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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.
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Click to collapse
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.
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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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
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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.

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-
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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 .

Sprint website coverage map showed solid 4G LTE coverage

But my HTC ONE has no 4G at all, and I checked the whole area, not just one spot. I tried update my profile(No idea what's that for) and PRL, and nothing helps at all. Also, after update profile, I actually got stuck, lost cell connection for all. But that's a separated issue I'll say. I guess it should be that Sprint faked their coverage( I turned on my ATT phone with Tmobile sim, solid 4G LTE) just to get subscribers, and I'm pretty upset that with all the seemingly good news about Sprint, the real steps are so small, compare to other 4 carriers.
Do you think the phone itself is on the fault? I'm in the Irvine CA area, might be part of the Santa Ana market they are talking about just went online with 4G, which is just not true.

ctiger said:
But my HTC ONE has no 4G at all, and I checked the whole area, not just one spot. I tried update my profile(No idea what's that for) and PRL, and nothing helps at all. Also, after update profile, I actually got stuck, lost cell connection for all. But that's a separated issue I'll say. I guess it should be that Sprint faked their coverage( I turned on my ATT phone with Tmobile sim, solid 4G LTE) just to get subscribers, and I'm pretty upset that with all the seemingly good news about Sprint, the real steps are so small, compare to other 4 carriers.
Do you think the phone itself is on the fault? I'm in the Irvine CA area, might be part of the Santa Ana market they are talking about just went online with 4G, which is just not true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call Sprint support...
Good, then we shall fight in the shade!

ctiger said:
But my HTC ONE has no 4G at all, and I checked the whole area, not just one spot. I tried update my profile(No idea what's that for) and PRL, and nothing helps at all. Also, after update profile, I actually got stuck, lost cell connection for all. But that's a separated issue I'll say. I guess it should be that Sprint faked their coverage( I turned on my ATT phone with Tmobile sim, solid 4G LTE) just to get subscribers, and I'm pretty upset that with all the seemingly good news about Sprint, the real steps are so small, compare to other 4 carriers.
Do you think the phone itself is on the fault? I'm in the Irvine CA area, might be part of the Santa Ana market they are talking about just went online with 4G, which is just not true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OC in general is pretty spotty whenever I go there, but that could be the One's weak radio. Either way check out this map.
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4145-sprint-lte-coverage-maps-via-sensorly/

ctiger said:
But my HTC ONE has no 4G at all, and I checked the whole area, not just one spot. I tried update my profile(No idea what's that for) and PRL, and nothing helps at all. Also, after update profile, I actually got stuck, lost cell connection for all. But that's a separated issue I'll say. I guess it should be that Sprint faked their coverage( I turned on my ATT phone with Tmobile sim, solid 4G LTE) just to get subscribers, and I'm pretty upset that with all the seemingly good news about Sprint, the real steps are so small, compare to other 4 carriers.
Do you think the phone itself is on the fault? I'm in the Irvine CA area, might be part of the Santa Ana market they are talking about just went online with 4G, which is just not true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get close to a known 4g tower (within a few blocks,) check s4gru.com if you don't know where any are. If you still don't get any, there is something wrong with your phone. Sprint 4G on 1900Mhz is pretty fragile and the One drops it pretty easily, unfortunately the S4 actually is better in this regard.

uh60james said:
Get close to a known 4g tower (within a few blocks,) check s4gru.com if you don't know where any are. If you still don't get any, there is something wrong with your phone. Sprint 4G on 1900Mhz is pretty fragile and the One drops it pretty easily, unfortunately the S4 actually is better in this regard.
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Click to collapse
Is it the metal casing that makes the htc one signal not as good as say the s4's? And if so, can a mod be done to help the antenna get better reception?

dobbs3x said:
Is it the metal casing that makes the htc one signal not as good as say the s4's? And if so, can a mod be done to help the antenna get better reception?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea really, my buddy at work picks up 4g on his S4 several blocks away from where I can in several locations. I'm actually going to flash another radio to see if it helps. May be worth a shot for you too.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

The Sprint Coverage Map is an approximation. However, I will agree that a lot of the information is not specifically accurate. For example, the map has shown 4G LTE for my town for over 3 months now. Realistically, I've only been picking up LTE for less then a month now. I don't know what criteria they base the coverage map on (or their underlying intentions) but I have always considered it "somewhat accurate."
The HTC One doesn't help itself either. My wife's Note2 picks up solid LTE in our house; whereas my One can barely hold a 3G reception sitting next to her.

demo27vol1 said:
OC in general is pretty spotty whenever I go there, but that could be the One's weak radio. Either way check out this map.
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4145-sprint-lte-coverage-maps-via-sensorly/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uh60james said:
Get close to a known 4g tower (within a few blocks,) check s4gru.com if you don't know where any are. If you still don't get any, there is something wrong with your phone. Sprint 4G on 1900Mhz is pretty fragile and the One drops it pretty easily, unfortunately the S4 actually is better in this regard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
followed the link, interestingly, saw the coverage all along the road, I think it should be one or two person with the app driving through and sent back the signal strength. The real coverage should be wider, cause I don't know any antenna will transmit such a pattern

They have technician that have receivers in their vehicles and as they drive around doing work they collect the signal data.
Good, then we shall fight in the shade!

