Develop Bugs

Is anyone having signal issues?

I will be coming from a Note 3 which was perfect until the Kitkat update. I now have horrible signal and am sick of it. I live in a rural area and want to make sure the Note 4 does not have the same issues before I spend another $700 on a phone (I have unlimited data). Thanks!

murmur70 said:
I will be coming from a Note 3 which was perfect until the Kitkat update. I now have horrible signal and am sick of it. I live in a rural area and want to make sure the Note 4 does not have the same issues before I spend another $700 on a phone (I have unlimited data). Thanks!
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every phone is different since most of them have different CPU and antenna. it's too soon to tell though as most folks haven't even received their pre orders yet.

I have this question as well. I'll be coming from an S3, and it has terrible signal strength. It's the one thing that I've always hated about the S3. I'll be interested to see everyone's results.

My N3 had terrible reception, I moved to LG G3 which was much better. I switched to new N4 yesterday and this phone outperforms both on signal strength. I don't drop data or voice anywhere I used to with the previous 2 phones.

usmaak said:
I have this question as well. I'll be coming from an S3, and it has terrible signal strength. It's the one thing that I've always hated about the S3. I'll be interested to see everyone's results.
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I'm in the exact same position. I'm really hoping the N4 outperforms the S3.

armeN0317 said:
every phone is different since most of them have different CPU and antenna. it's too soon to tell though as most folks haven't even received their pre orders yet.
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Yes, I realize all of that. I just wanted to get the question out there.
Sent from my SM-T700 using XDA Free mobile app

It is still early but initial impressions seem to be positive. I am fond of Motorola for their excellent radios. Coming from a moto x, I don't see any difference in signal. And comparing from my previous note 3, it seems to have improved in my area.
Worse case is that if it doesn't work well in your area, you should be able to return the phone and get something else without incurring a restocking fee. I was hesitant since I wanted to wait for the droid turbo but since playing with the note 4, I'm keeping it. Good luck.

Im having a few signal issues i only get 1 bar some places but it doesnt seem to affect call quality

murmur70 said:
I will be coming from a Note 3 which was perfect until the Kitkat update. I now have horrible signal and am sick of it. I live in a rural area and want to make sure the Note 4 does not have the same issues before I spend another $700 on a phone (I have unlimited data). Thanks!
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I had a note 3 that held a LTE signal at 2 bars very well at my house until the 4.4.4 update, after that update it would be one 3g most of the time.
I got my note 4 yesterday and had it all day and it never once dropped to 3g, It held the LTE signal very well.
The note 4 is definitely better than the note 3 as far as signal quality.

I can verify this because I just bought a note 4 coming from a note 3. I was unable to get service in my house where I lived as well as many other places I should have. I bought the note 4 yesterday and all my service issues have been fixed. So yes the signal is much better.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

using note 4 today and best service i have had to date. phone has great dbm and first speedtest pulled 47 mbps download!!!

My Verizon N4 so far has slightly better signal than my LG G3, which had good service to begin with. No complaints so far with signal strength / net speed. So far my only complaint is the message + lag when taking a photo indoors. Reminds me of the annoying image stabilization option on the S5 that slowed the camera way down

