I know this has been talked about a little before but I don't see no real good answers.
I had an S3 a while ago and sold it because the signal was pretty bad in certain areas where other phones had no issues. My Mot Razr Maxx and LG G2 worked way better than the S3.
Now I am looking at the S5 to maybe buy but I am concerned about having that same issue where the phone is useless because you can't send text or make calls.
And I am not going to go through this flashing a new radio because someone thinks it works better. I did that too many times with the S3 and it really never did help at all.
So does this S5 still got the same old Samsung radio issues
It seems better than the S3 for me. The real test for me is going to the next city over and seeing if it loses all signal. It's literally 2 or 3 miles from my house and the reception just craps out.
I would like to hear what you report back...
I have an S5 and my wife has an S3, both on Verizon. IMHO, my S5 has far better reception than her S3.
Her S3 also has GPS issues even out in the open away from buildings, while my S5 will show my exact location even in a downtown environments.
JohnKuczek said:
I have an S5 and my wife has an S3, both on Verizon. IMHO, my S5 has far better reception than her S3.
Her S3 also has GPS issues even out in the open away from buildings, while my S5 will show my exact location even in a downtown environments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reports. I just remembering the S3 loved the development and the phone, But getting good service on it was something else.
I am using my LG G2 right now and it works pretty good rooted and on a custom rom. I also still have my Mot Razr Maxx HD
I am thinking of going to the 10GB everything plan (Maybe) and getting the wife and I both S5's... The only thing holding me back is I am still on no contract and on the Unlimited Data Plan. Very Hard Choice to leave that.
I could do what I always been doing and just go buy an S5 new from ebay.
I have not signed new contract with Verizon in Years... Scary to me just thinking about it. I think the last time I did was when they came out with 4G and I got the HTC TBolt... LOL Showing my age now.
I used to have an S3 and now have the S5. At work in my office, I got zero reception on my S3 and had to plug it in or it would be dead by the end of the day because it was constantly searching for a signal. When I left for the day I would suddenly get voicemails and notifications because I finally got a signal again. With the S5, I actually get a weak signal in my office, so I receive notifications, texts, and can actually receive phone calls every once in a while. So I'd say from my experience the signal on the S5 is much improved over the S3.
Related
so I didn't think reception could get much worse than I had with my Sensation4G with Tmobile.. but I'm getting lousy reception and still dropping plenty of calls with my N4.
Did I get a lemon, or is it the same for everyone else?
Hopefully there will be a radio update soon.
I really don't care as much about data throughput.. would just like some stable voice connections.
Probably just T-mobile. I had a Note 2 on T-mobile and it was the worst decision ever. Im a previous Verizon customer so I NEVER had a dropped call. Im using the Nexus 4 on Straight Talk via AT&T and have had NO issues at all Id ditch T-Mobile. lol
sx4dude2013 said:
Probably just T-mobile. I had a Note 2 on T-mobile and it was the worst decision ever. Im a previous Verizon customer so I NEVER had a dropped call. Im using the Nexus 4 on Straight Talk via AT&T and have had NO issues at all Id ditch T-Mobile. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not trying to debate one carrier vs. another.. I was on Tmo before and still on Tmo.. had a sensation4g before, N4 now.. S4G was claimed to be weak reception.. so I expected a relative improvement (vs. the S4G). Not seeing one so far.
Great reception on my phone. I would call T-Mobile or test it in another place.
Tmo user from Voicestream days. Moved from NY to TX and still using them today. No dropped calls on my end. I am coming from a Sensation as well, and it's actually a tad better than the Sensation IMO. I always get 4g. I only get weak signals when I am in the really rural areas. In that instance, ATT is better in that respect.
It actually depends on where you live IMO. Look around town, check out the phone provider stores. ATT, VZ, Tmo, Sprint. See which is closest to you and where you would most use your phone. Basically those stores would be placed strategically in places where they get good reception on the respective networks. If you have a tmo store near you, go there, compare the phones reception and call quality you can see if it's your phone in question or not.
