[Q] weak cellular signal - Xperia Z1 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi,
I've just purchased my Z1 last Saturday
overall a very nice experience
but apparently I'm having trouble with my cellular signal
it's recipient is very weak, while my wife's Nexus 4 (which use the same provider) has full bar, I only have 2 bars
and at some places it even have no signal at all
I test my SIM Card to my wife's Nexus 4 it works just fine
does anyone having the same problem ?
can anyone offer a solution ?
I'm willing to root my phone, but not unlocking the bootloader
In a week if it keeps going like this I'm going to the service center, which I'm not prefer to do
cheers

yumemiru_tenshi said:
Hi,
I've just purchased my Z1 last Saturday
overall a very nice experience
but apparently I'm having trouble with my cellular signal
it's recipient is very weak, while my wife's Nexus 4 (which use the same provider) has full bar, I only have 2 bars
and at some places it even have no signal at all
I test my SIM Card to my wife's Nexus 4 it works just fine
does anyone having the same problem ?
can anyone offer a solution ?
I'm willing to root my phone, but not unlocking the bootloader
In a week if it keeps going like this I'm going to the service center, which I'm not prefer to do
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing I can think of is to monitor it with this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chasinglemons.signalmonitor
or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.signalmonitoring.gsmsignalmonitoring
Otherwise call your provider.

Related

Nexus 7 3G: Confirmed working with Straight Talk

After seeing the thread about the TMo prepaid plan not compatible with the N7 + 3G I became worried but my N7 and Straight Talk sim(AT&T) arrived today and I can confirm that data functionality is working. I couldn't find any one else on the internet that could actually confirm this so decided to make an informative thread.
As an aside, has anyone else had problems with ST on their N7, TMo or AT&T?
Brandotgreat said:
After seeing the thread about the TMo prepaid plan not compatible with the N7 + 3G I became worried but my N7 and Straight Talk sim(AT&T) arrived today and I can confirm that data functionality is working. I couldn't find any one else on the internet that could actually confirm this so decided to make an informative thread.
As an aside, has anyone else had problems with ST on their N7, TMo or AT&T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe I've read other successful reports of using AT&T ST with their N73G.
However, all the reports so far (which is like 2-3) have been with the AT&T version. I'm curious if the T-Mobile one works too. Since they seem to actively block tablet IMEIs from voice plans, there is a strong possibility it won't.
Have you gotten SMS working on ST?
Mvno have different APN and are never blocked. Solavei works. It does use T-Mobile.
It sounds like you're confirming data, but what about voice calls (not VoIP)?
JoeBruin32 said:
It sounds like you're confirming data, but what about voice calls (not VoIP)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's disabled in the ROM and devs haven't figured out how to get it working. So there's no way to actually confirm voice calls working on a SIM.
UK T-Mobile Sim working fine in my nexus here. I can browse the internet and send text messages.
AT&T SIM with Apple data plans working
I took an AT&T SIM out of an iPhone with the iPhone unlimited data plan and put it into my N7 3G and it is working. I had to create a new APN with the proper settings for it to work. The Broadband APN is for SIMs provisioned with an LTE data plan. I had to setup the old wap.cingular APN.
phonic said:
I believe I've read other successful reports of using AT&T ST with their N73G.
However, all the reports so far (which is like 2-3) have been with the AT&T version. I'm curious if the T-Mobile one works too. Since they seem to actively block tablet IMEIs from voice plans, there is a strong possibility it won't.
Have you gotten SMS working on ST?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did get SMS to work with Go SMS; I'm not sure if it is operator error or not but I can't seem to send an MMS with Go SMS. Is that a limitation of Go SMS?
Brandotgreat said:
I did get SMS to work with Go SMS; I'm not sure if it is operator error or not but I can't seem to send an MMS with Go SMS. Is that a limitation of Go SMS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you can send and receive SMS but not MMS? I would guess that it's an APN issue. Even people with ST for phones have had issues. It seems to work better if your split data and MMS into two different APNs. Also, don't use a proxy.
I never used GoPro so can comment on it. But this app should work:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1998702
It's the native messaging client.
Cool beans. Wish I had waited for the n73g dude. Unlock that phone app and let's see if you can make some phone calls man!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I bet the Tmobile issue using a phone sim can be resolved by backing up the the IMEI and corrupting it. Same method used on the original Galaxy Tab to use a phone sim.
