Database Users

Sgs2 vs 4s antena/radio

Hey guys,
Something I'm interested in. Not sure how many of you will have experience with the 4s though...
I work in a store in central London which is in a pretty old building. Our store build is achient and it's all concrete and metal floors, along with the old brick of the building.
To say simply, signal in our shop sucks. We get 3g on the counter, but it's very dodgy. Many people get no signal downstairs in our office/staff area which is also a basement.
Many of us are on the O2 network, including me now (via the excellent giffgaff!). All of my colleagues on iphone 4 get no signal around the manager desk area. I do, though it's a little more dodgy than when I was on vodafone. (used to get a solid Edge connection all the way to the back, then solid G)
What really surprised me is that one of my colleagues now has an iphone 4s, which has a far improved antena design. He does not get signal on the managers desk. I do...
Has anyone else seem the Sgs2 radio beat the 4s radio? I'm using the kl1 radio and the reception has been amazing on it.
It seriously really surprised me. Makes me want to keep my baby for a long while longer!
Cheers
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Yes but that's comparing to my colleagues we've moved into a new building reception is poor I get a decent signal on a good modem where as some colleagues with iPhones suffer.
Also found that giffgaff/o2 in the same building is better than Vodafone.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

The iPhone has a very bad antenna design, from an engineering standpoint. Form over function.

tableteer said:
The iPhone has a very bad antenna design, from an engineering standpoint. Form over function.
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The iPhone 4 sure had an engineering fail, but you definetely can't be serious by saying the 4S has an antenna flaw. It doesn't, and it gets just as good a signal as my GSII does.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

I've tested the radio both in Los Angeles and Beijing. In Los Angeles, the reception on my i4S is quite a bit better running on ATT network. Download and upload speeds are about 2X better on the i4S. Call quality is also better on the i4S. With wifi the i4S and sgs2 get about the same dl/ul speeds but the i4S has a much better range.
In Beijing with both phones operating on China Mobile's crappy edge network both are about the same. Call quality is equally good with maybe a slight nod to the i4S as it has more volume. Wifi is still the same story with the i4S getting 2-3X the range as my sgs2.

Why not club together , or get the company, to buy a signal booster? This would just be a relay cell to the nearest O2 cell.

Signal strength ?

Just wanted to know how good the signal strength is on the LG G 2 because I have the gs3 and it sucks so just want your guys feedback because I was thinking about buying one soon but wanted to know how good you guys are getting?
Thanks guys
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I can say based on my experience that the note 2 have better signal strength
I work under ground and the note 2 used to give me 2 bars of signal strength, while my g2 fails to get any signal most of the time -_-
I just hope that maybe a modem update would solve this problem
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk 4

Looks like you're on Verizon. LG >> Samsung for signal strength. My office where I work is in a poor reception spot, and my Galaxy Nexus was awful at holding a signal. G2 has been a world better.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4

The g2 is about - 10 to -12 dBm better than my hd Maxx side by side, and the hd had good signal. It's also consistently better than my wife's s4
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4

heffzilla said:
The g2 is about - 10 to -12 dBm better than my hd Maxx side by side, and the hd had good signal. It's also consistently better than my wife's s4
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4
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10-12dBm is a huge difference, are you sure you're comparing them in the same exact spot and both on 3G or 4G? Most I've seen between any device was just a few dBm.

geoff5093 said:
10-12dBm is a huge difference, are you sure you're comparing them in the same exact spot and both on 3G or 4G? Most I've seen between any device was just a few dBm.
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I'm pretty sure there were in the same spot, because I was holding them. One was in my right hand and one was in my left. I guess you could say give or take a foot. I tested several times. The hd was always around -112 to 114dBm and the g2 was at -100 to 103. The g2 would also pick up 4G in a few spots that my hd never could. If you haven't previously seen that big of difference, you obviously haven't compared a gnex to basically any other phone.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4

heffzilla said:
I'm pretty sure there were in the same spot, because I was holding them. One was in my right hand and one was in my left. I guess you could say give or take a foot. I tested several times. The hd was always around -112 to 114dBm and the g2 was at -100 to 103. The g2 would also pick up 4G in a few spots that my hd never could. If you haven't previously seen that big of difference, you obviously haven't compared a gnex to basically any other phone.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4
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Interesting.. One last question, were both phones on 3G or 4G? If one was 3G and the other 4G than that would explain the huge discrepancy.

