Cellular strength and throughput - Moto Z4 Real Life Review

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 Moto Z4'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.

Not that good
Reception on T-mobile is about half as good and a little slower than my previous Moto Z Play. Kinda disappointing, although i still love the Z4 more than the Z Play

Disappointed
I upgraded one of my lines to a locked Sprint e5 play for free. After seeing how amazing it was regarding signal and service I decided to upgrade my main phone to a Moto. Being that Sprint had absolutely nothing to offer except iPhones and Samsung I decided to buy a Z4 directly from Motorola. Being that it was an unlocked version I had to take it to a Sprint store where they fumbled with SIM cards for about an hour. The signal strength on this phone is disappointing to say the least. I can be side by side with the e5 play. The e5 has full bars of LTE, the Z4 has few bars and sometimes absolutely no service at all! Even when there is good signal it seems to not work for data. 90% of the time it's in LTE domestic roaming. If I toggle airplane mode on and off again the data will work. I'm not sure if this is a sim problem or the phone itself. The price was right so I guess it is what it is.

Related

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 S7'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.
In Hillsboro, OR
honolulu hawaii, can barely get 15 download and always get double upload
Luleå, Sweden
A bit faster with TCP Reno. Bic was around 80Mbps in.
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/1797685431
Telstra Melbourne, Australia
Vodafone Romania
Test in Bucharest.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7
43mb down
19mb up
61ms latency to Dallas 2 server on speedof.me
New test
Bucharest, Romania by Vodafone.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7
Some timeouts when having lot LTE signal, but generally very good.
I'm disappointed. Few dropped calls with "Missed call" SMS after few minutes, on Nougat.
Found many complaining people on Russian forums....
Yes, they found a solution. Flashing modem from MM via Odin, but no OTA updates until original modem is reflashed.

