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Hello World,
Though I was happy with my HD (which is about to be sold) I was waiting the TD2 for long. It's really a great device but seems still to have quite a lot of bugs. One of these is the radio
I know everybody will tell me to wait for a new radio version BUT for those who basically have not a good signal at home or work, I'm not recommending them to buy it untill updates are available..
I've 3 phones with me, one 5 yo Sony Ericsson phone, on Blackberry for work and my TD2 for private use. Where my old Sony Ericsson shows full signal, my Blackberry as well, the Touch Diamond 2 shows a poor 1 bar (!). Sometimes I even have no signal where the others are showing 4 bars.. Well, that's one (if not the) worse phone signal reception I've ever seen.
The same for WiFi... where my HD or my netbook showed full signal, the TD2 shows 1/2 bars, even if the settings are set on "better performance" instead of "better battery"
My ROM version is: 1.39.406.0 (47382) FRE (04/07/09)
My Radio version: 3.43.25.19
Sorry but I had to tell you this as I was expecting this phone since long and don't understand how HTC can ship a new phone with such a bad radio and other bugs... On other side, it's a 5 star device but still have these bugs which are making it a 2 stars..
Thank you for having read ;-)
Well, no software upgrade can give you better reception. But I think you should return your Diamond for check-up, as my experience is that the reception is appr the same as my previous Nokia phone, i.e. reasonably good.
But what I hope they will improve with a radio upgrade is the problems for data connections in 3G/HSDPA mode when the signal is low, in my case this results in a one minute "radio silence" before the phone finally switches to GSM/GPRS mode.
I agree it has very poor radio, similar to how the diamond started, they will improve it over time. Mine is dropping calls in a particular place, this didn't happen with the diamond.
The radio is really bad! I remember that my iPhone had a poor radio reception but after several updates it is much improved.
I hope they'll do the same for Topaz!
I have to agree my TD2 has terrible reception, my diamond wasnt brilliant but the TD2 is very poor. Hope they come out with an update soon.
Are manufacturers obliged to put the same amount of bars up for each signal strength? Can you really compare the number of bars between different manufacturers?
I bought my TD2 last month on a contract with T-mobile. As I have always been an Orange customer in the past I have spent the last four weeks blaming T-mobile for my lake of signal at my workplace, and poor 3g at home.....it never crossed my mind it may be the phone at fault. I love my TD2 but the poor radio performance may be a show stopper
This is very weird. The shop I work, My boss got a blackberry (Bold) AND a PRADA II (from LG), and I got better signal than him. i must tell you tho, it's quite far inside the building, the lowest I have is 2 bars, normally it stays at 4.
But then again, even at 1 bar, I never had problem with calls, lessay it's the same quality as a Triband phone.
The Diamond 2 has a HORRIBLE radio performance, especially 3G connections are very weak, absolutely unacceptable. I'd put the Diamond 2 at the same reception level with the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3G REALLY sucks when it comes to reception.
Yesterday, I took out my HTC Sedna (6500) out of my closet and tried it again, what a difference. I get a much better signal than with the Diamond 2 (same carrier, same position) and I won't even start comparing the Diamond 2 to the Nokia E90 or even the E75, both have excellent signal reception, especially the E90.
Regarding Blackberry: I use a 8900 Curve 2 for business, this thing really rocks regarding reception. I get a signal (of course no 3G, it has GPRS/EDGE only) almost everywhere, even when the Diamond 2 doesn't get ANY signal at all, it is really impressive.
There are however chances that the signal reception is going to improve with a FW update, it happened in the past with various HTC devices and even the Blackberry Storm I also own, has been improved substantially regarding signal reception quality with one of the latest official firmwares available.
So there is hope but of course it is a huge disappointment that HTC couldn't get it right from the start.
P996 said:
The Diamond 2 has a HORRIBLE radio performance, especially 3G connections are very weak, absolutely unacceptable. I'd put the Diamond 2 at the same reception level with the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3G REALLY sucks when it comes to reception. Yesterday, I took out my HTC Sedna (6500) out of my closet and tried it again, what a difference. I get a much better signal than with the Diamond 2 (same carrier, same position) and I won't even start comparing the Diamond 2 to the Nokia E90 or even the E75, both have excellent signal reception, especially the E90.
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Click to collapse
How are you measuring signals being "weak" and the "reception level" - by actual behaviour of the phones in use, or just comparing the bars in the UI?
