Verizon GS3 signal reception thread

[bennybbc]

I think a lot of it was everyone was seeing 4 full bars on gingerbread before going to the sgs3. Ics has changed the signal layout, as mentioned prior, add that to everyone being gunshy of Samsung radios (rightfully so) they don't think it's that good now.

The problem with saying that is unless you know this to be the case with "a lot" of owners complaining of poor reception, it doesn't really help determine how many people are actually getting worse reception than they would with another brand/model of phone. You may be correct in some cases but it really does hurt the credibility of the people who have worse reception and have stated so without going into enough detail.

If EVERYONE reporting poor reception would at least include real world, hands on, "Can you hear me now" and effective/non-effective 3G/4G coverage info along with how many bars or the db level it would go a long ways towards convincing people like yourself who aren't convinced that Samsung/Verizon has a problem with the SGS3 reception.

I'm not saying that reporting db data is useless but I think we can all agree that there are a lot of variables that frequently makes it's value in determining reception level unreliable. It's easy to compare an SGS3 in a fringe coverage area, (Every town/city has some known weak spots) to what you knew your old phone to get or, even better, side by side with another brand/model of Verizon phone at the same time in the same place. Are they both able to send and receive a phone call without dropping? What's the call quality? How about data? Do they both get 3G or 4G? Can they both log onto the same website or does one say, "Website not available" or, "No internet connection" (as mine will do most places in my house but NEVER with my Droid X)? These kinds of tests are the only tests that really matter at all. Throw me (SGS3) and any home run king major league slugger (Droid X) a slow and easy pitch with a tennis ball and we can both bat the ball way into center field. That represents medium to excellent cell phone coverage. Now throw a 90mph fast ball at us and the home run king will knock it out of the park and I'll be lucky to get a foul tip. Unfortunately my house is the cell phone coverage equivalent to home plate in Yankee Stadium. Nothing but fast balls and my SGS3 is striking out every time while all of the other phones in my house are getting singles and stand-up doubles.

Benny

 

[VegaLA]

Tried the Verizon 4G coverage map for Santa Clarita, and they show NO 4G coverage, not even extended for that area.

Look here and search: www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/support/coverage-locatorhttp://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/support/coverage-locator

Thanks for that yeah. I just checked the Vzw map Vs. the TMOB map and TMob does win hands down, no coverage for Vzw 4G here at all, or my place of work....saddened. Still, travelling south to San Diego this weekend and will test the 4G there as it does seem well covered by Vzw 4G.
May move to NV next year and the Vzw 4G coverage theer is healthy too.

Thanks again.

 

[bennybbc]

So I'm standing here in a verizon store abot to drop 600 on an s3. I'm comparing my resound signal to the demo s3.

Rezound is at -69 to -72 db.
S3 is at -83 to -86 db.

Is this a real concern?

The nexus right next to it is -104 db.

Thanks

Justin

If your house or where you use your phone the most is in an area with relatively weak signal reception then it absolutely should be a real concern to you. Yeah, some people are reporting good reception in weak signal areas but there are a lot of people who are reporting the opposite, myself and my daughter included. Without wifi both of our phones are completely useless for talk or data at our house where our old phones, Droid X and Incredible and two other current phones, Spectrum and Bionic all got/get good and very usable reception. For what it's worth, our two phones shipped 3 or 4 days apart from opposite sides of the country so it seems unlikely that they are from the same batch. They could be but I doubt it.

Benny

 

[DILands]

-73dBm on LTE in my house. About the same in the Philly burbs, too.

OK - you got me interested - what burbs?? My problem is that I'm out out work for a bit - so - I won't be able to give it (IF I actually pull the trigger) a good test of streaming to/from work - and getting any type of reliable signal @ work.

My ThunderBolt sucks getting anything reliable (even 1x) at work. USUALLY, streaming Pandora is OK - other times - it'll just start buffering - and need a reboot. Rhapsody (which I really love) is wayyyyy less solid - so - I wrote that off to the app - not the device.