murmur70 said:
I will be coming from a Note 3 which was perfect until the Kitkat update. I now have horrible signal and am sick of it. I live in a rural area and want to make sure the Note 4 does not have the same issues before I spend another $700 on a phone (I have unlimited data). Thanks!
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This shouldn't be a concern on a different device, as Android isn't like Windows (in that a specific version is compatible on all PCs). The firmware (OS) on your device is tailor made for that device, and because of this, the concern you have about signal quality on the Note 4 vs the Note 3 isn't valid (not that it's not a valid concern, but that it doesn't apply). This is why you can't flash firmware from one model to a different model, and the only way for you to garnish an answer is by either speaking to someone in your area that has a Note 4 on VZW or buy a Note 4. I'm not sure if the Note 3 had the ability, but from the Note 4 settings it appears that you make Google Voice your default phone service... not just for dialing, but for receiving as well. I can't verify this, as I haven't tried it out yet, however it would help in your situation. As far as signal goes, I've had no issues with my Note 4 since buying it.
Something to consider... the Nexus 6 comes out next month and one of the unique features it has, over that of the bootloader being unlocked, is that is is the first smartphone with a hot swappable SIM... meaning you can buy it on Verizon and switch at random with other U.S. CDMA and GSM carriers by simply swapping SIMs. The only two differences between the Note 4 and the NX6 is the NX6 has a 13MP camera vs that of the 16MP on the Note 4 and it doesn't come with a S Pen (it also doesn't have the novelty features like a heartbeat monitor or UV exposure reader)... hardware is all the same, quad core 2.7Ghz processor, 3GB of RAM, rapid charge, etc. I'm assuming you have Verizon here, but you know you don't have to pay full retail upfront right? Because manufacturer's and carriers can't test for every variable, occasionally a firmware update will cause an issue with signal viability... have you informed Verizon of the issue, as well as made Samsung aware?
Something else to keep in mind... Android 5.0 [Lollipop] will be released to the Note 4 within a few months, and if you prefer a rooted device, then I would caution against buying anything other than the NX6, as it is highly improbable rooting will be possible on bootloader locked devices running Android 5... is it impossible, no; highly improbable, yes. Checkout ChainFire's Google+ post from 10/18 or 10/19 for an indepth explanation as to why.

This phone gets FANTASTIC reception! Better then iPhone 5 which dropped 4g all the time and better then even my Galaxy S5. MUCH better then the Note 3 which has about the same Signal issues as the iphone 6......

I have a iPhone 6plus and note 4 and my note isn't getting more then two bars when my iPhone is getting 4...could my phone be faulty?
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

Thanks guys for the feedback. I understand that signal problems with one phone are unrelated to signal issues with another phone. I was just giving my background that I don't want to go down the road I have with the N3.
Asking about signal issues with the National is a valid question.
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app

Signal is rarely above two bars

I have the white Note 4 from Verizon. Just wondering if anyone else is having the same issue.
I live in NYC and was expecting Verizon service to be consistently 4 bars or better but over the last week since I have had them it's hardly above 2. Can someone confirm if they also have this issue or is it just me.
Thanks in advance.

Datatrover said:
I have the white Note 4 from Verizon. Just wondering if anyone else is having the same issue.
I live in NYC and was expecting Verizon service to be consistently 4 bars or better but over the last week since I have had them it's hardly above 2. Can someone confirm if they also have this issue or is it just me.
Thanks in advance.
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I'm stuck with VZW as no one else has the coverage I need in my area. I've been through lots of devices in the last few years. I hung on to my Note 3 when I probably shouldn't have, as the signal was simply horrible and consistently much lower than other phones including my wife's Note2. I'm now back to great signal with the Note 4, in fact better than with any Sammy phone I've had (but not as good as Moto imho). If your signal is much worse than your previous phone, I'd seriously consider taking it back and replacing it.

Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely return it for a new one as It is only 10 days old. Thought I would as and see what other people's experience has been before I commit to a replacement.

I was never able to get a strong signal at my work with any other phone I owned. I am getting pretty steady coverage since using the the note 4.

bars mean nothing. is your data fast? are your texts sending? are your calls steady and not dropping?
my "bars" are lower than my g2 was but I've had clearer calls, no issues with texts like my g2 had, and my data is much faster.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk.

Where in NYC?
Maybe your phone is connecting to band4? I just switched from 5S iphone and I don't see any difference.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

I am in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The thing is the lower your signal the more your battery would be drained, which is why I am disappointed. I had tomobile and the bars never dropped below 4 in the city.

Yeah, I noticed the same thing but have had no issues with calls etc. It might be a 4G thing?