Rohde & Schwarz CMS RSM. Of course also practical usage too.
temprory solution
the signal problem is very very frustrating, especially when it start to drop phone calls, it became unacceptable.
after few days playing with the TD2, I found that
1. the signal strength appears to be stronger when it stays in GPRS(G) rather then 3G (H),
2. some times when 3G signal is too weak, it will switch too GPRS, it takes about 3~5 seconds to switch, if any call comes in at that time, it will drop.
3. if TD stays in GPRS, the signal is good, even you only 1 bar sometimes, you can still may phone calls without any problem.
so I think it is a good idea to turn off the 3G unless you need to use it, so the phone stays in GPRS, by doing that, you get better signal, and longer bettery life.
to turn off 3G, go
Settings> personal>phone>Band>
select GSM for the network type.
then go ok.
by doing that you will not miss any calls, I think that's the most important thing.
meanwhile, let's wait for a radio upgrade to solve this problem once for all.
Just my 2c worth..
I dont think the radio is any worse, it does the job for me and I havent had any dropouts.
Its an improved phone/pda compared to the TD1 and very happy with it so far. Even without any custom roms, I think the TD2 is very good.
no more of that calibration when you do a hard reset!!!!
P996 said:
The Diamond 2 has a HORRIBLE radio performance, especially 3G connections are very weak, absolutely unacceptable. I'd put the Diamond 2 at the same reception level with the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3G REALLY sucks when it comes to reception.
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Click to collapse
Yes, the D2 radio really is pretty bad. I went down on the train to Birmingham yesterday and other people were chatting away quite happily on their phones but my reception was almost zero until I go off the train.
I configure our business phones at work - Nokia E71 is a typical device. They just seem to have better reception. Okay, so a different network but still should be better than it is.
On the subject of radio updates (the use of the name radio I find confusing as I assume it's nothing to do with the FM radio - or does it?), is there an official way of updating from T-Mobile or is it "roll your own" from HTC directly? Have HTC released an official radio update?
Also, do I infer that the radio software is separate to the WM6.1 ROM?
Cheers, Rob.
Hi
Just a few comments really regarding the radio, although I have no advice to magically improve it
First of all, the signal reception on the Topaz 2 is exactly the same as that on my Tytn II, so it performs the same as other HTC phones, now some may argue reception was bad on the Tytn II as well so that doesn't say a lot
When making comparisons with other phones a few things that can help your judgement.
1) Is another phone you are comparing reception with one that is 3G? 3G signals are more affected by walls etc and typically there are much fewer masts than with the 2G and it is quite normal that unless you can see the 3G mast you'll have less than full strength signal reported on 3G, and the 3G signal can drop very quickly even moving a smaller distance away from the mast. If you want to compare the signal with an older phone that is 2G, then on the Topaz you need to set the phone and band settings to make it connect to 2G, and when you do you'll see reception zip up.
2) The signal icons on phones can not be used to make a comparison. One dot of signal on the Topaz is equal to 46% signal strength, so while it looks like a bad signal, it is still almost half and so the scale isn't linear. The other phone you are comparing to may not be reporting signal strength at all, but an error rate or combination of signal strength and error rate. It is possible to get a very low signal but have 100% quality (i.e. no errors) which may be used to skew other indicators higher.
3) The test whether reception is good or bad can only be judged from using the phone and does it work or not, and even then dropped calls may not be due to signal strength but an incompatibility with your mobile operator. This relates to 3G and 2G hand-overs. The phone will try and maintain a 3G connection when transferring data, as this provides a faster speed and it doesn't matter if a low signal causes errors as the data can be requested again. When you make a phone call, the priority shifts to getting an error free connection to ensure the audio doesn't break up, so a low signal introducing errors on 3G will be rejected if there is a nice strong 2G mast to connect to. Your phone then has to negotiate a seamless handover from 3G to 2G while you are talking. In the UK I find this 100% reliable with Vodafone on the Topaz, but calls can drop on O2 when it attempts a switch from 3G to 2G. Newer firmware hopefully ends up fixing these issues in time.
As written by someone in this thread who was on a train when other people with phones remained talking while theirs dropped doesn't prove much, as were they on the same mobile network, and were their phones having to move between 3G and 2G or were they just 2G with much better coverage and no complications relating to switching between the two. Switching the Topaz to 2G only would result in a fairer comparison in that scenario.
