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(Signal Test) Call Quality and Signal Strength are in doubt ( 2nd phone )

H

hankhenry87

Banned
We originally bought 5 for our business. Of those 5, 2 have been returned and exchanged for Blackberries. We continue to have terrible Signal Strength, and in 2 phones a very loud echo. All other little bugs aside, im looking for some answers. Since I didnt see any side by side tests, I thought I would

1. I tested the signal strength at 5 locations. All locations had great 3g speeds for all the phones. The first INC is an original phone, and the second INC is a replacement.

Droid Eris INC1 INC2
-75 -80 -98 -96
-85 -74 -101 -100
-68 -70 -90 -84
-68 -65 -85 -86

My question is, how can i have GREAT 3g speeds with all the phones, yet have a terrible signal strength. I'm on my 2nd phone and still have the same issues. ( So its not a bad batch)

2. The first thing the other 2 users of the phones mentioned right out of the box there was a very defined echo. The echo was of their own voice, not the other person on the line. I've noticed it on and off, but nothing to bad. People also complain they can hear the echo, making us hard to hear on the phone.

I really like the Incredible, but I guess unless someone from Verizon tells me to wait for an update, or someone here has a solution Im gonna have to go back to the Blackberry. Anyone else having the same problems???

UPDATE _ UPDATE _ UPDATE _ UPDATE

I think I figured out the problem.

Im going to try to post a video later of it. Using your left hand creates a 20% decrease in signal strength. Holding it with 2 fingers and you increase 20% Everytime I do it im jumping from -100dBms(which is terrible) to -80dBms(which is normal for my area)

Im going to go out on a limb and say the reason people are having problems with their phone is because they are in fringe areas. You may have been at -80, which is 3 bars sometimes 2, with your old phone but now your at -100 with the Incredible which is no bars.

Everyone else isnt having a problem because you wont notice a different if you go from -50 to -70, but you will if you go from -80 to -100 ! Can anyone confirm the location of the antenna as being on the left side of the phone? I really dont think I can switch how I use my phone, I like driving with my right hand.

Anyone agree?
 
Thank you for posting the actual signal strength value. I've been mostly watching the battery threads since I've experienced a rather high battery drain. A common theme has thus far been many folks notice a lower-than-normal signal strength (which can be a contributing factor to high battery drain). However, the counter argument is always that the UI elements are buggy or inaccurate. It is helpful to see various side-by-side comparisons with different phones.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always understood that echoing, garbled sound and clipped words are digital compression artifacts. It seems like the networks/phones have gotten very good at holding onto calls when the signal is weak. Instead of getting a dropped call, you get poor and thin-sounding voice quality.
 
Hopefully the signal strength issues are a software issue (poorly written drivers) versus hardware faults. I see no reason why this wouldn't have been picked up in quality assurance testing.
 
I'd say the reason you have good 3G speed is simply because the signal meters are inaccurate. I think a lot of people believe the phones showing a low signal is just a software bug and the signal isn't really as low as it looks. As long as the phone is working, and I haven't had any problems with calls or data at all, then you're fine.
 
Brian_83 said:
I'd say the reason you have good 3G speed is simply because the signal meters are inaccurate. I think a lot of people believe the phones showing a low signal is just a software bug and the signal isn't really as low as it looks. As long as the phone is working, and I haven't had any problems with calls or data at all, then you're fine.
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I've had numerous calls end up going straight to my voicemail. No missed calls on the phone, but a ton of voicemails. The echoing doesnt sound like its a problem with the service. I've heard echoing before, but this doesnt sound normal. It seems to be coming back through the ear piece, its hard to describe but in my opinion is a problem with the ear piece. But yes i've had tons of dropped and missed calls so far, and though I hear everyone fine, numerous people have complained they couldnt hear me.
 
Well I am very dissapointed right now. I just ported from ATT to VZW. I was rocking the Nexus 1 with ATT for a month and a half. Full service in my house, I was excited for the Incredible so I picked one up tonight. Everything seemed fine until I got home and noticed I had no bars and occassionally one bar. My gf called me and it sounded like I was 100ft under ground, very spotty coverage ( I had VZW for 9 years and 3.5 years in my current house with out issue). I read all the concerns on the signal bars being innaccurate. I said ok, lets see I made a few more calls signal was a bit better then I dropped a call, then another one. With my N1 I hadnt dropped one call in the 6 weeks I've had it!!! Also, the sound quality was not very good compared to the N1.

I am going to give it a few more days, luckily I can port back to AT&T with out issue if this phone doesnt get better. This could be a big blow to VZW if this signal and sound issue is more wide spread.

BTW, its a great phone, really nothing to different than the N1 besides the HTC Sense(which is nice) and the 2 more home screens.
 
barrister89 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always understood that echoing, garbled sound and clipped words are digital compression artifacts. It seems like the networks/phones have gotten very good at holding onto calls when the signal is weak. Instead of getting a dropped call, you get poor and thin-sounding voice quality.
Click to expand...

Echo, garbled sound, and clipped words are also symptoms of a poor network connection, which could be the result of various factors. From what I understand of CDMA technology, the less bandwidth the call uses, based on signal strength, the higher the compression rate (leading to lower audio quality).

