Verizon's Galaxy Nexus software update will adjust signal strength indicator.

[bsmith0731]

I have -100 right now and its going from 1 to 2 bars
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DroidForums

 

[Tank_Tak]

This is like Deja vu for me. Same thing happened with the Fascinates radio. We all waited months and months and months for a software fix and when it came it didn't fix anything. I believe the radio hardware was just bad in that device. With the Bionic it was actually fixed for a lot of people with a software update, which took less than 2 months to arrive. I have zero connection issues with the Bionic now, the signal is quite strong.

Not to stir anything up Just curious what connectivity issues you had with your Fascinate as I never had any issues and still dont now that I managed to get a replacement fascinate. GPS Issues are nonexistent with this phone as I always connect to sats within 20 seconds, and I actually get better signal now than I ever did before and I live in a town where there is no tower close by. Yes I use a network extender at home but throughout the town where no one has signal I can usually pull at the very least one bar.

Also sorry if this is the wrong place to post and ask, I just saw his response and replied to it.

As far as the Gnexus goes, Does anyone think the signal issue and possibly battery life is directly related to the NFC built into the battery and it being so close to the internal antenna? I mean if basic radio frequencies can potentially interfere with a device why cant the nfc chip?

 

[jds54]

My Gnex has a -99 in my basement office showing 2 bars.
I also have the 10.1 Samsung verizon tablet showing -85 in basement also.
It seems that the radio in the Gnex may be slighty weaker in pulling in the 4G signal.

Also my Fascinate is pulling a -78 3g as a reference to above.
Just posting to see if anyone has any input about readings.
Haven't had any issues with Gnex and actually like it over the Fascinate.

 

[Stelv]

Not to stir anything up Just curious what connectivity issues you had with your Fascinate as I never had any issues and still dont now that I managed to get a replacement fascinate. GPS Issues are nonexistent with this phone as I always connect to sats within 20 seconds, and I actually get better signal now than I ever did before and I live in a town where there is no tower close by. Yes I use a network extender at home but throughout the town where no one has signal I can usually pull at the very least one bar.

Also sorry if this is the wrong place to post and ask, I just saw his response and replied to it.

As far as the Gnexus goes, Does anyone think the signal issue and possibly battery life is directly related to the NFC built into the battery and it being so close to the internal antenna? I mean if basic radio frequencies can potentially interfere with a device why cant the nfc chip?

I never had a replacement fascinate, maybe mine was a dud, but a lot of people had the same issues I did. We were all constantly changing radio software to try an get a decent data connection. I had the Fascinate for 6 months before I finally got rid of. GPS took like 5 minutes to kick in during navigation, etc.

My cousins Charge has similiar problems so I started to draw some conclusions from our experience and from what I gathered from the web. I also called Verizon and they flat out told me that the GPS and radio were faulty on the Fascinate and they would send me different phone, but I didn't want to cuz I was rooted and didn't know how that would work. I wish that I had done so though.

I finally went out and bought a Inc2, then a Bionic after that. I did multiple speedtests side my side with the Inc2 and Fassy. I could never get above 400kps with the Fassy, got 1.2mbps on the Inc2 from day one. I even got around 800kps on my Droid 1. I get 1.7mbps on my Bionic in 3g. The GPS never worked properly on my Fascinate the entire time I had it. I ran stock, roms, different kernals, radio, etc. Nothing worked.

I though my problems were unique and I had a bad or damaged phone, but a lot of people over at Fascinate Forums, Here on DF and over at XDA shared the same issues with their Fascinate and Charge. The idea came up that maybe Samsung used faulty or cheap radio hardware in their phones, which made sense cuz mine was very weak.

That being said, I never ran Gingerbread on my Fascinate. I got rid of it before it came to the device. Maybe gingerbread fixed the issues, but I still will never trust Samsung radio hardware, especially when Moto makes the best radios on the market and HTC isn't too bad either. My experience and research has led me to believe that Samsung has some issues.

There are many articles on the web that add to my suspicions about Samsung radios. Here is one.
Rumor: U.S. Carriers Dragging on Negotiations with Samsung Over Galaxy S2 – Droid Life

 

[gadgetrants]

Hey Steve, slightly off-topic comment (more so since you don't own the Fascinate any more) but I ran into GPS problems early with the Droid 3 and found something that *seemed* to help:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2

In particular, in GPS Status' settings, there's an option to clear and refresh the aGPS data (as you know, acquired through the cell network). It's entirely possible that it's all placebo, but my impression is that the D3 went one day from endless signal searching, to immediate lock the next. I notice I do have a little trouble from time to time, but nothing like the original problems I had. In particular, I never have to try airplane mode or reboot the phone.

Hope you're doing great, and have a peaceful winter break!

-Matt

 

[Stelv]

Hey Steve, slightly off-topic comment (more so since you don't own the Fascinate any more) but I ran into GPS problems early with the Droid 3 and found something that *seemed* to help:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2

In particular, in GPS Status' settings, there's an option to clear and refresh the aGPS data (as you know, acquired through the cell network). It's entirely possible that it's all placebo, but my impression is that the D3 went one day from endless signal searching, to immediate lock the next. I notice I do have a little trouble from time to time, but nothing like the original problems I had. In particular, I never have to try airplane mode or reboot the phone.