As a recent owner of an OG G-Tab I hope for the same thing. However the difference between our Nexus 7 and the OG G-Tab is the presence of the system/efs folder, which one could erase and thereby change the IMEI (apparently after erasing it the IMEI would repopulate and the G-Tab would be recognized as a generic GSM device on whatever network you were on.) The Nexus 7 doesn't have an equivalent folder. From what I've read the efs was unique to Samsung devices.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
AngeleDei said:
UK T-Mobile Sim working fine in my nexus here. I can browse the internet and send text messages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. Would you mind telling me which T-Mobile UK SIM/Deal you have that works with your N7?
I picked up one of these a couple of weeks ago. It works fine in a MiFi but the N7 just keeps saying that the SIM is being removed and than inserted. Another SIM I've tried seems to work.
I'm using the 4.2.1 update.
Cheers - Y
Ydnaroo said:
Hi. Would you mind telling me which T-Mobile UK SIM/Deal you have that works with your N7?
I picked up one of these a couple of weeks ago. It works fine in a MiFi but the N7 just keeps saying that the SIM is being removed and than inserted. Another SIM I've tried seems to work.
I'm using the 4.2.1 update.
Cheers - Y
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Working fine on my N7 3G with a standard T-Mobile PAYG Voice sim (Ordered from T-Mobile Website), Activated it in an iphone to get the free 12 months web then transferred to the N7 3G and works fine, no odd messages like you are getting. Have 3 N7 3Gs at the moment in the family 1 on T-Mobile with the free 12 month web deal. 1 on Virgin with the free 12 month web deal. and one currently on giffgaff that will go on T-Mobile next month (Already have a T-Mobile sim for that one and it works OKas well)
Problem you are having is strange, have you tried other network sims in your N7 to rule out a hardware problem.?
flashyphotos said:
Problem you are having is strange, have you tried other network sims in your N7 to rule out a hardware problem.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I've tried a gash GiffGaff SIM I ordered but never used and it seems to work OK. It certainly shows a stable connection to the 3G network but I'm unable to test data because it's not activated.
The one thing I have just noticed is that the TM SIM is noticably thicker than other SIMs, I'm wondering if that is pushing the contacts in the device to a position in which they don't work or touch something they shouldn't. I'll have a look later and see if I can get the SIM in (and, more importantly, out) without the carrier and see if that works.
Could you please direct me to the Virgin deal you have, if all fails I'll try one of those. I would prefer to use the TM SIM in the Nexus but I have a use for it elsewhere if I can't.
Thanks for your reply.
Ydnaroo said:
Yep, I've tried a gash GiffGaff SIM I ordered but never used and it seems to work OK. It certainly shows a stable connection to the 3G network but I'm unable to test data because it's not activated.
The one thing I have just noticed is that the TM SIM is noticably thicker than other SIMs, I'm wondering if that is pushing the contacts in the device to a position in which they don't work or touch something they shouldn't. I'll have a look later and see if I can get the SIM in (and, more importantly, out) without the carrier and see if that works.
Could you please direct me to the Virgin deal you have, if all fails I'll try one of those. I would prefer to use the TM SIM in the Nexus but I have a use for it elsewhere if I can't.
Thanks for your reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Virgin one, you have to buy as phone for £30, with the phone you get a sim card with £10 credit and a voucher for 12 Months free internet (1Gb a month) (Its a scratchcard you text the number from the card and it activates straight away so not tied to any type of phone etc). You can of course sell the phone on so that reduces the initial £30 outlay!.
Here is a link to the thread, and there is a link to the deal in there (Although it saves postage if you have a local Virgin store you can pick one up from)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2006119
Ydnaroo said:
Hi. Would you mind telling me which T-Mobile UK SIM/Deal you have that works with your N7?
I picked up one of these a couple of weeks ago. It works fine in a MiFi but the N7 just keeps saying that the SIM is being removed and than inserted. Another SIM I've tried seems to work.
I'm using the 4.2.1 update.
Cheers - Y
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought an iphone microsim from here http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/free-text-sim-cards/
I intended putting it in an iPhone 4S I have access to, but that was locked to vodaphone, so I couldn't. I then put £20 on the Sim and purchased a 6 month internet booster (http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-phones/price-plans/pay-as-you-go/boosters/) That said, the sim worked from the moment I put it in (i.e. before I bought the booster).
I think it was Flashyphotos that detailed how to do it all earlier in this thread.
---------- Post added at 02:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 PM ----------
And yes, the virgin deal doesnt sound too bad at all... better than what I ended up with, but my N7 is working fine away from home on 3g and can text and that will do for now.
I need to figure out a way of making calls on it "just in case", but I'll get there.
