Database Users

Zero Signal Bars

I think the bars are inaccurate it's showing zero bars when it says 3g and internet and text messages work fine

Yea I've noticed the same thing. Maybe Samsung wanted to avoid a class action lawsuit for exaggerating signal strength?

lol right and at first i thought i had full bars since nothing was showing but the unlighted bars

It just seems like a minor issue. I've yet to experience poor call quality at zero bars... sucks because it's all in our heads really. Bars have taken over!

Your holding the phone wrong (sorry couldn't resist)
Lets take 2 possibilities...it is either a display bug...
or maybe just maybe..your signal is too strong which goes above the meter and shows 0...(that would be funny)\
more realistically look at this:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/01/cell-phone-rece/

Interesting that may be true

heygrl said:
It just seems like a minor issue. I've yet to experience poor call quality at zero bars... sucks because it's all in our heads really. Bars have taken over!
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Click to collapse
Me too. In my living room I go between 0dBm and -111dBm but I have never lost 3g data nor had a call dropped. Although I can't see the dB reading while on a call I do see the bars go from 0 to 3 bars and as soon as I'm off the call and they go back to zero,

I'm thinking it's a software issue that will be fixed

Same issue here. Zero bars most of the time in my home but 3G is working and calls are fine!!!

It has a death grip
I notice that when I hold the phone, bars go down very quickly, but they typically come back up for the most part.
I set the phone down on my bed - bars go up to full.
I hold the phone naturally in my hand - bars start dropping one by one.
For the most part they hit 0 bars, but connection seems fine. I was on a call and made the bars go down. My friend on the other end didn't notice any problems with the line. I didn't notice any problems either.
I can replicate the issue easily just by holding the phone. Looks like Apple was on to something with their claims. I wonder if Consumer Reports will put this phone it's list of not recommended phones too...

Never lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

iceshinobi said:
Never lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue when i hold the phone in the lower left hand corner. I thought getting a case would correct the issue like on the iphone, but even with a case it still happens.

[Q] How's your Shift Signal Strength?

How is your Evo Shift Signal strength???
Just got my Shift two days ago and I generally like the size, speed, etc. Getting used to Android as I previously used a lot of WinMo and Blackberry devices.
The signal strength on this phone doesn't seem very good for me. My home has marginal Sprint coverage but Touch Pro2 seemed to have better signal strength and reception. It was rare that I ever missed an incoming call.
The shift gets a very weak signal and it sometimes drops to "no bars" for awhile.
I've also observed that the signal meter and my ability to initiate and maintain calls varies with how I hold it. I hold the phone with my right-hand, and have to hold it with my fingers near the top of the phone to get the best reception. Some other folks have posted similar problems. So I'm wondering if this is a general defect with the Shift or if my specific phone has issues.

geekdaddy said:
How is your Evo Shift Signal strength???
Just got my Shift two days ago and I generally like the size, speed, etc. Getting used to Android as I previously used a lot of WinMo and Blackberry devices.
The signal strength on this phone doesn't seem very good for me. My home has marginal Sprint coverage but Touch Pro2 seemed to have better signal strength and reception. It was rare that I ever missed an incoming call.
The shift gets a very weak signal and it sometimes drops to "no bars" for awhile.
I've also observed that the signal meter and my ability to initiate and maintain calls varies with how I hold it. I hold the phone with my right-hand, and have to hold it with my fingers near the top of the phone to get the best reception. Some other folks have posted similar problems. So I'm wondering if this is a general defect with the Shift or if my specific phone has issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first of all, update your PRL and your Profile, just to be sure.
But yes, the antenna seems to be at the bottom of the phone, and holding your hand over that area will indeed have an effect on signal strength. But unless you're already at your signal strength limit for calls, I don't think it makes much of a difference. I don't think the bars are entirely accurate, since my signal strength currently says -101, but I have full bars.
I haven't had any issues getting signal in places I've always had signal, and I actually seem to get better service in areas I couldn't get any service with my Hero, so I think it's an improvement.

