Note II Reception / Call Quality Experiences

[spotmeterf64]

Hi all,

 

I've been using a 3G BlackBerry for the past few months, and it's pretty boring. Sure BlackBerries are great phones (I love the keyboard and email/messaging capabilities the most), but the main reason I stick with it is the reception/antenna on the Galaxy Nexus made the phone nearly unusable, coupled with poor battery life. With the BlackBerry, although I get excellent reception, I do not feel as though I am getting my money's worth out of Sprint's plans.

 

My apartment is in a marginal Sprint coverage zone, so I need a phone with a strong antenna to be usable. BlackBerries are famous for this; the Nexus failed.

 

Airave is a non-starter because it has to be by a window (ugly) and my neighbor has an Airave already; I believe this is the reason I had problems before with my Airave. My phone would try to handshake between two Airaves and drop the call. I am unsure if there is a way to tell your phone to only connect to one Airave or not; I returned the device.

 

I'm seriously considering buying a Note II soon; so my question is: to those that have used this phone for a while, what is the reception like in comparison to other phones you've used? My apartment gets 1-2 bars of 3G (sometimes dropping down to 1X) with my BlackBerry; with the Galaxy Nexus unless I was directly in front of a window the call would drop and calls would go directly to Voicemail.

 

Thanks for any insight!

[owensri2]

Hi all,

 

I've been using a 3G BlackBerry for the past few months, and it's pretty boring. Sure BlackBerries are great phones (I love the keyboard and email/messaging capabilities the most), but the main reason I stick with it is the reception/antenna on the Galaxy Nexus made the phone nearly unusable, coupled with poor battery life. With the BlackBerry, although I get excellent reception, I do not feel as though I am getting my money's worth out of Sprint's plans.

 

My apartment is in a marginal Sprint coverage zone, so I need a phone with a strong antenna to be usable. BlackBerries are famous for this; the Nexus failed.

 

Airave is a non-starter because it has to be by a window (ugly) and my neighbor has an Airave already; I believe this is the reason I had problems before with my Airave. My phone would try to handshake between two Airaves and drop the call. I am unsure if there is a way to tell your phone to only connect to one Airave or not; I returned the device.

 

I'm seriously considering buying a Note II soon; so my question is: to those that have used this phone for a while, what is the reception like in comparison to other phones you've used? My apartment gets 1-2 bars of 3G (sometimes dropping down to 1X) with my BlackBerry; with the Galaxy Nexus unless I was directly in front of a window the call would drop and calls would go directly to Voicemail.

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

The Note II has a pretty good radio in it. I do, however recommend Motorola if you want really good reception. They seem to have the best radios. I had the Photon Q for 4 months before I got my Note II. I tested the signal quality of each phone on my way home from work multiple times. I'd talk for about an hour on each device from my work to home, and I can say that the Photon Q dropped far fewer calls than the Note II has. Not sure if it is because of work going on in the Myrtle Beach market, or if it's the phone radio, but the Motorola had the better signal. Otherwise, the Note II is a solid device. I would suggest trying it out. Of course, you have the 2 week window to return the device and get a different one if you find the Note II isn't cutting it.

[digiblur]

The Airave does not need to be by a window. I'm not sure why you think that. Mine is far away from the window at this point. Its in the middle of the house in a closet.

[MacinJosh]

The Airave does not need to be by a window. I'm not sure why you think that. Mine is far away from the window at this point. Its in the middle of the house in a closet.

 

I think he was saying that because of the GPS lock, and some houses are designed that they even block GPS reception inside the home.

[digiblur]

I think he was saying that because of the GPS lock, and some houses are designed that they even block GPS reception inside the home.

 

But they give you a wire to extend the GPS antenna for situations like that. Pretty small wire to hide around a baseboard and stick in a window if needed.

[Rukin1]

Inside my place, I put the antena outside the window lol

[JeffDTD]

The note2 and gs3 can be quick to roam, but also deceptive with the bars they show in relation to usable signal. Do u have wifi at home? Assuming you are discussing an airave , u do... so you should be offloading.

