Database Users

Poor signal reception

I've been using the HTC One for the last couple of days deciding between it and my Xperia Z.
This phone is the best I've used and IMO feels better than XZ in several ways.
However, the signal strength in low reception areas is very unstable. Compared with the XZ it is poor which I am not happy about it as I was planning to return the XZ and keep this. On XZ I get 3 bars of 4G and it stays that way with no dropped calls. On the HTC it's 1 bar and then switches to 4 bars 3g (on XZ full bars on 3g) then back to 4g. I've had calls drop mid conversation 7 times in 2 days! This is mainly in lower signal areas including indoors.
I have till today to return the XZ but I am honestly not sure what to do. Even the earpiece sound on HTC is better than XZ..hmm..
Do any of you know if HTC are any good with updates regarding signal stability?
If it's something fixable then I'd rather keep the HTC One. Other than this it's a flawless smartphone. So frustrated the signal reception is like this.

Signal seems slightly better than my Galaxy S3

I have great signal with this phone better than my nexus4 & iPhone.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

my signal is so much better than my htc sensation, tested with the same sim card and htc one has 2 bars better constantly.

How many of you people saying "it's better than my..." are talking about 4G signal strength?

Are you guys on 4g too if I may ask?
I'm baffled as too why this is happening when directly compared to the XZ. Maybe it's only in low signal areas.
I've kept it on 3g only and performance is more stable and holding on to signal better. There is no question in my experience that XZ holds on to 4g signal much better.
Haven't decided what to do yet as I much prefer the HTC but the 4g issue is a real shame.

Most probably know this, but just FYI -- often radios will fall back to HSPA from HSPA+ to save juice when no data is being used. This might be in play here.

I couldn't bring myself to return the HTC so will return the Sony.
The other advantages to me could not be over looked especially the processor, speakers, display and sense.
However I really hope the signal on 4g will improve with an update. I'm pretty sure this was addressed with other phones in the past.
This video I saw also show some of the advantages of HTC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqhUGpSd3mc&feature=youtube_gdata_player:

I was using my friends HTC ONE In canada and he'd constantly have service (like 2 bars) as he was on LTE. LTE isn't available in all areas and where we live we get 3 bars of LTE if we're lucky. So all he did was turn LTE off and it was full bars as usual. The amount of bars we had with LTE was for the most part better than my Iphone5 and my other friends samsung galaxy s3.

I don't know about 4g signal but 2g/3g signal is far better than any phone I have ever had, my local tesco express is a killer for reception on every phone I have had except the one x which held up well but had like 2 bars 3 if I was lucky, with my one I get 4 bars and even 5 bars sometimes as I walk around the store and I have had the phone a week now and no signal or gps or wifi problems at all.

I was having connection issues even on 3G/H+ so what ive done is just turn off LTE and just kept it on GSM/WCDMA as i dont even have a 4G LTE plan and that has seemed to fix my issue so it may help other non-LTE users having signal issues.

RyanDawson said:
I was having connection issues even on 3G/H+ so what ive done is just turn off LTE and just kept it on GSM/WCDMA as i dont even have a 4G LTE plan and that has seemed to fix my issue so it may help other non-LTE users having signal issues.
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Yes you are right with regards to this. As stated earlier I'm keeping the phone but this clearly demonstrates an issue with 4G that needs to be addressed. I tried the demo unit in store again and disabled wifi; same thing with 4G performance.

In poor signal areas I lose reception totally and concerned I have a faulty phone, where as the iphone gets 2bars, I lose it all together on the one. Was in the meeting today and everyone had reception but me, however it sometimes came back with one bar...
If the signal is strong, I have no problems, is where there is weak signal I get issues. Anybody else confirm the same?

Oh sorry I misread. Other reviews have mentioned it is fine with LTE.

I finally made my return but returned the HTC and kept the Sony. Obviously the HTC betters the Sony in some ways but I need reliable call quality.
I don't care what HTC call the antenna but in my experience it does not perform as well as others.
I pay more for LTE and it bothered me to keep losing calls.
To be honest this is mostly in low signal areas but regardless the Sony and the Lumia held on much better to a weak 4g and 3g signal.

themomouk said:
I finally made my return but returned the HTC and kept the Sony. Obviously the HTC betters the Sony in some ways but I need reliable call quality.
I don't care what HTC call the antenna but in my experience it does not perform as well as others.
I pay more for LTE and it bothered me to keep losing calls.
To be honest this is mostly in low signal areas but regardless the Sony and the Lumia held on much better to a weak 4g and 3g signal.
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So is this problem happens when you have 4g. İ bought my fone from uk fones4u so if its same ill have to send it back

cihanleanne said:
So is this problem happens when you have 4g. İ bought my fone from uk fones4u so if its same ill have to send it back
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Yes it's mostly with 4g only and most noticeable with call switching to 3g. I too am with EE and got it from p4u. If you don't make many calls I think it's ok. Honestly though I wouldn't trust it in low signal areas and say you need an urgent email. In my opinion the radio is not the best. Not sure if it's h/w or s/w fault but even when I sowed it to the guys in p4u inside a shopping centre it had the worst signal compared to others (4g). However WiFi is excellent.