geoff5093 said:
Interesting.. One last question, were both phones on 3G or 4G? If one was 3G and the other 4G than that would explain the huge discrepancy.
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Both were on 4G, I know signal bars aren't accurate but, the hd had 1 bar and the g2 had 3
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4

heffzilla said:
I'm pretty sure there were in the same spot, because I was holding them. One was in my right hand and one was in my left. I guess you could say give or take a foot. I tested several times. The hd was always around -112 to 114dBm and the g2 was at -100 to 103. The g2 would also pick up 4G in a few spots that my hd never could. If you haven't previously seen that big of difference, you obviously haven't compared a gnex to basically any other phone
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Yeah, the LG's antennas were always better then Moto's garbage. It's common notion

I'm in NJ and coming from a S3, my signal is much better on the G2. Usually 5-7 dBm better
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

rezound has slightly better signal than G2 indoors
I tested on my basement:
HTC rezound can somewhat maintain 3G, 4G, 1x signal
G2 can only periodically get 3G, 4G, 1x signal
dbm value is not important because: even if they are in the same spot one phone could be transmitting at 50% to conserve battery and the other phone could be transmitting at 100%. naturally the phone transmitting at 100% would show better dbm. so I think its better to measure the ability of the phone to maintain signal

On Verizon I had better signal on my s3. I hadn't seen a 3g icon anywhere near me for almost a year, but now with the g2 I see it every once in a while.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4

The G2 is head and shoulders above my Galaxy Nexus VZW. I would get one bar at home with the Nexus and it would bounce between 3g and 4g and occasionally lose the signal completely while doing so. The G2 gets a steady 2 bars of 4g.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

soapinmouth said:
On Verizon I had better signal on my. I hadn't seen a 3g icon anywhere near me for almost a year, but now with the g2 I see it every once in a while.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4
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"my" what?
---------- Post added at 10:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 AM ----------
Bigralphn said:
The G2 is head and shoulders above my Galaxy Nexus VZW. I would get one bar at home with the Nexus and it would bounce between 3g and 4g and occasionally lose the signal completely while doing so. The G2 gets a steady 2 bars of 4g.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4
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I think the galaxy nexus has probably the worst signal in verizon phones

Damasterjj said:
"my" what?
---------- Post added at 10:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 AM ----------
I think the galaxy nexus has probably the worst signal in verizon phones
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Sorry my s3, and all these people comparing to the gnex that's not really saying much. Pretty sure every phone released since the gnex came out has had better reception.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4

The G2 has less signal strength indoors (steel building) at my work than the iPhone 5 that it replaced. It has been some what of a problem because about 43% of my battery goes to cell reception. I have had better luck by putting my phone in the one spot that gets just 1 bar of signal in my office, but even then it goes in an out from time to time.

Sport6 said:
The G2 has less signal strength indoors (steel building) at my work than the iPhone 5 that it replaced. It has been some what of a problem because about 43% of my battery goes to cell reception. I have had better luck by putting my phone in the one spot that gets just 1 bar of signal in my office, but even then it goes in an out from time to time.
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thanks I've always wondered how good iphones 5 signal reception

I've been trying to decide on what phone to get to replace my GNex and the primary factor in my search has been signal strength. We have great 4G coverage here in Pittsburgh yet every Samsung phone sits on 3G almost all day every day. Samsung has the worst radios by far. I know a rep at the Verizon store near where I work so we took a bunch of phones out the other day and compared the signal strength from the city all the way out towards the airport. The iPhone 5 and LG G2 were neck and neck averaging about 4~5 dB better than it's closest competitor the HTC One. Following closely were the new Moto phones. X, MAXX and Ultra. We didn't take a mini with us. We took a Note II, S3, S4 and my GNex that all performed about 7~10 dB worse than the Motos. In the building where I work (steel building barely any reception) The iPhone 5 dropped 4G all together as well as the Moto phones. The Samsungs didn't have a data signal at all. The LG G2 was switching back and forth between 3G and 4G. The HTC One was able to retain a 4G signal but it was slow.
If I was buying one right now I'd probably get the G2. I'm still back and forth between the One and the G2 though.... I'm in my building a lot and the One seemed to get better reception through hard to penetrate walls so that was a major plus on it's side.

