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I've noticed that both my wife's and my phone both have crappy wifi reception.
I'm comparing this to the Droid Incredible (still have) that this phone replaced as well as the Vibrant (sold) that I had before that.
I literally can be 5 ft away from my wifi router and have mediocre reception. When I'm in another room, the phone seems to be hanging on to signal as if its life depended on it.
I've tried different roms, (currently on CM7) without any luck. I'm on the ED05 radio.
One thing I've found that makes a huge difference (of about 20 dBM) was removing the back cover and just putting the phone in my regular case, (which is now a little loose and risks losing the battery). I checked the difference by using Wifi Analyzer (in the market). I can make a video of me putting the cover on and removing it if the mob so desires.
Is this something that happens commonly?
I have definitely noticed bad wifi reception with this phone. It drops the connection all the time when it's right beside my laptop which has full strength.
Sent from my MIUI SCH-i500
Used to be great
Before rooting or installing cm7....wifi was full strength at my house...In the same location now i only get 1 bar. Im currently running cm7 with a ec09 modem. Any suggestions out there? (tried different modem "ed05")
My View's WIFI radio doesn't seem to be as strong as my GTab 10.1. I can put them side by side and using an app called WIFI Analyzer, the signal looks significantly stronger on the GTab. Upgraded the View to HC and it's pretty much the same.
Anyone else experience anything like this? Does the View just have a weak radio? Or is mine perhaps defective? And thoughts or advice is appreciated.
Sent from my PG41200 using Tapatalk
My wifi is upstairs and picks up good in the basement with my View and Flyer.
Bit more info...I'm sitting on the same floor as my wireless router, 2 rooms away. Neither of our laptops (in this same room) have any trouble picking up the wireless signal. On WIFI Analyzer, my Galaxy Tab 10.1 is consistently registering a signal strength anywhere from -70 dBm to -60 dBm...it does not lose connection.
My EVO View fluctuates anywhere from no signal to -80 dBm. My phone (a Samsung Galaxy S) is registering closer to the View than the Galaxy Tab.
If I take the View into the same room as the wireless router, it picks up a strong, solid connection and doesn't drop it.
I don't think its my wireless router...the View and GTab do the same thing at work...the signal is significantly stronger on my GTab.
Not noticed this on either device, but did with the Acer 500 and returned it. Worst wifi device I have owned.
I actually had a great signal with GB but now that i'm on hc it's off and on
Sent from my Evo View 4g
rjohmit said:
My View's WIFI radio doesn't seem to be as strong as my GTab 10.1. I can put them side by side and using an app called WIFI Analyzer, the signal looks significantly stronger on the GTab. Upgraded the View to HC and it's pretty much the same.
Anyone else experience anything like this? Does the View just have a weak radio? Or is mine perhaps defective? And thoughts or advice is appreciated.
Sent from my PG41200 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I was thinking the same thing today. I have another brand tablet that seems to have about 30-40% better reception. Also finds many more AP's than my View. I guess they want you to use their "Sprint" data.
Appreciate the responses. The weird thing is I took the View to my bedroom last night, which is upstairs and at the opposite end of the house from the router, and the signal was stronger and more consistent up there. Maybe I'm encountering some kind of interference in the living room... I don't know. Either way, I want a new wireless router.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
I have noticed the same thing with my view. Wifi signal is inconsistent. The only good thing is that the signal didn't drop and speed is pretty consistent. I am guessing its a software issue?
I have had both the Flyer and the View. The Flyer had about 30% better reception than the View in the exact same spot. Even my Droid X2 has better reception. I even tried turning on the wifi boost option under advanced settings in the wifi settings. Probably difference in the radio compared to the Flyer.
Kire1820 said:
I have noticed the same thing with my view. Wifi signal is inconsistent. The only good thing is that the signal didn't drop and speed is pretty consistent. I am guessing its a software issue?
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Click to collapse
Yeah I was thinking firmware... Tried to update mine but always get an error.
pakmonaco said:
I have had both the Flyer and the View. The Flyer had about 30% better reception than the View in the exact same spot. Even my Droid X2 has better reception. I even tried turning on the wifi boost option under advanced settings in the wifi settings. Probably difference in the radio compared to the Flyer.
