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Why is the Antenna on the bottom of the phone? I'll be holding my phone in an area with no bars and when I turn the phone upside down I will pick up 2 bars. I turn it back to normal and both bars go away. This is very annoying. Granted when I make a call the bottom of the phone is pointing up, BUT what about trying to download emails, or just holding your phone and trying to browse the internet.. I've seriously turned my phone upside down to do this.
As much as I love this phone, the Antenna on the bottom and the location of the micro USB slot might be enough to push me to the iphone 5 if it has a slide out keyboard.
What do you all think? Is it just me?
The antennas are at the top corners of the phone. If you take off the battery cover, you will see some gold prongs, those slip into the groves that are on the phone itself, Those are the antennas...
Jrocker23 said:
The antennas are at the top corners of the phone. If you take off the battery cover, you will see some gold prongs, those slip into the groves that are on the phone itself, Those are the antennas...
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Those are the secondary antennas actually. The main battery is in almost every phone at the bottom, hence the external antenna plug on the TB is right under the kick stand.
milan03 said:
Those are the secondary antennas actually. The main battery is in almost every phone at the bottom, hence the external antenna plug on the TB is right under the kick stand.
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Ok thank you for advising. good to know...
jsquared said:
Why is the Antenna on the bottom of the phone? I'll be holding my phone in an area with no bars and when I turn the phone upside down I will pick up 2 bars. I turn it back to normal and both bars go away. This is very annoying.
What do you all think? Is it just me?
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Click to collapse
I think it's probably due to RF emissions being a little less close to your brain; the evidence seems to go back and forth over the years re: cellphone antennas and brain tumors, so who knows?
milan03 said:
Those are the secondary antennas actually. The main battery is in almost every phone at the bottom, hence the external antenna plug on the TB is right under the kick stand.
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Is that what that little rubber plug on the backside near the bottom is? I just noticed it for the first time today.
distortedloop said:
I think it's probably due to RF emissions being a little less close to your brain; the evidence seems to go back and forth over the years re: cellphone antennas and brain tumors, so who knows?
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Hmmm, OK I love my Thunderbolt. (except for the micro usb location, the EVO has it on the bottom...I'm jealous.)
jsquared said:
Hmmm, OK I love my Thunderbolt. (except for the micro usb location, the EVO has it on the bottom...I'm jealous.)
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Seems like the EVO is better in a few ways... The battery cover goes over the whole phone hence a flush cover for the extended battery...
Also and it's been out longer more assy's avab.
distortedloop said:
Is that what that little rubber plug on the backside near the bottom is? I just noticed it for the first time today.
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Yup if you take it off the port is right under.
Does anyone know if you could connect an external antenna to get a little more consistent signal on the 4g. I get a signal but not that great at my house. If so what would i need?
Thanks
HTC phones for the last 3 years have all had the cellular antennas on the bottom of the phone. Most Nokia phones too. Just about every manufacturer has been doing this, minimize radiation to the brain.
The downside is your hand blocks signal so you have to learn to keep the bottom exposed to avoid signal attenuation.
RogerPodacter said:
HTC phones for the last 3 years have all had the cellular antennas on the bottom of the phone. Most Nokia phones too. Just about every manufacturer has been doing this, minimize radiation to the brain.
The downside is your hand blocks signal so you have to learn to keep the bottom exposed to avoid signal attenuation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep your AT&T and iPhone problems to yourself
only problem is that cellphones don't release ionizing radiation so there is no danger for tumors. even if it did it would be about the same amount of radiation as eating a bananna once a day.
Ok so the antenna is at the bottom of the Thunderbolt... Mines not having any issues is yours?
Simple fix, install adw and enable
Full rotation
Flip the phone upsidedown wala
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
I'm not sure what's the issue with the antenna. I found reception on my Bolt to be exceptional.
no I love my sgs2 and so does every that holds it, ive a major issue that i thought was caused by switching from orange uk to o2 uk, but as it happens i have full signal when the phone is rested down... however when i pick it up it drops signal... more often than not the signal completely drops out as does the call and sometimes it just goes down to 1 bar... does anyone else have this problem? ive tried my o2 sim and my orange sim its the same for both... is it possible i have a defective handset ? weak radio ???
heres my quick vid to show you what i mean, apologies for the video quality... filmed on my bb9700
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VthdB4V3D8&feature=channel_video_title
well the GSM and 3G antenna looks to be located in the bottom, back part of the device. so this seems like the exact place your hand would be covering when holding the phone, so i can easily see some significant signal attentuation happening with this phone.
i dont know where the antenna was located on the original galaxy s. but all phones i own always have attentuation. not much you can do about it i'd guess.