Other points, the aerial is at the bottom of the phone not the top, so when you hold the phone you need to hold it higher up so as not to block the signal.
Regards
Phil
Crap Radio
In response to the previous post I can confirm that I have compared the XDA Orbit 2, Nokia 6230i and Touch Diamond 2 all with a Vodafone SIM. The XDA Orbit 2 is most similar to the TD2 yet the reception on the Orbit was considerably better than that of the TD2. Tests were all completed on the same journey home from work in the same place, at the same time of day with the same weather conditions.
My conclusion, the TD2 Radio is inferior compared to the Orbit 2 and Nokia, but you all knew that already, didn't you. (Appart from the person that posted the previous message!!)
Hi
Nokia 6230i
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Click to collapse
That is the point I was trying to make, the Nokia 6230i as far as I know is not 3G, so did you compare that with the Topaz switched to 2G to make a like for like comparison? The Nokia also doesn't have to try and accommodate antennas and radios for Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G bands, which can cause all sorts of compromises in small mobile phones.
What were you comparing, just watching the signal strength meter or actually using it for a phone call at the time? The other thing is comparing the phones on different journeys. 3G cells breath which means the coverage varies, it can shrink or increase depending on load.
My conclusion, the TD2 Radio is inferior compared to the Orbit 2 and Nokia, but you all knew that already, didn't you. (Appart from the person that posted the previous message!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My post was trying to help people be objective rather than subjective and help make like for like comparisons, no need to be sarcastic.
Regards
Phil
ehh wtf are you guys moaning about?
like have been said, are you guys comparing with the bars shown in the UI, or with an actual tester?
If your judging just from the bars in the ui and comparing that to other phones.. please go drive a car and crash yourself in a tree
Anyways just FYI: with 1bar 3g im getting a stable (250ms constant ping) 120kb/s connection...
My point being that even tho it looks only to be 1 bar, it works flawlessly. So perhaps our htc phones show the *actuall* reception rather then ** normal reception + 2 bars ** like a lot of manufacturers (maybe secretly?) do.
But i guess htc is better off adjusting the UI bar meter so that it shows 5 bars when its actually 1-3, just to keep dumb people happy....
Hi
My point being that even tho it looks only to be 1 bar, it works flawlessly. So perhaps our htc phones show the *actuall* reception rather then ** normal reception + 2 bars ** like a lot of manufacturers (maybe secretly?) do.
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Click to collapse
Yes a very good point. There must be tendency for mobile phone makers to over report the signal to make their phone look better when being compared. My old Motorola phone does state in the manual you need 3 bars or more to make a reliable phone call In other words 2 bars or less are really no servicel at all, and from memory it would jump from 3 bars to no signal more often than not skipping 2 and 1 bar of signal strength.
Regards
Phil
Hi guys, I'm about to buy the TD2 and reading your post I got a little worried about the radio signal of this device!
I have a question for people that complained about it:
Did you complain for the quality of the calling connection?
I mean did you lose signal meanwhile you were talking or have you got bad conversation due to the low signal?
Hello Folks,
I am posting this thread after a very long time on XDA as I was not using any HTC device.I was using Iphone since it was launched in USA.Now I bought 3 nexus one for me and my family with very high hopes but after iserting my simcard into it since last week I am very much disappoined.beside other samll issues like less responsive touch screen the problem I am having is a cellular signal. I am using this phone in the same area where I was using my 3gs phone and it was giving me full bars.And with nexus one I am having a really hard time to get signals some time even no signal and my calls are being missed/droped.I believe due to this problem battey life of the device is not impressive. And that was the main reason of quitting Iphone as I wanted multitasking device with better bettery life.I spoke to nexus one support line for few times their response was good but I it did not help me as I am having same problem although they offered me to replace device.but the thing is I already have 3 devices and if they are giving me same problem.
All I am hopping is a new upgrade to fix this issuse and I have no idea if this gona be fixed with the software upgrade?.
Idea of this thread is to get feedback from other folks using ATT/Rogers version of Nexus one specially in Canada/Western Canada.And any advise /help form my experts folks in this respect.
Your taking time in reading this is much appreciated.
May Almighty Bless you all.
Thanks.
