So is my ET4G broken? Terrible Radio - Samsung Epic 4G Touch

I was on vacation in Lancaster PA this weekend with my Wife, sister & BIL. My sister has an OG Evo, my BIL has an Iphone, both on Sprint. In the hotel, I had no service at all, my sister had full service & the bil had full service.
I often had 1 bar vs their full service. I am using FF11 for the modem & CM9 Beta 5. Is there something wrong with my phone or is the radio that crappy in the ET4G?
Thanks,
Rich

The radio is absolutely that crappy! My phones the same way.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

So is the Evo 4G LTE Better? I am expecting that the SG3 is going to be as crappy with the radio.

my og evo 4g was better. Even with the crappy radio this is still a great phone.
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RichTJ99 said:
I was on vacation in Lancaster PA this weekend with my Wife, sister & BIL. My sister has an OG Evo, my BIL has an Iphone, both on Sprint. In the hotel, I had no service at all, my sister had full service & the bil had full service.
I often had 1 bar vs their full service. I am using FF11 for the modem & CM9 Beta 5. Is there something wrong with my phone or is the radio that crappy in the ET4G?
Thanks,
Rich
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Click to collapse
I've been tp Lancaster several times and I always get 3-5 bars on my sprint phone, Its a HTC Hero..

I have Sprint here in the DC area and indoors it was crappy. My Palm Pre has at least two bars more than the Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch. I'm on FF11 too. I'm not sure if it is the modem or what. I think the stock radio was better, but I haven't downgraded it yet to see. I'm also wondering if there is any tweak in ICS which brought the power down to save batteries.

Try a different modem, FE22 is working well for me lately.

Related

[q] bad signal

i live in an area where sprint and if you go online it says i have the best coverage possible for voice 3g and 4g and still i find myself with barely having good service ever. is there a certain modem i can use to better this. i tried the ee03 modem and that one sucked worse. im currently using the EC05 modem
wow 52 views not 1 reply?
ddizzy81 said:
i live in an area where sprint and if you go online it says i have the best coverage possible for voice 3g and 4g and still i find myself with barely having good service ever. is there a certain modem i can use to better this. i tried the ee03 modem and that one sucked worse. im currently using the EC05 modem
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There is a MSL tweak I did that took me from one bar of 4g service to full bars. It only helps with 4g but it helped me a lot. You may have to search around for it because I don't know how/if I can post a link from my phone. It is on Epic General section though
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Had the same problem and called sprint Monday and they sent me a Airave which I recieved on Wensday with no charge and I now have great phone and 3G. I am very happy with the customer service it couldnt have gone better. I didnt know it would improve the data but it did(not 4G) 2.15mbps dowm .59mbps up on 3G and full bars

Epic No G touch.

So, I went with sprint because of the truly unlimited data plan, and this phone. I love my phone, I love the great development community we have, great ROMs. Everything about the phone is great. But I am extremely annoyed with Sprints data service. When I bought the phone I was aware there wasn't 4G in my area worth mentioning, I figured 3G would be fine. Well its not. Average speed test scores of 56 kbps. Abysmal. I had also assumed at some point, slowly the 4G would improve as they added towers. Now Sprint has decided to roll with LTE instead. Probably a smart choice but I feel like I have been screwed over. metro Detroit has some of the slowest 3G there is. So of sprint rolls out LYE this year are we gonna have to riot in the streets or do you think they plan to work with people contracted into WiMax phones?
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cknuth said:
So, I went with sprint because of the truly unlimited data plan, and this phone. I love my phone, I love the great development community we have, great ROMs. Everything about the phone is great. But I am extremely annoyed with Sprints data service. When I bought the phone I was aware there wasn't 4G in my area worth mentioning, I figured 3G would be fine. Well its not. Average speed test scores of 56 kbps. Abysmal. I had also assumed at some point, slowly the 4G would improve as they added towers. Now Sprint has decided to roll with LTE instead. Probably a smart choice but I feel like I have been screwed over. metro Detroit has some of the slowest 3G there is. So of sprint rolls out LYE this year are we gonna have to riot in the streets or do you think they plan to work with people contracted into WiMax phones?
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Detroit did suck for 3g speeds while I was there over xmas. However Sprint going LTE could also help 3G users since the towers in general are being upgraded the 3G data speeds should also get better.
saw a few ppl in detroit today with increased speeds.. nv is coming.
I was going to mention the same thing. As the towers get upgrades to LTE they also should be getting capacity upgrades to help 3G as well.
One thing to remember is that this will take time. WiMax will not go away over night. Im sure they will support WiMax for 2-4 years from now. GIving everyone time to outgrow their current WiMax device and upgrade to a LTE device.
Well in Reno Nevada we've been waiting on 4g for months and my 3g is worse. Through out most of the city I get maybe 5-10 kbs. At one point I had about 30 but still that's ridiculous Ive also tried very close to several towers and still same speeds sprint sucks with their 3g and 4g. Verizon has it out here but unwanted true unlimited. We should riot in the streets
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my data speeds were crazy slow too, until i installed the FB series modems...1.5m down and 2 up!
OP give a corporate PRL and Roam Control a go.
Believe WiMax will be supported till 2015 if I remember the press release correctly.
I had this same complaint. But most people these days do not expect much (past two months) from tech companies anymore so don't expect any sympathy. look for my old thread.
I think we should be offered if not a return, at least an early upgrade to an lte phone.
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1-1.5mb in royal oak
my 3g actually works better than wifi in the back of the house
Ralphie1 said:
Believe WiMax will be supported till 2015 if I remember the press release correctly.
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I think this is correct because they have to allow for those who still buy wimax phones their 2 years of coverage
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ludrose said:
I think this is correct because they have to allow for those who still buy wimax phones their 2 years of coverage
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that doesnt mean there gonna add wimax coverage
i also made a thread about this, sprints data service sucks all together I had verizon before and since my wife decided to switch us i hate my phone experience not because of the phone but the service

