Database Develop

[Q] Horrific signal strength

I'm wondering if maybe I got a dud Hero. I switched from a Sprint Touch a while back and the other day I felt like playing with it again so I installed CM 6.1 on it. I noticed my signal was 100% and thought "That can't be right" so I check both the Hero and the Touch side by side in CM settings. The touch was at -51db whereas the Hero was at -100db. I flashed back to stock on the hero just to be sure and while there is nothing to tell me the exact signal strength in the stock ROM, on the Touch I still had full bars and on the Hero I only had two.
Is my antenna damaged? Is there anything I can do to fix my signal strength?

U could try flashing a different radio
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA Premium App

Bierce22 said:
U could try flashing a different radio
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA Premium App
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I have flashed three separate radios now. They all seem to exhibit the same poor signal strength.

benutne said:
I have flashed three separate radios now. They all seem to exhibit the same poor signal strength.
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Flash the newest radio, and Kifno's tweak for increased bandwidth.
Kifno's tweak can be found in the Hero development forum. The new (1.5) version is being released soon so stay tuned for that, It's said to bring many improvements.

fowenati said:
Flash the newest radio, and Kifno's tweak for increased bandwidth.
Kifno's tweak can be found in the Hero development forum. The new (1.5) version is being released soon so stay tuned for that, It's said to bring many improvements.
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I am using both right now. My current radio is 2.42.02.10.29. I'm also using Kifno's latest tweak. My phone will frequently drop out of 3G and revert back to 1x. Its hell on my battery life and just damned annoying besides. I'm wondering if maybe the internal antenna is broken.

Its your area with bad service, do you happen to live in OC, the same exact thong happens to me when I go to Irvine and residential areas of OC
Sent from my EVO3D using XDA App

benutne said:
I'm wondering if maybe I got a dud Hero. I switched from a Sprint Touch a while back and the other day I felt like playing with it again so I installed CM 6.1 on it. I noticed my signal was 100% and thought "That can't be right" so I check both the Hero and the Touch side by side in CM settings. The touch was at -51db whereas the Hero was at -100db. I flashed back to stock on the hero just to be sure and while there is nothing to tell me the exact signal strength in the stock ROM, on the Touch I still had full bars and on the Hero I only had two.
Is my antenna damaged? Is there anything I can do to fix my signal strength?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=651848
there try this. Sprint have CDMA towers but for some reason the Hero comes outta the box programmed to connect to GSM. just follow that thread exactly and you might see a difference

Easy
Root the phone and flash the new radio over. Definitely bumped up my signal strength.

Joshhayes801 said:
Root the phone and flash the new radio over. Definitely bumped up my signal strength.
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Did you miss the part where they said they already did that?

Joshhayes801 said:
Root the phone and flash the new radio over. Definitely bumped up my signal strength.
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Click to collapse
Did you read the OP?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=651848
in the thread above instead of changing it to cdma auto prl try evdo only that really helped my bandwith speeds my speeds jumped from 450kbs down 325kbs up to 1400kbs down and around 800kbs up also im using version .9.4 of kfinos tweak witch gets me the biggest data boost
u can get to the evdo settings by dialing *#*#4636#*#*

Bierce22 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=651848
in the thread above instead of changing it to cdma auto prl try evdo only that really helped my bandwith speeds my speeds jumped from 450kbs down 325kbs up to 1400kbs down and around 800kbs up also im using version .9.4 of kfinos tweak witch gets me the biggest data boost
u can get to the evdo settings by dialing *#*#4636#*#*
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Click to collapse
Bad idea.
(1) If switching to EVDO-only mode made your data faster, it probably* means that Sprint doesn't offer EVDO in your area; so now you're data-roaming on whichever provider has it in your area (probably Verizon). This is fine for a while, but if you use too much data this way for several months, Sprint can and will cut off your service.
(2) Forcing EVDO on all the time is going to be a battery hog, especially if the phone wasn't using it before for some reason.
(3) If you end up in an area with poor coverage, you may lose data altogether instead of falling back to 1xRTT.
*I said PROBABLY. Check Sprint's website to see your local coverage.

