yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jlangleyrn:
I bought this hoping for improved reception but didn't actually expect it to be better. My old Motorola DX still beats this phone into the ground, as far as reception goes but the S4 has been given every reason to fail today but held clear talking, even with 1 bar/-110 db. If Motorola had something compatible I would have bought it but they don't in my.opinion. I still have 12 days left to return it, but I'm hoping it will stay like it is. I don't expect perfection, I just NEED a functional phone.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] vegita319:
I'm with you. After my s3, I told my myself I would only by Motorola moving forward.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
I find call reception fine on the S3, but the data radios unless in good signal areas are awful.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dweezle:
Okay, today's meeting of the junior cell signal engineering club will come to order. I'll start out by saying that I am fairly clueless when it comes to a deep understanding of cell signal performance. I can download apps that purport to measure signal strength, but I can't offer any meaningful interpretation of the results. I have a:

Droid X,

a Motorola Xoom tablet,

and my "new" Samsung Galaxy S3

[/LIST]. I have bought a Verizon Network Extender because of the poor reception at my office. I have set my S3 to "CDMA auto (PRL)", instead of the stock setting of LTE/CDMA/EvDo. That seems to help on the tests, but I will have to go out later and see how my S3 behaves in areas where it didn't get reception.

First picture is of all three devices, network extender on, one room away. S3 in the middle.

All three devices, network extender OFF. S3 on the far right.

[

Now this I found interesting...I move the three devices to 4 inches away from the Network Extender.Extender turned ON The S3 is on far left.

Comments? Criticism? Suggestions?:highfive:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] oilfighter:
Good info, people should do what you're doing and examine the actual measured db side by side. I would add in a speed test too, since a lot of the times on my S3, while I do get a signal, the data isn't moving very fast.

Now, I just have 1 big question, where is the S4? I thought we're comparing these devices to the S4 here....
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] coolbluedab:
As I have seen, as a VZW rep. The s4 is very noticably stronger in signal, and is often the same or stronger than every other phone in the store. sometimes only by a meager 1db... but others 4-5. This is in a LTE area. But both data and voice radios have been better than any phone I have owned. And compared to all phones in store. I be pleased. In addition to the great screen and response, and best battery life out of box of any phone I have used ... I think only the HD Maxx could beat it. Havent been this excited to have a phone since OG droid, and the thunderbolt came out and we had great speed.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dweezle:
If I owned an S4, believe me, I would love to see how it stacks up. I went out today with the S3 set to 3G only (don't ask). I had a consistently strong signal. It stayed at eHRPD. It never went to LTE (obviously). Now here is where it gets interesting. SInce I travel in a lot of back country areas, I have an Antenna signal amplifier in my truck, with an external roof antenna. My phone rides in a dash cradle, so I can watch the signal strength easily and safely. I am used to messing with the amp locally, so i know what signal I typically get with the amp and my Droid X. I looked over at the S3 signal in the amp, and it is -21dBm. My amp only works on the 3G signal, but I have never seen those kinds of numbers, on that road with my Droid X. My theory, (remember I am winging this entire exploration) is that Samsung allocated battery power to the various antennae in the phone. They had to try to balance the phone's ability to send and receive signal, power the screen and the gps module. If they didn't get the balance right, the battery life would be zilch, but the phone would function better. I think that when I added power to the 3G antenna signal with the amp, the phone just loved it and the signal jumped way up to that -21 figure.

Again, if there is anyone that can contribute to our mutual understanding of the S3's reception methods and why some users are having such poor reception, please chime in.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Tanalark:
Picked up my S4 from the FedEx office 2 days ago and have been playing with it ever since. I absolutely love it, and I'm thrilled by the performance I've gotten out of it so far. I have only one complaint.

I work in a building where I get absolutely no reception except if I walk near a window, and sometimes not then. I've noticed with this phone that even when I have gotten near a window again and have bars for signal, I a) don't have a data connection available and b) can't make any calls (it says "Network is unavailable") until I put it into and take it out of airplane mode. I guess I'm resetting the antennas and causing it to re-scan for signal, but it's already measuring that I have signal. Never had this problem with my Droid 3 (what I upgraded from). Other than this complaint, I love the phone and feel it's a huge step up from what I was using before.

Any suggestions?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
I tested the S3 and S4 yesterday with VZW. The dBm signal actually showed 1 to 3 dBm better with the S3, but overall they seemed the same. No better or worse. My guess is the S4 will be the same hot running, battery sucking demon as the S3 when in weak signal areas.