Applies to all wireless devices - signal transmits worse through your hand than through empty air. Rules of the universe.
However, I can't seem to replicate what you're seeing. In order for bars to drop, I have to block the entire bottom of my device using both hands. Holding it in one hand doesn't seem to be causing a drop for me.
But again : air > hand for signal transmission.
RogerPodacter said:
well the GSM and 3G antenna looks to be located in the bottom, back part of the device. so this seems like the exact place your hand would be covering when holding the phone, so i can easily see some significant signal attentuation happening with this phone.
i dont know where the antenna was located on the original galaxy s. but all phones i own always have attentuation. not much you can do about it i'd guess.
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That's right, quick start guide shows the location of the antenna. If you look at the back of the device, the antenna is in the lower left hand corner, opposite the speaker.
When holding the device in your right hand, it should rest in your palm.
Actually holding the device in my right hand doesn't seem to be affecting my signal though, for some reason. I might just be in an area with good signal though (3 bars of h+, stays at 3 bars when holding it in 1 hand, drops to 1 bar when covering the device completely with 2 hands, and then changes to edge with full bars).
I just tested with my S2 and I had no problems whatsoever.
See my youtube channel (../user/Poppefieke) Can't post links yet.
I have some other S2 video's there too
i think sampullen who has been posting quite a few vids on youtube is going to cover this now too, see i hold my sgs2 in my left had for holding when im surfing etc but also when im on calls...
its good to hear some of you cannot replicate this, maybe mines faulty might try to exchange for a new 1 just to be on the safe side
OMG!
can more people confirm if this is real?
is it as bad as the antenna-gate issue from apple or no where as bad
Hey (samjpullen) here
I have been doing the tests like Sticky and have been getting some rather conflicting results to say the least.
I am not in the best area for Orange so i get a weak signal most of the time, when i do the test infront of my iMac and extra screen with the TV, Sky (you know the drill) on it seems to drop down from H with 1 bar, then down to 3G then down to G and then it can jump onto the Edge network (rathe strange)
But when i do this same test in other rooms e.g bathroom, other bedroom, even downstairs with the tv etc on it is fine!
So my guess is that it might be my rooms location and maybe all the electrical equipment within a small space.
AllGamer said:
can more people confirm if this is real?
is it as bad as the antenna-gate issue from apple or no where as bad
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Click to collapse
im hoping no where near as bad and im hoping that i was the only affected, one chap has placed a video reply to mine showing he doesnt have the issue which is good news, lets hope more can confirm im rather a 1 off and that if i replace this unit all will be well...... fingers crossed
cheers sam,
btw ppl follow sam on twitter, guys good!!!
I just noticed that when I put my hand around the bottom of the phone my signal drops by 2-3 bars and as soon as i remove it, it goes back up. I can do it over and over again. Just out of curiosity I tried this with my evo 4g and the signal doesn't change. I've seen a bunch of people reporting that their reception isn't as good as other phones with the 3d. could it be the antenna placement just like the iphone 4?
chase7545 said:
I just noticed that when I put my hand around the bottom of the phone my signal drops by 2-3 bars and as soon as i remove it, it goes back up. I can do it over and over again. Just out of curiosity I tried this with my evo 4g and the signal doesn't change. I've seen a bunch of people reporting that their reception isn't as good as other phones with the 3d. could it be the antenna placement just like the iphone 4?
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Can't recreate it here. Wrapped both hands around my phone like I was strangling it, didn't do it.
Also tried as the post above...notta.
chase7545 said:
I just noticed that when I put my hand around the bottom of the phone my signal drops by 2-3 bars and as soon as i remove it, it goes back up. I can do it over and over again. Just out of curiosity I tried this with my evo 4g and the signal doesn't change. I've seen a bunch of people reporting that their reception isn't as good as other phones with the 3d. could it be the antenna placement just like the iphone 4?
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Click to collapse
I would recommend getting a bumper...
No, for real though, the iphone had the issue because the antenna was built into the actual outside of the phone, when your skin touched it, it would change the attenuation which caused the issue of poor reception. Our antenna is totally internal so this would not happen.
