Develop Bugs

[Q] How's your signal strength? [LTE]

Hey all,
I'm curious to how your reception is on the VZ GNex. I still have my Rezound here and it seems like I'm getting about -20db worse on the GNex compared to the Rezound. I'm curious - has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks,
Super

yeah, and it is killing me. In the same spot in my room I had my rezound, I had MUCH MUCH better signal strengh. I could keep 4G all day, which is why I switched from sprint to verizon. Thunderbolt, Droid Bionic, Rezound, all worked fine. The GN looses 4G consistantly. This might be a deal breaker for me. I am going to try a custom rom in a min when it finishes downloading, but I doubt that will help. Also am on 4.0.2.
on the thunderbolt there was a setting that allowed us to change when it "lost" 4G signal. I.E. it would allow the phone to pick up a weak signal. Does anyone know if there is a setting like this? I know the signal isn't weak in my house from the previous phones, so it is either a setting like this, or the GN has a really crappy radio...

The 3g and 4g on my Nexus is very bad and not even usable. It is either dropped or barely working. Without wi-fi my phone would have been useless today.
If this isn't correct quickly I will have no choice but to go back to my Thunderbolt which was great!

Service at my apartment just sucks but it's getting the same reception as my OG Droid

I had a rezound and was certainly getting a better signal, 2 things I noticed on the rezound was the battery door actually had antenna relays in it, and also there was 3 settings on the rezound for network performance (performance, normal, and battery saver)

I get horrible signal strength in spots, like on my way home from work there are several short distances where it just drops the signal all together.
At home, my phone seems to just drop connection completely and it's having a hard time picking it up again. Noticed this morning it had been without network access all night. Rebooted it and everything was OK (strong signal) in the exact same physical location.

does any body know how to update roaming with this phone I tried *228 but that didn't work

I am having similar issues in regards to network dropping out. I can understand why 4g would -being limited coverage and all- but 3g should seamlessly pick up where it drops off, plus my voice signal is much lower -100dBmw vs -85/-90dBm which I got with my OG Droid.

jnyce87 said:
does any body know how to update roaming with this phone I tried *228 but that didn't work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't update roaming on LTE devices, as the sim card automatically does it. What you can do is a "sim reset" type thing.
Power off, and leave your sim card out for like 5 minutes. Put it back in and turn on the phone. According to multiple sources, this will cause the sim to have to re-register on the network, thus refreshing/updating your privs.

Rezound is way better reception wise. Matter of fact, the Rezound is better at a lot of key things! Ima give this a chance but I gotta say I miss my Rezzy!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

WOW.... my Nexus data was very bad and almost unusable, but now it is fixed!
I didn't want to, but I did a factory data reset and it resolved the data issues. Everything is solid connections now and holding steady. Before the signal was bouncing all over the place.
Give the factory data reset a try if you are having issues. Yes you have to start over but it's better than having a phone that doesn't work.
Phew... now I am happy again! I really thought I was going to have to go back to my Thunderbolt.

OK. I did some digging. I recommend all users download an app called sensorly. It would appear that the reported signal strength by default is 4G. Currently, my 4G is is teetering at -100dBm to no signal and that shows on my phone as no bars. However, I discovered that my 3G is at -90 dBm (excellent coverage). From what I have researched it would appear that the phone has issues handshaking between 3G and 4G which I am sure will be corrected in an OTA update.
If I go to Settings-Wireless & Networks-More-Mobile Networks-Network Mode-CDMA/LTE and switch to CDMA only my bars come up and my dBm appears normal in settings.
I am pretty confident this is a LTE/3G handshake issue. Just like when you leave your home and you are still barely connected to wifi and the phone doesn't know what to use, so all of your apps fail trying to connect. I think it is just the same.
Anyway, I hope this helps others. It has made me less neurotic finding this out.

I had the rezound and returned it because of the headphone noise. Got the nexus and it gets terrible signal and speeds where the rezound was great. Called Verizon and they are sending me another Rezound and told me it shouldn't have the audio problems. We shall see. I just know that the nexus is unusable in my house due to reception.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

True cause of "signal" issues

Has anyone read this article? Very informative.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5254/investigating-the-galaxy-nexus-lte-signal-issue
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

interesting read.
For a long time people have blamed their handsets for problems when the truth is there are always a lot of network issues out there at any given time.
Simply blaming your handset and assuming the network is 'great' because it has full bars or a good db is not the way to go.
Bars or db ultimately mean nothing, they do not mean you will get good speeds or in some cases to be able to make a call, in my experience its rare that the handset is to blame