I live in KofP - and take the turnpike up to the NorthEast - so - more location details would be helpful.

TIA!

 

[Skeeter125]

I went to the Verizon Corp. store yesterday and talked to a guy there. He actually seemed to know what he was talking about. I explained to him that my daughter and I both have the same phone and both have the exact same reception issues. It seems unlikely that the phones are from the same batch but I guess it's possible. Her phone shipped from Memphis and my phone shipped from California. I didn't ask about swapping out my phone since I don't believe that it's just coincidence that both phones just happen to be identically defective. He was sympathetic but what could he do? He offered to let me return the phone for a refund (Minus $30, of course) but I'm not ready to do that.

I do get reasonable reception for both voice and data when driving around my town. But that's never been a problem with any of my/our phones. It's our house that has the "Fringe coverage". But none of us have ever had reception this bad with any of our phones at home. It's easy to get good reception in a medium to strong signal area. It's the weak areas that separate the good from the bad.

I can't explain why some people are getting good reception with their SGS3 and we aren't. But it's a fact that we can't talk on our phones at home at all and that has NEVER been a problem with any phone we've ever had. In fact, I don't recall anyone who's ever visited our house having this problem with their phones. I think it's safe to say that our two S3's get the worst reception of any phones that have ever been in our house. We've lived here for about 20 years and we have a lot of company.

At this point I don't know what I'm going to do. I really don't want to give up this phone. I have a lot of money and time invested in it. It's very unlikely that I'll return the phone for a refund. Getting screwed by Samsung/Verizon with a crappy phone AND losing $30? I don't think so. But I have considered selling it on Ebay. I haven't looked into what they're selling for (Lightly used) but I'd think I could probably get $500 for it, maybe more. I don't know. But then what? Go back to my Droid X and wait for something that is comparable in features but actually gets good reception? Maybe. That Razr HD that's rumored to be coming out sounds promising since Motorola is the king of reception in my experience. But I'll have to pay full retail and how much is that going to cost? When will it hit the market? What are my other options that won't be a step down in features and cost me an arm and a leg? Enquiring minds want to know.

My 16 year old daughter is finally coming out of denial about her phone. A couple of days ago it was: "How's your new phone?" "Great! I love it!" "Have you checked the data and voice reception?" "No, I'm using wifi and I haven't made or received any calls." She usually texts or uses our land line since her old Incredible got a slightly garbled signal (But It didn't drop the calls!). I had already tested her phone myself the same day I got my phone and knew it had the same unusable reception mine has. She was in the shower so she didn't know I'd done that and I didn't want to burst her bubble by telling her that her new phone sucks. Last night I called her phone from our LL and of course it dropped it within seconds. She called me back and it took two tries because the first call got dropped while it was ringing. The second call got dropped within two seconds. I think that took some of the shiny sparkle off of her new baby but I don't think she wants to get rid of the phone. Just like my phone, with her phone she gets excellent call quality all over town as well as 3G data. Again, so does any other Verizon phone.

My neighborhood is slightly elevated above the surrounding areas but my street has always received weak reception from any service that sends a signal. DSL is slower here than even a block or two away. Clear Wire isn't even available on our block but it is within a block or two away. The reception of any of the other cell providers is also weak in the same area as Verizon. But Verizon is usually the strongest, at least compared to ATT and Sprint.

The only suggestion the guy at the Verizon store had was to buy one of those whole house wireless extenders. I've never looked into those (Never needed it) and he said they are about $250. Ouch! Add that money to what I could hopefully sell my SGS3 for and I can buy a phone that doesn't NEED a wireless extender.

Benny

usually if you get stuck with a phone and are having reception issues they will give you one of the extenders for free or at least a reduced price so maybe try that?

 

[parapluie]

That's so disappointing to hear. On my Incredible I usually have perfect service (on Verizon) from Riverside all the way in to at least Kenmore -- both voice and 3G. I sometimes even get signal underground if I'm at the station. I haven't gotten my SGS3 yet but I'll be trying it out as well. Fingers crossed.

