Hello. I have a real curious question. At my house I have practically no signal. I actually roam at times. If I walk to the metro bus stop which is literally like less than a 30 second walk across the street, I get full signal. Fastest 3G/4G speeds ever. It doesn't make any sense.
I think I'm living in a dead spot. Could there be something at my house messing up my signal? It just doesn't make any sense for me to have no signal, then I walk across the street and flourish in signal.
I'm on Sprint. Its luckily no big deal since we have wifi, but I do kinda want a backup plan.
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No_Nickname90 said:
Hello. I have a real curious question. At my house I have practically no signal. I actually roam at times. If I walk to the metro bus stop which is literally like less than a 30 second walk across the street, I get full signal. Fastest 3G/4G speeds ever. It doesn't make any sense.
I think I'm living in a dead spot. Could there be something at my house messing up my signal? It just doesn't make any sense for me to have no signal, then I walk across the street and flourish in signal.
I'm on Sprint. Its luckily no big deal since we have wifi, but I do kinda want a backup plan.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
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A lot of the materials used in construction of homes can lead to blocking or weakening of signals. There are also several other factors that can effect it but there are so many to go into it would be a book before we finished this post.
The best way to picture it is to imagine one of the old TV sets with the rabbit ear antenna on top. You had to have those ears just the right distance apart, at just the right angle, at just the right length to get a clear picture. The second dad walked in front of the TV, Mom bumped the antenna out of position or the sun started to set your show got all fuzzy again. Then you were stuck messing around until you got the picture just right again.
So I guess basically what I'm saying is just be aware that your phone may not work in some spots and plan accordingly if you need to make a phone call or use your phone for internet.
Another thing to look at is getting an AirWave through Sprint. I've heard that if you have roaming issues in your home they will actually send you one for free.
Thanks. Our house was made in the 1950's so I'm guessing it has something to do with the material. My answer was to link everything through Google Voice. Best alternative for my case. Since Google Voice uses data and I have WiFi, I can get the messages and calls I need. I didn't have this problem with Tmo, though. I'm guessing it's a frequency thing and material. Don't really care for details. Just a curious question. Thanks again for your insight.
Phandroid posted an article about and Umbrella that boosts Wireless signals and can charge your phone. Think I should get that? LoL!! An AirWave just seems to extreme for my case. If it's really that bad, I'll just walk across the street. =.P
I called Sprint's retention department about horrible roaming in my house and they're sending me an Airave for free. I had to question them and like say "why do I have to pay additional because your service is roaming in my house when it's in fair coverage"? So they waived the monthly AND the one time fee of $129.99 for the unit. Give them a try. I get mine this week.
The building materials play a big part in your reception. Things like stucco, bricks, wiring, etc... And if you have a lot of EMI that would be another factor, do you ever experience intermittent wireless connectivity at home? Slow speeds, random disconnections, inconsistent signal?
Do you happen to have your own tesla coil by chance?... That was a joke but it is something that would cause major signal loss.
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You would be amazed at what affects signal. A friend of mine used to get perfect signal in his house even in hugs basement until the day he installed new carpet in his living room. Now he can only get signal on the second floor of his house.
Sent from my ridiculously long named phone ---
Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch
My office in my house is a cluster of EMF between desktops, servers, countless little transformers, two wifi units, ip cams, several amateur radio ht's,etc. The air rave is like 35 feet away and I only get 1or 2 bars most of the time.
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I thought about using the airave but I have read bad reviews on it and have even had people at sprints stores tell me they werent worth the money. I only have 1-2 bars in my room and I walk out side and get 3-4. Odd thing is at work i bounce between full service and one bar under that and speeds are the same as if I am standing outside at home with less recption. I have used several different modems and tey all seem to follow the same sort of trend. crappy thing is i dont work or live in the boonies or anything. I wish Sprint would step the game up I have been with them for 5 years now and I am seriously thinking of going over to verizon because of the massive difference in speeds.
Related
I live in a town home and I get horrible signal. I am in the middle of a common residential area, no blockage or anything. I literally have to stand in certain areas to get over 1bar or not drop calls.
I was curious if there was anything out there to help get a signal boost.
This isn't rom specific or network specific or phone specific. I just can't imagine that I am living in that much of a dead area. Im in dfw, no hills or anything either.
I have had this issue with tmobile, sprint and metro.
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yea call sprint n tell them their signal sucks n ur cazncelling ur plan n goin with verizon. they will send u an air rave for free. thats what my dad did cuz he lives in the sticks. its like a router that plugs into ur internet n makes a cell tower in ur house
It's Airave, not air rave. And yes, thats the only solution. There is no rom or software solution to boosting a signal.