Bierce22 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=651848
in the thread above instead of changing it to cdma auto prl try evdo only that really helped my bandwith speeds my speeds jumped from 450kbs down 325kbs up to 1400kbs down and around 800kbs up also im using version .9.4 of kfinos tweak witch gets me the biggest data boost
u can get to the evdo settings by dialing *#*#4636#*#*
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Click to collapse
What Jason said and also Kifno has much much improved v1.4 version up right now (soon to be 1.5)

ive always had decent 3g in my area that just made it way better though and it dosnt say im roaming and they will call you if your roaming to much but they will never charge you atleast thats what i was told at a sprint tech store awhile back
im on nfx stock sprint rom right now and awhile back i remember i called customer care and they actually told me about the data codes sense i was rooted and i already had my msl number. what the person said i could try originaly is dial ##3282# and go evdo and change it to hdr only witch truely forces evdo only however u cant recive texts or calls but u can send them so thats only usuefull if your tethering. also they told me to dial *18 send and that will automaticlly connect u to the nearest cell tower.
man i cannot spell without autocorect lol

Bierce22 said:
ive always had decent 3g in my area that just made it way better though and it dosnt say im roaming and they will call you if your roaming to much but they will never charge you atleast thats what i was told at a sprint tech store awhile back
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Funny, a couple years back I was charged an ungodly amount because I was roaming on a trip and my friend used my phone to talk to his gf on a 15 day trip

fowenati said:
Funny, a couple years back I was charged an ungodly amount because I was roaming on a trip and my friend used my phone to talk to his gf on a 15 day trip
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Sprint used to charge for roaming on some plans, but all of the plans on which you can activate a Hero include free nationwide roaming.

jasonmaloney said:
Sprint used to charge for roaming on some plans, but all of the plans on which you can activate a Hero include free nationwide roaming.
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Oh, that’s awesome. Does this include the Family Unlimited Data and Unlimited Mobile-Mobile one too? If so this will help me a lot with calls from my school/house.

fowenati said:
Oh, that’s awesome. Does this include the Family Unlimited Data and Unlimited Mobile-Mobile one too? If so this will help me a lot with calls from my school/house.
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All of the "everything" plans should include nationwide roaming.

jasonmaloney said:
All of the "everything" plans should include nationwide roaming.
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No more 1X with No bars in my house anymore!

No more 1X with No bars in my house anymore!
did it work for you lol

Poor Data Service

Anyone experienced their revolution hanging for 20-30 seconds before going to a web page or performing a Google search? Seems my phone does it constantly and a friends does as well. He's on the stock release and I'm rooted with decrap.

I've noticed that my data stream is a little unstable being in a 4G area. I stream lots of music in the car and 4G doesn't seem to nearly as stable as 3G...with similar signal strength...especially if it auto-switches from 4 to 3, then back. I've put it in 3G only mode and it's more stable.

Randomly notice this as well. There have been 4g issues for a while now, but my fascinate seems to load pages faster when both are on wifi.

Whoops, forgot to mention that I am in a 3g only area. I have a tbolt and revolution, constantly going to the tbolt for data. Kinda disappointing.

Have this issue as well... But we are having network issues in our area which makes data unusable for everyone.

i've got this issue and i live in a 4g dense neighborhood in los angeles. had it since day 1. very disappointing.

Any fix for this? I have the same issues in the riverside ca area. Data throughput seems to be fine netflix and hbogo stream perfectly.

My guess is that a radio fix will have to come from LG to help 'stabilize' the data connections for 3G, 4G and auto-switching between them. Once in 4G (or 3G), data integrity is good for me.

Decrap has a known 3G slowness issue, if you go to the last 2 or so pages of the thread in development you'll see some chatter about it
thecubed is releasing an update early next week
If it's really bad, I'd suggest switching to the stock rom for a bit till Decrap 1.2 comes out

I'm rooted with stock ROM and having the issue. Tried my SIM in two other revos with the same issue.

