Horrible Cell Reception GN9 Exynos - Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Questions & Answers

I just purchased and received my Note 9 SM-N960F/DS 512GB. The phone was shipped from China but I’m assuming it’s the International version. I popped in my AT&T sim and immediately noticed I have a horrible mobile signal. I live outside of Washington DC and my cell reception has always been great as I’m coming from a OnePlus 5T. After enabling wifi I recieved several OTA updates and now I’m on latest FXXU2ARJ1 with build # RK2. I’ve been reading about possiby changing the CSC but I’m not seeing much about ATT carrier aggregation. The cell reception is so bad I’m considering returning the phone. Any advice or suggestions? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

I too have the same note as you. I also have a OP6.
I have been comparing the cell signal of the two. I get pretty mixed results. The Exynos has a different modem entirely and I think I do get some carrier aggregation (4g+) on ATT but I do not on my TMO sim.
It's really hard to compare the two but I do have decent signal albeit it TMO is better on my OP6 - ATT seems to be about equal where I am. I also don't get WiFi calling or VoLTE. I'm torn on which phone to keep at this point but the screen and speakers are so good on the note. I do worry about the signal on the phone but so far it hasn't been an issue really.

Jigetz said:
I too have the same note as you. I also have a OP6.
I have been comparing the cell signal of the two. I get pretty mixed results. The Exynos has a different modem entirely and I think I do get some carrier aggregation (4g+) on ATT but I do not on my TMO sim.
It's really hard to compare the two but I do have decent signal albeit it TMO is better on my OP6 - ATT seems to be about equal where I am. I also don't get WiFi calling or VoLTE. I'm torn on which phone to keep at this point but the screen and speakers are so good on the note. I do worry about the signal on the phone but so far it hasn't been an issue really.
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Click to collapse
That's great info. Although I have the dual sim version, I'm only utilizing one sim at the moment. I too am coming from OP but OP5T. Before I purchased this phone, I was completely torn for days trying to decide between the Note 9 & OP6T. Finally I decided on Note 9 just to try something different but I didn't realize the LTE signal would be so poor. I also purchased the exy version because of the unlockable bootloader and root potential. In my case, the phone is almost unusable unless I'm on wifi. I switched the sim from 1 to 2 and I noticed a slight difference in signal but not much. I'm considering returning the Note 9 and just going with OP6T although like you stated, I loved the screen, camera, speakers, and features but then again I did spend over 1K US! I'm disappointed with the lack of LTE. I think it's a deal breaker unfortunately.
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Related

[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.
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!

