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I am beginning to lose my cool when it comes to reception and my Captivate.
At work I used to watch a lot of youtube on my Tilt2 and altough it some times went on a wont connect spree....most of the times youtube was a no problem.
Unfortunately the Captivate is like almost never connects or just a little bit and once again loses it.
Is this about the whole hspa thing?
Even at home when reception is better for both, South Park is a lagfest with the Captivate if I use 3G unlike the Tilt2 but then again that could also be Skyfire....in any case...is this normal?
I guess you have never used and iPhone???
I had an iPhone 3GS and it was a POS when it came to reception.
I'm sooooooo happy I'm finally able to have an android phone on AT&T.
It takes some getting use to compared to the iPhone. Just basic navigating through the phone is very different.
I don't mind dealing with some minor flaws of the Galaxy S because I know for sure this phone will be improved because it was released on all four major carriers, not to mention it was already out as the GT i9000.
anyway - just my thoughts
sorry - I know this didn't answer your questions but wanted to share
Never had an iphone and never will! lol
Its just that I love this phone so much that I just cant stand it that reception is hurting me this badly...I just need to be patient I guess.
Like on the weekend... instead of streaming a soccer game to my Android I had to ask my wife for the Tilt2 again to watch the game with some friends at the park...
No. My tilt2 got sligltly better reception too. It OK I love my captivate.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Man, you guys are killing me. I have a Tilt 2 with Energy ROM and for the most part I'm happy with it, but I'm just dying to upgrade to a Captivate, but I keep hearing about reception problems. On the other hand, if you Google any phone these days you hear about reception problems. If you guys are saying the reception is worse than my Tilt 2 I'm just not sure I can live with that though. I frequently work on drilling rigs where reception is pretty bad to non existent. I'm thinking about just swapping out my Tilt 2 for a new one since the keyboard is wearing out, but for $125 deductible, an upgrade sounds pretty good.
Reception is the same or better from my original Tilt.
Phytrax said:
Man, you guys are killing me. I have a Tilt 2 with Energy ROM and for the most part I'm happy with it, but I'm just dying to upgrade to a Captivate, but I keep hearing about reception problems. On the other hand, if you Google any phone these days you hear about reception problems. If you guys are saying the reception is worse than my Tilt 2 I'm just not sure I can live with that though. I frequently work on drilling rigs where reception is pretty bad to non existent. I'm thinking about just swapping out my Tilt 2 for a new one since the keyboard is wearing out, but for $125 deductible, an upgrade sounds pretty good.
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Click to collapse
I would upgrade if I were you.
As much as I liked my Tilt2 there is no way I would go back to it after being using the Captivate. The speed difference is just too much.
So much that I have gone from fancy Energy Roms on my wife's now tilt 2 to the simplest and fastest 2.1 ROMS I can get so it does not feel too slow.
Tilt2 has had numerous radio upgrades you can install since it came out
I would imagine when samsung releases some radio revisions we will have better luck with reception.
I really have not noticed the Captivate having significantly less reception than the tilt2. Now for battery low on the other hand.....
For me the difference is obvious even on stock tilt 2 radio.
For example watching you tube at work with my tilt 2 it was almost always a non issue but with my Captivate I get several disconnections and most of the times I have to go to low quality mode to get a decent experience.
Still, no way I am going back to the Tilt2 ...wish I they could finally get android running on it...that would make it a much nicer phone I think
I dunno, I've had noticeably worse reception on my captivate than my old blackberrt 8310
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
shaolin95 said:
I would upgrade if I were you.
As much as I liked my Tilt2 there is no way I would go back to it after being using the Captivate. The speed difference is just too much.
So much that I have gone from fancy Energy Roms on my wife's now tilt 2 to the simplest and fastest 2.1 ROMS I can get so it does not feel too slow.
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Click to collapse
See, this doesnt make sense to me. After all it is a PHONE first, everything else second. So you're willing to sacrifice reception ability for speed of user interface, etc? Why? In your post you were just complaining about how poor the captivate's reception is vs. the tilt 2, yet you'd recommend the captivate because it has a faster CPU or slicker UI than the tilt2? Why not just carry two phones, one to actually use as a phone and one as a toy? That makes about as much sense to me. JMO.
derek4484 said:
See, this doesnt make sense to me. After all it is a PHONE first, everything else second. So you're willing to sacrifice reception ability for speed of user interface, etc? Why? In your post you were just complaining about how poor the captivate's reception is vs. the tilt 2, yet you'd recommend the captivate because it has a faster CPU or slicker UI than the tilt2? Why not just carry two phones, one to actually use as a phone and one as a toy? That makes about as much sense to me. JMO.