Unfortunately what they're saying is:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/22/google-no-longer-investigating-fix-for-nexus-one-3g-issues-ad/
I'm in Manitoba, Canada, this is my first 3G phone so I don't have much to compare to. I've had maybe a couple calls dropped, but doesn't seem that bad...
However, I did try using the app called Antennas and everywhere in my city it always says "3g support is very limited"
I'm in western Canada using the Nexus One as well, and I too switched from an iPhone 3G. My initial impression was similar to your's where I felt like the touch screen wasn't as responsive and signal not as strong. As time passed I quickly forgot about all that and with the exception of the awkward response area of the bottom buttons, I'm starting to think that the N1's touchscreen is actually better for some stuff. I still wish Android had inertial scrolling with the snap-back effect like the iPhone though.
When Opera Mini came out for the iPhone I put my sim card back into it so that I could try it out, and after the end of the day I couldn't wait to get back to the N1. I don't know about your usage, but when I have push Gmail setup on the iPhone I can't make it through a day without on a single charge, so I think the N1 battery is much better.
Signal strength felt poor at first, but I think that's just because of how it's reported by each phone. The iPhone seems much more generous and will show more bars for the same signal strength as the N1. The only thing that still bugs me now is how much effect my hand has when holding the phone near the bottom. Never did I have to think about hand placement with the iPhone, but I've adapted to that now.
Im from western canada too, medicine hat to be exact. I, as you all, came from an iphone. I had a 16gb 3gs. Where i work the receiption is horrible. With the iphone i would have to have the phone placed on a certain corner of my desk to make sure i got signal.
With the nexus, its slightly better. I get minimum signal but its constant thoughout my office.
Compaired to a iphone, this phone is the cats meow. I love the nexus and will never be returning to an iphone again. It has a better screen, more responsive touch, is fully customizable and i get ~28 hours of battery. Thats right, 28 hours. Not 6 if im lucky like the iphone.
I have the AT&T N1 which also supports Rogers and I am on Fido in Vancouver,
(it also uses Roger's network) ,
Mine experience with the signal is awesome in my case, 95% of the time i am getting H, and 5% of the time it drops to 3G (mostly when I am doing nothing) but will quickly switch back to H when I start to use it again. I have not seen it with E yet.
I have tried it with WCDMA perfered, WCDMA only, now I am on GSM Auto(PRL) and it doesn't make any differences on internet speed according to my speedtest app, it's usually around 1Mb ~1.4Mb....occasionaly it drops to 600kb for one test.
The only problem I have is I am unable to achieve the 1% / hour battery drop rate some people are claiming even with the help with juicedefender and UV/AVS kernels......
Hi Folks ,
I really appreciate all of you for your feedback and advise.I hope that more peoples will share their experience here.One thing I would also like to share is that I am using home rom and did not go for bootloader unlocking and on my phone problem I have is with the cellular signal.my data signal is always on 3g as I am in city of Calgary.My son got his nexus one bootloader unlocked and installed ceynogen 5.06 rom installed I used his phone aslo for a day and only difference I noticed is that it shows "H" when u do browsing on data and otherwise is stay 3g.but with home it always show " 3G " sign and never to to "H" .but when you check details of connection it tell you that it is connected HSDPA.
If anyone else noticed the same? or anyone else getting H sign with home rom?
your views/experience regarding Home vs Ceynogen rom are also appreciated.
I am still looking for the actual benifit of having ceynogen rom over home?as I did not see any difference.
Thanks once again.
My Bell service sucks, but it's Bell so it normally sucks anyways.
tariq said:
If anyone else noticed the same? or anyone else getting H sign with home rom?
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Click to collapse
No, that's been discussed a lot. The stock rom never shows an H. And the custom roms only show an H when actually downloading data. Otherwise it always idles on 3G.
On your stock it does the same, idles on 3G, and switches to H for download. But there is no icon for it.
Why are you posting the same thing it two different forums?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=676479
Anyway, on the stock ROM the 3G icon doesn't change to H like it does on cyanogen and others. It still connects at the same speeds though.
yeh, I am posting in two different forums, as I was not sure where to go.Thanks for your feedback.Its helping me a lot.
Thanks once again.
Only other phones I have to compare to are my Curve 8900 and my HTC Magic. With ANY phone in my apartment there are areas with shoddy reception due to having concrete walls in an older building. To be honest with you my N1 has been the same, if not better than any of my other phones in this building. In the hall, it's inevitable that it will cut off. In my apartment I can get reception anywhere, which is more than I can say for my girlfriend's Samsung and some other friend's phones in the building. We all use Rogers, by the way. And I'm in Toronto.