Note 8 reception

I have to say.... This is a bucket of **** (Aus Optus/Vodafone). I have half the 4g reception than my previous note 5.
It struggles switching frequency it seems. I hope future updates fix this and it's not a hardware issue.
me_ashman said:
I have to say.... This is a bucket of **** (Aus Optus/Vodafone). I have half the 4g reception than my previous note 5.
It struggles switching frequency it seems. I hope future updates fix this and it's not a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love the phone but noticed reception isn't as good in certain areas of North Carolina. I'm a T-Mobile user and also previously owned a Note 5. Definitely a difference.
Yeah mate...in places I had reception before I now have none.
I've noticed that my wife's phone will have 1 bar where mine has two, but if I go into settings and look at signal strength, it is exactly the same or even a little better.
Two note 8's had issues
Pre-ordered 1... nicest phone I've ever had until it started showing 'searching for service", ROAM, Emergency calls only... then would go to LTE with full bars, and back again. I went back to my S6 for two days with no problems, they sent me a second one... Fine for a day, then SAME ISSUES... did factory reset on both units... still persisted.. got LG V20 on special and full signal, every day....... Hope Samsung fixes issue and I will try one again.
---------- Post added at 10:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 AM ----------
Signal strength is VERY important to me as I live way out in the sticks on the coast. The best reception on any mobile I have owned has been with the old Nokia's. The worst would be HTC. Samsung, LG, Asus, Motorola and Sony all work fine here. I am in part of the county that is notorious for very poor signal strength. I have not had a problem with my Note 8 seems to be fine on Vodafone but if I change to another supplier I get zero signal on all models of mobiles.
On times its not the phone brand but our service provider. My present provider for my TV and ADSL give me about 1Mbps!!!! that's if I get a signal at all. Vodafone hotspot gives me up to 30Mbps. Again it can be the provider more than the phone. I have found Samsung fine but others have not been so fortunate. I doubt its the Note 8 though? There are always lemons though in every brand.
Ryland
which model of Note 8 are you guys experiencing this with?
Many of us Exynos owners have been noticing exceptionally poor reception and data speeds on USA carriers, but in my case I have narrowed it down to a hardware issue. Unplugging the lower antenna PCB has no effect on the poor signal strength, and this started suddenly after about 5 days of use. Out of the box it was amazing, and my download speeds were 30-50% faster than with the Note 5. I'm just waiting for replacement parts to become available so I can get a new board and replace it.
Kalm_Traveler said:
which model of Note 8 are you guys experiencing this with?
Many of us Exynos owners have been noticing exceptionally poor reception and data speeds on USA carriers, but in my case I have narrowed it down to a hardware issue. Unplugging the lower antenna PCB has no effect on the poor signal strength, and this started suddenly after about 5 days of use. Out of the box it was amazing, and my download speeds were 30-50% faster than with the Note 5. I'm just waiting for replacement parts to become available so I can get a new board and replace it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the Snap Dragon version was issued in the States and China and the Exynos the rest of the world? PERHAPS the problem could be your carriers are not well suited to the Exynos models only the SD?
I am talking through my ears as I understand zero about such things. Here to learn. :good: Could also be one has purchased a lemon? I dont think its general to the Note 8, as I wrote above mine works very well here in a notoriously bad area of this country running Exynos.
Q; Is it wise to modify your mobile while it still has 12 months warranty? How many people have the skills to perform your modification and why should it be necessary? Your guarantee is now void.
Q; Out of the box you said it was amazing. What changed?
Ryland
Ryland Johnson said:
I thought the Snap Dragon version was issued in the States and China and the Exynos the rest of the world? PERHAPS the problem could be your carriers are not well suited to the Exynos models only the SD?
I am talking through my ears as I understand zero about such things. Here to learn. :good: Could also be one has purchased a lemon? I dont think its general to the Note 8, as I wrote above mine works very well here in a notoriously bad area of this country running Exynos.
Q; Is it wise to modify your mobile while it still has 12 months warranty? How many people have the skills to perform your modification and why should it be necessary? Your guarantee is now void.
Q; Out of the box you said it was amazing. What changed?
Ryland
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no expert by any means, but I have the Note 5 from T-Mobile, which is also an Exynos device. The Exynos Note 8 is essentially just a newer Note 5, newer version of the CPU and modem (both have Shannon modems), and support T-Mobile's LTE bands. I do not believe there is any compatibility issue with the hardware. I definitely could have purchased a lemon, and that's what it seems like. The rest of the phones functions are amazing - it's literally just been issues with the components on that bottom PCB that have been popping up (not just for me, but also others on here, the lower circuit board has LTE antennae, mic, and lower speaker - all of which have had a few complaints of not working or not working properly).
