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Help Signal Strength

Premium1 said:
Well with the thunderbolt, charge, bionic, a radio fix was able to help with the reception and data connectivity I would assume this would be the same way. Plus the testers already said that 4.1 increases signal strength greatly so I guess we will just have to wait and see.
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Testers are full of it. When I had a Gnex wks ago (b4 release) it already had 4.1 on it and the signal is no better then another build pushed out yet. IE i ran 4.0.1,4.0.2,4.0.3, & 4.1 no differece in any of them including the radio updates. And do to this reason I gave it back, its unacceptable for being a flagship device. Data drops, poor signal in general, and terrible battery life just don't cut it for me.

To further add I would not count on updates correcting it entirely. It may get better but it will NEVER be able to be compared to some of the other LTE device out so far. And no i can not go into detail on how, or why i say that. Best i can say is i knew someone involved in the project from the beginning of it being started for VZW and this has been a problem since day one and has yet to get any better. My personal opinion is it is the design internally. whether it is the chip and programming itself or the was the antenna is setup inside the device getting interference from something else I don't know, but at the end of the day its terrible IMO
 
I too am very displeased with the 4G signal. I'm now getting only 1 MB downloads off my -110 dBm 30 asu signal strength. If I go into a bathroom at my office, it drops to no signal.

Very very much considering returning this. My HTC Incredible still works, maybe I can hold off until March and some new phones will be coming?

Any phones on the horizon that I might look into? Suggestions welcomed.
 
My signal is horrible. Not just on 4G, but on WIFI as well. Last night I was testing my GN and my girl's HTC incredible 2. Her signal is far Superior. On Verizon's network I was getting 111-120 db she was getting 86-89 db. The crappy part about this is there is a tower less than 2 miles away. I drive past it on my way home and hit 86 db, but as soon as I get 1 mile away the dbs drop drastically. The WIFI really pisses me off to. Sitting in the same spot I was running Speed Test on both phones the HTC downloaded at 17mb the GN was downloading at 3mb. The radio sucks. Thinking of giving it back.

What exactly will software updates fix? Seems like wishful thinking to me. All I can see happening is switching tower protocol changing. Terrible first ICS release.

I knew the camera was going to be shoddy, but it seems they just used crap hardware all around.
 
Aixelsyd said:
Testers are full of it. When I had a Gnex wks ago (b4 release) it already had 4.1 on it and the signal is no better then another build pushed out yet. IE i ran 4.0.1,4.0.2,4.0.3, & 4.1 no differece in any of them including the radio updates. And do to this reason I gave it back, its unacceptable for being a flagship device. Data drops, poor signal in general, and terrible battery life just don't cut it for me.

To further add I would not count on updates correcting it entirely. It may get better but it will NEVER be able to be compared to some of the other LTE device out so far. And no i can not go into detail on how, or why i say that. Best i can say is i knew someone involved in the project from the beginning of it being started for VZW and this has been a problem since day one and has yet to get any better. My personal opinion is it is the design internally. whether it is the chip and programming itself or the was the antenna is setup inside the device getting interference from something else I don't know, but at the end of the day its terrible IMO
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Sure:rolleyes: Pics or it didn't happen.....
 
Both my 3G and 4G reception sucks, sometimes it wouldn't even latch on to any signal. I was at my brother's place yesterday and I compared my signal with his Rezound and he was able to pick up 4G while I barely had two bars of 3G. Disgusting! Other then the signal issue this phone is better in every way vs. the Rezound. We put the phone side by side watching HD Youtube and the picture on the GN was sharper with more vivid colors and detail, although the volume on the Rezound is much louder.

I think wifi signal also sucks, I get great signal if I sit in the same room where my router is but the moment I walk out the door it drops significantly, and if I'm downstairs I get 1-2 bars.
 
kl68 said:
I think wifi signal also sucks, I get great signal if I sit in the same room where my router is but the moment I walk out the door it drops significantly, and if I'm downstairs I get 1-2 bars.
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Just the same as mine. I can only download at 3 Mbps when I go downstairs and it drops the signal often.
 
4G on the Nexus for me has been good all around. Not as fast as the Rezound or the TB, but still good. Only the call/voice numbers are poor. That said calls still sound fine.
 
On Friday, I was at -76, which all the other 4G devices were displaying. This was after the 4.0.2 update.

Now I'm at -102 in the same location.... GRRRRRRRR
 
syntrix said:
On Friday, I was at -76, which all the other 4G devices were displaying. This was after the 4.0.2 update.

Now I'm at -102 in the same location.... GRRRRRRRR
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Actually, I think 4.0.2 definitely broke things. When I swapped my nexus for another due to the amoled issues I was seeing (which apparently are normal :rolleyes:), I compared the dBm of the phone next to the rezound. While the rezound was still better, the 4.0.1 nexus I had just turned on was 15-20 dBm better than the 4.0.2 nexus on display.

This is hopefully something that can be fixed in 4.0.3. It gives me some hope. I just hope 4.0.3 comes out before 1/15 for those who are ready to return the phone due to this issue.
 
kl68 said:
People with reception issues you need to call VZ tech support and report the problem. I just called and talked to a tech support and he's telling me it's NOT a known issue and he hadn't heard about the problem before. He said he will log in my issue and will also report it to Samsung and Google. Not sure if what he's telling me is all BS but at least he'll have logged in.
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Well I called Tech Support Saturday night with the problem and he quoted me the tech bulletin - saying it was a problem with the way the signal strength is displayed and an OTA update was coming out IN MARCH.

