# Signal Strength



## akellar (Jun 11, 2011)

I'm loving the phone but very disappointed in the signal strength. I had a Rezound for a while and it got rock solid LTE connection in my office. Gnex won't even connect to LTE here.


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## fixxxer2012 (Jul 31, 2011)

and soo it begins!


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## ecsnead69 (Jul 16, 2011)

So glad I saw this post! I had the Fascinate and it had AWFUL reception no matter where I was.... I was considering upgrading from the TB (which I love), my only concern was the signal strength... After all, it has to be a phone first!


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## akellar (Jun 11, 2011)

Yeah either I am alone or everyone else is still in awe over the flashy ICS colors but it's terrible. I am barely getting 3g data and absolutely no LTE.


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## cubsfan187 (Jul 17, 2011)

I've had full 4G all day since picking up the phone (9 am opening at the local store). Not once has it dropped into 3G.


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## msrfx (Sep 28, 2011)

I noticed at first I had two bars on 4G. Then I did the update and now most of the time I have solid 4G. It's rockin'!


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## Snow02 (Jun 14, 2011)

I'm definitely getting a worse signal according to db than on my thunderbolt, but I'm in a heavily saturated lte area, so it doesn't really matter. I can see it being an issue for some people.


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## imnuts (Jun 9, 2011)

Compared to my Charge, signal is reported as 1-2 bars less than it where I've noticed it so far, but I haven't lost data anywhere I didn't loose it before.


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

Are we actually measuring in dB here or are we just looking at the bars. Everyone should get a dB reading on their Nexus then with their old phone (or someones phone) and post to compare. I'm pretty sure the bars just relate to voice too so, keep that in mind.


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## swimminsurfer256 (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm getting better signal strength and 3x faster DL speeds than on my TB.. 1.5x faster DL speeds than on my razr!


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## akellar (Jun 11, 2011)

ERIFNOMI said:


> Are we actually measuring in dB here or are we just looking at the bars. Everyone should get a dB reading on their Nexus then with their old phone (or someones phone) and post to compare. I'm pretty sure the bars just relate to voice too so, keep that in mind.


Yes. I don't have my old phone (rent-a-Rezound) but it held a solid LTE signal in my office where this doesn't get an LTE signal at all and 3g speeds are topping at 200kbps.

And now I'm getting double texts....


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

I'm in my office which is in the basement of an office building. My usual situation is that 4G stays connected most of the time but has a random drop (TBolt experiences for many months). My current experiences with my Nexus are identical: stays connected most of the time but has a random drop. The number of bars appears low (haven't yet looked at dB on my Nexus - was 85-100 on my TBolt here) but it behaves as I would expect if it performed on par with my TBolt.

... and SpeedTest shows 8.6mbps which is much better than my TBolt down here in the basement!


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## csimo (Aug 30, 2011)

I'm disappointed in the signal strength... almost to the point I'm going to have to return the phone. Not what I expected.


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## travishamockery (Jun 11, 2011)

csimo said:


> I'm disappointed in the signal strength... almost to the point I'm going to have to return the phone. Not what I expected.


I'm going to give a few days myself, but I too am really upset with it. Measuring in dB and my tbolt killed this phone. Hoping it will even itself out some way.


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## Mexiken (Jul 23, 2011)

csimo said:


> I'm disappointed in the signal strength... almost to the point I'm going to have to return the phone. Not what I expected.


are you talking about the proto device or a release device????


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## Grizzly420 (Jul 31, 2011)

I'm in a heavy saturated LTE area and its so bad I might have to return this. I now have zero reception in my office 3g or 4g. Losing signal all together in the truck going down the road were I should have like a -40db signal.


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## j2theMatt (Jun 10, 2011)

My signal strength is awful.


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## brkshr (Jun 16, 2011)

Mines way worse than RAZR was...smh. I kinda expected it though, cuz no one beats Moto radios (excluding bionic data problems  )


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## inline6power (Jun 20, 2011)

Mine is actually better than my tbolt

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## ghostRdr (Aug 24, 2011)

My signal is pretty bad too. It can't get signal in places my Droid X could. at -94 dBm at my house


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## holden45 (Nov 26, 2011)

I have noticed a hit in signal too, once i got the phone it took a few hours to get a 3g signal. No lte in my area. Sucks i traded my rezound for thos now seems like im stuck hoping things improve.


