yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
If this is the case my network area did not up and change overnight when I purchased an S6. Why was this not and issue whatsoever on my S5 and even S4 units on the days weeks and months leading up to my S6 purchase? I am not doubting you by any means and appreciate all of your information you have helped us with. I am just tryign to get a better understanding what is making the S6 specifically so damn lousy when it comes to 4G strength and its itchy trigger finger to 3G? I have owned in succession a Thunderbolt, Galaxy Nexus, S4, S5 and now S6 and short of the Thunderbolt which is the epitome of horrible signal management and build this S6 and its replacement and my wife's has been THE worst. I have not changed my daily routine or areas I travel so I'm just trying to understand how this is network side and not the S6 hardware.

Thanks for helping me understand what is causing this. love learning new pieces of the puzzle Milan.

-Lil'

---------- Post added at 06:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------

FYI I was running on Band 4 for most if not all of the day.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
I'm guessing you've already tried using your S6 without that metal case by now, right? I'll try to find the FCC filling for both S6 and S5 and compare the tested RF output of those devices. Remember, the LTE signal is only as good as your device power output actually reaches the serving cell site. Transmit RF power coming out of a smartphone is significantly lower than what cell sites outputs, and if it doesn't reach the site your service is unusable. .

*EDIT* Can't find S5 average output power, but S6 is in line with all other Verizon devices:

Band 13 = 20dBm

Band 4 = 23dBm

Band 2 = 23dBm
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] jntdroid:
I'm curious as well. I've owned every VoLTE phone on Verizon over the past 6 months and have experienced nothing like I have with the S6. I also have never had a metal case. :)

I don't have the level of technical knowledge you do, but I have a ton of anecdotal experience (if that counts? ;)) owning literally every major phone on Verizon going back to 2009 and comparing various aspects of each. The behavior of the S6 feels very very similar to the early LTE days in 2011/12 when the hand-off between 3G and LTE was a nightmare.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
The metal banded case is off for now... its a tad better but not remarkably so.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Give a day or so and monitor the behavior without the case. Don't change the usage pattern. Compare with old experience.

That's as much as I could tell you, as you know exactly what to compare it to.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
Will do!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
Just a quick morning update from my 'Mobile Data Connection Sucks' Anonymous Help group :D

I ditched the metal band case last night and pulled out another Obliq poly based case I had sitting around. I will say this. I did NOT drop to 3G on the way into work at all this am and I am pulling 28Mbs sitting in my office right now compared to 2-4Mbs that I was getting last week. So something is definitely different. I also had what seemed to be better signal at home once I switched. I originally didn't think it was making that much of a difference, but I may be starting to change my tune.

-Lil'
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
Ok boys and girls. [MENTION=3670210]jntdroid[/MENTION] ... Today has seriously been night and day different from the past week and it's been dramatic. I have no idea how Verizon handles which band to grab but [MENTION=3701327]milan03[/MENTION] today I have been on band 13 and its been strong and its been constant. It holds onto 4G even in the elevator which my S5 would never do. So I really don't have enough knowledge around how and why its picks different bands, but I can say this, that coupled with a new poly carbonate case has made this a completely different phone and experience for me.

-Lil'
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Glad we've narrowed it down and identified the issue!

Glad it worked! Enjoy! :good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] jntdroid:
Is it at all possible that Verizon tweaked things on the network side for the first week of a large device release to avoid overload?

I'm also having night & day experiences this morning so far. Last week, speedtests ranged in the 1-3 down / <1 up range consistently every day, no matter what time of day at my office. Today, I'm consistently getting 10 down, 1-3 up. I was actually getting 30 down consistently this morning until I tested toggling VoLTE and rebooted... since then 10 down. But either way, night and day from last week - and I've changed nothing with regard to the device / case. I *can* still cause attenuation with my hands and get it to drop to 3G. But that's extreme. So far it hasn't dropped to 3G

on its own

, which is also quite different from last week.

Also, my reception levels are identical to last week, floating around -110 dBm's on average at my office...

:confused:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] equake:
Slightly off topic, but any word on VZW enabling Carrier Aggregation anytime soon. Would this help with signaling and reception strength?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
So apparently it isnt just me then... [MENTION=3670210]jntdroid[/MENTION] this on all levels seems like they did 'something' Since your in Texas and i'm in PA it had to be a global network change of some sort... it is dramatic and I am super happy about it.

[MENTION=3701327]milan03[/MENTION] any idea what may have changed for the better to cause such a new outlook on our connections?

-Lil
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
[MENTION=3670210]jntdroid[/MENTION] So I hit the 'Dark Hole of Cell Reception' otherwise know as my gym.. which has eaten every phone and connection for breakfast including my S4 and S5 over the last year. Your not going to believe this, but I held a 2 bar 4G signal and never dropped so much as a hint of 3G the entire hour I was there. No joke. I hope this isn't a sick twisted joke and this is long term reality. :D

-Lil
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] jntdroid:
Nice - yeah so far no 3G drops here that I didn't initiate with irrational hand-holding of my uncased phone. Staff mtg in a few will be a good test as it'll be in my pocket traveling through my office... which was a guaranteed drop to 3G last week.

