I've been using my HTC Magic for almost two weeks now, really enjoying the device and the interface but I've noticed that in indoor areas where reception might 3 or 4 bars, the other side cannot hear me. Sometimes the reception will just completely drop as well. Anyone have similar experiences?
These are all places where my i780 worked perfectly too :/
Make sure you don't hold the lower part of the phone... that's where the antenna is. (Most other phones have the antenna at the top)
I have a Samsung Galaxy S on T-mobile in the UK and I find that the phone signal indicator jumps around all over the place depending on if it's being held or small movements in it's orientation.
In a worst case scenario I can have the phone showing 3-4 bars of signal with it on a desk and then if I pick it up and hold it a couple of inches higher than it was the signal can drop to 0 or 1 bar. It often then comes back after a few seconds.
Coverage here isn't the best and it seems that I can usually still make and receive calls and it doesn't actually go out of service but is anyone else noticing the same?
The same happens when it's forced onto 2g only but not quite as badly.
I also have an HTC Desire here too and that seems to be much more stable.
The GPS on the other hand which a lot of people are complaining about seems to pick me up with ease. Even sitting on my desk inside a building it quickly locates me to within a few metres.
I've owned and used an iPhone 3G, Nexus One, and now the Samsung Galaxy S.
In my location on vodafone the SGS and N1 are equally "poor" on 2G/3G - meaning I have to find a spots in my house in the countryside to find a strong signal. In practice it's not been a big deal and once out-and-about both the SGS and N1 are fine for me. The GF is now using the N1 with 3UK without any complaints.
The iPhone 3G however would show a much stronger signal than either Android handsets (note I've used the same vodafone SIM in all these phones and the iPhone 3G was a factory unlocked import from Italy) - however the truth about why that was is revealed in Apple's recent press release about iPhone4 antenna issues - that is, they were using a bum calculation and displaying too many bars, so it only appeared to be a stronger signal when in fact I suspect it was exactly the same in reality as the N1 and SGS.
See it for yourself, Apple's engineers got it very very wrong and it's now biting them on the ass:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html
"we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength."
That makes total sense to me, so I have no concerns about the Android phones appearing to show a weaker signal in my gaff. The fact Apple engineers can make such an accidental "mistake" says a lot to me about their quality control, whichever way you cut it.
Interesting read, thanks for that, I hadn't realised they'd made an announcement on the problem yet.
The more I use the phone the more I find it works as I'd expect it to in the T-mobile coverage that I'm in it's just that it's a little alarming when the phone signal indicator moves around so erratically when picked up or moved even only slightly.
I guess I'll continue to use the device and just see how it performs in the real world.
Ha. I remeber when I first got the iPhone 3g. They were using the honest signal meter then. I was only getting 2 bars almost everywhere. Then came the software update and I had 4 bars everywhere. Now I still drop calls even with 5 bars.
Ollie2 said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S on T-mobile in the UK and I find that the phone signal indicator jumps around all over the place depending on if it's being held or small movements in it's orientation.
In a worst case scenario I can have the phone showing 3-4 bars of signal with it on a desk and then if I pick it up and hold it a couple of inches higher than it was the signal can drop to 0 or 1 bar. It often then comes back after a few seconds.
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Click to collapse
Sorry to dig out a slightly old post but i'm experiencing the same thing. I'm also in the UK on T-mobile. The phone sits on my desk at work and randomly goes from 4 bars down to zero signal for no apparent reason.
I've had a G1 on T-mobile for the past 18 months and i've never had any reception issues at work so its definitely an SGS issue.
I could deal with the indicator going crazy but when it leaves me unable to send a text or make a call for a few minutes each time it zero's out its pretty annoying.
Is it just me or is anybody elses Antenna Strength all over the place. I almost feel like I purchased a new iPhone 4 with an antenna problem. I'm not sure if its my local tower or what. I can put the phone on the table and watch the strength max out then I can pick it up and watch it dance around from full to well nothing.
Take my fingers off the chrome outer ring and balance the phone on my palm and watch the strength climb.
It was delivered today, so I haven't really played with it a lot. I can tell you that my 3G signal is horrid, but was fine on my G1. Its almost like I gained an awesome screen and lost signal in the process.
I am inside, but never noticed that kind of activity at all with my G1.
Play around with it a little more and see if it has any effect on your calls. Don't judge purely on the signal bars.
The bad 3g reception you mention is concerning though.
kizer said:
Is it just me or is anybody elses Antenna Strength all over the place. I almost feel like I purchased a new iPhone 4 with an antenna problem. I'm not sure if its my local tower or what. I can put the phone on the table and watch the strength max out then I can pick it up and watch it dance around from full to well nothing.
Take my fingers off the chrome outer ring and balance the phone on my palm and watch the strength climb.