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Click to collapse
Ok first I think someone forgot his pills this morning
First reception not extremely poor compared to the tilt2 just youtube freezes more often at work which is a hard place for every phone for some reason. The Tilt2 was better but I did had to switch radios from time to time like something will change then a new radio will do better for this month or so.
Second, this is only for video watching...phone calls I have zero issues in quality or connectivity so far...yes it is a phone so that IS the main reason to have it.
The main issue has been Skyfire but I got confirmation from the developer that this is indeed a matter of Skyfire on the Android not being quite up to par yet to the Windows version but they are of course working on it.
So, today for example, I have been connecting to the market and downloading stuff and even watching youtube quite smoothly.
So in my first post I gave the impression it was a huge difference it was based on SouthPark and Skyfire.
So if you are able to calm down a bit feel free to rejoin the conversation but if you are going to go off like that then by all means, there are more threads around.
Regards
Well I'm glad I found this thread. When first hearing about the Captivate I was not very interested due to concerns about the Samsung interface, reception issues and GPS issues. I was also really hoping for a 4.3" screen and possibly front facing camera and a flash.
Now after reading that the GPU is top notch, GPS issue is fixed, or will be soon, and reception is generally fine I'm very much leaning toward the Captivate. Samsung interface seems to be not as bad as I initially though, and the speed is plenty fast enough even without froyo. Also NewEgg has them for $79 with a contract renewal.
I have to say I really love the new MaxSense ROM's from Energy though. I hope I can make Android look that good once I take the plunge. I'm still worried about the lack of hardware keyboard too, mostly the fact that it covers half the screen when using it.
For what it's worth:
I've owned a Tilt2 for 3 months, tried out pretty much all the available radios, and have a pretty good judgement of it's reception. I've also owned a Tilt (Kaiser) for almost 2 years.
My Captivate gets much better reception than either phone: I get solid HSDPA reception in places where neither my Tilt/Tilt2 could. The trick is to just ignore the signal bar. I live in an area with poor reception, even after the 850 MHz upgrade, and at times my phone shows no bars, but gets good quality voice/data reception. So don't rate your impressions of signal quality based on the on-screen display, only how the device actually performs.
And as far as GPS goes, I've head-to-head compared it against my Tilt2 (which has a pretty decent GPS) and the hardware itself is more sensitive, and sees 3-4 satellites indoors in places my Tilt2 can't. There are definitely weird and inconsistent problems getting/holding a lock, but to me it feels like a kernel or other software issue. So hopefully a solution can be found (by Samsung or Devs).
Shammyh said:
For what it's worth:
I've owned a Tilt2 for 3 months....
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the input. That's good to hear considering I'm fairly happy with the reception on my Tilt2. I have to say the GPS is inconsistent though. Sometimes it won't even pick up outside. I'm thinking about heading to Best Buy this weekend to pick up the Captivate and give it a try. I'm really looking forward to the improved video performance, bigger screen, and a standard headphone jack.
Shammyh said:
For what it's worth:
I've owned a Tilt2 for 3 months, tried out pretty much all the available radios, and have a pretty good judgement of it's reception. I've also owned a Tilt (Kaiser) for almost 2 years.
My Captivate gets much better reception than either phone: I get solid HSDPA reception in places where neither my Tilt/Tilt2 could. The trick is to just ignore the signal bar. I live in an area with poor reception, even after the 850 MHz upgrade, and at times my phone shows no bars, but gets good quality voice/data reception. So don't rate your impressions of signal quality based on the on-screen display, only how the device actually performs.
And as far as GPS goes, I've head-to-head compared it against my Tilt2 (which has a pretty decent GPS) and the hardware itself is more sensitive, and sees 3-4 satellites indoors in places my Tilt2 can't. There are definitely weird and inconsistent problems getting/holding a lock, but to me it feels like a kernel or other software issue. So hopefully a solution can be found (by Samsung or Devs).