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## SlotMachine (Nov 20, 2011)

my droid charge is getting -89dbm
While my Nexus is at -102dbm 38asu
Side by side in my house


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## imnuts (Jun 9, 2011)

I think the signal is a combination of things. The calculation for number of bars is on the low side, and it has a slightly worse reception than other devices. However, it seems that despite the lower signal strength, people are still getting similar or better speed test results on average. I had half the bars of 4G service, yet had the same speed test results for download, and better upload speeds.


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

brkshr said:


> Mines way worse than RAZR was...smh. I kinda expected it though, cuz no one beats Moto radios (excluding bionic data problems  )


It uses a moto radio for LTE right?


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## Rootuser3.0 (Oct 8, 2011)

akellar said:


> I'm loving the phone but very disappointed in the signal strength. I had a Rezound for a while and it got rock solid LTE connection in my office. Gnex won't even connect to LTE here.


Samsung is notorious for poor radio signal issues welcome to Samsung

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk


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## Mexiken (Jul 23, 2011)

ghostRdr said:


> My signal is pretty bad too. It can't get signal in places my Droid X could. at -94 dBm at my house


Anyone expecting to get better signal than Moto, it's probably not going to happen....Moto has been in the radio business WAY too many years....

Signal is going to be equal or greater than HTC's signal. Can't compare it to LG, sorry


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## msrfx (Sep 28, 2011)

My thunderbolt says -70dbm at my house. The Nexus is -85dbm. At work, I had a comparable difference. Although, when I ran the speedtest at work, I got on average 25Mpbs down and 10 up. At home I am averaging the same. This is good enough for me!


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## bertcakes (Dec 1, 2011)

I feel dumb asking this question but how do I check the dbm of my signal?


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## jfolk53 (Aug 25, 2011)

I'm rural area getting anywhere from -89Db to -110Db's wonder if it's all this stuff they are doing with developement 4glte? after all they opened up like 15 new market areas yesterday! Give it time, the gnex has 3 antennas!!!


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## strongergravity (Jul 22, 2011)

I am not in an LTE zone. my GSN has stayed pretty much at -120 since I brought it home yesterday. My Tbolt & Eris are both around -95. I get 3g for about 30 seconds every 10 minutes. Half the time it won't even keep 1x. I will be heading back to the store today on the hopes that the unit itself is defective. Unfortunately, the thing isn't usable as is, which really has me torqued!

Otherwise I love it for what little I've been able to do with it...


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## Zalyia38 (Jul 12, 2011)

Same here. I am in a 4g area and have mostly 0 to 1 bars where my signal on my TB was twice as strong with mostly full bars. A few times I couldn't even connect to the market here at home, so I switched to wifi.

Strange thing is on a call, it looked as though I had zero bars, but never dropped the call. I'm hoping maybe some new radios will help??


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## Snow02 (Jun 14, 2011)

Zalyia38 said:


> Strange thing is on a call, it looked as though I had zero bars, but never dropped the call. I'm hoping maybe some new radios will help??


Maybe. Although reception is usually a hardware issue. Things like power management, hand off efficiency, etc. can be tweaked through radio updates. It may get marginally better with new radio software, but don't plan on any miracles.


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

bertcakes said:


> I feel dumb asking this question but how do I check the dbm of my signal?


There are apps and widgets that do it but you can also find it under About Phone in the settings.