True.
I had the RAZR before my phone. I would bet that the RAZR wasn't showing the correct signal strength and this is what a lot of people are comparing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

aye it would be interesting if someone ran some speed tests on the two devices side by side to what what the speeds v coverage were like

edit

jimdurt said:
They still have some issues to work on. My OG Droid gave me a better signal at my house on 3g. At least measuring the db strength. I dont have 4g here so the measurement in db strength should be sufficient to accurately see which phone has better reception.
Give Google time. They have the right hardware. Just need to get the software tweaked a bit more.
My wifes DroidX consistantly shows -93dBm with 3 bars of 3g service, while my GNex bounces a little more between -120dBm(most of the time) to -93dBm(rarely)
Even with no bars and @-120dBm, i get 600kbps download. Thankfully i have 18mbps download service through ATT Uverse wifi.
I do have to mention, my service improved ALOT from 4.0.1 to 4.0.2 update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At -120 on 3g your lucky to anysort of dl

My 3g/4g signal has never been better. This phone is twice as good as my incredible.
WiFi signal strength does seem to be a little less strong but nothing horrible. Now I wish they would figure out why the OS won't go to sleep.

Well, Verizon resolved all my Nexus, CDMA, and LTE issues for me in one fell swoop. They called me yesterday and told me that they couldn't provide me service at my house and recommended I switch to a different carrier.
I was with them for less than three days. Brought my Galaxy Nexus and wife's temp phone back to the store, then went to the Apple Store to get my wife an iPhone 4S on AT&T with the plan to stop at an AT&T store to get myself a Skyrocket. While standing there playing with the 4S waiting for a sales associate, I got the warm fuzzies from back when I used the iPhone and decided to get one for myself as well.
It was a fun year with Android, but looking back at how I spent yesterday debating if I was going to keep the GN with all its issues, I think I made the right call for me.
I also forgot how much better GSM is than CDMA. I have full bars in my office, whereas on Sprint and Verizon the phones were struggling to hold onto a 3G connection. Amazing difference.
Anyway, sorry to hijack the thread for a moment. I truly hope that this is an issue that can be fixed with software; it seems like poor reception has become a hallmark of Samsung phones and I haven't seen a software update yet that makes a notable difference. We'll see what Sammy and Verizon come up with.

i can understand the signal strength display not being accurate but explain this...
for one, the signal strength on this Nexus is always 1/2(or more) then what i had on my Thunderbolt or Rezound at any given time/place.... which apparently is explained above.
what isntvexplained is this... my Thunderbolt was able to download fast, but not nearly as fast as my Rezound. on the R, i was able to download 1GB in roughly 5 minutes. ive tried downloading the same file(s) from same location various times(test) on this Nexus and it always takes 30 - 40 minutes.
so if the signal strength isnt being reported accurately i can accept that.... but what about the significant difference in data speed?
i also want to note that on my Reound, whenever i played a track in Google Music it started up right away and could jump/skip forward in a track without delay...
now on this Nexus, theres always a delay before the track starts & when you jump/skip to. buffering b.s.

Your Rezound probably already had the music cached.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

You guys also have to keep in mind that the LTE network slows down the more people that use it. When it was first intro a year ago, it was STUPID fast. Like 50mb DOWN. I remember my Droid Charge hitting low 40's in May. Now that there is a plethora of phones that have LTE and a lot of people using it, the network will be slowed. It still beats the hell out of any other network.

I’m glad somebody posted this.
I did a little experiment in my office this morning with three Verizon LTE phones:
1) Samsung Charge
2) HTC T-Bolt
3) Samsung Galaxy Nexus
With all three phones laying side by side, I opened up the same “Network Signal” app. All three phones we ranging in the -85 to -100 dB strength. There was no phone that clearly had a better or worse signal.
However, the Samsung Charge was showing 4 out of 5 “bars”, the T-bolt had 3 of 5 while the Nexus has a whopping 1 out of 5 bars. Amusing since they we all reading between -95 and -90 dB at that moment.
One thing I noticed different though, is that the Nexus requires at least -85dB before it will connect to LTE. Anything less, it switches to CDMA. I can’t speak for the T-bolt, but I could have sworn I saw the Charge at -95 / -100 dB and still reporting LTE Net. Type.
So, food for thought. Hopefully this “update” that Verizon is working on isn’t anything more than a recalibration of the “bars” indicator.
-Gp

Grannypotts said:
I’m glad somebody posted this.
I did a little experiment in my office this morning with three Verizon LTE phones:
1) Samsung Charge
2) HTC T-Bolt
3) Samsung Galaxy Nexus
With all three phones laying side by side, I opened up the same “Network Signal” app. All three phones we ranging in the -85 to -100 dB strength. There was no phone that clearly had a better or worse signal.
However, the Samsung Charge was showing 4 out of 5 “bars”, the T-bolt had 3 of 5 while the Nexus has a whopping 1 out of 5 bars. Amusing since they we all reading between -95 and -90 dB at that moment.
One thing I noticed different though, is that the Nexus requires at least -85dB before it will connect to LTE. Anything less, it switches to CDMA. I can’t speak for the T-bolt, but I could have sworn I saw the Charge at -95 / -100 dB and still reporting LTE Net. Type.
So, food for thought. Hopefully this “update” that Verizon is working on isn’t anything more than a recalibration of the “bars” indicator.
-Gp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There needs to be some kind of way to trick the OS into thinking it actually has the real signal so it will stop switching between 3G and 4G.