Phone reception also seemed the same. I can review without potential new device pixie dust clouding perception, since will not get the S4 until a 32 model is offered.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] elucid:
Compared to my DROID charge, the reception is much much better in fringe lte areas.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dweezle:
S3 antennae locations (all 5 of them)

I haven't seen the FCC diagram for the S4 or been able to see the S4 manual. Does the S4 manual have a similar "how to hold it" page?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] boe:
I'm extremely critical of devices. The S3 was dreaful for reception. I still haven't determined if the reception is improved as 1 good day or 1 bad day don't really tell me much.

I can however state that talk time / standby time on the S4 blows the doors off what I was getting on my S3. I could average about 4 hours of talk time on my S3 before it was dead, this one exceeds 12 hours.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
A bigger concern for me is if Foxfi does not work on the S4. That alone would be reason not to get it (assuming a 32Gb ever is released) and stick with the S3 32GB. Reception of the S3 and S4 seems the same. No better and no worse.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] boe:
FoxFi didn't work the first time I tried it but it did the second.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] badenglishihave:
Just spent a weekend at a remote campsite where my GNex almost never had even a voice/cell signal. My old Droid X and my wife's current phone, the iPhone 4S, both get spotty 1x data and voice in the area.

I am extremely happy to report that my new Verizon GS4 had the best reception by far. I never went below 1 bar of 1x all weekend and calls were crystal clear with no drops. It beat both my wife's 4S and my mother in law's iPhone 5 in terms of reception so I count that as a big win for this device :D
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] KidJoe:
Consider using an app like this -> https://play.google.com/store/apps/...251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwianAubWFydXNlLmNlbGxpbmYiXQ..

On TWO Verizon phones at the same time in order to compare signal strength.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] oilfighter:
I walked in to the Verizon store today, thinking that I'd walk out with a shiny new S4, but then i saw the demo units on the wall, so I thought, might as well play with them first.

There were 2 S4's sitting next to 2 S3. I opened up the phone status page, and to my surprise, all the S3 (including my) had better signal strength by -2 ~ -3.

So I don't know... I do like to hear more tests from other S4 owners though. I ended up not buying the S4...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] blackhand1001:
The radios usually have fixed reporting points like 93, 81, 72. They probably differ between devices so they likely had the same signal. They don't seem to report in between.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jp5909:
They got it right

I had 2 different S3s within a week of it's release both had major reception issues at my house, as in dropped calls more often than not. This phone shows no better signal strength (-95 - -111 dbm) however it seems to deal with that low signal strength MUCH better. I've not had a single dropped call. I'm impressed and glad Samsung got it taken care of. I really didn't want to have to return this phone because I love it, it's what the S3 SHOULD have been...especially as much as they hyped it.

---------- Post added at 07:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:10 AM ----------

As I said in my post above this one, even though mine shows the exact same signal strength(bad) as my S3, the S4 does a MUCH better job handling the bad signal. I never even had static where my S3 would have dropped the call over and over and over consistently. Give the S4 a chance I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Side note: Why is it saying I'm a new member I've been a member for 2 years now...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
I noticed the same thing out of store with S3 & S4, but no chance to test in weak signal areas (the TRUE test). Since Verizon looks like they might get the 32GB S4 now, I should have a better chance to test in known fringe areas where the iPhone 4S, Razr and DNA work, but the S3 does not.

From brief personal tests so far, the S3 seems to have a tad better reception. That of course would not be good, since the S3 is a great device in medium to good signal areas and a battery sucking demon in weak signal areas. One good sign for the S4 though is no apparent 3G/4G bouncing. The S3 where I live has a hard time staying with 4G, even in medium signal areas. I have to use Open Signal to get 4G back, more times than not.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Diversion:
What about Note2 vs S4 signal strength? Most importantly LTE reception and speed? The Note2 has probably been the best phone for signal (likely based on it's huge footprint) for me since I owned the Thunderbolt and before that, the original Droid OG.

I rely on tethering to a great deal for work and I end up in some low-reception LTE areas quite often.. If the S4 can't cut the mustard or keep up with my Note2 I won't even bother buying it.. I guess I can always buy it and return it if it's not good enough. It wouldn't take me more than 1-2 days to figure out it's weak points.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] neko66:
That`s

True
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] balaams_ass:
Already sold my S3 but in my house I had no signal while on my first floor with my S3. The S4 shows 1-2 bars of 3G. Upstairs I never saw 4G connection on the S3 but the S4 shows 1-2 bars.

Clearly they have made some strides. Wish they'd buy radios from Motorola.

I sold the S3 to my daughter so I'll try and get an Open Signal screenie from both phones.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] blackhand1001:
Apparantly the s4 has some of the best cdma radios period right now. The razr hd has some reception issues from what I heard.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] boe:
OK, after a week of thoroughly testing the reception I can say this -

Reception better - yes

Reception good or fixed - NO.