[Q] Sprint's upgrade to LTE

So would Sprint's upgrade to LTE render Epic 4G touch useless for 4G?
Yes... But that point is so far in the future, you'll have a newer phone by then....
Compusmurf said:
Yes... But that point is so far in the future, you'll have a newer phone by then....
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Nope, it doesn't.
Sprint has a deal and contract to have WiMAX (which is the 4G flavor the Epic Touch is running), till sometime in 2015 I believe.
I believe WiMax will be alive for at least a couple of years because full roll out of LTE is going to take time. Someone can correct me if I am wrong here but I think WiMax will certainly be here for the 2 years if you bought the phone on contract
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
There are numerous threads about this already please use the search engine... And Google works great also
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DevalB said:
Nope, it doesn't.
Sprint has a deal and contract to have WiMAX (which is the 4G flavor the Epic Touch is running), till sometime in 2015 I believe.
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Click to collapse
Phew I was like now i'm like
It renders 4G for me useless for the most part. As I live in a city with no WiMax And the odds of ever getting it are about zero now. Oh well... I just hope we get some LTE love before the next great thing is out. But I'm sure I'll be loving my E4GT for least a year or 2 still.
DevalB said:
Nope, it doesn't.
Sprint has a deal and contract to have WiMAX (which is the 4G flavor the Epic Touch is running), till sometime in 2015 I believe.
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Click to collapse
Hence, so far in the future that the LTE network is fully rolled out and the Wimax network shut off which will be more than likely, quite past 2015, yes, at that point, the epic 4G touch will be USELESS on the Wimax network. It can't be upgraded to LTE and at that point, it'll be well past it's useful life as a "high end device" anyway, so, won't matter much.
To the OP, by the time you need to worry, you won't have this phone anyway.
DevalB said:
Nope, it doesn't.
Sprint has a deal and contract to have WiMAX (which is the 4G flavor the Epic Touch is running), till sometime in 2015 I believe.
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Click to collapse
+ 1 I was going to say that
ex Army SGT 11C
Does anyone know why Sprint went with Wimax to begin with? Was it so they could get it up faster and claim to be the first 4g carrier? Or was it sort of like when HD DVD and Blurays came out... weren't sure which was going to be better?
shaunymac424 said:
Does anyone know why Sprint went with Wimax to begin with? Was it so they could get it up faster and claim to be the first 4g carrier? Or was it sort of like when HD DVD and Blurays came out... weren't sure which was going to be better?
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Click to collapse
Yes, they wanted to be the first 4G network and Wimax was the easiest to deploy quickly.
Sent from my Epic 4G Touch using Tapatalk.
When sprint chose wimax it was definitely the front runner. It had pretty good financial backing from Google and intel. The problem is that it was never designed to be a mobile technology, it was merely adapted for that purpose. There was a revision (802.16m) that would have given it some legs to compete with lte from a power consumption and mobility standpoint but because Sprint is the only carrier that picked it up, all of the hardware makers stopped investing in mobile aspects of the technology. Effectively that makes it impossible to continue, without the radios being refined wimax would continue to be at a disadvantage to lte in the phone arena.
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Sprint also needed to start doing something with its 2.5 GHz spectrum. Those licenses had coverage conditions that the FCC could invoke to take the spectrum from Sprint to sell or give to another entity that would use it. At the time, LTE was not a ready for commercial deployment, but WiMax was.