One thing I noticed different though, is that the Nexus requires at least -85dB before it will connect to LTE. Anything less, it switches to CDMA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have -86dB with 3 4G bars as I write this. I know that's not much of a difference from the -85dB, but I thought I would just mention it. Also, I've had -93dB with 4 4G bars (no picture of that though).

Syn Ack said:
There needs to be some kind of way to trick the OS into thinking it actually has the real signal so it will stop switching between 3G and 4G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 30,000 foot uneducated view is simply that the calibrations for the Nexus require a stronger signal to both acquire and then maintain an LTE data connection. These calibrations probably could be tweaked, but at what cost? I suppose (assuming my theory is correct) the decision came down to a flaky 4G or a solid 3G... and Verizon chose the stronger connection over the faster one. Do you blame them?
However, when I do get a solid 4G connection... the speeds are stupid fast.
On my lunch break today:
30.6M down
15.7 up

Is it just me? (LTE GNex, terrible data.)

My Galaxy Nexus has the most unreliable, horrible, inconsistent data connection I have ever used on a phone.
I go from 4-->3--> No Gs all day long. I'm in Houston, which has a fantastic LTE network (when I'm using a different phone....)
I'm currently on CM9 with 4.0.3 leaked radios, the performance has been bad through stock as well though. Maybe I'll go back to stock and try it again or something.
Should I use the 4.0.2 radios again?
Has anyone else felt the same way?
Thanks.

I think you may be the first one to bring this up
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

In Charlotte,NC my phone has been nothing but outstanding. The only place I go to 3G is at my desk in the middle of a massive building with shielding. It's just awesome. 4 Bars 4G at my house down in South Carolina too.

I actually have had no such issue with stock or CM9. I'm in Dallas but live on the edge of the 4G area and my workplace has the amazing ability to shield LTE signal so I'm switching to 3G twice a day.

Is_907 said:
I actually have had no such issue with stock or CM9. I'm in Dallas but live on the edge of the 4G area and my workplace has the amazing ability to shield LTE signal so I'm switching to 3G twice a day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love for it to just be verizon having problems here.
I'm not so sure that's the case though.
Just flashed a different rom, I guess i'll try the 4.0.2 radio again.

get off the leaked radios and go back to stock. goodness...

aohus said:
get off the leaked radios and go back to stock. goodness...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that. It seems to be a bit better. Could be placebo though
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

eallan said:
My Galaxy Nexus has the most unreliable, horrible, inconsistent data connection I have ever used on a phone.
I go from 4-->3--> No Gs all day long. I'm in Houston, which has a fantastic LTE network (when I'm using a different phone....)
I'm currently on CM9 with 4.0.3 leaked radios, the performance has been bad through stock as well though. Maybe I'll go back to stock and try it again or something.
Should I use the 4.0.2 radios again?
Has anyone else felt the same way?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience is exactly the same. My Thunderbolt always had a solid, reliable and fast 4G connection in the same locations. My Galaxy Nexus is just like yours: "4-->3--> No Gs all day long". I'm on 3G at least 50% of the time. That never happened on the Thunderbolt.
I've tried the 4.0.3 radio too and it didn't help. It was no better and no worse for me.

MountainX said:
My experience is exactly the same. My Thunderbolt always had a solid, reliable and fast 4G connection in the same locations. My Galaxy Nexus is just like yours: "4-->3--> No Gs all day long". I'm on 3G at least 50% of the time. That never happened on the Thunderbolt.
I've tried the 4.0.3 radio too and it didn't help. It was no better and no worse for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad I'm not alone, I remember reading something about verizon's authentication servers having issues, hopefully it's something on their end they're fixing. Maybe the "real" update will help us out.