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Click to collapse
Oh no, my impressions were not based on bars...in fact, you will see not a single comment about those I think. That is irrelevant to me.
Although as I mentioned on my previous post, without considering the differences between the Skyfire performance, the difference is not that big.
How are you getting HSDPA on that phone, I thought the hack was not working for ATT?
Phytrax said:
Thanks for the input. That's good to hear considering I'm fairly happy with the reception on my Tilt2. I have to say the GPS is inconsistent though. Sometimes it won't even pick up outside. I'm thinking about heading to Best Buy this weekend to pick up the Captivate and give it a try. I'm really looking forward to the improved video performance, bigger screen, and a standard headphone jack.
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Click to collapse
I am sure you are going to love it.
I was afraid of going away from the keyboard but Swype is sweet too.
derek4484 said:
See, this doesnt make sense to me. After all it is a PHONE first, everything else second.
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Click to collapse
If reception is primary concern I hear the Jitterbug gets good reception?
Seriously there has been a slightly weaker signal for me but we are talking less than 10%.
P.S. map your coverage if AT&T gets bad enough coverage maps from real use they will have to fix their coverage.
My reception has been great with my Captivate, it drops less calls than my iPones and Nexus One did....my Blackberry Bold is still the king though (always had great reception with it, and battery life was insane). I do however have issues with AT&T's network in the DC/Baltimore area...theres just so many people using data that everything I do lags and takes twice as long, and I've almost never been able to watch Youtube videos in Hi-Def while on 3G...on ANY of my phones while in a populated area, but it works fine at my parents house and when connected to our 3G microcell at home. I think the Captivate works great as a phone and the 4" screen seems like it sits right in the middle of being too large and too small, meaning its perfect for me. I owned a Tilt2 and couldn't stand it after owning iPhones and the Sprint Hero...I loved the keyboard but signal strength and the browser killed it for me, it only lasted 2 weeks before it went back. Give me the Tilt2 form factor with the Captivates screen and guts on AT&T and it'll be my next phone lol.
shaolin95 said:
Oh no, my impressions were not based on bars...in fact, you will see not a single comment about those I think. That is irrelevant to me.
Although as I mentioned on my previous post, without considering the differences between the Skyfire performance, the difference is not that big.
How are you getting HSDPA on that phone, I thought the hack was not working for ATT?
I am sure you are going to love it.
I was afraid of going away from the keyboard but Swype is sweet too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I understand, it's HSUPA (uplink) not HSDPA (downlink) that's the problem. Without HSDPA, we'd all be getting download speeds of less than 1 Mbit/s. And since the hardware supports it, it's only a matter of time before someone releases a working HSUPA radio.
It really is a great phone though. And for me, the biggest deal-breaker over the iPhone4 (and most other phones) is that I can simply drag-and-drop video files from my computer to my phone. From simple Xvid/Divx/OtherAVI files, to 720p HD MKV files. No transcoding, or other work required.
Don't buy it expecting it to be flawless though, the underlying hardware may be, but without XDA and the community to fix the software flaws, it wouldn't be nearly as appealing a phone.
Well I found a guy selling a Captivate on eBay for $400. My contract isn't due for an upgrade yet so I figured what the hell, if they come out with something amazing next year I could use my upgrade then. I'm definitely looking forward to the h264 decoding and "5.1" sound. I just hope I can find some widgets to make the interface look as awesome as my Energy MaxSense ROM on my Tilt2.
I've seen lots of complaints about the HD7's reception. With my DEFY I've gotten the best 3G reception ever on T-Mobile. HTC seems to have longstanding complaints about 3G reception and hearing about it with the HD2 and HD7 isn't encouraging.
So, Is the HD7 the best or worst you've had on T-Mobile?
Mine is not good, the signal is very weak. My other phone which is the Nokia N8 gets better signal on the same spot.
Overall I get pretty good reception as I did on any of my other phones, except in my living room. It is a total dead zone. Only that part of my house, out of anywhere I go, has a problem. Otherwise I get on average 4/5 bars. I am in Northern California if location is anything important to you.