I am desperately in need for some help with my phone.
The issue i have been having is bad cell reception. I used to have reception nearly everywhere and now, not so much. I know there is a problem because i used to have no bars to maybe max of 2 bars in church. And yes its not much, but at least it was something. A few months ago, idk what happened, but i noticed that i had no bars at all. And then a few other places where i go on regular basis started to show no signal at all.
My phone was rooted for a long time prior to that and i cant think of anything that i could have done to create this problem. So since i noticed it, i have tried numerous things to fix it. I have done full reset of my phone, i did activation reset. Tried different roms, updated URL, profile a few times. Nothing helped. Then i have decided to take it back to Sprint store thinking maybe they can help, but i would have to return it back to stock rom, so i did that, still didn't work. Same crappy cell reception, even tmobile on SGS4 works better side by side.
I even tried fully updating my phone since its what sprint representative will do anyways in their attempt to fix the problem and still no effect.
I am going to take this phone to sprint store in a few days, but i was really hoping someone here could help me out.
Its probably sprint "upgrading" the towers in your area. Especially since you said it began a few months back. Trust me it sucks for a few months but it will get better. You have to ride it out. And T-Mobile runs on a different network GSM so its not a good comparison.
What you could do and get another sprint phone and go to the same places and compare signal strength.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
I don't think so. My dad has lg optimus g from sprint and when icompare them side but side like right now he has 5 to full 6 bars while i got zero.
The downs can't be that big even though he has different phone.
I too have the same problem. My daughter has a S3 with full bars and 4G. I have no bars and 3G. What gives.
So after waiting in the sprint store for two hours the tech guy told me that he does not have equipment to check if its my phone's fault, but when he looked up data usage of my phone at some specific towers near by, he did see that my phone had more drops then the marketed value. Which means that my phone has a on average worse cell reception then it should. But then again, he can not confirm it for sure because they dont have the appropriate equipment. Which is retarded, i went to a corporate store.
The best option he could do is replace the phone for 75$ (since i dont have sprint warranty). So now i am thinking about calling samsung to see if they will replace it fr free. The only downside of that is that i wont have a phone for a week or even more.
So I checked the PRL file on my daughters phone and installed in the same PRL file on my phone. No changes. I grabbed my son's S4 and he too has a crappy signal level. It must be the hardware.
:crying:
Yea this sucks. My friend has S3 t-mobile (i believe), and in his basement he gets 3 bars 4G while i got no service.
I know that there is this thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2713214 but they don't seem to answer the question based on an S3, so I'm curious for those of you that swtiched from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal everywhere you use it?
the reason for my question is this: I'm looking to upgrade from the S3, but I want a phone that I'm going to get a better signal with. I like Samsung, but am up to considering other android phones if one is specifically better with signal than the S5.
So, again, coming from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal for calls/text/data?
Thanks
ddog511 said:
I know that there is this thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2713214 but they don't seem to answer the question based on an S3, so I'm curious for those of you that swtiched from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal everywhere you use it?
the reason for my question is this: I'm looking to upgrade from the S3, but I want a phone that I'm going to get a better signal with. I like Samsung, but am up to considering other android phones if one is specifically better with signal than the S5.
So, again, coming from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal for calls/text/data?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No 32GB option, so I stuck with my S4. Hopefully the S5 prime has a 32GB version.
I had also been considering the HTC One M8, but from what I've been reading, the radios in that device are worse than the samsung ones. I wonder if this is beginning to be a trend... Of course, there's also the draw of S-Off and root on that device. Ultimately, it comes down to this - my S3 had absolutely no signal where 3 of my buddies' iPhones had signal as did my brother's Moto X. It was very frustrating, so I want to make sure that my next phone has better signal.
ddog511 said:
I know that there is this thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2713214 but they don't seem to answer the question based on an S3, so I'm curious for those of you that swtiched from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal everywhere you use it?
the reason for my question is this: I'm looking to upgrade from the S3, but I want a phone that I'm going to get a better signal with. I like Samsung, but am up to considering other android phones if one is specifically better with signal than the S5.