Not that there was a whole lot of differences, if any, in manufacturing as time went on (aside from the whole dust under the screen issues), but.. when did you get your N1's?
Jim
I have an Australian RAZR M Retail XT905. I upgraded it to KitKat from JellyBean and WiFi reception diminished noticeably. I cannot get a signal where I got three bars before easily.
I read on xda: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1711603 that you can change the values of antenna power (RSSI).
I was not able to find the files mentioned in the thread. Can anyone point me in the right direction.
I'm guessing it doesn't exist in Moto ROMs. My XT907 doesn't have that file either. HTC phones obviously have different ROMs.
Ironically though I was just going to ask in the Ask any question thread what is the best known baseband version, and if I'm unlocked can I flash it regardless of which ROM I'm currently running. The only one specifically listed in the Index thread was 98.18.78 (which I'd surmise came with that JB ROM). I too would swear I had better signal before (but I also know from older Samsung Galaxy S phones that the number of bars displayed don't necessarily correlate to the actual signal strength between different builds).
topshot said:
I'm guessing it doesn't exist in Moto ROMs. My XT907 doesn't have that file either. HTC phones obviously have different ROMs.
Ironically though I was just going to ask in the Ask any question thread what is the best known baseband version, and if I'm unlocked can I flash it regardless of which ROM I'm currently running. The only one specifically listed in the Index thread was 98.18.78 (which I'd surmise came with that JB ROM). I too would swear I had better signal before (but I also know from older Samsung Galaxy S phones that the number of bars displayed don't necessarily correlate to the actual signal strength between different builds).
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Click to collapse
I also know that bars and signal levels do not co-relate. Mobile reception is same as before. But my mobile carrier's signals are also very strong. They are at -51 dBm at my house and around town. And you get four bars at -70 dBm. That has remained same (i think it might have improved a bit).
On the other hand Wi-Fi quality has suffered. I used to get 3-4 bars in my bathroom, now I can hardly get a signal. Name of the network just appears and disappears under Wi-Fi settings. Now even in the same room as the router i can see fluctuation between 3 and 4 bars.
I am on bedrest so I have not tinkered much with the phone. I will later soft reset it. The problem is that the KK and JB modems donot work interchangeably. I guess they require their respective bootloaders.
There should be some setting, I guess they have limited the power due to some regulation. You can also see regulation stuff in "About" menu. It was not present in JB.
Faateh said:
I also know that bars and signal levels do not co-relate. Mobile reception is same as before. But my mobile carrier's signals are also very strong. They are at -51 dBm at my house and around town. And you get four bars at -70 dBm. That has remained same (i think it might have improved a bit).
On the other hand Wi-Fi quality has suffered. I used to get 3-4 bars in my bathroom, now I can hardly get a signal. Name of the network just appears and disappears under Wi-Fi settings. Now even in the same room as the router i can see fluctuation between 3 and 4 bars.
I am on bedrest so I have not tinkered much with the phone. I will later soft reset it. The problem is that the KK and JB modems donot work interchangeably. I guess they require their respective bootloaders.
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Wow, I wonder if I've ever hit that high of signal even standing next to a new tower. I'll have to check next time I'm there.
Just yesterday I was surprised by the wifi signal since it was showing just a fair signal when I was in the same room as the router (basement) yet it's the same on the second floor.
I had wondered if the radios could be swapped. I've considered going back to JB since I got great battery life then. Though I do think poor signal was a contributor to the bad life on KK (seemed like that is when the phone would most often really heat up), so far this new Razr M I've now unlocked has not been as bad as my old locked one was. I'll keep it for a few weeks so I have a decent baseline and then may flash back to JB for a while to compare.
http://i.imgur.com/S4bYJ8u.png It is -4 dBm low. May be due to KK modem, will check later at different place.
I wonder if your high signal is because you're on Edge rather than 4G.
I did check standing about 100m from the tower and the best it recorded was -74dBm for 4G and -53dBm for 1X.
Has anybody else experienced poor signal quality?
I'm using the dual SIM H990DS on Telenet in Belgium.
Indoors at home my Nexus 6 had at least some reception, but the V20 does not. I need to place it next to a window for it to have a network signal.
