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Hey all,
I'm curious to how your reception is on the VZ GNex. I still have my Rezound here and it seems like I'm getting about -20db worse on the GNex compared to the Rezound. I'm curious - has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks,
Super
yeah, and it is killing me. In the same spot in my room I had my rezound, I had MUCH MUCH better signal strengh. I could keep 4G all day, which is why I switched from sprint to verizon. Thunderbolt, Droid Bionic, Rezound, all worked fine. The GN looses 4G consistantly. This might be a deal breaker for me. I am going to try a custom rom in a min when it finishes downloading, but I doubt that will help. Also am on 4.0.2.
on the thunderbolt there was a setting that allowed us to change when it "lost" 4G signal. I.E. it would allow the phone to pick up a weak signal. Does anyone know if there is a setting like this? I know the signal isn't weak in my house from the previous phones, so it is either a setting like this, or the GN has a really crappy radio...
The 3g and 4g on my Nexus is very bad and not even usable. It is either dropped or barely working. Without wi-fi my phone would have been useless today.
If this isn't correct quickly I will have no choice but to go back to my Thunderbolt which was great!
Service at my apartment just sucks but it's getting the same reception as my OG Droid
I had a rezound and was certainly getting a better signal, 2 things I noticed on the rezound was the battery door actually had antenna relays in it, and also there was 3 settings on the rezound for network performance (performance, normal, and battery saver)
I get horrible signal strength in spots, like on my way home from work there are several short distances where it just drops the signal all together.
At home, my phone seems to just drop connection completely and it's having a hard time picking it up again. Noticed this morning it had been without network access all night. Rebooted it and everything was OK (strong signal) in the exact same physical location.
does any body know how to update roaming with this phone I tried *228 but that didn't work
I am having similar issues in regards to network dropping out. I can understand why 4g would -being limited coverage and all- but 3g should seamlessly pick up where it drops off, plus my voice signal is much lower -100dBmw vs -85/-90dBm which I got with my OG Droid.
jnyce87 said:
does any body know how to update roaming with this phone I tried *228 but that didn't work
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You can't update roaming on LTE devices, as the sim card automatically does it. What you can do is a "sim reset" type thing.
Power off, and leave your sim card out for like 5 minutes. Put it back in and turn on the phone. According to multiple sources, this will cause the sim to have to re-register on the network, thus refreshing/updating your privs.
Rezound is way better reception wise. Matter of fact, the Rezound is better at a lot of key things! Ima give this a chance but I gotta say I miss my Rezzy!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
WOW.... my Nexus data was very bad and almost unusable, but now it is fixed!
I didn't want to, but I did a factory data reset and it resolved the data issues. Everything is solid connections now and holding steady. Before the signal was bouncing all over the place.
Give the factory data reset a try if you are having issues. Yes you have to start over but it's better than having a phone that doesn't work.
Phew... now I am happy again! I really thought I was going to have to go back to my Thunderbolt.
OK. I did some digging. I recommend all users download an app called sensorly. It would appear that the reported signal strength by default is 4G. Currently, my 4G is is teetering at -100dBm to no signal and that shows on my phone as no bars. However, I discovered that my 3G is at -90 dBm (excellent coverage). From what I have researched it would appear that the phone has issues handshaking between 3G and 4G which I am sure will be corrected in an OTA update.
If I go to Settings-Wireless & Networks-More-Mobile Networks-Network Mode-CDMA/LTE and switch to CDMA only my bars come up and my dBm appears normal in settings.
I am pretty confident this is a LTE/3G handshake issue. Just like when you leave your home and you are still barely connected to wifi and the phone doesn't know what to use, so all of your apps fail trying to connect. I think it is just the same.
Anyway, I hope this helps others. It has made me less neurotic finding this out.
I had the rezound and returned it because of the headphone noise. Got the nexus and it gets terrible signal and speeds where the rezound was great. Called Verizon and they are sending me another Rezound and told me it shouldn't have the audio problems. We shall see. I just know that the nexus is unusable in my house due to reception.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Curious if its worth saving battery life to just keep the network on CDMA only during the day ?
