Database Develop

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.
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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.
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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).
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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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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).
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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?
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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..
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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.

[Q] T-Mobile signal quality

I'm curious to know if anyone on T-Mobile has any sort of signal issue.
The unit I have in hand has little to no signal at all. I've put it side by side every other phone in the store and the other phones [literally every phone on display at the local store] and the Nexus 6 only gets roughly 2 bars of LTE.
Myself as well as the store employee have gone over the mobile settings [same as my Note 4] and same as all other display phones and the signal quality is horrible on the N6.
The store rep swapped SIMs and rebooted several times with no change.
I'm very curious to see what feedback gets left here on this. I was planning on getting rid of my Note 4 for the N6 but not if the signal is horrible.
Comments/observations....

CBConsultation said:
I'm curious to know if anyone on T-Mobile has any sort of signal issue.
The unit I have in hand has little to no signal at all. I've put it side by side every other phone in the store and the other phones [literally every phone on display at the local store] and the Nexus 6 only gets roughly 2 bars of LTE.
Myself as well as the store employee have gone over the mobile settings [same as my Note 4] and same as all other display phones and the signal quality is horrible on the N6.
The store rep swapped SIMs and rebooted several times with no change.
I'm very curious to see what feedback gets left here on this. I was planning on getting rid of my Note 4 for the N6 but not if the signal is horrible.
Comments/observations....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to say that there is nothing going on, but graphical display of bars means very little to actual signal strength. At bare minimum run some speed test checks on all three devices in the same spot.

mb3030 said:
Not to say that there is nothing going on, but graphical display of bars means very little to actual signal strength. At bare minimum run some speed test checks on all three devices in the same spot.
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Hey thanks for the reply. I also did a side by side with my Nexus 5 bone stock and shows the same thing. Very weak signal.
I know that AOSP shows true signal and no 'signal boosting' like Sense and TW, But my N5 is showing 5 bars of LTE next to the N6. A few others have responded to me on G+ that they are in fact seeing the same weak signal.

Stock firmware on T-Mobile branded devices tells the bars to report based on the 2G radio strength.
Whereas on stock Android 5.0, the bars report based on the best technology you're connected to (LTE, for instance)
This makes TMo look good essentially in the eyes of the average consumer.
If you go to Settings, you'll find the Nexus 6 will have the same LTE signal strength as the other phones.
Simply put, signal quality is just fine. All bars aren't created equal.
---------- Post added at 12:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:19 PM ----------
Since the Nexus 5 was sold by T-Mobile, it was smart enough to switch bar algorithms when it connected to a T-Mobile APN.
The Nexus 5 with Lollipop and the Nexus 6 do not seem to do this anymore. Maybe it will change with the wi-fi calling update.

Sentrix27 said:
Stock firmware on T-Mobile branded devices tells the bars to report based on the 2G radio strength.
Whereas on stock Android 5.0, the bars report based on the best technology you're connected to (LTE, for instance)
This makes TMo look good essentially in the eyes of the average consumer.
If you go to Settings, you'll find the Nexus 6 will have the same LTE signal strength as the other phones.
Simply put, signal quality is just fine. All bars aren't created equal.
---------- Post added at 12:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:19 PM ----------
Since the Nexus 5 was sold by T-Mobile, it was smart enough to switch bar algorithms when it connected to a T-Mobile APN.
The Nexus 5 with Lollipop and the Nexus 6 do not seem to do this anymore. Maybe it will change with the wi-fi calling update.
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Thanks for the great reply. My Nexus 5 is running 5.0. I also have a Note 4 but that's not included because of the signal algorithm used on that device. Just don;t know why my N5 shows full LTE but the N6 shows roughly 2 bars sitting side by side.

Try these:
1) Go to Testing menu
- Go to Phone Dialer
- Input *#*#4636*#*#
2) Go to Phone Information
3) Scroll down and make sure it says LTE/GSM auto (PRL)

joackie27 said:
Try these:
1) Go to Testing menu
- Go to Phone Dialer
- Input *#*#4636*#*#
2) Go to Phone Information
3) Scroll down and make sure it says LTE/GSM auto (PRL)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, confirmed when at the store. Not there now so I can't run anymore side by sides or tests.

A greater comparison would be showing the actual dbm meter in the settings menu for all devices. We all know different manufactures display bars as they which.

In comparing the N6 to my N5 the dbm is consistently better on the N6 and it stays connected to LTE vs dropping to HSPA/UMTS like the N5 does. SO far

Signal check app will tell db of signal all connections. ....or you can find the same info in settings

I confirm this, but only with anecdotal evidence.
I just recently switched to T-Mobile after using their Test Drive. The iPhone 5s that I originally had, couldn't get LTE signal very well or at all at my desk at work. I switched to a Moto G LTE before my Test Drive was over, and the signal was drastically better. No issues with the G in handling streaming music.
Today is my first day with my N6 at work, and signal reception is similar to the iPhone 5s. I have to turn off LTE because reception is so low that I can't even stream Spotify or Play Music. I just hope band 12 rolls out soon...