It's not only at home. I compared with my wife's Nexus 6 earlier today when we were out and this confirmed it...
Any solutions?
Same experience
I just got my V20 about 5 days ago and have had the same issue you described. My wifes V10 get about 30% better signal strength in just about every room of our house. Most of the time I can't even connect to the 4G LTE network. At first I thought it was my case but the difference is negligible without it. It was interesting though because I moved from T-Mobile to Verizon and had my number ported while I had the temp number it seemed as though the strength was equal but since porting I am in this boat. Not sure if it was just coincidence or not. I will be taking it in today to see if there anything they can do. I'll update as needed.
I have the same issue with my LG V20 phone. The reception/signal strength is horrible. Callers constantly complain that my phone goes in an out, making it difficult to maintain a conversation. Bluetooth connectivity is also an issue as connecting the device requires multiple attempts. This phone is becoming useless due to the reception and Bluetooth connectivity issues. I will continue to use my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as a backup. I have never experienced any such issues while using the Samsung device. Hopefully the developers at LG are taking notes and a fix/update will be released before 2017.
I have also noticed that signal strength is a bit weaker with the V20 in areas my Note5 had great coverage. Both on AT&T.
I'm noticing the reverse: I'm getting about 1 bar better in comparison to my Note 4.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one... I'm waiting for a software update (still nothing). Hope this can fix the issues.
Shouldn't happen on a phone this price...
Yep,between the note 7 being a fire hazard and now these ridiculous connectivity issues on my v20 I'm ready to go apple
Bluetooth and telephony are fine here. Carrier and or case and or device issues I'd wager first
Similar problems with my Verizon V20. Signal reception is significantly worse than my old Note 3 and my wife's Droid Turbo 2. FWIW, no case on the V20.
Sent from my LG V20 using Tapatalk
I find the signal reception poorer than my Moto X Pure Edition, at least when LTE is enabled.
When it comes to the reception, is it a question of software or hardware ? I mean is there a chance it can be fixed through an update ?
Same here, it is very poor.
Vadim1 said:
When it comes to the reception, is it a question of software or hardware ? I mean is there a chance it can be fixed through an update ?
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Click to collapse
There isn't enough data, but based on the small sample size of people with complaints, I'd guess it was hardware. Every issue like this about which I have read has been a loose connection.
You might want to take your phone to a depot and have it looked at. And, to be honest, if it is just a loose connection, you are far better off to have them fix that then to get a replacement phone of unknown history.
My T-Mobile V20 is a lot better than my t mobile Note 4 in both reception and call quality in places with poor signal. At a particular Walmart my Note 4 didn't work 50 ft through the door. My v20 will not only work but I can hold on to a phone call until the very middle of the store, then it drops the call but I can redial and continue. I'm very impressed so far.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Im also impressed with reception. Way better than my n4.
add me to the list my call quality is poor and it recently just started. It's very choppy
I know this is sorta old. But I have swapped my phone 3 times. and sim 3 times. I am on t-mobile and i have 2 bars everywhere. I am running roughly -112dbm everywhere. I drop a lot of calls. I am debating on just returning the phone. cause I still have 4 days.
does anyone have wifi calling on ? I have notice that when wifie calling is on call quality can go from one end to the other. it was great when i first got it now i have wifi calling off unless i have no signal.
Signal quality has been fantastic for me in Florida. Came from a note 4. Signal and call quality has been awesome. Never had a dropped call yet and my house is a cellular black hole for some reason. I leave wifi calling (default settings) on as well if that matters
I'm in the same boat
I had bought the AT&T version (manufacture date of March 2017) about two months ago. Seemed to get okay reception at home, but work was a dead zone. It would switch from LTE to 4G to Edge and then nothing. I could stream on Tunein for a minute before losing signal. Traveling through town, I was usually at -125 to -135 dBm. My V10, which I kept, had no issues what so ever so I returned the V20.
I was, however still enamored with the V20, and saw the unlocked version, used, on a website for under $300. Got it this week and the signal seemed to hover around -110 to -120, under Global Network setting. Turned off the LTE enhanced voice and it went down to -85 for two minutes then back up. Switched to LTE/CDMA no change. Switched to LTE/Legacy and no real change. Finally tried UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ and network signal strength has been sitting at -52 to -57.