AngeleDei said:
[/COLOR]And yes, the virgin deal doesnt sound too bad at all... better than what I ended up with, but my N7 is working fine away from home on 3g and can text and that will do for now.
I need to figure out a way of making calls on it "just in case", but I'll get there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the T-Mobile deal better than the Virgin one to be honest, the Virgin one has a 1Gb per month hard cap, where the T-Mobile one has a Softcap for Streaming/Torrents at 500Mb (Continues to work after 500Mb but at a throttled rate, and browsing etc is totally unlimited.
So no chance of running into a cap part way through the month like on the virgin one. I think the £20 for 6 months is a really good deal if you cant get the iphone deal or after that runs out, and will be happy to keep paying £20 every 6 months on mine for as long as I can,
flashyphotos said:
Working fine on my N7 3G with a standard T-Mobile PAYG Voice sim (Ordered from T-Mobile Website), ..........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another quick question if I may; was this a microSIM or a normal SIM you cut down? The TM SIM I have is a CombiSIM, the other SIMs I've tried that work are SIMs that have been cut down. The TM SIM I'm having problems with has smaller contact lands than the 'normal' SIMs. I'm wondering if it's lining up with the contacts in the Nexus. Cheers - Y
Ydnaroo said:
Another quick question if I may; was this a microSIM or a normal SIM you cut down? The TM SIM I have is a CombiSIM, the other SIMs I've tried that work are SIMs that have been cut down. The TM SIM I'm having problems with has smaller contact lands than the 'normal' SIMs. I'm wondering if it's lining up with the contacts in the Nexus. Cheers - Y
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Combisim was what we both received.

Reception/Signal Strength?

Hi All,
I've now had my Z1 (C6903) for five days and I love everything about the phone. It really is an amazing device, except in one area for me: reception. I've been looking at signal strength everywhere I go and it's consistently lower than my other devices on the same network. Wifi performance has already been discussed, so I will leave that alone. But cellular reception on my device seems to be pretty bad. Consistently when I'm with my wife and checking her phone (Galaxy S4) she will be on LTE and I will be on HSPA+. At work, my iPhone 5s gets an LTE signal where the Z1 only gets H+. Where the two phones both get LTE at my house, the others are 8-10 dB higher. I'm not going by signal bars, I'm going by the dB reading.
Has anyone else experienced this? I bought this for T-Mobile and it doesn't have wifi calling, of course, so when it loses signal in the middle of my building I'm really up a creek. I really, really want to keep this device! Would love to hear others' experience with the cellular reception aspect.
-Collin-
CollinFX45 said:
Hi All,
I've now had my Z1 (C6903) for five days and I love everything about the phone. It really is an amazing device, except in one area for me: reception. I've been looking at signal strength everywhere I go and it's consistently lower than my other devices on the same network. Wifi performance has already been discussed, so I will leave that alone. But cellular reception on my device seems to be pretty bad. Consistently when I'm with my wife and checking her phone (Galaxy S4) she will be on LTE and I will be on HSPA+. At work, my iPhone 5s gets an LTE signal where the Z1 only gets H+. Where the two phones both get LTE at my house, the others are 8-10 dB higher. I'm not going by signal bars, I'm going by the dB reading.
Has anyone else experienced this? I bought this for T-Mobile and it doesn't have wifi calling, of course, so when it loses signal in the middle of my building I'm really up a creek. I really, really want to keep this device! Would love to hear others' experience with the cellular reception aspect.
-Collin-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to manually enter the APN Settings for T-mobile LTE or have T-Mobile send you a configuration message with the settings which will probably be the best idea!
Sean473 said:
You need to manually enter the APN Settings for T-mobile LTE or have T-Mobile send you a configuration message with the settings which will probably be the best idea!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE is working fine, when I can get it. I found the correct APN settings from T-mobile's support site so that's not a big deal. The problem is that the signal isn't as strong as on my other devices. When I get LTE the speeds are fine, but usually I'm stuck on HSPA where I used to have LTE
-Collin-
CollinFX45 said:
LTE is working fine, when I can get it. I found the correct APN settings from T-mobile's support site so that's not a big deal. The problem is that the signal isn't as strong as on my other devices. When I get LTE the speeds are fine, but usually I'm stuck on HSPA where I used to have LTE
-Collin-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umghh weird... My Z1 picks up LTE even with 0 bars indicated easily... Get pretty decent speed too.. Try factory resetting or have a chat with Sony Support to see if they can suggest something.. Also try requesting a signal boosting case from these guys
http://www.pongresearch.com/dont-see-your-device.html
Sean473 said:
Umghh weird... My Z1 picks up LTE even with 0 bars indicated easily... Get pretty decent speed too.. Try factory resetting or have a chat with Sony Support to see if they can suggest something.. Also try requesting a signal boosting case from these guys
http://www.pongresearch.com/dont-see-your-device.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those cases are a trip - I hadn't seen those before.