I've had GREAT reception. I get about twice the signal strength I had on verizon GNEX.

itznfb said:
I've been trying to decide on what phone to get to replace my GNex and the primary factor in my search has been signal strength. We have great 4G coverage here in Pittsburgh yet every Samsung phone sits on 3G almost all day every day. Samsung has the worst radios by far. I know a rep at the Verizon store near where I work so we took a bunch of phones out the other day and compared the signal strength from the city all the way out towards the airport. The iPhone 5 and LG G2 were neck and neck averaging about 4~5 dB better than it's closest competitor the HTC One. Following closely were the new Moto phones. X, MAXX and Ultra. We didn't take a mini with us. We took a Note II, S3, S4 and my GNex that all performed about 7~10 dB worse than the Motos. In the building where I work (steel building barely any reception) The iPhone 5 dropped 4G all together as well as the Moto phones. The Samsungs didn't have a data signal at all. The LG G2 was switching back and forth between 3G and 4G. The HTC One was able to retain a 4G signal but it was slow.
If I was buying one right now I'd probably get the G2. I'm still back and forth between the One and the G2 though.... I'm in my building a lot and the One seemed to get better reception through hard to penetrate walls so that was a major plus on it's side.
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that was a comprehensive list. you just need to add galaxy note 3
In addition to the list HTC rezound had slightly better reception than my G2(see my previous post)

[Q] Signal issues

Is anyone else having signal issues? In my house I only have 2-3 bars while on my iPhone there was always 4-5

NoFanboy said:
Is anyone else having signal issues? In my house I only have 2-3 bars while on my iPhone there was always 4-5
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Not me. So far so good. Will keep you posted.
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app

Nope me either.. maybe slightly better than my s4.
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I am getting much better reception with this phone. My last phone was a Galaxy Note 2.

cbdudek said:
I am getting much better reception with this phone. My last phone was a Galaxy Note 2.
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Pretty much the same here. My note 2 had pretty decent signal, but the 3 seems a tad better.

No issues here either, Tucson, AZ.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk now Free

Samsung hasn't been known for exceptional signal strength. Can't speak for Apple, but Motorola pretty much steals the show in that category. I saw the difference for myself when I had my old Galaxy s3 next to my work phone, which was a Droid Razr Maxx.

alprazolam said:
Samsung hasn't been known for exceptional signal strength. Can't speak for Apple, but Motorola pretty much steals the show in that category. I saw the difference for myself when I had my old Galaxy s3 next to my work phone, which was a Droid Razr Maxx.
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Just basing this off of my own experience, the recent gen of Samsung phones seem to have rather decent reception when in an obvious strong signal area. Where Moto still seems to excel, is in those fringe areas. When you fluctuate between 0-1 bars...Moto stays connected much stronger/more reliably. Recently had the new Droid MAXX and compared to my Note 2, streaming music never missed a beat. Samsung struggled a bit. I'm sure in the 1st update, there will be a radio patch to make the 3 even better.

Number of bars mean nothing especially across two different make and model of phones. What's important is the data throughput and latency and voice quality.

mi7chy said:
Number of bars mean nothing especially across two different make and model of phones. What's important is the data throughput and latency and voice quality.
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I understand this. Bars are used to graphically represent. dBm is a more accurate way to gauge it. Just saying Moto stayed more reliable at say...-107dBm than Samsung did.

I'm here in San Diego and signal is great. My house is a butthole for letting signal to the phone, but the Note 3 manages to get great signal.
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My iPhone has -90 db while my note 3 has -106 db

Always had 2 or 3 bars of 3g and sometimes 4g with my S3 and now always 4g with 3 or 4 bars. Wifi seems to be better too.

mi7chy said:
Number of bars mean nothing especially across two different make and model of phones. What's important is the data throughput and latency and voice quality.
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Absolutely correct. If I remember correctly, the Nexus was getting a terrible signal and there was an update in which there were more bars but the dBa measurements were the same. However, I used real world testing when comparing the Moto Droid Maxx to my GS3. I couldn't place a call in a fringe area with my GS3 while the Motorola held up well. I found that the GS3 was able to hold a better wifi signal on the fringe of the signal radius.
bgs_piece said:
Always had 2 or 3 bars of 3g and sometimes 4g with my S3 and now always 4g with 3 or 4 bars. Wifi seems to be better too.
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I seem to be getting a better signal with the Noe 3 than I did with the GS3. An area along my commute that had no signal with my s3, has some signal on the Note 3.