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 ZTE Axon 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.
I was on my way up northern Michigan and my wife drove for a bit and I compared the axon to her Moto G (2016) and it they both had to about the same signal. Both had issues shedding weaker towers. Now that we are up at the cabin both phones have very similar signal. So I think the axon is at least as good as a Moto G (2016).
runderekrun said:
I was on my way up northern Michigan and my wife drove for a bit and I compared the axon to her Moto G (2016) and it they both had to about the same signal. Both had issues shedding weaker towers. Now that we are up at the cabin both phones have very similar signal. So I think the axon is at least as good as a Moto G (2016).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On what network?
murkwell said:
On what network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cricket (att)
Now that I am back at a keyboard I can expand a bit. I was testing via running speed tests. When I first started the Moto G was destroying the Axon. I started getting a sunken feeling, but then I noticed the Axon shifted off a tower only getting HSPA ("4G") to one using LTE so I reran a few speed tests and the Axon trounced the Moto G, as it was still stuck on the under performing tower. So that's when I thought maybe a rural roadtrip, with an iffy signal to begin with, wasn't the best way to test this. Once we arrived at the cabin we both had between 1 and 2 bars of HSPA connection that would only work in specific corners of the cabin effectively. Seemingly the same.
I know this isn't an empirical test. I wasn't comparing the actual db numbers or anything. But to my eyes, Axon is about on the same level as the Moto G (2016). I don't know how good the Moto G actually is but I remember reading it had good signal when I was originally reading reviews for it.
Once again this was all tested on the Cricket (via AT&T) network.
Up in Canada on Rogers and am having severely low signal rate. Cannot find service in any basement ive been in throughout the city. Signal of around -120dBm inside buildings. The signal seems very erratic and jumps from 96-143dBm extremely quick. I seem to think there may be a modem problem with this network. If anyone else is on Rogers please chime in on your findings.
The signal strength is worse than my s4, I checked the db and it is 5-10db worse, but occasionally will jump to being on par to the s4. Tested on tmo lte, neither phone was being held. Not sure how the rating is 4.5/5 as a reddit post agrees that there is some issue.
The signal quality is definitely not stable, had a few minor call drops if I am not in certain parts of my house and inside stores which can be tough on signals but it's nowhere near as strong as my other test phones such as the S5, Note 4, and S6 Edge+. I was dropping calls earlier this week and switched back to Note 4 and I was able to talk everywhere w/o dropped calls. This is on Tmobile and signal is decent in my area. Then on WIFI strength, the Note 4 beats it by 20-30% throughput. That's a 2014 device.
My problem with all these Chinese brand phones is they have great specs but software is lacking. Looks like I maybe back to my workhorse Note 4.
So I used this phone to drive Uber in Los Angeles all last night and had some pretty major problems.
GPS Signal would randomly shift positions so Google Maps would keep rerouting during trips. This didn't always happen, but happened enough to be annoying.
I'm pretty sure I lost a bunch of trip requests because they just never got through to my phone.
This is either because the OS wasn't allowing the notifications to come through correctly, or because of the network performance.
Interestingly I was streaming podcasts the entire time which came through fine for the most part, but they would cut out every once in a while if I ended up in areas with 1bar (which happened often last night).
This is a pretty major problem for me, I don't know if something like Cyanogenmod will fix me not receiving requests, but the cellular and GPS performance are very clearly performing poorly.
Edit:
Cellular performance is now much better after the update.
I would say it's on par with average smartphones (I still lose reception where most people do), and it no longer just drops and stays of signal for no good reason.
GPS performance is OK, it tends to shift around while I'm driving a bit (thinking I'm on the street next to me).
Antenna Strength
Has anyone been able to confirm that this is due to a bad physical design of the antenna and not a software issue?
I was ready to buy this device until I saw these reports of bad signal strength
Hi guys,
Can any European users comment on radio signal performance? Could the issue be limited to the US version?
joaste said:
Hi guys,
Can any European users comment on radio signal performance? Could the issue be limited to the US version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To asnwer my own post, it seems some amazon.de customers are returning the phone due to very poor reception.
I was soooo looking forward to buying this phone and am shocked that ZTE would put it on the market with such a problem. Time will tell if it is hardware related (which it probably is), but most likely my money will go to another brand. I sooo wanted good sound :crying:
EDIT: please, any feedback from European customers?
There are some reviews about the cellular strength on a german forum (android-hilfe.de/thema/empfang-des-axon.792336/) but without any comparison to other phones.
Radio Performance
The Pocket Now review of the Axon 7 mentions potential radio issues and compares it to other phones.
Axon 7 Signal Strength
It doesn't look good.
I wonder if the new "Mini" version of the phone has the same issue and if not, perhaps they corrected a hardware flaw.
There is a new software update for the Axon 7 coming soon. I hope it addresses the signal strength issue, but I wouldn't hold my breath. We may have to just wait for the Axon 8.
when new software coming.
((RayDar)) said:
The Pocket Now review of the Axon 7 mentions potential radio issues and compares it to other phones.
Axon 7 Signal Strength
It doesn't look good.
I wonder if the new "Mini" version of the phone has the same issue and if not, perhaps they corrected a hardware flaw.
There is a new software update for the Axon 7 coming soon. I hope it addresses the signal strength issue, but I wouldn't hold my breath. We may have to just wait for the Axon 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When new Axon 7 update coming? any link for that please
Note 3
Cellular: -93 dBm
Wifi 5ghz: - 46 dBm
Axon 7
Cellular: -118 dBm
Wifi 5ghz: -59 dBm
Can't perform an LTE speedtest on the Axon 7. It won't hold a connection long enough. Web pages constantly fail to load.
Signal strength is significantly worse than my 3 year old Note 3. So much so the phone is unusable at home.
I commented elsewhere on this as I'm mainly sending the phone back because of the very poor camera and the disappointing audio.
The radio however is the worst I've had since 3G was launched. I've been all over Brussels today and barely seen a 4G signal. I'd forgotten 3G existed until today. I managed to get the Axon to connect to 4G by toggling the mobile data on and off but it quickly went back to 3G.
My bedroom is in the basement but thanks to a nearby base station I get four bars 4G on my Honor 7. The Axon get one-two bars on 3G.
I'm bailing out now. I'm not waiting for a software update to fix the radio and I'm not sure the camera *can* be fixed, it's that bad.
The lovely screen apart, the A7 is a downgrade from the much cheaper Honor. Shame.
Grey Axon 7 purchased from Amazon Germany.
LTE: Nexus 5X: -105 dB, Axon 7: -113 dB
Forcing 3G on both phones: Both about -95 dB.
European version
Indoors in a café. Both of our phones are on the same network using the same base station. The Nexus 5x shows -106dBm on LTE while the Axon 7 shows -111 dBm on HSPA and is unable to load a page.
A bad camera, broken audio and a weak radio now seem a heavy price to pay for a nice screen and a top of the line chip.... it was too good to be true.
When I was walking home from campus today, I had 4G with a maximum of 2 bars missing (one missing most of the time, sometimes full bars) 90% of the 3km trip. Don't have any other LTE phones to compare it to, so take that with a grain of salt.

