S3 Weak network signal - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Guys
I need your suggestion how to improve network signal on my S3.
I recently moved to a new house. I know there is no issue with ROM or the phone. Just DIY way to improve the signal strength.
Stock ROM worst. CM11 base ROM is still good for good signal strength.

KSKHH said:
Guys
I need your suggestion how to improve network signal on my S3.
I recently moved to a new house. I know there is no issue with ROM or the phone. Just DIY way to improve the signal strength.
Stock ROM worst. CM11 base ROM is still good for good signal strength.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM doesn't change modem (or it didn't when last I used it). So any difference between stock and CM should be subjective, bearing in mind signal strength reporting may differ between ROMS. Have you tried a different modem? That's gotta be worth a try although spend a couple of days per modem to give a chance for any issues with battery life etc to manifest themselves.
Sent from my GT-I9300

GSM signal booster, but wifi is easier and cheaper.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Thanks both for your immediate reply.
I have tried many things. The latest Port of KK for S3 signal is damn weak. And I had to move back to CM11.
I have bought a sticker which demands signal boost, not sure though that working or not. Already moved to a diff service provider, which is little bit better in respect to the old one. But still it is not so good.
I do have Zero Lemon 7000 battery, so I do not bother about battery.
Is there any KK modem I can try? I believe nothing exist so far. The forum though having a post of list of modem, but that not updated.
I like stock OS only for the mail application. Rest stock can not beat CM.

Just installed a diff modem, need to check the network.

Related

[Q] (Q) ICS, Use Packet Data.. Battery Bug?