So weird.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
There is nothing the operator could just change on a nationwide level.

It's a new user device, it's going to feel different than anything before. Spend quality time with it before making a definitive judgement.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] lilsalmon:
[MENTION=3701327]milan03[/MENTION] I'm tell you brother... this isn't a subtle difference. Its night and day difference and has carried out throughout the entire day. I went from barely usable to best signal situation I have had yet in my area like a light switch. Like I stated previously. It is on band 13 now where it was band 4 when it was horrible. Which I had no part in changing.

-Lil'
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Well, I'm glad that you're seeing improved performance with metal case removed.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] jntdroid:
Clearly you're not aware of the conspiracy Verizon has going... :p

*removes tin foil hat*
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] IMMORTALKING69:
Anybody been trying out the bluetooth range? I came from a s4 and use the same moto bt headset. Usually i leave me phone in an area around where im working so i know the range quite well. Now on my s6 it seems like i lost about 15ft or so.....anybody else?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] snk012:
I have this issue as well. I use a LG-HBS750 in my office. When I had my S4 I got pretty good range. Could leave my phone at my cubicle and walk around the office without getting static, but the range on the S6 is not as good as my S4 was.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] mupet0000:
Just been reading through this thread and I have the exact same problem.

I haven't been able to find much people complaining about this. I don't have a Verizon phone, mine is the SM-G920F (international unlocked), and I don't live in the U.S. I have the same problem though, about 5-10dBm worse signal compared to my S4 in the same spot, constant drops to 3G from LTE where the S4 will hold on with no problems and just generally a worse signal.

Is this something that you guys are still experiencing? I'm seriously considering going with the Note 4 instead, it seems so stupid that my 2 year old S4 can outperform the S6 in holding onto LTE by so much and I'm really disappointed.

I do hope that a software update can help, but my WiFi signal is also affected with the S4 being around 5-10dBm stronger also. That leads me to believe it's the antenna design, the glass and metal vs the plastic.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
G920F doesn't even have the same baseband + front end as Verizon variant.

G920F = Samsungs SHANNON333

G920V = Qualcomm MDM9635M

Literally nothing in common as far as the RF portion of the device.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] mupet0000:
So it must just be the design of the phone/antennas that make the signal worse.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] droidiac13:
I can hold my phone a certain way and hear my Bluetooth connection get worse. Done it many times just to make sure I wasn't crazy. Definitely something wacky going on.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
Now that there's root is there a way to lock it to LTE? Or even better to certain bands of LTE?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] equake:
Try the app Advanced Signal Status in the Play Store.

Let us know if that works with Root.

my 2 cents
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
I returned my s6 when I found that it loved 3G signal. I was thinking of getting getting another one if I could lock it to LTE only
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Of course you can.

Use Root Explorer to navigate to efs/carrier/HiddenMenu. Click on it and open in Text Edit (not text viewer). Change the value from OFF to ON (upper case).

Restart the phone, and dial *#27663368378#

Post a screenshot if it worked. My S6 is coming tomorrow, this is how it worked on Note 3.

Keep us posted!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
Got another s6, have it rooted and the service menu enabled. Don't see a way to set it to LTE only right off hand... Do you have a guide somewhere what menu it was under?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Post a screenshot of that first dial code, and also *#0011#
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
Ok, I got CDMA disabled...Screenshots are coming shortly. Haven't figured out how to play with the LTE bands yet.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] equake:
Or just install the App that I have linked.. It should allow you to go into the Phone/Device Info menu with Root and change everything there.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
I tried the app and it didn't work, said it was blocked.

---------- Post added at 05:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:12 PM ----------
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
This is from Note 3:

*#27663368378#

- UE Settings & Info

- Settings

- Protocol

- NAS

- Network Control

- Band Selection

- LTE Band Selection

Make sure that when you're done testing go back in there, and select AUTOMATIC, otherwise you won't have access to CDMA.

I can make a full guide tomorrow once I actually receive S6, but post some screenshots in the meantime. There is a lot of stuff in there.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
Thanks. That worked fine
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
You're Welcome! It makes it that much more exciting for me!

This way you can force your phone to a specific band (Band 4, Band 13, and in some markets Band 2).

- LTE ALL + VoLTE enabled should save you some battery as it won't be using CDMA at all. This is good if you're covered with LTE everywhere

- Also, keep in mind that the phone has Carrier Aggregation enabled, so if you lock it to one band (vs LTE ALL), you won't know if that feature is active in your market.