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## chocoyo00 (Jul 3, 2011)

In my case 4G keeps dropping off to 3G, and just now while in 3G it dropped to 1X?? If I go on mobile networks and switch from lte/cdma to cdma back and forth I get 4G back. Not happy here.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## Rhodester757 (Jul 17, 2011)

yea im getting solid 4g. every once in a while it drops down to 2 bars of 4g but for the most part its been 3 or 4.

and this is my first 4g phone and i must say the download speeds are amazin..... i have been averaging like 10mbps but have frequently seen it as high as 29mbps

4g is where its at!

oh yea. i live in newport news va btw


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## ZPrime (Oct 26, 2011)

This isn't "a Samsung thing." I have a Stratosphere and it is sitting right next to my GNex. Strat = -95 dBm / GNex = -102 dBm (both on LTE)

3G performance has been abysmal as well. At work I sit 6 feet from a network extender (3G) and there's nearly zero LTE signal in my office. the Stratosphere would drop the 4G, jump on the extender at 3G, and sit there at 5 bars all day long. The Nexus showed full bars briefly, but it eventually dwindled lower for no reason and the display at least is very troubling.

Now, for all we know maybe this is just a display thing... except my "time without signal" on the Cell Idle entry for the Battery meter keeps going up. So, something is definitely going on with the radio.

Incidentally, I had similar problems with the Droid 3 after launch (but on 3G obviously). Motorola used to be good at radio work, but my experience recently hasn't been very happy. I was working on a RAZR in the same office detailed above, and it refused to connect to the 3G extender and instead kept dropping signal, searching and finding a faint LTE signal, and then losing that, dropping to weak 3G, briefly joining the Extender, and then repeating the whole cycle.

So, yeah, take all of my anecdotes for whatever you want.


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## CPGustafson511 (Aug 23, 2011)

Bionic - 75dBm, Gnex - 89dBm...right next to each other. Though the Gnex is getting better speeds.

For the most part the Gnex has been displaying less bars, but it seems to hold 4G better than the Bionic.


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## masri1987 (Jun 29, 2011)

Tbolt -72 Gnex -116 both on 4g next to each other,.


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## Chasm31 (Jun 13, 2011)

I'm getting way better signal than my razr. No 4g data drops either.


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## bawb3 (Nov 20, 2011)

I went to a Verizon today to check out the gnex and the razr.

They both were sitting 3feet from each other and the Droid consistently got higher speeds in the speed test.net app. Around 1-2mb faster down, about the same up. 
Not a big deal and I'm pretty confident the devs for this phone will get everything running fast as hell on it before Google even has more ota's.


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## CPGustafson511 (Aug 23, 2011)

50/10Mbps on two bars? This is starting to seem more and more like a software problem.


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## PaulG1488 (Dec 16, 2011)

Mine keeps switching from 4g to 3g sometimes even no data i toggle airplane mode on then off for a quick fix


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

PaulG1488 said:


> Mine keeps switching from 4g to 3g sometimes even no data i toggle airplane mode on then off for a quick fix


I see some people reporting this but I'm simply not seeing this (even in an area where my TBolt used to occasionally drop 4G).

So I have a theory. I think we have 2 different problems going on here...
Our signal strength is reported lower than most other devices. I don't believe it is as bad as we think it is. I say this mostly because of my above statement. I work in a basement that was always the edge case scenario of being on LTE but just barely on my TBolt. When I went outside, I'd have something like -65dB but down in the basement I would get around -100dB. Now with my GNex when I go outside I get -80 and in the basement I get -115 (these aren't the exact numbers but I tend to notice the GNex has a number that's off by ~15dB relative to my TBolt). However, the GNex is just as, if not more, reliable on the LTE network than my TBolt. It is most certainly not worse. Now if this is ONLY a reporting issue or perhaps it's a combination of worse reception while having better processing of a noisy signal, I do not know. But I do know it's not as bad as the signal strength numbers would have us believe.
Some people cannot keep a reliable 4G connection. I don't believe this is related to the other problem as I would expect this to happen to me in my edge case scenario in the basement of a building with "barely good enough" LTE reception.
I bet you we'll see this improve over the next couple radio releases. It's very common for radio updates to improve reception and keep in mind we're comparing mature devices to a just-released device.


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## Snow02 (Jun 14, 2011)

CPGustafson511 said:


> 50/10Mbps on two bars? This is starting to seem more and more like a software problem. Also, it is not a Samsung radio, it's Qualcomm.


Nah. It's Samsung.


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## Mustang302LX (Jun 28, 2011)

I'm getting the same signal strength I had on my thunderbolt.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki Forums


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## CPGustafson511 (Aug 23, 2011)

Snow02 said:


> Nah. It's Samsung.


