# VZW LTE Signal Strength Concern



## goodwidp (Sep 22, 2011)

Received my new S3 on Tuesday (after upgrading from a Droid X) and while I absolutely love this device so far, I am a bit concerned with my 4G signal strength. One of the first things I did after receiving the phone was run a few data speed tests (via the app "Speedtest") and I noticed that the results (pic posted below) were inconsistent and it particularly had a very difficult time completing the upload portion of the test. I also noticed that the 4G signal drops to 3G a few times a day, which I was surprised at because I live in Baltimore and (I believe) we have pretty solid LTE coverage throughout the area. FInally, when I check the actual signal strength in the settings menu, it usually is in the -110 to -115 db range, which is drastically poor from what I've read. Is there anything I can do to try an boost my signal (assuming that it even needs boosting)? I was going to bring it in to try and get an answer in store (usually a last resort for me) but I did root the device (No CWM, just root) and I don't want to risk losing my warranty (just yet) by having them discover root. Any ideas or advice is sincerely appreciated. Thanks very much.

Sppedtest results. All but the bottom score were taken via 4G (the bottom score is WiFi)


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## oddball (Jan 21, 2012)

http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25921-this-is-why-your-verizon-nexus-signal-sucks/

I would head to a Verizon store and put it side by side with another. Although signal LOOKS worse it seems overall better for most of us. The best way to check if you have a problem is to compare side to side with another device tracking the same way. I really like the app that is in the first post. As for speed test it seems to be flaky with the GS 3 and I have no idea why. My wife's Rezound consistently scores better on speedtest but my GS 3 downloads and uploads either faster or the same speed placed side by side


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## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

I really hope the signal on the GS3 isn't like that of the GNex?

I have a GNex and IRS crap. Was looking to use an upgrade to get the GS3 and give my wife my nexus (she is currently using the moto q).

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## oddball (Jan 21, 2012)

Art Vandelay said:


> I really hope the signal on the GS3 isn't like that of the GNex?
> 
> I have a GNex and IRS crap. Was looking to use an upgrade to get the GS3 and give my wife my nexus (she is currently using the moto q).
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


ICS reports signal differently than older versions of the OS please read the thread I linked it explains why our LTE signal "sucks". Frankly even on 1 bar of LTE here it's far better than my old droid X


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## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

It has nothing to do with ICS. I get the part of who its reported, but my GNex running ICS gets a weak 3g signal in my house. My brothers RAZR running ICS gets a decent 4g signal in my house. If I go outside my house I can get 4g is spots, he goes outside and gets 4g everywhere.

This is what I am referring to.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## dvader (Jul 3, 2011)

Art Vandelay said:


> I really hope the signal on the GS3 isn't like that of the GNex?
> 
> I have a GNex and IRS crap. Was looking to use an upgrade to get the GS3 and give my wife my nexus (she is currently using the moto q).
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


it's not.. radio is good in the gs3, sucked in the gnex.. sgs3 is a good phone!


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## oddball (Jan 21, 2012)

Art Vandelay said:


> It has nothing to do with ICS. I get the part of who its reported, but my GNex running ICS gets a weak 3g signal in my house. My brothers RAZR running ICS gets a decent 4g signal in my house. If I go outside my house I can get 4g is spots, he goes outside and gets 4g everywhere.
> 
> This is what I am referring to.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Then your phone may be having issues. The radio hardware in the Nexus is hit and miss. All of the complaints about how terrible the signal is have masked that the overall quality control on the LTE radio wasn't great. People complained because of bars rather than actual reception. This phone may not have the bars but the radio seems pretty bulletproof so far


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## ercDROID (Aug 17, 2011)

I have the same thoughts as OP. My thunderbolt always had a strong signal for calls and was very strong on 4g. I always did my speedtests on speakeasy.net. Scores were always 15 - 20 down and 1-3 up. I ran my SG3 on the site yesterday and was shocked at how bad the speeds were. Also, signal on thunderbolt was usually -85 to -90. SG3 is showing -95 to -115. But......I haven't dropped any calls or 4g yet and things seem to download really fast. My wifes is right at the same spot as mine so there doesn't seem to be a problem. Time will tell I guess. As of now I'm not going to worry about it.


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## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

oddball said:


> Then your phone may be having issues. The radio hardware in the Nexus is hit and miss. All of the complaints about how terrible the signal is have masked that the overall quality control on the LTE radio wasn't great. People complained because of bars rather than actual reception. This phone may not have the bars but the radio seems pretty bulletproof so far


Yeah I pay no attention to what the bars look like. I just no that the Gnex radio is crap compared to Motos radios. My fear was that Samsung didng address this in the GS3. I'll just wait til more reports come in and maybe test one out myself.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## dvader (Jul 3, 2011)

Art Vandelay said:


> Yeah I pay no attention to what the bars look like. I just no that the Gnex radio is crap compared to Motos radios. My fear was that Samsung didng address this in the GS3. I'll just wait til more reports come in and maybe test one out myself.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


http://rootzwiki.com/topic/29687-vzw-lte-signal-strength-concern/#entry804404


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## johnomaz (Jul 18, 2011)

My wife has a Thunderbolt and our speeds are pretty much the same. I get about 11down and 1.5 at most up. the upload speed is very flakey. Its not a constant speed. I am not able to upload any large files to anything.


