Fluctuating signal - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi there, I have an extremely fluctuating signal. What I want to know is, is it possible that the radio could be damaged due yo excessive downloading? I have only had the phone for about 2.5 months but must have downloaded about 40 GB through it. ( I don't use the broadband anymore)

Mfizz said:
Hi there, I have an extremely fluctuating signal. What I want to know is, is it possible that the radio could be damaged due yo excessive downloading? I have only had the phone for about 2.5 months but must have downloaded about 40 GB through it. ( I don't use the broadband anymore)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer is NO
jje

Is your signal (dbM) fluctuating or your download bandwith.
In first case you could be ping-pong'ed between antennas, some modems are more resilient aganst this than others. Try out a few.
If download alone is fluctuating your antenna may be on capacity limit or your provider is attemptin, to throttle you. Check if connection remains stable with a vpn connection (more speicifically a udp vpn since those are very hard to throttlt) and make sure your apn do not include a proxy unless absolutely necessary.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

Thanks for your reply. How can I check the dBm. Because that I think would be best to check a faulty radio. initially I noticed it first when my 3g h and kept fluctuating between edge GPRS etc. I phoned my provider and they said they haven't been throttling. They told me to manual roam by selecting a different operator and coming back. This doesn't do anything.

Sorry I found the dBm. It's at 91 then the next second 109 with as ranging from 2 to 16. The signal bar at the top of the phone is between no bars and 1 bar

Related

Why is Edge faster than 3G or H+ (see edit)?

Ever since I've transferred to AT&T I've had laggy data issues. I finally rooted/flashed to AOKP, and while trying to address the issues of no APNs appearing or saving and no signal status in the status bar, I've come to find both AT&T and T-Mobile as Available Networks under some network setting. Am I chasing ghosts here, or is there something actually up?
EDIT: So I really need help troubleshooting the issue. I'll logcat, dump, or whatever necessary. I've been in many cities/areas and this problem persists: if I haven't used data or the phone hasn't been backgrounding traffic, it'll take anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds before a connection is made when I try to access an internet-related function on my phone (even though 3G/H is displayed in the status bar). Out of shear frustration (this has been happening since I got the phone, under stock ROMs and now under AOKP), I tried messing with *#*#info#*#*. I changed WCDMA-preferred to WCDMA-only -- no improvement. Oddly, I also tried GSM-only. Well, great improvement! Even though I only have E, there is absolutely no latency in waiting for a connection -- so pages and other data end up loading faster on Edge than 3G !
I have absolutely no idea why my phone takes forever to make a connection. Under 3G, I see only but a few upstream network activity blips (even under full bars) for as much as 30 seconds, before there is any downstream activity (and when it comes, it comes). Can anyone help???
P.S.: I'm going to try using a friend's SIM later for comparison.
joebobjoe said:
Ever since I've transferred to AT&T I've had laggy data issues. I finally rooted/flashed to AOKP, and while trying to address the issues of no APNs appearing or saving and no signal status in the status bar, I've come to find both AT&T and T-Mobile as Available Networks under some network setting. Am I chasing ghosts here, or is there something actually up?
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Click to collapse
Because they both share the 1900MHz band I believe.
Red5 said:
Because they both share the 1900MHz band I believe.
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Click to collapse
I'd like to know if it shows up for anyone else?
joebobjoe said:
I'd like to know if it shows up for anyone else?
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Click to collapse
On AOKP it does for me too. Just ignore it.
Red5 said:
On AOKP it does for me too. Just ignore it.
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Click to collapse
An aside: does your phone stay on 3G and switch to H only under moderate network traffic?
joebobjoe said:
An aside: does your phone stay on 3G and switch to H only under moderate network traffic?
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Click to collapse
The phone displays 3G because thats what it is... then when data is being processed, it shows H because its using the "what AT&T calls 4G but its really HSPA" side of the network. For just standby time with no data, its going to show 3G because HSDPA is traffic, not standby.
Red5 said:
The phone displays 3G because thats what it is... then when data is being processed, it shows H because its using the "what AT&T calls 4G but its really HSPA" side of the network. For just standby time with no data, its going to show 3G because HSDPA is traffic, not standby.
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Click to collapse
Well that's strange. I'm used to phones displaying what network-level they are capable of. So why would it not just display H for HSPA+ when HSPA+ service is available, instead of only displaying under traffic.
I'm going to go ahead an edit this thread to help troubleshoot what I think to be the main issue.
After some trials I see that the network indicator switches back and forth between 3G and H a few tines before making the connection and transmitting data. Hmmm...
Basically, "4G" will eat your battery alive so the phone idles at 3G and jumps to H+ only when you use data. If you were on a "stock" ATT rom it would always read H+, but this is technically false since when its idle the phone sits in 3G. CM9 and AOKP accurately display it which is why you see the switch.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
I have a HTC Amaze for a phone and the Galaxy S2 is my media player. Sometimes, when I don't feel like carrying around two devices, I put my T-Mobile SIM in the galaxy and use it as my phone. I must say, Edge is not as slow as I remember it being. Maybe speed is contingent on network traffic. If thats the case, instead of using crowded "faux G" networks, I may defer to Edge to save battery life and get good dl/ul rates.
My phone does the same thing. I noticed it sometime ago. When idle 3g. Internet I get H+. This is with both Shostock2 and Phone Bricker. I was curious to know too but just blew it off because it really doesnt make any difference to me as long as Im getting decent speeds. Im not even with ATT anymore. Went with Straight Talk. Which uses ATT towers. Cant beat the price!!
They don't have the correct apns, but that symbol problem is because the phone doesn't use hspa+ passively, only actively. It causes some lag when downloading, but it is faster fit large data. But your problem is due to a supposed imei range with bad modems. Rehash stick, fix the triangle, and return it.
Sent from my GT-I777 using xda premium

