[Q] Radios?? US Verizon GS3 with S4 proc - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Do we know anything about the radios in the VZW LTE GS3? I know it's got the S4 dual-core processor, so will likely have different radios from the vzw gnex, but I need confirmation... I've looked all over with zero success.
Reason for my curiosity it Verizon LTE Galaxy Nexus "mic cutting out" problem with the Galaxy Nexus, and my hope for different radios. Anyone that's spent any time over on the GNex forums will know what I'm talking about. Thanks.
For anyone curious about the Verizon LTE Galaxy Nexus outbound audio problems, We don't know for sure... the only thing that's confirmed is that the problem exists on every radio release that's been out for the VZW GNex, every custom rom, rooted, unrooted, no fix for those afflicted.
What's most curious and news of the latest is that it appears to be regional, as if it's related to being a problem only when connected to certain towers.
So our latest theory is that the Galaxy Nexus will lose outgoing audio on many VZW LTE towers in certain areas of the US, likely due to poor or old tower technology. People have replaced phones up to 9 times, all with same problem. The GNex is basically useless for voice calls for these hundreds of people.
Here are a few posts with others info
mic cutting out
location poll of problem
Verizon 4.0.4 update
VZW Quality control
Thanks in advance.

no takers... but thanks to adrynalyne it looks like it's all Qualcomm
adrynalyne said:
S4 means Qualcomm radios.
The SoC includes radios.
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Related

Signal speculation

Hope it has improved signal over the S3 and no dreaded Message Not Sent when I in full 3g/4g coverage..
I'm hoping the global radio in the Note 2 is outstanding... as this maybe my next phone.
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX HD
Its Samsung so I'm sure the signal will still be lacking compared to moto and HTC. I hope they figured it out as this looks like an awesome phone. Going to wait and see how it ends up before buying.
It probably won't be as good as a Moto phone, however, it may be similar to HTC phones and other Samsung phones. And for anyone saying HTC has a much better signal than Samsung, I've had 3 Samsung phones now, and I have had service places that a DInc2 showed service but couldn't do anything, and have also had reported signal as good as other HTC phones in the same location. I would imagine that the service on the Note 2 would be similar to the SGS3 on VZW.
Agreed hope its improved over the S3
imnuts said:
It probably won't be as good as a Moto phone, however, it may be similar to HTC phones and other Samsung phones. And for anyone saying HTC has a much better signal than Samsung, I've had 3 Samsung phones now, and I have had service places that a DInc2 showed service but couldn't do anything, and have also had reported signal as good as other HTC phones in the same location. I would imagine that the service on the Note 2 would be similar to the SGS3 on VZW.
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You're all over the note 2 forums imnuts! Does this mean you will be picking one up? :thumbup:
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
magneticzero said:
Hope it has improved signal over the S3 and no dreaded Message Not Sent when I in full 3g/4g coverage..
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I've never had a problem with by reception at all. I usually always have full bars on 4g if not 3 bars
Tap'n
techgov8 said:
I've never had a problem with by reception at all. I usually always have full bars on 4g if not 3 bars
Tap'n
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Same here. I've been incredibly surprised by the good reception I've had with the S3. It's not quite up to Motorola standards, but it's pretty close to HTC and much better than any other Samsung phone I've had on Verizon. My only complaint has been that it tends to stick with 3G in weak 4G areas more than my recent devices from Motorola and HTC. But I'm guessing that was done on purpose in an attempt to avoid drops when switching back and forth.
I'm always hoping for an improvement, but if the reception is as good as the reception on the S3 has been for me, I'll be happy.
mypantsaretorn said:
You're all over the note 2 forums imnuts! Does this mean you will be picking one up? :thumbup:
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I have three stipulations, but it pretty much all hinges on one, and that is the phone must be unlocked. Without that, I don't really care about to much else.
imnuts said:
I have three stipulations, but it pretty much all hinges on one, and that is the phone must be unlocked. Without that, I don't really care about to much else.
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All other Verizon LTE devices with global capabilities have been unlocked for GSM use, as well as for LTE use (although Verizon's LTE bands aren't widely used). I'd expect the Note 2 will be the same.
Anyone knows of a review or reviews comparing Samsung radio receiver sensitivity?
I had never found one, it seems like reviews are written by by newbie reviewers with master degree in English, Communication, or Comp-sci. None of them ever worked with front end radio receivers even just for once in their whole life and completely ignorant of them.
This is a huge problem that I have with my GSIII, I get terrible reception, I'm currently living in the country and my friends with the RAZR Maxx get 4g while I can barely hold onto 3g and going into the basement is absolutely zero service. It's terrible. I had better reception with my Galaxy Nexus than I do with the GSIII. I wish something could be done.