eallan said:
I'm glad I'm not alone,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are not alone. Here is some stuff I collected from other threads:
Verizon claims Galaxy Nexus LTE signal is fine, update still coming to change meter
http://androidcommunity.com/verizon...update-still-coming-to-change-meter-20111221/
What do you guys think? Is there still a problem with the Galaxy Nexus and LTE. I personally think there is some sort of issue that will still probably be addressed in the update and Verizon just isn’t saying so. Here is a quick video I made showing my Galaxy Nexus stuck on 3G sitting next to my XYBOARD 8.2″ tablet with 4G LTE. The XyBoard constantly has not only more bars, but a better and faster connection. You tell me?
---
Missed calls, text that wont send, 6 hour battery life… looks like i had better return the Nexus while i still can. Its a shame, i like the phone, i just wish i could make calls with it.
---
I have noticed drops on the data side in places where i have a friend sitting next to me with full 3g signal on an incredible 2. My wifes nexus has dropped calls at least 15 times since she got it and data has been the same as mine
---
Aaron Osler
My phone has serious call dropping/connection loss. I had the tech at my local Verizon store compare it to his Nexus which also had weak signal strength (about -96db). We also compared signal to other phones in the store and found the other phones to have around -84db which is much much better. That spread is the difference between barely hanging on to 1 bar and a solid 3 bars on my Nexus. I don’t think Verizon is being honest because my experience is that the signal is weaker on the Nexus, not just looking at the bars. I am also getting sudden disconnects going from any number of bars to dead instantly. Dropping calls is completely unacceptable. I can understand problems with the cutting edge 4G signal, but the phone call function is the same thing they have done for years. Oh, and don’t forget it’s A PHONE. I have until Jan 15th to return the phone so if they don’t have my phone working 100% of the time like all of my previous phones I will be returning it and reactivating my Envy3. My phone reports 10% time without signal. Cell Standby reports 10% of battery usage. I didn’t sign up for being tethered to a charger all day just to keep my phone from diving into cold brick mode while I sit at work less than 1/4 mile from the cell tower.
---
C Dedi
As a current owner of all 3 of Verizons top tier Android phones (Razr / Rezound / G-Nexus), I can easily state that there exists a radio performance gap between two of my devices compared to the 3rd. My Razr & Rezound pull solid bar(s) status regularly, my G-Nexus on the other hand is much more temperamental with its signal strength. Of all 3 devices, the Rezound displays the best signal the most often (haven’t been disappointed yet), with the Razr usually pulling a close second. As an overall performer, I have to give it to the Rezound, even if its not my favorite of the three. Now listing them by personal preference (general feel), it goes something like this: Razr – G-Nexus – Rezound. The Rezound would score higher, if it didn’t ’feel’ like so many other HTC phones I’ve owned in the past.
---
Is anyone actually looking at their signal strength reading in Settings/about phone/Signal ? I have compared my Nexus against my wife’s Samsung regular Galaxy , my original Droid, and even a 3 + year old laptop built in Verizon air card 3g signal and the Nexus has a noticeable worse signal reception(no 4G in my area yet). When the other devices are showing say -74-75dbm my Nexus is only receiving -93-100dbm. That is NOT a software fix issue. I am on my second Nexus after Verizon Tier2 techsupport did a signal survey in my area and confirmed a good 3G signal and had me exchange my phone. Same crappy reception numbers and I frequently get a Network Problem Check your internet connection message while using apps. I don’t see a software fix helping and will likely be exchanging my phone for a Rezound or returning alltogether and waiting it out.
---
LT_Blondey1492
I’m a Samsung galaxy nexus user. I have had a problem with the signal of this phone. It has been a problem since I started using the phone. I’m in a 3G area. You would think since it’s a 3G and 4g phone. It should still work. I went to Verizon’s store once already, all they did was chAnge the sim card. That didn’t change the signal none. It worked when we were there. I think it’s funny how my husbands 4g droid bionic works while the Samsung galaxy nexus doesn’t. They are both 4g phones and the verizon helper said we didnt have 4g area where i lived. Like I said its funny how his 4g is able to work still. I really like the Samsung galaxy nexus phone but I need service. It didn’t even work at the Walmart I go to either. The only time it actually gave me signal was when I was in the verizon store. Why wouldn’t it work there it’s their phone. All their phones will work there, but once you leave they won’t work anymore.
---
Tloomos
There’s more going on than just a dfferent representation of signal strength. I’ve run dozens of tests with my Verizon Galaxy Nexus side-by-side with a Verizon HTC Rezound and the Rezound blows the Nexus away every time. I expected the Rezound to perform better on tests like what Vellamo puts it through since the specs on the Rezound are a bit better, but I really wasn’t expecting much difference on the speedtest.net results. The Nexus consistently achieves half the bandwidth of the Rezound.
The more I use the Nexus, the more I like it, but this connection/performance issue doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not sure why Verizon would hide it if they thought that the update was going to improve actual performance and not just the bars, but I’m waiting and hoping. I have until Jan 15 to return it and pick up the Rezound instead. If they can address the connection issue before then, I’ll gladly stick with it.
And for what it’s worth, I would prefer that the bars be more accurate rather than giving me an inflated perception of my signal strength. As long as I know how to interpret the number of bars I have and the connectivity and performance is on par with other comparable devices, I really don’t care if their device shows 4 bars when mine only shows 1.
------------------------------------------------
Is it just me? (LTE GNex, terrible data.)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1440307
My Galaxy Nexus has the most unreliable, horrible, inconsistent data connection I have ever used on a phone.
I go from 4-->3--> No Gs all day long. I'm in Houston, which has a fantastic LTE network (when I'm using a different phone....)
I'm currently on CM9 with 4.0.3 leaked radios, the performance has been bad through stock as well though. Maybe I'll go back to stock and try it again or something.
Should I use the 4.0.2 radios again?
Has anyone else felt the same way?
Thanks.
------------------------------------------------
Dreaded signal issues and my in depth 3g testing. Is it hardware?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1441187
Thanks for posting this. I definitely think there is more going on here with the Verizon GNex's signal than just the way it is reported. It's not just 3G either. I had 2 Rezounds before I got my Galaxy Nexus, and actually have had two Galaxy Nexii. I am certain I got much faster 4G speeds, 3G speeds, and a stronger signal on the Rezounds than either Galaxy Nexus.
---
I absolutely loved this phone also. but was VERY dissapointed after getting it home, it had a very weak signal and was dropping cals, something that ive never experienced with verizon. me and my wife have the razrs so i was able to do a side by side signal comparison here in dallas. my rersults were more dramatic than yours (OP), both razr's had about -85db and the GN was -104 in 4g. needless to say it was returned.
------------------------------------------------
New Leaked Radios CDMA, LTE
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1403133
...had more dropped calls with this phone than any other I have ever had on vzw.
------------------------------------------------
https://encrypted.google.com/search...issue+OR+problem&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&hl=en