Sudden signal problem

i thought this would be the best place for a problem i started having about2 weeks ago. i am on vodafone uk.
i used to get 3-4 of the 4 bars reception while sitting at home(as an example). suddenly i was getting 1-2 and sometimes none (all blank).
i thought i would try and eliminate things one by one so here is what i did...
checked with my sim in another phone and another sim in mine. from memory the other phone having my sim was slightly down but not much and my phone with the other sim didnt really change much.
i checked with vodafone by calling them, they said they couldnt see any problems on the network, birmingham uk, but would send a new sim, after getting the sim activated when it arrived, no better. their onling forum is still waiting for a response back from their technical whether there is any problems. i dont see how the phone department can instantly tell me when the technical need many days to find an answer.
i thought it could be the rom so i first updated lite'ning rom to resurrection remix and then to a later version of RR and no change. the newest version of RR has a different kernel, flux i think, than the siyah in the 2 previous roms but again that different kernel didnt improve it. lastly i even changed the modem/radio trying to different ones to the default, xxlpx and kh3 and again no difference.
the only thing that improves it is turning 2G on instead of 3G. the bars go back up to 3-4. even with 3G on previously as i never changed it before it was always fine.
i know this is a long post but i wanted to be thorough as i really appreciate any help as i am now lost as what could improve this.
Mispost
anyone?
I have been having a similar problem on Three for about five weeks now. Despite numerous reloads of Android and modems etc I was getting no results, 5mb dl speeds have dropped to around 150kb despite having a good signal.
After many many calls to so called customer service I have discovered that a new cell tower near to me has been activated as part of the network expansion program and because this cell is closer to me than the one I used to connect to I now get a stronger signal from this so my phone always chooses this. Problem is this cell has only got a 2mb feed INTO it, its a TMobile/Orange cell now being shared with Three....so I am basically fooked.
Check with Vodafone if they have done anything similar recently near you. Three are adamant there are no problems my end, technically they are correct I suppose, its all working, I just cant access the net without it timing out constantly now.
Atb
SST
I am having the same issue with my phone. I get only one bar (sometimes none!) whenever I'm home & I'm on WiFi; however, I get full signal strength when I'm out & on 3G.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
i thought it could be the cell tower thing as there is only 1 vodafone one in quite a large radious, about 2 miles, and many of all the other networks. i dont know why vodafone are happy to have 1 compared to at least 3-4 each for all other providers.
this morning i drove that 1 mile to the vodafone mast and ran fresh network and surely that would have connected to that as i was 5 meters from it. still no better. ??
Just try NELP3 modem once... I had done similar issue once.. Now my network is better..
is nelp3 okay for uk though?
Try flashing another Modem. Im from Germany but i had similar problems. A new Rom would do too i think
All
Sent from my MB525 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
Christiancs1969 said:
All
Sent from my MB525 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2
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not sure what you mean with 'all'
Number of options, tower may be having problems, maybe some form of interference, try a different modem, try different sum card if you have one spare?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
i do have the same problem as above, no signal in the building and 50% signal outside building. I swithch my SIM with fren's (he use another telco), and his SIM not work on my S2 and my SIM work on his phone (not SIM issues).
I tested many modem as recommented , LP2/LP3, LP9, LPX, KI3, KI4, KF2, no luck.
I flash different ROM, (some old version that work before), from CM9, AOKP, Sammy. no luck.
I restore old back up ROM. no luck
Fix permission, no luck.
any advice ?
OK next step is to flash a different modem
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
i've tried a few modems including the ones people believe better, all have this problem so far.
it may be the network mast in my case. i discussed with vodafone what 3G mast i was connected to and then which 3G mast is next closest. i then went right next to that other 3G mast and the signal was full bars, no fluctuation at all. this surely means it is either, 1-the network mast i keep locking to having problems or 2-all the modems i have used favouring battery over strength and not getting enough power to get a good signal.
is there a way of finding out which modems are better for battery and which are better for signal strength?
Umm not that I know of, best thing to do for that is either research the modems for better strength or battery etc, or just test some yourself, however that is time consuming,
Personally I think it is just the mast having problems, however I may be wrong
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
i thought i would add a little research to this thread, not too much but just my experience with 3 specific modems.
the background is that recently i have started getting very poor network signal as i believe the closest 3g mast to me is having problems. if i turn to 2g its better as the phone then connects to the closest 2g tower which gives better network signal.
i know that a modem should be left for 2-3 days before judging but i thought that if a modem is currently better than another then that is only likely to stay the same with time as long as they were given the same short period of time.
i used the app network signal info and did 3 5 minute tests for each modem and then averaged the percentage of the signal and also averaged the -dbm also.
i first used the modem i currently had on there, BUKI1
- average percentage was 19%
- average -dbm was -103
both very poor scores
the signal was very jumpy up and down also
i then flashed the custom modem, i think by krs007, M250S
- average percentage was 44.6%
- average -dbm was -90.66
obviously a huge increase
the signal was very steady, hardly changing from that average
lastly i flashed NELP3
- average percentage was 30.66%
- average -dbm was -97.33
better than at first but not as good as M250S
i am now going to let M250S bed in for a few days while keeping my eye on here for how NELP4 performs but so far i have a huge increase in signal in a previously very poor area. as this is also due i believe to the tower having problems, hopefully it will only get better.
Try downloading OpenSignalMaps from Google Play Store. For starters, you can determine the approximate location of the offending cell tower (if the cell tower was indeed the culprit). Sometimes, i realise that the phone tends to stick to certain cell towers when others are in closer range and could purportedly provide a better radio link. For this, the app provides a refresh feature that allows you to manually trigger a cell tower refresh. I am aware that most apps requiring connectivity have this feature but i don't suppose you can call the refresh on trigger.
Hi Marc
Tracked down a copy of M250S(dont know if its the same as you have installed though), and very briefly, as in 30 secondsish, I had 4 bars and dl`s around 5mb again!.But midway through it dropped out and that seems to be the pattern. Seems to be having problems locking onto a cell, signal bars frequently grey out, maybe its a compatibility issue with CM9, I dont know.
Anyway, let us know how you get on,
Cheers
Chris
it probably is the same as i dont think any others have that name.
it probably just needs to bed in for a few days. i have noticed mine go between 3g and H quite regular but it always does that, i havent had any dropped calls or similar so far.

