Database Users

[Q] The moment I get to my door... NO SIGNAL

So I got the Nexus S yesterday and LOVE everything about it.
I'm unable to get any acceptable reception inside my apartment (on the lowest level of a three story complex thats surrounded by other apartments).
I live in Hermosa Beach, CA and TMO says I have good coverage here... and they're right... because once i walk outside I'm blazing... like literally once I'm outside my door... what gives??? How can I go from 3G 4 bars lit up in green to that stupid EDGE with one bar... lucky to be green... or no reception at all.
Will I be stuck with not being able to use my phone inside my apartment? I called TMO and they are sending someone out here to check the reception I guess... but I'm stuck using WiFi inside my apartment without being able to use the phone.
Anyone else experience similar issues like that? My sprint phone never did this.

look into getting a signal repeater or something

T-Mobile definitely has issues penetrating buildings, in my opinion. Both my home and one of the two work-sites I frequent are almost dead-zones on T-Mo.
I purchased one of those zBoost cell repeaters for my home, which greatly improves reception, but you need to be able to run a cable to an outside antenna for best results.
Here's an Amazon link for a starting point to different models: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=mobile&field-keywords=zboost+tmobile&x=0&y=0
That said, it's ridiculous to have to pay $250 to get your cell signal. I only did it because the one I got does both AT&T and T-Mo frequencies (not T-Mo 3G, though) and my AT&T phones can get signal inside the house, but just barely.

I too have issues in buildings not necessarily my house but businesses

This is a T-Mobile issue. Not a nexus issue. Also is not a new issue.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

cpcrazyfly said:
This is a T-Mobile issue. Not a nexus issue. Also is not a new issue.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Technically correct, but if the Nexus S is your first T-Mobile phone, you might not know this. It would be easy to think the NS has a poor antenna. It's a valid question to ask, in my opinion.

redhatyellow said:
So I got the Nexus S yesterday and LOVE everything about it.
I'm unable to get any acceptable reception inside my apartment (on the lowest level of a three story complex thats surrounded by other apartments).
I live in Hermosa Beach, CA and TMO says I have good coverage here... and they're right... because once i walk outside I'm blazing... like literally once I'm outside my door... what gives??? How can I go from 3G 4 bars lit up in green to that stupid EDGE with one bar... lucky to be green... or no reception at all.
Will I be stuck with not being able to use my phone inside my apartment? I called TMO and they are sending someone out here to check the reception I guess... but I'm stuck using WiFi inside my apartment without being able to use the phone.
Anyone else experience similar issues like that? My sprint phone never did this.
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Click to collapse
This is just a fundamental issue with the frequencies t-mobile uses for their 3g network, 1700 and 2100mHz. Those have poor building penetration vs for example lower bands like the 850mHz on ATT which penetrates buildings much stronger. It requires them to build towers closer together but that isn't always possible, its hard enough to get towers up as it is.
This is one reason I've tried to stay on ATT 3g as their 3g band performs much better in these situations, when its available.

distortedloop said:
T-Mobile definitely has issues penetrating buildings, in my opinion. Both my home and one of the two work-sites I frequent are almost dead-zones on T-Mo.
I purchased one of those zBoost cell repeaters for my home, which greatly improves reception, but you need to be able to run a cable to an outside antenna for best results.
Here's an Amazon link for a starting point to different models:
That said, it's ridiculous to have to pay $250 to get your cell signal. I only did it because the one I got does both AT&T and T-Mo frequencies (not T-Mo 3G, though) and my AT&T phones can get signal inside the house, but just barely.
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Do you think TMO will provide this for me? Have people got TMO to do this before?
And yeah, I know this isn't a NS issue... I LOVE THE NS -- MY FAV PHONE OF ALL TIME!!, but i am new to TMO and love them as well EXCEPT for inside my house !!
Has anyone ever got TMO to provide better reception inside their home?? You would think they would provide people with like wireless routers for their homes!