I came from Sprint and they had the 4G toggle on most Android devices, I never used it, maybe 05% of the time, WiMax was such a battery hog, and so spotty to ever a hold a solid connection anyways, just seemed like a waste. But Sprints 3G really sucked too, like 1xEdge speeds.
Does keeping the Nexus on LTE cause signal issues ? Meaning does it jump back and forth between 3G and 4G causing dropped calls if you on the phone and move into a non LTE area ?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I only bother to switch mine off when I am on my days off from work. I get great 4g signal at work but none at home. I haven't payed close enough attention to battery usage to notice a difference though.
As far as battery life goes, I've found there isn't much difference at all if LTE is on/off. It's the screen that kills the battery. That being the case I don't bother switching it off anymore.
I leave LTE on all day and my battery lasts all day. As long as that's the case I don't pay any attention to battery life. I also never leave 4G coverage though.
I am new to Verizon. Live in the Chicago area, I would assume a big market like this has solid LTE coverage ?
I just know from Sprint, keeping the phone on 4G was a fast battery kill. If left on WiMax you were lucky to get 4 hours on a full charge.
Hopefully LTE is better than WiMax on the battery, I know for sure it way better network coverage.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Zorachus said:
I am new to Verizon. Live in the Chicago area, I would assume a big market like this has solid LTE coverage ?
I just know from Sprint, keeping the phone on 4G was a fast battery kill. If left on WiMax you were lucky to get 4 hours on a full charge.
Hopefully LTE is better than WiMax on the battery, I know for sure it way better network coverage.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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Yeah better coverage and probably easier to find a signal due to frequency differences.
I use ihtfp69's LTE toggle to turn off LTE/CDMA to just CDMA when I leave work. I live in a pretty poor 3g signal area, so leaving LTE on just drains my battery unnecessarily. I turn it on when I get into the LTE area, works great since it's a widget.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Usually the issue, IMO, is if you are moving between an LTE area and a non-LTE area or if you're at the edge of LTE coverage, so your phone loses its LTE connection, searches, reconnects, etc.
If you've got a solid LTE connection and it's uninterrupted you won't drain battery as fast.
As to whether LTE usage drains your battery faster than 3G usage... I can't say.
I usually leave my lte on unless I know I have to push my battery... coming from sprint evo then photon which are complete battery hogs on 4g due to the joke they call 4g coverage...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
The key issue is whether you have a weak or non-existent LTE signal. I find that in some areas such as these if the phone is on LTE I do not get 3G service, or the service goes on and off. If I switch to CDMA only 3G will work much better. I've only used the phone for limited times in areas with strong 4G so I couldn't compare batter life when set for 4G.
I toggle lte off when home, no 4g signal does drain my battery. At work with great 4g signal I toggle it back on. Gives me an excuse to look at the beautiful battery draining screen.
Transmitted from my Galaxy Tab 10.1 via Tapatalk
My phone can barely keep 4g at home. Usually I have 2 bars, but soon after holding it it will go down to 3g. My wife's droid charge stays in 4g with 2 bars and her sister's og razr keeps between 2 and 3 bars in 4g. Yesterday my phone was firmly stuck in 3g, today I have 2 bars of 4g.
Crap like this makes new want to return it. What do you think? Should I wait or should I throw in a towel on this one?
Sent from my Droid RAZR M using Tapatalk.
My two cents, if the phone isn't working right for you, return it now. I wouldn't bank on a software update to fix anything.
Right after I wrote this post I read the CNET article about Motorola pissing off customers for not providing updates. Called amazon and the phone is boxed up and ready to be shipped back Monday. Don't need the headaches. I'll see how the hd is like when it comes out.
Sent from my ADR6330VW using Tapatalk 2
dandar said:
Right after I wrote this post I read the CNET article about Motorola pissing off customers for not providing updates. Called amazon and the phone is boxed up and ready to be shipped back Monday. Don't need the headaches. I'll see how the hd is like when it comes out.
Sent from my ADR6330VW using Tapatalk 2
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It will be pretty hilarious if Motorola continues to suck with updates even though it's now owned by Google.