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Click to collapse
I tried the "Best wifi performance" setting as well... Didn't seem to make a difference. Mine does drop the connection regularly, at least in my living room. Still love the little thing. Guess when I'm sitting on my couch, I can just grab my GTab.
Will also look into upgrading (and possibly relocating) my wireless router soon. Again, thanks for the replies.
Wonder if it's a hardware issue. Are both radios on the same chip our share the same antenna? So that on the Flyer there's more power to pick up the wifi signal?
Sent from my HTC Flyer P512 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk
bsoplinger said:
Wonder if it's a hardware issue. Are both radios on the same chip our share the same antenna? So that on the Flyer there's more power to pick up the wifi signal?
Sent from my HTC Flyer P512 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I dont know...but WIFI is pretty much always the only thing I have turned on.
I was just wondering if the device is defective...based on other people's comments, it doesn't sound like it.
I really like the View, but it's really annoying to have to be within 10' of a wireless router to get a solid, consistent connection.
rjohmit said:
I dont know...but WIFI is pretty much always the only thing I have turned on.
I was just wondering if the device is defective...based on other people's comments, it doesn't sound like it.
I really like the View, but it's really annoying to have to be within 10' of a wireless router to get a solid, consistent connection.
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Click to collapse
I have the same issue and, though I don't know if this is specific to my unit, I can say it is the same trouble regardless the wifi situation and have compared it to my (and others') laptops, a Nook STR, and an HTC Espresso, all of which connect and show strong signals. I've checked this with 6 routers and it is the case every time.
Quite absurd. Since I gained the View from an eBay sale, I'll likely be selling it as a result.
The view does much better then my e4gt and better then my Att ipad2.
IF you have to be within 10 ft of a router, you have a defect or failure. Send it back for repair.
mitkaese said:
I have the same issue and, though I don't know if this is specific to my unit, I can say it is the same trouble regardless the wifi situation and have compared it to my (and others') laptops, a Nook STR, and an HTC Espresso, all of which connect and show strong signals. I've checked this with 6 routers and it is the case every time.
Quite absurd. Since I gained the View from an eBay sale, I'll likely be selling it as a result.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you already tried this but what happens when you enable "best wifi performance" in advanced wifi settings? It's supposed to increase signal range at the cost of battery consumption so who knows.. maybe it will increase your range to 15 feet
Yes, thanks for the note. I've tried the increased performance wifi setting, to which it is currently set. I've additionally tried changing the "home" and "outside" settings, which do not seem to stay set or, perhaps, are not even set in the first place (or at least this is not reflected in the GUI). I'm currently running HC, but this was true fro GB. Stupidly, I held out, hoping that the upgrade would cure my device.
With my Flyer I can get about 100 ft outside my house with Wifi.
i am having the same problem. Weak a signal at home a little better at other wifi locations. Can a router setting impact the quality or strength of a connection?
I've been reading for a while trying to evaluate the different level of Prime problems. My return window for the prime closes tomorrow. I'm an android kind of guy and I also own a Samsung Galaxy S.
I'm trying to evaluate the degree of problem with my GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth.
WiFi
===
Running wifi analyzer on both the prime and the sgs the signal readings are almost similar the connection speeds vary greatly with the prime often connecting at faster speeds. I have several wifi routers in my house for coverage with the same ssid. The prime seems to have a little more problems switching from one to the other but not that much.
GPS
===
My prime gps does work but the reception is much weaker than my sgs. This is especially true from inside my house. My sgs is easily able to see and fix 5-8 sats while the prime is completely blind. Outside the house but not in the city, the results are more encouraging with the prime being able to fix almost the same number of sats than the sgs but I cannot see the exact signal strength. I haven't tested in a city with tall buildings all around.
Bluetooth
=======
I haven't found any tools to evaluate the BT signal strength. I'm able to pair a headset and it appears to work properly but no other tests were made.
Soooo, my questions are: Was there batches of primes that were more problematic than others? Is the unconnected antennas problems random or related to the first batches? Compared to other working prime; is mine as good as it gets or I should roll the dices and try to find a better prime?