Signal strength is ok, but not as good as my Evo was.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

Its worse than my Hero, that's for sure.
Sent from my bathroom, with toilet paper.

Mine seems pretty bad so far. I seem to be roaming allot. Isn't that the triangle above the signal? I will go from one bar and then it will switch to roaming and 4 bars. Seems to go back and forth like that.
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk

This:
EricSS619 said:
Signal strength is ok, but not as good as my Evo was.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
and this:
Heelfan71 said:
Mine seems pretty bad so far. I seem to be roaming allot. Isn't that the triangle above the signal? I will go from one bar and then it will switch to roaming and 4 bars. Seems to go back and forth like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF mate, in places where i'd get sometimes full bars with my evo i'm now down to 1 or 2 or even roaming. very strange. In my bedroom on the evo i'd generally stay around 2-3 bars and now i find myself in roaming on occasion. Hoping a radio update helps.

johnnycross22 said:
This:
and this:
WTF mate, in places where i'd get sometimes full bars with my evo i'm now down to 1 or 2 or even roaming. very strange. In my bedroom on the evo i'd generally stay around 2-3 bars and now i find myself in roaming on occasion. Hoping a radio update helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indoors seem to be my biggest problem. Outside I get a good signal but if I am inside anywhere the bars go down drastically.

not to mention the GPS is total crap vs my Evo that I traded in!
Stilll worth the trade though =)

EricSS619 said:
not to mention the GPS is total crap vs my Evo that I traded in!
Stilll worth the trade though =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why did you not like the evo? just curious.

Heelfan71 said:
why did you not like the evo? just curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly I think mine was just messed up, it lagged terribly and I tried everything to fix it. After I saw my girlfriends lag free shift it was a no brainer for me.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

wow my Shift has great signal strength, way better than my Evo was.
i'm on my second Shift (first one had a bad ear piece speaker) and same experience with both. great reception so far

I was torn between getting an Evo and an Evo Shift. I played with them at my local Sprint store as they were side by side. When the phones were just sitting, both of them had 5 bars. When I picked the Evo up, it still had five bars and when I picked up the Evo Shift, the bars dropped to three. At that moment, I was going to get the Evo. After that, I kept hearing nothing but good reviews about the Evo Shift (amongst whiny minor complaints), saw that the Evo Shift's quadrants were pwning amongst non-rooted devices, and heard 1 too many complaints about the Evo's battery life; this pretty much sealed the deal for me. I had decided that I could live with the Evo Shift's apparent signal strength issues... Can HTC do something about the radio?
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

I can't replicate the grip of death but sometimes I do notice my bars going from 0 or 1 to 5 or 6, it will just jump. I don't know why. But I haven't had any problems because of this so I don't really mind.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

i have cupped my shift in both hands and held it against my chest and my battery only dropped one bar. I think that is a good sign and will not bother me at all.

dnalevelc said:
i have cupped my shift in both hands and held it against my chest and my battery only dropped one bar. I think that is a good sign and will not bother me at all.
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Click to collapse
Err, you mean the signal not the battery right? If your battery dropped that much from cupping the phone, you have issues, lol

dnalevelc said:
i have cupped my shift in both hands and held it against my chest and my battery only dropped one bar. I think that is a good sign and will not bother me at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
God I wish people didn't obsess over "bars" and were reasonable like you. Bars don't mean anything, really. Monitoring signal levels in db makes sense, but people who talk about bars remind me of those who smack their TVs for better reception!
If you can make and hold a call without problems, it doesn't matter how many bars you have. Or if your phone shows 7 bars but you can't make calls, is that a good thing? There are no clear guidelines or standards on bars, so people need to stop obsessing about them.

hammondnav said:
God I wish people didn't obsess over "bars" and were reasonable like you. Bars don't mean anything, really. Monitoring signal levels in db makes sense, but people who talk about bars remind me of those who smack their TVs for better reception!
If you can make and hold a call without problems, it doesn't matter how many bars you have. Or if your phone shows 7 bars but you can't make calls, is that a good thing? There are no clear guidelines or standards on bars, so people need to stop obsessing about them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I honestly couldn't tell you what my bars were at any given time. Other than in the bathroom, I know it's 0-1 there.

