[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers] iunlock:
Greetings all,

I was going to multi-quote, but it was way too much. lol... Less is more...

I just wanted to reiterate what [MENTION=2996598]DeeXii[/MENTION] said about how it could be confusing for some if all they see are the words, "hardware-related-issue."

This is not a hardware related/defective issue based on the data that we currently have to make that judgement.

The F and N models (Exynos variants) work just fine in their respected regions. Simple as that.

There has been many tests to prove otherwise as well. (Example: Refer to post #139)

[MENTION=4375750]Kalm_Traveler[/MENTION], the things that are being mentioned related to this issue are not blanket statements. There are a lot of commonalities between many users here, along with some crazy enough to take the phone apart :P I've spent hours (from 9PM at night til 6AM in the morning, yes no kidding) straight trying a ton of tests with connecting wires to all the antenna points etc...running speed tests to the stars...you name it...

Your case with your specific phone may be an isolated issue, in that putting pressure on the lower area of the phone helped with your reception. (To be exact, it is the bottom right of the phone were the connectors are located for the lower region antenna array. I've provided pics in my previous post.) Now, I'm not saying that there couldn't be an actual hardware related issue where the contact points aren't making good contact on some phones, but from my tests and actually connecting wires to those antenna points, left me with my own conclusions based on my tests. ie... It's not an hardware issue.

A lot of us here have made mention about this being a 'software related' issue several times and how it likely has to do with something in the software not playing well with the modem. - Fast forward to the recent points, well...it's on par with the original theory.

Again, the F and N models work fine in their regions and if there was an issue, we'd be hearing about it all over xda and other media outlets. As [MENTION=2996598]DeeXii[/MENTION] mentioned, I've confirmed with people in S.Korea and they have zero issues with reception. (This is relevant, because it's a Exynos - N Variant, so if it was a hardware related issue they'd be experiencing it as well.) We're also dealing with an Exynos variant and yes, they are both assembled in Vietnam, although as we know Samsung is South Korean with all the parts being made and from SK, not Vietnam.

The carrier aggregation makes a lot of sense and that aligns with the original theory all along.

As [MENTION=2694397]masri1987[/MENTION] stated, "Since we are all on t-mo, and all using f\ds\fd\n models, i'm really leaning towards the possibility that t-mo might be blocking some CA network side features."

It also aligns with what [MENTION=5469644]Limeybastard[/MENTION] stated, "I'm on a U model. I mentioned it in the great big thread that I possibly think T Mobile is prioritising , just like you mentioned here. Prioritizing their own devices before tourists ..."

This is very likely an issue on the carriers end -> conflicting with the device on the software end -> not playing nicely with the modem to stay connected according to the network protocol ... and that sounds to be the most probable cause related to the issue that we're experiencing.

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---------- Post added at 04:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:27 PM ----------

Haha I hear ya. I was pulling some pretty good numbers in the kitchen as well LOL.

Here's my theory.... in areas where we have strong signal strength, perhaps it's working somewhat okay since it's connected to one stream / band / of data ?

ie... Due to the strong signal, because it's connected to a single 'pipe,' it's not having the phone to be connected to several 'pipes,' to where the problem exists when doing so?...

Just a thought....

But like in areas where there is slow reception, that's when the phone is searching to grab onto anything it can and to make best of the data options that are available, however, with this software funk it's not able t properly execute what it needs to in order to latch onto more than one stream/pipe line?