Tip for fluctuating signal bars - Samsung Epic 4G Touch

I mentioned this in another thread a while back (can't remember) but anyways..
If you are getting fluctuation in your signal bars or really poor signal (NOT LOS), dial *18. You will hear a couple beeps and then it will automatically hang up. You should see your bars come back and jump around less, if at all. It connects you to the closest, and possibly most reliable tower around you . Sprint had me do it a while back when I had my evo and it always brings my signal back and keeps it steady for me.
Obviously if youre in an area with bad signal this would not help but doesn't hurt to try! Can't guarantee it will work for everyone but it has for me most of the time.
-rip
Sent from my SPH-D710

Any call at all will bring the signal up if it can connect. I said it in another post, but ive learned to just accept that 0 bars means nothing on this phone.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

I tried it and I went from 2 bars to 5-6 ( 6 bars is a full signal ) I can't believe this worked.... its a must as far as tips go

still jumping around like a kid on a trampoline ffs going from -86 to -110 consistantly

I am in such a crappy area did nothing for me.

Related

[Q] Poor cell signal- often roaming

I've had the E4GT for less than 24hrs, and biggest issue is the less than splendid cell reception. Sitting in my living room i used to get 2-3 bars- this thing constantly throws into roaming. I updated my PRL, Profile, and Firmware. Didn't know what the latest PRL was that was out.
I know this thing has only been out a few days, so i understand some bugs. Is anyone else having signal issues where they didn't before?
I'm really trying rock this for a couple days stock before i root the hell out of it, lol.
Thanks for any input. Link me to resources if you like, i have no issues reading up on my own if this is a common issue.
fattmann said:
I've had the E4GT for less than 24hrs, and biggest issue is the less than splendid cell reception. Sitting in my living room i used to get 2-3 bars- this thing constantly throws into roaming. I updated my PRL, Profile, and Firmware. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto! I even have an Air Rave and reception is poor.
I am running into the same situation. It keeps on switching between roaming and normal for no reason. I usually get pretty good reception in my room. It will sit there at about 2-3 bars reception, few minutes later its roaming. The phone hasn't been moved at all.
This happened to me 20 minutes after I got it on Friday but after a reboot it was fine. No problem since then. I assumed it was a network issue.
Same issue here, even with Airave (evo next to SG2 has better signal)
Huh, I'm getting better reception than my Evo 4G. The Epic Touch now works in my condo elevator at basement garage level where the Evo would consistently drop a call.
has anyone did a signal strength comparison instead of bars. they may have different values per bar on different phones.
Returns are warranted?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
I wonder if there is a difference in radios or something. My experience tells me that this radio is finicky as heck, and I don't know why.
Is there a way to find out if Samsung used different parts or suppliers to make the Epic Touch?
I remember HTC doing this with their phones, and some would be fine, and some would not (different issue each phone, lol)
Mine was doing the same i switched the phone to only go on sprints network and has been fine. I rarely need true roaming but it would go into roaming even when sprint service was available.
I think Sprint may be doing network upgrades/maintenance. The same phenomenon occurs on my Epic 4G Touch and multiple Nexus S 4G's. I'll see signal jump from -106 dBm to -76 dBm and in some places go into roaming. Nothing to worry about as long as it works. They may be upgrading equipment to support EVDO rev B hopefully.
I get much better 4G reception on the E4GT than the NS4G, FWIW.
My signal isn't as good as my photon was better then my evo 3d. I usually don't roam much. Trust me when I say this, reception could be worse lol ill deal with it!!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
I hope the poor signal has to do with upgrading to EvDo RevB on Oct7
Thank God I am not alone. My cell reception too is finicky. In places my old evo (which my girl use now)have weak signal my epic touch would roam in and out. Sometimes it won't leave roaming even after I get to a known good reception area. Only a reboot would kick it back to sprint network. I read somewhere that calling sprint and having them reset my phone on their end might help. I am going to try this out as soon as I get home.