You may have an issue with antenna connection to the motherboard as a result of production tolerances. Try to see if you can test another unit to verify that the issue exists.

Nabeel Kiani said:
I was using my friends HTC ONE In canada and he'd constantly have service (like 2 bars) as he was on LTE. LTE isn't available in all areas and where we live we get 3 bars of LTE if we're lucky. So all he did was turn LTE off and it was full bars as usual. The amount of bars we had with LTE was for the most part better than my Iphone5 and my other friends samsung galaxy s3.
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so you're able to get LTE in canada?
If i can ask you a few question,
1) which area you at?
2) where your friend got HTC one?
3) are you with rogers?
Thanks =)

Just wanted to add that the poor signal reception experienced is with regards to the UK 4G Lte.
This is currently with the EE network which operates the LTE on 1800 MHz.
I have tested it against the Sony Z, Nokia Lumia 920 in the same spot and the reception was inferior and overall poor.
In the store I tested it against a S3 (4g) and iPhone 5 all on the same network and it showed lower reception in 4g.
Please note that the problem is with 4g and functions well on 3g and WiFi is excellent as previously stated.

lack of reception in my room - ideas?

hey
i have a nexus 4
and when my room in the house the reception fades like ****
i was wondering if there's any way to place an external antenna in the window and connect it to the phone when I'm in the room
is it possible?
where can i find such item?
thanks
Ariel

Amplifier
arik100 said:
hey
i have a nexus 4
and when my room in the house the reception fades like ****
i was wondering if there's any way to place an external antenna in the window and connect it to the phone when I'm in the room
is it possible?
where can i find such item?
thanks
Ariel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can buy an amplifier but they run for about 300.00 euros.
If your issue is the carrier, your gonna have to change it if your want more bars.
There is a post about this issue here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2036059
Another solution is a carrier amplifier:
If your on T-mobile: http://t-mobilescoop.com/signalbooster
If your on AT&T: http://www.att.com/standalone/3gmicrocell/?fbid=_nOhLzaqTDI
Hope the info helps you out.

I've noticed the same thing with both my Nexus, our old phones didn't seem to lose signal as bad inside. I've wondered if I switched to a different modem would improve this.

hey
thanks for the fast response
actually im not from the united states so AT&T & Tmobile aren't quite gonna help me
anyways
I'm looking for something like these repeaters you gave but they're quite expensive and im doubtful my phone operator owns them.
plus they aren't gonna fix any reception in my area.
I've been wondering if there's a possible way to extend the antenna instead of the signal so the signal will be received better DIRECTLY into the phone without any other means such as repeaters (just like what you can do in WIFI networks , when you can connect a wireless network card with a long antenna).

Well in no way am I a communication specialist, but from what I remember higher frequencies (which are being used to broadcast data services) have a harder time getting thru walls and such. Voice communication are broadcasted on lower frequencies so theoretically they have a deeper penetration (lol) in the buildings. Try in the wireless&network settings navigate to mobile network and choose use only 2g network. It could help if you live relatively close to a tower. The downside is that you lose high speed data connection but if you're home then you're probably on wifi anyway. Now this is only theoretical and there are a number of things that come into play when we talk about cell phone reception, this being one of many. Try, it might help you a bit but that's not a guarantee.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

What about changing the Provider? Did help me a lot
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

My whole house is a dead zone with a weak signal outside as well ( 95 dBm / 8 asu ) I bit the bullet and purchased a Wilson signal booster model 841263 with directional antenna. It was expensive but it worked! I can now use my phone anywhere in my home with up to 67 dBm at best, funny thing is that I have an old lg p500 and the signal is WAY better than my nexus4..go figure! They wanted 660$ Canadian at the telus store but I got mine from amazon for 357$
sent from my N7 :smokin:

Very very poor reception with brand new Note 3 in my house.

Just bought a Galaxy Note 3 with Verizon and the signal was pretty good until I got home.
I've been getting 1-2 bars on 4G LTE, (Which is 10-15% of the time). A good 20% I have 3G with 1-2 bars.
The rest of the time I do not even have 3G.
When i have 4G LTE the speedtest is 1.37 down, 0.20 MBps up. When I have 3G its 58 kbps down and 208 kbps up.
Completely baffles me.
Signal strength is -99dBm.
Any suggestions? I'm about to go return it and go back to my Galaxy S3 with US Cellular.