My serial number begins with: C1OKAS0xxxxx
Thanks in advance for any replies.
JF.
Sounds to me like you have a good one. Your wifi works well compared to your other devices LR even better. You have a working GPS. despite being weaker then your other device it works. Asus removed GPS spec so consider yourself lucky on GPS side. Then for BT seems like you have no issues. I'd think your device was a keeper. As far as wifi antennae issues, that's very random and very small in numbers compared to overall prime users here in xda. The biggest complaint is GPS, not wifi. The other gripe is some experience slowdown of speeds when BT and wifi are both streaming data. But you have alot also that don't experience that. So I wouldn't be too pressed about it. If your device works well, keep it. Or you could gamble on a new device. It could be better. But it could also not be. All primes no matter the batch has the identical same hardware. I have an early batch one I purchased on 12/22. Its been working great for me. Had no issues with it at all. So it is a hit or miss but odds are in favor of finding a good one.
Good luck on your decision. I'd say keep your prime if it works well for you. Its not a matter of if its as good as it gets. What you described your device as is a really good working one. Why take risk n get rid of it.
I don't think there are any "good ones", specially if Asus has to make a physical hardware change. UNLESS they are already manufacturing this change into production already, but I highly doubt that. A company like Asus could never move that fast.
The WIFI will always be an issue to some, and not an issue to most people. If you happen to be near a router (less than 50-75 feet away) you will be in good shape. If you are in a place like a school or office building where there are many routers, you will be in good shape. If you are trying to hold on to the edge of your routers max range, you will be in bad shape.
for GPS,
people are trying to get a lock with out a data connection. These tablets use the same GPS chip a cellphone would meaning it needs data connection for an accurate lock. You will NOT get an accurate lock using the GPS outside with no data connection. This is how all mobile devices are.
Thanks for the replies. I will sleep on it and decide tomorrow. I also have hopes that Asus will eventually do the right thing and replace the back of the prime...
Prime/Tapatalk
jflaplante said:
Thanks for the replies. I will sleep on it and decide tomorrow. I also have hopes that Asus will eventually do the right thing and replace the back of the prime...
Prime/Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With what, plastic? That is probably what is going to happen....
I have owned (and still own) ONE Prime. It works great. Wifi is strong or perhaps even stronger than any of my other devices in the house. I own a Playbook, Slider, Evo 3D, Photon, and some other random wifi devices. I was not even aware that there *was* an issue with the Prime and wifi until I started reading posts here with all of these issues and blaming the backing..etc.
I still truly believe that it is environment over the actual device. Wifi is a signal that must pass through walls, etc. I can bet there are times that the overly paranoid Prime owner sees his bar go down one notch and immediately posts up here that he is experiencing the famous "wifi problem". I do not doubt there are some people out there with real problems (such is the nature of electronics manufacture), but I also do not doubt that people overreact when they *think* its a "known problem".
No, I really like the spun metal back, and I'll be pissed if it gets reduced to plastic because of some kind of nonsense. Actually, I won't be THAT pissed...as I already own it
@zektor,
I was thinking more like the current aluminium design which is rigid and resistant but with plastic "windows" at the right places for maximal signals reception. A little like the iPad's solution.
I'm also learning to live without 3G built-in with my sgs wi-fi tether but that another story.
MarcMaiden said:
for GPS,
people are trying to get a lock with out a data connection. These tablets use the same GPS chip a cellphone would meaning it needs data connection for an accurate lock. You will NOT get an accurate lock using the GPS outside with no data connection. This is how all mobile devices are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but this simply isn't true.
I very frequently use GPS on my Android phones for GPS navigation when traveling overseas, and most of the time I am not using mobile data due to the exorbitant cost when roaming.
This would not be possible without an accurate lock.