Would hate do a factory reset, but I suppose it's worth a try. Good to know that typically this phone gets good signal strength for you. There is hope!
-Collin-
CollinFX45 said:
Hi All,
I've now had my Z1 (C6903) for five days and I love everything about the phone. It really is an amazing device, except in one area for me: reception. I've been looking at signal strength everywhere I go and it's consistently lower than my other devices on the same network. Wifi performance has already been discussed, so I will leave that alone. But cellular reception on my device seems to be pretty bad. Consistently when I'm with my wife and checking her phone (Galaxy S4) she will be on LTE and I will be on HSPA+. At work, my iPhone 5s gets an LTE signal where the Z1 only gets H+. Where the two phones both get LTE at my house, the others are 8-10 dB higher. I'm not going by signal bars, I'm going by the dB reading.
Has anyone else experienced this? I bought this for T-Mobile and it doesn't have wifi calling, of course, so when it loses signal in the middle of my building I'm really up a creek. I really, really want to keep this device! Would love to hear others' experience with the cellular reception aspect.
-Collin-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you you resolved the problem? I'm using KitKat 157 firmware and have exactly same issue - I would like if you could tell what you did .

[Q] Signal strength (radios)

Hi everyone, waiting for my Nexus to get shipped from the GPS but I've seen some anecdotal reports on here and the Android Central forums about the signal strength not being so great on this phone. Specifically, some people report that their LG Nexus 5 shows a better signal in dB (not just bars) than their Nexus 6.
I'm a little concerned about this. I relocated just over a year ago to an area where I don't have the best coverage with Verizon at my work. At that time, I had a Galaxy S3 which had terrible radios where I literally had no coverage in many places. I upgraded to an S4 and had no issues since then although my wife's Note 3 seems to do slightly better getting LTE when I drop to 3G. Was looking forward to getting this phone as it will be my first Motorola and I've always read that Moto has some of the best radios (also read LG and Apple do too). Not gonna turn this into a Note 4 vs Nexus 6 thread because that one already exists and is a hot mess but I've been reading that the signal strength on the Note 4 is really good.
I have a ship date of 11/26 so I guess I'll find out soon enough but just wondering what people's experience has been with the Nexus 6.
Thanks!
I'm curious about this as well, I have a Nexus 4 and find its radios to be more powerful than my siblings and gfs Nexus 5s.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda-developers.com, powered by appyet.com
Mine has about the same reception if not a little better than my G3. Att is really bad where I live but I usually have LTE except for a few places but its much better than my wife's S5
i think people just get too caught up in graphical representations of signal (i.e. signal bars). Different phones and carriers show different things for the same level of actual signal. In my experience on T-Mobile on Long Island/ NYC - i get as good if not better signal than i did with my nexus 5. There are a few spots where i had no signal with my nexus 5 that i now get a stable weak signal with the nexus 6. To me, it really has been as good or better, but certainly not worse. With that said, graphically spots where the nexus 5 said i had full bars of service (5/5), the N6 reports as having (4/5), but the service is the same. Speed tests and dbm all match up, so i can just assume it's the way it's being displayed.
The sony Z3 I had had the same dbm that the Nexus 6 is showing in my office, but the visual bars on the Nexus 6 show as being lower. I haven't had any slower speeds anywhere with the Nexus 6 so far. One thing I have noticed is that I'm not getting 4G while on the phone the majority of the time. I haven't had that be an issue in the past. I'm on T-Mobile.
Now THIS is something that I have really been wanting to know. The fact that I too have heard about how good Moto's radios have been in the past really got my hopes up for this phone. I currently rock an AT&T Note 3. And IDK if I just got a lemon, or if Samsung really did throw the cheapest POS radio in their last year flagship phone. But of all the android phones I have owned (Sony, HTC, Moto, samsung) this one gets hands down the worst signal strength I have ever had. Further more, I make it a habbit to compare this thing to every other AT&T phone I can, from friends and family. And not one of them has ever had worse signal strength than I. The closest one had about -3dB less than mine. Most had -5 or even -10dB better. Even after flashing every single AT&T radio firmware, different cases, it still is just terrible. Right now sitting in my house it is at -100 and showing 3 bars. I work as a drive tester for cell towers, and my test phone is a sprint Nexus 5. So I cant compare it to my note, being on a different network.