I think your holding it wrong. Seriously though I just did the same and was unable to recreate the issue. Might be defective.
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chase7545 said:
I just noticed that when I put my hand around the bottom of the phone my signal drops by 2-3 bars and as soon as i remove it, it goes back up. I can do it over and over again. Just out of curiosity I tried this with my evo 4g and the signal doesn't change. I've seen a bunch of people reporting that their reception isn't as good as other phones with the 3d. could it be the antenna placement just like the iphone 4?
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My phone also does this I thought I was the only one that had.this problem.
chase7545 said:
I just noticed that when I put my hand around the bottom of the phone my signal drops by 2-3 bars and as soon as i remove it, it goes back up. I can do it over and over again. Just out of curiosity I tried this with my evo 4g and the signal doesn't change. I've seen a bunch of people reporting that their reception isn't as good as other phones with the 3d. could it be the antenna placement just like the iphone 4?
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I have this problem too... Anybody claiming they don't have this problem are in a good coverage area. If you download the app open signal maps you can see the drop in dbm once you hold the device, it's very irritating
Mine does it to, very annoying.
I saw somewhere in another thread that the radio antenna is indeed on the bottom of the 3d. Dont know if thats confirmed or not. But it would explain the drop when covered by hands.
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THEGAMEPLAY94 said:
I have this problem too... Anybody claiming they don't have this problem are in a good coverage area. If you download the app open signal maps you can see the drop in dbm once you hold the device, it's very irritating
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61% with nothing touching my phone.
70% with my hand covering the bottom.
56% with both hands around the phone.
I fail to see how this is like apple because EVERY PHONE loses signal when being touched. The problem with Apple's was that it dropped the calls.
Sent from my Shooter.
Yes, without anything it's at 80% and once I grab it it drops to 30%. The antenna does seem to be at the bottom unlike the 4G which was on the top.
And calls drop all the time.
DoctorComrade said:
61% with nothing touching my phone.
70% with my hand covering the bottom.
56% with both hands around the phone.
I fail to see how this is like apple because EVERY PHONE loses signal when being touched. The problem with Apple's was that it dropped the calls.
Sent from my Shooter.
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Click to collapse
My problem is that if I cover the upper part but well I almost never do that.
This needs to be recognized as a known issue since it has been brought up many times
I noticed the same thing but wierd thing is sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.
I could recreate it for 15 tries in a row but then I closed the internet browser and moved the phone a couple inches and the problem stopped.
I will keep monitoring the signal while I grab the phone and see what happens. But yes it did happen when I grabbed the bottom.
Mine does it too...this is the only problem I have
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THEGAMEPLAY94 said:
This needs to be recognized as a known issue since it has been brought up many times
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Its not a "known issue". It just so happens that this is a cell phone. Which has antennas. Which, when covered, loose reception. No way around that. Its the nature of cell phones.
Comparatively its like complaining that when in a lead lined room, you have poor reception.
Bamba1260 said:
Its not a "known issue". It just so happens that this is a cell phone. Which has antennas. Which, when covered, loose reception. No way around that. Its the nature of cell phones.
Comparatively its like complaining that when in a lead lined room, you have poor reception.
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plus 1000
Sent from my Shooter.
The iphone issue was caused by them leaving the antenna exposed on the outside of the phone. Whenever you would touch it in a certain spot it would short it out and you would lose the signal.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
THEGAMEPLAY94 said:
I have this problem too... Anybody claiming they don't have this problem are in a good coverage area. If you download the app open signal maps you can see the drop in dbm once you hold the device, it's very irritating
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Click to collapse
i used that app and covered the phone up and nothing changed the only problem i have ever had is one of the cases i have blocks a little bit of my 4g signal but nothing else
xHausx said:
The iphone issue was caused by them leaving the antenna exposed on the outside of the phone. Whenever you would touch it in a certain spot it would short it out and you would lose the signal.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
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While it may not be exactly like the iphone, could it be similar in the fact the antenna placement isn't optimal? I think that most people hold their phones toward the bottom where the antenna is where as on other phones like the evo 4g they wouldn't be covering the antenna by doing this. I just know I've seen quite a few complaints regarding reception so this could be a feasible reason why.