I had the G1, Nexus One, G2, and MT4G before the Nexus S and have to say that the Nexus S gets hands down the best reception in my apartment.
The G1 was worthless, the N1, G2, and MT4G were pretty much on par but only got reception in certain parts of the apartment which means I couldn't move very much when on the phone (unless when on wifi calling of course).
The Nexus S has reception everywhere in my apartment with superior call quality throughout. Very impressed with it so far. T-mobile still sucks inside buildings but you're better off with the Nexus S than other T-mobile devices.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

find another place lol
why you are living deep down under. afraid of nuke or something ?

Also, I live in Los Angeles and we've been having lots of rain here... will that affect reception at all?
And what about femtocell technology? Does TMO use it??

redhatyellow said:
Also, I live in Los Angeles and we've been having lots of rain here... will that affect reception at all?
And what about femtocell technology? Does TMO use it??
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Im about an hour away from you and the rain is horrible but i havent had any issues...
and I dont think they do

LOL! I cannot stop laughing reading this comment
ll_l_x_l_ll said:
find another place lol
why you are living deep down under. afraid of nuke or something ?
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Rain seems to be affecting my T mobile service, I'm in the valley and areas I normally get 3g on have been edge or no service since the rain storms began.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Hopefully someone will port the tmobile wifi app to the nexus s. I may return mine and wait for it because I don't want to keep switching phones at home because one has the ability for wifi calling and the other doesnt.
Also I have tried sip calling to no avail on both nexuses.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Rain is known to sometimes cause interference with reception; I notice this as well in NYC. I have noticed that the Nexus S is pretty good at keeping the signal alive, certainly better than my N1 or Vibrant.
To improve your reception, set the phone to airplane mode and then turn it off a few seconds later to get the closest towers. Also call 611 and ask them to reset your phone on the network from their end. Surprisingly, this sometimes does help. As someone said previously, the higher the band (2100 mhz for Tmo 3G), the worse penetration is unfortunately. I think Tmo stopped selling their repeaters earlier this year or last year (hotspot @ home).

I tweeted on Sunday my dissatisfaction with T-Mobile service. I was 75' outside one of their own stores in an area marked as 3G on their maps, couldn't get data at all inside another store, couldn't get better than EDGE outside in the parking lot.
Their reply was to try a new SIM. The SIM I have is from my N1 original, it's not even a year old. Anyone think it's worth the effort swapping? Do SIMS actually "wear out" that fast?
I suspect that's one of those "we don't really have an answer or fix, but give the customer something to try so we look proactive" kind of answers. LOL

have you tried setting up SIP + GVoice over Wifi?
This doesn't resolve the tmobile issue, but at least you can make and receive calls on wifi without eating up your minutes...
It's not ideal, but it works.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877879

My friend had this problem with his ATT phones. He contacted them, *****ed, and they set up one of those repeaters in his apartment. He's the only one that could log into it and set up a filter to use only phones he registers. Maybe you can talk to Tmobile about this, though I'm not sure if they're eager to give everyone these things (or if Tmobile even gives them).

poor reception (ie. dropped calls)

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
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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.

Nexus 6 signal strength testing

Im still waiting on my nexus 6 but I would like if some people could do a signal strength comparison to other phones. I currently have a nexus 5 and would like to know those mostly. Could everyone post results?

jokersax11 said:
Im still waiting on my nexus 6 but I would like if some people could do a signal strength comparison to other phones. I currently have a nexus 5 and would like to know those mostly. Could everyone post results?
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On Cricket Wireless (AT&T) I get 5-10 db higher signal on the N6 over the N5 in the exact same spot. I also get about 5 db better signal than my wife's G3. At work I cannot get an LTE signal with the N5, with the N6 I get an "ok" LTE signal.

^^ Nice!!

I can't give OP any numbers but I'm coming from a Nexus 5 also. Overall signal (data and voice) is stronger than the 5. The GPS locks on a lot quicker even when in the car, assuming you're in an area with LTE.