If you suddenly start getting better signal when you go outside, then it's most likely the materials the house is made out of. Some materials block wireless signals better than others. In either case, unless you want to start punching holes in your house's walls, an Airave is gonna be your best bet.
Bah, thanks. This is a newer townhome and I do get a slightly better signal outside but not a full one. I can actually watch my signal drop as soon as I hit my neighborhood. Almost like it drops one tower for the next but I am in a weird void between the two.
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I have zones that kill battery, I live in dfw also, I never see that. But there is a small spot that forced drop calls. Right in dead man's curve, ( curve where 75 becomes 175 sounth of mlk blvd.) Hit that curve and dropped call all the time.
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nothing that you can do on your phone
Last time it was the Vibrant on T-Mobile. Good developers but really, some serious compromises in GPS and service performance (T-Mobile fault on service).
So now I switch to Sprint. I should have "best" 3G coverage for miles and miles around me according to the coverage map, yet Im sitting here roaming at my house...brand new Epic 4G Touch, -96 to -101 dbm. Really??? A phone like this should not be released with hardware or software issues which leave it utterly broken for many users.
The Epic 4G Touch got glaring reviews, did sites like Engadget even use the damn phone? So my latest "top of the line" phone investment is once again a failure. This thing just needs to start working...now. If I get to work on Monday and I dont get reception in the office, I might snap it in half.
I hear yah. I too get the same db in my house and usually go roaming about 50-60% of the time at this point. It's very frustrating. In a lot of buildings I get terrible reception. Outdoors I get pretty good reception and in the car.
I feel your pain. I still have days to decide, but I want to keep this phone. However, I wish things would work the way they should on more than just the signal issues.
I have had the phone a week. So far it has been a stellar phone.
For me, Sprint Data has been sucking wind since last November. Around my house, during the day I'm luck to get better then 200Kbps. This week end I've been singing the Iphone blues because they have been hovering around 50Kbps. At 230AM I do get 1.5Mbps. For the region, Sprint is ok, I just live in a hole. If it wasn't for an insanely cheap plan, I would have left long ago. I've been off contract for 3 years so I was free to do so.
For data on the go I have an unlimited Ipad sim. I usually put that in my laptop or MiFi depending on where I am going and what I am doing. Very seldom do I end up in an area where both Sprint and ATT are bad.
Do you have worse data signal reception (and use) with Sprint vs. Verizon indoors?
More often than not, inside a store or restaurant in an 'excellent coverage' area, Sprint's data network is not usable (connection timeouts) where as surfing on Verizon is no problem.
I suspect a combination of Sprint Rev A and possibly cell density / Sprint using lower signal strength.
I didn't get a lot of response in the top Networking thread, so I thought I would post with fellow Sprint/ Evo 4G users.
other sim thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1501051
Hey,
It all comes down to you get what you pay for, sprint has amazing phones with ok at best service sorry if anyone takes offence but its true. When on big red you are paying a lot but you get good phones and strong service its just how it is sadly. Sometimes I have great data in stores others I dont it just depends on the cell tower and how the building is built, but like I said it just comes down to you get what you pay for!
Stevo
While you would think the signal would be similar, since both Sprint and Verizon are CDMA, it's not.
On sprint, there is a tower less than 2 blocks from my house. Outside I get full bars, but the second I step inside my house, I get knocked down to 1 bar. Using the Verizon PRL, I also get full bars outside, but when I step inside, I only lose one bar, and get 5/6 bars consistently. The same thing happens at a few restaurants around town, sprint gets 0 bars inside, but almost full bars as soon as I step outside, but with verizon, the signal stays the same in and out.
Thanks guys. This is exactly my issue. For some reason, in larger market cities, this is less of a problem.
I wish I could find a technical reason. There seems to be a discrepancy too in the quality of data signal with sprint's own towers.
And I don't buy in to the 'you get what you pay for'. My wife and I pay $1800 a year for 'unlimited everything and the first 4G network with enhanced devices that connect to high speed data'
I hope this isn't out of context but it seemed to be the most relavent thread for my issue.
Typically I haven't had many issues with my Sprint server (I'm in the Denver metro area) however over the last few days every call I get on the end voice is choppy, and eventually will cut out. When monitoring my signal it will jump from 3 or 5 bars to zero and then back up again.
I do have a rooted phone, however the ROM I'm using has the stock kernel and the most up to date radio.
I guess my question is, has anyone experienced any issues like this over the past few days? Is it possible that I'm having a hardware issue and need to un-root my phone and take it to the sprint store?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm not quite sure how to start the problem solving process. Thanks!
IrideAgro said:
Thanks guys. This is exactly my issue. For some reason, in larger market cities, this is less of a problem.