Bad reception

Hi all! First post in the Alpha section... Got my Alpha the other day. And i love all about it. But there is one thing thats gets me wondering. It's the reception. All my previous phones got good reception at home.. i get 1-2 bars. So my question is. Does anybody experience this issue? I have experienced SMS delays and chipped calls.
Location : Sweden
Provider : Telenor
Look at actual signal strength in dBm. Bars are arbitrary and vary from phone to phone.
phositadc said:
Look at actual signal strength in dBm. Bars are arbitrary and vary from phone to phone.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, i have.. it's lite around -110 .. My Z2 had around -70 to -80 in the same region..
pattsy said:
Yeah, i have.. it's lite around -110 .. My Z2 had around -70 to -80 in the same region..
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Ah ok. That's a bit concerning... Huge difference.
phositadc said:
Ah ok. That's a bit concerning... Huge difference.
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Click to collapse
It could just be a faulty device... I'll try replacing my sim first. If that's the issue.
If that's not working. I'll have it replaced.
Edit: Had my sim replaced. Still experiencing bad reception. It goes as low as -105dbm... where my z2 had around -70 (same network, same location)... that's bad. Any ideas what I can do to solve this?
Yeah keep me updated - my Alpha also seems to have noticeably weaker reception than my iPhone on 4G (800mhz band).
Hoping its a modem firmware/software power output thing and not a hardware thing.
Same here, looks like the reception is 1-2 bars worse than other phones.
But I have no experience of delayed SMS or failed calls and the speeds on internet is very good.
Location: Sweden
Provider: Telia
seem like Iphone 4s signal problem with metal frame blocking antena-reciver,hmmm
Signal problems
Hi, I'm on my second Alpha and first sim, I have an alternative sim yet to try but have chated on Twitter with another user who found no improvement with a new sim and changed phones completely. I'm with three. My signal goes completely when I'm sitting with other three users whose phones work fine. I think it's a phone fault and am considering sending it back now.
Hi guys,
I noticed something interesting with my Alpha:
As you, I have a poor signal strength. But when calling someone then the signal bar jump to full force instantly!
Could it be a link with BIG little technology?
KiDimel said:
Hi guys,
I noticed something interesting with my Alpha:
As you, I have a poor signal strength. But when calling someone then the signal bar jump to full force instantly!
Could it be a link with BIG little technology?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, for those who have the same problem, I deactivated the 4G. Then the signal strength is better. I made the test: 2 bars with 4G enabled in network settings, full signal when 3G only.
As a possible future Alpha owner, question.
Are you on a USA Network with the Qualcomm Alpha ?
Or in Europe on Exynos Octacore ?
robertkoa said:
As a possible future Alpha owner, question.
Are you on a USA Network with the Qualcomm Alpha ?
Or in Europe on Exynos Octacore ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using a european Exynos one
The alpha is my second LTE able phone. Both showed a completely different signal bar reading when using LTE (and checking in lecture, how Signal strength is meassured for GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/LTE it shows, that LTE uses a completely revised scheme to calculate the signal strength)
I haven't made any speed measurements yet, but my feeling is:
(4G) With LTE, even without any highlighted bar i can use internet, webpages load fast, other lookups work.
(3G,3.5G) With H/H+ , and at least 1 bar highlighted, internet works
(2.5G) Edge and at least 1 to two bars, internet is available... three bars are better for it to be worthwhile
(2G) G only - forget it. I'll need 4 bars to surf the web, and i must wait. Chat works if i'm lucky and got at least 1-2 bars.