It was delivered today, so I haven't really played with it a lot. I can tell you that my 3G signal is horrid, but was fine on my G1. Its almost like I gained an awesome screen and lost signal in the process.
I am inside, but never noticed that kind of activity at all with my G1.
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The bars are -15dBm off to actual reception.
Yes, my signal strength seems to jump all over the place as well. Hope it can be fixed with a software update.
some thing here im about to get new one maybe tomorrow
of course were not 100% sure yet but we think the bars aren't reading correctly although covering the bottom of the phone were the antenna is there will naturally be signal loss does it on my tp2 as we'll...
i have the same problem its weird but manageable i tested my phone to the iphone 4 and my phone loads web pages faster streams videos from the internet faster and connects to youtube through the youtube app to play videos faster and seems to be faster all together only downside is the iphone 4 has the ffc and higher resolution but thats it i can deal without that
i always say forget the bars, can you make a call Lol
I have been making calls on mine while showing zero bars. No real reception issue. I just ignore the bars.
Yeah, don't go by the bars at all with this phone. Like above, I've had zero bars, and no issues here with calls or browsing the web.
I wouldn't ignore it completely...
I've had a few dropped calls now from the attenuation and frequently have my data freeze up on me when I hold the phone. The signal isn't terrible where I live, I never had dropped calls on my G1 or my Wizard in this location.
Unfortunately it isn't something that is fixable, it's just crummy placement of the antenna.
I held the phone in a death grip with my right hand until it displayed no bars, but it didn't seems affect my 3g. I did a speed test and I got 1.25mbps down and 0.3mbps up, which is pretty normal in my area. I did a second test holding it with my left hand and I got 0.99mbps down and 0.25mbps up. A third run while covering it up with both hands did have an affect, but who really does that? It showed 0.6mbps down and 0.15mbps up.
I haven't tried calling anyone under those same conditions, so I don't know if anything is going on there..
Have been using my N6P (on Verizon) for a few days now, and compared with my Moto X Pure, the signal on the N6P is really, really bad.... To the point that I might have to return the N6P and stick with the Moto.
Seeing there are many out there praising the N6P's cell reception, it's also possible there might be quality issues with my particular unit.
For those who like the cell reception on their N6P, could you try this simple experiment? Check if covering the visor area with your hand affects cell signal and data transfer speed? (You will inevitably cover part of it when holding the phone horizontally with both hands or just the left hand) On my phone, just loosely covering the visor area with my hand lowers signal by two(!!) bars, and lowers LTE data transfer rate from averaging ~16MBps to less than 10MBps.. In comparison, the Moto X Pure and even the iPhone 6s+ would give much more consistent reception regardless of the way you're holding the phone.
Moto X pureeee is the shizzle
I've been using my 6p for almost twelve hours straight since I received it on Verizon and it gets noticeably better reception than my moto x 2014 ever did. Lte in places the moto would lose signal in and streaming music at insane quality at the same time with no issues. (Yes, I have unlimited) maybe you do have an issue with your 6p!
Bestreception compared to previous devices
Sent from my Nexus 6P
I had to return a GS6 for this reason. Whatever phone I bought next had to be as good as or better than my M8. I was happy to see after comparing with a Signal Reception app that the 6P performs better than the M8. If you are having trouble I'd RMA it now. Poor signal is not an issue for the 6P.
Download "Network Signal Info" and compare the reading. Remember a lower figure is better. -70dBm is better than - 75dBM . Check both phones are on the same cell for a correct comparison.
I'm on Verizon and just came from a moto x pure to nexus 6p and mine has better signal strength and download speeds than the pure.
I also get better signal strength, and it holds onto LTE much longer than my Verizon G4 or Note5 did.
I'm on Tmobile. I get better reception everywhere compared to my Moto X 2014 Pure.
tacosrdelicioso said:
I've been using my 6p for almost twelve hours straight since I received it on Verizon and it gets noticeably better reception than my moto x 2014 ever did. Lte in places the moto would lose signal in and streaming music at insane quality at the same time with no issues. (Yes, I have unlimited) maybe you do have an issue with your 6p!
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Click to collapse
That's good to know, thanks!
Could you try the little experiment with the covering the visor? Just hold the phone horizontally with both hands loosely covering the visor and the little plastic area at the bottom, and see if that has an impact on your LTE signal and data transfer speeds? (Since you're also on UDP I won't feel bad wasting your data
I have very good reception on my 6p, on Verizon. Try setting it to lte +cdma only
I'm on Verizon, coming from an HTC One M7, and the reception is exponentially better. Our house has been a signal dead zone for most phones on CDMA, with GSM carriers doing better. With the 6P my reception is clearer than the landline (VOIP) most of the time, and where before calls would deteriorate on the driveway I can now make pretty clear calls from the basement.