I abstained from answering my own poll question because I didn't want anyone getting the misperception that this cell is great as a cell. I work and live in places where reception is still dropping on this phone even though my friends 4s never drops a beat. It is a shame this is still apparently a low priority for Verizon.

On second thought I will respond to my poll saying about the same.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] oilfighter:
I just got my s4, and we still have a s3 in the house, so the first thing I did when I got home was to check the reception.

We have very poor Verizon coverage in my house, so poor that we must run a micro cell. For the tests that I ran, the micro cell is off.

After a few test, I can tell you, without hesitation, reception is the same on S3 & S4.

- On my 2nd floor, I get some LTE coverage, differences between the 2 phones are -2db, but from running just 1 speedtest, S4 is slightly faster on both upload and download.

- In my stair case, I know I get almost no reception. Speed test returned with ~1100kbps on S4, but only ~100kbps on S3. Both phone fails to return a result for the upload test. So they both wouldn't have worked in a real world environment.

- In my downstairs living room, both phone struggles to start the speed test, both failed, and was successful on the 2nd attempt. The results were pretty close.

So there's the answer, at least for me, reception is about the same on both phones. One interesting thing I noticed was that, the S4 runs a lot hotter than the S3 during these tests.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dohturdima:
Based from what I've observed and read in this thread, the converse is true. It's really sad that Samsung can't get the radio right in its flagship phone.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] jayochs:
I'm pretty sure I get exactly the same, to a little better reception on my s4. i know my data speeds are def faster on the s4, that's for sure.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] 2websited:
not difference with S3
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
The new device pixie dust is still clouding some people's thoughts. The S4 will have stormed into a burning building and saved puppies in some minds, and others starred in the best Broadway musical they have ever "seen".

The same happened with the S3 and neither has better reception than the Razr.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] boe:
If that is true, they forgot to attach that fabulous radio to a decent antenna. The other option is they put all the best CDMA antennas into the Sprint one and didn't feel like going that distance on the Verizon one.

No phone is perfect but the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iPHone 4s both get better reception at my office than the S4 does (and no, I'm not holding it wrong, nor do I have an extraordinarily radio active hand and no, I didn't get a defective one).

I can say the reception on the S4 is slightly better than the S3 but still not good.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
I knew the Razr and the Razr was my friend. You S4 sir, are no Razr.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] badazprelude:
Mine is about the same I noticed if you don't have your ear right on the speaker you can't hear much
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] magneticzero:
Mine is better.. doesnt drop signal at my house and I can text the first time and it goes through without the nagging do you want to switch to global mode..
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
Probably a cost issue. A more robust radio system could probably increase cost .75 cents per unit. Though I think their assumptions of selling 80 million is too high, that would be $60 million impact to cost. They probably think the net difference between cost and gross volume increase means they make more money selling a small percent less units.

Either that, or they operate in a bubble and nobody in their business ladder wants to be a naysayer about the radio design.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dohturdima:
Whatever the reasons, it will cost Sammy market share as the Galaxy line is starting to develop a reputation for poor reception.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
Not agreeing with Samsung, but rationalizing their lack of effort with improving radios.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] BzBz:
samsung has definitely improved the data reception on the s4. whether it be through hardware or software it is better. a tear down would help to see if there were hardware changes though.

it seems most s3 users who actually have switched to the s4 and now own one say the s4 say it is at least marginally better, if not noticeably better. first hand experience trumps anecdotal sayings/evidence. lots of people are happy! :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dohturdima:
I would like to see a teardown as well, it will likely clarify a lot of speculation
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] boe:
That is kind of a good thing as if they actually do get a recognized reputation - Samsung will actually hear about it and try to fix it.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] boe:
Marginally better doesn't make me happy. It still leaves me disappointed as my phone dropped a call (again) as soon as I entered my garage where my roommates iphone 4s on Verizon has NEVER dropped a call.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] BzBz:
if it makes you feel any better i work in an office where we have at least 4 verizon iphone 4s or 5 users. they all have call issues on occasion or you can here them saying "hello...hello...yeah i'm still here". i have yet to drop a call on my s4 or anyone ask me if i'm still on the line. on my galaxy nexus i was reluctant to take calls because it was so unpredictable.

reception isn't as simple as the phone. network coverage, strength, phone config or provisioning, lots of stuff affect call quality. all i know is that my s4 has very good data reception and call quality. i doubt that i'm the only one that got one out the "good batch".