To answer your Qs, my phone is a South Korean model and I live in the USA, so Samsung here will not honor the warranty. I would need to ship it back to Korea if anything. Many people have the skills necessary to replace this board, but it is a pain in the butt due to the rear glass using adhesive from Hades to stick to the frame. It shouldn't be necessary, but Samsung seems to have sent out some phones with faulty usb/antenna boards and it's less of a hassle for me to fix it myself than try to deal with international repairs.
Out of the box was amazing, I had equal LTE signal strength to my Note 5, and download speeds were about 4-6x what they suddenly dropped to after about 5 days of use. At the time, I thought it was due to flashing NEMESIS ROM, but I Odin flashed back to full stock and nothing was 'fixed' . Then, I opened the phone and found that physically applying pressure on one of the LTE antenna connectors in a specific direction made the signal strength jump up to equal my Note 5, and the super fast data speeds returned - as long as I kept pressure applied in that specific direction.
Kalm_Traveler said:
I'm no expert by any means, but I have the Note 5 from T-Mobile, which is also an Exynos device. The Exynos Note 8 is essentially just a newer Note 5, newer version of the CPU and modem (both have Shannon modems), and support T-Mobile's LTE bands. I do not believe there is any compatibility issue with the hardware. I definitely could have purchased a lemon, and that's what it seems like. The rest of the phones functions are amazing - it's literally just been issues with the components on that bottom PCB that have been popping up (not just for me, but also others on here, the lower circuit board has LTE antennae, mic, and lower speaker - all of which have had a few complaints of not working or not working properly).
To answer your Qs, my phone is a South Korean model and I live in the USA, so Samsung here will not honor the warranty. I would need to ship it back to Korea if anything. Many people have the skills necessary to replace this board, but it is a pain in the butt due to the rear glass using adhesive from Hades to stick to the frame. It shouldn't be necessary, but Samsung seems to have sent out some phones with faulty usb/antenna boards and it's less of a hassle for me to fix it myself than try to deal with international repairs.
Out of the box was amazing, I had equal LTE signal strength to my Note 5, and download speeds were about 4-6x what they suddenly dropped to after about 5 days of use. At the time, I thought it was due to flashing NEMESIS ROM, but I Odin flashed back to full stock and nothing was 'fixed' . Then, I opened the phone and found that physically applying pressure on one of the LTE antenna connectors in a specific direction made the signal strength jump up to equal my Note 5, and the super fast data speeds returned - as long as I kept pressure applied in that specific direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excuse my ignorance,.but aren't there others on here complaining about LTE speed throughput on there F models also ? When using USA sim cards.
Perhaps it was a faulty batch?
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Limeybastard said:
Excuse my ignorance,.but aren't there others on here complaining about LTE speed throughput on there F models also ? When using USA sim cards.
Perhaps it was a faulty batch?
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct, F and N models. They are the exact same hardware, and my thought is that a batch of those boards went out that have developed issues very quickly.
I read a post this week but can't find the thread now of course. In it, a user who worked on configuring phones for a large telco or something said that the antenna for each regional model is tuned to the particulars of that specific region. He wasn't just talking about supported bands, etc. It was really about antenna tuning. Ultimately he said this is why he decided to forgo the international Note 8 models in the U.S., even though he badly wanted an Exynos model for custom roms, etc. Now I personally don't know whether there is anything to his claims (and I wish I could find that thread again), but it made sense so I thought I'd mention it here as it could explain the LTE or signal issues. If it's bunk though, then please ignore
sefrcoko said:
I read a post this week but can't find the thread now of course. In it, a user who worked on configuring phones for a large telco or something said that the antenna for each regional model is tuned to the particulars of that specific region. He wasn't just talking about supported bands, etc. It was really about antenna tuning. Ultimately he said this is why he decided to forgo the international Note 8 models in the U.S., even though he badly wanted an Exynos model for custom roms, etc. Now I personally don't know whether there is anything to his claims (and I wish I could find that thread again), but it made sense so I thought I'd mention it here as it could explain the LTE or signal issues. If it's bunk though, then please ignore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the bands are the frequencies that are 'tuned' for. Any given piece of metal is better at picking up certain frequencies than others, depending on how long it is, how thick it is, if there are any coils etc.
This is why region doesn't matter in and of itself - if a specific band is supported, the phone can operate with that band/frequency regardless of which country it was manufactured for. Where a person might run into problems is if their carrier uses a given LTE band or group of them and the international phone model they want does not support those bands.
In our case, the Exynos Note 8 has all the main bands we need for T-Mobile and AT&T here in the USA.