Bales75 said:
I confirm this, but only with anecdotal evidence.
I just recently switched to T-Mobile after using their Test Drive. The iPhone 5s that I originally had, couldn't get LTE signal very well or at all at my desk at work. I switched to a Moto G LTE before my Test Drive was over, and the signal was drastically better. No issues with the G in handling streaming music.
Today is my first day with my N6 at work, and signal reception is similar to the iPhone 5s. I have to turn off LTE because reception is so low that I can't even stream Spotify or Play Music. I just hope band 12 rolls out soon...
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Click to collapse
I can vouch for the area I live in that the N6 works perfectly. At first, my friend had issues on his Tmobile network, and he couldnt find out why. In fact it was so bad that he couldnt even connect to the network. He took his phone to me, I took out the sim, blew on it, restarted his phone. Then we stared in awe as the bars quickly filled on up.

Experience with my Nexus 6 so far is mostly the same.
Maybe 2 or 3 dBm weaker than my Nexus 5 with Lollipop was.

CBConsultation said:
I'm curious to know if anyone on T-Mobile has any sort of signal issue.
The unit I have in hand has little to no signal at all. I've put it side by side every other phone in the store and the other phones [literally every phone on display at the local store] and the Nexus 6 only gets roughly 2 bars of LTE.
Myself as well as the store employee have gone over the mobile settings [same as my Note 4] and same as all other display phones and the signal quality is horrible on the N6.
The store rep swapped SIMs and rebooted several times with no change.
I'm very curious to see what feedback gets left here on this. I was planning on getting rid of my Note 4 for the N6 but not if the signal is horrible.
Comments/observations....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mb3030 said:
Not to say that there is nothing going on, but graphical display of bars means very little to actual signal strength. At bare minimum run some speed test checks on all three devices in the same spot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree with @mb3030
If you want to see your signal strength in dBm (Decibel milliwatts) or asu (arbitrary strength unit), go to Settings>About Phone>Status.
ICYDK, a dBm value closer to 0 is better, so check your signal in different environments.
In my house I'm at -95 dBm/45 asu. Outside I'm at -86/54.
Sent from my MB Nexus 6 (64 GB)
GPS Ordered, 2-Day Shipping: 10/29, 13:29
Account Charged: 11/14
Shipping Notification: 11/18, 03:42
Device Received: 11/19, 14:59
All Times in EST

Speedtest what about three bars. Excuse the blurry picture it was taken with a nexus 7 lol

Like many have said, graphical interpretation is independent on each phone. A 1 bar on one phone might equal to 3 bar on a different phone from a different manufacturer. Best way to check signal strength is through dBm/asu value and speed test.

T-Mobile user in metro area.
Today was the first time I took my N6 out of house. One of the first things I noticed was signal strength (bar) was lower than my N5 running 5.0 in the same places around my neighborhood.
I did a couple speed tests and yep, was getting much slower results than the N5 in the same areas a few days ago.
Another odd thing was the fact I had a Moto X (2014) a month ago and sent it back in anticipation of the N6. Its signal strength was fantastic (better than the N5).
Very confused as to why a phone that is based off the Moto X seems to have a much harder time with signal strength. I am going to mess with it some more but so far I am disappointed with the signal strength compared to the N5.
Another note. The update that was sent OTA this week seemed to have a flash for the radios. Not sure that has anything to do with anything but throwing it out there.

I can tell you there is something wonky with this phone.
I live in NYC, where Wideband 15x15 LTE is deployed. On my Nexus 5, I was pulling over 40-50mbps down, with full signal strength (as should be with all of the coverage in NYC).
Now on the Nexus 6, the signal strength shows like 25%, and my download speeds are only 20-25mbps. Those speeds are still definitely fine for my needs (Plex, Pandora, and browsing/emails), but there is definitely something going on with this new phone.

Here's mine from here in Las Vegas

It's not like the radio is tweaked for tmos network.... It's the same radio in all 4 variants on the carriers. Give it time. Updates to the baseband will help. My n5 used to lose signal completely all the time. Drove me nuts. I haven't had one issue yet and I actual have a data connection in the building I work in with my 6

[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
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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.
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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?
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Click to collapse
Tmobile

mr pnut said:
Tmobile
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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!

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.
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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.

cell reception

Hi guys just wanted to see other people's experiences with cell reception. I'm currently on T-Mobile and cell service was more adequate with my 7t( being that it's a T-Mobile model). I wanted to ask other users, how's your experience with cell signal strength on T-Mobile?

Honestly poor. There are a couple of places that my OnePlus 7 Pro worked fine that my 1ii is almost useless. Doesn't seem to be a band 71 issue, either. Have a OP 8 Pro on the way so going to take readings and see if it's an issue with the phone.

I think the signal bars aren't "calibrated" or "displayed" correctly. I'm getting 3/4 bars but at 51% according to Network Signal Info (app). On my XZP, I'm getting 4/4 but at 46%.
I'm on Google Fi connected to t-mobile. Initially thought it was a sim problem, had a replacement sim arrive and signal is more or less the same. I'm getting faster speeds though, so I just think it's a visual bug.

DrBrick said:
Honestly poor. There are a couple of places that my OnePlus 7 Pro worked fine that my 1ii is almost useless. Doesn't seem to be a band 71 issue, either. Have a OP 8 Pro on the way so going to take readings and see if it's an issue with the phone.
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iArvee said:
I think the signal bars aren't "calibrated" or "displayed" correctly. I'm getting 3/4 bars but at 51% according to Network Signal Info (app). On my XZP, I'm getting 4/4 but at 46%.
I'm on Google Fi connected to t-mobile. Initially thought it was a sim problem, had a replacement sim arrive and signal is more or less the same. I'm getting faster speeds though, so I just think it's a visual bug.
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Yeah with the 7t the reception isn't so bad so I'm assuming band 71 plays a role on the issue