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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 was wondering if anyone else had similar issues like this in the RDU area.
When I go to make a call, whether it be to another mobile phone, or a landline phone that has caller waiting. I get a busy signal. This happens on Sprint networks and roaming networks. I can resolve the issue by either powering the phone off and turning the phone back on, or by putting the phone in airplane mode and then turning airplane mode off again.
Has anyone else run into this issue in the RDU area? Specifically near Apex, Cary, and Raleigh? Or is this issue specific to me? The issue persists between wipes, and flashes of the OTA files, so I am pretty sure it isn't a phone problem anymore.
It's network side.
I've been seeing a lot of service issues across NC in the systems, it's not just the RDU area. Winston and Charlotte markets are encountering this also.
I actually think that Sprint's either tweaking the towers or implementing Network Vision. When the tower closest to my store went down, it was hell. It just came back up the first of this week, but we've noticed that 3G is blazing fast now.
Sunsparc said:
It's network side.
I've been seeing a lot of service issues across NC in the systems, it's not just the RDU area. Winston and Charlotte markets are encountering this also.
I actually think that Sprint's either tweaking the towers or implementing Network Vision. When the tower closest to my store went down, it was hell. It just came back up the first of this week, but we've noticed that 3G is blazing fast now.
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I really hope this is the case. I live close to Garner and the signal in and around southeast Wake County is almost unbearable. I have been tempted to look at other carriers, but I am giving Sprint a little more time, hoping they will come around. I travel all across NC for work too, and it seems like it has gotten much worse over the last 2-3 months.
Sunsparc said:
It's network side.
I've been seeing a lot of service issues across NC in the systems, it's not just the RDU area. Winston and Charlotte markets are encountering this also.
I actually think that Sprint's either tweaking the towers or implementing Network Vision. When the tower closest to my store went down, it was hell. It just came back up the first of this week, but we've noticed that 3G is blazing fast now.
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I noticed i could only get 1x when i was on that side of town the other day Sunsparc. I actually saw this happen about a month or two around the tower thats by Harris Teeter and the Ymca. Hopefully they're updating all the salisbury towers.
I hope they get it worked out. The last week or so I've had more 1x signals than I've ever seen in places around Winston that are normally strong 3g areas. I was also surprised when I was in Raleigh last week that there was no 4g around the downtown area and the 3g was crap as well.
stonesaber said:
I hope they get it worked out. The last week or so I've had more 1x signals than I've ever seen in places around Winston that are normally strong 3g areas. I was also surprised when I was in Raleigh last week that there was no 4g around the downtown area and the 3g was crap as well.
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Absolutely......I cent even use the 4g here in Raleigh.........it won't stay connected. I'm in the heart of Cary right now and I am fluctuating back and forth between one and two bars. Unreal
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
I just want to bump this and say this is STILL happening.
Called them up today and they said the only issue that they have been informed of is EVDO data issues.
So, I am stuck, because it is happening between wipes, Sprint says there isn't a problem, and I am not sure what else is going on.
Anyone have any other ideas?
GH0 said:
I just want to bump this and say this is STILL happening.
Called them up today and they said the only issue that they have been informed of is EVDO data issues.
So, I am stuck, because it is happening between wipes, Sprint says there isn't a problem, and I am not sure what else is going on.
Anyone have any other ideas?
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Customer Care is going to tell you it's a device issue to get you off the phone. Go to your nearest repair location and ask them to put in a CTMS ticket for your phone. They should already be doing this for anyone complaining of signal issues where the device is found to not be at fault.
Sunsparc said:
Customer Care is going to tell you it's a device issue to get you off the phone. Go to your nearest repair location and ask them to put in a CTMS ticket for your phone. They should already be doing this for anyone complaining of signal issues where the device is found to not be at fault.
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Yeah, so I attempted to do that today.
Went to the store, and they immediately told me that there was a tower outage, and they wouldn't pull my phone back and do any form of diagnostics. So, what I did was call up customer service, then explain to them what was going on and ask them to speak to a tech at the store.
After a while, they told me there were two tower outages, that were blocking 14% and 90% of calls, and then gave me the phone back and was told that the ETR was over the next two days.
To be honest, the techs there are not always the friendliest, especially the older one that works in the cary location, I have had the pleasure of dealing with him multiple times. Generally why I like to call more often than not.
As far as the CTMS ticket goes, is there any information that I should give them? I was given an ETR for one of the two towers that was told to me to be having issues.
Not sure if you can check, but they said Tower Number: RA74XC340 was experiencing issues.
Is this still a problem for anyone else? I have been having this issue happen continually.
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.
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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
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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Click to collapse
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.