Hi Guys
daily Phone usage (approx): GSM & WCDMA Auto, Wifi OFF, BTooth OFF, GPS OFF, Display @ 35%, 3-4 txts a day, 3 hrs Music a day (Stock music player & Radio), Email & Weather - Manual sync. Apps: EverNote, Angry Birds.. 2 - 3 hrs on Google play through wifi.
Ive had my SGS2 for a week and updated to ICS 403 through KIES. Ive noticed that the battery lasts 1 day with 'Use packet Data' ON, but Battery lasts 3.5 days with Packet Data OFF.
- Is anyone else found this issue, how did you fix it.
- Is this due to UK KIES release, rather than a Clean EU version through ODIN.
- Will using GSM Only rather than GSM/WCDMA auto help.
How do you guys find it
Night
Packet data eats a lot and it always will. Of course you may use gsm only mode and it should increase battery life but the difference you have to check yourself on particular modem. This brings me to another solution - you may check different modems. now I work on LPW and it's awful, it uses battery a lot but the signal is very strong. Best results from ICS ROMs I had on LPS - signal was weak but never lost and battery usage much much lower. Some users are very happy with nelp - is seems to have everything: good signal reception and low battery usage.
Anyway, try few modems yourself, it also much depends on the area you live in, 3G network availability, home network signal strength etc etc. however you need to be aware that using packet data will drain your battery anyway.
p.s. remember also that while having packet data on the whole day many apps may work in background using internet (maybe a little bit but still) and it will also increase total battery usage.
Well, having such a phone, all the time on the net, one day of battery life doesn't have to be bad at all, depending on how much you really use it (I mean "screen on" time).
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
gaeilge said:
Packet data eats a lot and it always will. Of course you may use gsm only mode and it should increase battery life but the difference you have to check yourself on particular modem. This brings me to another solution - you may check different modems. now I work on LPW and it's awful, it uses battery a lot but the signal is very strong. Best results from ICS ROMs I had on LPS - signal was weak but never lost and battery usage much much lower. Some users are very happy with nelp - is seems to have everything: good signal reception and low battery usage.
Anyway, try few modems yourself, it also much depends on the area you live in, 3G network availability, home network signal strength etc etc. however you need to be aware that using packet data will drain your battery anyway.
p.s. remember also that while having packet data on the whole day many apps may work in background using internet (maybe a little bit but still) and it will also increase total battery usage.
Well, having such a phone, all the time on the net, one day of battery life doesn't have to be bad at all, depending on how much you really use it (I mean "screen on" time).
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that great info, really helpful.
Where I live (Newcastle UK), I get H+ but on 1 or 2 bars.
- Ill drop to 'GSM only' and 'PacketD ON' first for a few days and let you know.
- Then PacketD OFF.
- Then ill try a few Modems.. LPS & LPW as you suggested, and ill post back, maybe it can help others as well.
Also, Im not that keen on ICS as an OS.. always having to sign in or register online for every single thing, so
- Is it possible to go back to 236 GB using ODIN after updating to 403 ICS through KIES.. KIES hasnt locked my phone has it?.. If I can find a EU/UK 236 that is .
Thanks
Night
just use Odin and don't forget to do wipe after downgrading - it can save you from lot of troubles coming from ICS leftovers... the simpliest way is to use *2767*3855# code but remember that it will wipe all your data so do backup.
while choosing modem you may help yourself with topics like these ones:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1277593
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1603042
you will find some tests there but you have to read "a bit" to find suitable ones.
however, if you'd like to go back to 2.3.6 you have the battery life comparision in the 2nd post of the 1st thread. still, much depends on the network conditions in your area.
p.s. i talked to some friends of mine who where comparing modems according to signal strength, Fast Dormancy support, voice calls and video calls quality. their main subject wasn't battery usage but still they have much more experience with it than me. anyway, they say that lowest battery usage they had on nelp2 and nelp3.
Im on Virgin Mobile UK, which use both T-Mobile UK and Orange UK masts, so maybe a T-Mobile modem might be ok to test.
However, in the last 12 hours since my first post, i just set to GSM Only and what a difference, and it downloads email and data quickily, but thats not definitive though.. Im still testing it.
In Network connection in About Phone, its using a network called edge:2.. cant find anything on it at all, have you heard of it.
Also, I know this has been asked before, so i do apologise, but Ive checked in both Android Development sections, which is very confusing, and cant find a clean stock EU/UK 236, and samfirmware have removed theirs.. Could you possibly point me to one please.. . I did find one online called XWKL1 INU?.
Thanks
Night
open stock ROM for UK you may find here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278
search for XEU. the same here:
http://samsung-updates.com/gt-i9100-galaxy-sii/
links are available.
about Edge:2... I have the same while working GSM only and have no idea what this means. maybe it's Evolved Edge (aka Edge Evolution)?
Edge:2 could be a samsung protocol, which would be nice for a simple 3G idea.
Thanks for the links bud, much appreciated .. ill have a look through them after my testing, but it looks like im going back to 236.. not liking ICS even without the modem issues.
Im currently on LPW.. I know you gave it a thumbs down, but ill keep you posted.
Thanks
indeed it's not so easy to find 2.3.6 open for UK, just like it wasn't released at all.
anyway, I want to give you one more link:
http://androidfirmwares.net/PhoneFirmware
very usefull site if you want to get kernels, modems, CSC or even whole ROMs from Intratech's page.
gaeilge said:
indeed it's not so easy to find 2.3.6 open for UK, just like it wasn't released at all.
anyway, I want to give you one more link:
http://androidfirmwares.net/PhoneFirmware
very usefull site if you want to get kernels, modems, CSC or even whole ROMs from Intratech's page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link, but what is a Frankenstein Rom.. In my experience there is no UK Firmware, only open EU firmware with multi CSC and you just choose UK when the S2 boots, so it can be for any EU country as long as its open, with Prefixes like "XX...", "XEU..." (i think) "XW..." .. as long as its stock.
About the test, now that Ive arrived home from scotland .. 300 miles (450km) south, I find the battery was draining quicker under LPW GSM, so I re-booted the phone and its slightly better, so something to consider.. when travelling a decent distance maybe you should reboot your phone and "Logon" to your lockal area cell/mast.
Frankenstein is a ROM made of parts of different stock ROMs. e.g. you take ROM which was released for some other region and change CSC files with the ones taken from ROM released for your region (to keep your product code). People do all kind of mixtures of kernels, modems and CSC files taken from different stock ROMs. this way you make ROM that fits you best and the same time you don't void your guarantee. Only thing that gets lost is kies/fota updates.
Talking about modem and traveling, it may be true. I live in the place on the edge of signals (one room 2G, another one 3G) and have lot of problems with home network. When I use 3G, LPW is doing great job keeping me on this signal but changes networks a lot and this way drains battery. LPS had different behavior, it was going into 2G mode in order to keep my home network rather than changing network in order to keep 3G signal. maybe the same counts when you travel - changing networks uses more battery. Anyway, there is more to it - even in 2G mode and fixed network, modem is using little bit more battery but my signal is much much stronger.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

WiFi signal strength had gotten weaker?

