jkc120
Android Expert
For me openmaps shows signal level at "47%" and the second I step outside 5 feet its at 70%.
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VZW: How to diagnose and debug the radio issue!
- Thread starter BigRedNole
- Start date
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- Tags
- galaxy nexus
For me openmaps shows signal level at "47%" and the second I step outside 5 feet its at 70%.
That is crazy, is this house a tank?
jkc120
Android Expert
I have probably made 4 calls so far and they were fine. But I'm sorry it's not OK to go from a semi-decent 4G signal to NO 4G signal just because I'm indoors. The house is a bit old but you'd think it was a bomb shelter.....
BlueBiker
Android Expert
Huh. Do you know how that could happen?
The thing is, the dB numbers currently displayed are accurate, and the bars based on them are also presumably accurate -- they're just based on LTE signals instead of the stronger 3G signals the way other phones are. So rather than artificially inflate bars, they could just convert Nexus to display the 3G values. Pity that whole thing about showing numbers that don't actually have to do with the type of signal the phone's connected to.
Dubbin1
Android Expert
jkc120
Android Expert
Huh. Do you know how that could happen?
The thing is, the dB numbers currently displayed are accurate, and the bars based on them are also presumably accurate -- they're just based on LTE signals instead of the stronger 3G signals the way other phones are. So rather than artificially inflate bars, they could just convert Nexus to display the 3G values. Pity that whole thing about showing numbers that don't actually have to do with the type of signal the phone's connected to.
umm...so even when the phone is set to cdma only, it displays the LTE dBm???
BlueBiker
Android Expert
Now that you mention it, I've gotten results I don't particularly understand either. Sorry if that was lame. Anybody know an app that's more accurate... or less buggy?I don't really trust that app it shows me connected to a tower that doesn't exist
BlueBiker
Android Expert
jkc120
Android Expert
By the way, while on 4g, it couldn't even tell me what my signal % was. So it doesn't seem to grok lte anyway.
But the proof is in the pudding. 4g->3g drop and a loss of nearly 20 dBm just walking 5 feet into a house even just on cdma-only.
syntrix
Android Expert
Truth.
And most of the "tower tracking websites" are SEVERELY outdated.
Give it a chance. Marketing made a statement.
We don't have a public statement from the engineers working on it!
syntrix
Android Expert
No, then it shows how crummy the 3G radio also is?
Nope, mine matches a droid charge and a droid thunderbolt consistently in my office. The occasional RAZR also complies to this dude.
Maybe regional, maybe not. hmmmmm
jkc120
Android Expert
No, then it shows how crummy the 3G radio also is?
Precisely. Which is par for the course with Samsung. I was hoping they would use a decent set of radios in a flagship nexus phone, but I guess not. No amount of software is going to magically fix poor radios. You can't fabricate signal quality or reduce noise if the RF capabilities of the hardware simply aren't there.
jkc120
Android Expert
Their statement claimed it is not a signal problem but a problem with the # of displayed bars. Because # of bars being erroneously shown can cause the signal to drop so much walking 5 feet into a house that it degrades from 4g to 3g. I call BS. VZW is blowing smoke up our collective asses. But they have until 1/14 to fix it. I'll wait and see. But I'm really not expecting it to magically get fixed. The radio is just sub-par.
shadrap
Android Enthusiast
I can prove it by doing a video of the phone showing the dBm compared to an iPhone 4s and Droid Razr.
Matter of fact since I've already seen it. I will bet anyone on the forum that the dBm is weak compared to the Razr or iPhone 4s. I would be willing to let one of the mods hold $500 in paypal to distribute to the winner of said bet. Anyone believe enough in the beloved Gnex to bet?
Matter of fact since I've already seen it. I will bet anyone on the forum that the dBm is weak compared to the Razr or iPhone 4s. I would be willing to let one of the mods hold $500 in paypal to distribute to the winner of said bet. Anyone believe enough in the beloved Gnex to bet?
For me verizon is correct. Set the phone to 3g only and the dbm almost perfectly matches my droid x and thunderbolt numbers. Turn lte back on and the numbers are way off run a speed test though and it is definitly 4g speed. Smokes the x and the same speed as the thunderbolt. Even though the nexus says -108 and the thunderbolt says -93. Andatech has a video of this as well with a droid charge in debug so you can see its real lte signal matches what the nexus says but in the settings you can see the charge display something else.
MMcCraryNJ
Android Enthusiast
I think a lot of people here are confusing the issues
1. The Nexus is the ONLY phone that displays proper LTE signal anywhere in the OS. Android 2.3 does NOT support reporting LTE signal. All other phones JUST show the 4G icon when connected to 4G, but nothing else. Their signal strength bars are displaying CDMA strength. The Nexus is NOT displaying CDMA strength.
2. Unless you are ripping logcats from two Verizon devices, you do not have an accurate representation or understanding of comparative signal level. Just because you witness bars moving and dBM changing doesn't mean you have an accurate representation of what is going on.
3. The dropping 4G and being knocked down to 3G issue sounds exactly like the SIM authentication issues, and guess what, everybody is having them as every device succumbs to this every now and again. Yes, some more than others, and like the RAZR, this will have to be tweaked.
4. Verizon isn't giving you the "run around for a crappy radio". The radio is fine as far as 4G performance goes. CDMA/3G will probably need a little tweaking. Actually what everyone SHOULD be angry about is that, as of right now, the Nexus is MORE ACCURATELY displaying signal than every other LTE device, which is a GOOD thing. Verizon is going to change the bars to make them LESS accurate in order to compensate for other device's shortcomings.