Hope you're doing great, and have a peaceful winter break!

-Matt

Hey Matt. Yea I ran that app on my Fascinate. It's been a while since I had the Fascinate and I believed I cleared GPS data with that app, but I can't remember. I was flashing radios and roms a lot so maybe that messed up my GPS data. I basically could never count on my navigator to give me turn by turn directions. I could use the map to get a list of directions, but turn by turn never kicked in. But it could have been a lot of factors, I should cut Samsung some slack I suppose, lol...it was just a bad phone experience for me. I love the Bionic though, I am glad I went back to Moto, although this locked bootloader is a real PIA

I am doing well! Thank you. You have a wonderful winter holiday too!

 

[cirtbrethren]

Just last night in our bedroom, I had +120 dBm and 99 asu and she had +86 dBm and 45 asu. :icon_evil:

You two really need to get out more.

 

[Tank_Tak]

There are many articles on the web that add to my suspicions about Samsung radios. Here is one.
Rumor: U.S. Carriers Dragging on Negotiations with Samsung Over Galaxy S2 – Droid Life

Thanks for the reply and link to the article, sucks you had issues and I didnt. I also forgot that we had gingerbread released so thanks for reminding me, updating it now. like you said who knows what the deal is with these phones, some may be faulty and others not so much. Oh well, again thanks for the reply and link. Merry Christmas and have a safe new year.

 

[Stelv]

Thanks for the reply and link to the article, sucks you had issues and I didnt. I also forgot that we had gingerbread released so thanks for reminding me, updating it now. like you said who knows what the deal is with these phones, some may be faulty and others not so much. Oh well, again thanks for the reply and link. Merry Christmas and have a safe new year.

Yea I have to stop being so opinionative about these phones. There just phones and Verizon is pretty good at replacing them if they are faulty, so i cant complain. Happy Holidays!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[Quicksilver7714]

Let's mark this one up as a strange way to handle an ongoing problem that a lot of users have been reporting with Verizon's Galaxy Nexus. The connectivity issues that have been a hot topic since the Galaxy Nexus was released on December 15th, are now being addressed by Verizon themselves and you may find yourself a little surprised.

In a statement made to ComputerWorld Magazine by VZW Spokeperson Brenda Raney, the upcoming software update is going to simply adjust the signal strength indicator. According to Raney's email “there is no issue with the performance of the device” and further stated that the Galaxy Nexus software update “will adjust the signal strength indicator to more closely match other Verizon Wireless devices.”

We don't know how this is going to fly with the users who are plaqued by connectivity issues but from the looks of it Verizon does not see this as an issue other than the signal strength indicator needs to be "adjusted." Is there a problem being swept under the rug or is there in fact no problem at all other than an incorrect indicator reading reported by AnandTech?

Your thoughts?

Source: Computer World

This is not a fix. Its just a way to shut people up so they stop complaining. I get 2-3 bars at about -100dBm to -107dBm when i go to my local VZW store I always have 4 bars with a signal of about -90dBm. I have absolutely no complaints

 

[Chatchie]

Sometimes I have a data connection, then I make a phone call (which of course turns off the data connection), and when the phone calls ends the data connection does NOT come back. The bars stay gray. If I reboot the phone, then it connects again and the bars are blue.

I've noticed the same thing when I turn on wifi. I have 3G, switch to wifi for use in my house, then I plan to leave the house so I turn wifi off. The 3G does NOT come back. I have to reboot the phone.

Doesn't happen all the time, just sometimes...

Mine does the EXACT same thing. Sometimes takes 2 reboots to get it going again.

 

[Ohyea!]

Had my Nexus a few days and so far the connectivity has been pretty darn good.

My Nexus currently shows a -79 1 asu

3G Droid X -63 0 asu.

Clearly the Samsung seems to have a weaker antennae then the Moto, but so far I haven't nitcied any negative effects.

 

[Mark_V]

I'm getting -100 dBm at work, which is a large metal building with lots of steel and concrete. Outside I get -96 dBm. Pretty sad if you ask me.

 

[Big Ry]

Is everyone who's experiencing reception problems ACTUALLY experiencing real problems? I'm not trying to throw salt in any wounds here, but for the most part, everyone is just throwing out signal strength figures. Maybe VZW is right and there really is no problem...it just LOOKS like there's a problem. I just drove from blacksburg VA to Alexandria VA taking a bunch of country back roads I've never traveled before. Obviously I used my GPS on my brand new nexus! I hit many dead areas on 66 after I passed Charlottesville and got into the back country. I had zero bars of anything...forget about 4g. All I saw was a gray triangle. And not ONCE did I lose GPS and no I didn't pre download the map. So has everyone actually checked to see if the really even have a problem?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[donutz]

Is everyone who's experiencing reception problems ACTUALLY experiencing real problems?

Yes!

When I'm at work, the signal strength alternates between -120dBm 99asu and -100dBm 1asu.

This causes my battery to drain rapidly. And my pocket gets really warm to let me know my phone is sucking the battery dry.

If I didn't keep my phone plugged in at work, I wouldn't make it through half the workday without my phone going dead.

That is a problem.