I'm not sure I qualify to post in this thread, but I am in a similar situation.
Bought a Note 3 (SM-N9005) in Europe, Romania, running on Vodafone. I have noticed weird signal variations in places where my old Galaxy S2 had no problem, both at work and at home.
Signal reception would drop from 1-2 bars HSPA+ to no signal at all, when my Note 3 reads as not registered on network.
Signal strength varies from -75 dBm to -110 dBm (when I'm close to no signal at all). I have baseband/build number N9005XXUBMJ1.
Have even contacted local Samsung office and they suggested I simply factory reset my phone to try and fix problem with poor reception.
I have googled this poor reception issue and so far found that people are complaining about it only in the USA. Maybe as time passes and more Note 3 units are sold, more people will report this.

I smell a modem update coming sometime soon because I am also experiencing worse signal than At&t in the Philadelphia area(data and voice) where Verizon holds the market share for towers around here, and there's many of them...

nmeseth said:
Just bought a Galaxy Note 3 with Verizon and the signal was pretty good until I got home.
I've been getting 1-2 bars on 4G LTE, (Which is 10-15% of the time). A good 20% I have 3G with 1-2 bars.
The rest of the time I do not even have 3G.
When i have 4G LTE the speedtest is 1.37 down, 0.20 MBps up. When I have 3G its 58 kbps down and 208 kbps up.
Completely baffles me.
Signal strength is -99dBm.
Any suggestions? I'm about to go return it and go back to my Galaxy S3 with US Cellular.
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+1
Thinking about returning/exchanging mine. Seems to have gotten slightly better the past few days, but still poor compared to my note 2. Thinking about taking it back to Verizon this week. Anyone know how the return/exchange process works? If I exchange it and still have problems then what are my options? Or if I return it do I get my upgrade back? Can I then repurchase it and have another 14 days to test and potentially return it?

My Note3 signal is poor too (much worse than my 4S) .

The signal and reception is horrible and comparable to my samsung galaxy nexus. It's disappointing.
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app

AlecRobertson said:
My Note3 signal is poor too (much worse than my 4S) .
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Bsmith0731 said:
The signal and reception is horrible and comparable to my samsung galaxy nexus. It's disappointing.
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app
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Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 2
+1 mine hasn't gotten any better and I'm hoping a software update helps a bit. The good news is that it only affects me when I'm in low signal areas like my home(especially downstairs) where I constantly lose service completely and have to wait and hit resend when sending texts. With my thunderbolt and Note 2 I always had at least one bar of 1x or 3g. Disappointing

Sounds like I'm not alone. I didn't see this thread earlier and posted my own. My experience is pretty much what you guys are saying. As long as I'm in a good signal area everything's fine, but when in low signal areas it's in and out, if at all. These are the sane areas where my Note 2, Razr, Bionic, etc. all worked fine for calls and even had data to some degree.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

samsung note 3 reception
Hi is the Samsung note 3 poor reception a 4.3 issue?

I'm pretty sure that Verizon has improved the reception with the MJE update... I haven't had any issues since then.
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

MJE fixed the issue and my Note 3 signal is almost as good as my Note 2 was...still sad tho because the Note 3 should be better in every category and its not.

Yeah signal and radio hardware needs improved by Samsung considering they are the biggest phone manufacturers.

jpknuuti said:
You can find interesting information about mobiles’ and tablets’ reception performance from:
www.devicereception.com
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I am only seeing the galaxy s5 under Samsung phones, not a single other device. Do you have a link to the Note 3? Thanks
Also still have my reception issues and dropped/missed calls. I will likely send it in under warranty sometime next month and temporarily use my old thunderbolt. I would just purchase the Note 4 first but I'm holding out for the Note Edge, hope Verizon gets it by November.

forzamilan79 said:
Hi is the Samsung note 3 poor reception a 4.3 issue?
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no, i recently brought a note 3 4.4.2 yesterday and i got 2 bars on three network, on my old note 2 i had full bars everywere in the house, i'm going to see if it improves when i go outside.

Phone Signal Rogers on n910u

I'm using a unlocked N910U on Rogers and I always seem to only have 1 or 2 bars phone signal. I consistently have 4G data connection but very poor cell signal, anyway to improve my signal?

Did you try standing on one foot with the phone raised high in the air?
All pun aside, it could be the telco, I switched recently and have noticed a huge difference in cell reception with U model. Also check your APN settings.

homer285 said:
Did you try standing on one foot with the phone raised high in the air?
All pun aside, it could be the telco, I switched recently and have noticed a huge difference in cell reception with U model. Also check your APN settings.
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I will check and see if there's anything in the APN that needs adjusting.
I remember on my galaxy s3 I had update my modem or baseband or something and that improved my cell reception, is there anything like that I can do on my note 4?