FWIW, my fully charged Droid battery, which could go 24+ hours under my normal use, drained in about 4 hours in an area where it struggled to keep 1 bar, often dropping to 0. Inside my local Verizon store, the Inc had a -88dBm reading, where the Droid had -74dBm.
 
jsward12 said:
Well I am very dissapointed right now. I just ported from ATT to VZW. I was rocking the Nexus 1 with ATT for a month and a half. Full service in my house, I was excited for the Incredible so I picked one up tonight. Everything seemed fine until I got home and noticed I had no bars and occassionally one bar. My gf called me and it sounded like I was 100ft under ground, very spotty coverage ( I had VZW for 9 years and 3.5 years in my current house with out issue). I read all the concerns on the signal bars being innaccurate. I said ok, lets see I made a few more calls signal was a bit better then I dropped a call, then another one. With my N1 I hadnt dropped one call in the 6 weeks I've had it!!! Also, the sound quality was not very good compared to the N1.

I am going to give it a few more days, luckily I can port back to AT&T with out issue if this phone doesnt get better. This could be a big blow to VZW if this signal and sound issue is more wide spread.

BTW, its a great phone, really nothing to different than the N1 besides the HTC Sense(which is nice) and the 2 more home screens.
Click to expand...

FWIW, my Moto Q, on AT&T had full bars most everywhere I went, between northern VA to Philly. My co-workers w/iPhones can't say the same. Reception was never a concern, even inside many buildings. Conversley, I was looking at getting the HTC TP2 but noticed that "inside AT&T store(s)" the TP2 wold lose half its bars just by picking it up off the table. After returning my Droid, despite the positive results form my antenna mod, I feared the TP2 would have similar reception issues.

Don't be quick to discount the phone as the cause for poor reception. I think its an HTC issue, with multiple products.
 
SirensOfTitan said:
Hopefully the signal strength issues are a software issue (poorly written drivers) versus hardware faults. I see no reason why this wouldn't have been picked up in quality assurance testing.
Click to expand...

Testing was probably done at the factory, and not throughout the US.
 
Oh I don't blame Verizon, I know their service in my area is top notch. The big test is tomorrow at work. We have repeaters in the buildings for VZ, there should be full signal every where I go, however I should have 3-4 bars in my house which is very alarming that this phone may be a dud. Remember that the Nexus 1 is made by HTC.....
 
On a positive note, the replacement phone was sent with a different looking battery. Its black, but came in a sealed HTC bag. Its currently at 95% and its uptime is 2 hours, with 1 hour of light wifi use.
 
I have the same issue with echoing from my own voice through the ear piece speaker. I have had the same issue on two Incredibles. I will be exchanging for a third to try it out when the local store gets more in.
 
dc006 said:
I have the same issue with echoing from my own voice through the ear piece speaker. I have had the same issue on two Incredibles. I will be exchanging for a third to try it out when the local store gets more in.
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Let me know how that turns out. I replaced mine through the 800 number. I ordered it yesterday at 4 and had it today at 10am. Still having the same problems though
 
I have better call quality and signal strength in my Inc than in my Eris. Not bias, just fact. Strange.
 
I think one problem is that the antenna is apparently mounted somewhere near the the bottom of the phone. If I hold the phone normally in my hand sitting on my couch, I get about -80 DBm. From the same position, if I grip the phone from the very top using my thumb and forefinger, signal strength increases to about -65 Dbm.
 
barrister89 said:
I think one problem is that the antenna is apparently mounted somewhere near the the bottom of the phone. If I hold the phone normally in my hand sitting on my couch, I get about -80 DBm. From the same position, if I grip the phone from the very top using my thumb and forefinger, signal strength increases to about -65 Dbm.
Click to expand...

Wow. Your on to something. Holding my phone normally, I was at -95dBms, with one finger on top and one on bottom ( no palm on the phone ) I immediately jumped to -79 to -75. I did this about 20 times and the exact same thing each time!!! Problem found, now is there any solution or do we need to get rid of the phone. I dont see myself holding it any other way
 
man, my phone's regularly in the high -50's to low -60's. i get AWESOME reception and no call clarity issues. i don't think this is a widespread issue.
 
I can't make up my mind about this. Call quality was horrible at first, factory defaults helped. Now I'm in a big city, and can't get coverage. I know the bars aren't significant, but I'm getting -105. Most calls seem fine after I reset, but me calling an iphone user tonight was horrible. I call my bank and it sounds great...... Just so happens my girlfriend has the iphone.... Sigh
 
Im going to try to post a video later of it. Using your left hand creates a 20% decrease in signal strength. Holding it with 2 fingers and you increase 20% Everytime I do it im jumping from -100dBms(which is terrible) to -80dBms(which is normal for my area)

Im going to go out on a limb and say the reason people are having problems with their phone is because they are in fringe areas. You may have been at -80, which is 3 bars sometimes 2, with your old phone but now your at -100 with the Incredible which is no bars.

Everyone else isnt having a problem because you wont notice a different if you go from -50 to -70, but you will if you go from -80 to -100 !

Anyone agree?
 
Weird...

I was averaging -80dbm if held near the top, -95dbm if held at the bottom with a few fingers supporting the bottom of the phone.

This could make sense if the antenna really is at the bottom of the phone.

Maybe they hold phones differently in Taiwan?;)
 
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