IS it possible that I have a bad note 3? I cant Connect To local wifi networks. signal is horrible and wont connect to Bluetooth on Many devices I can connect to some networks though
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Poor radio

Anyone else notice that the radio in the Note 4 sucks for LTE? My previous phone was a HTC One M8 and I got 4G everywhere in my city full time. With the Note 4, my 4G connection is unstable at work. Instead of it being a weak -100+ dBm signal, it is actually usually around -75 allot, then it fluctuates to around -88 to -105, then it falls to 3G. The transfer rate also isn't that great at 6-8 Mbps.
At home, I have a constant -105 signal but at least it never loses 4G connection and has a decent 20-25 Mbps download speed. My prior phone was around -80 to -90 range.
Makes me want to switch to an IPhone Plus, Droid Turbo, or Nexus 6... No idea if any will be available within 14 days. .
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By default the global network is on. Try switching it to LTE only. It's solid on mine.

No issues with mine. Just as good as the last several Verizon phones I've had (S5, M8, 5S).

Mine seems better than the Note 3.. just fyi.

I've had incredible signal with mine. Our house is on the outskirts of 4G and my m8 got between 106 and 115 dbm. But my note gets at most 111, and constantly below 105 in most of my house. Solid and we'll above expected signal strength here.

pyaa said:
By default the global network is on. Try switching it to LTE only. It's solid on mine.
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Just switched to LTE, restarted the phone...Signal is much stronger. thanks man
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

So far best radio ive used to date
Edit: i was on global too lol

I switched from global to LTE and also removed my SIM card for a few minutes before turning it back on. Seems a bit better but still testing in more problematic areas.
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Seems the exact same as the S3 and S4, so not real good or real bad. Somewhere in the middle.

Used to have HTC One M8, now Note 4. Radio seems to be better.

rushless said:
Seems the exact same as the S3 and S4, so not real good or real bad. Somewhere in the middle.
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I was hoping that it would be better than the S3. My S3s have poor radios at best. It's the only thing that I dislike about my S3.

Seems a little better than my m8 sitting in the exact same spot in my house.

usmaak said:
I was hoping that it would be better than the S3. My S3s have poor radios at best. It's the only thing that I dislike about my S3.
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Ditto on the GS3. I figured two years later, they would to have had to get better radios by now. Oh well... My note hasn't arrived yet. I know with Moto and HTC I get signal in places I don''t with a Samsung. I've got used to the less than great signal with the Samsung that I'll try to not sweat over it.

I'm getting a better signal on the N4 than I did on the S3. I now have 4G signal at work where on my S3 I only got a weak 3G.

Mines much better actually but I'm coming from an S3.

We were at the dinner table where my friend's 6 Plus was oos and my Note 4 had 1 bar. Hahaha!
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seems better than note 2.

Things got MUCH better once I switched from Global mode to LTE/CDMA. Thanks!

Just switched to lte from global.. I wonder why the default is global?

100% agree. I was getting so pissed at my Note 3... I would drop calls all the time and now I don't in the same exact areas.

Reception and Call Quality

How is everyone feeling about the reception and call quality of the DT2 as compared to previous phones? 4G reception appears to be lacking in fringe areas as compared to my wife's Note 4.

Honestly I went from the S4 to Turbo2 and signal doesn't compare. The S4 didn't get any signal in my house and the Turbo 2 will work anywhere in my house. I have put mine side by side with a note 5 and my signal is stronger. In my opinion, the Motorola radio is better than Samsung

I've thought 4g to be better than my droid maxx

waterninja21 said:
Honestly I went from the S4 to Turbo2 and signal doesn't compare. The S4 didn't get any signal in my house and the Turbo 2 will work anywhere in my house. I have put mine side by side with a note 5 and my signal is stronger. In my opinion, the Motorola radio is better than Samsung
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Thanks for your input.
asuhoops8628 said:
I've thought 4g to be better than my droid maxx
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I'm coming from the Maxx and I thought it was slightly better with 4G. Thanks for your input.

Honestly... im coming from a HTC One M7... signal reception is great and call quality is amazing... Never had the advanced calling before either. Happy so far.

Be careful with he advanced calling according to a Verizon Rep, he told me with he advanced calling if you are in a lte area and go into an area without lte the call will drop

Works better in my house than my LG G3 did. Huge difference