 

The note2 is a solid performer with reception. Ive yet to experience it hold on to a signal it couldnt use.

[Thomas L.]

Hi all,

 

I've been using a 3G BlackBerry for the past few months, and it's pretty boring. Sure BlackBerries are great phones (I love the keyboard and email/messaging capabilities the most), but the main reason I stick with it is the reception/antenna on the Galaxy Nexus made the phone nearly unusable, coupled with poor battery life. With the BlackBerry, although I get excellent reception, I do not feel as though I am getting my money's worth out of Sprint's plans.

 

My apartment is in a marginal Sprint coverage zone, so I need a phone with a strong antenna to be usable. BlackBerries are famous for this; the Nexus failed.

 

Airave is a non-starter because it has to be by a window (ugly) and my neighbor has an Airave already; I believe this is the reason I had problems before with my Airave. My phone would try to handshake between two Airaves and drop the call. I am unsure if there is a way to tell your phone to only connect to one Airave or not; I returned the device.

 

I'm seriously considering buying a Note II soon; so my question is: to those that have used this phone for a while, what is the reception like in comparison to other phones you've used? My apartment gets 1-2 bars of 3G (sometimes dropping down to 1X) with my BlackBerry; with the Galaxy Nexus unless I was directly in front of a window the call would drop and calls would go directly to Voicemail.

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

The Galaxy Nexus, if I remember correctly, had one of the worst radios of recent phones. The new Samsung devices are much stronger - I would definitely give it a try. Remember, you can return it if you need to, and man, it would be a hell of an upgrade from a 3G Blackberry.

[spotmeterf64]

I do offload data via WiFi at home, of course. If the Airave solved the problem for me I would be offloading calls as well. The Airave was unusable for me because my neighbor has an Airave and when my phone tried to handshake between the two I'd drop the call; I was aware of the GPS antenna cable they provided, and it was too long to be useful in a 1-bedroom apartment.

 

I am still deciding on the phone I will buy (I want to see the BlackBerry 10 devices and how long until they're available), but as of right now the Note II is the strongest possibility.

 

Thanks for the input, everyone!

[digiblur]

Too long? I'm so confused now....

[spotmeterf64]

Meaning I didn't want 50 feet of cable coiled up beside a window. And since the Airave didn't solve my problem I wasn't exactly running to Radio Shack to buy a shorter length.

[digiblur]

. Wind it up behind the airave, problem solved.

 

I am not sure the Note2 will work for you though if you don't have room for a couple of inches of cable behind an Airave.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[spotmeterf64]

There's plenty of room, but my little lady said it was not an option. When I lived by myself, I had cables everywhere (and didn't think twice about it, honestly).

 

Now, we have to hide surge protectors behind furniture, picture frames, or something else or people will see the cords. I don't understand it, but I don't think men are supposed to understand things like this.

 

Besides that, the Airave did not solve the coverage problem due to handshake issues. Hopefully when we move later this year it will be to an area with more effective Sprint coverage and it won't be a problem at all.

Edited January 27, 2013 by spotmeterf64

[irev210]

the galaxy nexus has the worst reception known to man for sprint.

 

Samsung used a VIA baseband for some strange reason instead of qualcomm.

 

GS3 and Note2 are NOTHING like the galaxy nexus.

[MacinJosh]

the galaxy nexus has the worst reception known to man for sprint. Samsung used a VIA baseband for some strange reason instead of qualcomm. GS3 and Note2 are NOTHING like the galaxy nexus.

 

It's for that reason that I hate my Galaxy Nexus. I will never let people convince me of what to get next time I go to get a different phone.

[blinky847]

I concur on the GNex hate, except its more like hate and love...love everything about my GNex, except for the darned VIA baseband modem/radio.

 

Hate to break the topic flow here a bit, but would it be worth it going to the Note2 from a GNex? I know I'll be geting a bigger device and will need to embrace a non-Nexus environment for TouchWiz (my nightmares with the Samsung Vibrant), not to mention the MSRP penalty since my GNex is the contract.

