Incredible poor signal bars?

BzB

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^ lol

yeah, the obsession with bars is interesting. it looks like the signal is low but it's not. turns out it's more of a cosmetic thing than reflection of actual signal strength
 

bjplaw

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I don't care about bars if the reception is there, but I've been having trouble with my reception too. I always have shotty reception at home, but at work it has always been super. Today with the Incredible, I have missed calls because it didn't even ring because my reception is so bad and the few times it got better, it was very short lived. I even tried to do the *228 and it couldn't complete it because the call was dropped. I'm really disappointed because I was so excited about this phone, but bad reception is NOT going to be something I will be able to live with. My battery is dying much quicker than I ever would have expected too, and I've barely made any calls (thanks to the lack of reception).
 

BzB

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^ try *228 outside and then go back inside...maybe?
 
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DR01D1

DR01D1

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New phones and bars issues lol……I’m dropping calls big time I also have a VZ wireless extender at home the phone should show full reception still shows one bar to no bars…VZ are sending a replacement today : ) I will post back


Got the replacement same issue and still dropping calls:D
 

JonKyu

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New phones and bars issues lol……I’m dropping calls big time I also have a VZ wireless extender at home the phone should show full reception still show

Got the replacement same issue and still dropping calls:D
Are you sure you're not just taking to someone on at&t? Lol! sorry to Hear about your problem though :(

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
 
R

rushmore

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Though Inc's signal is not that bad, Droid kicks it's butt for signal reception. Check the 1X engineering page on your device. Been testing all day. It is not as much as the Inc's radio reception is bad, but more that Droid's is one of the best there is. Then again, I spent seven years with Tmo- almost ANYTHING is better ;)
 

BzB

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i have an interesting observation about signal strength vs number of bars on my incredible. dbm will be right around 80 (which is pretty good) but only show two or one bar on the signal meter. however, if i make a phone call or start browsing the signal bars will shoot all the way up to the max while dbm stays the same.

so i'm thinking the number of bars may only be accurate when the line is in use. when the line is not in use it's possible the antenna isn't broadcasting at full strength, possibly as a battery saving measure, and only ramps up when a connection is made.
 

lah112056

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Poor reception

I am not obsessed with bars, even though I notice within seconds I go from 1 bar to 0 bars to 3 bars then back to 1 bar. But what I am having problems with is no reception and poor call quality, not only in my house but when traveling all over the city. I have always had perfect reception from my house and all over our city, Dublin/Columbus, Ohio. I called Verizon and missed which numbers to press for which service area to talk to, because the phone would cut out every other word on the recording, and I missed half of what the technician was saying. This is my first smartphone and I was so excited to purchase it, after going in to purchase the Motorola Droid. I truly liked playing with the Incredible over the Motorola Droid. I felt the touch screen to be so much more accurate. I will go into the technical service and see what they say, give it close to the full 30 days, but if something cannot be done about reception, I have no choice but to return it. So sad!
 

jroc

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With my Droid, I have NO BARS at me desk at work, and I can still make and receive calls, text, download. (I get bars when I go in the hallway tho) Bars dont affect me. I dont think bars are important if the phone has a good radio. BzB has a good observation tho.

If u are actually missing calls, texts; cant make calls,texts.. thats another story.
 

tomwest

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The poor reception from this phone is definitely not a cosmetic issue. Here's my experience since getting the inc on thurs:

Switched from Tmo to VZ for this phone, and while it's great for web stuff* it's been a terrible phone. I'm in Chicago and it gets lower call quality than my old BB on TMO everywhere. At work I get no service whatsoever, and at home the call quality is bad enough that I had to use my old BB to talk to VZ service. It's too bad because I like the screen and capabilities, but it's unusable as a phone and I'll be sending it back. The battery life is extremely poor as well out of the box. You shouldn't have to upgrade the battery or download apps to get a days use out of a brand new phone!
 
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rushmore

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Was at BB yesterday getting my son a VZW device and while waiting, I tested the Droid they had on display. Full bars, while the Inc was one bar and sometimes two. dB level was 30% weaker than Droid- just like my tests.

I downloaded some free apps that were a few megs on the Droid and also on the Inc. A few of the sales folk at the Lexington BB were also intrigued and surprised about the difference of apparent signal and performance. Like the Droid I have/had, the Droid was on 2.0 OS.

People keep talking about not going by the bars, but the db level and download performance supports (to some degree) the bars readings.

In spite of this, I returned "my" Droid and will keep the Inc a few more weeks. Worse case, I will return for the Droid. Testing to see how much I will actually miss game emulators and if radio issue gets sorted out.

Again coming from Tmo and their terribly laggy 3G and weak coverage, the Inc is like having broadband ;) I think the issue is not as much the Inc has a weaker radio as much as it is the Droid's is better than most- period.
 
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DR01D1

DR01D1

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Was at BB yesterday getting my son a VZW device and while waiting, I tested the Droid they had on display. Full bars, while the Inc was one bar and sometimes two. dB level was 30% weaker than Droid- just like my tests.

I downloaded some free apps that were a few megs on the Droid and also on the Inc. A few of the sales folk at the Lexington BB were also intrigued and surprised about the difference of apparent signal and performance. Like the Droid I have/had, the Droid was on 2.0 OS.

People keep talking about not going by the bars, but the db level and download performance supports (to some degree) the bars readings.

In spite of this, I returned "my" Droid and will keep the Inc a few more weeks. Worse case, I will return for the Droid. Testing to see how much I will actually miss game emulators and if radio issue gets sorted out.

Again coming from Tmo and their terribly laggy 3G and weak coverage, the Inc is like having broadband ;) I think the issue is not as much the Inc has a weaker radio as much as it is the Droid's is better than most- period.

That is what I’m doing too
 

bcrigler

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4 bars at work and home here... no issues what so ever... not one drop.
 

juice1113

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i just got the INC this week. I noticed the low signal bars. I understand that the signal strength is stronger that the bars represent, as people have mentioned that it is a calculation issue for how many bars to show. I have compared it to my friends Droid and the dBm strength readings are almost the same.

My concern is that phone thinks it has low signal so it appears to using a lot of battery power (cell standby) and shows a large time without signal.

Is this causing the battery to drain faster than it should? Any way to fix it?

Thanks
 
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