The VZW Galaxy Nexus has signal issues. The constant bouncing from 4G to 3G to nothing and back is so annoying I have to just leave 4G off. I'm hoping it is an issue that can be addressed with a radio update at some point.

Raibyn said:
The VZW Galaxy Nexus has signal issues. The constant bouncing from 4G to 3G to nothing and back is so annoying I have to just leave 4G off. I'm hoping it is an issue that can be addressed with a radio update at some point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, here's to hoping.

same here
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Raibyn said:
The VZW Galaxy Nexus has signal issues. The constant bouncing from 4G to 3G to nothing and back is so annoying I have to just leave 4G off. I'm hoping it is an issue that can be addressed with a radio update at some point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
happens to me all day.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I flashed the 4.0.3 radios a week or two back and I noticed it being worse on my phone. Is it safe to just downgrade radios by flashing them?
Also where are the links for the 4.0.1 and 4.0.2 radios? I was on 4.0.1 radios when I first rooted and it worked fine. But when I flashed 4.0.3, then I started noticing issues :/

I bought my Galaxy Nexus in the Houston area over the holiday while staying with family. I had a very reliable 4G connection, even in the outskirts. My mother's Bionic was constantly bouncing between 3G and 4G, though. Out here in Los Angeles I get a full 4 bars of 4G and average above 20,000kbps.

I have the signal dropping/switching issues some days, some days not. It seems pretty split personality to me....same places, different times, different behaviors.

Mine works fine.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

xXJay_RXx said:
I flashed the 4.0.3 radios a week or two back and I noticed it being worse on my phone. Is it safe to just downgrade radios by flashing them?
Also where are the links for the 4.0.1 and 4.0.2 radios? I was on 4.0.1 radios when I first rooted and it worked fine. But when I flashed 4.0.3, then I started noticing issues :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed back to 4.0.2 with no problems.

Mine is working fine here.
The phone itself DOES have issues when the switchover MUST occur.....I have 4G all day until I walk into my kids school. Old concrete block building, etc.....drops down to 3G everytime. BUT on the Nexus it takes a while.....Ill have 30 seconds or so sometimes without any signal while it locks back onto 3G. I *think* that can be fixed via firmware/software (since I believe lots of other phones have had similar handover issues)
The biggest issues with 4G seem to be if you are in a fringe area where it can kinda get 4G but not great 4G. You arent in a fringe area though, so Im not quite sure.....try forcing it to CDMA only and see if the radio stays connected reliably. I know its not LTE, but its just a troubleshooting step. A friend of mine has "reception" handover issues on his Bionic, set it to CDMA only and hasnt had one issue for over a week. its not a fix, but it at least makes the phone useable.......or could signify some bigger issues with your phone if you still have trouble with CDMA only.

Galaxy Nexus Signal Strength

Anyone else get bad reception and weak radio from the Galaxy Nexus. I have the new radio i think (1515.09 V.FA02/ 1515.FA02).. the changing between 3g and 4g is still terrible and sometimes its hard for the signal to even come back in.
Do you know if this is the best radio? i think soon I will just get a Motorola device because they have better signal strength even in weak coverage areas. Not happy with the galaxy nexus for that reason. I think htc may even be better at that. samsung isn't good with their signal stength with phones.