the tear down of a s4 is all we can hope for to show that radios in the s4 aren't the same as past samsung products. but that's not to say everyone who owns an s4 will have an awesome experience. some areas may just have bad signals/towers. or people might have a steel plate in their head. :p all else being equal in real life usage my experience is the data radio and cell radio is best i've had out of all my past phones.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Cilraaz:
I can't speak for the comparison between S3 and S4 reception. However, the S4 is MUCH better than the Galaxy Nexus. Sitting in my computer room last night when I first activated the S4, it was sitting around -75 db RSSI, whereas the Nexus was around -101 db RSSI.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] blaksmyth:
Yeah, I remember the days with my GN I could barely get a signal and my wife's bionic was perfect.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] hamenoskili:
Side by side my gs4 had a -97db while my mothers gs3 had -114db, both on big red network, no cases on either for interference
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] anash5289:
The reception on my S4 is much better than my S3. Where I work I used to only get 3G i get a strong 4G reception now.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] dweezle:
I am beginning to realize that, unless we get several hundred thousand responses to this poll, the results are not going to be very meaningful. Verizon claims to be building out their LTE towers so that every area that had 3G will be LTE, by the end of June. I found an app on my S3 that was blocking LTE signal, even tho it was not set to do that. So, the variables that are impacting our LTE reception on ANY Verizon phone are so numerous that all our individual reports won't really tell us much. I am just trying to see if it is worth an extra $150, and the hassle of reinstalling everything, to go from the S3 to the S4. I have until July 9th to decide.:confused:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] KidJoe:
I don't have a Verizon S3 to compare to, so S4 vs Bionic..

Pre CDMA Field test app with both devices on table next to each other at home...

S4

Lte RSRP: -99 dBm

Lte RSRQ: 10 dB

Lte RSSNR: 80

Lte SS: 20

Bionic

Lte RSRP: -92 dBm

Lte RSRQ: -9 dB

Lte RSSNR: 88

Lte SS: 15

Note the RSRQ *IS* a negative number on the bionic, but not on the S4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] Comp625:
Let's keep this thread going!!! :D

As a Verizon G'Nex user, I am contemplating a jump toward a used Verizon GSIII. Reception in my house is poor on the G'Nex, and the call quality is poor, as is the frequency of dropped calls.

However, the urge to just go right to the SIV has crossed my mind. The downside is the lack of unlocking/rooting (unless I'm lucky enough to find one where the bootloader was unlocked prior to the latest update). For a little bit more money, the SIV offers the latest hardware with less headaches.

What to do...what to do... :confused:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 4] rushless:
I used them both side by side. Exact same results. No better and no worse. Same on VZW. Had the S3 for a year. For people getting much better reception, you must have a different radio.
[MDA II, XDA II, 2060 General] hmerali:
I'm running an XDA2 with the 02 1.60.00WWE ROM with ExtROM 1.60.50. However I seem to be unable to use the scroll button on the today screen at all. I'm sure I used to be able to do this on my XDA1 and possibly on an older ROM version of the XDA2.

This is very annoying as it means that I can't use the today screen with one hand but need the stylus to scroll down the page. The scroll button works as normal on all other apps.

Anyone out there with the same problem.

Thanks, Hasnain
[MDA II, XDA II, 2060 General] Rudegar:
if you by scroll botton mean the down on the action key then that have never worked like that on my xda1 or 2

if you mean the scroll botton as in the small button on the screen under the scroll bar then that have always worked for me
[MDA II, XDA II, 2060 General] hmerali:
I mean the 'oval' button between the answer and end call buttons below the screen.
[MDA II, XDA II, 2060 General] Rudegar:
thats the action button

and that never scrolled the today screen on my xda1 or 2
[Android Apps and Games] acegel:
I converted a .jar file of the game. It was a good trial and error with the different kinds of Monopoly Deal java games out there. This is not prefect, but playable on my Lenovo S890. Just had to fix some settings. After you install it, launch it. It will ask you to download App Runner. Choose download from netmite because you won't find it anymore on the Play Store. But I also uploaded the .apk file of App Runner and the QR Code. After everything is installed, run the app, then click your menu button and click settings menu, go to settings option and click Auto detect Game Canvas, then click back. If it's too small, you can go to the systems menu and play around with the zoom display. Try playing around with the settings to suit your taste. The display is set to 240x320. To me, that is the best option I can do (I am not a programmer, just a die hard Monopoly Deal fan who wants the program on his phone). If anyone can make a better one to fit 16:9 (540x960 on my phone) I would deeply appreciate it. I used the site netmite (just google it), to convert the java game. I also included the java game for the Nokia 5800 (which has a touch screen). But when I convert it, the ratio is all screwed up. Maybe some good soul can figure this out. Have fun.:fingers-crossed:
[Android Apps and Games] CaesarIV:
Funny you say this, I keep googling "Monopoly Deal Android" just to make sure no one has made it yet :D

I'm working on a University project which had me make a team to make the game and release it on the Play Store, so Hope we finish it so you can play it! :D (I think we'll have a different name & design due to copyright issues but It'll be the same game :) )
[Android Apps and Games] raonizal:
I managed to run it, but it was decentralized screen