So, again, coming from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal for calls/text/data?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got my S5 and I'm dropping calls where I never did with my S3. VZW thinks it could be a device issue and are waiting for my word to ship me a new replacement. I'll keep testing today and update this thread and also if I end up replacing it after receiving a new one.
I've noticed a great improvement in regards to signal on the gs5. It even seems to be a tad better than my Note 3 as far as keeping lte. I'm in a rural area too by the way.
trehouse said:
I just got my S5 and I'm dropping calls where I never did with my S3. VZW thinks it could be a device issue and are waiting for my word to ship me a new replacement. I'll keep testing today and update this thread and also if I end up replacing it after receiving a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Definitely give an update if you can.
I noticed no difference in signal strength between my S3 and S5, both are great. Although the S5 does get access to the much faster AWS LTE.
ddog511 said:
So, again, coming from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal for calls/text/data?Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't speak to the S3 --> S5 changes, but I went from an S4 --> S5 and noticed HUGE signal improvements, including WiFi
I went to the S5 from a Note 2. The S5 seems to have slightly better signal and seems to hold onto lower signal longer before switching to CDMA. That's the best part; the S5 switches between radios much quicker than the Note 2 did. When I lost LTE on the Note 2, it would take over a minute usually to switch to CDMA and even longer when it felt like switching back to LTE. When the S5 switches, it's usually functional within two or so seconds. Love it.
s3 to s5
ddog511 said:
I know that there is this thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2713214 but they don't seem to answer the question based on an S3, so I'm curious for those of you that swtiched from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal everywhere you use it?
the reason for my question is this: I'm looking to upgrade from the S3, but I want a phone that I'm going to get a better signal with. I like Samsung, but am up to considering other android phones if one is specifically better with signal than the S5.
So, again, coming from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal for calls/text/data?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from an S3 to an S5 and have noticed the signal is much better on the S5, but that is not always the case. I had the S3 since it came out and never had issues with 4G at work or other places when the signal was good. The S5 seems to have issues connecting with 4G at the same places I have used the S3 where I never had issues before (e.g. work and other frequented places). So far it only seems to affect text and data. When I do have issues, I am able to receive text messages, but not send text messages. Also, data does not work at all. I have to change the network on my S5 to CDMA to get it work. When I arrive to work, I have to change it to CDMA and when I leave work I change back to 4G. Using the automatic network mode setting does not help either since it stays on the 4G setting. I have had the same issues at other places, but I don't visit those places daily. I called Sprint and they couldn't anything for me.
sz1980 said:
I went from an S3 to an S5 and have noticed the signal is much better on the S5, but that is not always the case. I had the S3 since it came out and never had issues with 4G at work or other places when the signal was good. The S5 seems to have issues connecting with 4G at the same places I have used the S3 where I never had issues before (e.g. work and other frequented places). So far it only seems to affect text and data. When I do have issues, I am able to receive text messages, but not send text messages. Also, data does not work at all. I have to change the network on my S5 to CDMA to get it work. When I arrive to work, I have to change it to CDMA and when I leave work I change back to 4G. Using the automatic network mode setting does not help either since it stays on the 4G setting. I have had the same issues at other places, but I don't visit those places daily. I called Sprint and they couldn't anything for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is very helpful, thank you. I wonder though, if the Sprint radios are different from the Verizon ones as far as signal strength and quality... It would be interesting to find out whether the Verizon version has the same issues where 4g connected just fine with the S3, but has issues on the S5 as you had experienced.