But on to the topic of the N6, since it has radios for pretty much every network, would that mean that said radios are of a lesser quality? I had really hoped that this phone would blow my Note 3 out of the water on AT&T. Honestly, even if it isn't as good as other Moto phones, it still has to be better than my Note 3. Even dads S5 active and moms S4 get much better signal strength numbers than mine. Forgive me for asking this, but is this something that can be improved within the dev community with some flashing, or is it just a hardware limitation?
CCL X10 said:
Now THIS is something that I have really been wanting to know. The fact that I too have heard about how good Moto's radios have been in the past really got my hopes up for this phone. I currently rock an AT&T Note 3. And IDK if I just got a lemon, or if Samsung really did throw the cheapest POS radio in their last year flagship phone. But of all the android phones I have owned (Sony, HTC, Moto, samsung) this one gets hands down the worst signal strength I have ever had. Further more, I make it a habbit to compare this thing to every other AT&T phone I can, from friends and family. And not one of them has ever had worse signal strength than I. The closest one had about -3dB less than mine. Most had -5 or even -10dB better. Even after flashing every single AT&T radio firmware, different cases, it still is just terrible. Right now sitting in my house it is at -100 and showing 3 bars. I work as a drive tester for cell towers, and my test phone is a sprint Nexus 5. So I cant compare it to my note, being on a different network.
But on to the topic of the N6, since it has radios for pretty much every network, would that mean that said radios are of a lesser quality? I had really hoped that this phone would blow my Note 3 out of the water on AT&T. Honestly, even if it isn't as good as other Moto phones, it still has to be better than my Note 3. Even dads S5 active and moms S4 get much better signal strength numbers than mine. Forgive me for asking this, but is this something that can be improved within the dev community with some flashing, or is it just a hardware limitation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some radios worked a little better on my note 3 but some were worse ...it was a crap shoot. ....but none were far and away better ....like you my note 3 got horrible signal on sprint ....g3 was worse for me so this has to be better lol
nexus6R3plicant said:
Some radios worked a little better on my note 3 but some were worse ...it was a crap shoot. ....but none were far and away better ....like you my note 3 got horrible signal on sprint ....g3 was worse for me so this has to be better lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I am not alone! Well, here's to better signal in the N6!!!
Seems to me that the nexus 6 reports low signal as time without signal. Hasn't been an issue here as I'm always connected to lte even in places I'd drop to 3g
So anything new on Signal? I'm trying to buy a Nexus6 but haven't been able to on Verizon. Hope there is some good news there has been a lot of bad.
wooddale said:
So anything new on Signal? I'm trying to buy a Nexus6 but haven't been able to on Verizon. Hope there is some good news there has been a lot of bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best and most consistent connection/speeds of any device I've owned on Verizon.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Make sure when u unlock your device that you change your cellular networks to LTE. When I unlock my device I wasn't getting no cell signal or phone call and I noticed my networks were set at ( Global ) so I switched it back to LTE.
mr pnut said:
Make sure when u unlock your device that you change your cellular networks to LTE. When I unlock my device I wasn't getting no cell signal or phone call and I noticed my networks were set at ( Global ) so I switched it back to LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What Carrier are you on?
wooddale said:
What Carrier are you on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tmobile
mr pnut said:
Tmobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on Verizon and really doesn't make much difference on my Droid Maxx. Maybe its something in 5.0. I gotta give it a shot can always send it back if I can ever get one. Pisses me off I got the money for the phone and I can't buy it. Maybe that's some kind of sign. lol
I get a little better signal than my wife's Note 4 in the same locations. She has an otterbox commuter case on though and I'm still running around naked.
I have similar experiences with my N6, or had. I've only had it for 2 days though, but I was having signal drop out and 3g/LTE switching a lot yesterday. I changed my APN protocol to IPV4/IPV6 instead of IPV6 and today its been fine. I don't know if that actually had anything to do with it or not, but thought I'd share. I think its just a coincidence and for some reason my signal just decided to work better. Worth a shot.
So I changed to LTE and now I don't have a global option.... I travel internationally for work very expensively (T-Mobile free worldwide data ftw) and had found previously on my Nexus 5 that I needed to be on global for it to work anywhere else...
Any ideas here?
When there's a CDMA SIM in the phone (Verizon/Sprint), it shows the global option where it can use both CDMA and GSM networks. When there's a GSM SIM in the phone (Tmo, AT&T, etc.), it seems to go into GSM-only mode (no need to display global, which seems to mean GSM+CDMA in the Nexus 6's case).