 

I promise not to sell my GNex to another poor soul...I'll use it as a Galaxy Nexus touch if I have to

 

TIA

[MacinJosh]

I concur on the GNex hate, except its more like hate and love...love everything about my GNex, except for the darned VIA baseband modem/radio.

 

Hate to break the topic flow here a bit, but would it be worth it going to the Note2 from a GNex? I know I'll be geting a bigger device and will need to embrace a non-Nexus environment for TouchWiz (my nightmares with the Samsung Vibrant), not to mention the MSRP penalty since my GNex is the contract.

 

I promise not to sell my GNex to another poor soul...I'll use it as a Galaxy Nexus touch if I have to

 

TIA

 

There are Custom ROM's for the Note 2, I would hope one of them would be TouchWiz free. But I'm sure that the GS3 and the Note 2 are 300% better in terms of reception than the GNex.

[A454nova]

The Airave isn't exactly weak... Your getting the neighbors next door in an Apt

[jefbal99]

I concur on the GNex hate, except its more like hate and love...love everything about my GNex, except for the darned VIA baseband modem/radio.

 

Hate to break the topic flow here a bit, but would it be worth it going to the Note2 from a GNex? I know I'll be geting a bigger device and will need to embrace a non-Nexus environment for TouchWiz (my nightmares with the Samsung Vibrant), not to mention the MSRP penalty since my GNex is the contract.

 

I promise not to sell my GNex to another poor soul...I'll use it as a Galaxy Nexus touch if I have to

 

TIA

 

CM10.1 just went into official nightly status for the L900 yesterday, so you can get your AOSP on the Note II. I'll be giving it a whirl very soon.

[blinky847]

Thanks for the info!

 

As a matter of, well, size, I can certainly understand that it's quite a leap for the OP from a BB to a Note2, but is it significantly bigger from a GNex where its no longer back pocketable? I did check on pics from sites who did comparisons but nothing like the real deal from an owner of a Note2.

[jefbal99]

Thanks for the info!

 

As a matter of, well, size, I can certainly understand that it's quite a leap for the OP from a BB to a Note2, but is it significantly bigger from a GNex where its no longer back pocketable? I did check on pics from sites who did comparisons but nothing like the real deal from an owner of a Note2.

 

I carry my Note 2 in all my pockets, it works just fine. Also, it is heavy enough that I know what pocket it is in and I won't sit on it.

[WiWavelength]

I carry my Note 2 in all my pockets, it works just fine. Also, it is heavy enough that I know what pocket it is in and I won't sit on it.

 

But when you sit on its face, it knows that you love it...

 

 

AJ

[koiulpoi]

CM10.1 just went into official nightly status for the L900 yesterday, so you can get your AOSP on the Note II. I'll be giving it a whirl very soon.

Been running Paranoid Android 2.99 (based on AOSP 4.2.1 JB) since it was released on the 25th, and loving it. Yes, there are a few glitches, but that's to be expected.

[blinky847]

Since I took the plunge and bought it last night, here's my 20 hour synopsis on the GN2...

 

Its a big phone, or a tiny tablet, or both. I don't think I'll ever put it in my back pocket, especially sitting, so I'll use my junked Nokia with Straight Talk, if I really need a smaller 'phone'.

 

Reception seems really good (great technical term, yeah?) - at home I get my Airave 2.5 just fine at nearly full signal; on the road its as good as it can be if not better than my GNex and my old EVO4G. At work, however, it picks up 3G just fine if relatively close to the window, sometimes 4G is detected, but I building I work in is the recycled Montgomery Ward Catalog Warehouse, so it will kill most mobile coverage unless if you use a femtocell.

 

The only downside: Touchwiz. Its still as crappy as the older version on the T-Mobile Vibrant. But I'll learn to put up with it and shut up, and be happy with such a nice device.

[digiblur]

Back pocket? I don't of many people who put a phone in their back pocket. Maybe if you are a chick or a dude that wears skinny jeans then I could see the front pockets being a bit tight.