sz1980 said:
I went from an S3 to an S5 and have noticed the signal is much better on the S5, but that is not always the case. I had the S3 since it came out and never had issues with 4G at work or other places when the signal was good. The S5 seems to have issues connecting with 4G at the same places I have used the S3 where I never had issues before (e.g. work and other frequented places). So far it only seems to affect text and data. When I do have issues, I am able to receive text messages, but not send text messages. Also, data does not work at all. I have to change the network on my S5 to CDMA to get it work. When I arrive to work, I have to change it to CDMA and when I leave work I change back to 4G. Using the automatic network mode setting does not help either since it stays on the 4G setting. I have had the same issues at other places, but I don't visit those places daily. I called Sprint and they couldn't anything for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ddog511 said:
This is very helpful, thank you. I wonder though, if the Sprint radios are different from the Verizon ones as far as signal strength and quality... It would be interesting to find out whether the Verizon version has the same issues where 4g connected just fine with the S3, but has issues on the S5 as you had experienced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a Verizon user and have not experienced any of those issues that sz1980 has. I get reliable data and text in the places where my S3 did. I do also notice better reception in fringe/weak areas, such as at work where I get terrible reception. With the S3 I never could make a phone call, and text sending was hit or miss. With the S5 I can actually make a phone call, and text sending has been quite reliable.
Maybe your phone is simply defective sz1980. Have you tried exchanging it?
BeefJerky9 said:
I'm a Verizon user and have not experienced any of those issues that sz1980 has. I get reliable data and text in the places where my S3 did. I do also notice better reception in fringe/weak areas, such as at work where I get terrible reception. With the S3 I never could make a phone call, and text sending was hit or miss. With the S5 I can actually make a phone call, and text sending has been quite reliable.
Maybe your phone is simply defective sz1980. Have you tried exchanging it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not because I don't think it's defective. If it were sporadic I would, but as soon as I am close to my desk at work, the issue starts. It appears I have signal, but as soon as I attempt a call, send a text, or use data the LTE symbol greys out. Again, it consistently happens at my desk where the S3 always worked.
sz1980 said:
I have not because I don't think it's defective. If it were sporadic I would, but as soon as I am close to my desk at work, the issue starts. It appears I have signal, but as soon as I attempt a call, send a text, or use data the LTE symbol greys out. Again, it consistently happens at my desk where the S3 always worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sure sounds defective to me; besides, what's the harm in doing an exchange? At least this way you'd be able to rule out the hardware as the issue. That said, it sounds like you don't want to do that, so it seems you just want to complain and not actually get the problem fixed.
ddog511 said:
I know that there is this thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2713214 but they don't seem to answer the question based on an S3, so I'm curious for those of you that swtiched from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal everywhere you use it?
the reason for my question is this: I'm looking to upgrade from the S3, but I want a phone that I'm going to get a better signal with. I like Samsung, but am up to considering other android phones if one is specifically better with signal than the S5.
So, again, coming from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal for calls/text/data?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My previous phone wasn't a Samsung, so I am not answering your question, but much of my work requires me to be in rural - even remote areas. My Verizon S5 is frequently the only phone in the room with a connection. I also used to have shaky connections at home (on Verizon). I now have a solid connection for both data and calls and have no dropped calls. I LOVE this phone!
Does not answer your question but
ddog511 said:
I know that there is this thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2713214 but they don't seem to answer the question based on an S3, so I'm curious for those of you that swtiched from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal everywhere you use it?
the reason for my question is this: I'm looking to upgrade from the S3, but I want a phone that I'm going to get a better signal with. I like Samsung, but am up to considering other android phones if one is specifically better with signal than the S5.
So, again, coming from the S3 to the S5, did you notice any better signal for calls/text/data?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to use iPhones so I don't go back with android to the S3 but recently have owned and used iPhone 5, LG G2, HTC One M8, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S5 developers edition and Moto Maxx Developers edition and hands down the Droid Maxx has the best reception. Note that all have been on Verizon so it may be different on different carriers (droid is Verizon only). Recently drove with my son from VA to CA. Son used the LG and I the Maxx. Maxx had better reception from coast to coast. Of course a lot of places neither one of us had any reception.