Coming from a HTC Thunderbolt, my anecdotal experience is that the signal strength is about the same. Having only gotten the phone last night, the following is exactly the same for my day-to-day use:

At home in my apartment, strong 4G.

On Boston green line subway, no data signal, occasional rare bursts of a single bar of voice. Still envious of Tmobile and AT&T users as those companies actually partnered with a 3rd party to install cell service down there while Verizon refuses to do so. ><

At my desk, strong 3G service only.

At the work bathroom, weak 4G service.

The only difference I personally notice is that the phone does seem more smooth when switching from no data/3G/4G than the Thunderbolt was.

 

[rushmore]

Alrighty then!

So far, the reception on my white 32gb G3 is just as good (or better) as the Razr in my fringe signal office and speedtest shows 40% faster download speeds (hence, the better). Also, my 213 apps (yes, too many) downloaded in around half the time.

So for me at least, the GS3 has passed the first "Go, No go" test and on to the house and the backroad test. It is 3G where I live and the next test, but 4G passed 100% for me

I am going to post a mini review, but holding out until I do the 3G and call coverage test where I live. So far, call quality IMO is better than my Razr.

3G coverage performance aside, the GS3 so far is OUTSTANDING and I was WRONG about the display, so the VZW store must have a bum unit. The GS3 I have is a lot brighter and the display IMO rivals the quality of my iPad 3.

Best Buy also rocked in their service (I was wrong there too).

 

[parapluie]

Just when I was getting really depressed about Benny's experience Rushmore jumps in... and the rollercoaster continues Very glad to hear it's working well for you so far, though!

Alrighty then!

So far, the reception on my white 32gb G3 is just as good (or better) as the Razr in my fringe signal office and speedtest shows 40% faster download speeds (hence, the better). Also, my 213 apps (yes, too many) downloaded in around half the time.

So for me at least, the GS3 has passed the first "Go, No go" test and on to the house and the backroad test. It is 3G where I live and the next test, but 4G passed 100% for me

I am going to post a mini review, but holding out until I do the 3G and call coverage test where I live. So far, call quality IMO is better than my Razr.

3G coverage performance aside, the GS3 so far is OUTSTANDING and I was WRONG about the display, so the VZW store must have a bum unit. The GS3 I have is a lot brighter and the display IMO rivals the quality of my iPad 3.

Best Buy also rocked in their service (I was wrong there too).

 

[Ken7]

Picked up an S3 today and thus far I'm happy. I see the screen is not quite as bright as the GNex, but without the A/B, it's not bad. I think this puppy needs to be maxed out on brightness in many situations...at least for me.

I haven't really gotten a chance to check out some of my problematic sites yet, but I haven't dropped 4G yet in the house. One concern is that this morning I was measuring about -96dbm on my GNex and at the same location this afternoon I'm getting -102. We'll see if that translates to anything meaningful in fringe areas.

WiFi download speeds are the same as my GNex, but upload speeds are almost double on average on the S3. Not sure why that would be, but it is what it is.

The screen is definitely bigger than the GNex and that was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting a 1/10" increase, but it's more than that with 'viewable space'. As a result fonts are larger and the screen is easier to read. I think that offsets the dimmer display to some degree.

I should know more about fringe reception in the next day or two. But so far I'm happy and I do like the larger screen.

 

[jbdan]

To add to my last observation, throughout the day and since it arrived the sgs3 will hold onto a signal much more consistently than my GN. So, when the GN drops 4G and goes to 3G in a hole, the sgs3 does the same, but when the GN drops that 3G momentarily (a minute or 2) then pops back up, the sgs3 never loses it's 3G. I was able to test both in a known "signal Bermuda triangle" today.

The over all signal dbm's of both devices are very similar though when locked on.

 

[DILands]

Alrighty then!

So far, the reception on my white 32gb G3 is just as good (or better) as the Razr in my fringe signal office and speedtest shows 40% faster download speeds (hence, the better). Also, my 213 apps (yes, too many) downloaded in around half the time.