Yeah it's not Qualcomm. Which is weird because there is a "Qualcomm 4G" sticker on the bottom of my Gnex...well there was.

The HSPA version has the Intel XG626. Confirmed by iFixit.

By looking at ZDNet's teardown, it looks like the radio configuration in the VZW model is much more complex, with a VIA CBP7 7.1, Silicon Motion FCI FC7780 and Samsung CMC221. Which I believe is the exact same configuration as the Stratosphere.​


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## Brenardo (Jul 18, 2011)

Well after just a short amount of time I am all but positive I will be returning this wonderful device. 3G area reception is absolutely terrible, at least in my local.

A shame really. :-\


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## YankInDaSouth (Jun 9, 2011)

I called *611 (about a reboot problem) but mentioned data drops and issues with 4G and 3G/4G handoffs. He looked it up and said they are aware of the issue and are working on a fix. So, I assume the radios are not very good right now. Hopefully they get us some new radios soon!!


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## jeffaa (Aug 15, 2011)

YankInDaSouth said:


> ... they are aware of the issue and are working on a fix...


It seems that's their answer for everything these days...


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## Schoat333 (Jun 14, 2011)

The Charge had these exact problems when it was new, but after the GB update, it was gone. Give it time.


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## daveyhimself (Jul 20, 2011)

I noticed the same thing. We were at olive garden last night and my wife's thunderbolt had full bars 4g while my nexus was on 3g. Even after a restart. I hope they update the nexus radio.


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## Droidx316 (Jun 21, 2011)

I hope they update the radio quickly..i had the razr and had full bars on 3g and 4g. with the nexus its horrid.. but I can't return it because i turned my razr in for the nexus.


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## acidone (Oct 13, 2011)

Noticing I don't have 4G were I had it before, Thunderbolt. Even my wife's Stratosphere has better 4G signal.. Strange...


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## Brenardo (Jul 18, 2011)

welcome to the club... reception is definitely lacking


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## PaulG1488 (Dec 16, 2011)

This hasnt affected my call quality but it affects anything internet related im just trying to stay on wifi as much as possible


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## Bimmer323 (Jul 25, 2011)

Mines about 10 points higher than my tbolt, side by side.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## mypantsaretorn (Jun 24, 2011)

Definitely worse than both my tb and charge.. Not able to compare my tb and gnex side by side but when comparing with my charge, I was getting -88 on the charge and -110 on the gnex.. The speed tests also confirmed the difference because i was getting 17/3 on the charge and only 9/1 on the gnex... These tests were run side by side.

I'm pretty disappointed but still hopeful that there will be fixes for this soon since it's a "nexus" device.


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## Mustang302LX (Jun 28, 2011)

At my house I'm getting same 3 bars at the same -83dBm as I was on my TBolt.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki Forums


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## Bateluer (Jun 14, 2011)

CPGustafson511 said:


> 50/10Mbps on two bars? This is starting to seem more and more like a software problem.


I see similar on my Nexus. It'll have only the tiniest blue dot on the signal strength meter, and pull -110db, and Speedtest will report ~8Mbps down. Usually though, the data will disconnect at that point, flip to 3G or 1X for a bit, then move back to that tiny 4G. In comparison, my old Tbolt would pull a solid single bar of LTE in my house, and usually mid-strength 3G.

In my house though, I don't care as much. The main concern is that I have enough signal strength to make a phone call. WiFi takes care of data at home. Its when I go out side and still have non-existent data that irritates me.


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## I Am Marino (Jul 14, 2011)

Well if they're going to update the radio somehow, I hope they do it before I make up my mind about my upgrade.


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## Brenardo (Jul 18, 2011)

I would not jump on board just yet, especially if you already have a 4G phone.


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## mandog202 (Jun 7, 2011)

going by the reception I got at the house I was a little worried, can't get 4G inside where my tbolt can. But at work today reception is far better than the tbolt, stable data in weak spots where the tbolt had severe drops or no data at all making it unusable.


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## JS0724 (Jul 15, 2011)

Contrary to most of this thread, my signal and download speeds have been far better than with my Thunderbolt. I used to have non stop data drops at work, but held a signal all day perfectly.