- According to your *#0011# screenshot, CA (carrier aggregation) hasn't been turned on on your service cell site.

Pro tip: make sure you use Back button from Menu, not the actual back physical button.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] equake:
Would there be any point of going back to CDMA if you set to VoLTE anyways.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
Not for me, I am in a area well covered in LTE.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
If you find yourself in an area without LTE coverage, you won't be able to make/receive a voice call.

If you're in a great LTE coverage area, no need for CDMA.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] equake:
According to the screen shot it looks there is only 10 Mhz of bandwith on Band 4 for that cell site. I thought most were outfitted with 15 to 20 Mhz. I guess that is where Carrier Aggregation comes in handy.

my 2 cents.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] gt3guy5137:
I'm not saying this is a total fix but I've seen a lot of Verizon phones come through preset to global rather then LTE/CDMA. You could try switching under mobilenetworks in settings and see if this helps at all.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
In my market NYC, they have 20MHz of Band 4, 10MHz of Band 2, and 10MHz of Band 13 LTE. They can provide 225Mbps just by aggregating B4+B13, and still have Band 2 to spare...

It's going to be fun using S6! :cowboy:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
Tried that yesterday and didn't notice and difference. In fact, I felt it was a bit worse.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] equake:
I thought the QC 9x35M would do tri-band aggregation up to 300 Mbps but that would also mean the carrier have the network capable to do this.

My house gets both Band 13/4 but seems to lock on Band 4 most of the time. I believe the S5 also has CA but know if its enabled in the current VZW lollipop FW.

my 2 cents
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
- MDM9x35 (X7) is 2xCA capable of 300/50Mbps.

- Snapdragon 810/808 has a pimped out version of MDM9x35 (X10) integrated modem capable of 3xCA and 450/50Mbps.

- MDM9x45 (X12) hasn't been commercially launched yet, It's 3xCA on the downlink, but it also has 2xCA on the upload making it 450/100Mbps capable.

Hope this clears things up.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
So I had an OG Moto X before picking up my S6 last week. In the same office I work in every day, I have to say the cell signal is much worse. I've been dropping calls all the time, and noticed this is due to poor 4G signal with the S6 along with Advanced Caling. When I turn off Advanced Calling, I no longer drop calls, but I get the awful Cell Standby battery drain.

Is it worth visiting the Verizon store an swapping my S6? Or are these similar issues everyone else is seeing? Phone is rooted, so I was hoping there may be a setting I could change to fix the signal issue.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] bobbarker2:
so has there been any work in this thread towards improving the signal/reception of the vzw s6? i did a few pages of reading but may have missed something.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] elliwigy:
my vzw s6 edge has good reception already
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] sprke:
I locked mine to LTE and have been fairly happy with it regarding reception. It seems to have improved the battery life to. I do live in a area that's well covered in LTE. I'd be very happy if I don't ever see the 3G or 1X in the status bar again...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] bobbarker2:
My Note 4 on 4G/LTE used to get -98dBm at work and home. S6 4G/LTE gets -108 to -110 dBm. The minimum receiving power for LTE it's -120 but the connection starts to get dicey before that. Side note the minimum receiving power for wifi is -100dBm.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Changed a few simple radio related things and my battery dropped 1% overnight 8hrs. RF performance is actually better than Note 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J81rcFwk7Wc
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] equake:
What settings did you change? What types of RF reception are you getting in comparison?

thx
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] bobbarker2:
There's nothing in that blogspam video that hasn't been repeated a million times before. Manage wifi/location settings/etc.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
This is drastically better than any S6 I've seen on here so far, especially mine. What else are you disabling? What kind of signal are you getting where you sleep? Seems like there's more to this , but I'm intrigued.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Exactly, that's all I've been managing.

Uninstalled DTIgnite, disabled S Voice, WiFi on while sleeping only while plugged in, Locations limited to GPS only, Forced to LTE ALL.

I actually use high brightness levels, but my expectations for screen on time is low. I'm more interested in a good sleep time. Phone also doesn't have amazing indoor signal, but that's always been the case on all of my previous Verizon devices. Around -110dBm on Band 4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
Just noticed you're in New York City. I worked in Manhattan for over 10 years, and the 4G signal there was always outstanding. That probably helps the cell reception from eating your battery. Here in Boston it hasn't been as great, which has been making cell standby a big battery hog.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
I'm in Queens, and cell reception is OK, not exceptional. In Manhattan where I work is much better.

Band 13 helps, but their cell site density isn't as high as T-Mobile's for example, which makes our phones work a little harder to maintain that uplink connectivity. That screenshot of my standby battery life was with -110dBm, which isn't stellar.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
Just curious, can you control what band the phone connects to?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Yes absolutely, only possible on Samsung Galaxy devices. I've already explained how to earlier in this thread.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
Hmm, you type this into the dialer? Keeps trying to call.