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 Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom'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.
Compared to my Nexus 6P, this phone tends to stay on HSPA+ more often than my 6P did. This phone either wont choose LTE or doesn't get LTE in many places where my 6P did. A bit frustrating.
DriveEuro said:
Compared to my Nexus 6P, this phone tends to stay on HSPA+ more often than my 6P did. This phone either wont choose LTE or doesn't get LTE in many places where my 6P did. A bit frustrating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here; I'm on straight talk, and I'm stuck on HSPA+. My S6 used to get LTE at full bars.
I'll chime in here. I fell asleep and my 8 month old destroyed my Moto Z Play. The Zenfone 3 zoom has a much crappier radio interface layer setup as I get 2g in places where I had lte in the same area and same SIM card. Otherwise specs were pretty much identical. Also while I get better battery it's not an extra 1500mh . I averaged 6 1/2 hours screen time on the zplay and average only 7 1/2 here with same apps /usage.
Anonamoose said:
I'll chime in here. I fell asleep and my 8 month old destroyed my Moto Z Play. The Zenfone 3 zoom has a much crappier radio interface layer setup as I get 2g in places where I had lte in the same area and same SIM card. Otherwise specs were pretty much identical. Also while I get better battery it's not an extra 1500mh . I averaged 6 1/2 hours screen time on the zplay and average only 7 1/2 here with same apps /usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a little strange: as my previous post states, I was stuck on HSPA+ at home. Well I went into town yesterday, and caught 4G. Went back home... And I have 4G at home now.
Strange, but I won't complain.
The maximum I can get anywhere is HSPA+, even in places where my lgg3 would have full LTE coverage. Very disappointing quality of an otherwise impressive device. It is possible that at&t does not yet recognize the phone as 4g capable in their database yet, and this will change later, but for now at least, I don't think that this phone is a worthy purchase.
NoTucks said:
The maximum I can get anywhere is HSPA+, even in places where my lgg3 would have full LTE coverage. Very disappointing quality of an otherwise impressive device. It is possible that at&t does not yet recognize the phone as 4g capable in their database yet, and this will change later, but for now at least, I don't think that this phone is a worthy purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been getting 4G no problem on my AT&T SIM card, so they definitely recognize the phone as 4G capable. Coverage does seem slightly worse than my Galaxy S7 though.
I have no problem. Where I'm staying my network has domestic national roaming. At home I get LTE+ signal, but most of the time, it on LTE.
I'm a truck driver in Canada, so I travel a lot within Canada. I have to admit that the strength of LTE on this phone is very poor. In cities it's ok, the speed is high. However, when you get on road, the phone often looses the signal where s7 still has LTE and stream video. I'm disappointed with the phone. I would never buy it again for travel although it has excellent battery life.