EmperorX said:
So I changed to LTE and now I don't have a global option.... I travel internationally for work very expensively (T-Mobile free worldwide data ftw) and had found previously on my Nexus 5 that I needed to be on global for it to work anywhere else...
Any ideas here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pdagal said:
When there's a CDMA SIM in the phone (Verizon/Sprint), it shows the global option where it can use both CDMA and GSM networks. When there's a GSM SIM in the phone (Tmo, AT&T, etc.), it seems to go into GSM-only mode (no need to display global, which seems to mean GSM+CDMA in the Nexus 6's case).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting change from the Nexus 5. Previously, I had to be sure global was selected overseas as opposed to just LTE, so you can see why I was originally concerned. Good to know. Thanks for the info man!

[Q] Urgent help needed with Note 4 / Tmobile issues

Need to know if the problem is with the phone or provider.
My husband went back to Sprint due to lack of coverage & these service issues.
We still have the same problems. Almost every time he calls me, regardless of where he is, the call does not go through. It rings a few times and then just drops or goes to voicemail, never ringing on my end or showing a missed call. On the 2nd or 3rd try it goes through and I get his call. Now this also happens when I call him. There are also many times when we connect but one of us cannot hear the other.
I am mainly at home, while he travels the U.S. as a truck driver. Tmobile did provide me with some type of signal booster for the house, but it doesn't seem to have really done anything to help with these issues.
We now are paying for 2 plans and for 3 Note 4 phones through Tmobile. This is hurting us both emotionally & financially. My husband hates to call me and our 10 calls a day has become much less & when we talk he is already upset having had to call me 2 or 3 times to get through.
At this point he wants me to join him on Sprint, but we are already paying more than when we left Sprint & we are by no means rich.... The worse thing is We are paying for 3 Note 4 phones that cannot be used with Sprint. I had to downgrade him to a Note 3. Worse I sold our Sprint Note phones when we moved to Tmobile. This is just such a nightmare.
I have to find a way to fix the issue or I will have to go buy another phone & go to Sprint & continue paying for Tmobile until all 3 phones are paid for
I had similar problems, you can try to turn off VoLTE, voice over LTE. What number has your signal transmit booster? How many bars has the receiver booster? How many bars you have without the booster?
Edit: Welcome to XDA!
wow that sucks... ive experienced similar issues. im pretty sure its a service problem. i cant imagine 3 different phones have the same problem but then again im in that exact situation. ( all 3 note 4s have the same issue). try putting you sim in an old phone and see if it clears up. try to isolate the problem to either the phone or service.
masterofenergy said:
Need to know if the problem is with the phone or provider.
My husband went back to Sprint due to lack of coverage & these service issues.
We still have the same problems. Almost every time he calls me, regardless of where he is, the call does not go through. It rings a few times and then just drops or goes to voicemail, never ringing on my end or showing a missed call. On the 2nd or 3rd try it goes through and I get his call. Now this also happens when I call him. There are also many times when we connect but one of us cannot hear the other.
I am mainly at home, while he travels the U.S. as a truck driver. Tmobile did provide me with some type of signal booster for the house, but it doesn't seem to have really done anything to help with these issues.
We now are paying for 2 plans and for 3 Note 4 phones through Tmobile. This is hurting us both emotionally & financially. My husband hates to call me and our 10 calls a day has become much less & when we talk he is already upset having had to call me 2 or 3 times to get through.
At this point he wants me to join him on Sprint, but we are already paying more than when we left Sprint & we are by no means rich.... The worse thing is We are paying for 3 Note 4 phones that cannot be used with Sprint. I had to downgrade him to a Note 3. Worse I sold our Sprint Note phones when we moved to Tmobile. This is just such a nightmare.
I have to find a way to fix the issue or I will have to go buy another phone & go to Sprint & continue paying for Tmobile until all 3 phones are paid for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well first it might be ur phone. If ur signal is not strong at home tell Tmobile and u will get a booster for your house. Also have them refresh u on network. On his end if he a truck driver T-Mobile nor any carrier covers all of the USA. You gonna have dead spots while driving thru ghost towns. If he is in major city then he should be good. No phone works every place. I have had them all and while traveling Verizon was the best but my ass bleed paying 400-700 a month for my phones as data was a killer. Now I don't travel as much and Tmobile has been great.
BAD ASS NOTE 4
Thanks for replys... it was a defective phone!