AndrewH05 said:
This is a huge problem that I have with my GSIII, I get terrible reception, I'm currently living in the country and my friends with the RAZR Maxx get 4g while I can barely hold onto 3g and going into the basement is absolutely zero service. It's terrible. I had better reception with my Galaxy Nexus than I do with the GSIII. I wish something could be done.
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Sounds like you have a defective unit as I haven't heard of anyone that got worse reception with the SGS3 than they did with the Galaxy Nexus.
imnuts said:
Sounds like you have a defective unit as I haven't heard of anyone that got worse reception with the SGS3 than they did with the Galaxy Nexus.
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Unfortunately, I bought the phone from a friend, he bought it and decided he preferred Motorola phones, so I got it cheap. Not sure if Samsung would still honor the warranty or not? And yes, I got way better signal with the Nexus in generally every place I frequently go, much more consistent. That's my ultimate worry about the Note II, if it's just like the GSIII then I'm not sure I want it.
AndrewH05 said:
Unfortunately, I bought the phone from a friend, he bought it and decided he preferred Motorola phones, so I got it cheap. Not sure if Samsung would still honor the warranty or not? And yes, I got way better signal with the Nexus in generally every place I frequently go, much more consistent. That's my ultimate worry about the Note II, if it's just like the GSIII then I'm not sure I want it.
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Why do you think your friend sold it cheap..ha ha jk. Sounds like a defective one. Or you may need a new SIM card. Sg3 signal is much better than gnex. Good luck
AndrewH05 said:
Unfortunately, I bought the phone from a friend, he bought it and decided he preferred Motorola phones, so I got it cheap. Not sure if Samsung would still honor the warranty or not? And yes, I got way better signal with the Nexus in generally every place I frequently go, much more consistent. That's my ultimate worry about the Note II, if it's just like the GSIII then I'm not sure I want it.
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I also wanted the new Samsung note mainly for the screensize and I also noted the problems you encountered which is very common with Samsung phones.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/11
"In addition, Samsung makes the mistake of going with a signal bar visualization with very compressed dynamic range. Since the whole iPhone 4 debacle, I’ve seen something of a trend towards a strict linear scale (which makes more sense), but SGS2 definitely doesn’t go that route. It’s not a huge deal however, just something to be aware of. I’m willing to overlook that issue considering that getting the real story on connectivity is no harder than dialing *#0011# and looking at the real number."
The quoted note above meant the the reviewer had little experience with signal processing and didn't know typical "compressed dynamic range" signal processing usage.
In the last 30+ years "compressed dynamic range" signal processing is use to bring actual usable dynamic range above spurious background noise for processing. ie, typical hacks avoiding the problematic spurious background noise instead of fixing unwanted spurious background noise problems causing lack of sufficient signal sensitivity.

Svdo

Does the note 2 have the svdo chip like the s3 for 3g + voice?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I don't know the technical details, but I asked a Verizon rep if the Note II was capable of simultaneous voice & data and they said yes.
jsadler09 said:
I don't know the technical details, but I asked a Verizon rep if the Note II was capable of simultaneous voice & data and they said yes.
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All 4g lte Verizon phones are voice n data.... But 3g n data is different...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I just read a thread on another forum that said the Note II does NOT support svdo for simultaneous voice and data over 3g.
jsadler09 said:
I just read a thread on another forum that said the Note II does NOT support svdo for simultaneous voice and data over 3g.
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Damn vzw....
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Admiral2145 said:
All 4g lte Verizon phones are voice n data.... But 3g n data is different...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Not the iPhone 5
The note 2 can and will be able to svdo same as the S3.
Sent from my galaxy s 3 using xda app-developers app
crazydad said:
The note 2 can and will be able to svdo same as the S3.
Sent from my galaxy s 3 using xda app-developers app
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Not true. SVDO requires a special hardware radio. The reason why the S3 is capable of SVDO is because the Snapdragon S4 processor that it uses has the necessary hardware integrated. The Note 2 uses Samsung's Exynos processor along with separate, unintegrated radios. Samsung would have to specifically add SVDO support in that situation, and that's something they haven't done to date on any of their phones with separate hardware radios. Only HTC has been consistently doing that with their Verizon releases.