The issue is indeed confirmed, as I have the same (infuriating) problem on my unit also.
Hopefully by the end of next week I should have a fix. I believe it lies in the way that LG bonds the 3g and 4g interfaces together to provide a single "cellular data" interface to Android.
However, I could be wrong, but either way I'll be on to something

Woot... You do some damn good work.

awesome cubed U rock. This is for the wifes phone so I'm going to wait until there is a fix before I root it.
Sent from my inj3cted bolt using XDA App

Can't wait to see what rabbit you pull out of the hat next!
Sent from my VS910 4G using XDA Premium App

Has anyone else been having problems switching from 3g to 4g? Mine gets stuck on 3g sometimes and I have to do the airplane mode trick to get it to do anything. I can't even send text messages. I live in Hollywood so I don't know what the problem is..
Sent from my VS910 4G using XDA App

Same here.. I am in NE Ohio, and traded from a Thunderbolt where LTE was more constant, but even when switching out from WiFi to 4G/3G there is some lag time. The Thunderbolt Radio had to be flashed separately but was tons better.

Signal Booster

How can increase my signals. I'm using ICS
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

Switch to Verizon. *cough*cough*
Make sure your PRL and radio are the latest versions. And if all else fails you could try Googling an Airave machine.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium

Could try flashing another radio some people have better reception on older radios.
Just and fyi radios are not rom dependant just make sure its compatible with your phone model
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

are we talking fm radio? sry for stupid question...

Not FM or AM radio - we are talking about the firmware that runs your phone's radio antennae which responsible for cellular reception

get rom manager and go to peter alphonso's thread. He's got all the radios in there....and no, this is not a radio, like an fm radio. this is the driver that provides the signal for your phone's reception...it's just called a radio. You may hear it referred to as a baseband occasionally, as well.

Some of the nexus 3g/4g users use something called Airave from sprint , it supposed to increase your signal strength pretty good. Hook it up in the home & you'll get some good signal. I don't have one atm. Some of the user called sprint saying their signal suck & so why pay for something you can't use, as in weak signal. So then the nexus user got theirs free. I'm not really sure if theres a charge to it or what, but I don't mind calling some time soon to get me one. Lol, my signal sucks as well & I'm on the latest radio, etc.

I think he is referring to this phone having a weak signal all around. I have the same issue. I had a Samsung Moment b4 the NS4G and when I sit in my living room, I used to get full 3g and full wifi with the Moment... but with the NS4G, I get almost half wifi and 3g goes from half to 3/4 on the signal meter. There are postings online reporting that Samsung used an under powered chipset for this phone, in order to get better battery life. I have an Airave from Sprint in my home, and it does work with the 3g signal... if I'm in the same room as the Airave, I have full 3g, but like I said b4, the signal gets real weak the further I get from it. (My wife's EVO 4G shows full wifi and 3g strength when placed next to my NS4G)
As far as I know, there is nothing we can do about the signal strength. I have tried several different roms, and many different kernels with this phone, not a single one touches the 3g or wifi signal issue.

i get great signal strenght, tmobile in nyc.
there are also some build.prop edits you can do too. anyways, heres the radio thread from the development section http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116884

rubyknight said:
Switch to Verizon. *cough*cough*
Make sure your PRL and radio are the latest versions. And if all else fails you could try Googling an Airave machine.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
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Haha! Yes...switch to Verizon. Then you can not only get poor service and reception but you can get limited data! FTW!
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

alfay13 said:
Haha! Yes...switch to Verizon. Then you can not only get poor service and reception but you can get limited data! FTW!
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
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OP isn't using sprint

LTE Reception?

