Poor signal - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

As above pretty much always had a poor signal where ever I am with what ever network I'm on.
Is there a way of boosting ur signal some how? (Those things u stick on the battery u get off eBay don't work)
I think samsung need to improve its signal connection thing within its phones.

Are you using the same phone on all these networks?
Sent from my LG-D959 using XDA Free mobile app

Not all the networks but iv been on 3, O2 and now Vodafone on my s4

Related

Aaaargh fecking signal!!

Why does my phone show full signal yet all apps that use mobile data either run shockingly slow or not at all!! My steam app is constantly reconnecting yet signal is constant! In BBS it's showing i have good signal for a matter of minutes and is mostly showing poor or unknown signal nearly the whole time the phone is on!
My set up is the latest AOKP rom and faux's kernel
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
nuclearmonkeyuk said:
Why does my phone show full signal yet all apps that use mobile data either run shockingly slow or not at all!! My steam app is constantly reconnecting yet signal is constant! In BBS it's showing i have good signal for a matter of minutes and is mostly showing poor or unknown signal nearly the whole time the phone is on!
My set up is the latest AOKP rom and faux's kernel
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be you only have full bars of 2G data speed. You are either being throttled for excessive use from your carrier or your carrier only has 2G speeds where you live. Where I work the entire county only has 2G Edge speeds from AT&T even though their coverage map shows 3G for the area. Check your data type and speeds with an app like Network Signal info.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.android.telnet&hl=en
Happens to me a lot as well. I show full 4g and yet everything times out and wont load because data is so slow. I'm also in a good coverage area where i get 12-14 Mbps speed with other phones and when this one is acting normal.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
The towers you are connecting to are probably overloaded. Thin of them as a wireless access point at your house with 1 internet line. If too many connect to and use that line, the connection gets slower. Would be nice if cell providers posted tower stats in your area. Would save a lot of angry calls
stretched said:
The towers you are connecting to are probably overloaded. Thin of them as a wireless access point at your house with 1 internet line. If too many connect to and use that line, the connection gets slower. Would be nice if cell providers posted tower stats in your area. Would save a lot of angry calls
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think in my situation it is not this. My wife has an HTC one s and my brother a sgs2 and they will have great data speed while i have dead slow even though we are on the same carrier and in the same room.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Got the same problem
My pbone is acting wired showing full signal but no traffic gets through
Also sometimes the signal just greys out and i dont get any connection until switching flightmode and back
Im at aokp to... Maybe its relaxed to the rom
Im on Stock kernel
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
MoooN said:
Got the same problem
My pbone is acting wired showing full signal but no traffic gets through
Also sometimes the signal just greys out and i dont get any connection until switching flightmode and back
Im at aokp to... Maybe its relaxed to the rom
Im on Stock kernel
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happened to me on stock, cm, aokp, and now pa. I don't know what it is. I just hope an update will fix it.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Glad im not the only one suffering.. I didnt really have the problem on stock so much.. just since unlocking and flashing new roms.
To the person who mentioned carrier throttling, its certainly not that as one minute i'll get full speed and the next (youtube for example) will just stop and start saying no signal retry and then if i turn the phone off and back on again it will work. How can a carrier throttle you when you only have a 2Gb usage limit and then they charge you afterwards that makes no sense.
Also its not a 2G problem as Signal checker shows 3G and also now EE all around my area. Besides my wife's S3 on the same network is getting full speeds where im not or anything even though im apparently at full strength H
I hope this gets sorted soon as its also affecting calls.. I'll have what looks like full signal while playing a game then suddenly a text to say someone tried ringing me like 3 minutes before!!
probably switching from HSDPA to HSPA+.
did you notice a H on top of your signal bar, that switches to H+ when the lag is over?
I have had this problem for a long time, since I got my Galaxy Nexus and now again on my Nexus 4, and finally got so fed up that I have been testing it all day and getting screenshots ready to make my own post about this so I am pretty relieved to see this post!
I live in Philadelphia and use T-Mobile. I have had T-Mobile here for years and never had this problem before. When they upgraded to 3G I had amazing speed boosts and when they did HSPA+ it got even better but that was on a G1/G2. On my Nexus phones the internet is damn near unusable in center city but what is so odd about it is that in my Google searches about the problem I can only seem to find posts raving about T-Mobile in the city and how Philly keeps getting improvements including the new improved 1900Mhz HSPA+42 but I have never even seen my Nexus 4 on the +42 network the best it goes to is +15 and even that makes no difference because the internet is so slow and unrelaible that unless I am on Wifi, my phone just sits in my pocket useless.
I'm really at my wits end about this and no one, Google or T-Mobile seems to take responsibility or have any advice on how to fix it except the pointless factory reset.
I've seen a brief mention on XDA about a fast.tmobile.com APN and I changed to that and I'd like to imagine that it showed some type of improvements but certainly not with data speeds/latency/integrity of connection. If anything, it may have improved signal 'strength' (used lightly because regardless of what my strength is listed as the connection sucks.
To be clear, I am connected to HSPA and HSPA+ when the connection is being used, like it should, but these are the best speeds I managed to get throughout the day today as I moved around campus trying different spots.
Please, someone have advice!!
Could it be kennel related? Did you guys try just being on stock ROM?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
ftarules said:
Could it be kennel related? Did you guys try just being on stock ROM?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the stock kernel, stock radio although not the stock ROM. I am pretty sure I had this problem before I rooted (I say pretty sure to be conservative with my answer since I am not 100% sure but I am definitely 90%)
Is anyone confident about their knowledge regarding APN settings? I have seen like 15 different configurations for T-Mobile's APN and have no idea which one to try and would prefer not to just go through them one by one -- I've got things to do!
ftarules said:
Could it be kennel related? Did you guys try just being on stock ROM?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again.. I'm pretty sure i didn't have this problem while on stock but i could be wrong. My GNex was exactly the same. And I'm on orange UK so completely different network to the T-Mobile USA so surely can't be random that we're both having the same problems
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
I had the same slowness over cellular, 9kbps or so. I changed APN's, rebooted and just got 2463kbps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1791526
drdjr said:
I had the same slowness over cellular, 9kbps or so. I changed APN's, rebooted and just got 2463kbps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1791526
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will this only work for at&t users though?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
I'm on stock 4.2.1. Phone is rooted and boot loader unlocked. For about two days now I'm having signal drops from 4bars, then greyed out 4 bars and jumps between H to 3G. Settings for LTE revert to WCDMA every time I lose reception. Also dialer crashes/ force closes if I have an incoming call and sends all calls to voicemail. I can dial out but at the end of my calls when I go to hang up I see the popup that phone process crashed.
My carrier is Bell Canada and the phone worked fine for about 10 days before this started happening.
Any tips or advice to help me out is appreciated. Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Bump.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