Datatrover said:
I am in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The thing is the lower your signal the more your battery would be drained, which is why I am disappointed. I had tomobile and the bars never dropped below 4 in the city.
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I am close to you near Greenpoint so close area.
In my apt I get 1-2 bars usually it's on Band4 when I get outside it's full bars.

I live in phoenix, Arizona get between 2-4 bars at home with my
Note 4 on Verizon. Do notice more lag when texting on WiFi or Data than my S3. Still love the Note 4 just notice lag while typing like 2 to 3 words lag at times not all the time. So it could be a app Eating The memory. Miss having my titanium and being able to freeze my apps.
Cheers,

You can increase the speed of the phones response time by going into developer settings and changing to ART. It makes typing on the keyboard way faster.

I rarely have more than 3 bars in my house with N4 too. My wife's N3 and my old N3 got full bars with greater signal levels. about 10-15dbm better. Not sure what is up with the N4. Ive read others have swapped it out a few times with same results too.

Does Sprint Note 4 have radio issues?

I have a Sprint Note 4. In many locations I can pickup 4g LTE/Spark but my speeds are not very high. I currently moved and now can barely pickup LTE and get very slow 3g speeds which which both keeps getting disconnected and losing signal. Whenever I do pickup LTE I gets speeds under 2mbps but like I said, it will lose connection. Now I know people are thinking it's just my new location.... I just recently upgraded my wife's line to the Sprint Note 5. Her Note 5 in the same location picks up LTE/Spark and never drops while getting speeds around 21-27mbps.
Is anyone else having same issues? Are there any ROMS out there with radio updates that will give me good stable connections?

I believe mine has had radio issues for awhile no matter what I do. I just received a Nexus 6p and the difference with the radio seems to be night and day. I'll be doing more testing for the next 2 weeks.

imoua said:
I have a Sprint Note 4. In many locations I can pickup 4g LTE/Spark but my speeds are not very high. I currently moved and now can barely pickup LTE and get very slow 3g speeds which which both keeps getting disconnected and losing signal. Whenever I do pickup LTE I gets speeds under 2mbps but like I said, it will lose connection. Now I know people are thinking it's just my new location.... I just recently upgraded my wife's line to the Sprint Note 5. Her Note 5 in the same location picks up LTE/Spark and never drops while getting speeds around 21-27mbps.
Is anyone else having same issues? Are there any ROMS out there with radio updates that will give me good stable connections?
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Honestly, I think it is Sprint service as hard as that is for me to say as I love Sprint. I lived in Newark NJ for years, Sprint Spark is VERY strong there (Newark was one of the pilot areas for Spark). Almost every day I seemed to have different results, one day its blazing, the next not so good. Now i live in Bloomingdale NJ where there is ONLY CDMA, here is the weird part, its extremely strong, no issues, sometimes stronger than when I was in Newark with Sprint Spark (LTE). This happens on either STOCK Note 4 Touchwiz OR CM/CMRemix (AOSP). So to me it feels like it is the network and areas I am in.
Now you could say its just the Note 4 and not the Sprint service, EXCEPT the EXACT same behavior happened on my Note 2, in CDMA or LTE WITH SPARK - Touchwiz or AOSP.

GROOVYJOSHCLARK said:
Honestly, I think it is Sprint service as hard as that is for me to say as I love Sprint. I lived in Newark NJ for years, Sprint Spark is VERY strong there (Newark was one of the pilot areas for Spark). Almost every day I seemed to have different results, one day its blazing, the next not so good. Now i live in Bloomingdale NJ where there is ONLY CDMA, here is the weird part, its extremely strong, no issues, sometimes stronger than when I was in Newark with Sprint Spark (LTE). This happens on either STOCK Note 4 Touchwiz OR CM/CMRemix (AOSP). So to me it feels like it is the network and areas I am in.
Now you could say its just the Note 4 and not the Sprint service, EXCEPT the EXACT same behavior happened on my Note 2, in CDMA or LTE WITH SPARK - Touchwiz or AOSP.
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For some reason, I'm starting to be able to pickup more LTE service now. Half the day will be on 3G while other half of LTE. My wifes Note 5 has dropped in speeds to anywhere between 3mbps-10mbps but still always connected to LTE all day. -_- Starting to hate Sprint.