Im also about 5 to 10 db better woth my Nexus 6 compared to my OnePlus One.
WiFi at home has Nexus 6 at 60 Mbps and OnePlus One at 45 Mbps.
Call quality and overall reception is better and volume in ear is better on Nexus.

It's a Motorola.... it's gonna have probably the best overall performing radio around.

AT&T (ALL-Phones)
I have a 10-mile stretch where i cross into Illinois from Indiana going home from work
Nexus 5: Constantly Drops connection all the way to the house and doesn't keep data for more than a few seconds after that at the house will constantly drop connection (I think its trying to get onto the AT&T network in Indiana since its not roaming.
Note 3: Typically holds the data connection all the way till about the 9th mile marker but is completely useless all the way. At home it will stay on the OFF Network but rather useless signal.
Nexus 6: Holds data connection till the 8th mile point which completely usable data for browsing the web/facebook/sometimes youtube at 720p and at the 8th mile point promptly drops connection and connects to the Illinois OFF-Network Tower and holds a strong connection.

On a 300 mile trip from Chicago to Detroit I had LTE service at least 90%of the time.

Thinking about the N6, myself. I've heard Motorola holds patents on CDMA radios that make their reception better than others... Any truth to this?

Just like every other Moto device the reception is rock solid for me.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

nathanotis said:
Thinking about the N6, myself. I've heard Motorola holds patents on CDMA radios that make their reception better than others... Any truth to this?
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Not sure, but didn't Google buy Motorola just for their mobile patents? If so, they own it now, which means any OEM partner of Google would likely be able to utilize that. All speculation, so take it with a grain of salt.
Only phone I've compared the Nexus 6 to is my iPhone 6 on Verizon and T-Mobile. They seem, for all intents and purposes, to be completely equal. The 6 is known for good signal strength and measuring the db while in a few locations, they've been nearly identical. This is good news, though, I'm not sure a lot of people on XDA care about a comparison with the iPhone
As for tablets, my Nexus 6 is about 2-3 db higher in my house than my Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet on Verizon. Nothing major.
Cheers,
-Collin-

I have noticed in several places my N6 retains a LTE signal where my N5 would dump to HSPA or EDGE.
Several buildings on my college campus have under ground classrooms and labs, I have a LTE signal in some of those rooms now, where I never have before.
Another thing, the Nexus 6 swaps from HSPA to LTE after a call within two seconds... my N5 would sit and wait for about 20 seconds usually. It seems with Mtero PCS I am not able to make any VOTLE calls yet.... not sure when or how that will happen.

littlerm said:
On Cricket Wireless (AT&T) I get 5-10 db higher signal on the N6 over the N5 in the exact same spot.
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I found the same improvement: 5 to 10dB. The signal in my house varies quite a bit, I just walked around with both in hand.

CollinFX45 said:
Not sure, but didn't Google buy Motorola just for their mobile patents? If so, they own it now, which means any OEM partner of Google would likely be able to utilize that. All speculation, so take it with a grain of salt.
Only phone I've compared the Nexus 6 to is my iPhone 6 on Verizon and T-Mobile. They seem, for all intents and purposes, to be completely equal. The 6 is known for good signal strength and measuring the db while in a few locations, they've been nearly identical. This is good news, though, I'm not sure a lot of people on XDA care about a comparison with the iPhone
As for tablets, my Nexus 6 is about 2-3 db higher in my house than my Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet on Verizon. Nothing major.
Cheers,
-Collin-
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Click to collapse
Google now has a license to use Motorola's patents, just as Lenovo does. They don't own them, Motorola does.

Mine is about the same as my G3 and wife's S5. The death star is terrible where I live, in my home j get -109dBm in average. The best I have seen is on campus I get -70dBm both are for LTE.