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:

Signal strength on my new Note 3..

Does anyone have a problem with their signal strength....mine will show 4g in an LTE area....it will switch back and forth from LTE to 4g constantly...sometimes the signal strength would be so low, that web pages wont even open for a min or two....I am using a sim adapter to use my sim card from my iphone 5, instead of using the new sim....I switch back and forth between my iphone and note, so I don't want to use another sim...does that cause problems?
Are you in Australia?
Sent from my GT-N7105T using Tapatalk now Free
My note 3's signal is stronger than original note.
Sent from my SM-N9000Q using Tapatalk now Free
I was getting great 4G connection before this last update and now it's using the highest signal like 2g most of the time.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Mine is rubbish
Well the actual signal strength is fine when its working, but it has real trouble re-connecting to my network (3, UK) after going out of range.
It sits on the 'emergency calls only' mode for ages, and requires a reboot, after which it immediately connects to my correct network.
Its made slightly better by manually selecting '3' as the network operator, but I have to reboot several times a day to keep connected.
Im planning on going to Car Phone Warehouse tomorrow for a chat about it...
George
ripnetuk: Just as a suggestion:
My NexusS tends to not to reestablish the data connection after a weak signal period. I can fix that by switching to airplane mode and back. (Rebooting takes ages with that phone).
Hi,
Id established that sometimes putting airplane mode on and off fixes it, but it often didnt. A reboot /always/ reconnected to the three network.
I took it back today, and Carphonewarehouse swapped it for a new unit, no questions asked, so im gonna give it a go for a while before thinking its fixed.
I did get my highest ever speed test result with the new phone tho - over 15 megs... ive never seen over 12 before, so hopefully its got a good antenna on it
g
Swapped for another unit and it's all working properly now so it was a lemon device causing it..
Phew!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
I compared reception and signal between my Note 3 and HTC ONE in Hong Kong. I found that the HTC ONE and the older LTE Model of the Note 2 got better reception/signal when compared to my new Samsung Note 3
How long did you have your phone before you changed it for a new one?
I am having the same problem as well, also having camera troubles as well... Sounds like I have a lemon as well..
coolfreebies
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free
about 15 days...
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Need help!!! Poor reception on phones!