(Q) Sprint - When will 4g/LTE finally be available

So i've been paying an additional $10 a month per line on my phones with 4G capabilities. Initally I had the OG EVO, 3D, and now Epic Touch. Its been well over a year probably close to two and I still dont have 4G not that this is something I need but it is something ive been paying for.
I dont live in some rural area (San Diego) so I dont see why they are lagging. Maybe this whole transition from 4G to LTE but that change was fairly recent.
Of couse when you call sprint they are not going to give you any time frame.
So I guess im stuck still paying the additional $10 on each line for a service I cannot access where I live and havent since day one.
Oh well, hopefully once LTE gets going SD will be one of the first to run it.
Anyone with some inside info care to provide some good news?
Sprint now defines that $10 as a smartphone surcharge and applies it to anything that runs iOS, Android, Bby, or WinMo 4g or not, although I don't think sprint has any current smartphones that aren't 4g.
You would've been better off to fight the 4g battle when the evo came out IMO.
TerryMathews said:
Sprint now defines that $10 as a smartphone surcharge and applies it to anything that runs iOS, Android, Bby, or WinMo 4g or not, although I don't think sprint has any current smartphones that aren't 4g.
You would've been better off to fight the 4g battle when the evo came out IMO.
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Click to collapse
True..
At the time when the EVO came out I believe was the only 4G phone they carried so I guess was under the impression the charge was for 4G but I do see it has changed to a general charge for smart phones.
So I guess at this point its just a waiting game.
Techincally the evo was out first, but idunno where you lived, but the Epic was available first here due to false demand scams by HTC... either that or they made them one at a time. Seriously didnt you get enough of this topic in the evo forums?? I know we got sick of it in the Epic forums...
http://s4gru.com/ I found this site online, not sure how accurate their information is, but good to read through.
Al major markets se supposed to have LTE by the end of 2014 but we've all been hearing these ETAs for years with 4G so I wouldn't count on either. I'm in Milwaukee WI and have head we will have 4G by 2011.. never happened lol
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Sprint confirms LTE phones will feature unlimited data.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/03/sprint-lte-unlimited-data-everything-plan/
Also, see the link in my signature.
tylerjames09 said:
Al major markets se supposed to have LTE by the end of 2014 but we've all been hearing these ETAs for years with 4G so I wouldn't count on either. I'm in Milwaukee WI and have head we will have 4G by 2011.. never happened lol
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I live by eau claire wi..... I have no hope for lte....
Got AOKP?
I'm in SD too and we're supposedly in the second list for the rollout which should start sometime soon...
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Bear gri11z said:
I live by eau claire wi..... I have no hope for lte....
Got AOKP?
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Click to collapse
im near Milwaukee and I have less hope than you. I know Clear has been putting 4G towers in milwaukee and madison, but I have yet to pick up a 4G signal.
4G LTE...not happening.
Keep in mind, Sprint's 4G LTE is their own, with their own network, own buildout, and own spectrum.
I have read in several places Q3 for L.A. and Orange County and Q4 for San Diego so its safe to say before Christmas you will be rocking LTE
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Best answer to sprint lte is 3 years before most places fully see it. Hell I have been in a wimax test arear for over 2 years and at a sprint store I heard a salesman tell a customer there was no 4g at all but when it gets here it will be awesome. When sprints own staff has no idea 4g is even in their own service area how can I even trust them to put towers up.
Good for you people in great big luscious data driven cities, sucks every where else
I have had several sprint employees tell me that here in Virginia it should be within 2 years.
I have a question of my own. I have had a few people tell me that when LTE comes around we will have to have new phones because the hardware like in the Epic Touch will not work on LTE. Any truth to this?
dohchp said:
I have had several sprint employees tell me that here in Virginia it should be within 2 years.
I have a question of my own. I have had a few people tell me that when LTE comes around we will have to have new phones because the hardware like in the Epic Touch will not work on LTE. Any truth to this?
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Click to collapse
Yes if you want lte you will have to get a lte capable phone..... Ie sgs3 HTC evo4g lte , etc .... The hardware in this phone will not work on lte . But until you get lte if you have 4g now there is no reason to change unless you're a phone junkie like me
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This summer I am guessing since that is when they are releasing the Evo Lte, Galaxy Nexus etc. Boston market looks like lte will cover almost the entire state, and if it's anything like how when the original htc evo launch, lte will most likely be already on in boston market.