Sigh...here we go with everyone hating Verizon again.
1. The Nexus is the ONLY phone that displays proper LTE signal anywhere in the OS. Android 2.3 does NOT support reporting LTE signal. All other phones JUST show the 4G icon when connected to 4G, but nothing else. Their signal strength bars are displaying CDMA strength. The Nexus is NOT displaying CDMA strength.
2. Unless you are ripping logcats from two Verizon devices, you do not have an accurate representation or understanding of comparative signal level. Just because you witness bars moving and dBM changing doesn't mean you have an accurate representation of what is going on.
3. The dropping 4G and being knocked down to 3G issue sounds exactly like the SIM authentication issues, and guess what, everybody is having them as every device succumbs to this every now and again. Yes, some more than others, and like the RAZR, this will have to be tweaked.
4. Verizon isn't giving you the "run around for a crappy radio". The radio is fine as far as 4G performance goes. CDMA/3G will probably need a little tweaking. Actually what everyone SHOULD be angry about is that, as of right now, the Nexus is MORE ACCURATELY displaying signal than every other LTE device, which is a GOOD thing. Verizon is going to change the bars to make them LESS accurate in order to compensate for other device's shortcomings.
Sigh...here we go with everyone hating Verizon again.
Dubbin1
Android Expert
So I just went for a drive with the app running and it didn't identify the correct location for any of the towers around here. I mean it wasn't even close to being correct. That sucks, I was hoping it would work better than that.
jkc120
Android Expert
So they use a charge as the benchmark/comparison? That in and of itself is laughable. How about comparing it to the razr or rezound? Or would that show just how much VZW is playing dumb? hmmmmm
callmeox
Android Enthusiast
Not an app, but you can search for registered antenna sites on he FCC site below. It isn't foolproof, but it will give you coordinates which can be plugged in to Google Maps.
ASR Registration Search
syntrix
Android Expert
Yup, many of us can recreate this.
If you had an easy tool to use on the other 4G phones, you could actually compare, but they don't report 4G signal.
Now some people are reporting lack of 4G in areas where other 4G phones have signal, that's different than how the SGN reports the signal for a "comparison". I'm sure you all see what I'm saying here.
BlueBiker
Android Expert
Yeah, I put the thing into WiFi mode and it couldn't find my router... three feet from the phone: UNINSTALLED.
Good news is I tried going into and out of airplane mode, and my Rez now does 4G inside the house. Didn't know it could do that. Yayyyyy!
jkc120
Android Expert
I was on my phone on the phandroid app, but felt compelled to open up my laptop to respond to this.
I think most people know now that the bars and dBm are not a valid apples to apples comparison UNLESS you switch it to CDMA only, which people are doing and still seeing bad signal.
I'm so sick of people saying "well, it works fine for me" - because, you know, that means it works fine for everyone, right?
The fact is, in a strong signal area, people may not have problems at all. But unless you're in a very good 4G coverage area, you will likely see problems from everything I am seeing on here.
BTW, this reminds me SO MUCH of the Apple iPhone "antennaegate" where Apple apologists were claiming their phone was fine and didn't have the problem. We all know how that turned out.
I think most people know now that the bars and dBm are not a valid apples to apples comparison UNLESS you switch it to CDMA only, which people are doing and still seeing bad signal.
How is the about phone -> status not accurate? I set the phone to CDMA only mode. It also drops 20 dBm the second I set foot inside a structure. How is that not a problem with the phone?
Not in my case. I can walk inside, watch the 4G signal plummet then drop to a (barely acceptable) 3G signal. Then walk back outside and watch it flip back over to 4G. If the radio ISN'T problematic, why can't it handle a single exterior wall between me and the signal?
Really. So I should be getting -83 dBm 4G and 5 feet away inside a house I should get -115 dBm long enough for the phone to go "oh hell no" and switch to a (barely usable) 3G signal? How is that normal. I am willing to bet the Rezound does NOT do this. But I'm not willing to spend $35 to check only to get locked into the Rezound.
Frankly, I don't feel bad at all. They are denying there are signal issues with it, when there clearly are compared to the razr and rezound. Why do people feel obligated to apologize for Samsung/Verizon on this? Samsung has a history of bad radios. Until they prove differently, they need to earn my respect. I was hoping this phone would do that, but all indications so far are that this radio is sub-par and now VZW would rather cover it up. If VZW cares so little about the Nexus (which MANY were using as an argument for why they weren't in a hurry to release it), why are they going to deny the signal problems MANY people are having?Sigh...here we go with everyone hating Verizon again.
I'm so sick of people saying "well, it works fine for me" - because, you know, that means it works fine for everyone, right?
The fact is, in a strong signal area, people may not have problems at all. But unless you're in a very good 4G coverage area, you will likely see problems from everything I am seeing on here.
BTW, this reminds me SO MUCH of the Apple iPhone "antennaegate" where Apple apologists were claiming their phone was fine and didn't have the problem. We all know how that turned out.
callmeox
Android Enthusiast
Huh. Do you know how that could happen?
There are many different kinds of antenas and some are very directional. It is likely that the antennas on the tower were oriented to perform better at a distance. Standin near the base of the tower puts you in a blind spot.
Often you will see multiple antennas in an array on a tower, each facing in in a different direction. These directional antennas are made to see what is in front of them and not what is behind them.
Dubbin1
Android Expert
What kind of siding is on your house?