We could really use some advice; my wife and I just switched from old BB 9700 to the galaxy s5, and my wife noticed she could no longer make calls on the bottom floor of her building without them being dropped repeatedly; with the BB she had no problem making these calls. I have been trying to research the problem, and checking my phone, it tells me my signal strength is hovering around -120 dbm (and 16 asu, whatever that means) at home. I never had a reception problem with my BB at home either. To make this a little more confusing, we switched carriers from Rogers to Eastlink when we did this switch.
We're now about a week into our contracts, and have a week left for the grace period; the question is, is this the phone, or the network? Should we be ditching the gs5 for something with better reception? We love the phone, but reception is really important for us. Is there a better phone to try?
Wanted to add, in Status, I'm getting:
Signal strength 120 DBMS 20 asu
Mobile network type : unknown
Service state: out of service
Roaming: not roaming
Mobile network state: disconnected
Does this explain whether the phone or network are at fault?
Thanks for any help!!
Thanks in advance for any help!!!
120dbm doesn't sound good. In my experience, you need at least 100 or lower.. as far as reception, I think that would largely depend on your carrier. In theory, the S5 should have better hardware for reception so I don't believe that's a problem.... Maybe try an HTC One M8?
I noticed worse signal on my new S5 also.
Every day I travel same trip and on my S3 I never lost signal.
Now with the S5 there are 3 moments I completely lose signal.
Also in my home at some places I lose signal.
I have the genuine Samsung wireless charging cover (not s-cover).
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Same here. My BB and S3 have no problems with reception in our house, nor does my wife's S2.
But my S5 has no signal at all. Either the S5's radio software is rubbish or the antenna is puny.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Extenders

I've have a note 3 and it has always had a low signal. I've heard of people talking about using extenders but have never seen one or talked to anyone that had one. My question is what is the situation where this is called for and how does it hook up. My note seldom gets at 4g signal in the house most of the time it's a low 3g signal with some dropped calls. My s4 basically does the same but my old moto RAZR mass and all lucid both get a descent 4g signal. Would a extender solve this problem? Of so how do I go about getting one. Thanks. Jesse
Sent from my GT-P5113 using XDA Free mobile app
I have the same problem as what you have and the tiered 2 tech support sent me a network extender router for test then it was epic failure for my area as it wasn't working very well in my area.
It depends on your area but it is not free and I returned the network extender router back to the Verizon.
No charge under 14 days.
Good luck ?
That's what u heard was you had to buy the things and if they worked it was minimal at best. I think I keep as I am for now because it is usable not quite the reception ithought I would get for a 700 dollar phone
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app
Jaxle67 said:
That's what u heard was you had to buy the things and if they worked it was minimal at best. I think I keep as I am for now because it is usable not quite the reception ithought I would get for a 700 dollar phone
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The network extender is a nano cell site. You plug into your home network and that's how you get signal. I don't know about the new ones, but the older ones had to be connected by a network cable to your router. If you have lousy home internet service....the extender will only be "good" for phone calls, not data.
Sent from my Note 3 via Tapatalk
The reception in our home is poor, for all devices. We had the original Network Extender, and now the 3G Network Extender, and for us, it works quite well.
It has an ethernet connection to our Router, and generates a cell signal. Calls then go through the internet connection. As pointed out above, it's for calls only. It will have no impact on your 4G signal. But if you're at home, and have an internet connection, then presumably you'd have WiFi and wouldn't need your cell signal for data.
Without the extender we had very frequent missed or dropped calls. It made us reluctant to even use the phones at home. With it, there is rarely a dropped or missed call. Works for us.
As for cost, I was able to give me a significant discount (50% or so) when I indicated that I wouldn't be able to continue with Verizon because their signal is so poor in our home. Could possibly get it for free if pushed; some have.

Categories

Resources