That said the S5 is good and I am enjoying my new Dev edition S5.
I am ending my connection with sprint soon and was wondering how is the Verizon Note 3? I live in the north bay area of California and was curious what everyones service is like.
the main reason im leaving Sprint is because my calls are constantly dropping in my house and at work. Its pretty terrible.
Sprint did provide great customer service any time I had issues...
Do people on verizon drop many calls? I know they logged atleast 75 last month... just curious. I love the Note 3 - hated the srevice
I had the Note 3 and pretty much loved it but was considering going with the S5 instead once Im able to port my number.
j00manji said:
I am ending my connection with sprint soon and was wondering how is the Verizon Note 3? I live in the north bay area of California and was curious what everyones service is like.
the main reason im leaving Sprint is because my calls are constantly dropping in my house and at work. Its pretty terrible.
Sprint did provide great customer service any time I had issues...
Do people on verizon drop many calls? I know they logged atleast 75 last month... just curious. I love the Note 3 - hated the srevice
I had the Note 3 and pretty much loved it but was considering going with the S5 instead once Im able to port my number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't live in Cali but I'll chime in. My service has been great. It's alittle more pricey but it's been worth it. My inlaws live in a rural area of Maryland and Sprint cell service was null and void but with Vzw it's full 4G in their area. I love my Note 3, the roms are great and there's a pretty good group of folks around here. Not alot of flaming and trolling either. When I first switched to Verizon I was a HTC fanboy and got the Rezound. Things were so crazy on here I almost went back to Sprint..lol. Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was a phone with beats audio in it and that brought in a younger immature crowd??.... Anyway, in my dealings so far eveyone has been pretty helpful and down to earth in the Note 3 section. Maybe someone in that area can chime in on how good the cell service is. Good luck in your choice.
Just got my N4 last night, I have been driving the same commute for years now and i know every deadspot along the way.
Last night on my way home I was streaming the Anthonycumia show audio feed via Chrome, and I was holding 3-4 bars of LTE
when I got zero service historically. Unreal! not 1 time did the stream cut out when I was constantly having issues with all my older devices,
Droid x
Galaxy nexus,
Note 3
LG G2
Those older devices would all drop signal to 0 up in the sticks, where the Note 4 holds 2-4 bars consistently.
In the house, I would get 1 (2 if lucky) bars of 3g and could barely every hold a phone conversation.
Now, again 2-3 bars LTE and I can even use download booster.
Impressed to say the least. Anyone else noticing amazing signal?
Samsung finally has a great radio!
I'm with you, signal has been great.
I concur...i work in a lot of dead spot areas where the rich live and since they dont need cell coverage because of wifi they dont allow towers around. Note 3 was dead inside the house im working...now its mostly on 4g most of the time except for a few random outages...big improvement overall, at least if i walk out i get excellent coverage now
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app
you guys are lucky...
The cell coverage at my house has always been atrocious, but I'm actually consistently getting a decent signal at my house with the Note 4. I'm really happy about it.
mlee0921 said:
you guys are lucky...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
verizon just sucks in general, but there's hope. call and complain about your awful speeds numerous times.
my speeds, when LTE first came out, were like 10-15mbps. then as more people got phones, especially the dumbass iphone, the speeds were horrendous and for 2.5 years, i would get 0.5mbps. yeah, not even 1mbps. 3g was faster.
so once a week, i called to complain to verizon over and over, and basically every time had them put in a service ticket because their tower was obviously unable to handle the amount of phones around here.
months later, all of a sudden my speeds jump...and now i'm getting a constant 25-30mbps every day in the same exact area.
honestly, i'd say complain and have atech goto the tower itself.
jayochs said:
verizon just sucks in general, but there's hope. call and complain about your awful speeds numerous times.
my speeds, when LTE first came out, were like 10-15mbps. then as more people got phones, especially the dumbass iphone, the speeds were horrendous and for 2.5 years, i would get 0.5mbps. yeah, not even 1mbps. 3g was faster.