It is a shame LTE does not really work on this phone, otherwise it would be perfect. As long as the signal strength holds on, I will not return this one. I needed something a bit newer and really wanted a dual camera capability. I was going to hold out for the V30, but with rumors that it won't have a replaceable battery, I figured I would just wait a bit longer.
Hi All-
I updated to the Android Pie Official release last night and this morning my WiFi range is now non existent. When I am in the same room as the router everything is perfect but I go in to a different room in my tiny apartment it can no longer connect. I am only like 25 feet from the router and it says signal is poor or can't connect at all. Never had this issue with Oreo.
Anyone else have this issue or any ideas to fix it? I never tried any of the P Beta releases because I didn't want issues like this...
Thanks in advance for your help!
(FYI I am on rooted stock Pie with Magisk)
PS- Yes I searched but I started a new thread because I only found 2 recurring issues that people discussed are throttling speed issues and other people saying wifi doesn't work entirely. I didn't find anyone discussing range issues...
I had a OnePlus 5. I bought the essential phone on the Prime day and even before using it, flashed Android P beta and now am on Pie official.
I have no idea about Oreo but the WiFi signal is really poor on the essential. My essential phone loses the 5ghz signal in the next room where my OP5 works perfectly fine.
supercfc said:
I had a OnePlus 5. I bought the essential phone on the Prime day and even before using it, flashed Android P beta and now am on Pie official.
I have no idea about Oreo but the WiFi signal is really poor on the essential. My essential phone loses the 5ghz signal in the next room where my OP5 works perfectly fine.
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I don't think it is just an "essential phone" issue it seems to be possibly a Android P issue, because I had the phone for a week or so on Oreo rooted with no wifi range issue.
I also was connected to a 5ghz network. Did connecting to 2.4ghz band work any better for you? I just noticed my issue while getting ready to leave for work this morning and didn't have time to test the 2.4ghz range
hssxda said:
I don't think it is just an "essential phone" issue it seems to be possibly a Android P issue, because I had the phone for a week or so on Oreo rooted with no wifi range issue.
I also was connected to a 5ghz network. Did connecting to 2.4ghz band work any better for you? I just noticed my issue while getting ready to leave for work this morning and didn't have time to test the 2.4ghz range
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The range on 2.4Ghz network is slightly better than 5ghz but still, it's nowhere near to my OP5.
I hope it's an Android P issue and not a hardware issue.
I have noticed the poor/weird signal. Both WiFi and mobile signal are not great. I am 6 feet from my WAP in the same room and have 3 bars as i type this.
I have a AmpliFi mesh network that works well but wonder if this phone is jumping on the 5ghz node and not the mothership.
Mobile signal in my SF flat is weak up front and stronger in the back. My HTC U11+ holds the weak signal where the PH-1 does not.
I got this phone on prime day(and 360 lens and case from Essential for really cheap) to use as a backup/hobby but considering returning phone and selling accessories.
It is not just the signal issue...I have gotten used to a larger phone and the U11+ feels great everytime I return to it. Alas, age.
I have had several times on Pie problems, but then I never tested this on Nougat when I received the phone, I just went straight into the Pie Update.
For me, several times, I click Wifi on and it shows connecting for the longest time sitting next to the router, then when it connectes it says no internet.
I've only played with the wifi a few times, and most of the time it gave me problems connecting.
I have other phone issues, so I've got a new phone replacement on the way, and I'll leave this on Nougat that it comes with and try to see if I can get an Oreo update and leave it on that, and see if it works out better.
supercfc said:
I had a OnePlus 5. I bought the essential phone on the Prime day and even before using it, flashed Android P beta and now am on Pie official.
I have no idea about Oreo but the WiFi signal is really poor on the essential. My essential phone loses the 5ghz signal in the next room where my OP5 works perfectly fine.
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I think it comes with oreo, does it not?
@hssxda I just received my phone from an online order with Nougat...
I was hoping it was coming with Oreo.
Hmm
I seriously thought this phone didn't support 5ghz until now, when I first set it up few days ago, my 5G network didn't show up at all. I felt weird that 'flagship' phone didn't support 5ghz, but didn't bother checking.
Oh well, 2.4 it is, at least downloading Pie over 2.4 was really fast where 5 wasn't even seen.
DoR3M3 said:
@hssxda I just received my phone from an online order with Nougat...
I was hoping it was coming with Oreo.