I wish I could find a technical reason. There seems to be a discrepancy too in the quality of data signal with sprint's own towers.
And I don't buy in to the 'you get what you pay for'. My wife and I pay $1800 a year for 'unlimited everything and the first 4G network with enhanced devices that connect to high speed data'
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Thats a lot for that plan. I use to have and switched to the $70 one due to the fact that I barely call land lines anymore. You might want to look into the other plans to save some money.
Now as far as the signal problem...it really depends on the phone, freq, rom, area and the building. I dont have the problems that you have..in face ppl with vw have that problem around me.
edlokien said:
Thats a lot for that plan. I use to have and switched to the $70 one due to the fact that I barely call land lines anymore. You might want to look into the other plans to save some money.
Now as far as the signal problem...it really depends on the phone, freq, rom, area and the building. I dont have the problems that you have..in face ppl with vw have that problem around me.
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Um, Lets see, Family unlimited plan with two Evos (+$20) - with a discount on the line. Use to be under $130/month, now it is at $146/month. So not sure what you are talking about regarding price.
Regarding your signal response, I was looking for something actually technical and informative.
IrideAgro said:
Um, Lets see, Family unlimited plan with two Evos (+$20) - with a discount on the line. Use to be under $130/month, now it is at $146/month. So not sure what you are talking about regarding price.
Regarding your signal response, I was looking for something actually technical and informative.
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Sounds about right Iride. We have a family unlimited plan here as well with an Evo and an iPhone 4s and I think we're somewhere in the $160 range with insurance and everything.
On the technical side I've posted a few times in other threads pertaining to the same issue but haven't heard back.
It seems my service is now only sporadic at home, but I can't confirm that fully just yet. I was downtown (Denver) using my phone yesterday and it seemed just fine, however when I returned home any call I made immediately had a sporadic choppy voice. This is strange to me as I've never had bad signal here until now. That's over 2+ years of living in this same apartment.
Maybe this is something on Sprint's end. This may be a silly question, but when calling for tech support, they can't tell if you've rooted your phone or not right? It would only be if you took it in to get serviced without unrooting?
Hope to figure out something soon...
I purchased the Note 2 in hopes of having a little better reception at my desk here at work. If I walk to a window, I get full bars, but my desk is in the middle of the floor, so I get one bar or none. Sadly, the Note 2 didn't change that (I didn't think it would, just hoped it had a better antenna). I'm probably going to return it this afternoon, and switch to Verizon next month when it arrives there. My coworker's S3 on Verizon has full bars, and he sits 3 feet away from me, but he also has 4G on his (can't figure out how to turn it off to test his 3G only).
I like Sprint, and if I knew LTE would change these reception woes, I'd just tough it out until it hits Memphis. Has anyone had a problem getting 3G, but then saw their reception increase with LTE? The older 4G would not reach my desk with my 3D, so I'm skeptical, but never hurts to ask.
don't change carriers just because your desk is in a bad spot. I can guarantee you there are places in your building, or even other buildings where the roles will be reversed.you will be the one with signal and him with nothing
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reinaldistic said:
don't change carriers just because your desk is in a bad spot. I can guarantee you there are places in your building, or even other buildings where the roles will be reversed.you will be the one with signal and him with nothing
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Unfortunately, this is where I spend 8 hours a day, and there's no chance of me moving to a different part of the floor. When I'm at home, I use Wifi, so it's not an issue, but here at work, my phone is basically useless because of Sprint's weak signal. I can move to Verizon with no penalties, and with my corporate discount the rate is the same (unlimited data goes away, but I've never gone over 2GB a month), it's just a bunch of trouble I'd rather not go through if Sprint's LTE is strong.
Hey guys,
I have had a couple people complain that when I was talking with them with my Note 4, I was breaking up several times. I think I was home every time someone complained that I was breaking up.
This is my first phone ever with Verizon and so far the data signal has been flawless, always super fast. I am worried though that my radio signal on the phone isn't good, possibly a defective phone?
When I got into work this morning I left myself a 2 minute voicemail on my work phone and played it back to see if it was breaking up. I played it back and it was perfect.
Could my house just be a "bad spot" in the area? I'm in West Bend, about 30 minutes north of Milwaukee. My signal at home was about -101dbm and its about the same at work. If my signal/service is going to suck at home thats going to be pretty annoying.
Is there a number that I can call to update the towers? I know this helped on occasion when I still was with US Cellular.
PS. My wife got the exact same phone, I'll have to check to see what her signal strength is.
Thoughts?
thegipper said:
Hey guys,
Thoughts?
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Hello, I've moved your thread to Q&A as it's pretty clearly a question.
Thanks.