Hi, I got a quick question. Anyone know where is the resound antennae is located. Ever since I flashed to the latest ice Rom, I noticed that WiFi signal is weaker when in portraits mode. However if I switch to the landscape mode with the capacitive button on the right side the WiFi signal is stronger. Anyone notice this as well
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All antennas are in the back cover of the phone... No idea where the wifi antenna in particular is though.
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I think it is on the left side. So if looking at the screen, on the left. I've noticed when I'm holding the phone if my fingers are grasping on the left side the signal is cut pretty bad.
i know this have been discussed before but there is still no solution.
here s my problem: wifi signal drops suddenly when i hold my phone. ive done sevral speed tests. These tests confirm that holding the phone results in a really bad wifi quality. I ve tried eveything.
does anyone have any ideas? even if its hardware moding
thx
+1
Sad to say, in my tests, by tightly holding the phone, especially at the bottom right, the signal strength reduced by about 20dBm.
Sent from my XT910 using XDA
this really sucks since this phone is pretty good and so far its the only BIG problem i found. and no solutions....
Must be a random problem. I have the RAZR and RAZR Maxx and neither has this problem.
For me, on 2.3.6 wifi signal was low, especially taking phone by bottom, but on ICS, both t-mobile ics and latest eu ics, wifi signal is very improved. Hand issue remains, but signal is for me stronger.
well i guess im just going to wait for stock ics update and hope it improves but im guessing the problem wont disappear since this is clearly a hardware issue. and if this is random then im very unlucky
When software fixes a radio that software usually just makes the signal-strength meter show signal that's not really there.
There are apps on Play that "fix" all kinds of radio problems by installing signal-strength icons with the low-strength indications set inaccurately. It *looks* like more signal, but it's the same low signal you had before.
Signal strength has almost nothing to do with reception anyway. Signal/Noise ratio is what's important, and there's no meter for that. One bar of signal in a very RF-quiet area, is much better than five bars in a computer data center.
"Caveet emter, I reckon!"
- Mark Twain
I have no wifi issues with this phone. The GNex however was unusable at 30 feet from a high-powered Hawking WAP, or an Apple Airport Extreme WAP.
If you have a plastic case, try removing it. Some cases are made with recycled plastic and are infused with conductive material that can act as a Faraday Shield, blocking part of the signal. Easy test, costs nothing but a few seconds...
yea i already knew about the plastic thats why i bought a rubber case. I have to say it helped a little but didnt fix it. the problem is still there.
thx
Haven't seen any problems with my wifi, although I mainly use the 3G simply because I have 4 GB of data a month and I will never use that much when I'm out around town.
If the problem occurs when holding it a certain way wouldn't the simplest solution be to not hold it that way, also be very aware of any metals between you and the router as metals block radio signals, how old is your house, if old enough maybe lead paint, unlikely but just throwing all possibilities out there.
thx for your help. i didnt only test this at home and as for holding the phone im used to hold it like i hold all phones and its pretty annoying if i always have to hold it differently if i want to use the internet
Have you tried the free Play Store app, WiFi Analyzer?
This will help you find out what works/doesn't as it provides more sensitive strength measurements from the chip. It's handy anyway, since it shows WAPs that you aren't connected to. yet.
It's quite possible that your antenna wire bounced off the connector. An insignificant drop of an inch could do that if it was never seated correctly. It would likely operate in a degraded capacity as a result. If you're OK with cracking the case open, that's something quick to check.
How long have you had this phone?
I have never heard anyone complain about the Razr's WiFi reception, so I suspect this is something unique to that phone right there. What is your idea of poor reception? 100 feet, inside, is the practical limit. 300 feet in an open field. Metal wall studs, sheet metal siding, all of these will stop radio waves dead.
marawan31 said:
thx for your help. i didnt only test this at home and as for holding the phone im used to hold it like i hold all phones and its pretty annoying if i always have to hold it differently if i want to use the internet
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Click to collapse
I get that, just trying to "cover all the bases" as they say.
Giblet535 said:
I have never heard anyone complain about the Razr's WiFi reception,
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Click to collapse
Then you haven't been listening. The RAZR is universally acclaimed to have the worst WiFi reception of ANY device since 1999.
im ok with opening it... i actually opened it a couple of times and removed the battery but idk what to look for since nothing is labeled i dont even know where exactly is the wifi ship and antenna. i tested this as close as 6 feet from my router when i leave it on the table i get full wifi signal and speed test at max then i hold it and try... wifi signal goes down and speed test at 3/4 max speed...
thx
It's possible that I have an extraordinary phone then. I decided to compare.