The Sprint Note 2 does not support SVDO. The hardware just isn't there. Here's an article that breaks it down pretty well - Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Big enough for everything (except SVDO). Since all models of the Note 2 have been pretty much identical from a hardware point of view, the Verizon version will follow suit. Samsung wouldn't go out of their way to incorporate completely different hardware radios just give provide Verizon with a feature that they will never even advertise. So, the Note 2 will do simultaneous voice and data when connected to LTE like every LTE device (outside of the iPhone 5), but not when connected to 3G only.
bsweetness said:
Not true. SVDO requires a special hardware radio. The reason why the S3 is capable of SVDO is because the Snapdragon S4 processor that it uses has the necessary hardware integrated. The Note 2 uses Samsung's Exynos processor along with separate, unintegrated radios. Samsung would have to specifically add SVDO support in that situation, and that's something they haven't done to date on any of their phones with separate hardware radios. Only HTC has been consistently doing that with their Verizon releases.
The Sprint Note 2 does not support SVDO. The hardware just isn't there. Here's an article that breaks it down pretty well - Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Big enough for everything (except SVDO). Since all models of the Note 2 have been pretty much identical from a hardware point of view, the Verizon version will follow suit. Samsung wouldn't go out of their way to incorporate completely different hardware radios just give provide Verizon with a feature that they will never even advertise. So, the Note 2 will do simultaneous voice and data when connected to LTE like every LTE device (outside of the iPhone 5), but not when connected to 3G only.
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what your saying is true but thats on the sprint network. On Verizon you will have the SVDO just like the S3.
crazydad said:
what your saying is true but thats on the sprint network. On Verizon you will have the SVDO just like the S3.
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In this case, it has nothing to do with the network and everything to do with the hardware. Again, all versions of the Note 2 are pretty much identical from a hardware point of view around the world and in the U.S. Samsung won't completely change the entire hardware radio design just to add a feature for Verizon that they will never advertise.
The Snapdragon S4 is the only reason why the S3 does SVDO. Its integrated radios have SVDO capabilities. The hardware radios in the Note 2 do not support it, and SVDO is something that requires specific hardware in the phone in order to function.
The Verizon Note 2 will not be SVDO capable. I would love to be proven wrong, but it's inclusion logically makes no sense given the large amount of facts available.
bsweetness said:
In this case, it has nothing to do with the network and everything to do with the hardware. Again, all versions of the Note 2 are pretty much identical from a hardware point of view around the world and in the U.S. Samsung won't completely change the entire hardware radio design just to add a feature for Verizon that they will never advertise.
The Snapdragon S4 is the only reason why the S3 does SVDO. Its integrated radios have SVDO capabilities. The hardware radios in the Note 2 do not support it, and SVDO is something that requires specific hardware in the phone in order to function.
The Verizon Note 2 will not be SVDO capable. I would love to be proven wrong, but it's inclusion logically makes no sense given the large amount of facts available.
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Ok ill agree to that for now!!! lol so my question to you is, then if you know all this why did you make aa thread asking ?? Not trying to be a ass but just wondering and why would you want to be on 3g?? Are you in a 4g area?
crazydad said:
Ok ill agree to that for now!!! lol so my question to you is, then if you know all this why did you make aa thread asking ?? Not trying to be a ass but just wondering and why would you want to be on 3g?? Are you in a 4g area?
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I didn't create this thread, and I haven't asked any questions. Since I know the things I posted, I just responded to the thread in order to help answer the questions being asked by others. I'm just trying to help the OP and others find the answer to the question and understand why the answer is was it is. That's a big part of what these forums are about.
There are some people who don't live in LTE areas, so SVDO might be important to them. And then, even for those who do live in LTE areas, when traveling they're likely to go through 3G only areas. In those situations, SVDO might be desirable.
So long story short, as long as Verizon still has an operating 3G network, SVDO is something that's nice to have just in case.
bsweetness said:
I didn't create this thread, and I haven't asked any questions. Since I know the things I posted, I just responded to the thread in order to help answer the questions being asked by others. I'm just trying to help the OP and others find the answer to the question and understand why the answer is was it is. That's a big part of what these forums are about.
There are some people who don't live in LTE areas, so SVDO might be important to them. And then, even for those who do live in LTE areas, when traveling they're likely to go through 3G only areas. In those situations, SVDO might be desirable.
So long story short, as long as Verizon still has an operating 3G network, SVDO is something that's nice to have just in case.
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Thought you were op. I do travel alot and thankfully im always in 4g. But im pretty sure that the note 2 will be capable of handling SVDO. I talked with various techs on the verizon network and they all seem to say the same as i do. there was a cpl of them who were saying what you are. But as we all know cant really trust verizon so guess what im saying is we will have to wait and see when it comes out.
crazydad said:
Thought you were op. I do travel alot and thankfully im always in 4g. But im pretty sure that the note 2 will be capable of handling SVDO. I talked with various techs on the verizon network and they all seem to say the same as i do. there was a cpl of them who were saying what you are. But as we all know cant really trust verizon so guess what im saying is we will have to wait and see when it comes out.