Regards,
Dave
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Assisted GPS, using a wifi or 3G signal to assist the GPS location only allows a slightly faster location fix. After the GPS gets a location fix, it's not used at all. GPS signals from the satellites are very weak, and metal and water will block them. If you're inside, you simply can't get a good GPS signal. Moving a few feet one way or another can make a big difference, but not always. Being outside is essential for getting a good GPS signal. It's also essential that you don't put your hand over the antenna, because the water in your hand can completely block the signal. Holding the tablet in any position other than horizontal, facing straight up, can also degrade the signal, since the metal case blocks it. Putting a metal case over a GPS antenna is a bad idea, and after Asus did it, they had to decide whether to keep the metal case or make the GPS more usable. Fortunately, IMO, they decided that the metal case was more important than the GPS, so they just dropped the GPS specs from the Prime. Asus does not guarantee that the GPS in the Prime will work at all. However, the latest update, .15, seems to help the GPS reception a lot.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I do not have this router, but one of my co-workers does and says it is amazing. It covers his entire large house and even outside to the street he says. I'm thinking about trying one, just to check out the wireless coverage, since I have lots of walls and crap to go through.
http://www.ampedwireless.com/products/r10000g.html
I've been thinking of getting this kind of thing for my home office, where EVERY mobile device I own gets a terrible connection (somewhat ironically, since it is, after all my home OFFICE). If you're a Costco customer, they have it in stock for a great price:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc..._Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=
Edit: Sorry, this is their repeater. Still might be of interest... Here's the router at Costco:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...empageVerticalRight|PopularProductsInCategory
I have AT&T& so have to use their proprietary router but I did just install the repeater linked above. The router itself is fine but certain areas of the house just suffer and the Prime takes the cake at worst wifi performance compared to any other device I have.
I ordered it Friday and arrived Saturday so set it up using the prime immediately. Talk about a breeze setup specially compared to when I tried y to use an old linksys as A repeater bridge. If you stay at home primarily with your prime, I'd put this as the best way to solve the wifi issue. If you are a traveler., I've seen a mini Asus 6in1 device online too.
Asus official stance on WIFI is... well... more or less...."Prime's WIFI performance meets Asus standard".
So, this got me thinking. In my opinion, due to metal backplate in all Transformer Prime (even with the double WIFI antenna & few other design flaws)... we have more with WIFI issue/problem compared to those who don't. As in, I believe that those with WIFI issues are the majority... & not the minority.
However, considering that we all have different "standard" & expectation on WIFI performance.. and heck, it's difficult to exactly gauge the situation as the settings are different for everyone.....
I would like to know...
What exactly is the standard for WIFI performance for Asus??? What exactly qualifies "satisfactory" for Asus??
My WiFi in prime works perfectly but gps is working "not so poor and not so good".
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
The WiFi on my Prime works flawlessly.
By "flawlessly" I mean that it has greater range than my Galaxy S2 phone with faster speeds. The range of WiFi on my Prime is very close to that of my Dell laptop, and speeds are comparable. WiFi never drops off anywhere in my house, and has worked very well at several restaurants and 3 airports. I can be outside my apartment and sitting in my car down the street a ways (~150-200 ft) and I can still see and use the WiFi router in my 3rd floor apartment.
WiFi slows down a little bit when using bluetooth headphones, however WiFi speeds are still acceptable for web browsing or streaming Netflix or Hulu+ with no stuttering or drop in video quality.
I am pretty sure that these are the levels that Asus finds "acceptable." If you have a Prime and the WiFi doesn't work as well as mine, you should return it or send it to Asus for repair.
I also have no complaints about my wifi....
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
I am not questioning that there are Primes with "acceptable" WIFI performance. However, if I were to break it down in percentage.. it could be.. 51/49.. or 49/51.
AnandTech's review on Pad 300 for example.... on WIFI:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5756/asus-transformer-pad-300-review/5
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5688/apple-ipad-2012-review/18
For the record, my Prime is close to AnandTech's finding.. but slightly worse on most given day.
shinzz said:
As in, I believe that those with WIFI issues are the majority... & not the minority.
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Click to collapse
There is absolutely no basis for this Large %age of people that bought the prime wont even realize that wifi on their prime might be different from other products And in my case (and i guess many others) it isnt different.