I don't remember exactly when it started, but the last month or so my WiFi signal strength had been a lot weaker on my phone. I want to say it started when I started using ASOP roms, but even back in a sense Rom now, I can't hold a signal even one room away. It's not my router because other phones/laptops still get a good signal.
Any ideas on potential fixes to improve signal strength? I'm s-off and on Ineff Deus 1.2 at the moment. Tried different kernels with the same results.
Not much I can say, I get better wifi reception on CM9. Holds out way more than it did on senseless ROMs.
Wipe and reflash?
Already clean flashed a couple roms. Doesn't help. Now I'm just on LTE all the time, so not a huge issue, but of course battery drain is much higher.
Did you recently replace the battery cover or have it off a lot ? The contacts could be funky for the antenna..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Which Modem/RIL/ROM combination is most stable for travelling?

I will be traveling soon. I have the JellyBean leak by izap on my phone right now... The battery life is somewhat ok, but I have network issues with it sometimes. People can't get to me even when my phone shows full signal strength. Therefore, I would like to know if there is a Modem/Ril/Rom combination that features stability and is most suitable for making and receiving calls internationally. It would also be good if the combination isn't a battery sucker while searching for network while not in range.(Because this seems to be an issue with many people :-/ )
While traveling these are my top requirements from the GS2:
Stability- no SoD or incompatibility with networks abroad.
Battery life- no battery drain while it isn't being used
GPS- quick locks in remote areas (I already seem to have a solution for this; but haven't tested it yet)
Camera- no pink spot or noise (Could you also recommend a good camera firmware for Fujitsu M5MOLS that fixes FPS issues and pink spot? -I've tried solution in every Camera issue thread I could find on the forum, but I still get pink spot)
Thanks! I'm looking forward to your replies! :fingers-crossed:
Just in case this question isn't in compliance with the forum rules, then I'll be sorry and the Mods can move it/delete it.
If it were me Id just go back to Samsungs proper stock rom/modem.Then when I come back,Id change it back to what I liked.
theunderling said:
If it were me Id just go back to Samsungs proper stock rom/modem.Then when I come back,Id change it back to what I liked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer... But I wanted to know of a combination of any rom(stock, custom, etc) and Modem/RIL that provides good compatibilty with overseas networks and isn't infamous for draining the battery... And stable
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
To be honest your expectations are too high.Your wanting what everyone on here wants,and it doesnt exist.This is why were all tinkering with roms.
In some of requirements,while one thing improves,another will diminish i.e battery life.
I currently use rooted GB stock,stripped down with all the crap removed.I used to use nelp3 modem(gave best signal),but according to callers,speech was choppy.
I'm on NeatRom Lite 4.0 (JB leak), and see in better battery stats that "No or unknown signal" is 99.3%, and I have been in areas with good reception all day, so something is not right with the LS6 modem here in Norway. And I'm not sure if there is any other modem/ril for JB leak?
As for stability and battery time, CM9 stable worked great for me, so maybe have a look at that? With litle use, batterydrain where less than 10% pr 24hour on stock battery...
Diablito616 said:
I'm on NeatRom Lite 4.0 (JB leak), and see in better battery stats that "No or unknown signal" is 99.3%, and I have been in areas with good reception all day, so something is not right with the LS6 modem here in Norway. And I'm not sure if there is any other modem/ril for JB leak?
As for stability and battery time, CM9 stable worked great for me, so maybe have a look at that? With litle use, batterydrain where less than 10% pr 24hour on stock battery...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use other modems for Leaked jb but not other rils.
Leave ther ril alone and change the modem. Read through the thread for information how to change modems.
Will it not make phone reception worse if ril is not matched to modem?
theunderling said:
To be honest your expectations are too high.Your wanting what everyone on here wants,and it doesnt exist.This is why were all tinkering with roms.
In some of requirements,while one thing improves,another will diminish i.e battery life.
I currently use rooted GB stock,stripped down with all the crap removed.I used to use nelp3 modem(gave best signal),but according to callers,speech was choppy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I was just asking. But what you say is probably the most practical option as gb is as stable as a rock... Btw can you please tell me your gb version (phone & modem )?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Diablito616 said:
Will it not make phone reception worse if ril is not matched to modem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Modem will reception will be improved somewhat but not 100 % because the mismatch.
Before the ril modem relationship was discovered people use to change modems with out any problems whatsoever.
Diablito616 said:
I'm on NeatRom Lite 4.0 (JB leak), and see in better battery stats that "No or unknown signal" is 99.3%, and I have been in areas with good reception all day, so something is not right with the LS6 modem here in Norway. And I'm not sure if there is any other modem/ril for JB leak?
As for stability and battery time, CM9 stable worked great for me, so maybe have a look at that? With litle use, batterydrain where less than 10% pr 24hour on stock battery...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cm9 is still not a daily driver... For me at least :E)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Diablito616 said:
Will it not make phone reception worse if ril is not matched to modem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I made this thread keeping that in mind...
For now I think it's gingerbread stock. But I'm still wondering about the most "ideal" modem
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Heres my setup.Im using UK rom for unbranded.But Im different from the average user as I disable a lot of stuff I dont need as I use my phone mostly for gambling(so display cops most of the battery).
Maybe someone can suggest a good stripped down rom for battery life,in case you arent near a charger.
theunderling said:
Heres my setup.Im using UK rom for unbranded.But Im different from the average user as I disable a lot of stuff I dont need as I use my phone mostly for gambling(so display cops most of the battery).
Maybe someone can suggest a good stripped down rom for battery life,in case you arent near a charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah even I freeze unwanted bloatware so I'll try your combo first and maybe if someone has something for better battery I'll try that too
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
I see in here that I should be using a XW modem, and not the XX in the leaked jb rom, so I better try another modem and see how it works out.
@jj_95nano You should probably have a look at the modems for the region you are travelling (2 first letters), but as that thread has not been updated since summer, I don't know if theire recommended modems are still valid...
You could also maybe check the signal strength of your provider on where your going.
I went on holiday recently where the tmobile reception was crap,and vodafone was a lot better.
*gets into a dilemma*
Just flashed the latest stock ICS 4.0.4 for my region... There are many bugs and FCs... I wanna flash GB, but the GB for my region is infamous for its battery drain. I guess I'll keep CWM Backups of different ROMs and try them out when I'm on the go. :-/
Depends where your going ^^
If I was taking my S2 over seas, I'd get a sim card for that region (could prob get one prior to travel), leave a redirect to no. on my voicemail. Then I would get a cwm flashable modem for the region & install it on the plane to destination. Rom wise, MIUI gb/ics - would be your best bet... everything works out of the box. Stay away from JB, unless you have a laptop handy, then it wouldn't really matter
Sent from Valhalla :mwhahaha:
King_Rat said:
Depends where your going ^^
If I was taking my S2 over seas, I'd get a sim card for that region (could prob get one prior to travel), leave a redirect to no. on my voicemail. Then I would get a cwm flashable modem for the region & install it on the plane to destination. Rom wise, MIUI gb/ics - would be your best bet... everything works out of the box. Stay away from JB, unless you have a laptop handy, then it wouldn't really matter
Sent from Valhalla :mwhahaha:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay.. So I'm downloading MIUI and I have some modems of the places I'm gonna go to. The only problem is everytime I flash a modem there will be a Modem+RIL mismatch... But actually to solve that I can flash only one modem for the country I'll be in the longest. Let's see how it goes!
jj_95nano said:
Okay.. So I'm downloading MIUI and I have some modems of the places I'm gonna go to. The only problem is everytime I flash a modem there will be a Modem+RIL mismatch... But actually to solve that I can flash only one modem for the country I'll be in the longest. Let's see how it goes!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're on a plan - roaming may be better option...
talk to your provider about pros & cons :cyclops:
on prepay I'd go my prior suggestion - use local network & save some $$
King_Rat said:
If you're on a plan - roaming may be better option...
talk to your provider about pros & cons :cyclops:
on prepay I'd go my prior suggestion - use local network & save some $$
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep I'm on a plan with international roaming... I finally got MIUI ICS and NeatROM Lite dual booted. The modems on the ROMs are matching with RIL and don't seem to be draining battery, so I think I'll stick to these.