wardfan220 said:
Agreed, I honestly couldn't tell you what my bars were at any given time. Other than in the bathroom, I know it's 0-1 there.
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Click to collapse
That's odd because I get the best signal front Sprint in my house in the bathroom lol.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

Bars seem to make a difference to me when they go to zero and I lose my call. Now I know why this happens randomly with this phone.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

After exactly 14 days with my evo shift, i had the same symptoms with my phone yesterday. i woke up with my phone showing full bars, no bars, x, no bars, full bars, no bars, etc etc every 30-45 sec's. i figured possibly a tower down or something....then drove to work 20 miles away had the same issue in out and out service, texts not going through, browser timing out. i tried updating, resetting, battery pull, nothing fixed it.
I went into a sprint store and they were able to verify the problem as they watched the screen. i am officially the first warranty exchanged evo shift at that corporate store...according to the tech (who i know for the last several years, my phone failed the signal test of some sort. so if your phone sounds like mine more than likely its a defective radio/part inside and you should be able to get a exchange for it. hope that helps someone out in what to do.

DeathGrip issue

Hi everyone,
Bought my SNS i9023 on 12 July 2011 (Indian version)
I'v been noticing a possible DeathGrip Issue with the phone since i bought it. The WiFi Signal & the Network Signal fade out quite a lot when i Hold the phone in my palm (the battery cover i.e. the the back side of my phone rests in my palm)
I wonder if I am the only one facing this issue or are others facing this issue as well.

I for one have never noticed this, and I've had mines for about 3 months now. Maybe you should try to get it exchanged.

Well I'm guessing your hands are covering the antennae of the phone (built into the mobo of the phone) every phone willlose signal is the bones in your hand (our any other solid thing) block the antennae. My 2¢ worth.
abhinavsg said:
Hi everyone,
Bought my SNS i9023 on 12 July 2011 (Indian version)
I'v been noticing a possible DeathGrip Issue with the phone since i bought it. The WiFi Signal & the Network Signal fade out quite a lot when i Hold the phone in my palm (the battery cover i.e. the the back side of my phone rests in my palm)
I wonder if I am the only one facing this issue or are others facing this issue as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boom... Headshot! from my L96A1

xceleration said:
I for one have never noticed this, and I've had mines for about 3 months now. Maybe you should try to get it exchanged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fowenati said:
Well I'm guessing your hands are covering the antennae of the phone (built into the mobo of the phone) every phone willlose signal is the bones in your hand (our any other solid thing) block the antennae. My 2¢ worth.
Boom... Headshot! from my L96A1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I m pretty sure my hands are blocking the signal coz of the way i hold the phone. would love to see a lot of other people responding to this thread

I have a similar problem but I think it might be a problem with the device so I'll need to send it back.
My connection drops a couple of times a day. I thought it may have been related to the case I use but I tried it without the case and I have the same problems.
How is your wireless signal? My Nexus S is much worse than my Nexus 1 so that's why I think (hope!) the phone is faulty. Hopefully it's not just a Samsung thing.

pugland said:
I have a similar problem but I think it might be a problem with the device so I'll need to send it back.
My connection drops a couple of times a day. I thought it may have been related to the case I use but I tried it without the case and I have the same problems.
How is your wireless signal? My Nexus S is much worse than my Nexus 1 so that's why I think (hope!) the phone is faulty. Hopefully it's not just a Samsung thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case the Connection to the MobileNetwork/WiFi does not drop by itself.
The connection becomes weak only if i hold the bottom half of the back of the phone in my plam. I mean if the bottom half of the back of the phone is covered by my palm (my palm & phone in total contact).
I dont have any problems if I am holding the phone in a way that the back of the phone is not covered by my palm.
When the phone is left alone, there is no fluctuation in the connections whatsoever.