*#27663368378#

- UE Settings & Info

- Settings

- Protocol

- NAS

- Network Control

- Band Selection

- LTE Band Selection
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Alright, let me make a proper guide.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
Found your other guide here, but can't get any of them to work: http://xdaforums.com/verizon-galaxy-s6/help/service-mode-lte-engineering-mode-t3080401. My phone is rooted.

---------- Post added at 04:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 PM ----------

Nevermind, found your other post: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=60676890&postcount=119 :good:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] milan03:
Here, I just wrote the Quick Guide: http://xdaforums.com/verizon-galaxy-s6/general/enabling-using-servicemode-t3109579
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] zathus:
Doesn't work. The developer says most Samsung phones block this.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] JoeP523:
I switched from ATT, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. However, I did expect a little better reception with Verizon.

For those of you who aren't rooted, what mode do you have your phone in? Mine came on Global mode, but I switched it to LTE/CDMA. Not sure which one is better.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Nick281051:
Same situation here but from what everyone said about Verizon I thought the reception would have been better (usually sitting on 1X in my house, decent service most other places)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] funkybside:
Same here... 1X in my basement and 3G rest of house. Signal is fine elsewhere. This didn't bother me on my S4because at hone I'm on WiFi, but my s6 leaks mAh like a sieve in that situation at home. I'm on a business trip now and the batt has been decent... I'm now convinced that whole cell standby drain is specific to being on WiFi in a area with spotty 4G.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] RyanTX:
I don't know that I ever dropped a call with my Moto X 2014, but now with this S6, I drop calls ALL THE TIME. It makes me so frustrated. I had heard that Samsung was bad about their radios, but now I am understanding what I was reading!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Nick281051:
Noticed this as well, battery doesn't drain nearly as fast at my workplace where the signal is good and still on wifi, but at home it's far worse
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Stevez48:
Same is happening to me. Getting annoying...
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] JoeP523:
Sounds like Verizon needs to update the radio on the S6?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Stevez48:
I am hoping for one :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] prenxda:
I don't have s6 but my note 4 does the same thing, bouncing between 1x, 3G, 4G....but our iPhone in the same house is very stable. And lollipop vs kitkat makes little difference. So I think it is a samsung issue.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Keyone:
Any idea so far if the latest OTA contains an updated radio that would help with this?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] JoeP523:
My reception hasn't gotten any better since the OTA. If anything, it might be a little worse. I've seen it drop to 1x a few times, totally unacceptable.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Squintz:
Has there been any progress with fixing this?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] riccylsr:
I too am getting weak 1 bar signal and going from let to 3g and stuck at 1x when I make calls. The calls also lags before it rings while it's dialing. This is weird because I'm on the stock Rooted rom and been using it for 2 months no problem and yesterday I couldn't even text anyone. It would say sending and never sent. I had to wipe cache and reset settings 4 for it to work normal again....
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] RyanTX:
If there was another appealing phone out there right now I would get it and sell this S6 purely for this reason (and partly because I hate the physical buttons, I prefer on screen). I should have kept my 1st gen Moto X DEV - best phone ever.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] anewday:
The signal seems to be worse than my S4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] Jalh:
Same feeling here.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] droidiac13:
I am getting terrible reception. It wasn't always like this. It has gotten worse over the past month. So bad I am ready to go back to my Note 4. I never had that issue on my Note 4.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] jntdroid:
So we left Verizon for Cricket for the past couple of months. I was lured back to Verizon this past Friday with their current promos (which are pretty darn good). My wife and I both went back to the S6. So far we've had nothing but problems with the connection, identical to before we left, if not a bit worse - and I'm referring to switching to 3G too often. I will add that we both had iPhone 6's by the time we left, and had similar issues with the i6, though not quite as frequent as the S6.

I hate to say this, but I think we actually had more reliable and consistent service on Cricket. If it ever fell back to H+ from LTE, it was an immediate and smooth transition (as opposed to Verizon where it seems to slow to a crawl and then think for a couple of minutes before switching... and then while trying to switch back to LTE, again data is almost useless). Switching back to LTE was also smooth and quick. We never had simultaneous voice/data issues simply due to the technology. And H+, even with Cricket's caps, is significantly faster than Verizon's 3G. And with Cricket's coverage being almost identical to AT&T's, you have H+ (at the worst) in as many places as Verizon's 3G.

So... hmm... I really believe Verizon's transition to VoLTE is the problem. Devices prior to 2015 that were on the "old" LTE tech and had two antennas to switch between 3G/LTE, at least after they smoothed things out around 2013, were much more consistent and reliable than the current batch of VoLTE phones with a single antenna.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6] elliwigy:
your "belief" is not correct in my situation.. maybe vzw has terrible network in your area?

it works perfect where i love and almost never switches to 3g at all..

sounds like you need to stay on cricket to be honest..

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