Do you have a case of any kind on your phone? If so, which one.
No case on my phone. So my wife just called me from home who also has a white note 4 and sure enough, the call dropped twice from her. When she is in the living room, it appears to be fine (I called from my work land line phone) but if she moves into our kitchen, the call starts breaking up.
My brother said my voice was breaking up too when I called him yesterday, also from my kitchen.
This makes it sound like its not the phone, but the signal in my area. This is troubling to me because we are in a town of 30k+ just 20 miles north of Milwaukee. We have never had a single call issue with US cellular or straight talk.
What should I do at this point?
thegipper said:
No case on my phone. So my wife just called me from home who also has a white note 4 and sure enough, the call dropped twice from her. When she is in the living room, it appears to be fine (I called from my work land line phone) but if she moves into our kitchen, the call starts breaking up.
My brother said my voice was breaking up too when I called him yesterday, also from my kitchen.
This makes it sound like its not the phone, but the signal in my area. This is troubling to me because we are in a town of 30k+ just 20 miles north of Milwaukee. We have never had a single call issue with US cellular or straight talk.
What should I do at this point?
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When I first joined with Verizon, I was having a lot of issue with poor signal and dropped calls. I called them to complain, and they told me that I could either get out of my contract, or they'd give me a network extender. Because at home was the only place where I was having issues with the service, I opted for the network extender. The one that they gave me was refurbished, but it has worked fine for over two years.
Your mileage may vary, but calling them to complain is definitely worth a try.
usmaak said:
When I first joined with Verizon, I was having a lot of issue with poor signal and dropped calls. I called them to complain, and they told me that I could either get out of my contract, or they'd give me a network extender. Because at home was the only place where I was having issues with the service, I opted for the network extender. The one that they gave me was refurbished, but it has worked fine for over two years.
Your mileage may vary, but calling them to complain is definitely worth a try.
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That's exactly what I did. I told them that my 14 days is almost up and I want them to make a note on my account that if my signal doesn't improve at home, then I can cancel my service.
She did bring up a network extender but I said there is no way I'm paying for that. If they would be willing to give me one to use at home I would be ok with that.
So far I'm not happy with Verizon's coverage, which is funny, because that is what they are known for.
We have never had a single call reception issue when we had US cellular and Straight talk.
grr...
thegipper said:
That's exactly what I did. I told them that my 14 days is almost up and I want them to make a note on my account that if my signal doesn't improve at home, then I can cancel my service.
She did bring up a network extender but I said there is no way I'm paying for that. If they would be willing to give me one to use at home I would be ok with that.
So far I'm not happy with Verizon's coverage, which is funny, because that is what they are known for.
We have never had a single call reception issue when we had US cellular and Straight talk.
grr...
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So they didn't give you the extender? They were very accommodating a couple of years ago when I called. They acted like they actually wanted to keep me. They were going to let me cancel AND keep the two S3s that I had just gotten. Before that, I had Sprint, and I'd have gone to two tin cans and string before I'd have spent another day with Sprint.
I used to live in Illinois, and aside from the area right near my house, the signal was pretty good. I'm in Colorado now, and Verizon out here is an entirely different story. LTE is a joke where I live. I get a decent signal, but download speeds are sometimes worse than 3g. There are only four communities out here with XLTE. I was considering going to TMob or ATT, so I asked some of my neighbors. They all said to stick with Verizon, so here I am.
They are going to have technical support first check the towers or something to that extent. She started a ticket for my complaint and are going to get back to me within 24-48 hours. If it doesn't improve, then we are going to talk about an extender. So far the only reception issues that I appear to be having is in my house.
Whats weird is the signal strength is the same at home as it is at work. I called my land line from my cell phone at work and left a 3 minute message of me babbling and not once did it ever break up. If the strength is the same, why is it cutting in and out and dropping calls at home?
Hopefully they can resolve this. They are going to give me an extender for free or I'm dropping them.
Sounds like a problem tower, or a tower that's too far away. Or a tower that's overly congested.
Well I hope they can fix it. Kind of ridiculous that I can't get a reliable signal in my own house in a town of 30k people.
Signal on mine is a little better than the S4. Call and text range is great.
I am happy with the signal overall.
I have noticed that people tend to not hear me at all when I have a call open to them
Alot of the times as I'm talking the opposite side keeps talking back words like "Hello, hello.. are you still there?" and all the while I can hear them perfectly. I swapped my Note 4 for a new one at the store and for a while I was good until today the samw thing happened again. Im beginning to worry that the antenna reception on this phone is not as good my old Galaxy S4.
Really hope it is just a software problem that can be corrected. I live in Finland and I have a non branded and non sim-locked Samsung Galaxy Note 4.