As more Radio's become available to flash we should be able to get optimal signals hopefully. I personally haven't found it any different to my previous phone (TyTN II)
I've owned a mytouch 4g, g2 and hd7 all of which are htc made
It seems that these phones tend to have a bad reception in low signal area
however the hd7 tends to have the worse
wi-fi calling really works in handy for the mytouch 4g and g2 and i wish they would release this for Wp7
I also have a Defy as well as a HD7. The Defy was the forth phone I had with T-Mobile the others being a Moto Razr V3, T-Mobile Tab and Nokia Nuron. The Defy gets the best reception I've ever had and still does. Sitting in the same spot in my home the Defy gets full bars 3G while the HD7 only gets 2 bars 3G. Even the Nuron gets better reception.
Remember that the "bars" don't mean that much. A better test would be seeing which phone keeps a working signal (can make phone calls) the longest, as you drive away from a tower and into a dead zone. Then you can see which phone actually has the best and the truest reception.
ace10134 said:
Remember that the "bars" don't mean that much. A better test would be seeing which phone keeps a working signal (can make phone calls) the longest, as you drive away from a tower and into a dead zone. Then you can see which phone actually has the best and the truest reception.
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Click to collapse
Agreed
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
I had one or two disconnections during my conversations but the reception has been OK.
Reception in North Texas is good. Went out to lunch with a friend on Saturday who couldn't connect to the internet on his fruit phone but we could on my hd7. Every place will be different.
Well it's kind of disappointing to hear the varying but mostly bad reports on the HD7's reception. I guess I'll have to wait for something from Samsung or Nokia, if I can't get my hands on one for cheap.
The reception is not that bad its only if you live in the middle of nowhere where I see even a remote issue
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
My reception has been just fine in places where T-Mobile has reception. That being said, after updating my phone's radios, reception and even data speeds have improved greatly.
Now that I have the No-Do update I'm sorry to say that reception on this phone is still really bad. I was hoping that T-Mobile or HTC would include some sort of radio update. Well, since they didn't is a way I can update my radio firmware without flashing a whole new rom?
I only know of two TMOUS (531) Radios...
1. RUU_Schubert_TMOUS_1.20.531.01_Radio_5.51.09.11a_22.31.50.09U
2. RUU_Schubert_TMOUS_1.54.531.02_Radio_5.51.09.29a_22.32.50.10U
I'm currently on the 2nd one... but I've also tried the newer European and Telestra ROM/Radios as well...
All of them have worse receptions than the HTC TP2 that I had... and it really sucks at my house where I loose data connections all the time.
My reception sucks! I came from Verizon where my reception at home was not the best but with this HD7 its awful. I did have TMO before with an MDA and the reception wasnt nearly this bad. I drop calls daily. However, in some of my clients homes where my old verizon sucked, this phone shines, go figure.
Reception is going to depend on where you use your device. Try it out for 30 and if it doesnt work for you take it back. This phone is amazing and worth the trial! Good luck!
TechJunkiesCA said:
My reception sucks! I came from Verizon where my reception at home was not the best but with this HD7 its awful. I did have TMO before with an MDA and the reception wasnt nearly this bad. I drop calls daily. However, in some of my clients homes where my old verizon sucked, this phone shines, go figure.
Reception is going to depend on where you use your device. Try it out for 30 and if it doesnt work for you take it back. This phone is amazing and worth the trial! Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure but making a call in a weak signal area with the right phone can be the difference between holding it or constantly dropping it.
dzotx said:
I only know of two TMOUS (531) Radios...
1. RUU_Schubert_TMOUS_1.20.531.01_Radio_5.51.09.11a_22.31.50.09U
2. RUU_Schubert_TMOUS_1.54.531.02_Radio_5.51.09.29a_22.32.50.10U
I'm currently on the 2nd one... but I've also tried the newer European and Telestra ROM/Radios as well...
All of them have worse receptions than the HTC TP2 that I had... and it really sucks at my house where I loose data connections all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently using the 2nd radio listed above. I really like this phone but the dropped calls are making me crazy. Damn if only T-Mobile would just go ahead and release WiFi calling on this phone.
JamesDax said:
I'm currently using the 2nd radio listed above. I really like this phone but the dropped calls are making me crazy. Damn if only T-Mobile would just go ahead and release WiFi calling on this phone.