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## GTvert90 (Jun 6, 2011)

Signal is Visually worse then bionic.... but it has yet to cause me any issues. seems to drop data less then my bioinc. YMMV

At work when my bionic had data it was rare and slow. the gnex saves me the trouble of thinking I have data. LOL


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## rolandct (Jun 14, 2011)

Coming from a droid x which never dropped calls this phone is starting to disappoint. Getting 3g in areas well converted by 4g. Only thing more important than having a nexus is solid voice and data. I want to love this phone but it's starting to annoy me with dropped calls and spending majority of time in 3g.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## Schoat333 (Jun 14, 2011)

My signal at home is much lower than it was with my charge. I used to lose data completely in our building at work with the charge, but the nexus holds at least 3G anywhere I go.

Its a trade off I guess.


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## area52 (Jun 7, 2011)

Just noticed something strange. I'm usually at -104 to -106 signal with 1 bar showing. I know this is low because my rezound had much better reception usually around the 80's.(don't care for any discussion regarding which phone is better) I took out the sim and put it back in and when the phone rebooted I was at -84 signal with 3 bars of 4g. That lasted about 5 minutes and dropped back down to -106 so I don't know what that means other than the fact that apparently this phone is capable of receiving a better signal than its getting.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## Bateluer (Jun 14, 2011)

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/19/verizon-support-update-to-address-galaxy-nexus-signal-strength-in-the-works/


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## Bimmer323 (Jul 25, 2011)

^^ This just made my day. 
Thanks for posting!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## akirsch (Jun 18, 2011)

In my comparison I see about a 10 - 15 dbm difference vs a Motorola Bionic. Slightly worse then my Thunderbolt or Incredible.


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## Mustang302LX (Jun 28, 2011)

Bateluer said:


> http://www.droid-lif...h-in-the-works/


That's good then that means new radios!


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## Bateluer (Jun 14, 2011)

Bimmer323 said:


> ^^ This just made my day.
> Thanks for posting!
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


You're welcome.

However, I am glad they acknowledge there is an issue and are working towards a fix, the lack of ETA makes me wonder if it isn't an attempt to stave off a flood of returns from people claiming poor reception.


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

I will not get this phone until this has been worked out. And at that point I may end up waiting for something else. It's sad to say but I might as well stick with my tbolt if it works.


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## Teksu (Aug 23, 2011)

mine's got a bit of low signal, but havent droped calls or data. and its way faster than 3g on my incredible. look forward to the update tho


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## hille141 (Jul 24, 2011)

Definitely some issues left to work out with the radio. I saw a 20 DB difference from my girlfriends Thunderbolt in the exaxt same location. Its something Verizon is aware of and that I'm sure they will address over the coming weeks.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## franklin270h (Aug 10, 2011)

Nearly every Verizon lte phone has gone through these teething steps so I'm not too worried. Tbolt has had how many updates to get it where its at?

I mean yeah the razr etc seem better out of the box. But motorola does radios well and I believe they actually produce said radios.

Its nothing an updated radio won't fix most likely.


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## bwhite757 (Aug 16, 2011)

Although I'm registering lower DB on my GNex, I have been getting signal, and clear calls in areas I can't with my T-Bolt. I have not dropped 1 call with my GNex yet, and I was talking on it through a known deadspot on my commute to work today, and it somehow managed to hang on to the call. Data is the same way. I've been streaming Google Music without issues on my commute to work, and there are 4 areas where my TBolt would always cut out, but my GNex manages to keep my stream going. I haven't missed any calls at my house (fringe 3G network) where I've missed countless with my TBolt, but GVoice forwards to my house phone before going to voicemail so it's all good. All-in-all even though my GNex says it's getting a lower signal, I can't say it has effected me any whatsoever, although I'm glad Big Red is at least acknowledging there is an issue.


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## davidnc (Jun 7, 2011)

Im getting almost the same signal as my incredible around home,not quite as good at work.
I always been able to use the phone as a phone and data connection in either location,never had a dropped call or slow data connection.
Im keeping it,there are no major issues with me on signal strenght.


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