I tried your experiment and covered up the vizor - cell reception actually improved briefly the first time! I assume that was a coincidence because I've tried it a few more times, and tried both cell data and wifi and not seen that again.
Covering the vizor does appear to have an effect on the wifi signal, it deteriorates slightly, but (having turned of wifi to test) not on the cell signal/LTE enough to change the display.
So - my conclusion would be there's the possibility of covering the vizor causing interference, but it's not significant in this little test. (Phone has a Verus Case on it, for completeness of data )
sadboyzz said:
That's good to know, thanks!
Could you try the little experiment with the covering the visor? Just hold the phone horizontally with both hands loosely covering the visor and the little plastic area at the bottom, and see if that has an impact on your LTE signal and data transfer speeds? (Since you're also on UDP I won't feel bad wasting your data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my signal to change from -90 to -93 cupping my hands around the visor. Data did slow down a little on the back go back tests. 55mbps down to 47mbps. Not really anything significant
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
tacosrdelicioso said:
I got my signal to change from -90 to -93 cupping my hands around the visor. Data did slow down a little on the back go back tests. 55mbps down to 47mbps. Not really anything significant
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for doing the test!
So from what I can tell, at least this does seem like a general issue and not a quality issue with my unit, but the weaker the signal in the area, the more noticeable the "horizontal grip" problem becomes. For me, gripping the visor area and the bottom plastic area lowers signal strength from ~-110dbM to ~-116dbM, and LTE speed from ~16Mbps to ~10Mbps, and it's consistently reproduceable every time.
Rainstalk said:
I have very good reception on my 6p, on Verizon. Try setting it to lte +cdma only
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Yeah, tried that and "Global", doesn't seem to make any difference.
sadboyzz said:
Thanks for doing the test!
So from what I can tell, at least this does seem like a general issue and not a quality issue with my unit, but the weaker the signal in the area, the more noticeable the "horizontal grip" problem becomes..
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I actually noticed this the very first day when I got the phone. I was at work where signal was either very weak or non existent, and I noticed anytime I was trying to surf the Web with my palm covering the bottom plastic area, the Web page wouldn't load until I moved my hand away and uncovered it. My first thought was "ruh roh, antenna gate".. But it only acted this way with very poor signal. When I'm anywhere with decent signal, this phone gets better reception than any other phone I've had.
I have to day I've had phenomenal reception with this phone. My Samsung phones sucked... And my G3 was much better... But this blows the G3 out of the water. My work is a cinder block fortress where cell signal goes to die.... But this phone gets 4g signal where no other phone of mine did.
Just a followup, turned out to be defective unit. The symptoms were subtle, I'd get wild signal fluctuations, from 3 bars to no bars for no reason. But what pushed me over the edge was that I was also getting random wifi disconnects. So I talked to customer support and Google sent a replacement with zero hassles, which has been working flawlessly so far.
Overall, I'd say signal wise it's on par with the Moto X Pure, which is also the best of all the phones I've used.
sadboyzz said:
Just a followup, turned out to be defective unit. The symptoms were subtle, I'd get wild signal fluctuations, from 3 bars to no bars for no reason. But what pushed me over the edge was that I was also getting random wifi disconnects. So I talked to customer support and Google sent a replacement with zero hassles, which has been working flawlessly so far.
Overall, I'd say signal wise it's on par with the Moto X Pure, which is also the best of all the phones I've used.
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Glad you got it worked out. My daughter takes soccer lessons at a place that is a steel building. It's a low signal area anyway outside the building but inside nobody gets service.... Att, sprint, Verizon... Nothing. Other parents with iphones, galaxies... My old G3. Nothing. Non of them really get a usable signal inside. Last night I was able to surf/Facebook/twitter... You name it. Everything worked. I've never had a usable signal like this on any phone I've ever used. For that alone this phone rules.
On T-Mobile here, signal has been good for me. At my work building it does seem to hold onto the LTE band a bit better than my M9 that keeps switching between LTE and HSPA+ so frequently that I have to set it to HSPA+ only. So I have seen a moderate increase in cell reception in the phone versus my M9. But I also have a GS6 and I'd say the cell reception is pretty close to that.
One thing I noticed kind of weird is that it goes to showing all bars when just at -97 dbm. That's probably a stock 6.0 thing that's with all phones on 6.0 version. But weird considering on the scale of dbm, that's on kind of the low end. That should really be like 2 out of 4 bars, or 3 out of 5 bars.
I can render Bluetooth completely useless gripping the visor area. But all phones do this if you can find the correct area to block. Usually things like cell signal and WiFi just degrade unless it's already borderline. All phones do this.
Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P