phone several times.
I tried making a call to the phone, and it rang fine, but it's showing the same thing, the phone rings with no signal bar, then climbs up after a couple secs.
Anyone had this issue before? Or seen it? Please direct me to the discussion if you have seen it.
I will probably try factory reset after I hear some comments from people.
Sometimes i Have the same problem.
Yep but this happens more often for me specially if the signal is weak it will drop to 0 bars and calls drop and data stops
ShadowFlare said:
I have a N910C Exynos, and I noticed something weird with my phone signal. I did a quick search if this has been covered before in the forum and through Google, but couldn't find any.
When the phone has been left asleep for say about at least 10 minutes, then I wake it up (be it with Home or Power button), my phone signal bars (be it on 4G, H+, 3G, or Edge) will show no bar at all as if no signal. Then a couple secs later, it will show 1 bar, then a second later 2 bars, then 3, then 4. This happens anywhere, and I have rebooted the phone several times.
I tried making a call to the phone, and it rang fine, but it's showing the same thing, the phone rings with no signal bar, then climbs up after a couple secs.
Anyone had this issue before? Or seen it? Please direct me to the discussion if you have seen it.
I will probably try factory reset after I hear some comments from people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you have tested by making a call to the phone, and it rang fine, there is no problem with the signal. Just a problem with the icon displaying - I think.
Thanks for all the replies, I've just been hoping there's nothing faulty about the modem. I will however do a factory reset however later on just for the sake of it. Just a bit paranoid because I didn't see any of these zero bar thing in the first week.

Strength of network signal unstable

Hi all,
I recently bought this phone, and I'm very satisfied.
However I found a "problem".
The strength of my network signal is very unstable.
Without moving the smarthpone too much, It varies a lot.
Here there is an example, i didn't move the phone and I didn't change the way I handle it (or at least not too much): Unfurtnately I can't post outside links...
I started monitoring the signal, and it was very high. Then it started to go down.
When it was near the zero, where is the green arrow, I made a phone call: the signal went up again.
So, seems, that while the antenna is in idle the signal is very unstable. But when I make a phone call, the signal strenght goes up.
What scares me is that the signal strength varies too much while not on call. Just see the spike before the arrow...
Someone has experienced this too?
Is this normal?
Thank you very much
In the US I was using a Note 2 for a couple of years on the Verizon CDMA network. I must say the Note 2 on that network has been pretty reliable and I live in a rural mountainous area. I got my Zuk and I could not use Verizon plan with it, so I got a pay as you go plan with At&T GSM to demo it, because I really wanted a dual sim phone. The service is not as good, I work at many locations where I have to go in basements, and even in the city areas where I have full 4 bar service, I cant keep signal with the Zuk, but with the Note 2 it is no problem. In my home basement I can keep service somewhat, but sometimes I even will miss calls. I wish I had a spare AT&T phone that is sold in the states to compare it with for service.
So sadly I think my trial with my beloved Zuk is coming to an end and it is going to end up on Swappa before long.
I got your point: maybe the ZUk Z1 doesn't have the best reception ever.
However, apart this, I'm experiencing a very strange behavior.
Almost motionless, the strength of the signal varies too much.
But, maybe even more strange are these snapshot: the green arrows indicates when i started a phone call. (here too, the phone almost motionless)
h ttp://i.imgur.com/fSI1dED.jpg
h ttp://i.imgur.com/OOmfrM9.jpg
h ttp://i.imgur.com/sUYKY8N.jpg
h ttp://i.imgur.com/1JjOR9t.jpg
h ttp://i.imgur.com/f2NuSYv.jpg
h ttp://i.imgur.com/nwfyTJX.jpg
In particular, here can be seen the spike that worries me so much: h ttp://i.imgur.com/KZRPndR.jpg
Possible that i'm the only one experiencing this problem?
Of course, where the signal is stronger I don't have these problems.
So, I think there is a bug in the managing of the antenna
Sorry for the broken links, otherwise I didn't can post them.
Nopaste said:
I got your point: maybe the ZUk Z1 doesn't have the best reception ever.
However, apart this, I'm experiencing a very strange behavior.
Almost motionless, the strength of the signal varies too much.
But, maybe even more strange are these snapshot: the green arrows indicates when i started a phone call. (here too, the phone almost motionless)
http://i.imgur.com/fSI1dED.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OOmfrM9.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sUYKY8N.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1JjOR9t.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/f2NuSYv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/nwfyTJX.jpg
In particular, here can be seen the spike that worries me so much: http://i.imgur.com/KZRPndR.jpg
Possible that i'm the only one experiencing this problem?
Of course, where the signal is stronger I don't have these problems.
So, I think there is a bug in the managing of the antenna
Sorry for the broken links, otherwise I didn't can post them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me look and see? I can see the bars in the notification area are not for real.
How did you bring up the advance strength meter, I would like to give that a try?
It's an application that I downloaded from the store.
In italian It is called "Info Segnale Rete"
Nopaste said:
Hi all,
I recently bought this phone, and I'm very satisfied.
However I found a "problem".
The strength of my network signal is very unstable.
Without moving the smarthpone too much, It varies a lot.
Here there is an example, i didn't move the phone and I didn't change the way I handle it (or at least not too much): Unfurtnately I can't post outside links...
I started monitoring the signal, and it was very high. Then it started to go down.
When it was near the zero, where is the green arrow, I made a phone call: the signal went up again.
So, seems, that while the antenna is in idle the signal is very unstable. But when I make a phone call, the signal strenght goes up.
What scares me is that the signal strength varies too much while not on call. Just see the spike before the arrow...
Someone has experienced this too?
Is this normal?
Thank you very much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too Bro.. Recently bought this phone and now I am having very poor network reception for Airtel telecom operator in India. Places where i used to have good network coverage with my previous phone aren't any longer a good reception area when using Zuk Z1.. When checked in GSMArena, i saw that zuk doesn't have that much bands supported for 4g/LTE. However, that shouldn't mess up with the 3G/2G signal receptions, right.? Any idea that updating to /CM 13 will help.?? Or any other option to upgrade the radio firmware so that network reception will be better.? Pls lemme know if anyone has some clue on this.. Thanks in advance..

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