My N6 has great connectivity. My "old phone" HTC M8 GPE wouldn't be able to connect in a certain parts of my office building. No issues on the N6. I'm very happy about this!
-Jason

ryude said:
Google now has a license to use Motorola's patents, just as Lenovo does. They don't own them, Motorola does.
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I'm not sure this is true.
https://gigaom.com/2014/01/30/google-paid-4b-for-patents-why-the-motorola-deal-worked-out-just-fine/
From what I've read, Google now owns those patents, not just licensed. I'm sure they will let leveno use them as part of the purchase deal, but I'm not sure. They got the company for a steal vs what Google paid for it.
On the subject, I can't give hard numbers but I have noticeably better service on at&t with the most recent 98R modem running the latest Chroma ROM.

My connection was bad when I first got the phone but like any phone I own it was rooted and flashed within mins of getting home I highly recommend updating the modem/ radio asap I get great signal and data connection with the 95r radio on att try em and see what works best for u but for most ppl 95r or 98r greatly improve reception
Also running chroma like the dev says who makes chroma its very stock like with a few tweaks that google should have in lp alrdy but don't I used to be a cm fanboy but rather enjoy chroma so if u get a n6 u won't be disappointed
Sent from my Nexus 6

My nexus constantly switches between 3g,H,&LTE... It's never consistent.... Some days I get LTE at the bank some days I don't.... Today I went into the secret menu to force LTE only. I've had a good signal and haven't lost data at all today. That tells me LTE is everywhere where I live. Whats up with all the switching? I've noticed much better battery life today also.

How is signal strength / call quality?

Compared to other phones you have had? Im tired of samsung and their crappy radios that cant hold a good 4g connection. On verizon btw
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

Cowbell_Guy said:
Compared to other phones you have had? Im tired of samsung and their crappy radios that cant hold a good 4g connection. On verizon btw
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
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I'm on Verizon. My signal strength is above what my lg g2 was. Pulled 61 down where I never could with g2 in same area.
Sent from my Kick A$$ MOTO X

That's why i don't buy Samsung phones. One guy stated in another thread he was keeping 4g in his basement and never had on previous phones. Sounds good to me.
Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk

We have similiar thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-style/help/signal-issues-t3199760
Anyway, good to know there are no real issues about it.

I'm having horrible LTE speeds
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

i currently have the note 4 and i get crappy signals even at my school which is in downtown miami

My signal is better on X Pure than my Galaxy S6. Call quality is much better sounding to me also.

I had a S5 two weeks ago, I sold it and bought the nexus 6 when it went on sale at best buy for $350 a week ago.
My S5 would get lte in my house, 2 signal bars and -112dbm. The nexus 6 had a signal bug where it would go from 2 bars to no signal at all and it raped my battery, it wouldn't get lte in the basement either. The signal bug killed my battery, I always had time without signal between 12-20%
I took the nexus 6 back today and got the moto x pure 16gb at best buy it was the only phone they had in stock so I bought it. Signal is great in the basement, -100dbm, 2-3 signal bars all the time and lte works great.
All the phones were on the Verizon network in northeast ohio

I didn't have any official measurements running but all I know is that tonight at a concert inside Key Arena, I had almost full bars of LTE service on my MPX and my girlfriend had barely one bar of edge on her G4

Bootup said:
I didn't have any official measurements running but all I know is that tonight at a concert inside Key Arena, I had almost full bars of LTE service on my MPX and my girlfriend had barely one bar of edge on her G4
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Just curious, who's your provider?
MOTO X PURE EDITION!

I just went into settings > more > cellular networks > and hit network operators. It'll search for a while and then populate a list of providers ... I selected mine (T-Mobile) in lieu of "choose automatically" and noticed when I backed out of that screen my "preferred network type" had changed. Instead of simply saying "LTE" it shows a bunch more modes (assuming those specific to T-Mo). Of course it's too early to tell the impact of this, but it seems I have more bars (and a slightly better dBm). We'll see what happens

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'
Click to expand...
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.