Using ATT/T-mo N9 on Sprint?

I'm looking to upgrade to the note 9 and have noticed that people are talking about flashing different firmware to go to Verizon from T-Mo... Which is something that (in my understanding) should be impossible since ATT/T-Mo use GSM radios while Sprint/Verizon use CDMA... Can this be done with an ATT/T-mo note-9 to use it on Sprint? (The prices are ridiculously cheaper, sometimes as much as 60% less)
Also, if it is somehow possible, will I end up with a fully-functional Note 9, or will it be like the old ATT -> Tmo that lost most of it's Data functionality (iirc T-Mo only supported like 1x/GPRS and not 3g/LTE) I am a HEAVY data user in a poor reception area, so I absolutely need the best Data/Reception I can get.
Thanks in advance!
Ashton_Durkhun said:
I'm looking to upgrade to the note 9 and have noticed that people are talking about flashing different firmware to go to Verizon from T-Mo... Which is something that (in my understanding) should be impossible since ATT/T-Mo use GSM radios while Sprint/Verizon use CDMA... Can this be done with an ATT/T-mo note-9 to use it on Sprint? (The prices are ridiculously cheaper, sometimes as much as 60% less)
Also, if it is somehow possible, will I end up with a fully-functional Note 9, or will it be like the old ATT -> Tmo that lost most of it's Data functionality (iirc T-Mo only supported like 1x/GPRS and not 3g/LTE) I am a HEAVY data user in a poor reception area, so I absolutely need the best Data/Reception I can get.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the USA devices have the same hardware. So technically it should work on Sprint. However, and I'm new to Sprint myself, they check IMEI number before allowing a device on their network. I used an unlocked T-Mobile note 8 on Sprint and it worked perfectly.
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

Unlocked S10 bad reception on AT&T

My wife complains that she gets very bad reception with her unlocked s10. She didn't have this issue with her AT&T S8. Are there settings that I should change so that the phone works better on the AT&T network?
Similar issue, just using TMO. I sent feedback to Samsung regarding the U1's network perf, as well as other concerns. Keep in mind that software improvements can take months to appear in updates.
rmrl2008 said:
My wife complains that she gets very bad reception with her unlocked s10. She didn't have this issue with her AT&T S8. Are there settings that I should change so that the phone works better on the AT&T network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try dialing *#*#4636#*#*
Then tap Phone Information, then Set Preferred Network Type to Global. This will take away LTE, but in my experience, I get a great HSPA+ signal. You won't notice a big difference in speed between HSPA+ and LTE, unless you are downloading big files.
I believe that this setting resets to the original setting when you reboot the phone. But just to be safe, take a screenshot of the setting before you change it. That way you can go back to LTE if you want.
lyall29 said:
Try dialing *#*#4636#*#*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The unlocked FW does not respond to this dialer code. That has been the case since the S8/N8. You'd need another way to access the testing menu.
Ace42 said:
The unlocked FW does not respond to this dialer code. That has been the case since the S8/N8. You'd need another way to access the testing menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked for me. I purchased the unlocked s10e from Best Buy.
lyall29 said:
It worked for me. I purchased the unlocked s10e from Best Buy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On S10+ it ignores it. Could be from their carrier files for TMO.
Network app still works, guess the dialer was altered to ignore it by CSC.
I'm using the SM-G973U1 that I got from the States on the Telus network in Canada and I can confirm I also get poor reception. I get better reception with my GS7 Edge.
I didn't get great reception with my S9 while home and I believe my S10 unlocked may be worse. In certain rooms I'm not sure I could even make calls without wifi calling. My wife's Galaxy J7 gets 3 more bars than my S10.
Any idea if this is a general S10 issue? Debating whether to get the AT&T S10. Don't want to get it if it's going to have the same issue.
Good data and reception was the only reason for me to consider US snapdragon S10, glad I went with Exynos then as it can't be that worse.
I also faced the poor reception issue on unlocked S10+ with T-Mobile, but after flashing the T-Mobile firmware with odin the signal reception is very good. With T-mobile firmware now I'm getting at least 2 to 3 poles more, now I need too live with T-mobile bloat :crying:
santhi4110 said:
I also faced the poor reception issue on unlocked S10+ with T-Mobile, but after flashing the T-Mobile firmware with odin the signal reception is very good. With T-mobile firmware now I'm getting at least 2 to 3 poles more, now I need too live with T-mobile bloat :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will you still recieve tmo OTA updates?
For any of you with bad reception, can you check the actual decibels (dB levels) for signal instead looking at the count of signal bars on unlocked U1 model?
santhi4110 said:
I also faced the poor reception issue on unlocked S10+ with T-Mobile, but after flashing the T-Mobile firmware with odin the signal reception is very good. With T-mobile firmware now I'm getting at least 2 to 3 poles more, now I need too live with T-mobile bloat :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can keep u1 firmware and just flash TMobile modem. I did this with my S8 and S9 with ATT.
Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
VICosPhi said:
For any of you with bad reception, can you check the actual decibels (dB levels) for signal instead looking at the count of signal bars on unlocked U1 model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just sitting in one spot and rotating the phone in various directions mine will range from - 117dBm to - 105dBm. I know exactly where the tower is I'm hitting and as long as the back of the phone points at that tower I'm good.
daniel4653 said:
You can keep u1 firmware and just flash TMobile modem. I did this with my S8 and S9 with ATT.
Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try this option once I get a chance
---------- Post added at 08:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 AM ----------
Shuthefrontdoor said:
Will you still recieve tmo OTA updates?
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Click to collapse
AFAIK OTA updates will be fine, to check this we need to wait until next OTA
rmrl2008 said:
My wife complains that she gets very bad reception with her unlocked s10. She didn't have this issue with her AT&T S8. Are there settings that I should change so that the phone works better on the AT&T network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the same problem with my s10+.... I hope samsung fix it through software
Let1107 said:
I got the same problem with my s10+.... I hope samsung fix it through software
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Click to collapse
When I was going through the Pie beta on my Galaxy S9, this was a concern that many of us voiced to Samsung support. We we're given a cookie cutter answer of "we will look into it". Don't get your hopes up.
Tel864 said:
Just sitting in one spot and rotating the phone in various directions mine will range from - 117dBm to - 105dBm. I know exactly where the tower is I'm hitting and as long as the back of the phone points at that tower I'm good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting.... do you have any others phones to compare to see how bad S10 signal levels are?