If i run into any problems with wifi reception in places where i cant optimize stuff like router settings (my bet is that router settings are what's causing most peoples problems with wifi - not only with the prime but in general), i just activate hotspot on my phone... Thats what i have my phone contract for
Also try moving your routers. Today i moved my router about half a meter around a corner and now i have perfect wifi on my balcony where I couldn't really get a signal before with none of my devices
I can stream youtube all over my place in HD without buffering. These are my "standards" in case of wifi signal strenght
[e] uh guess i'm in "smiley-mode"
clouds5 said:
There is absolutely no basis for this Large %age of people that bought the prime wont even realize that wifi on their prime might be different from other products And in my case (and i guess many others) it isnt different.
If i run into any problems with wifi reception in places where i cant optimize stuff like router settings (my bet is that router settings are what's causing most peoples problems with wifi - not only with the prime but in general), i just activate hotspot on my phone... Thats what i have my phone contract for
Also try moving your routers. Today i moved my router about half a meter around a corner and now i have perfect wifi on my balcony where I couldn't really get a signal before with none of my devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a lot of annoyance for one device. Btw, just an opinion.. but with some base..
1. metal backplate
2. 2 wifi antenna to overcome the metal backplate issue but with more design flaws that were found & ones that we might not know yet
We have no stats or breakdown of WIFI performance... so, I don't think we can assume that those with WIFI problems are minority either. So, in the end.. it is a toss up... & even if those with WIFI problems are the minority.. I seriously doubt it is 1 to 5% (industry standard).
Yeah thats what i'm saying. Its all just speculation. There are some people with wifi issues, thats all we can say.
I really dont mind optimizing my router placement/settings, as i said my phone didnt have steady wifi either on the balcony.
Btw its fascinating to me how people can take the one (minor - in my case its none at all) issue a great device has and call it a ****ty product because it, while the whole world is praising some other similar devices that are only half as good as the prime...
clouds5 said:
Yeah thats what i'm saying. Its all just speculation. There are some people with wifi issues, thats all we can say.
I really dont mind optimizing my router placement/settings, as i said my phone didnt have steady wifi either on the balcony.
Btw its fascinating to me how people can take the one (minor - in my case its none at all) issue a great device has and call it a ****ty product because it, while the whole world is praising some other similar devices that are only half as good as the prime...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's sad that we have to speculate who the minority or majority is on WIFI performance/problem.
I have to guess that WIFI is a major issue to many (if they are having such problem) for WIFI only tablet. Tablets in general are luxury device & are used mostly for browsing & light gaming. Take out stable WIFI & you are left with a device to do WORK (those with dock) & for gaming/media.... but even for work, without stable WIFI, you lose the ability to email & etc... =/
Some have legit issues. Others just crappy routers and cable modems. My apartment is 1250 square foot. My router is on one corner on 1st floor. I get 2 to 3 bars from the other end of my apartment on 2nd floor corner bathroom. Yet I can stream hulu/Netflix with no issues while going number 2 in that same bathroom.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium App
square feet and making numbers in the bathroom... Americans..
But then they have netflix and i'm jealous again...
sorry for being pretty much offtopic
In areas where my signal drops, it drops with other devises too. It just drops a little more with the Prime.
In the bathroom going number 2 I sometimes have to tether to my phone to keep the WiFi going. It's the one spot in my house where I get the worst signal
Last night I downloaded a ROM for my Atrix and put the Prime side by side with my laptop so I could time the download to each device. Downloaded from dev-host on each and my Prime beat my laptop by 239mb to 108mb downloaded for my laptop in the same time. I think about 5 minutes but I forgot to time it. laptop is older dual core, 1.6 GHz, XP but was somewhat surprised.
Not to sure if it's a real test but it probably means I need a new laptop
@shinzz
Anecdotal evidence suggests satisfactory performance depends on the product at Asus with both the 101 and 700 variations having higher standards than the prime.
Good luck getting your question answered - fans and the blissfully ignorant will be more vocal and will far outnumber those with any real insight into your question.