so once a week, i called to complain to verizon over and over, and basically every time had them put in a service ticket because their tower was obviously unable to handle the amount of phones around here.
months later, all of a sudden my speeds jump...and now i'm getting a constant 25-30mbps every day in the same exact area.
honestly, i'd say complain and have atech goto the tower itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to say your complains didn't work, but what probably happened was that they installed and enabled AWS (XLTE in marketing speak) in your area. Something that Verizon was going to do anyways.
oilfighter said:
Not to say your complains didn't work, but what probably happened was that they installed and enabled AWS (XLTE in marketing speak) in your area. Something that Verizon was going to do anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they claimed there's no XLTE over here. the only place in NJ that has it right now is atlantic city, and that's over an hour south of me.
i honestly think the tower was overloaded and maybe they worked on it. i'm in an area that was hit hard by Sandy 2 years ago, and since then, the LTE has sucked. apparently a lot of VZW fiber lines in the area were damaged bad during the storm, which is why we had little to no data service during the storm down here.
the voice quality during calls, sounds crystal clear. much nicer than the note 2!
I agree totally. Reception on this phone is unmatched by any Verizon phone ive had to date and ive had plenty. Its so good im hoping root comes in a hurry so i can freeze the update packages in titanium backup so the phone will not take an update and ruin the experience like KitKrap done to the note 3.
concur...at my desk right now, on my N3, I would barely get a signal. had to set my phone on the very edge of the desk near the window.
with this beautiful beast, I'm getting 4 of 5 bars.
I wasn't very hopeful after reading comments here but the signal strength for data has been WWWWAAAAYYYY better than my old GS3. I'd drop in and out going in and out of buildings and I go into a lot of concrete construction buildings and skyscrapers for work and usually I'd kick back to 3G. So far it hasn't dropped back and is chuggin' along.
Im coming from Motorolas and they have excellent signal strength. I dont see a difference in signal so it is a great improvement from the previous samsung phones ive had (S3 and Note3).
Both my wifes Note 4 and mine have had calls dropped and signal issues in our house. We just switched to Verizon for the first time. We came from US cellular and Straight talk and never had a single reception issue at our house. We live just north of Milwaukee in a town of 30k people. We called Verizon to complain and they started a ticket to have it checked out. The technician emailed me back a few days later and said everything is fine at the tower and in our area. He said there are several factors that can contribute to poor reception like building material of the house, tree/leaves foliage especially in summer months (ah its November and every leaf is on the ground now) and other RF in the area. Again, I never had a dropped call with any of my phones with US cellular in the 8 years I was with them. Needless to say, we were about to cancel our service with them and they offered to give us a free signal booster for our house. Hopefully this will fix our problems at our house, from what I have read, those signal boosters make a world of difference.
Whats weird is the signal strength is usually about -103dbm which is about the same when I checked with some of my old US cellular phones in our house. Because its happening with both my note 4 and my wifes, I don't think its the phone.
Sounds like the note 4 has good radio in it so hopefully my house is just in the cellular Bermuda triangle for Verizon and the booster will solve our issues at home.
This phone really impress me too with its signal power even in low signal areas it has really good signal.
Have to agree. I work at 2 locations and at the second spot there is horrible reception with my old Note 3 and iPhone 6 (when I had it). But when I came in with my Note 4 I was pleasantly surprised to see that my 4G icon was on with data. And my battery life is better because it's not working overtime for a signal.
No complaints here
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
my iPhone 5s (expectedly) got terrible signal at my school, so did my DROID Razr M. Now i'm rocking 2 bars of 4g. No complaints here.
Same here!
Noticed it while driving to work. My hour commute was hell with my note 2 if I didnt have music pre-downloaded to my phone. When I streamed music, I'd lose signal half of the trip (which is normal for any phone before the N4).
Last couple days I've noticed that I can stream music with little to no pause for streaming.
I live in bumfk... phone has a good radio regardless