-Sent from my Razr i on AT&T.-
I'm gonna have to talk my father into returning his, too. I get 4G reception fine on my Bionic, and his is only on 4G for a couple of minutes after a restart at best. That's just laying on the table, never mind picking it up. He doesn't seem to even care, but he paid for a 4G phone, so I have to convince him that he should be getting 4G if I am! It's a beautiful phone, but......
dandar said:
My phone can barely keep 4g at home. Usually I have 2 bars, but soon after holding it it will go down to 3g. My wife's droid charge stays in 4g with 2 bars and her sister's og razr keeps between 2 and 3 bars in 4g. Yesterday my phone was firmly stuck in 3g, today I have 2 bars of 4g.
Crap like this makes new want to return it. What do you think? Should I wait or should I throw in a towel on this one?
Sent from my Droid RAZR M using Tapatalk.
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I personally don't have any issues with 4G overall on my RAZR M. My room and whole house overall don't like any cell signal since the place is from the 50's. But when I'm outside its perfect. Maybe its a flub unit. Could try getting a replacement. Wouldn't hurt.
There are a couple of threads about this in the Motorola forums. I'm really surprised about it as Motorola has more experience with radios than any other manufacturer.
https://forums.motorola.com/posts/5fb46833c0?page=3
As for the updates, I think this is more a Verizon than a Motorola issue. Verizon is even stalling Nexus updates directly from Google. Motorola continues to lose market share but it seems to me they're focusing on Verizon and not the cell phone market. Maybe that will start to change.
I have a large territory and regularly drive 1000+ miles in a week. Drove 1500+ miles last week, which was my first trip with the M. No issues with LTE signal whatsoever. Was actually rather impressed with how much LTE coverage Verizon has. First LTE phone for me. I noticed that going back and forth from LTE to 3G causes a momentary loss of data as the phone is switching between networks. Which makes sense, doesn't take long and is not an issue. But I'm not sure if it would drop your call or not. Never could confirm that was happening while on the phone.
The right hand "death grip" only affects the Wi-Fi signal. At least enough to see a difference in data speeds.
My personal opinion is that software tweaks can help it.
#1 - Most of the issues I've seen seem like the software simply giving up on 4G too quickly, not that the phone can't hold onto it "physically".
#2 - There do seem to be some attenuation issues, but it seems inconsistent depending on location / tower. So while software might not fix this, some tweaks to the algorithms could help.
#3 - The phone, while switching back to 3G at times where I didn't think it should, has never dropped data completely, and the transition between 3G/4G has been seamless and instant.
#4 - The Galaxy Nexus was acting VERY similar to this prior to 4.0.4. While 4.0.4's radios didn't resolve it 100%, it GREATLY improved the phone's ability to hold onto 4G. So software CAN help.
Maybe I'm just being idealistic (I hope not!), but given Moto's track record, I do believe software can improve this situation. Not 100%, but hopefully by a good margin.
It takes quite a bit more power for a device (your Razr M) to hold on to a poor LTE signal than it does to switch to a stronger 3G signal. So if you want better battery life then you want your phone switching to 3G when it has a very poor LTE signal. I prefer my phone behave this way as 90% of the time I don't need my phone consumer power searching for and holding a signal when I'm not using my phone. Other manufacturers sacrifice battery life by pouring more juice in to the searching and holding of LTE signals.
Compare the battery life of your Razr M to the other devices mentioned and you will see a difference.
Its about perspectives, do you need to have LTE showing when its sitting around or do you want it when you need it?
jimmydafish said:
It takes quite a bit more power for a device (your Razr M) to hold on to a poor LTE signal than it does to switch to a stronger 3G signal. So if you want better battery life then you want your phone switching to 3G when it has a very poor LTE signal. I prefer my phone behave this way as 90% of the time I don't need my phone consumer power searching for and holding a signal when I'm not using my phone. Other manufacturers sacrifice battery life by pouring more juice in to the searching and holding of LTE signals.
Compare the battery life of your Razr M to the other devices mentioned and you will see a difference.
Its about perspectives, do you need to have LTE showing when its sitting around or do you want it when you need it?