imoua said:
For some reason, I'm starting to be able to pickup more LTE service now. Half the day will be on 3G while other half of LTE. My wifes Note 5 has dropped in speeds to anywhere between 3mbps-10mbps but still always connected to LTE all day. -_- Starting to hate Sprint.
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Yeah it boggles me too sometimes it works and sometimes not

You have to remember network capacity and interference. These are huge factors. The best time to speed test is during off-peak hours. After 23.1 GB on unlimited plans there is a softcap during peak times. Also, take into account upgrades to the network due to Sprints Network Vision which cost billions of dollars to upgrade towers. This doesnt happen overnight. Patience ladies and gents.

Cellular strength and throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the Samsung Galaxy Note 7's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

So far so good here, no issues what so ever!

I gave 4 stars. It far better than my note 4 was. I did a speed test, in an area I have done numerous speedtests with the 4, and with the 4 I averaged 12mbps(being generous here) down, and 1mbps (after a few seconds at 0) up. With this 7, I got a 38mbps down, and 12 mbps up.... showed the same amount of bars as the 4 usually did, but obviously performed much better.
Keep in mind, I live in the middle of nowhere in Maine... speed tests were performed with about 2-3 bars (fluctuating).

For me its been much worse than my Note 5. Not really sure what's going on. Carrier is Virgin Mobile (Bell Canada)

Is there anybody who can compare Note 3 (n9005) with Note 7?

It's about 70% as good as my 6P but I can deal. I would have LTE and 3 bars in my office building .. Note 7 fluxuates between LTE 1 bar and HSPA+ or nothing at all. Thank God for TMO wifi calling, eh?

Hmm, it doesn't sound promising at all. :/ Signal reception is a big weakness of my Note 3 so I expected little bit more from a new device (and after few years of development) - I see that there are still some issues on Samsung side in compare to other brands and models especially at high-end market.
WiFi calling (and VoLTE) isn't supported by O2 Czech network yet because they are... kind of slow and "specific".
What about Note 7 and iPhone 6S/6S+ or LG G4? My colleagues have these devices so I can test and compare it little bit in real life with my Carrier.
Btw. Thanks man!

I'd rank it about equal to my note 4, which is disappointed but most things are as I get older...

BableMan said:
I'd rank it about equal to my note 4, which is disappointed but most things are as I get older...
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Its a little better than my note 4. Little louder and clearer. Not crazy better, but better.

Corbitt74 said:
Its a little better than my note 4. Little louder and clearer. Not crazy better, but better.
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Then we have different builds, mine suffers from worse speaker quality. I've assumed that's the trade off we get for being able to drop it in a toilet.

BableMan said:
Then we have different builds, mine suffers from worse speaker quality. I've assumed that's the trade off we get for being able to drop it in a toilet.
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Hard to say really, we do have quite a bit of HD coverage here, also havent talked a lot on this yet, but from what I have its been good.

I had questionable service with my GS5 down in my basement, and now there's no question at all about the service on my Note 7 - it's non-existent. I cannot make or receive calls down in my basement anymore; have to go upstairs. This was rarely the case with my GS5, both on Sprint. Just my experience.

Perhaps it is the fault of AT&T and not the phone itself, but I get a shoddy signal at my house. I do live in a rural area, however, but it could be better nonetheless. Note: In town and in cities, I get perfect cellular strength.