Apart from that: the signal bars in 2G and 3G show the strength of the signal - but aren't any measure of the quality of the signal. They show anything that sends on the frequency/timeslot of the 2G/3G signal you're receiving. If you've got heavy interferences, you'll get full bars but it all is static.
(Like - in a disco, you've got loud music, and people speaking very loudly to you - that would be full bars, but not the best place to speak to each other....)
I don't understand exactly what the value used by 4G exactly means, but it sounds like it only represents the LTE cell you do want to receive - so it should be more accurate and cutting out the noise somehow
I think you're right ! This is my feeling too. In 4G calls are always perfect for me even with one bar.
In settings we can also have a more accurate highlight on to the signal strength in Db.
Guys this alpha is full of mysteriousness !
I think samsung did it ON purpose.. ! Save battery??
I have weaker signal too.. on iphone 5 is full and i had on my former Honor 6 full as hell..
But I dont konw IF samsung wants to save power by this .. I think it has no much influence as iphone 5 nor Honor 6 had full signal and battery never got down fast.. when I had Honor 6 100% at night it was 98 % in morning..
Another thing with aplha ,when i leave phone in sleep half hour or longer , th emobile network stops and wont come up...
I have to restart phone or turn airplane on ad off.. then H+ or 4G appears..
I have the issue with mobile data too, it seems to also do it when it has been on WiFi for a while and you change to mobile data.
no service
Hey guys,
I have a very bad reception with my Samsung Galaxy Alpha when i'm in the subway in Paris. To be honnest I have no service, no sms, no calls, and for sure no internet...
I can see people using their smartphones inside the subway without problems.
I had an iPhone 4 during 3 years, and didn't have any problem with it when I was in the subway.
I'm using the same phone carrier "Bouygues Telecom"
So what's wrong with this Galaxy Alpha ?
MaskedMarauder said:
I have the issue with mobile data too, it seems to also do it when it has been on WiFi for a while and you change to mobile data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it disables data carrier APN and it won't turn it auto i went it that settings and had to tap that circle manually to get green .. think it is bug .. need sorting out updating software..
---------- Post added at 09:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 PM ----------
safnyght2 said:
Hey guys,
I have a very bad reception with my Samsung Galaxy Alpha when i'm in the subway in Paris. To be honnest I have no service, no sms, no calls, and for sure no internet...
I can see people using their smartphones inside the subway without problems.
I had an iPhone 4 during 3 years, and didn't have any problem with it when I was in the subway.
I'm using the same phone carrier "Bouygues Telecom"
So what's wrong with this Galaxy Alpha ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks lik eit might be a software problem .. we need to contact samsung bout it or complain on their site.. but guys all of us we must complain not just one person cos they wont sort it out..
Hey people,
I'm also having connection issues:
When I boot the phone it's working is at should: Switching between 4G/3G/EDGE etc. After a while the connection sort of times out. I can only make emergency calls. It works flawlessly for up to a day, or it can only work for like 5 minutes.
Rebooting the device fixes this temporarily. My service provider (Hi in NL) has already sent me a new simcard which doesn't help. They are now saying I should send it over for repair.
Btw: When i leave it in CDMA only, the problem takes much longer to arise (like a couple of days).
I can see that people who have posted in this thread are having the same issues. I'm wondering if this is firmware or hardware related, as I want avoid sending over my phone. If it IS a firmware bug, sending it over for repair obviously isn't going to fix this.
I have sent an e-mail to Samsung BeNeLux. Like Simona Simmy says, we should all write to Samsung