My phone is seeing -60dbm from the Hawking extender that I'm closest to, which is about 20 meters away, behind three stick-frame (pine 2x4 studs, sheetrock) walls. The reading varies dramatically, depending on where I put it on my desk. So let's see what some other WiFi devices do...
My MacBook reads -58dbm. My iPad2 reads -59dbm. An HP Envy 15 reads -65dbm. And a Moto Atrix2 WCS (With Cracked Screen) reads -61dbm.
A transfer of 200MB ("random" data created via linux: 'dd if=/dev/random of=200mb.dat bs=1048576 count=200' so that compression algorithms don't skew the results):
Razr (6.12.79 ICS Black Widow): 9s
MacBook (Lion): 6.5s
iPad2: 10s
HP Envy 15 (Ubuntu 11.10): 7.5s
Moto Atrix2 WCS: 10s
I didn't repeat the test, and that is a busy WAP, but the results are what I expect for battery-operated devices. I also expected the ipad, atrix and razr to lose the race, since they have relatively slow storage systems, which have inherently poor write performance on files of this size (200MB won't buffer at all).
The WiFi cable will look like a white or black wire with a gold junction on the end where it meets the motherboard. I would expect that if you've had the phone open, you would definitely notice a wire hanging loose! I doubt that's the problem, but that wire is a coaxial shielded cable - like on cable TV only really tiny - and you can do all kinds of DIY replacement antenna stuff eg, adding an external jack so you can "beam" WiFi a mile away using a hacked Pringles potato chip can.
I actually think the problem might be RF noise in your environment. Florescent lights (CFLs), computing equipment, HVAC compressors, and motors can effectively "jam" WiFi signals, causing packet transmission failures to increase rapidly as the distance from the WAP increases.
We have a Fluke RF analyzer here, and our WiFi setup is quite good as a result.
Does anyone know if the Razr is unusually susceptible to RF noise? Maybe noise that the Razr generates from the motherboard/CPU/radios/BT? I'm not equipped to test that.
---------- Post added at 09:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 AM ----------
Do you have other devices to compare the Razr to?
Did you try pointing all the rubber duck antennas on the WAP straight up?
I just checked an iphone, another ipad, another Razr, and a Dell laptop, and my boss's Razr was technically the winner on signal strength and transfer speed, but let's call it even. There are too many variables, and statistically significant benchmarking is beyond the scope of a forum comment.
The Razr has typical WiFi performance in this environment.
Thank you very much for your post. I did try with the desire z and the evo 3d which are doing jist fine wheather i hold them or leave them on the table: both signal and speed test are amazing compared to the razr (if i hold it). If you could tell me where the wifi ship and antenna are located (a pic maybe) it would be great because when i open the razr all i can see are metal plates everywhere probably for cooling. I dont understand what you mean by pointing all the rubber duck antennas on the WAP...
Thx again
I haven't had a Razr open yet. Even after dropping mine from a motorcycle and watching it slide into a ditch with an inch of water in it. Tough li'l bastards...
The WiFi antenna cable and connector are probably under one of the metal shields.
Most WAPs have 1, 2, or 3 "rubber duck" antennas that you can move to maximize the signal lobe pattern. You can use the WiFi Analyzer app to adjust them, but be prepared to walk a lot...
Others are just a box. The only one of those that *I* know of that works well is the Apple Airport Extreme. The Netgear Wireless-N HD, which is very highly rated, is a P.O.S.: it has a narrow, elongated lobe pattern, and if you're in that narrow lobe, it works REALLY well. If not, you'll be lucky to connect to it. Two people standing 10 feet apart, and one can have great service while the other can't even get an IP address.
The fact that you have other devices working well, and you sound like you've done this quite a bit, I'm guessing you have a problem inside the phone itself.
I manage about 200 phones here, and I haven't heard one word of complaint about WiFi. 3G/4G service? Yeah, lots of complaints about 3G/4G from people out in the woods or working in a valley.
These also work well as a WAP (tethering). We have a few of the Personal WiFi devices - a handheld that converts 3G/4G to WiFi for up to five users - but most people prefer this phone for that.
My old DroidX has a better WiFi antenna, but that's an exceptional phone with only one core: I spit on it. Ptui.