Sattero said:
Is there anybody who can compare Note 3 (n9005) with Note 7?
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I got the Note 7 to replace my Note 3. I am on Verizon. The Note 7 has been leaps and bounds better than the Note 3 as far as cell reception. I could not use my Note 3 at home without a Network extender and now my Note 7 works everywhere, even the basement, without a hiccup. I originally, before purchase, thought I would need to use the WiFi calling feature here at my home, but there is no need. On my daily route, I used to have 2 dead spots, where I always dropped calls on my Note 3, but I have had no issues with the Note 7. I believe that may be in part due to the VOLTE capabilities that the Note 7 has over the Note 3. The Note 7 would be the perfect phone if they would have built it with a flat screen. I don't see any real use for the edge panels and I have already turned them off. No need for insurance or screen protector on the Note 3 and it still looks perfect. I am seriously contemplating getting insurance for the first time as I am extremely paranoid about breaking this thing. If it weren't for how much I use the S-Pen, I would have probably waited to see what the other manufactures come out with. Hopefully, the paranoia will wear off.

Is not compatible with sprint signal booster air rave, but i also havent seen it reach high network speed on lte. so far not impressed.

I'm coming from an LG V10 and it's definitely a bit worse in the signal strength but the actual speeds seem to be about the same. I tether my phone for home internet and I always sit it in the exact same spot in my window because I found where the best signal is. With my V10 I'd have about -105 to -109db and with the Note 7 I'm getting about -114. I might need to move it around a bit and see if I can get any better. When you have a strong signal it flies though. Today in the city while I had a full signal (not sure the db's but 5 bars were full) I got 99.8Mb down and almost 17Mb up Verizon just upgraded a lot of the network in my area.

Cellular strength and throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the Samsung Galaxy S8+'s LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

I get a low 4g signal at work whereas on my s7 edge I didn't get anything

Mine is a lot better than any phone I've had before. Usually at home on all my other phones I have 1-2 bars and on the S8+ I have at least 4 bars.

Bars are no indication of true signal strength. My S8+ doesn't get nearly as strong of a signal as my Pixel XL. I drop signal a lot more often now. I was rather disappointed with the performance of the cell radio actually.

For me, the signal is about the same at home. But at work, the S8+ performs much better than the Note5 that I had... Must be an extra band or something. The Note5 would hang on to an unusable LTE signal or drop to 3G/1x inside my job. The S8+ stays on on LTE with a usable signal.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

It's worst Then S8 as I used that before shifting to S8 plus. But download speed is great.

My S7 was better. The S7 ised a new duel antenna tech, I am not sure the S8 used it or not.

My AT&T Note 4 and my new S8+ get about the same signal, which is really disappointing

I generally see around 5-8dbm better then I did with my pixel xl at home..notice the s8+ does drop signal little easier tho then my pixel in fringe areas

Tested right outside my house. Never had these speeds on my Note 5.

Comming from a S6, the signals and speeds are far better, also my s6 was missing a few bands so never ever got speeds like this on my Jio 4G Network in India

At work on LTE Im getting 31 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up. Not bad! Faster than our company wifi!

webtech9 said:
At work on LTE Im getting 31 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up. Not bad! Faster than our company wifi!
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I used to get 54Mbps which WAS faster than the company wifi. Then we bumped up to 500Mb.

Poor Reception in Canada on Bell Mobility
I just got an unlocked S8+ that was apparently originally from Sprint (because that is where the home page goes in Samsung Internet).
I do not get very good reception on it – even in urban/suburban areas. Sometimes, when I am inside a building, it disappears altogether. I often get 1 or 2 bars on the reception indicator. If I check the “Sim Card Status” screen under settings I get -105 dBm 3 asu. I don’t really know what those numbers mean.
Is there anything I can do to improve reception? Should I be calling Bell and maybe they need to know what kind of phone I have? Should I expect an S8+ purchased directly from Bell (they also carry this phone) to have better reception? Or is the reception of “105 dBm 3 asu” fine and it’s just the indicator showing low levels?
As much as I like this phone I cannot be missing calls randomly. I have a business to run.
Thanks.
The Fish