Very crappy signal.. (different from LOS)

Is this an issue for anyone else?
I just switched over from Evo 3D. And in my living room, where I used to get 2 bars on Evo, I get absolutely 0 on this phone. It goes in and out of roaming like 100 times while I'm there. And in the basement, where I used to get at least 1, I get roaming at all times.
Is there a fix for this?
(I searched on the 1st two pages of this section, and found nothing.)
arozer said:
Is this an issue for anyone else?
I just switched over from Evo 3D. And in my living room, where I used to get 2 bars on Evo, I get absolutely 0 on this phone. It goes in and out of roaming like 100 times while I'm there. And in the basement, where I used to get at least 1, I get roaming at all times.
Is there a fix for this?
(I searched on the 1st two pages of this section, and found nothing.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see the same signal strength on both phones. You should check with your local Sprint people for getting a refund or something.
This phone's reception is way worse than the evo 3D.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Try calling Sprint and having them do a profile reset on their end and then update your PRL and profile while in your home. It helped me
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I can't compare to evo3d, but compared to evo 4g this phone is far worse reception. Also, wifi reception is at least as terrible. At is, assuming the DB levels and bars both correlate to the real signal level. I often send and receive calls with 0 bars. It makes no sense, but i've learned to live with the concept that 0 bars on an samsung epic 4g touch does not mean anything.
If you are roaming however where you previously got 2 bars.. well.. thats a different story. Try turning off roaming and see if you can't dial out.
i feel ya. both me and my father got new epic touches and i at least really love the phone.. but ... the 3g at least signal strength is subpar.
where i was getting -78 db on a moment
and he was getting -71 db on an evo
we are both hovering around the -101 db mark at home.
poor.
very sad because other than the poor signal strength outside of major areas these things blow my mind.
arozer said:
Is this an issue for anyone else?
I just switched over from Evo 3D. And in my living room, where I used to get 2 bars on Evo, I get absolutely 0 on this phone. It goes in and out of roaming like 100 times while I'm there. And in the basement, where I used to get at least 1, I get roaming at all times.
Is there a fix for this?
(I searched on the 1st two pages of this section, and found nothing.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take it into Sprint store. They will do a test. My first SII ET had some other bug. I had very poor reception and very slow internet.
Yep. My speeds suck on 3g. Works great on 4g
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
speedy0339 said:
This phone's reception is way worse than the evo 3D.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am finding exact opposite results.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
if i lean forward on my couch, I get 1 bar sprint, lean back, nothing, unless i force roam to VZ, i get 2-3 on that... anyways, reception is about the same as for the OG epic for me, the 4g is way better for me though, I was in my work parking lot and got 13 megs down... but 4g is so spotty here I rarely turn it on. Anyways, with the Network Vision thingy going on... I suspect some crazy signal drops/increases coming...
10-13Mbps download speeds on full bar 4G at home. No LOS, Not a single issue with this phone. Battery life is amazing. I am finding it hard to be on the forums because everyone is complaining about something. Bad 3g...blame the IPhone for that. My 4G has gone up by 5+Mbps. I did the 4G signal hack that I did on my Epic and it only got better. I guess I need to go chill in the Nexus forums until people get their issues worked out. Its probably a voltage increase when phone is idle that will fix LOS issue
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

[Q] Why do I have terrible phone signal but constant 3G/4G?