98882332 33
ctiger said:
But my HTC ONE has no 4G at all, and I checked the whole area, not just one spot. I tried update my profile(No idea what's that for) and PRL, and nothing helps at all. Also, after update profile, I actually got stuck, lost cell connection for all. But that's a separated issue I'll say. I guess it should be that Sprint faked their coverage( I turned on my ATT phone with Tmobile sim, solid 4G LTE) just to get subscribers, and I'm pretty upset that with all the seemingly good news about Sprint, the real steps are so small, compare to other 4 carriers.
Do you think the phone itself is on the fault? I'm in the Irvine CA area, might be part of the Santa Ana market they are talking about just went online with 4G, which is just not true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint really just needs to work on their coverage, they told my mates and I that they would have lte over here by the end of LAST April... nothing. We have 4g signal here, I know this because my old htc evo picked up 4g signals at home, but now that i'm using the one, it has no backwards compatibility with 4g and can only use 4glte, so the unlimited data im paying for is pointless because when i'm home I use wifi since its faster than the 3g i'm picking up (obviously). Really considering the switch to T-mobile when my contract is up.

ctiger said:
But my HTC ONE has no 4G at all, and I checked the whole area, not just one spot. I tried update my profile(No idea what's that for) and PRL, and nothing helps at all. Also, after update profile, I actually got stuck, lost cell connection for all. But that's a separated issue I'll say. I guess it should be that Sprint faked their coverage( I turned on my ATT phone with Tmobile sim, solid 4G LTE) just to get subscribers, and I'm pretty upset that with all the seemingly good news about Sprint, the real steps are so small, compare to other 4 carriers.
Do you think the phone itself is on the fault? I'm in the Irvine CA area, might be part of the Santa Ana market they are talking about just went online with 4G, which is just not true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone isn't at fault. I had the same problem, sprint still shows i'm in a good LTE area and there's nothing here lol. Tested on 4 different devices.

evrdrandosity said:
Sprint really just needs to work on their coverage, they told my mates and I that they would have lte over here by the end of LAST April... nothing. We have 4g signal here, I know this because my old htc evo picked up 4g signals at home, but now that i'm using the one, it has no backwards compatibility with 4g and can only use 4glte, so the unlimited data im paying for is pointless because when i'm home I use wifi since its faster than the 3g i'm picking up (obviously). Really considering the switch to T-mobile when my contract is up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, 4G wimax is not 4G LTE, and Sprint will not do anything with the wimax anymore. But I agree with you on Sprint needs to work on their coverage quick.
ajent said:
The phone isn't at fault. I had the same problem, sprint still shows i'm in a good LTE area and there's nothing here lol. Tested on 4 different devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, as demo27vol1 posted the s4gru link, there should be 4G coverage on many parts of the place I am at, that site should be from crowd source, not Sprint. What I found is, if I look at the s4gru's coverage very carefully, I can find one place with much stronger signal, where my phone can get 4G, (I'm not driving around with that map and my phone to try to map the coverage myself, I just went to that place and saw 4G and come back to verify with others' report and found it's relevant.) So I do think the phone is at fault now, means it has some problem with the 4G that it can't get the signal if it's weaker. I guess we should discuss this a lot because I would like everyone having similar experience to be aware of the problem.

It's generally understood at this point that metal phones get worse reception. HTC devices do not have a good track record of having good reception on Sprint as it is (Evo 4G LTE for example).
Most people who have compared the HTC One to an S3/S4 have found that the HTC One gets similar or slightly worse coverage (especially regarding 4G LTE). There are a few who say it's better on the One, but they are in the minority. The largest issue I have noticed on the One is that once it drops the 4G down to 3G, it requires an act of God to make it want to go back to 4G if your 4G signal is only marginal.
This is only a real problem because Sprint's 3G is so bad that a terrible 4G signal is actually faster and more reliable than full bars of 3G in many areas.

I agree, my GF has the GS4 and it holds on to the weak LTE signal for dear life while my One prefers not even to try to get it lol
sometimes i'll 4636 and force it out of spite

How is signal strength?