Hmm
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Tbh I don't recall what mine came with but I definitely updated to the July oreo before pie came out and my wifi was fine. I believe the Ota updates are incremental so you may be able to just update to oreo if you wish but I'm not positive
hssxda said:
Tbh I don't recall what mine came with but I dentek updated to the July oreo before pie came out and my wifi was fine. I believe the Ota updates are incremental so you may be able to just update to oreo if you wish but I'm not positive
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Nope, just Nougat to Pie is all there is...
I should just give into having some Pie to eat I guess! LOL
Isn't newer always suppose to be better... LMAO
Working fine here. 5ghz connects all the time when in range. Google WiFi mesh, and a sophos network at work. Signal and speed is fine.
Same here, no issues with 5Ghz at all. You might try factory resetting the phone, always fixes things for me.
A_Pac1 said:
Same here, no issues with 5Ghz at all. You might try factory resetting the phone, always fixes things for me.
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that would be a huge PITA if I had to do that
I reported this to Google's issue tracker, if people are experiencing the same issue I encourage you to comment over there in order to ensure this is addressed.
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/112496368
johninsf said:
I
I got this phone on prime day(and 360 lens and case from Essential for really cheap) to use as a backup/hobby but considering returning phone and selling accessories.
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same.
but at the same time, I have to remind myself that I only paid $250 for this...
The radios overall on this phone are the weakest radios I have ever seen in a flagship device, and I have owned to many! With that said, my issue was reverse, I had extremely low strength to no signal on 5ghz networks on Oreo June build, as well as weird throttling issues. Cell service was extremely bad as well.
With the Pie update, the phone is usable, including the 5Ghz WiFi network, but again, it is the weakest signal I have ever seen from my router. I have had this tested on a Note 8, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, HTC U12+ and Essential PH1. Hoping it's a software fix!
P.S. No amount of factory resetting saved me ...
I just got back from a cross-country road trip that I've taken many times before with many other devices, and while the PH-1 was a BIT weaker in a few spots it was acceptably good -- and not materially worse than the V20 that I was using just before this device (which, as phones go, is in the "good but not excellent" RF category.)
I find it acceptable -- WiFi is IMHO weaker than cell on this device, but it's not particularly bad.....
rickymz said:
I seriously thought this phone didn't support 5ghz until now, when I first set it up few days ago, my 5G network didn't show up at all. I felt weird that 'flagship' phone didn't support 5ghz, but didn't bother checking.
Oh well, 2.4 it is, at least downloading Pie over 2.4 was really fast where 5 wasn't even seen.
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I've wiped back to stock several times on this device, always notice my 5ghz takes a bit longer to show up on the initial setup for wifi. My 5ghz seems to get better speeds where I am normally setting up my phone, so i tend to wait for it...usually just an extra 20 seconds or something and it pops up
Sent a message to Essential customer support. Expecting a standard boilerplate response of "factory reset the phone" which doesn't apply in my case. Here's my story:
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I purchased a new Essential PH-1 and updated it to the latest release of Android Pie (9, build PPR.180610.091, baseband 2.0.c4-M2.0.5). I did the update to Android Pie beta immediately out of the box, with nothing installed, not even any user configured. It then updated to the Android 9 stable release.
The WiFi on this Essential PH-1 is very unstable on the 5 GHz band. It sporadically drops connection and reconnects. While this might seem like just a nuisance, it's a big problem when streaming videos. Sometimes when WiFi drops, the video resumes streaming from my mobile connection which incurs high charges. I don't always notice this since the video can look like a brief buffering pause when it switches over. It's also an issue when I play online multiplayer games, causing it to drop me out of the game.
This happens frequently on the 5GHz band (on average every 10-30 minutes, but varies a lot). The 2.4 GHz band is more stable but it still drops out on occasion. This looks like a weak antenna in the Essential, as I've done a WiFi scan using WiFi Analyzer app and see the 5GHz reception is extremely poor. My old Nexus 6 sees 8-10 5GHz stations in my condo, whereas the Essential sees 2 (including mine).
My reference point is the Nexus 6 which has no WiFi dropouts. It's rock solid and maintains connection "forever" (I never see it drop WiFi). My router is a Linksys WRT3200ACS with extended range antennas. It has very strong signal strength, I know that's not the issue since 5 other devices have no WiFi dropout issues.