I cannot believe after over 6 months with the same problem no one at T Mobile ever suggested it was the phone. in the very beginning they did replace the SIM cards our phones but it did not fix the problem. after giving it a lot of thought I realize that my phone was the common denominator in the problem. I put my sim card in our backup note 4 phone that my husband is obviously no longer using since he went to sprint. All weekend my service was fine. my husband was able to call me and get through and I was able to call him and get through every time. T Mobile is going to send me a replacement. Very happy that it wasn't the service and that I'm not going to have to switch to sprint which would have been a severe financial hardship for us. thank you to those who replied trying to help me with this issue. Much appreciated
masterofenergy said:
I cannot believe after over 6 months with the same problem no one at T Mobile ever suggested it was the phone. in the very beginning they did replace the SIM cards our phones but it did not fix the problem. after giving it a lot of thought I realize that my phone was the common denominator in the problem. I put my sim card in our backup note 4 phone that my husband is obviously no longer using since he went to sprint. All weekend my service was fine. my husband was able to call me and get through and I was able to call him and get through every time. T Mobile is going to send me a replacement. Very happy that it wasn't the service and that I'm not going to have to switch to sprint which would have been a severe financial hardship for us. thank you to those who replied trying to help me with this issue. Much appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I feel sprint sucks lol. Glad u found issue
BAD ASS NOTE 4

AT&T signal issues

Anyone else experiencing connectivity issues as well as signal quality issues..
Confirmed with other users but they are on Sprint.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using XDA Free mobile app
My signal is the best it's been with AT&T so far. Had a Nexus 5 and 6 on AT&T prior.
I wonder if the phone was using WiFi and LTE together because the WiFi here is slow.
EXYZ1000 said:
Anyone else experiencing connectivity issues as well as signal quality issues..
Confirmed with other users but they are on Sprint.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I unfortunately agree with you .... To be honest it seems that the fancier and better our smartphones have gotten, the worse my AT&T reception has gotten. I complained regularly about my M8 and I'm not sure that the S6 might not be worse.
I helped my M8 by forcing 3 or even 2G where it seems the towers are better or the radio is better for non LTE ??? Not sure if we can force 3G with the s6
EXYZ1000 said:
Anyone else experiencing connectivity issues as well as signal quality issues..
Confirmed with other users but they are on Sprint.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have noticed it too. It happened to my note 4 after the latest update. All of a sudden I was getting weak 4g signal when I used to get lte. Then I noticed the update had changed my apn from "phone" to "next gen phone" or something like that. The "next gen phone apn" is the same as comes stock on our s6. When I manually input the old apn I find my signal gets better again on both devices. Maybe it's my imagination but I think it's worth trying.
When I was using my nexus 6 at home id get either 3 bars or none, very odd. But with this I get 2 or 3 consistently, never none so I'd say mine is much better
On LTE in the NYC area signal us better than my S5.
Yep I too am having an issue. I'm in Apex, NC. My previous phone was a HTC One X+. In my house, I had almost a full LTE signal with my X+. Now with my S6 I only get one to two bars in my house with no LTE. Even outside....
I'm reading online that all carriers are having issues with the S6.
Bars aren't always the perfect indicator of actual strength, especially across different devices. How about doing a speed test?
ChristopherXDA said:
Bars aren't always the perfect indicator of actual strength, especially across different devices. How about doing a speed test?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In terms of signal strength my signal is -113 dBm in and outside my house. Everytime I get a call now my calls drop or are static. My HTC One X+ never did that. People are asking me what kind of phone I have and telling me my new one sounds like crap.
ManchuWarrior said:
In terms of signal strength my signal is -113 dBm in and outside my house. Everytime I get a call now my calls drop or are static. My HTC One X+ never did that. People are asking me what kind of phone I have and telling me my new one sounds like crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strangely, I'm having the dropped calls intermittently as well. Weirdly enough rebooting the phone helps
Obviously I don't want to have to reboot just to make calls
I've been experiencing signal issues as well.
recently, I noticed there is a spot that is showing up on all my pics. lens glass is clean, so it's definitely on the actual lens itself. Even more strange, around the time I noticed this, my signal quality has dropped off dramatically. I go into my basement, I lose all signal reception (this isn't a 1950's bunker. I've always had reception in my basement - cell towers are nearby).
my wife has an s6 as well, and sitting them side by side outside on my patio, her phone has significantly better signal strength. Guessing I got a lemon. New one is already on it's way.
What type of cases do you all have on these phones? I've read reviews on the aluminum cases or aluminum bumpers cutting the cell signal and GPS signal significantly.
she has a silicone spigen case. I have the spigen slim armor. Neither had aluminum. she had significantly better signal strength on her s6.