thefish123 said:
I just got an unlocked S8+ that was apparently originally from Sprint (because that is where the home page goes in Samsung Internet).
I do not get very good reception on it – even in urban/suburban areas. Sometimes, when I am inside a building, it disappears altogether. I often get 1 or 2 bars on the reception indicator. If I check the “Sim Card Status” screen under settings I get -105 dBm 3 asu. I don’t really know what those numbers mean.
Is there anything I can do to improve reception? Should I be calling Bell and maybe they need to know what kind of phone I have? Should I expect an S8+ purchased directly from Bell (they also carry this phone) to have better reception? Or is the reception of “105 dBm 3 asu” fine and it’s just the indicator showing low levels?
As much as I like this phone I cannot be missing calls randomly. I have a business to run.
Thanks.
The Fish
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Hey fish you want it down, the dBm i mean. Here's a quote "-50 dBm is great signal or full bars. -120 dBm is very poor signal or a dead zone." you at 105 dBm is garbage, no wonder your missing calls.. Since you are experiencing network issues, you could get a replacement, but i don’t think it will make much difference. as it's all same hardware. Why not get a Google Pixel XL i heard they got awesome reception! Or if you’re at home a lot, purchase an lte repeater booster ? Problem Solved!

Drop in signal & Block sign
Im living in UAE - and my service provider is etisalat, and my 4G signal is dropping and sometimes i get block sign, i tried my sim in different device it working.
i have started a thread on the subject if anyone could help me please.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...block-sign-t3851575/post77823171#post77823171

N1NJATH3ORY said:
Hey fish you want it down, the dBm i mean. Here's a quote "-50 dBm is great signal or full bars. -120 dBm is very poor signal or a dead zone." you at 105 dBm is garbage, no wonder your missing calls.. Since you are experiencing network issues, you could get a replacement, but i don’t think it will make much difference. as it's all same hardware. Why not get a Google Pixel XL i heard they got awesome reception! Or if you’re at home a lot, purchase an lte repeater booster ? Problem Solved!
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I went through a whole “carrier switching” routine (details found somewhere on these forums) and after changing the CSC to Canadian I flashed Bell Mobility's firmware. The phone now shows that it’s an SM-G955W which is the Canadian model. And apparently now supports additional LTE bands 29(700) and 30(2300) which were missing from the SM-G955U (I determined this by dialing *#2263#).
I have no idea if it *really* supports these bands or just *says* that it does but my gut tells me that it really does support them. I suspect that the hardware for the SM-G955U and SM-G955W is 100% identical and any differences are controlled through software only.
And I seem to have better reception now. I am getting 4 to 5 bars in most places and under -100 dBm in most places. Plus Wi-Fi calling works now so I have reception in my basement at my house.
The true test will be when we go camping next summer.
The Fish

thefish123 said:
I went through a whole “carrier switching” routine (details found somewhere on these forums) and after changing the CSC to Canadian I flashed Bell Mobility's firmware. The phone now shows that it’s an SM-G955W which is the Canadian model. And apparently now supports additional LTE bands 29(700) and 30(2300) which were missing from the SM-G955U (I determined this by dialing *#2263#).
I have no idea if it *really* supports these bands or just *says* that it does but my gut tells me that it really does support them. I suspect that the hardware for the SM-G955U and SM-G955W is 100% identical and any differences are controlled through software only.
And I seem to have better reception now. I am getting 4 to 5 bars in most places and under -100 dBm in most places. Plus Wi-Fi calling works now so I have reception in my basement at my house.
The true test will be when we go camping next summer.
The Fish
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Happy days for you i do suffer poor signal in my house:crying: i'll see if i can flash the CSC to fix it, thanks for the update!

s7 does lot better than 8+ in the same room