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I'm just curious, especially given that you said we really can't trust Verizon on such things, why you're "pretty sure that the Note 2 will be capable of handling SVDO?" Absolutely all of the evidence points to it not supporting SVDO. Do you really think Samsung would completely redesign the hardware radios of the phone just for a feature that Verizon has never and will never advertise or support in any official fashion?
Chances are, the reps who agreed with you were probably talking about simultaneous voice and data when you have a LTE connection, not SVDO. With the exception of the iPhone 5, all LTE devices on Verizon can do simultaneous voice and data when connected to LTE. The LTE network handles the data while the 3G network handles voice. SVDO is simultaneous voice and data over 3G only wih no LTE connection. This is not something all LTE devices can do, and it's something that requires special hardware. The Note 2 does not have that special hardware. So, since it doesn't have the necessary hardware, it can't support SVDO.
Most things really don't need lte speed unless you're streaming video.... I would hope they allow 3g + voice for that reason only...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
bsweetness said:
I'm just curious, especially given that you said we really can't trust Verizon on such things, why you're "pretty sure that the Note 2 will be capable of handling SVDO?" Absolutely all of the evidence points to it not supporting SVDO. Do you really think Samsung would completely redesign the hardware radios of the phone just for a feature that Verizon has never and will never advertise or support in any official fashion?
Chances are, the reps who agreed with you were probably talking about simultaneous voice and data when you have a LTE connection, not SVDO. With the exception of the iPhone 5, all LTE devices on Verizon can do simultaneous voice and data when connected to LTE. The LTE network handles the data while the 3G network handles voice. SVDO is simultaneous voice and data over 3G only wih no LTE connection. This is not something all LTE devices can do, and it's something that requires special hardware. The Note 2 does not have that special hardware. So, since it doesn't have the necessary hardware, it can't support SVDO.
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i really cant say that it will or not but all i can say is that a cpl of well respected techs and "geeks" if you will that ive asked and i know that work for verizon are telling me yes that it does. Now when i called some reps over the phone some say yes and and only 3 out of the 8 times i called today say no. only real way to be sure is when we get our hands on it.
crazydad said:
i really cant say that it will or not but all i can say is that a cpl of well respected techs and "geeks" if you will that ive asked and i know that work for verizon are telling me yes that it does. Now when i called some reps over the phone some say yes and and only 3 out of the 8 times i called today say no. only real way to be sure is when we get our hands on it.
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Actually, there's another way to be sure.
Here are the FCC documents for the Verizon Note 2. If you look at the RF Exposure Info 1 document, on page 5 (section 1.5), you'll find the Simultaneous Transmission Capabilities. SVDO is not listed. Then, if you look at Table 1-2 on the next page (which lists all of the possible simultaneous transmission capabilities), you'll see that at no point is voice and 3G capable simultaneously. For every combination of the two, it says "Not Supported by HW." Then at the bottom, it specifically states:
CDMA and EVDO share the same antenna path and cannot transmit simultaneously. (Non-SVDO)
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Hopefully that's the definitive proof that everyone needs to know that the Note 2 is absolutely not capable of SVDO. I wish it were, but like I said before, the hardware simply is not there for it. It can certainly do simultaneous voice and data while connected to LTE (which is still what I think the people you spoke to were talking about), but SVDO is completely impossible.
Thank you very much, I have learned a lot!

Simultaneous 3g voice and data

Does the phone support voice and data simultaneously over 3g? I have not found a good answer on Google, Verizon said yes and fact is I can't do it in a 3g area.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
dms76 said:
Does the phone support voice and data simultaneously over 3g? I have not found a good answer on Google, Verizon said yes and fact is I can't do it in a 3g area.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
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Nope... doesn't have the svdo chip like the s3
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
Bummer and thanks, I became used to that function of the thunderbolt. Going to be hard to go back.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
Well crap, that sucks. I was hoping to move from my AT&T iPhone to the GNII. But I use and need voice and data at the same time. What other Verizon phones can do this other than the S3?
Bill
dms76 said:
Bummer and thanks, I became used to that function of the thunderbolt. Going to be hard to go back.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
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does it support voice and LTE?
bgowland said:
Well crap, that sucks. I was hoping to move from my AT&T iPhone to the GNII. But I use and need voice and data at the same time. What other Verizon phones can do this other than the S3?
Bill
Click to expand...
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HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Rezound, Samsung S3
As long as you are in a LTE area it will do voice and data at the same time.
jinwu57 said:
does it support voice and LTE?
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Yes, I was on LTE, called my voicemail, and was able to browse the internet. It won't work if you're on 3g though.