Anyone else having trouble with their LTE reception? I just came from an iPhone 5 and fortunately around me the area is kind of blanketed in LTE but I have yet to get any solid connection on the One where as with my iPhone 5 it would lock on and get great speeds. I saw the LTE on the one pop in a couple times but just for a couple secs and even once long enough to start a Speed Test but then it "lost connection" in the middle of the test. I assume a PRL update is needed or at least I'm hoping its just a PRL update.

You practically have to be making love to the tower to get 4G to connect. And yes you are not alone.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

BrianBaker said:
You practically have to be making love to the tower to get 4G to connect. And yes you are not alone.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
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Hmm wonder if this is something that can be fixed via software, this is kind of bumming me out - this will be the one and only gripe I'll have.

D3luSi0n4L said:
Hmm wonder if this is something that can be fixed via software, this is kind of bumming me out - this will be the one and only gripe I'll have.
Click to expand...
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I was a bit harsh...The phone is quite capable of grabbing an LTE signal..But in fringe areas is will not hold it.It will switch back to 3G..On the sensorly App it seems anything that is 0-2 bars will grab a signal but will drop it eventually..
But man when you are in 3-4 bars in dark purple this phone flys on LTE.

I'm pulling crazy far lte speeds
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

Yeah I was too on my iPhone 5 - like 30mbps download and 10 upload. I'll update this post when I get another chance to test it again I went ahead and did a profile and prl update.

Sounds like location. I am in Houston and 80% of the time its on 4G, I usually get around 15 to 25 down on 4G. Indoors It stays on 4G but speed drops to around 2

BrianBaker said:
I was a bit harsh...The phone is quite capable of grabbing an LTE signal..But in fringe areas is will not hold it.It will switch back to 3G..On the sensorly App it seems anything that is 0-2 bars will grab a signal but will drop it eventually..
But man when you are in 3-4 bars in dark purple this phone flys on LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a software decision.
For most networks, the decision to switch back to 3g would be wise. For most, LTE is blazing fast and 3g is usable. Switching back to 3g on the fringe of an LTE tower is a fine decision on say, Verizon. It also makes sense from a battery standpoint. There is no sense making the higher power LTE radio strain for a signal when there is a perfectly usable 3g one available to a lower power radio.
The problem is with Sprint, with Sprint, you want to hold onto every last drop of LTE because even the faintest, messiest, LTE signal is going to be faster than the 3g.
There will be a software update, I am fairly confident, that will change the values where the the phone gives up on LTE.

Felnarion said:
This is a software decision.
For most networks, the decision to switch back to 3g would be wise. For most, LTE is blazing fast and 3g is usable. Switching back to 3g on the fringe of an LTE tower is a fine decision on say, Verizon. It also makes sense from a battery standpoint. There is no sense making the higher power LTE radio strain for a signal when there is a perfectly usable 3g one available to a lower power radio.
The problem is with Sprint, with Sprint, you want to hold onto every last drop of LTE because even the faintest, messiest, LTE signal is going to be faster than the 3g.
There will be a software update, I am fairly confident, that will change the values where the the phone gives up on LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to return the phone today but I'll roll the dice in hopes there is an update for this because in those "fringe" areas my Note II holds 4G and its only 2Mbps down and 1Mbps up but it's better than the 3G 28.8k it switches to..
I just hope when the area is covered by more LTE it'll even out..Happy to hear that about Houston which has more coverage that the One holds it's 4G better..This is what im banking on.

BrianBaker said:
I was going to return the phone today but I'll roll the dice in hopes there is an update for this because in those "fringe" areas my Note II holds 4G and its only 2Mbps down and 1Mbps up but it's better than the 3G 28.8k it switches to..
I just hope when the area is covered by more LTE it'll even out..Happy to hear that about Houston which has more coverage that the One holds it's 4G better..This is what im banking on.
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Click to collapse
I'm smack in the middle of what is supposed to be a fairly saturated LTE area for Sprint (North Dallas, TX) and mine keeps switching between 3G and 4G with total data drops seemingly random and many times throughout the day. What's weird is often times, I'll go to use the phone and the 4G is there and 3 or more bars, and then as soon as I open an app that uses data the connection will drop. It doesn't happen every time, but way more than I can live with. I'm thinking about returning it to Sprint and going with AT&T instead. I just hate to have to hassle with it and pay more for less.