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I think you're exactly right, and mentioned that possibility in a post over on the Moto support forums. And honestly, if that's the case, great.
But for those of us in areas where LTE signals are strong, it shouldn't be switching, and even that is happening occasionally. I can understand if I go into a mall (just as a large "inside" example) and my Inc 4G is fighting the whole time just to keep that 4G/LTE in the notification bar - it's a waste of battery, and honestly the connection will probably struggle even when I do try and use it. So in that scenario, 3G would be better all the way around.
But if I'm at home, 150 yards from a tower, where LTE is extremely strong (even when I had the Thunderbolt upon it's initial release), I shouldn't pick up my phone and see 3G, and have to toggle AP mode just to get 4G back. That's happened to me a handful of times. It immediately grabs 4G with full bars and -70's on the dbm side, but doesn't seem to want to grab it back on its own.
If that's some sort of feature built into the software (i.e. inactivity > drop to 3G) then that's awesome. But the flipside isn't working quite right - where it should be switching back to 4G again.
edit: I have an Inc 4G alongside my M for comparison purposes... didn't know if I had mentioned that before in this thread or not! And for what it's worth, the battery life on both phones is extremely similar - not a noticeable difference anyway. And the Inc 4G has a 1700mah.
Well I'm coming from a thunderbork so I'm definitely not a stranger to network issues. Confirming, it (the M) has no issues holding onto 3G, right? I don't even have 4G in my area yet so I am just praying this won't be another thunderbrick (which can't even switch from wifi to data without needing a toggle)
afunyun said:
Well I'm coming from a thunderbork so I'm definitely not a stranger to network issues. Confirming, it (the M) has no issues holding onto 3G, right? I don't even have 4G in my area yet so I am just praying this won't be another thunderbrick (which can't even switch from wifi to data without needing a toggle)
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I've had no issues with data dropping, even when it switches, which has been nice. But I have great coverage, both 4g and 3g, in my area.
Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2
I agree with the others who brought up the issue of battery conservation... but also remember, the RAZR M is one of the (physically) smallest LTE phones on the market. Antenna placement was tight, and it is very different from the Bionic, Photon Q, and RAZR. They cannot be compared to one another. If you look at the FCC records for the M vs the Bionic, HD, OG RAZR, etc you'll see the difference.
While I agree as well that LTE "stickiness" can be improved, I also believe it is a matter of strong signal coverage. I live in a Verizon LTE mecca, and I also have an AT&T LTE phone. In areas where I have LTE on one device, I have it on both. In areas where my AT&T device has NO signal, I drop down to 3G on the RAZR M.
All in all I am quite satisfied but as can be said with anything, there is room for improvement.
Honestly, before people go on a bender returning their phones, first, get a new SIM card. Second, turn off Smart Actions. Third, call Verizon and make sure there is in fact LTE coverage for your specific address (the coverage map means nothing). Fourth, you can ask Verizon for a signal study where a tech will come to your area and test the actual signal strength.
I can absolutely attest to the fact that when you are in a proper LTE zone, the RAZR M latches, and stays connected (even with one bar) quite well.
mk1151 said:
I can absolutely attest to the fact that when you are in a proper LTE zone, the RAZR M latches, and stays connected (even with one bar) quite well.
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until you pick the phone up and hold it in your hand?
It is good most of the time (I'm also in a LTE mecca), but it's inconsistent when compared to other LTE devices, even my Gnex on the latest radios. I love the phone, but it's annoying when it acts that way.
And yes, I've done your suggestions, and then some (less the tech... but I live within 200 yards of a tower and have/had multiple devices to test against over a long enough period of time).
The S4 chipset was supposed to handle LTE/CDMA better and more efficiently, and so far the Incredible 4G is the only device I'm seeing actually live up to that.
mk1151 said:
...Second, turn off Smart Actions..
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Why do you suggest turning off Smart Actions for 4G drops?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
scottjb said:
Why do you suggest turning off Smart Actions for 4G drops?
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Smart actions can effect how your phone uses radio power, and what processes run in the background. While I don't have any issues with Smart Actions running in the default setup, I've heard others indicate that it has impacted signal strength. It's really more of a troubleshooting step than a prescribed fix.