Sent from my Sexy Galaxy Note II
Whew. Relief. I am in LTE areas almost all of the time, and if not then Wifi.
chipsa964 said:
Yes, I was on LTE, called my voicemail, and was able to browse the internet. It won't work if you're on 3g though.
Sent from my Sexy Galaxy Note II
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navalpatel said:
HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Rezound, Samsung S3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Droid RAZR HD Maxx also has this function.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2
Yeah, as has been mentioned a few times, the Note 2 can't do SVDO (simultaneous voice and data over 3G). Special hardware is required in order for this to work, and the Note 2 doesn't have it (so there's no chance of it ever being able to do it).
And just to add some tangible proof, here are the FCC documents for the Verizon Note 2. If you look at the RF Exposure Info 1 document, on page 5 (section 1.5), you'll find the Simultaneous Transmission Capabilities. SVDO is not listed. Then, if you look at Table 1-2 on the next page (which lists all of the possible simultaneous transmission capabilities), you'll see that at no point is voice and 3G capable simultaneously. For every combination of the two, it says "Not Supported by HW." Then at the bottom, it specifically states:
CDMA and EVDO share the same antenna path and cannot transmit simultaneously. (Non-SVDO)
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Click to collapse
So, no SVDO for the Note 2, and it will never be able to do it. It can definitely do simultaneous voice and data while connected to LTE though (the data connection runs through LTE, the voice connection through CDMA).
Wow, the first thing that I've heard about the Note 2 that sucks. Wtf, why would it not be, when the S3 is? Why would this later-released, more expensive, "higher" tech phone miss this? Strange....
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
aal1 said:
Wow, the first thing that I've heard about the Note 2 that sucks. Wtf, why would it not be, when the S3 is? Why would this later-released, more expensive, "higher" tech phone miss this? Strange....
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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It all comes down to the hardware used.
The Galaxy S3 released on all carriers in the U.S. has the Snapdragon S4 processor. That processor has all of the cellular radios integrated into it, including support for SVDO.
The Note 2 does not have the same processor. It has a Samsung Exynos processor. This processor does not have integrated radios. The separate radios that Samsung chose to include do not have SVDO support.
SVDO isn't something that Verizon or Sprint advertise because they can't guarantee that it will consistently work. Because of that, it's a feature that most users won't even really know is or isn't there (and because CDMA users are used to not being able to do simultaneous voice and data over 3G). So, manufacturers don't have to go out of their way to include it. If the radios used support it already (like the Snapdragon S4 in the Galaxy S3), then we get an added bonus.
orcsbane13 said:
Droid RAZR HD Maxx also has this function.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
S4 snapdragon processes has svdo..
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
That is really sad news. I spend so much time driving between work sites and on the phone i was really enjoying the fact that i would still recieve emails while on conference calls on my S3, damn. I really wanted the note 2, what a waste, so we have multi window, the ultimate in android multitasking but we lost what i consider to be a basic multitasking feature. I wish these manufacturers would spend a few more months to get these important features on high end phones, i bet this processor appears in less than three months in a phone with voice/data over CDMA.
bsweetness said:
It all comes down to the hardware used.
The Galaxy S3 released on all carriers in the U.S. has the Snapdragon S4 processor. That processor has all of the cellular radios integrated into it, including support for SVDO.
The Note 2 does not have the same processor. It has a Samsung Exynos processor. This processor does not have integrated radios. The separate radios that Samsung chose to include do not have SVDO support.
SVDO isn't something that Verizon or Sprint advertise because they can't guarantee that it will consistently work. Because of that, it's a feature that most users won't even really know is or isn't there (and because CDMA users are used to not being able to do simultaneous voice and data over 3G). So, manufacturers don't have to go out of their way to include it. If the radios used support it already (like the Snapdragon S4 in the Galaxy S3), then we get an added bonus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Qualcomm Gobi MDM9615 radio in LTE variants of GNII support SVDO. This is the same basic radio that's in the Snapdragon S4 Pro, except it's not integrated into the SoC. However, the GNII differs from the GSIII North American version in that's it's fundamentally the same as the International version except with differently tuned antennas for different regions and carriers. The Exynos processor has no effect on the lack of SVDO, instead it's the numbers of antennas and which signal paths transmit on the antennas. In this regard the GNII and iPhone 5 (which also uses the MDM9615) are similar in that their antenna designs prevent SVDO even though the radio does support it.
As far as Verizon is concerned, they are planning to have their entire 3G network footprint overlaid with LTE by mid-2013. So for us Verizon GNII owners, it literally doesn't matter that our phones don't support SVDO. In roughly 6 months, the entire country will have LTE, and the GNII supports SVLTE just fine. Now those Sprint GNII owners, point and laugh.