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 S10+'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 just got the phone today and compared to the Pixel 3xl or Red Magic Mars the signal strength on Mint Mobile using T-mobile network is pretty bad.
Maybe it is because I am at home and wifi calling is on. We will see real world results but so far not good.
I pulled 100Mbps downstream on Freedom mobile earlier today. Hell of a lot faster than my older notes could ever achieve, that is for sure.
It's no 5g though.
I get barely 5Mbps on Sprint
0.12 Mbps on Sprint
Cell Phone Signal
XDA_RealLifeReview said:
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 S10+'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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got Sprint and I have trouble all the time. I've had problems connecting to the internet when I'm showing 4 bars LTE.
You would think after more than a year Samsung would have fixed their networking coding.... Nope....
Signal strength is abysmal on this device and I can't believe they have the nerve to ask for more money for the S20 when they refuse to fix this model. I also see it hasn't gotten better even with the midrange mode of the A71, poor connectivity.
What good is a device that can't get a signal? It's not any good at all, you've overpaid for a small glorified tablet. It's clear Samsung can not get its act together, maybe they should spend less time coding on goofy apps nobody wants to keep people in their ridiculous ecosystem and more time on actually getting their devices to work properly.
Haadkoe said:
I pulled 100Mbps downstream on Freedom mobile earlier today. Hell of a lot faster than my older notes could ever achieve, that is for sure.
It's no 5g though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're lucky!!
most networks are putting out 5-12mbps & can be much slower.
Weak signal ls a common problem with the s10 plus. Hell tmobile doesn't even sell it anymore.
My s10 is lucky get 25 mb on my wifi that puts out over 110 mb download speed . My laptop, wife's phone and this crappy, 150 dollar Motorola I have all hit over 100 mb on tests. This is is the last samsung I'll ever own. It's the same with network signal.
fernando sor said:
Weak signal ls a common problem with the s10 plus. Hell tmobile doesn't even sell it anymore.
My s10 is lucky get 25 mb on my wifi that puts out over 110 mb download speed . My laptop, wife's phone and this crappy, 150 dollar Motorola I have all hit over 100 mb on tests. This is is the last samsung I'll ever own. It's the same with network signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
depends how close you are to the router.
if i move away from the desk the combo cox modem/router sits on, i'll usually get 350+ on my 500 plan.
move away from the router, try another server:
https://www.speedtest.net/
bearone2 said:
depends how close you are to the router.
if i move away from the desk the combo cox modem/router sits on, i'll usually get 350+ on my 500 plan.
move away from the router, try another server:
https://www.speedtest.net/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've tried. What it does on any wifi is bounce. It will shoot up to 25mb and then dip down to two mb. Im sure that's why I'm always dropping videos. There are a few fixes but they never last. It will improve for an hour or so and then go back to being crappy.
fernando sor said:
Yeah I've tried. What it does on any wifi is bounce. It will shoot up to 25mb and then dip down to two mb. Im sure that's why I'm always dropping videos. There are a few fixes but they never last. It will improve for an hour or so and then go back to being crappy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
poor wi-fi means poor isp. unless you're providing your own modem/router!
would a factory reset help with bad signal strength? my phone has always been terrible even on wifi calling it always drops calls im thinking its the phone itself i like the phone i dont really wana upgrade but if i have to i will or should i get another s10 plus?
a factory reset won't help with wifi calling, that's an internet provider issue, as i mentioned in my previous comment.
if you're in a fringe area for your cell provider, a network reset may help.
mine is horrible on T-Mobile network, which i hate because the phone on wifi is sick!
RunBMX said:
mine is horrible on T-Mobile network, which i hate because the phone on wifi is sick!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wifi is from the isp.

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 OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren'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've had really good signal on this phone, along with great LTE performance. On 5G NR, performance is decent considering it's a new technology. I leave my phone on LTE 99% of the time because 5G drains the battery however.
"Apple will be the unofficial start to 5G," Kester Mann,
Guess he never heard of the OnePlus 7T pro mclaren 5G?
Naw, he did.
And I'm gonna:
"HAVE TO
SETTLE"
Sure on speed tests it beats my broadband by barely 7mbps, in Buena Park CA. (If you can crack 35mbps your in the top 10% of users. BFD.)
But I've never seen over 5mbps in actual use.
But wait:
I got mine from T-Mobile. So until I rob a bank and payoff this f*gging brick; I'm bootloader locked.
OnePlus got out of the way real fast when Big Mommy T-Mo went for some Apple moves. Thanks for putting your foot down again for us, *******.
OnePlusT-Mobile =
Your gonna:
"HAVE TO
SETTLE"
OnePlus definitely is an example of how to handle 5G like high school science project.

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