I'm in NYC Metro and the 4G signal is good but I do notice my phone on 3G. I decided to use an app to see if I'd get a noticeable improvement in battery life if I keep 4G off. Just used my phone normally for a couple of days but the battery life was the same.
Just and observation on LTE and battery life if you are in an area that has been refarmed to get LTE but may not have the strongest signal for it yet.
I get constant LTE signal wherever I go in Baltimore. Download speeds are great. But the signal isn't super strong yet. So my phone does a lot of pinging the towers to stay connected. That is the yellow signal in my battery graph. This causes a decent amount of battery drain while the phone is asleep.
But 3G signal is great. That is the green line in the battery graph. You can see that when I switched to 3g (or HSPA as it really is) the battery drain while idle reduced dramatically.
So if you are in an area like this and you really need the battery to last longer, put it on 3G and it should help a lot. At least until T Mobile increases the LTE coverage, which I am sure they will.
And for when you need the LTE speed, I have an LTE button on my quick settings panel to activate it so I still get the speed when I need it, but not the battery drain when I don't. (Note, I'm using cm10.1 rom. I am not sure if the TW roms have that quick setting button available. But it can be done in settings.)
This option is not for everyone. But if you are not a heavy data user like me it might be great for you.
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Skipjacks said:
Just and observation on LTE and battery life if you are in an area that has been refarmed to get LTE but may not have the strongest signal for it yet.
I get constant LTE signal wherever I go in Baltimore. Download speeds are great. But the signal isn't super strong yet. So my phone does a lot of pinging the towers to stay connected. That is the yellow signal in my battery graph. This causes a decent amount of battery drain while the phone is asleep.
But 3G signal is great. That is the green line in the battery graph. You can see that when I switched to 3g (or HSPA as it really is) the battery drain while idle reduced dramatically.
So if you are in an area like this and you really need the battery to last longer, put it on 3G and it should help a lot. At least until T Mobile increases the LTE coverage, which I am sure they will.
And for when you need the LTE speed, I have an LTE button on my quick settings panel to activate it so I still get the speed when I need it, but not the battery drain when I don't. (Note, I'm using cm10.1 rom. I am not sure if the TW roms have that quick setting button available. But it can be done in settings.)
This option is not for everyone. But if you are not a heavy data user like me it might be great for you.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
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How do I put it in 4gHSPA +
Awesome advice
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thetbg said:
How do I put it in 4gHSPA +
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There are many apps in the Play Store that allow you to do that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
Never thought to have data go to 3g and lower.. I've always used tasker to disable... no off screen email but I go in and manually check it anyways so it works for me. I get 2.5 hours out of 1 percent when my device sleeps.
Seems that my Radios on my Verizon GNex are getting worse. I can set the phone down on the table in my house and watch the signal go from 2 bars 4g to 1 bar 3g to no signal then to 1 bar 4g. My wife's Motorola RAZR has 3 bars 4g solid. I am really getting tired of this. The luster has faded. Don't really want to go to a RAZR and wondering if a S4 is any better.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Wasn't there a big debate on this before and signal bars mean nothing.
If you compare actual -db, you might find they aren't that different. Motorola has strong radios though I've heard.
This was a big ordeal back in the day where Verizon and At&t actually increase the bars display and also display 4G all the time, even when not.
So basically your phone may be accurate and your wife's is lying. Check -db and play with upgrading your radios.
Also you are supposed to update your roaming profiles on Verizon occasionally. I think its like **2424 or something. It downloads all the most recent tower information. Could be a new tower that your phone doesn't know about.
Lots to think about.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
^^^ Excellent reply!
Agreed, the only way to find the best radio for YOU is to play with them. Not everyone has the same experience with a particular one. It depends on the market you are in.
When we say play, we mean test it for a couple of days in routine situations not a 30 minute test to see if both your phone and your wife's phone retain the same amount of "bars". But even then, as player911 stated, bars are just a graphical representation of signal quality. Different phones have different thresholds for different representations. Inspect the Signal strength in About Phone -> Status. The lower the "dBm" the better your signal quality.