At&t reception, I still feel it's better than other phones?

Just spend the day at the lake yesterday, on a dock...Usually I'm lucky to get any reception at any place in that area, but I was able to walk up on the hill and get LTE where no other phone has ever gotten it, even just a few weeks ago and again 2 months ago.
I see a lot of people saying the reception isn't good, but I feel it's better than any other phone I've had to date? Regardless of what the signal bars show or the db shows, I can get signal where I never have before.
Just sayin'

[accidentally posted the reply, removing]

tele_jas said:
Just spend the day at the lake yesterday, on a dock...Usually I'm lucky to get any reception at any place in that area, but I was able to walk up on the hill and get LTE where no other phone has ever gotten it, even just a few weeks ago and again 2 months ago.
I see a lot of people saying the reception isn't good, but I feel it's better than any other phone I've had to date? Regardless of what the signal bars show or the db shows, I can get signal where I never have before.
Just sayin'
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I think the Wi-Fi and cellular reception problems are in the european model - I had great reception with B20 software and the B27 update made it even better

tabletalker7 said:
I think the Wi-Fi and cellular reception problems are in the european model - I had great reception with B20 software and the B27 update made it even better
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This is a good point. It might be helpful if people would include which specific region model they are using. My reception is definitely on par with my Note 3 on AT&T in the USA (USA model).

celticchrys said:
This is a good point. It might be helpful if people would include which specific region model they are using. My reception is definitely on par with my Note 3 on AT&T in the USA (USA model).
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My Axon 7 blows away my Zenfone 2.

My axon 7 beat the pants off my Nexus 6p when I tried using speedtest.net. Both wifi and lte were significantly faster. Also using the US model. B27 seems to have improved things even further. No complains at all!

I'm using A2017U in europe, LTE band 3. My previous phone was Xperia Z and comparing Axon 7 to it, cell and wifi reception is better in any way of using (2.4 and 5ghz, 3G and LTE). So no problem with wifi and cell reception on mine A2017U. Very satisfied.

Ditto
celticchrys said:
This is a good point. It might be helpful if people would include which specific region model they are using. My reception is definitely on par with my Note 3 on AT&T in the USA (USA model).
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Ditto on both points. I also previously used the Note3 and I get a super signal with the Axon 7, even in places where the Note was hit/miss. Love the phone.

Troll thread. It's obvious that a sizeable minority of owner have reception problems and telling people that 'I'm alright Jack' is unhelpful at best and smug and weird at worst.
Idea for another thread:
Lots of smartphone owners complain of easily cracked screens. I threw mine under a bus and it's fine.

tele_jas said:
Just spend the day at the lake yesterday, on a dock...Usually I'm lucky to get any reception at any place in that area, but I was able to walk up on the hill and get LTE where no other phone has ever gotten it, even just a few weeks ago and again 2 months ago.
I see a lot of people saying the reception isn't good, but I feel it's better than any other phone I've had to date? Regardless of what the signal bars show or the db shows, I can get signal where I never have before.
Just sayin'
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Click to collapse
I don't agree, not as good as my Moto X or my Idol 3 on band 17 LTE or HSPA 850mhz. It's the lower bands it has an issue with.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

I have good reception for LTE in most places. WiFi is very good. However, when it comes to radio signal for LTE this is the worst phone of all that I have ever owned. I do not get involved in all sorts of tests but according to the Signal strength mine is usually about -5 higher than all the others. It is acceptable in most places as I live in a large city with good reception on AT&T. However, as I related on the ZTE forum I was at an assembly the other day and I was the only person with an Axon 7 in the whole place. Every other person had either an iPhone (most popular) or some other Android like a Samsung Galaxy. In the outer hallway I had a good signal, but when I went into the main auditorium all I got was a flashing red notification light letting me know that I had ZERO signal, while my wife's Moto X Pure and my daughters shattered iPhone 6 both had very good reception. The Moto is on T-Mobile and the iPhone is on Verizon. I do not think the carrier had anything to do with this issue. Clearly there is a problem with the Axon 7 when it comes the LTE signal strength. I am beginning to think it may be hardware related somehow and unable to be repaired with a software update ...unless they boost the signal strength through software which will also take a toll on battery longevity. Maybe they have the antennas positioned poorly inside the phone?? So I am trying to patiently wait to see what ZTE accomplished with their next update. But if they cannot fix the LTE signal strength then I will have no choice but to move on to another phone. Even though most of the time I am using WiFi, having a phone that cannot communicate in low signal areas when every other phone can, is not acceptable.

On TMO I'm getting a 2x stronger signal than my S7 Edge. Quite impressed. The Wi-Fi signal is much stronger also. I can stream music in my shed from the Wi-Fi ap in the house. The S7E couldn't even detect the signal.