Pisspoor radios on S3

Apparently, now "everyone knows" that the hardware radios on the S3 are crap.
This information was not readily available when I originally was comparing it to the other options out there when looking to move on from my Evo. I would have never bought what is essentially a wifi-only mini-tablet (when at home) if I had known how bad it was. And I know I could have returned it but I didn't realize how crappy the radios were until I needed to use my cell frequently from my home for both calls and internet.
Anyhoo... really disappointed with this phone. The Evo radio kicks this things a**. Never had the inability to call out of my home...
Maybe dump it on ebay... looks like they go there for more than I paid...
Sconnie
Call sprint and complain. I did and now have a free airave. Not the ideal solution but my coverage is fine everywhere but my house :-|
The S3 radios are really good for me. I also had the Epic Touch and Evo LTE and their radios suck especially the Epic Touch.
I have the best reception I have ever had with any android phone. Might be they are upgrading your area with new LTE network. I had 2 to 3 weeks of terrible service when they upgraded here.
I had an og epic, an og Evo, a Galaxy Nexus and by far the S3 is the best.
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Guess someone didnt get the memo that they are doing a nationwide network upgrade and backhaul
I like to break stuff!
Cool post, please do sell your phone and give all glory to HTC. Goodbye! :crying:
It's usually ROM-based. I used CM10 on my S3 and whenever it got LTE it would just switch to 1x for some reason.
But then I flashed a TW ROM and I got constant LTE
Haha I've also had the best reception and reliability with the gs3
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They have been doing network vision improvements in my area. My service has gotten a lot better from when I bought my phone.
I went from have 2-3 bars to full signal inside my house.
Sent from a planet far far away.
On both the N2 and the S3 I het amazing signal way better than evo LTE or Nexus. Ill by your N2 for 350 if your unhappy
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SconnieRoadie said:
Apparently, now "everyone knows" that the hardware radios on the S3 are crap.
........
Maybe dump it on ebay... looks like they go there for more than I paid...
Sconnie
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Click to collapse
Apparently most people disagree with you. Either you got a bad phone or somethings going on in your area. Most of us (including me) are really happy with the phone, and there haven't been any mass uprising of angry SIII owners complaining about reception. In my case I live in a really low signal area for Sprint. I've gotten 0 to 2 bars on my last 2 phones, (HTC Touch Pro 2, Samsung Epic Slider). I get 0 to 2 bars on my SIII. Virtually no dropped calls even with 0 bars.
In the other hand, you clearly came here to dis on Samsung. Mission accomplished.
SconnieRoadie said:
Maybe dump it on ebay... looks like they go there for more than I paid...
Sconnie
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Click to collapse
I paid 50 for each of my s3 ill give you 25 for yours
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poit said:
Apparently most people disagree with you. Either you got a bad phone or somethings going on in your area. Most of us (including me) are really happy with the phone, and there haven't been any mass uprising of angry SIII owners complaining about reception. In my case I live in a really low signal area for Sprint. I've gotten 0 to 2 bars on my last 2 phones, (HTC Touch Pro 2, Samsung Epic Slider). I get 0 to 2 bars on my SIII. Virtually no dropped calls even with 0 bars.
In the other hand, you clearly came here to dis on Samsung. Mission accomplished.
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He must be using the terms "everyone" and "knows" extremely loosely - it is as impossible to speak for everyone without talking to them first as it is to know something that isn't true
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I have found the Qualcomm radios and GPS in the SG3 to be vastly superior to all my previous android phones. Started out with a Samsung Moment, then had a HTC EVO 4G, and finally a Samsung Epic Touch. This phones radios are the best - not your typical Sammy GPS and Radios.
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Doing a side by side comparison, the S3 has a much more reliable radio than the LTEvo. Sitting next to each other, I had 4G all day, while she was lucky to get 4G for 10 minutes the entire day.
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The fact that the OP has not returned to this thread and other posts he has made since November leads one to believe he is just Trolling. He doesn't seem to care what others have to say or respond to his post. He has a similar post about radio and signal from back in November and has yet to acknowledge the reply in that one.
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My S3 gets way better reception than my Epic 4G did. I do not even need the Airave in my house any more. Not sure who your ":everybody" is but as suggested maybe your phone is bad. You should try reflashing the modem or something.
So does HOW the rom report the signal value affect performance? I'm just curious because I've used stock TW, unofficial AOKP, and CM10.1 roms and Open Signal reports good voice reception and poor data while I'm at work and I wouldnt be able to access anything involving the internet (pandora, basic web surfing, etc). This weekend I flashed the latest pacman rom and Open Signal is reporting OK/Good mobile data reception and I've been running pandora for the last 3 hours with no problems. I dont think sprint is doing any work in the area that would suddenly cause things to change like this and my signal status being reported by the phone is still hovering around the -100dBm mark as usual. Any thoughts?
I can also agree that the s3 has great reception, I got hit by the nemo blizzard and everyone that was at my house for the two days of no power my phone was the only one with service.
Sent from my SPH-L710 Running TPR
I actually agree with op, I believe the radio sucks for phone calls anyway
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