FMXP said:
The Qualcomm Gobi MDM9615 radio in LTE variants of GNII support SVDO. This is the same basic radio that's in the Snapdragon S4 Pro, except it's not integrated into the SoC. However, the GNII differs from the GSIII North American version in that's it's fundamentally the same as the International version except with differently tuned antennas for different regions and carriers. The Exynos processor has no effect on the lack of SVDO, instead it's the numbers of antennas and which signal paths transmit on the antennas. In this regard the GNII and iPhone 5 (which also uses the MDM9615) are similar in that their antenna designs prevent SVDO even though the radio does support it.
As far as Verizon is concerned, they are planning to have their entire 3G network footprint overlaid with LTE by mid-2013. So for us Verizon GNII owners, it literally doesn't matter that our phones don't support SVDO. In roughly 6 months, the entire country will have LTE, and the GNII supports SVLTE just fine. Now those Sprint GNII owners, point and laugh.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the clarification. Either way, the major point I was trying to get at still holds true - all of the hardware that's necessary for SVDO isn't present in the Note 2.
I finally found an app that let me goto cdma/evdo only and waited till the 3G icon showed up then made a call and while in call tried to go online but got an error saying no data connection. When I ended the call I checked the internet again and had no problem. I know it's already been said in this post that it doesn't work but I wanted to do an actual test just to make sure. So there you have it.
It seems to be an intermittent problem with me. I tried it out by ringing my voicemail and the data symbol remained got to listen to my voice mails and go to a website at the same time and I am on a 3g network
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

[POLL] Call reception - better worse than Verizon S3?

Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.
I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.
To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.
Please do not check "yes this is a question" as all Qs get moved to Q&A. If you post a poll put POLL in the title instead.
Edited
FNM
From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.
4ktvs said:
From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm much much much more concerned about call reception than 4G. I work with someone who has the Verizon razr and they never have reception issues at the office. I can't make or receive calls on my Verizon S3 at the office.
boe said:
Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.
I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.
To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had terrible S3 reception. The DNA has a solid Radio.
I'm hoping the S4 has a really good one too, or else, i'm sending mine back, the only thing that sucks with the dna is theres no root, and theres no way of s-offing it currently.
I am curious as well as samsung has a history with bad radios and hoping they finalyl figured it out, otherwise I will have to pass.
4ktvs said:
From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, the S3 has bad 2g/3g but real good 4g. Weird.
ericerk said:
I had terrible S3 reception. The DNA has a solid Radio.
I'm hoping the S4 has a really good one too, or else, i'm sending mine back, the only thing that sucks with the dna is theres no root, and theres no way of s-offing it currently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The DNA is a sweet phone. I came VERY close to buying one, but the lack of SD card slot (and only 16G) and non-removable turned me off. Other than that a very sweet phone!
elucid said:
The DNA is a sweet phone. I came VERY close to buying one, but the lack of SD card slot (and only 16G) and non-removable turned me off. Other than that a very sweet phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was close to getting the DNA as well but Sense seems a little sluggish on it compared to wiz and the battery was a bit underpowered for my needs. I can be on the phone with a client or tech support for hours at a time. There are rumors the One will have a larger screen on Verizon which should cover my issues.
If anyone has the Verizon S3 and the Verizon S4 it might be helpful if you showed network db side by side in an area with no reception or bad reception on the S3.
I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.
I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.
One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.
Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
GS4 has been noticeably better then my GS3
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app
jlangleyrn said:
I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.
I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.
One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.
Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THanks! This is exactly the sort of info that is helpful. Someone who has an S3 that can't work in some areas and then using an S4 in those same spots.
jlangleyrn said:
I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.
I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.
One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.
Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You Sir, Have Given Me hope.
You guys have all given me hope. When I read the op, I seriously thought I wrote it or my wife did. I too have problems using my s3 at work after switching from a Droid Razr to the s3. Everyone at work has an iPhone and have no issues with making calls.
Based on everyone's input, I'm almost willing to try an s4 out before I'm forced to switch to an iPhone 5 (those are the only options for work this time around).
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
boe said:
If anyone has the Verizon S3 and the Verizon S4 it might be helpful if you showed network db side by side in an area with no reception or bad reception on the S3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i get my s4 later today, ill get some screens of the network db side by side and post to see what my results are. Ill have 2 s3s and a s4 so I can see them all side by side. I have a few places on my way to my house the s3 wont pick up so we will see how the s4 does
boe said:
Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.
I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.