abhinavsg said:
Hi everyone,
Bought my SNS i9023 on 12 July 2011 (Indian version)
I'v been noticing a possible DeathGrip Issue with the phone since i bought it. The WiFi Signal & the Network Signal fade out quite a lot when i Hold the phone in my palm (the battery cover i.e. the the back side of my phone rests in my palm)
I wonder if I am the only one facing this issue or are others facing this issue as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll have more luck here
http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/iphone-general-discussion-12/

Boosting signal easily

In brief it works.
If you look at Note stuff on ebay like me then perhaps you have seen those signal booster things. Looks like a sticker. Cause it is!
Ok it looks like crap. But I know that putting in an extra antenna could help if its then able to also transmit what it receives. Don't know enough to know for sure...
But for $2.90 I decided to try. It was a small metalic sticker that arrived. Instructions look like they were written 10 years ago for phones with antenna poking out the top.
Having seen teardown pics of the Note I figured out the antenna is on the bottom below the battery. I was at a hilly farm where there is only one tower and positioning is both sensitive and predictable. Perfect for testing.
I put the sticker over the antenna and was surprised to see it dropped the 2 bar HSPA connection to a 2 bar GSM connection. Putting the phone where I could normally get 3 bar HSPA was a 2 bar HSPA. Ok this confirms the sticker does actually affect signal. Now to place it correctly.
The instructions suggest placing behind battery in the same direction as antenna. I don't know if top should face left or right but I put it there.
Signal much better than first test and better than control. Able to get 1 bar in many places which was 0 before.
2 bar HSPA became 3 bar HSPA and 3 bar became often 4 bar :-D
I've ordered some more so I can experiment with orientation and also try multiple stickers.
It was worth $3 !!!

Measure dBm for us please

Could you give us a link to which one you bought and also some pics of where you installed it
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

Atrix_E said:
Measure dBm for us please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, without that info I'm skeptical. I use an app called PhoneInfo for this.

Wow, welcome to 2001!!
I thought this cell sticker booster scam died a decade ago? No?

sounds like esoteric BS...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

I remember this when I was a teen with my first Nokia
GALAXY NOTE

intruda119 said:
I remember this when I was a teen with my first Nokia
GALAXY NOTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol me too... me too... I'd wanna see the readings before I get too excited not that my coverage is horrible it'd be nice to get a bit more of a signal boost everyone and a while.
Sent from my Galaxy Note using tapatalk

PurpleMelbourne said:
In brief it works.
If you look at Note stuff on ebay like me then perhaps you have seen those signal booster things. Looks like a sticker. Cause it is!
Ok it looks like crap. But I know that putting in an extra antenna could help if its then able to also transmit what it receives. Don't know enough to know for sure...
But for $2.90 I decided to try. It was a small metalic sticker that arrived. Instructions look like they were written 10 years ago for phones with antenna poking out the top.
Having seen teardown pics of the Note I figured out the antenna is on the bottom below the battery. I was at a hilly farm where there is only one tower and positioning is both sensitive and predictable. Perfect for testing.
I put the sticker over the antenna and was surprised to see it dropped the 2 bar HSPA connection to a 2 bar GSM connection. Putting the phone where I could normally get 3 bar HSPA was a 2 bar HSPA. Ok this confirms the sticker does actually affect signal. Now to place it correctly.
The instructions suggest placing behind battery in the same direction as antenna. I don't know if top should face left or right but I put it there.
Signal much better than first test and better than control. Able to get 1 bar in many places which was 0 before.
2 bar HSPA became 3 bar HSPA and 3 bar became often 4 bar :-D
I've ordered some more so I can experiment with orientation and also try multiple stickers.
It was worth $3 !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
plz post pics when you are finished with testing so we can see exactly where you put the sticker.
I bought one of these myself. from the tutorials Ive seen its seems that it must be placed on the antenna itself. & Notes antenna is placed inside the back case, so it has to be opened by unscrewing all those philips screws inside.