The only time I get bad reception is in my house for some odd reason. It's so fraustrating because when I had my thunderbolt or bionic I got 4G in my house. Any where else I am good with 4G. I almost switched somebody phones but then I realized I might as well stick to the nexus.

kidnice15 said:
The only time I get bad reception is in my house for some odd reason. It's so fraustrating because when I had my thunderbolt or bionic I got 4G in my house. Any where else I am good with 4G. I almost switched somebody phones but then I realized I might as well stick to the nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. just not willing to settle for a weak signal in a phone just because its a very nice phone. I pay for data and i want to have access to it completely.

I get 4G almost everywhere I go with the GNexus. Live about 25 minutes from Pittsburgh and can drive around pretty much everywhere and get good reception, at least on par with my Thunderbolt.

Significant problems as well, returning phone.
I have had the phone since 2/13. I'm in Rochester, NY and have had a significant number of dropped calls, times when the signal dropped, and extended re-connect times. I received a new SIM last night, which had no effect on the problem. I also tried the 4.0.4 update to the radios the OP has, with no significant improvement. VZW has said that a software update due in early march will alleviate the problem. I don't buy it. I've decided to return my phone within the 14 day "Worry-Free" period and go back to my OG Droid for the time being. I'm going to wait until the reports come back on this new "update", which is probably just 4.0.3. So i'm not feeling very confident.
-rs

I had the same problem...bad signal and wouldn't switch from 4g to 3g I returned mines and got another and now i'm very happy.the first one was a piece of junk but the second has been awesome..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

stepinmyworld said:
Yeah.. just not willing to settle for a weak signal in a phone just because its a very nice phone. I pay for data and i want to have access to it completely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me ask you a question , how did you get to the conclusion of bad reception or bad radio strength ? I had my razr side by side with gnex a few days ago. GNex shows one bar less than razr . I guess many folks will then consider throwing their gnex to nearest wall after seeing this. Guess what ? Then I ran speed test on both of them side by side at same time for 20 times to test speed (yeah I was bored that day) . Every single run I observed about 1mb/s to 3mb/s faster in gnex than razr. Even at the same time gnex showing one fewer signal bar.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

jiwengang said:
Let me ask you a question , how did you get to the conclusion of bad reception or bad radio strength ? I had my razr side by side with gnex a few days ago. GNex shows one bar less than razr . I guess many folks will then consider throwing their gnex to nearest wall after seeing this. Guess what ? Then I ran speed test on both of them side by side at same time for 20 times to test speed (yeah I was bored that day) . Every single run I observed about 1mb/s to 3mb/s faster in gnex than razr. Even at the same time gnex showing one fewer signal bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bars are irrelevant...

Having both the nexus and the rezound, I can definitely say the rezound has better 4g radio strength. With my rezound I get 2-3 bars 4g easy anywhere in my house. Gnex barely gets 1 and most of the time is on 3g. Very frustrating.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

That's the problem. There are plenty of places I go that I lose 4G completely (on 4.0.4), while friends with the Razr or Rezound still have 2-3 bars of 4G and it's going strong.
I couldn't care less how many bars I have...I just care when I get dropped to 3G and other people don't.

My bionic held the 4G signal the best out of GN and Thunderbolt. But the browser on the GN is pretty darn fast that I hardly have any complaint when browsing on 3G. My GN holds that 3G with a death grip though. 4G is flaky at work and at home unfortunately...

Went thru 2 bad ones before I got one that worked properly.
If its giving issues, return it and try a replacement.
Seems Samsung's quality control is seriously lacking but they are a good phone when they work.

I think I get pretty good service on 3g. I don't have 4g in my area yet. I've had a droid x and iphone 4 and the nexus is best.

My take on Galaxy Nexus problems (VZW)