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Click to collapse
But your DEFY performs better under the same conditions? Right?
I have found the opposite.
I had the Desire HD, Galaxy S, and my HD7.
The HD7 works in my gym while the Desire HD did not. I found the reception the same for the Galaxy and the HD7.
I'm using mine on Telus.
Hi guys,
I'm trying to get an idea of how good is droid 3/milestone 3 wifi performance.
I've just gotten a Milestone 3, which I have been eagerly waiting for almost half a year! Everything is good except the wifi connection is terrible! If I move away from the access point for a few meters(8 meters at most), my wifi is a goner. My galaxy tab, my brother's S2 and my laptop still works fine at that range, but Milestone3 just failed to detect any more wifi.
I'm extremely saddened by this condition, so I wonder what is the range that you all were able to get out of it.
Would like to get a general idea before I proceed to claim warranty overseas...
Thanks!
I've noticed my droid 3 has worse range than my laptop, but not "only a few meters".
I think range is OK concidering the wifi module is smaller than my laptops
My Droid 3's WiFi range is far better than my last phone, and equivalent to my iPhone Touch. I get a signal as far as about 275 to 300 feet away (so, 90 meters or so.) That's where I typically make my connection as I walk into the yard - that's how long my driveway is.
Thanks for the feedback, I've also noticed my GPS doesn't work at all! So I'm returning the phone to the seller... sigh...
Hello, has anyone compared signal levels of Droid 4 to 'real GSM/UMTS' phones?
I've been checking the signal level with android software BestPlace, best I've accomplished is -61dBm, and it's often -80 or smth. I've also never achieved the phone to show 5/5 on signal bar, always max 4/5.
With any other phone I can get decent signal everywhere, as the D4 drops out really often on highways and places with worse reception.
Obviously you can't wait this phone to have as good antenna as real GSM phones because there needs to be antenna for really wide range of frequencies.. But still, any way to make it better.. ?
IMO the 3G-GSM handover is really slow and does work like early 3G-phones.. Very slow switching from 3G to GSM and breaking calls during the switch.
bluri said:
Hello, has anyone compared signal levels of Droid 4 to 'real GSM/UMTS' phones?
I've been checking the signal level with android software BestPlace, best I've accomplished is -61dBm, and it's often -80 or smth. I've also never achieved the phone to show 5/5 on signal bar, always max 4/5.
With any other phone I can get decent signal everywhere, as the D4 drops out really often on highways and places with worse reception.
Obviously you can't wait this phone to have as good antenna as real GSM phones because there needs to be antenna for really wide range of frequencies.. But still, any way to make it better.. ?
IMO the 3G-GSM handover is really slow and does work like early 3G-phones.. Very slow switching from 3G to GSM and breaking calls during the switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem, and despite extensive googling have not found a solution yet.
I tried everything I could find and I am now considering a custom rom.
Sadly also the custom roms don't seem to pay much attention to GSM/UMTS reception, but that search was not extensive yet
Netherlands / KPN
Same problem here. I've two droid 4 and both have a much worse signal strengh than cheep gsm phones.
At the moment i'm trying some build.prop tweaks.
Did you already try something (e.g modified radio)?
I'm on Arman's infinirom right now, and it is absolutely amazing in terms of performance and stability. However, I'm still falling to see any battery life improvements. Right now the best screen time I can get is 4 hours screen on over the course of two days. No gaming, just flipboard, music, and web browsing. I've tried to emulate everyone's settings on here, but to no avail. I did realize that I'm in a rural area with very weak signal. Not just data, but actual phone signal. Would this happen to be the issue?
Here's a shot of how weak signal is here :
Sent from my XT890 using xda app-developers app
Your phone is always hunting for a signal, and the weaker or more unstable the signal is the harder it’s going to work to find and keep latched on to it.
It’s for this reason that if I’m on a long train journey across open country I put my phone in to flight mode until I reach urban areas to conserve the battery. One thing I don’t like about the RAZR i is that it doesn’t hold a 3G signal anywhere near as good as any of my previous Nokia's. I’ve used Three’s network for many years with no problems until I bought the RAZR, and as Three doesn’t have a back-up 2G network sadly I’ve had to switch carriers because otherwise I’ve been extremely happy with them.
Hope this helps.