how about a link so we could all have a look??!!cheers!
edit: i just bought 3 for 1.55 pounds. almost 2 beers fot them.i'm just curious.i will leave a feedback when i get them.
here is one link :http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-Mobile-...&otn=5&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=5949792537997759965

jvc.silence said:
how about a link so we could all have a look??!!cheers!
edit: i just bought 3 for 1.55 pounds. almost 2 beers fot them.i'm just curious.i will leave a feedback when i get them.
here is one link :http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-Mobile-...&otn=5&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=5949792537997759965
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha that's funny! I got a pack of 25 of those for like 10 euros about 5 years ago. I still have them around in some box. I guess I'll try it some time

measurements with and without please

I'm pretty sure that if you could boost your signal this easily and cheaply then phone manufacturers would just put them in the phone in the first place!

Allow good ol' Jade to bless you with his gospel of sensibility and reason:
It's snake oil folks.
Think about it... I have seen and used these little stickers in the past before, back in the old days. Supposedly they work using harmonic resonance attenuation. However, even if you make the signal appear to be stronger, you have to remember that there is a very big difference between signal strength and signal quality. A strong signal doesn't automatically mean a good signal. If anything, the little thing is creating signal interference which will hurt your overall performance, despite the extra bars.
Besides all of what I just said, don't you think that, if it's so cheap and it improves signal performance so well, Samsung would have included it in its original design?
Go buy a cheap beer with your $3. It'll be better, trust me.

^ Agree
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

I stuck on on my Willie and guess what?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

I'd be curious to see if there is/was a way to boost the antenna signal. Kind of like how you can on wireless routers with modded firmwares.

bigmout said:
Agreed, without that info I'm skeptical. I use an app called PhoneInfo for this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll install that and give it a go later in the week when I'm back on the farm. I've ordered more of these stickers. If the new ones arrive in time then I'll happily do before and after dB measurements.
Here is someone selling 5 on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-x-Cell...Accessories&hash=item3cc148e1aa#ht_2266wt_745

Please... The least you could do before promoting crap is Google it. This has been proved wrong so many times in so many occasions over the years.
http://www.andybrain.com/2005/cellphone-antenna-booster-sticker-test-and-analysis/
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

PurpleMelbourne said:
I'll install that and give it a go later in the week when I'm back on the farm. I've ordered more of these stickers. If the new ones arrive in time then I'll happily do before and after dB measurements.
Here is someone selling 5 on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-x-Cell...Accessories&hash=item3cc148e1aa#ht_2266wt_745
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
take my apologies in advance, but may you be interested in my new "dr.tml's new lifetime enhancer" as well?
this sticker (genuinely invented by me) will boost your life expectation at least by a few % by absorbing, amplifying and sending your bio energy back to you! especially usefull if you have some sort of disease...
i'll sell this "dr.tml" stickers for USD 10 pp, cash in advance!
if anyone is interested please let me know, i'll be more than happy to deliver!
ps.: soon i will have also the "dr.tml's new lifetime enhancer V2 ultra" ready!
the advantage of this ultra new sticker would be that it could separate between good and bad bioenergy, and thus only reflect the good-one to you! stay tuned...

Wi-Fi reception problem with tab 2 7.0 GT-3113

I don't know if this is just my problem but I have this problem in three of my samsung gt-3113. When I hold the tab with both my hands the Wi-Fi signal drops by almost 2 bars of the tower. But as soon as I drop it on the bed the signal increases to normal level instantaneously. It seems that the reception problem occurs when I touch the left side of the back cover of the galaxy tab. The thing is giving me a lot of problem, so much so that I have to hold the tab in its right lower corner because only then I get a working connection. Is this a software problem or a hardware problem??? I really am looking forward to reps from other users of this otherwise great tab.
Sent from my GT-P3113 using xda app-developers app

There is another thread here about the same issue. Find it and you'll have your answer.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1663019
I didn't realize that I had the same problem til now.