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## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

dvader said:


> http://rootzwiki.com/topic/29687-vzw-lte-signal-strength-concern/#entry804404


Haha yes I saw your response. I am going to need more than 1 yes its good to convince me. The Gnex tarnished how I feel about Samsung build quality.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


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## dvader (Jul 3, 2011)

Art Vandelay said:


> Haha yes I saw your response. I am going to need more than 1 yes its good to convince me. The Gnex tarnished how I feel about Samsung build quality.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Come on I'm trust worthy  
I know how you feel as i felt the same.
You'll like the s3


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## monkeystomp (Jul 2, 2012)

I live in a downstairs apartment and with my Thunderbolt I would have 1 bar of 4g most of the times sometimes it would be 3g now its always 3g with the S3 but when i go out on the porch its 4g no problems. Not a huge deal but wish it was better.


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## kipland007 (Sep 29, 2011)

Coming from the moto bionic this radio is much worse... Has a difficult time holding 4G and doesn't get service in a few places I used to have a solid connection. It hasn't really bothered me a whole lot at this point but it's definitely noticeable.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## goodwidp (Sep 22, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for the great responses so far. The advice/info is sincerely appreciated.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

There's been Moto phones (Bionic but only 3g), HTC phones (Thunderbolt, Rezound) and Samsung phones (S3) with Qualcomm modems. If there's a problem with your signal, it's most likely not the hardware and something else.


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## kipland007 (Sep 29, 2011)

OK I'm starting to get concerned about my signal. I live in a 4g area (Boston, which maybe isn't a great 4g area but was very stable on my old bionic) and I can hardly get a signal sometimes. For example, I'm sitting in my apartment right now (which has some signal issues, from what other people have told me) and I used to get a solid 2-3 bars of 4g on my moto. Right now, I don't even have a signal. Usually it hangs out at 3g but I've been walking around on the streets before with 1x. I thought it might be a kernel issue, but I just booted back up with stock and I have the same problem.

Has anyone else found the same issue? I'm thinking of flashing back to full stock and taking it into the Verizon store and comparing speeds with other models. It doesn't seem right that the connection is this bad. Any thoughts?


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## Goose306 (Sep 12, 2011)

My old DX had a more RELIABLE signal than the GSIII - i.e. it was able to pick up 3G faster, and hold it more reliably.

That being said my GSIII meets most all requirements - however when scanning from dead-off (Airplane or in a low-service area - 1 bar or so) it takes much longer to pick up 3G/4G, as long as 3-4 minutes at times. This is most definitely frustrating as I know my old DX, if it had a signal at all, it had a data signal of some sort attached to it. Very, VERY rarely would I ever have a phone signal with no data, and if I did see it it usually dissapeared within 10 seconds.

That also being said, the DX was not a 4G LTE phone, was not a dual-core S4 with 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of onboard storage... you get the idea.







and I have hit over 40mb/sec on LTE while driving through Portland, OR just this weekend. That is absolutely phenomenal. If in an area where the chi is strong - this phone will blow speeds out of the water, more than just about any other phone I've seen. It just seems to sputter when trying to pick up signals of sort or in low-signal areas. While I find that frustrating ('specially cuz I live in Montana where that happens regularly) its not a deal-breaker for the current best piece of equipment available (locked BL or not)


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## kpt (Jul 11, 2012)

My S3 doesn't seem to have 4G in places my Thunderbolt would but when it does it fast.

Granted this was an industrial area (Presidents Island Memphis, TN), I was likely one of few 4G users. I need to get a micro SIM adapter and compare the S3 and bolt there.


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## oddball (Jan 21, 2012)

I was having some of the same issues in marginal signal areas. My SIM card was faulty causing me to lose LTE connectivity. While I was at the Verizon I loaded the app from the earlier post onto a RAZR and a Rezound and the numbers for all 3 phones were pretty much the same for signal strength. Just for fun I ran the app on the beach and here is what I got


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

oddball said:


> I was having some of the same issues in marginal signal areas. My SIM card was faulty causing me to lose LTE connectivity. While I was at the Verizon I loaded the app from the earlier post onto a RAZR and a Rezound and the numbers for all 3 phones were pretty much the same for signal strength. Just for fun I ran the app on the beach and here is what I got


Heh, I need to find time to update weird data outputs on devices that don't support all data readings from the API. Jellybean on the Nexus has been eating up my time instead lately.


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## Curley (Aug 7, 2011)

If you are worried, turn off the LTE with the Phone info app, from the play store.


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