boomerod said:
I'm smack in the middle of what is supposed to be a fairly saturated LTE area for Sprint (North Dallas, TX) and mine keeps switching between 3G and 4G with total data drops seemingly random and many times throughout the day. What's weird is often times, I'll go to use the phone and the 4G is there and 3 or more bars, and then as soon as I open an app that uses data the connection will drop. It doesn't happen every time, but way more than I can live with. I'm thinking about returning it to Sprint and going with AT&T instead. I just hate to have to hassle with it and pay more for less.
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well,then i guess all I can hope for is some sort of update that helps keep 4G connected

Probably has to do with a minimum signal strength value to keep it connected to LTE and not search for a stronger signal. Hopefully there will be an update or a patch to fix this.

Darkendvoid88 said:
Probably has to do with a minimum signal strength value to keep it connected to LTE and not search for a stronger signal. Hopefully there will be an update or a patch to fix this.
Click to expand...
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I just feel like not enough people are complaining about this issue and it'll just keep working the way it is now. Which would suck.
Through out my searched for the night I ended up at a tmobile website where they too were having the same 4G issues.. Maybe it is a design problem and not just software.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

"Bars" mean nothing, usually they only show strength of the cdma 1x (voice), not lte strength..
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2...to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/

Happening frequently
I have the same problem keeps switching from LTE to 3g constantly I think it is happening to multiple on sprint network idk about others http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/04/26/sprint-htc-one-lte-connectivity-issue-in-select-markets/

BrianBaker said:
well,then i guess all I can hope for is some sort of update that helps keep 4G connected
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no problems here in fort myers. When i'm home it locks on 4g and screams at 25 down and 10 up

wranglerray said:
no problems here in fort myers. When i'm home it locks on 4g and screams at 25 down and 10 up
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That's helpful...with issues like this, especially at or near launch of a new device, it's always a question of device vs. network vs. software issues. I'm always skeptical that the device is the issue, especially on flagship models. I posted on a Sprint forum and one user said he took his phone back and Sprint swapped it for another HTC One and he's had no issues. Says he thinks it's some type of provisioning issue, which I am not too sure of. But he said he a similar issue with the Evo LTD (I think) and swapped and no more issues. There also was a Sprint rep that chimed in on the thread and advised me that an Vision upgrade had been made in my area yesterday and to update profile and prl and then power down for 3-5 minutes. I followed that advice but I'm still having issues. For reference, I'm in 75240 zip code.
---------- Post added at 10:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 AM ----------
jcwxguy said:
"Bars" mean nothing, usually they only show strength of the cdma 1x (voice), not lte strength..
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2...to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I think most of us that have been around a while realize that. I could care less about the bars. Hell, I hardly even talk on the phone. What I need is Data to work, consistently. I don't even care if it's 4G if a decent 3G is available and would provide a consistent connection. Well, yeah, I would prefer it be 4G. The selling point for Sprint right now is their prices and unlimited Data. When you factor in that they are really trying to upgrade their network to compete with the other big 2, and are oriented towards customer concerns at the moment, it makes them appealing. But they got to get the data consistent, especially in large markets like Dallas, TX, or they are just going to keep on churning customers. I just switched to them from Verizon as I was at the end of my contract and was a bit tired of Big Red's bullying, but I have to hand it to them, their network is fantastic. I might be going right back to them, or take a chance on AT&T, which I switched from to Verizon a couple years ago.

Fake service? T-Mobile.

I'm not the only one getting the b.s service right? I have unlimited high speed LTE and see the image for what I get with 3~4 bars of LTE I've had this problem since my s4 and note 3 and now on note 4.

Have you tried a new SIM?

I get this sometimes too on the tower by my house. It is super fast on some towers but others have speeds like you are showing.