I would love to hear your thoughts on how this phone's signal compares to your old phone? I know some people using the T-Mobile Note 4 on AT&T have reported excellent signal strength with the device. I am on AT&T, but have used T-Mobile recently with the Note 3 and S5. I have found service inside buildings poor. I am curious how this device handles that. Note 4 users on Verizon claim the signal is excellent. Would love to hear your thoughts.

I really depends where you live and work I had Verizon, At&t, Sprint and Verizon. They all varied and I have run speed test all over the country coming to the same conclusion it depends on your area. Ask your neighbors and coworkers to run speed tests that will give you the best idea on what works for you.

johntuck77 said:
I really depends where you live and work I had Verizon, At&t, Sprint and Verizon. They all varied and I have run speed test all over the country coming to the same conclusion it depends on your area. Ask your neighbors and coworkers to run speed tests that will give you the best idea on what works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really interested in T-Mobile service, I'm interested in how well the signal performs on this device (N910T).

Maybe I miss understood you. How can you get any signal without service? I get OK service where I live inside buildings with this device and the signal that I get is usually full bars.

johntuck77 said:
Maybe I miss understood you. How can you get any signal without service? I get OK service where I live inside buildings with this device and the signal that I get is usually full bars.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im asking those who have the device with service. I'm interested in how the signal performs on this device compared to other devices, such as, the S5, iPhone 5S, 6, Moto X ext...

MattMJB0188 said:
I'm not really interested in T-Mobile service, I'm interested in how well the signal performs on this device (N910T).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you high? to humor you... the signal works as it should, i get bars, i am able to browse the internet among other things that requires internet.
back to reality... the signal always depends on the damn carrier you have and their coverage and frequencies... verizon has good building penetration cause of the 700mhz spectrum

MattMJB0188 said:
I would love to hear your thoughts on how this phone's signal compares to your old phone? I know some people using the T-Mobile Note 4 on AT&T have reported excellent signal strength with the device. I am on AT&T, but have used T-Mobile recently with the Note 3 and S5. I have found service inside buildings poor. I am curious how this device handles that. Note 4 users on Verizon claim the signal is excellent. Would love to hear your thoughts.
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Click to collapse
Compared to my Note 2 it has way better signal. At home my Note 2 always had 1 or 2 bars on LTE, the Note 4 always has 4 bars on LTE at home.

MattMJB0188 said:
I'm not really interested in T-Mobile service, I'm interested in how well the signal performs on this device (N910T).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough. In my basement I used to get max. of 3 bars 4G hspa+....now with the N4 I get max. 4 bars LTE. (This happened after flashing my ROM.) Stock on the N4 I was getting 2-3 bars LTE.
Simple and straight up.
Hope that helps.

I'm coming from a Sony Z3 (and iPhone 5s before that) and I'm blown away with the signal strength I get with this device. I was actually talking about this with my fiance last night - comparing it to the 5s that she has currently, I was getting 4 (out of 5) bars where she was at 2.
Suppose I would need to look at hard signal strength numbers to know for sure, as it could just be software translating "more bars" where it isn't warranted. Without that though, it is noticeably better between the two devices.

T-Mobile over calculates the number of bars on their devices. What are you guys getting for the -dam value?

MattMJB0188 said:
T-Mobile over calculates the number of bars on their devices. What are you guys getting for the -dam value?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS...Signal bars mean absolutely NOTHING; only dbm value will tell you your ACTUAL signal strength..

wase4711 said:
THIS...Signal bars mean absolutely NOTHING; only dbm value will tell you your ACTUAL signal strength..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. I had the T-Mobile Galaxy S5/Note 3, along with the AT&T S5/Note 3. I conducted a few tests of my own. Using both the T-Mobile branded S5 and Note 3 with a signal between -110dbm and -101dbm it would show 4 signal bars. The AT&T variant would show 2. On the T-Mobile S5/Note 3 for anything < -100dbm it would show the full 5 bars. This told me T-Mobile is over calculating the signal. Probably due to their high frequencies. And the fact that they want you to think you have a better signal that you really do, especially indoors.

OpenSignal shows -73/75 dbm indoors at my office.
From just using it, I consider the signal quality excellent. But I haven't tested the dbm at the other places I use it.

MattMJB0188 said:
Yep. I had the T-Mobile Galaxy S5/Note 3, along with the AT&T S5/Note 3. I conducted a few tests of my own. Using both the T-Mobile branded S5 and Note 3 with a signal between -110dbm and -101dbm it would show 4 signal bars. The AT&T variant would show 2. On the T-Mobile S5/Note 3 for anything < -100dbm it would show the full 5 bars. This told me T-Mobile is over calculating the signal. Probably due to their high frequencies. And the fact that they want you to think you have a better signal that you really do, especially indoors.
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every carrier shows you a stronger signal than you are actually getting, so that's not unique to t mobile..
here again, the only things that actually accurately shows signal strength is your -dbm number...don't be naive and think getting 4 or 5 signal bars means you have a strong signal with ANY carrier..