I work in downtown Houston and, while I am always connected to either 3G or 4G, I consistently have terrible phone signal. It'll only ever range from zero to 3 bars and I don't even think I've seen a full signal since I've owned this phone. Now, this isn't too much of a deal as I can always text and make calls (although it takes a while to connect sometimes.), but I'm left wondering if this is a cell tower issue or if something may have updated incorrectly. I'm rooted and unlocked and have only ever flashed the last 6 or so Lifeless ROM updates, so I don't really think I could have messed it up myself, but I find it hard to believe that downtown Houston would have such bad phone signal. Any insight?
mrdrprofjeremy said:
I work in downtown Houston and, while I am always connected to either 3G or 4G, I consistently have terrible phone signal. It'll only ever range from zero to 3 bars and I don't even think I've seen a full signal since I've owned this phone. Now, this isn't too much of a deal as I can always text and make calls (although it takes a while to connect sometimes.), but I'm left wondering if this is a cell tower issue or if something may have updated incorrectly. I'm rooted and unlocked and have only ever flashed the last 6 or so Lifeless ROM updates, so I don't really think I could have messed it up myself, but I find it hard to believe that downtown Houston would have such bad phone signal. Any insight?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work in Downtown Denver and have a very similar problem downtown, but not out in the suburbs. My Sprint store has given me a couple of explanations.
1) The buildings block the signal. There are areas of downtown, particularly by the tallest buildings, where occasionally I will drop my cell signal completely
2) In a higher concentration area signal is reduced due to more people using that signal (I don't understand how this one affects signal strength, but that's what I was told)
How is your signal outside of the downtown area? Did you update Profile and PRL after flashing? Ever dropped the phone?
Xiutehcuhtli said:
I work in Downtown Denver and have a very similar problem downtown, but not out in the suburbs. My Sprint store has given me a couple of explanations.
1) The buildings block the signal. There are areas of downtown, particularly by the tallest buildings, where occasionally I will drop my cell signal completely
2) In a higher concentration area signal is reduced due to more people using that signal (I don't understand how this one affects signal strength, but that's what I was told)
How is your signal outside of the downtown area? Did you update Profile and PRL after flashing? Ever dropped the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I live about 14 miles west of downtown, and even there, I don't get full strength signal. As I said, I don't ever remember seeing more than 3 bars of signal. I update the PRL and Profile after every flash, and just today I dialled ##72786# to see if the hands free activation would do anything but no luck. I've also encountered moments where I'll be at home (again, I normally have data coverage and a few signal bars) and suddenly, I'll get an alert notifying me that I'm roaming.
mrdrprofjeremy said:
Well, I live about 14 miles west of downtown, and even there, I don't get full strength signal. As I said, I don't ever remember seeing more than 3 bars of signal. I update the PRL and Profile after every flash, and just today I dialled ##72786# to see if the hands free activation would do anything but no luck. I've also encountered moments where I'll be at home (again, I normally have data coverage and a few signal bars) and suddenly, I'll get an alert notifying me that I'm roaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That happened to me the other day. I was at work and I got roaming pop up. Really weird since that never happened before and because my 4G is so strong. 36168kbps Down and 6304kbps up.
mrdrprofjeremy said:
I work in downtown Houston and, while I am always connected to either 3G or 4G, I consistently have terrible phone signal. It'll only ever range from zero to 3 bars and I don't even think I've seen a full signal since I've owned this phone. Now, this isn't too much of a deal as I can always text and make calls (although it takes a while to connect sometimes.), but I'm left wondering if this is a cell tower issue or if something may have updated incorrectly. I'm rooted and unlocked and have only ever flashed the last 6 or so Lifeless ROM updates, so I don't really think I could have messed it up myself, but I find it hard to believe that downtown Houston would have such bad phone signal. Any insight?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been an issue on every LG Sprint phone with Android I have used. I am not sure what causes it but the bars on the screen never show full strength. That doesn't mean it isn't working though. I have heard it is just how LG worked the rom to show signal.
jonny4 said:
That doesn't mean it isn't working though. I have heard it is just how LG worked the rom to show signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me first start off by saying this is the furthest from the truth. If it shows a weak signal its because this phone has a weak signal.
This is my 3rd day with this phone and as much as I raved about it on a couple of threads, weak signal is definitely one of the negatives.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium HD app
shook187 said:
Let me first start off by saying this is the furthest from the truth. If it shows a weak signal its because this phone has a weak signal.
This is my 3rd day with this phone and as much as I raved about it on a couple of threads, weak signal is definitely one of the negatives.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can it have weak signal if when I get this I am getting 36168kbps Down and 6304kbps up?
Dr. Mark said:
How can it have weak signal if when I get this I am getting 36168kbps Down and 6304kbps up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude the LTE radio has nothing to do with the phone signal. Two separate radios.
This phone just has weak radios. Now the question is, is it a software or hardware issue? my bet is software but then again I'm not an engineer
Edit
Funny thing is open signal maps gives me an 85dbm reading yet in settings it shows 94 dbm
bizzshow26 said:
This phone just has weak radios. Now the question is, is it a software or hardware issue? my bet is software but then again I'm not an engineer
Edit
Funny thing is open signal maps gives me an 85dbm reading yet in settings it shows 94 dbm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just discovered if you switch the network setting from LTE/CDMA to CDMA my signal bar gets full.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium HD app
I don't have an issue with 3g I get great 3g signal my issue is with lte. Lte has bed in my area since late August early September and I've had the s3 evo lte and the iPhone none of them have had an issue picking up or holding lte the lgog does.and I think it all boils down to the phone not recognizing the correct signal and thinking its weaker than it truly is. In my house and through my town I would never drop lte On the others this phone barely holds it. I've been 100 yards from a cell tower and the phone won't go below 84dbm when I know the signal strength is stronger
I installed the Network Signal Info app on several phones in my store and the LGOG registered about 9db worse consistently compared to the SGS3 or Evo LTE
About the same thing I've seen with this phone I'm hoping its a quick fix for lg with the next update. I was really hoping that zv9 would come with a new radio

What are my options? If there are any?