So for me at least, the GS3 has passed the first "Go, No go" test and on to the house and the backroad test. It is 3G where I live and the next test, but 4G passed 100% for me

I am going to post a mini review, but holding out until I do the 3G and call coverage test where I live. So far, call quality IMO is better than my Razr.

3G coverage performance aside, the GS3 so far is OUTSTANDING and I was WRONG about the display, so the VZW store must have a bum unit. The GS3 I have is a lot brighter and the display IMO rivals the quality of my iPad 3.

Best Buy also rocked in their service (I was wrong there too).

Dear Rush,

You're killing me!! LOL

I'll be waiting for more of your feedback - but suspect that I'll be hitting Best Buy tomorrow. Since "display" doesn't come under "reception", can you comment on the GPS?

Thank you soooo much!

 

[rushmore]

Yep, wrong on Best Buy and the display. Both are/were outstanding. I need to tell the local VZW store to check their demo unit out, since this display does not have the gray for white, tinted look. A tad dimmer than the Razr, but the higher res and better color more than offset this.

Reception though, I never said anything to be wrong 4G checks okay, so next step 3G where I live

 

[Ken7]

Yep, wrong on Best Buy and the display. Both are/were outstanding. I need to tell the local VZW store to check their demo unit out, since this display does not have the gray for white, tinted look. A tad dimmer than the Razr, but the higher res and better color more than offset this.

Reception though, I never said anything to be wrong 4G checks okay, so next step 3G where I live

Rush, compared to the GNex, you can see the whites are a bit whiter on the GNex. But if you didn't have the units side by side, you just wouldn't notice it.

What I think it is, is that the S3 display is a bit cooler (in video terms)...more blue. Not sure if an app that addresses R/G/B would help, but my first inclination would be to drop blue a bit.

But honestly, the colors and the significantly larger display are just fantastic in my book. I like the calendar app much better than on the GNex, even though I was using a different one. I also like the way emails look much larger than on the smaller screen of the GNex.

I gotta say, thus far I'm pleasantly surprised!

Ah, but I still haven't done fringe testing...gulp.

EDIT: One thing I haven't seen posted is the back of the unit. It is prone to fingerprints and I am a bit worried it will be prone to scratches. I tend to go naked with my phones, but I'm generally very careful.

 

[Varianz]

Edit: wrong thread wow way to make a stupid first post haha

 

[jbdan]

I think the colors are more accurate on the sgs3. Yeah the white are cooler, but not by much. All OLED screens are cool white that I've seen. On the GN I can take some "cool" away with custom color multi settings, but the sgs3 still looks more accurate to me when dealing with actual color

 

[jbdan]

Still waiting on my June 12th pre-order...I ordered in store, which apparently means that they don't actually ship it to my house, I have to wait for the store to get its stock and then go pick it up. I only found this out when I went in yesterday to ask what the status of my shipment was. Which makes me wonder why I bothered to pre-order in the first place. The rep at the store told me yesterday that it should be in today, and when I went in today he told me to try again tomorrow. Le sigh.


Hi btw. Long time lurker, first time poster.

Welcome to AF

 

[JustinHEMI]

If your house or where you use your phone the most is in an area with relatively weak signal reception then it absolutely should be a real concern to you. Yeah, some people are reporting good reception in weak signal areas but there are a lot of people who are reporting the opposite, myself and my daughter included. Without wifi both of our phones are completely useless for talk or data at our house where our old phones, Droid X and Incredible and two other current phones, Spectrum and Bionic all got/get good and very usable reception. For what it's worth, our two phones shipped 3 or 4 days apart from opposite sides of the country so it seems unlikely that they are from the same batch. They could be but I doubt it.

Benny

Yeah, I'm just going to have to take it home and try it. If it does like the Nexus did for me..., not work, I'll just take it back.

Justin

 

[DILands]

Yep, wrong on Best Buy and the display. Both are/were outstanding. I need to tell the local VZW store to check their demo unit out, since this display does not have the gray for white, tinted look. A tad dimmer than the Razr, but the higher res and better color more than offset this.