To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you 110% Boe. For those of us who have bad reception issues with the S3 it can be a tough road getting people who are happy with their S3, to understand exactly how irritating it is to have a phone that does a lot very well, but can NEVER be trusted as a telephone. I am really looking forward to seeing the responses in this thread. I'm on Verizon.
dweezle said:
I'm with you 110% Boe. For those of us who have bad reception issues with the S3 it can be a tough road getting people who are happy with their S3, to understand exactly how irritating it is to have a phone that does a lot very well, but can NEVER be trusted as a telephone. I am really looking forward to seeing the responses in this thread. I'm on Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah for some reason they insist on posting things like I never have problems with my S3 (perhaps they never use it as a phone) or you must have gotten a defective one (all 4 times I replaced my phones and sims at difference Verizon stores throughout the country - amazingly bad luck).
i have a galaxy nexus and can say without a doubt that the s4 radios are better by far. way better. i keep a 4g signal everywhere my galaxy nexus would drop to 3g or 1x, matter of fact i have yet to lose 4g anywhere but in an elevator.
gps locks are also way faster.
very impressive.
BzBz said:
i have a galaxy nexus and can say without a doubt that the s4 radios are better by far. way better. i keep a 4g signal everywhere my galaxy nexus would drop to 3g or 1x, matter of fact i have yet to lose 4g anywhere but in an elevator.
gps locks are also way faster.
very impressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I picked up the s4 this morning. Reception so far OK. I'm in the office where I frequently get no signal. For whatever reason today my S3 and S4 are getting signal. However, both are reading about 100db on average - no real difference between the two so i'm as yet, unconvinced this is an improvement over the S3. I'll be going to yet another place I frequently can't make calls on my S3 later today and we'll see how the S4 does. Clouds, lack of clouds etc can all impact reception so I'll need more testing to know anything regarding this phone's reception.'
Foxfi doesn't seem to work on the S4 but does on my S3 so I'll have to find another sharing program if I decide to keep this phone.

No simultaneous data over 3G!!

While this isn't a deal breaker as I get 4g about 90% of the time, it may be a bummer for other people. The galaxy s3 can do data and voice simultaneously while on 4g and 3g. I don't know why they did not include it on this phone. The gs4 only does simultaneous voice/data while on 4g. I download files all the time as well as ROMs and would hate for my download to be interrupted or broken if a call comes in. Just posting this to help anyone who has not yet purchased their s4 and has to have this feature... You have been warned!!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
cell128 said:
While this isn't a deal breaker as I get 4g about 90% of the time, it may be a bummer for other people. The galaxy s3 can do data and voice simultaneously while on 4g and 3g. I don't know why they did not include it on this phone. The gs4 only does simultaneous voice/data while on 4g. I download files all the time as well as ROMs and would hate for my download to be interrupted or broken if a call comes in. Just posting this to help anyone who has not yet purchased their s4 and has to have this feature... You have been warned!!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i remember no Verizon phone was able to get data while on a voice call prior to 4G LTE deployment. And I remember AT&T took that as a marketing advantage against Verizon.
cell128 said:
While this isn't a deal breaker as I get 4g about 90% of the time, it may be a bummer for other people. The galaxy s3 can do data and voice simultaneously while on 4g and 3g. I don't know why they did not include it on this phone. The gs4 only does simultaneous voice/data while on 4g. I download files all the time as well as ROMs and would hate for my download to be interrupted or broken if a call comes in. Just posting this to help anyone who has not yet purchased their s4 and has to have this feature... You have been warned!!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3g, being CDMA for Verizon, is not capable of supporting simultaneous voice and data. The Verizon Galaxy SIII was not able to do it on 3g either. Hopefully it won't be a problem too much longer as Verizon moves away from crappy CDMA and covers the whole country in tasty LTE.
camaroz28 said:
3g, being CDMA for Verizon, is not capable of supporting simultaneous voice and data. The Verizon Galaxy SIII was not able to do it on 3g either. Hopefully it won't be a problem too much longer as Verizon moves away from crappy CDMA and covers the whole country in tasty LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^this! word!
yea, most areas already have 4G LTE compared to the other big 3 providers. I'm very happy with Verizon's LTE coverage.
camaroz28 said:
3g, being CDMA for Verizon, is not capable of supporting simultaneous voice and data. The Verizon Galaxy SIII was not able to do it on 3g either. Hopefully it won't be a problem too much longer as Verizon moves away from crappy CDMA and covers the whole country in tasty LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GS3 IS capable of doing voice & data simultaneously over 3g CDMA. I've done it many times. For the first few months of owning the GS3 my area was 3g only and I would talk and surf simultaneously all the time.I wasn't able to do it on any of my previous phones.