OK long story short
Was happy with epic touch then got s3 as its S3
But its reception is poor, at home loads if time I am losing the signals , just a freakin grey triangle. No 4g here
And 3g is poor very poor inside any place . It switches to 1x and just sits there for so long.
I feel it just cant keep latched on to the network strong enough.
I have tried all radios and like 5 ROMs even the latest MA4 combo too.
Not much of help.
Can anyone guide me what more I can do if at all there is anything left. Otherwise I am gonna have to move back to some other phone.
Thanks
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
sprint offers microcells that connect to your home wireless network it boosts all your signals by using the internet. call them and ask them about it. it's like a little box you plug into a router and boosts your phone's reception.
The guy above me is talking about an Airave. Sprint sends them out for free if you have a poor signal in your house.
The grey triangle you are seeing means you are roaming. A while ago I was stuck roaming and fixed my problem by using the code below.
Also try dialing, ##72786#. Once you dial it it will reactivate your phone, reboot, update PRL, update profile, and reboot. It fixes a lot of network problems.
One more thing, my mom has a S II and when we are in the same building her signal jumps up and down from full bars to little bars, but my S III stays in the middle constantly.
Thanks for the help .
airvave isn't an option as I tend to lose signals at various confined spaces.
I.just need something which I can do or tweak with my phone like.some settings or even some hardware change like adding another antenna inside .
Any good and strong radio ?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
would be grateful for anymore suggestions
regards
lord dredd said:
OK long story short
Was happy with epic touch then got s3 as its S3
But its reception is poor, at home loads if time I am losing the signals , just a freakin grey triangle. No 4g here
And 3g is poor very poor inside any place . It switches to 1x and just sits there for so long.
I feel it just cant keep latched on to the network strong enough.
I have tried all radios and like 5 ROMs even the latest MA4 combo too.
Not much of help.
Can anyone guide me what more I can do if at all there is anything left. Otherwise I am gonna have to move back to some other phone.
Thanks
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its really bad in your home, call up sprint / go to your local office and complain, and they'll probably give you an airave, which is basically just a 3G router they give you for in home.

Getting Verizon to address signal issues?