Reception though, I never said anything to be wrong 4G checks okay, so next step 3G where I live

Not sure if you are a RewardsZone member - or not:

https://www.rewardzonemobile.com/

 

[dmanindfw]

Still waiting on my June 12th pre-order...I ordered in store, which apparently means that they don't actually ship it to my house, I have to wait for the store to get its stock and then go pick it up.

Hi btw. Long time lurker, first time poster.

Welcome!

Was this a Verizon CORPORATE store? I ordered at one and they shipped both phones directly to my house. I think this is standard practice. IF it wasn't a corp store though, I think it's standard practice for it to ship to store.

 

[Sandroidfan]

If your house or where you use your phone the most is in an area with relatively weak signal reception then it absolutely should be a real concern to you. Yeah, some people are reporting good reception in weak signal areas but there are a lot of people who are reporting the opposite, myself and my daughter included. Without wifi both of our phones are completely useless for talk or data at our house where our old phones, Droid X and Incredible and two other current phones, Spectrum and Bionic all got/get good and very usable reception. For what it's worth, our two phones shipped 3 or 4 days apart from opposite sides of the country so it seems unlikely that they are from the same batch. They could be but I doubt it.

Sorry to hear your trouble. But here and even over at AC, I'm starting to see more positive reports than negative as of late. Not just bars/numbers but in real usage.

I think it's worth of trying to swap SIM and/or phone before giving up at least. Yeah it's weird but not impossible to get two bad ones.

 

[JustinHEMI]

So I'm standing here in a verizon store abot to drop 600 on an s3. I'm comparing my resound signal to the demo s3.

Rezound is at -69 to -72 db.
S3 is at -83 to -86 db.

Is this a real concern?

The nexus right next to it is -104 db.

Thanks

Justin

Whelp, now I'm sitting at home with my beautiful new S3. I live in a strong 4G area around Pittsburgh, and side by side, this is what I show now;

Rezound -73 DB
S3 -100 DB

So I guess now I just have to use it and see if those numbers really matter.

Justin

 

[sorka]

Alrighty then!

So far, the reception on my white 32gb G3 is just as good (or better) as the Razr in my fringe signal office and speedtest shows 40% faster download speeds (hence, the better). Also, my 213 apps (yes, too many) downloaded in around half the time.

So for me at least, the GS3 has passed the first "Go, No go" test and on to the house and the backroad test. It is 3G where I live and the next test, but 4G passed 100% for me

I am going to post a mini review, but holding out until I do the 3G and call coverage test where I live. So far, call quality IMO is better than my Razr.

3G coverage performance aside, the GS3 so far is OUTSTANDING and I was WRONG about the display, so the VZW store must have a bum unit. The GS3 I have is a lot brighter and the display IMO rivals the quality of my iPad 3.

Best Buy also rocked in their service (I was wrong there too).

Lots of folks are being confused by the browser brightness and color profile setting which is messed up out of the box, so if you go to the stock browser to look at screen brightness, it's not so impressive until you fix the browser specific settings.

 

[Skeeter125]

Whelp, now I'm sitting at home with my beautiful new S3. I live in a strong 4G area around Pittsburgh, and side by side, this is what I show now;

Rezound -73 DB
S3 -100 DB

So I guess now I just have to use it and see if those numbers really matter.

Justin

is the rezound running ics? If not add about 20 dbm to the rezound and thats what it would read with ics. Idk why they made ics read signal different but they did.

 

[JustinHEMI]

is the rezound running ics? If not add about 20 dbm to the rezound and thats what it would read with ics. Idk why they made ics read signal different but they did.

Didn't know that, thanks. Then they don't seem to be too far off.

I ran some speed tests and just general browsing, app updating, and what not and it seems to be doing just fine.

Justin

 

[dracozny]

at my desk -107 dbm 33 asu no issues with voice or 4g data
in my bedroom -95 dbm 45 asu no problems with data, didnt try to call