Modem/Radio issue or hardware issue?

Just got my new Redmi Note 3 Pro (kenzo) last week. Decided to jump onto a custom ROM after using MIUI for a few days. Here's what I've done:
1. Official bootloader unlocked
2. Installed alka TWRP
3. Wipe all partitions
4. Installed CM13 Radios.zip , then installed official CM13 ROM + OpenGapps + SuperSU
Booted into the ROM fine, used it for a few days and everything works well (including fingerprint). Problem is, I keep getting orange/yellow/red signal bars under battery stats. It's not constantly either. If I leave the phone at the same spot, the signal fluctuates between orange and light green constantly. The entire cellular network signal under my battery graph looks like a traffic light.
I'm not using LTE, just standard 3G. I get about -85db to ~91db, which is high. At the same spot on a different phone (also on 3G), I get about -75db (the lower the better). The thing is, on my kenzo, the signal bar is usually full or almost full, so I don't understand why the signal is so bad. So I thought, maybe I just need to flash another radio/modem. I then took the official MIUI 7.x ROM and flashed the NON-HLOS.bin via fastboot, but the result is still the same.
I've tested a different ROM as well, but same result. I don't seem to have any issues with call qualities and battery seems to be OK and unaffected by this. Not sure if it's a bug (unlikely, as I've tested both a CM and AOSP ROM), or perhaps an issue with the modem/radios or more likely a hardware fault with my phone? Someone else reported this issue as well, but apparently it works fine for them on ZephyrOS or something (I haven't tested this).
I must also point out that while I was on stock MIUI, I don't see any bad signals on my phone. It's always green.
Anyone?
Hi, I'm the one who posted it works on Zephyr. But it doesn't, actually. I solved this problem by putting it on airplane mode, waiting ~10secs and the problem stops(mostly, if it didn't, try again). You can check in *#*#4636#*#*, it doesn't drop to -113dBm. I thought it might not drain battery but I'm on ressurection remixed and there's a phone idle drain of about 131mAh.
Hi mate, thanks for your reply.
I've noticed that as well, tried putting it in airplane mode and then back to normal mode, the signal seems to be a lot more stable. My phone has never went to -113dBm though, just averaging high -80dbm ~ -95dbm. I've noticed that if you hold the phone with your left hand, the signal is much better. I think this may be similar to iPhone 4's signalgate issue, where the modem chip/band is sitting at a bad spot that is blocked depending on how you hold the phone. Disappointing to be honest.....but anyway, signal seems to be stable so far on the leaked 5.1 Qualcomm AOSP ROM. Same thing on MIUI.
Update:
BTW, it's not just the phone signal, even GPS is affected as well. When I'm inside buildings, I can't get any GPS signal at all using Device Only. If I select High Accuracy (which uses GPS and WiFi for fetching signals), I can then lock on a signal. In other words, the Device Only option (which solely relies on GPS itself) will fail when I'm inside buildings. This tells me that the chip for fetching phone and GPS signals is either crap, or that Xiaomi has packaged them in a bad layout design or position within the phone. It doesn't matter what ROM I try, the result is the same. Even using apps like FasterGPS (which downloads the gps.conf file for your country) doesn't help.
However, it's not really a big deal. I can get a lock on the GPS signal inside buildings if I use High Accuracy. Once a signal is locked, I can then switch back to Device Only and GPS will continue to work. Also, when I'm outside of the building, I can get a fast lock on using Device Only straight away, so it's not really a problem. It's just that compared to my Galaxy S5 (a 2 year old phone), the Redmi Note 3 doesn't seem much better. I know it's a budget phone, but the specs of the phone should be a lot better than my 2 year old S5.
One last thing I should point out is that the building I'm in isn't a big building with multiple floors. It's actually a small house and I get about -75dbm for my phone signal. So it's not like I'm in a bad spot with no reception. GPS just doesn't work well when you're inside a house/building on this phone.

Best firmware?

I'm currently looking for the best firmware for kenzo in terms of signal, currently I'm running 6.12.22 and it's not bad, although sometimes signal is pretty low. I tried also newest firmware from one of the threads but it was even worse, a lot of time with no signal or no mobile data. So what firmware are you guys using?

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