Has anyone had luck getting signal issues addressed with Verizon?
My signal has gone to crap - I thought it was my new One M7, but my wife's S4 is exhibiting the same behavior...can't help but think something is wrong, as I used to get a solid 4G signal at home a few months ago on my ReZound.
I live just off a major state highway, I am in town, and right in the middle of the 4G coverage for Verizon (there's 6 towers within 4 miles of my house, and 17 antennas - according to antennasearch.com). The local Verizon tech pulled their map and said I should be getting full signal at my house.
Despite all this, when I get within a mile from my house coming in fr the East on the state hwy, I drop to 1 bar of 3G and lose all data. At home, I switch between these signals:
(rare) 4G RSRP -120 to -123 dBm
3G (eHRPD) -110 to -118 dBm
1 1xRTT -97 dBm
If I go another half mile west in town (which is flat land), I am back to sub -100 signal on 4G. Any way to get someone to actually investigate and do something about it?
Thanks...
Call tech support and demand that they send a tech to investigate. I have to do it constantly. They tell me every time I call everything is fine on their end and a few days later it gets better all of a sudden. It's like they don't want you to know they have an issue.
You on the latest radios? I noticed when I updated to the latest radios my signal improved. Still would call tech support and have them check what's going on. Don't take we have no issues as you live in the area and they don't. So they should take your word for it. If you know others in your area have them call to so they have to take it seriously.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Man, I have tried newest radios, older radios, combinations of different setups with different ROMs (Sense and AOSP based), flashed RUU and did factory resets, back to stock rooted with new and old radios, and even a new SIM card...now back to 100% stock and fully updated - getting ready to see if they will trade out my hardware in case mine is bad.
One odd thing - when I first got the phone, the Best Buy tech couldn't get the SIM to activate, and had to call Verizon. When I swapped my SIM out two weeks ago at the local Verizon corporate store, they couldn't get the new SIM to activate and had to go to the back and do it from the computer...which is what makes me wonder if my hardware is bad.
Have had Verizon here (same house) for 8 years...very rarely had a dropped call in that time up until about 2 months ago (when I got my One M7). I drop about 1 out of every 3 calls now, and the other two get garbled sometime during the call - I hear "you're breaking up" at least once per call.
Your wife has a totally different phone and she is having issues as well so she has hardware issues too?
Her Samsungs always had worse reception than my ReZound (why she likes them, I have no idea) - but I chalked it up to bad reception on the device line.
I never looked into her signal strength until I was comparing my One to hers, which is when I noticed her signal is also bad (mine is worse at times). That's what made me wonder if it was something Verizon should look into in the area.
The hardware thought on my end is due to the fact that I can't find a combination of radio/ROM/RUU that will improve my signal at home and the fact that both SIMs had an issue activating in the phone. Grasping at straws on the hardware thing really.
May reactivate my ReZound tomorrow to see if the signal has just gone to crap here or if it's my phone.
I had signal issues at one point and the problem was because the SIM couldn't seat all the way because of a tiny piece of plastic still attached to the back side of the SIM. It made just a tiny little bump that made it so the tray wouldn't slide all the way in. Since then though the problem in my area has been Verizon. Every time I've called to tell them the coverage here has been crap they tell me the same old it isn't their fault junk. Keep hounding them and they will send a tech even if they tell you otherwise. Like I mentioned before. They almost never admit to an issue with a tower. The only time I have heard of them admitting it was when it was bad enough that they received several reports.
Update:
I reactivated my ReZound yesterday morning to see if my recollection of signal was off or if things are worse on the network near my house.
I monitored it heavily yesterday, last night, and again this morning, and at home the ReZound keeps a 4G signal ranging from -110 to -120.
I did a side-by-side comparison with the wife's Samsung, and while the One mirrors the Samsung (when one drops to 3G or 1X, the other is doing the same), the ReZound held the 4G signal. I watched the Samsung go from poor 3G to 1X - ReZound held 4G.
Also, the dreaded 1 mile dead zone around my house - on my One, Slacker quits playing about a mile from home, says it has lost connection to the server, even though I am on a decent 3G signal. Twice yesterday (coming and going), the ReZound held 4G through the zone and Slacker never skipped a beat.
Conclusion - either something is wrong with the One (and possibly the Samsung?), or the One simply can't contend with a weak signal as well as the ReZound.
If a rep said you should have full bars they might not have the antenna aligned right. I remember years ago someone on one of the sites talked about the same problem he was suppose to have full signal but want and Verizon sent someone out to check alignment and found the person who installed it didn't have it aligned right. After he rest the antenna the guy had full bars. I'd bet this happens quite often and maybe have the two that told you to have someone sent out to see if the antennas are setup right
the_Damaged_one said:
Update:
I reactivated my ReZound yesterday morning to see if my recollection of signal was off or if things are worse on the network near my house.
I monitored it heavily yesterday, last night, and again this morning, and at home the ReZound keeps a 4G signal ranging from -110 to -120.
I did a side-by-side comparison with the wife's Samsung, and while the One mirrors the Samsung (when one drops to 3G or 1X, the other is doing the same), the ReZound held the 4G signal. I watched the Samsung go from poor 3G to 1X - ReZound held 4G.
Also, the dreaded 1 mile dead zone around my house - on my One, Slacker quits playing about a mile from home, says it has lost connection to the server, even though I am on a decent 3G signal. Twice yesterday (coming and going), the ReZound held 4G through the zone and Slacker never skipped a beat.
Conclusion - either something is wrong with the One (and possibly the Samsung?), or the One simply can't contend with a weak signal as well as the ReZound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With newer phones, they may be dropping the 4G and 3G signal because it is below the preset threshold in the firmware. -110 to -120 is horrible. You should be getting higher than that, like -90 and up.
Edit: if Verizon is saying you should be getting full bars, your signal should be above -78dBm. (Signal is measured in negatives, so "above" -78 is 77, 76, etc). If you read any documentation on signal strengths, you will see anything below -105 is so horrible of a signal, most data, sms, and calls are frequently dropped. With you claiming with the Rezound having not experiencing this, it is highly likely what the above poster is saying is true: antenna alignment is messed up. Even a fraction of a degree will mess with signal quality.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using XDA Free mobile app

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