Yea. Sometimes it shows good reception and then I get nothing. What helped me at work is getting that signal booster. You can get it at a local T-mobile store for free. ($25 deposit? Don't remember)

This thread talks about the cell spot router and the signal booster:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2975376
Honestly, I've never had better service, however.

It's a speed test issue not a service issue. Had the same thing tried a different test and fixed it.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

Not a speed test issue, I know by now T Mobile is a pretty good liar about there LTE coverage. Here's a speed test done at home the previous one was at school. Also I was a sprint member before and there 3G was quicker then T Mobile 4g ( not lte). Also if you guys flash a AOSP rom you'd see what your service signal actually is. (I'm stuck on TouchWiz because of wifi calling) I get no bars at work because of environment, can't blame T Mobile for that.
Also another noob question if I have bars but no Internet why can't I call or text? Aren't those bars for voice and text?

I take some issue with your wording of this. T-Mobile's service is not fake, and they don't lie about anything. You have to understand that EVERYTHING on a mobile device is subject to far too many factors for me to name, and everyone will have a different experience. Just because you have not had a good one doesn't make their service fake or them liars. There is no "best carrier", other than what's best for YOU. If you had a good experience with Sprint, go back to them. I hate Sprint, and I'll never have them again. I've had great experiences with T-Mobile, and it continues to get better for me under John Legere's captaincy.
Also, for the record, speedtest.net is not a definitive test.

I'm not saying sprint is better but it's ridiculous how anything but lte is good on TMOBILE most of the time 4g or edge on TMOBILE time out can't even load a simple page. They don't cover a lot of what they say on there map for LTE and most of the time I don't get speeds I'm told to get even when my phones are indicating LTE with more then enough bars. Also why do the signals change when I'm on AOSP? I get what AOSP is saying LTE speeds when indicating LTE. I don't have to do a speed test to tell me if I'm getting good Internet speeds my phone also indicates it on the top left of what it's using and sometimes LTE is really good but most of the time it's pretty unreliable and slow.

To argue T-Mobile's side. I get H+ in areas at work that my Verizon note 3, whether on Verizon or T-Mobile got no service, and it speed tests a very usable 5mbps. It will get even better with band 12 turned on.

I wish I got that, I get around 25~100 kilobytes

I never see anything above 3-8 mbps , one time i saw 20, but that was one time.

Even I get 25+ now and then but never stable and most of the time on b.s h+

Ive had the same issues but what i found is that i have to switch or force my phone to 4g for a while and then back to LTE. On LTE there are times where i will be 20+mbps down and then ill be at less than one in the same building. What i did is force it to 4g and it was actually faster. I dont know why this helps it but it has for me. I then switch back to LTE whenever i seem to remember to switch it back. I called tmobile and they had be turn off the phone for a few minutes and then turn it back on and at the time, it fixed the issue but i havent been able to get that to work any other time.

Didn't even see this when I made my thread. I've been about a month now with worthless service on T-Mobile. Whole reason I left Verizon for T-Mobile is because I got service at work where I stream Netflix, Pandora, etc. Now I can't even do that. I get H+ in my work building.
I have -58dBm signal strength usually which shows as full bars and I can't even load web pages. Get random bursts of slightly alright speeds which quickly goes away. Usually 1mbps down. Was getting 5-6mbps down. Now I really get .18 Mbps down or less.
Sprint has zero signal at work but Verizon does. Pisses me off I left Verizon for T-Mobile when I don't even get the service I did anymore. They always tell me everything is fine too.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

Tmobile working great here.

Yup and every time you call me "tower us being worked on" good one.

Signal at location
Attempting to run speed tests
Finally runs
You can't tell me this isn't pitiful. That is good signal. Should be able to be usable. Hell on Verizon with 3G same spot I used to be -90 and worked fine.
T-Mobile used to work here, not sure what happened.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

Working great here.

I get anywhere from 25-65 down where I live with T-Mobile and I'm not in a major city what so ever