note 9 verizon vs note 9 tmobile

I have an up to date verizon note 9 although still paying for it I had it on their service for over 6 months so legally allowed to use on another service currently using it on cricket with no issues other than no VOlte which I've never had with cricket no matter what phone because I won't use the phones they have because I don't like them but that's another story....Since I can't get volte on my Verizon model note 9 that's fully updated for US I was wanting to switch to tmobile...I was set up with a sim card on their magenta plus plan worked great till I got to my home which is in a more rural area but did show verified coverage at driveway on their map I had no signal so I went to settings searched for mobile networks found tmobile listed registered and it connected like 2 bars LTE but within min lost service did it again lost service again while I had lte I was able to call and use data...so my question is could this be me using a verizon phone for it not latching on by itself or holding the signal I know note 9 has the 600mhz band but was wandering if I went ahead and got a tmobile phone if it would actually latch on and hold the signal that Verizon's addons and changing is playing well with tmobile...UNLESS someone can tell me how to get VOlte on cricket with this note 9 then I wouldn't need tmobile then 3g calling has went to crap over a year....thankyou for any input
Terasman210 said:
I have an up to date verizon note 9 although still paying for it I had it on their service for over 6 months so legally allowed to use on another service currently using it on cricket with no issues other than no VOlte which I've never had with cricket no matter what phone because I won't use the phones they have because I don't like them but that's another story....Since I can't get volte on my Verizon model note 9 that's fully updated for US I was wanting to switch to tmobile...I was set up with a sim card on their magenta plus plan worked great till I got to my home which is in a more rural area but did show verified coverage at driveway on their map I had no signal so I went to settings searched for mobile networks found tmobile listed registered and it connected like 2 bars LTE but within min lost service did it again lost service again while I had lte I was able to call and use data...so my question is could this be me using a verizon phone for it not latching on by itself or holding the signal I know note 9 has the 600mhz band but was wandering if I went ahead and got a tmobile phone if it would actually latch on and hold the signal that Verizon's addons and changing is playing well with tmobile...UNLESS someone can tell me how to get VOlte on cricket with this note 9 then I wouldn't need tmobile then 3g calling has went to crap over a year....thankyou for any input
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All N960U and N960U1 devices are EXACTLY the same. The only difference between the devices is software.
Flash the software for the carrier your running including the Userdata for you Note 9. It should work for all features especially on T-Mobile. T-Movile fully allows unlocked devices on their network whereas Verizon doesn't. I'm pretty sure at&t is like Verizon through when it comes to unlocked devices, and they own cricket so that rule probably trickles down to them as well.
You can get all carrier version of software for your Note 9 on samfirm or sammobile
Jammol said:
All N960U and N960U1 devices are EXACTLY the same. The only difference between the devices is software.
Flash the software for the carrier your running including the Userdata for you Note 9. It should work for all features especially on T-Mobile. T-Movile fully allows unlocked devices on their network whereas Verizon doesn't. I'm pretty sure at&t is like Verizon through when it comes to unlocked devices, and they own cricket so that rule probably trickles down to them as well.
You can get all carrier version of software for your Note 9 on samfirm or sammobile
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Click to collapse
But my question would be would my phone latch on to tmobile towers using tmobile firmware better than my current state using verizon firmware I'm excluding wifi calling and volte just trying to determine if I would have a difference in service availability picking up towers and holding them with stronger lte signal or if it's just poor coverage both ways and will be no different than you for your advice as well
Terasman210 said:
But my question would be would my phone latch on to tmobile towers using tmobile firmware better than my current state using verizon firmware I'm excluding wifi calling and volte just trying to determine if I would have a difference in service availability picking up towers and holding them with stronger lte signal or if it's just poor coverage both ways and will be no different than you for your advice as well