Asus standards aside, my prime has the weakest wifi at distance from the router of any device in my household (2 smart phones, laptop and ipad2). I have stopped *****ing and bought a second router to enhance the signal for my prime, but the misalignment between Asus standards and my expectations means my next tablet will likely be branded differently.
jwe222 said:
@shinzz
Anecdotal evidence suggests satisfactory performance depends on the product at Asus with both the 101 and 700 variations having higher standards than the prime.
Good luck getting your question answered - fans and the blissfully ignorant will be more vocal and will far outnumber those with any real insight into your question.
Asus standards aside, my prime has the weakest wifi at distance from the router of any device in my household (2 smart phones, laptop and ipad2). I have stopped *****ing and bought a second router to enhance the signal for my prime, but the misalignment between Asus standards and my expectations means my next tablet will likely be branded differently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Transformer Prime is becoming iPadish. Problem with WIFI.. purchase a new router or 2nd router... Problem with GPS (before the GPS dongle).. purchase Bluetooth GPS or tether to your Phone. Do you travel & have WIFI issues? Tether to your phone & use up your phone's data plan....
When you accumulate these cost just for tablet to function to your "need" (obviously, some don't at all as it meets their requirement).... it feels like I'm entering iPad territory & the ridiculous cost of iPad accessories.
shinzz said:
Transformer Prime is becoming iPadish. Problem with WIFI.. purchase a new router or 2nd router... Problem with GPS (before the GPS dongle).. purchase Bluetooth GPS or tether to your Phone. Do you travel & have WIFI issues? Tether to your phone & use up your phone's data plan....
When you accumulate these cost just for tablet to function to your "need" (obviously, some don't at all as it meets their requirement).... it feels like I'm entering iPad territory & the ridiculous cost of iPad accessories.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I've owned two Primes and the WiFi on both was equally terrible. I have a TF300 on order right now, and when I get it I'm going to compare in equal environments. The screen and the sleek design on the Prime are both nice, but the fact is that I can't use it how I really need to use it because the connectivity is so poor that I lose over 90% of my throughput in some rooms of my 2-story house (where my laptop and phone both still get strong throughput). I shouldn't need a new router, and an external GPS accessory, and a cellphone hotspot to make a $500 tablet usable. I'm tired of making excuses and I'm tired of waiting for a WiFi fix that's never coming and I'm tired of being scared to RMA because of continued reports of damage and ineffective repairs that take a month or more. I'm sincerely happy for people whose experience has been better, but the fact is that many of us just haven't gotten the performance and usability that we expected when we first purchased this tablet.
shinzz said:
I am not questioning that there are Primes with "acceptable" WIFI performance. However, if I were to break it down in percentage.. it could be.. 51/49.. or 49/51.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've personally used ten different Primes, across almost every serial number range and with different routers at different locations. Every one of the ten Primes outperformed or equaled the connectivity of my laptops.
While I've seen a few other issues with quality control that makes me a little disappointed with Asus, WIFI hasn't been an issue in my experience with the tablet.
My prime gets the same and even a little better range than my bionic, slightly less than my laptop (But hey I have an envy 17) the only difference is signal degradation (ie speeds) at those distances are lower on the prime after about 20-30' from the router.
My wifi sucks on my prime. I have a Xirrus WAP, 10 feet away from me and i still cant get full bars.... When i am away on business, i cant get a strong enough signal from hotels to even check my emails... i travel with the prime and an ipad. The ipad gets connects without issues. I'm not sure because the ipad supports 2.4 & 5ghz band and the prime only 2.4, but there is no doubt it has a wifi issue. Like i said, 10 feet from the access point and still no full bars.
That's it, I'm done! Lol, I'm cleaning the inside of my Prime out and getting it swapped for another by ASUS. That's too many comments in a row saying that WiFi is better than or on par with their laptops and other mobile devices, my Prime consistently does worse.
And yes, I've optimized my router settings and everything, my other devices will easily reach the road and keep decent connectivity (~-75 dBm) while my Prime can't even keep connectivity a handful of feet (a meter for you clouds? ) from the front door. And the closest router is ten feet from that door!
That being said though, I generally never need or want my Prime to connect all the way into me front yard
My prime gets exactly the same db reception as my sensation. Although it does show a bar less it gets the same throughput as well.