Thankfully I have LTE now but the GS3 can do CDMA+Data
I'm not familiar with the GS3, but I know the Thunderbolt was capable of simultaneous voice & data in either 3G & LTE, but that was because it had multiple onboard radios. The major downsides with having multiple radios is that it raises cost and constantly draws power (even when off due to leakage current). They probably made a design decision to not include additional hardware for simultaneous connections because LTE has become prevalent (as well as WiFi) so this isn't a major issue for most folks.
It was my understanding (since I've been with verizon, and 3 phones so far) that CDMA is 1X (equivalent of Edge on GSM) and EVDO is 3G while 4G is LTE (which uses a GSM style signal if I'm not mistaken also).
Granted the only phone I was forced to use 3G on was the Thunderbolt (no 4G LTE yet) so I guess I can't compare, but this is interesting if it actually is true. I'll have to try it later... tether in 3G mode and call someone
yyhd said:
i remember no Verizon phone was able to get data while on a voice call prior to 4G LTE deployment. And I remember AT&T took that as a marketing advantage against Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thunderbolt, that was a huge "forum" selling point on VZW. I don't think they ever publically marketed that feature!
syntrix said:
Thunderbolt, that was a huge "forum" selling point on VZW. I don't think they ever publically marketed that feature!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont think they did on commercials, but i do recall them advertising it some other places like radio or something else.
camaroz28 said:
3g, being CDMA for Verizon, is not capable of supporting simultaneous voice and data. The Verizon Galaxy SIII was not able to do it on 3g either. Hopefully it won't be a problem too much longer as Verizon moves away from crappy CDMA and covers the whole country in tasty LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is patently false. You may want to read the white papers on the last couple of generations of Snapdragons as well as the FCC filings for some phones. The simple fact is that the Verizon Galaxy SIII is capable of SVDO, along with a handful of other phones such as the Incredible 4G, Rezound, and Thunderbolt.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
najaboy said:
That is patently false. You may want to read the white papers on the last couple of generations of Snapdragons as well as the FCC filings for some phones. The simple fact is that the Verizon Galaxy SIII is capable of SVDO, along with a handful of other phones such as the Incredible 4G, Rezound, and Thunderbolt.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it's good to be set straight and educated. Thanks for lesson, Najaboy. I honestly did not know this.
yyhd said:
I guess it's good to be set straight and educated. Thanks for lesson, Najaboy. I honestly did not know this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually... thank you for not taking my post the wrong way. In hindsight, it could have been worded better so as to not have a condescending tone.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
najaboy said:
Actually... thank you for not taking my post the wrong way. In hindsight, it could have been worded better so as to not have a condescending tone.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol no worries.
Sent from my Verizon S4 using Tapatalk 2
So does the S4 have ehrpd or not????
mexiken said:
So does the S4 have ehrpd or not????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that all 4G Verizon phones do. More interesting to me is whether the S4 has SVDO like the S3.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
My HTC Rezound was able to do data and voice over 3g as well. I'm a little underwhelmed and overwhelmed at the same time with the S4. I like it, but there are some things I liked better with HTC.
SVDO on Verizon was never simultaneous over 3G itself, but data over 3G, and voice over 1X. eHRPD has nothing to do with SVDO as it's just the communication network used to hand off 1X to 4G. Apparently the Sprint GS4 can't do SVDO either, so it seems to either be a limitation of the new radio in the Snapdragon 600, or Samsung chose to not add in support this round.
Berzerker7 said:
SVDO on Verizon was never simultaneous over 3G itself, but data over 3G, and voice over 1X. eHRPD has nothing to do with SVDO as it's just the communication network used to hand off 1X to 4G. Apparently the Sprint GS4 can't do SVDO either, so it seems to either be a limitation of the new radio in the Snapdragon 600, or Samsung chose to not add in support this round.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're a little confused on what eHRPD does, but in essence, the rest is correct.
Alright, so it is pretty much certain that 3G and voice are not simultaneous on the S4?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
cell128 said:
While this isn't a deal breaker as I get 4g about 90% of the time, it may be a bummer for other people. The galaxy s3 can do data and voice simultaneously while on 4g and 3g. I don't know why they did not include it on this phone. The gs4 only does simultaneous voice/data while on 4g. I download files all the time as well as ROMs and would hate for my download to be interrupted or broken if a call comes in. Just posting this to help anyone who has not yet purchased their s4 and has to have this feature... You have been warned!!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since Verizon now covers 497 markets and 95% of their 3G footprint is also LTE, this warning will only affect 5% of Verizon customers. Glad i'm not one of them. Sorry for those of you who still live in the Boonies....well not even just the Boonies since Verizon is often in the Boonies. You guys must live in the BOONY of Boonies! :laugh:

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