-107 dbm with 4 bars here

wase4711 said:
every carrier shows you a stronger signal than you are actually getting, so that's not unique to t mobile..
here again, the only things that actually accurately shows signal strength is your -dbm number...don't be naive and think getting 4 or 5 signal bars means you have a strong signal with ANY carrier..
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Maybe. But I think AT&T is a little bit more accurate, versus T-Mobile. I can't speak for Verizon or Sprint since I have never used them. I have always gone by the dbm number.

Signal strength decrease after flashing unlocked U1 firmware. Anyone else?

Purchased an AT&T note 9. Had 3 bars in my home.
Two weeks after purchase I flashed U1 firmware. Now I have 1 bar in my home.
My Note 8, still on AT&T firmware, has 3 bars. What gives?
Anything we can do to help this signal strength?

CCJ22 said:
Purchased an AT&T note 9. Had 3 bars in my home.
Two weeks after purchase I flashed U1 firmware. Now I have 1 bar in my home.
My Note 8, still on AT&T firmware, has 3 bars. What gives?
Anything we can do to help this signal strength?
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The signal strength bars in the status bar are not necessarily indicative of the strength of signal, especially with carrier firmware. The carriers can put anything they want up there,AT&T proves that with showing "5G" in their phones, even though no phone exists anywhere in the world that has 5G capabilities ATM.
Either look in the Settings > About Phone section for the signal strength, or, d/l LTE Discovery or Cell Mapper in the Google Play Store to show what's going on.

KOLIOSIS said:
The signal strength bars in the status bar are not necessarily indicative of the strength of signal, especially with carrier firmware. The carriers can put anything they want up there,AT&T proves that with showing "5G" in their phones, even though no phone exists anywhere in the world that has 5G capabilities ATM.
Either look in the Settings > About Phone section for the signal strength, or, d/l LTE Discovery or Cell Mapper in the Google Play Store to show what's going on.
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Interestingly I did a speed test with both phones on google and sure enough the note 8 is quicker.
I will do what you recommend and try the d/l LTE Discovery or Cell Mapper. Thank you @KOLIOSIS

CCJ22 said:
Interestingly I did a speed test with both phones on google and sure enough the note 8 is quicker.
I will do what you recommend and try the d/l LTE Discovery or Cell Mapper. Thank you @KOLIOSIS
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There may be carrier aggregation on the respective firmware that makes for a stronger signal vs unlocked firmware.
Either way, don't trust what you see in the status bar on carrier firmware as gospel. All the US Carriers have a different look & at times, don't even have the same amount of total bars, some typically 5 & occasionally 6.

You lost your carrier aggregation by doing that. Flash back to original and it will fix it.
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

sandman7793 said:
You lost your carrier aggregation by doing that. Flash back to original and it will fix it.
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
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That is a bummer. I will just deal with this low signal. The bloatware is intense on the at&t firmware
Wish we could flash carrier agg onto U1 firmware.

CCJ22 said:
That is a bummer. I will just deal with this low signal. The bloatware is intense on the at&t firmware
Wish we could flash carrier agg onto U1 firmware.
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You need to actually check the signal strength itself, not just the bars. The U1 is made.to work on all carriers so you shouldn't have lost carrier aggregation. My T-Mo Note 8 and my U1 Note 9 both get the same signal and speed on T-Mo.

Mr. Orange 645 said:
You need to actually check the signal strength itself, not just the bars. The U1 is made.to work on all carriers so you shouldn't have lost carrier aggregation. My T-Mo Note 8 and my U1 Note 9 both get the same signal and speed on T-Mo.
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Ok I'll download the app to check Db

Do you ever figure this out, I'm on AT&T too as well with Note 9. Flashed 2 days ago and my signal is terrible now. Home my signal is bad and sometimes it switches to just H+ signal and note LTE if that matters. People are saying i'm cutting out and last night i couldn't send messages until i made a call. This wasn't happening until i flashed to U1, I'm guessing i should go back to stock ?

Raz12 said:
Do you ever figure this out, I'm on AT&T too as well with Note 9. Flashed 2 days ago and my signal is terrible now. Home my signal is bad and sometimes it switches to just H+ signal and note LTE if that matters. People are saying i'm cutting out and last night i couldn't send messages until i made a call. This wasn't happening until i flashed to U1, I'm guessing i should go back to stock ?
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Never did figure it out. I sold that note 9 Snapdragon & got an exynos version