I've had this phone now for less than a month. I know it's not a long time, but I think I've got a pretty good idea of how this phone performs. I have not rooted this phone, I am on 4.02 and PRL 15119.
1. The signal problem:
Coming from a Droid2, the first thing I noticed was one or no bars where I used to have full! I was losing data all the time, until I switched to CDMA only. My phone kept switching to LTE and back again, I spent more time in hand offs than connected!
I had the opportunity to have my Nexus, a TBolt, and a Maxx all in my basement together and did a few tests. All three phones had trouble holding LTE here when I was able to run a speed test, they all performed similarly, between 1 and 2 Mbps. When all three switched to CDMA, they displayed one more bar on and off than my Nexus, but showed similar pings and speeds.
I spend a lot of time in my basement and have never had troubles losing data (CDMA only) even though it displays 0-1 bars all the time.
Now, I do occasionally have problems with data, but it's nothing new to me. My Droid2 would show full signal and just not load a page or drop to 1x in locations known to be strong service.
I have not had this problem with the WiFi hand off back to cellular data. This phone switches faster than my Droid2 ever did. Like, by a lot. I work in no service building. Every morning I turn my WiFi on and just turn it off when I get in my car to go home. Usually I have cellular service before I can even turn off the WiFi.
I read a lot of reports where someones Nexus would be outperformed in a 4G speed test by another Verizon 4G device. Not the case here. My tests were constantly the same when comparing between the Nexus, TBolt, and Maxx.
I stopped in the Verizon store and two of the sales dudes had 4G phones, a Razr and another Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus guy was rooted on 4.04 and couldn't break 10Mbps while Razer guy and myself were fighting for 40Mbps.. Maybe there are some lemons out there
All in all, I may have gotten a good device (made in China, go figure), but I do not believe there is a real problem here. If this is your first android on Verizon, I can see where you'd think there are problems. Whenever I pick up my phone, I just ignore the bars and use it. It always works. Even in 3G, this phone loads pages WAY faster than my Droid2.
2. Battery life: I am not a real heavy user. There are times when I'll spend 20 minutes in the bathroom playing angry birds or reading threads, but that's about it. I got the Verizon extended battery before leaving the store with my new phone. This battery has 200mah more juice than the extended battery in my old Droid2.
I think this phone get's great stand by time, I got it to go 3 days off charger with a few calls and texts every day and a little bit of angry birds
On a whole, I'd have to say it get's as good or better life than my last phone.
3. Random reboots: I was constantly pulling my phone out of my pocket to find that it was off. I had gotten quite concerned after reading all the posts about crash reboots. It wasn't until I set the phone down while booting it up that I saw the screen shut off. I knew something wasn't right here and reproduced the shut down by smacking the phone in my palm while it was booting it up.
After looking closely, I noticed the battery would move up and down in its compartment. I solved this by taking some folded paper and taping it to the bottom edge of the battery. Pushing the battery up into the contacts on the phone. I also added some tape/paper to the top of the battery so the cover is pushing it down into the compartment.
Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I haven't had a single crash/reboot. Just this battery connection problem.
4. Slow screen rotation: I have noticed this, it is VERY annoying when you first get the phone. Habit is to flip it landscape BEFORE launching the app you want to use. This is why you think it's so slow, because the home screen will not flip, it just refuses to. In any app, it flips just like you're used to. A non problem that I'm sure will get fixed.
5. Screen banding: I tried looking at the blank grey screen on any brightness, I could not get the bands I kept reading about. I guess I got lucky!
6. Overheating: I read this phone will try to use 2.4 and 5GHz spectrum's while on WiFi. The first thing I did was set it to 2.4 only and have not had any issues. I use WiFi 8 hours a day every day with out the phone getting hot. I also use the hot spot almost every night, as I don't have a land line internet at home. Never an issue, once again, to the touch this phone was not as hot as my Droid2.
I really like ICS and this phone seems like a keeper. I hope this inspires someone to go out and buy the Nexus!!

Over the weekend I went to the Verizon store to compare the vz nexus signal. Turns out every device with lte read -60 and then nexus -80. But there was one lg phone that displayed both signals at the same time, 1x and lte read -60 and -80. So I wonder does Verizon lte phones actually never show lte signal and always show cdma even when connected to lte?

Just earlier today I compared my Galaxy Nexus at -110 to my dad's Rezound at -80. Side by side at the exact same time. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture.
I'm unrooted stock 4.0.2 right now.

Silly question but did the salesman with the Nexus have LTE on?

How in the world could you go 3 days on a 2100mah? The most i can get is maybe a day or day and a half. Usually its under a day as i use my phone alot.

Dan76 said:
Just earlier today I compared my Galaxy Nexus at -110 to my dad's Rezound at -80. Side by side at the exact same time. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture.
I'm unrooted stock 4.0.2 right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lost the link but basically non ics phones show 3g signal instead of 4g or something like that. Its a different signal type that's why the gnex always shows less because its showing its actual signal
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

i honestly think its a hardware issue, but i have read all the threads and there is nothing concrete... my phone works perfect on 3g but i switch it to 4g and it just looses signal i could have 3 bars and then all of sudden it just looses all signal, it does not switch to 3g..im in a good 4g coverage area as well. im really angry and i dont want any other phone but the one i have . I hate blur so forget motorola

davidadavila said:
i honestly think its a hardware issue, but i have read all the threads and there is nothing concrete... my phone works perfect on 3g but i switch it to 4g and it just looses signal i could have 3 bars and then all of sudden it just looses all signal, it does not switch to 3g..im in a good 4g coverage area as well. im really angry and i dont want any other phone but the one i have . I hate blur so forget motorola
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That shouldn't happen doesn't to me at all. Call Verizon. Get a new phone lol
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