I got home last night, at this point tired of the signal issues while waiting for the replacement to arrive. when i looked at my signal, I had 2 bars of 4G. Took out the sim, popped it into my old M8, signal was 4 bars of LTE.
EXYZ1000 said:
Anyone else experiencing connectivity issues as well as signal quality issues..
Confirmed with other users but they are on Sprint.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had poor signal too. By that I mean -101dbm or worse almost constantly, sometimes I will see -96, but generally its between -100 and -112dbm.
I have been on ATT in the same town for years. I have four other Android phones in my house (galaxy s3, Note 2, Lg G2, and Xperia z3), and they all get better signal strength than the S6.
I couldn't be heard on calls, so I complained to ATT and exchanged the phone. FWIW, I had (and am now on my second) 64gb gold colored s6.
I went through trouble shooting with the ATT tech services people and with the Samsung tech support people, they did all sorts of resets, and I even had me boot the phone into safe mode (from off, hold power button, then release it and hold volume down until it boots up).
I am a long time reader of XDA and am posting now because both ATT and Samsung said they had "no reports" of signal issues with the ATT S6. People with signal problems should post about it to get the word out. From what I have read, the s6 is the first or one of the first phones to feature Samsung's own cellular modem instead of Qualcomm's. Maybe its no good, hopefully its just buggy and things will get updated quick.
I was able to put my phone into Testing Mode by dialing #*#4636#*#* and change try different radio settings. The only one that improved signal was "GSM Only"
Switching to that radio setting made my signal go to -80dbm. But of course, GSM-only means 2g edge data. But for now, I am thinking about switching to it when I need to make a phone call.
professormad said:
I've had poor signal too. By that I mean -101dbm or worse almost constantly, sometimes I will see -96, but generally its between -100 and -112dbm.
I have been on ATT in the same town for years. I have four other Android phones in my house (galaxy s3, Note 2, Lg G2, and Xperia z3), and they all get better signal strength than the S6.
I couldn't be heard on calls, so I complained to ATT and exchanged the phone. FWIW, I had (and am now on my second) 64gb gold colored s6.
I went through trouble shooting with the ATT tech services people and with the Samsung tech support people, they did all sorts of resets, and I even had me boot the phone into safe mode (from off, hold power button, then release it and hold volume down until it boots up).
I am a long time reader of XDA and am posting now because both ATT and Samsung said they had "no reports" of signal issues with the ATT S6. People with signal problems should post about it to get the word out. From what I have read, the s6 is the first or one of the first phones to feature Samsung's own cellular modem instead of Qualcomm's. Maybe its no good, hopefully its just buggy and things will get updated quick.
I was able to put my phone into Testing Mode by dialing #*#4636#*#* and change try different radio settings. The only one that improved signal was "GSM Only"
Switching to that radio setting made my signal go to -80dbm. But of course, GSM-only means 2g edge data. But for now, I am thinking about switching to it when I need to make a phone call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same.....
FWIW i have my s6 (g920I) sitting here with one bar of LTE but under settings/About/status it is showing that my LTE is fluctuating between -109 and -112 db....On my wife's M9 it is showing 3 bars of LTE but under the settings her signal is actually worse than mine at -116 to -119 db....so it seems like the reception is better on the S6 but the bar display may be off...
I just switched from a Nokia Lumia 830 Windows Phone. I had a S4 and S4 Active before that. We just bought a new house, I work from home in a basement office. I had issues with calls dropping and failing to ring. Texts not coming through until I went upstairs, etc. The Lumia seemed slightly better. I've only had the S6 for a few days but I haven't dropped a call yet, and calls connect on the first dial, not third. Both phones show 1 bar of LTE. I was worried the metal would have issues ala iPhone 4. But not only is it more reliable the call quality seems better. I thought HD voice only applied to mobile to mobile, but toll free calls for conference calls sounds noticebly better on the S6 vs the Lumia and S4.
I still think a microcell would be nice, but way too expensive. Any suggestions on finding one cheap? I thought if I complained enough to AT&T with dropped and failed calls to prove the issue they would offer one. Buy 6 months and as many calls later, no luck.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using XDA Free mobile app
I have exactly same issue, but I'm using S6 Active.
Phone call drops everyday, I already requested a replacement, but I'm afraid it will be the same.
Oh, almost forgot to mention, my wife is using a unlocked T-mobile version S6 on my plan, and her signal is much better than mine.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
I live close to a tower. 4 or 5 bars all the time, good sound quality, reliable data connection.

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