4G not as good on S3

[deathwhitch]

I had a bionic and LOVED it, but in order to keep my unlimited plan I had to renew while the option was there and preorder the S3. I love this phone so far, lots of cool features but i don't seem to get 4G service in near as many places with it as I did with my Bionic. Is there a way to fix this? I know it is something with the phone itself since my Bionic went all over town and almost never lost 4G but the S3 only seems to connect to 4G in certain places. Most annoying is not having it at my house since I tether to my PC and my Bionic ran 4G like a champ at my house but my S3 doesn't. is this a battery saving feature or am i the only one having this problem?

 

[TOMMYBOT]

Could be completely wrong but I remember hearing that Motorola tends to have better radios than Samsung. Again remember reading that once could be wrong. But I do love the service on my bionic
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[deathwhitch]

Well if this does not improve I may have to go back to my Bionic then I hate knowing i am not getting the service I used to by switching to a "better" phone

 

[sweeeeet]

just as the bionic continued to get better service w the updates so will the s3.. I wouldn't ditch it yet.. its an incredible phone

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[bsweetness]

Could be completely wrong but I remember hearing that Motorola tends to have better radios than Samsung. Again remember reading that once could be wrong. But I do love the service on my bionic
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

You aren't remembering incorrectly. Typically, the radios in Motorola devices are near the head of the pack (right up there along Nokia). Samsung's radios, particularly on CDMA/LTE devices, tend to land near the rear of the pack. They'll probably improve somewhat with updates like sweeeeet said, but it's extremely unlikely that they'll ever be where Motorola's are at. The Galaxy Nexus, which has been out since December, is still plagued with radio issues. From most of what I've read, the radios in the S3 are better than the radios in the Galaxy Nexus, but still not up to Motorola or even HTC.

 

[cybertec69]

The LTE Radios are build into the Qualcomm S4 Chipset, it's not the same chipset that was in the Nexus, the chipset is the same as in any Qualcomm S4 Chipset phone today, same goes for the S3 Chipset phones, my HTC Rezound has the S3 Chipset. Me personally have no issues with the Galaxy S3.

 

[deathwhitch]

Ill give it some time but if it there really is no way to improve this then I am so disappointed in this phone. Feels like having a T-Mobile again well ok not quite THAT bad but still upsetting not getting the coverage I pay for

 

[bsweetness]

The LTE Radios are build into the Qualcomm S4 Chipset, it's not the same chipset that was in the Nexus, the chipset is the same as in any Qualcomm S4 Chipset phone today, same goes for the S3 Chipset phones, my HTC Rezound has the S3 Chipset. Me personally have no issues with the Galaxy S3.

The LTE chipset and the software radios are two different things. Even though various devices may use the same chipset, the manufacturers for different devices build their own radios. This impacts reception and accounts for the difference in how the devices handle signal.

 

[Garemlin]

I gave the SIII a shot but reception was a bad as it was for me on the G'Nex. 3G, 4G and wifi. I'll be sticking to Motorola devices.

Tap'd from my Maxx

 

[bsweetness]

I gave the SIII a shot but reception was a bad as it was for me on the G'Nex. 3G, 4G and wifi. I'll be sticking to Motorola devices.

Tap'd from my Maxx

If that turns out to be the case for me when my SIII arrives, it will be going up for sale the day I get it. Most people I've talked to that have owned the Galaxy Nexus and the S3, along with many reviews and comments online, have found the SIII to have better reception than the Galaxy Nexus. I haven't seen anyone claim Motorola level reception, but any step up from the Galaxy Nexus is enough for me to be curious. I guess we'll see in a couple days.

 

[cybertec69]

The LTE chipset and the software radios are two different things. Even though various devices may use the same chipset, the manufacturers for different devices build their own radios. This impacts reception and accounts for the difference in how the devices handle signal.

Did you read my post, Qualcomm's S4 chipset has the 4G/3G radios build into their chipset "Samsung has nothing to do with it", the International version which uses Samsungs Equinox Processor and chipset is of course different "reason for no Quad core US version of this phone", Samsung's LTE Radio chipset is not yet functional, go to Wireless Technology & Innovation | Mobile Technology | Qualcomm and look it up, you can also do a Google search.

 

[thisiswang]

Could be completely wrong but I remember hearing that Motorola tends to have better radios than Samsung. Again remember reading that once could be wrong. But I do love the service on my bionic
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i don't agree with the "motorola tends to have better radios than samsung" remark. many companies share radios. theres only so many, qualcomm, broadcomm...... I don't know if you had the bionic upon launch but I did and the battery and radios were both awful. after the next few OTA updates both significantly got better. I think the issue most like is software/firmware related for your case.

 

[bsweetness]

Did you read my post, Qualcomm's S4 chipset has the 4G/3G radios build into their chipset "Samsung has nothing to do with it", the International version which uses Samsungs Equinox Processor and chipset is of course different "reason for no Quad core US version of this phone", Samsung's LTE Radio chipset is not yet functional, go to Wireless Technology & Innovation | Mobile Technology | Qualcomm and look it up, you can also do a Google search.

I did read your post. That's why I quoted it and responded to it. I know all about Qualcomm's S4 and the fact that it has integrated hardware for 3G and LTE. I also know all about Samsung's quad-core processor and chipset. I won't attempt to belittle your post by suggesting a Google search like you did towards mine, but you really should read up on basebands and radios in cellular devices. It could just be that you're getting your terminologies confused (which is easy to do).

 

[bsweetness]

i don't agree with the "motorola tends to have better radios than samsung" remark. many companies share radios. theres only so many, qualcomm, broadcomm...... I don't know if you had the bionic upon launch but I did and the battery and radios were both awful. after the next few OTA updates both significantly got better. I think the issue most like is software/firmware related for your case.

It's pretty well-known that the Bionic, at launch and for a period afterward, was a major misstep for Motorola on a lot of fronts. They rushed a quickly redesigned phone to market, and the quality suffered greatly for it. Luckily for Bionic owners, they were able to address this with subsequent updates. Motorola's devices are also widely regarded as being some of the best for reception. The Bionic was a misstep in this department (and in other departments). Missteps happen to everyone now and then.

Motorola does not share its radios. Generally, when people talk about the radios in cellular phones, they're talking about the software that allows the baseband - the integrated 3G/4G - to function. The design and function of these radios has a huge impact on how the hardware deals with cellular signals. This is why different phones from different manufacturers that have the same chipset - in this case the S4 - can have varying reception. Motorola has been around the cellular block and back several times. They know how to craft a solid radio. Samsung hasn't reached Motorola's level in that regard.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Coming from a Droid razr... I'm experiencing the same thing. At work my razr held 4g all day long....streaming was perfect... the s3 drops to 3g constantly and barley holds 4g for more than a few minutes at a time... my iheart radio application pauses and stops while the phone drops data making this transition.

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