RogerPodacter said:
Over the weekend I went to the Verizon store to compare the vz nexus signal. Turns out every device with lte read -60 and then nexus -80. But there was one lg phone that displayed both signals at the same time, 1x and lte read -60 and -80. So I wonder does Verizon lte phones actually never show lte signal and always show cdma even when connected to lte?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is generally the case.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

RogerPodacter said:
Over the weekend I went to the Verizon store to compare the vz nexus signal. Turns out every device with lte read -60 and then nexus -80. But there was one lg phone that displayed both signals at the same time, 1x and lte read -60 and -80. So I wonder does Verizon lte phones actually never show lte signal and always show cdma even when connected to lte?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they are not ICS devices, they do not show the LTE signal.

You have problems?
Cool story bro. This isn't a support site.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

fix-this! said:
How in the world could you go 3 days on a 2100mah? The most i can get is maybe a day or day and a half. Usually its under a day as i use my phone alot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was achieved over a weekend in a strong service area on cdma only. I was at a solid 3/⁴ bars the whole time. I was at a buddys house for a lan, so i was doing my surfing on the computer. I was doing most of my texting in google voice on my pc, so the only use the phone saw was calls and bathroom browsing lol.
Yes, the nexus measures signal differently and this is why it cant hold 4g, it thinks the signal is too weak and lets go before it should. If you had a vzw droid before and know where the strong 3g is, set it to cdma only and see how it performs compared to the old phone. If your getting data drops and dropped calls where you didnt before, then exchange your phone.
Ive read there is a way to force lte only, this would be the best test. But i cant remember how to do it.
Want to add, the ics keyboard is the best one ive ever used. Also, speaker volume on this phone is plenty loud. I have had problems with call quality when i have no bars. Just does not sound good and hard to unserstand people. When i have a bar or more, sounds great. Like theyre in the room.

chancy319 said:
Silly question but did the salesman with the Nexus have LTE on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely lte. I am not sure what vzws theoretical max speed is on 3g, but in our area, max is about 1.7Mbps. I know theoretical is no where near 10Mbps.

teeBOMB said:
Definitely lte. I am not sure what vzws theoretical max speed is on 3g, but in our area, max is about 1.7Mbps. I know theoretical is no where near 10Mbps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could the differences have been due to your radios? I'm on 4.0.4 with the new radios and I don't break 10Mpbs.
The speed is fast enough for me and I don't remember exactly the speeds I had on the earlier radios. I vaguely remember breaking 10Mpbs at times. I might reflash the older radios and do speed tests.

I'm happy to report I have zero problems with my VZW GNex since day 1
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

dynamicpda said:
Could the differences have been due to your radios? I'm on 4.0.4 with the new radios and I don't break 10Mpbs.
The speed is fast enough for me and I don't remember exactly the speeds I had on the earlier radios. I vaguely remember breaking 10Mpbs at times. I might reflash the older radios and do speed tests.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now i didnt see these guys screens, i dont know what they were using for testing or what server they were connecting to. He told me hes never been able to break 10 megs. For all i know he rooted and flashed on day one. I cant imagine the members of xda would overlook something so obvious, but who knows. Give it a try eh? For reference all my mentions have been using the official speedtest.net app and chicago servers. Im tempted to root, but im waiting for 4.05 ota and have no idea how to do it. Ill get there eventually

I've found that LTE can vary wildly in speeds. You really need multiple tests with multiple phones at the same location/time.
That said, I saw a huge difference between FC05 and FA02. I found that the best combination for my phone was FC04 on the CDMA radio and FA02 on the LTE radio. It's a good 2mbits faster and much more stable. Signal in my house is borderline, so you really see the difference.

tspderek said:
I've found that LTE can vary wildly in speeds. You really need multiple tests with multiple phones at the same location/time.
That said, I saw a huge difference between FC05 and FA02. I found that the best combination for my phone was FC04 on the CDMA radio and FA02 on the LTE radio. It's a good 2mbits faster and much more stable. Signal in my house is borderline, so you really see the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion.
I flash the FC04/FA02 combo and in the spot near my house where I am disappointed, 4.5Mpbs down / 2.5 up, I got pretty much the same results. One difference I did notice is that the hybrid combo is slower to switch from 3G than FC05/FC05. I toggled LTE to force 4G connect.
I flashed back. Eager to see what 4.05 brings and also if the latest official IMM76K brings new radios.

Smokeey said:
You have problems?
Cool story bro. This isn't a support site.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um, it kind of is since most of us come here for help.
Also, if your read the OP he was not complaining about issues as much as addressing them.