[Q] Is there an app for collecting connectivity data?

I have two SIMS from two different carriers, let's call them C1 and C2.
With C1, when I'm connected to their 3G network, I get a good stable connection, the only problem with C1 one is that their 3G network doesn't cover as much territory as C2 and that in some places of a given buildings I'd lose the signal completely. WIth C2, on the other hand, I'm almost always (and anywhere) conected to 3G/H or H+, but the connection would sometimes 'hang', meaning that it would display 3G/H+ or H, but there wouldn't a working connection to the internet. This can happen from 5-10 seconds (somewhat often) up to 5 minutes (sporadically)
I want to know if there's an app that can gather information, maybe by sending small data packages every few seconds, about the stability of a given connection, in order to compare other phones with the same carrier and figure out if the problem is my device or the carrier's service. I've made a few tests putting my SIM in other phones and other SIMS from that carrier in my phone, but I haven't been able to draw a definitive conclusion because of the short durations of those tests.
Could this have something to do with the frequencies at which these carriers work? C1 works at 2100Mhz and C2 at 900Mhz. Lower frequencies have a larger range, right? But that shouldn't mean that the connection will be more or less stable than a higher frequency service, would it?
Avast...
via XDA Premium
jeswinjv said:
Avast...
via XDA Premium
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Isn't that an antivirus?

[HALP] How to switch to a particular network

I'm on MIUI dev. At my place the Jio service is pretty poor. I get the max. speed of 100KBps throughout the day, and only during the nights I am able to reach upto 3or4MBps.
But, what I've seen is that sometimes in between, my cell connects to some other Cell Tower (Jio's only). I can tell you this because the network strength is always full at my place but when it gets switched to the other Tower's signal, the strength is around 40-50%. And, suddenly the speed gets boosted upto 2MBps from 100KBps, for the brief 10secs. Then again the network strength goes full and the speed comes back to its normal.
So, what I think, is that there's another cell tower which is farther then this one but has less no. of users and hence better speeds.
So, is there anyway that I can switch to that network permanently. I've read about setting the phone's modem to a particular freq..
So, guys tell me what I can do.
TL; DR How can I use the other cell tower of my network which has better internet speeds but has weaker network strength.
KabirKalsi said:
Network Signal Guru! Download this app and select band 40 from LTE settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested it. Works as it says, but the speed is still same. Hell, Im getting speed around 100kbps+ on Band 5, while on Band40 the speed is around 60kbps. Although the network strength is full in both bands.
Anyway, thanks for your reply. It must be problem with Jio services only.

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