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You will not have a difference in coverage. T-Mobile did the same thing with where I live and listed it on their map as being fully covered. I barely get LTE at my house or anywhere in my neighborhood.
Jammol said:
You will not have a difference in coverage. T-Mobile did the same thing with where I live and listed it on their map as being fully covered. I barely get LTE at my house or anywhere in my neighborhood.
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Okay thank you for saving me the trouble of doing firmware swap or just buying a phone from them just to try and have same result and have to return....man I wish cricket would sell the note 10 or 9 where I could get the volte...but thankyou for your time
Terasman210 said:
Okay thank you for saving me the trouble of doing firmware swap or just buying a phone from them just to try and have same result and have to return....man I wish cricket would sell the note 10 or 9 where I could get the volte...but thankyou for your time
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You will never know until you try it, so why not try it and find out? Make it an SM-N960U1. Debloated and ready to go with any sim you install. Flash the unbranded firmware that can work on any of the US providers. That's what I have, and when I loaded a T-Mobile sim, I got VoLTE and wifi calling. I've run a lot of custom firmwares in the past, but this is the best phone and firmware combo I've ever had. And it's pure stock.
Also, this stock One UI with dark mode is very slick. VERY! No Substratum, no themes, no fuss. Just clean and black.
gruuvin said:
You will never know until you try it, so why not try it and find out? Make it an SM-N960U1. Debloated and ready to go with any sim you install. Flash the unbranded firmware that can work on any of the US providers. That's what I have, and when I loaded a T-Mobile sim, I got VoLTE and wifi calling. I've run a lot of custom firmwares in the past, but this is the best phone and firmware combo I've ever had. And it's pure stock.
Also, this stock One UI with dark mode is very slick. VERY! No Substratum, no themes, no fuss. Just clean and black.
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Click to collapse
His goal is better service reception.
Only the carrier can fix that by actually providing the coverage they put on their maps.
Jammol said:
His goal is better service reception.
Only the carrier can fix that by actually providing the coverage they put on their maps.
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Lots of people have reported better or worse quality service, all other things equal except for firmware/software: different radios enabled/disabled; different optimizations. I just read another thread where someone got better tmobile reception at his house after flashing tmobile software over US unlocked software. There are more variables than just the carrier side of things.
gruuvin said:
Lots of people have reported better or worse quality service, all other things equal except for firmware/software: different radios enabled/disabled; different optimizations. I just read another thread where someone got better tmobile reception at his house after flashing tmobile software over US unlocked software. There are more variables than just the carrier side of things.
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Thankyou then that kinda answers my question that although phones are equal between verizon version and unlocked internally and firmware being the difference that using a tmobile phone with their firmware I'd stand the best chance of service and since my area uses extended range area I would probably have a better experience than on my note 9 verizon...thankyou again
Terasman210 said:
Thankyou then that kinda answers my question that although phones are equal between verizon version and unlocked internally and firmware being the difference that using a tmobile phone with their firmware I'd stand the best chance of service and since my area uses extended range area I would probably have a better experience than on my note 9 verizon...thankyou again
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Yes. I think it may make no difference at all, or it might (much to gain, but nothing to lose), but most of the evidence in these forums, when it comes to connection quality, is extremely variable and anecdotal. Nobody can know an answer to this kind of question, unless they test it out for themselves. Good luck!

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