I was able to swap my phone for another (the information the sales guy pulled up, though, said the instructions were NOT to replace units until after the update had been rolled out). The replacement phone has the same issue.
 
jkc120 said:
Actually, I think 4.0.2 definitely broke things. When I swapped my nexus for another due to the amoled issues I was seeing (which apparently are normal :rolleyes:), I compared the dBm of the phone next to the rezound. While the rezound was still better, the 4.0.1 nexus I had just turned on was 15-20 dBm better than the 4.0.2 nexus on display.

This is hopefully something that can be fixed in 4.0.3. It gives me some hope. I just hope 4.0.3 comes out before 1/15 for those who are ready to return the phone due to this issue.
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Supposedly 4.0.2 did mess with the radio. Someone on xda said it so lets hope 4.0.3 fixes it.
 
syntrix said:
On Friday, I was at -76, which all the other 4G devices were displaying. This was after the 4.0.2 update.

Now I'm at -102 in the same location.... GRRRRRRRR
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This to me says network issue. Same phone, same location, different reading. Verizon's lte is still in its infantcy and they are running 2 networks at the same time using patchwork to tie them together. Until they are 100% lte this is going to keep happening. Take a look at how many time the lte network has been down in the last year.
 
Can't wait until March for an update that might or might not work, I need to return the GN in 14 days to completely reverse my upgrade and re-activate my OG Droid (oh dear God, but at least I get reception with the OG) or maybe go with the Rezound.

Also don't think it's just a "display" issue when the dBm reading is weak, the speed test is weak, and I have a hard time getting reception for the phone to function correctly.

ccmdguy said:
Well I called Tech Support Saturday night with the problem and he quoted me the tech bulletin - saying it was a problem with the way the signal strength is displayed and an OTA update was coming out IN MARCH.

I was able to swap my phone for another (the information the sales guy pulled up, though, said the instructions were NOT to replace units until after the update had been rolled out). The replacement phone has the same issue.
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It seems to be similar nightmare when I recently got Samsung Skyrocket on AT&T for my kid. Constant scanning of 4G vs 3g (whatever 4G/LTE means on AT&T) and the APN settings on the phone were from 2g era resulting in random access to websites/no access to websites, signal was 1bar... AT&T/Samsung promised an update!...still waiting...lol...in the meanwhile the 14 days deadline of returning the phone is gone!...oh well...sigh...all tech support can tell is to do a hard reset on the damn device!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
Premium1 said:
Sure:rolleyes: Pics or it didn't happen.....
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Believe as you wish, I talked about it on twitter while i had it. And no pics, can't be done on a device that was not public at the time. All I'm saying is 4.0.3 will not fix it and neither will 4.1 unless they update the radio programming again from the build that was pushed out when I had one. Device got atleast 10 updates in the time I was playing with it and NONE of them help with the radio/signal.

Btw you want confirmation shoot Trooper31 a msg and ask him if i had it or not that is the best proof i can give you without someone loosing there job.
 
Anandtech investigates the Gnex LTE signal strength issuehttp://www.anandtech.com/show/5254/investigating-the-galaxy-nexus-lte-signal-issue

Though this doesn't account for every issue, it appears the Gnex actually reports the LTE signal strength in dbs, whereas other LTE phones report the EVDO signal strength in dbs even when connected to LTE (in the About settings menu). It also appears that the Gnex is more conservative in displaying bars than other LTE phones. This can account for the differences we're seeing in dbs but doesn't seem to explain why some are having more specific issues. And it doesn't explain why Verizon says it's working on a fix (it's puzzling to Anandtech).

Personally, I'm getting about the same results that I got with my Bionic. I rarely drop out of LTE except deep inside some buildings (same as bionic), and my data speeds have been very good. Even when I am down to 1 bar of signal, I get downloads upwards of 8-10 Mbps.
 
My 4G signal level and data speeds are far improved from my office today. Others in another forum are reporting big improvements as well. Maybe VZW is making some LTE network updates. I'm hoping for some good news on the GN radio and connectivity.
 
Travisimo said:
Anandtech investigates the Gnex LTE signal strength issuehttp://www.anandtech.com/show/5254/investigating-the-galaxy-nexus-lte-signal-issue

Though this doesn't account for every issue, it appears the Gnex actually reports the LTE signal strength in dbs, whereas other LTE phones report the EVDO signal strength in dbs even when connected to LTE (in the About settings menu). It also appears that the Gnex is more conservative in displaying bars than other LTE phones. This can account for the differences we're seeing in dbs but doesn't seem to explain why some are having more specific issues. And it doesn't explain why Verizon says it's working on a fix (it's puzzling to Anandtech).

Personally, I'm getting about the same results that I got with my Bionic. I rarely drop out of LTE except deep inside some buildings (same as bionic), and my data speeds have been very good. Even when I am down to 1 bar of signal, I get downloads upwards of 8-10 Mbps.
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That's a great article. Anyone comparing dbm signal between the Gnex and other LTE devices should read this to understand what they're comparing.
 
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