Best device for RF Reception / data speeds

[maxsilver]

Backstory :

 

I've been asked to make a recommendation on a Sprint device for a friend, who lives in a medium sized city, in a very dense urban neighborhood. Nearest Sprint tower is very far away from his house, he gets about -99dbm outside, and -108dbm inside, and the current (not yet NV upgraded) tower pulls about 10-30k down on 3G data speeds.

 

I told him he might get slightly better reception after NV (by about 6dbm) but hes looking for a phone that can help him through that wait. He wants a phone that has LTE and has the best RF performance or best data reception / quality, above all else. Preferably one with SVDO.

 

I knew enough to tell him to stay away from the Galaxy Nexus, for the obvious reasons, but other than that, I don't have enough experience with these to make a good recommendation. From some limited testing in store, it looked like the Photon LTE was a good pick (and it ran the fastest 3G speed tests in store), but I'd prefer some insight from folks who have used these.

 

Anyone have some experience here? Recommendations for a heavy data user who knows they'll be spending a lot of time in a very weak coverage area?

[digiblur]

The S3 and Note2 are good from what I found. The EVO LTE was not good at all. I hear the Optimus G is good as well.

 

I would have him get an airave for home.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[lynyrd65]

Backstory :

 

I've been asked to make a recommendation on a Sprint device for a friend, who lives in a medium sized city, in a very dense urban neighborhood. Nearest Sprint tower is very far away from his house, he gets about -99dbm outside, and -108dbm inside, and the current (not yet NV upgraded) tower pulls about 10-30k down on 3G data speeds.

 

I told him he might get slightly better reception after NV (by about 6dbm) but hes looking for a phone that can help him through that wait. He wants a phone that has LTE and has the best RF performance or best data reception / quality, above all else. Preferably one with SVDO.

 

I knew enough to tell him to stay away from the Galaxy Nexus, for the obvious reasons, but other than that, I don't have enough experience with these to make a good recommendation. From some limited testing in store, it looked like the Photon LTE was a good pick (and it ran the fastest 3G speed tests in store), but I'd prefer some insight from folks who have used these.

 

Anyone have some experience here? Recommendations for a heavy data user who knows they'll be spending a lot of time in a very weak coverage area?

 

Get an Airave. They cost nothing and improve coverage.

[jonathanm1978]

I typed a long paragraph and came back to edit one word, when I resubmitted it, the entire paragraph was gone except the first sentence.

[jonathanm1978]

They don't always cost nothing. I paid $99 for the second one even I wanted to get the 3g version over the 1x version. They gave me the first one.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[maxsilver]

Get an Airave. They cost nothing and improve coverage.

 

That's great advice, and that would help him at home.

 

But not at work, or his wife's work, or when shopping, ect.

 

He'd like to improve the situation everywhere, rather than band-aid one particular spot, even if that improvement is relatively minor.

[jonathanm1978]

No device is going be the perfect full-strength signal all the time no matter the distance from the tower....if this was the case then you wouldn't have a reason for the airave to even exist to begin with. What he is trying to get is something we all wish we had, perfect signal all the time no matter where we are in reference to tower location.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[maxsilver]

No device is going be the perfect full-strength signal all the time no matter the distance from the tower. What he is trying to get is something we all wish we had, perfect signal all the time no matter where we are in reference to tower location.

 

Perhaps I've mis-spoke above.

 

To be absolutely clear : he's **not** asking for "perfect signal" or "perfect coverage". He's not complaining about Sprint service.

 

However, knowing that signal fluctuates, and knowing he happens to be in areas of poor reception most of the time, he's just asking for a device that handles this situation the best.

 

It's obviously not ideal, but we've clearly seen wide variations in RF performance between devices, and we can't buy every single phone to test them ourselves.

 

Not asking for Magic. Just looking for recommendations on which device is ideal if you know your signal situation will be poor.

[koiulpoi]

They don't always cost nothing. I paid $99 for the second one even I wanted to get the 3g version over the 1x version. They gave me the first one.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

There's a "3G" Airave and a "1X" airrave? News to me. At any rate, delivering data over the Airave is silly; it connects to an internet connection you own as backhaul, so Wi-Fi should be available, almost always faster than the maximum that the Airave can provide.

 

That being said, OP, the Note II and the S3, much like Digiblur said, are kings of RF. My sister (who lives in a fringe area) went from a Photon (supposedly the best) to an S3, and she claims her calls drop less, and are overall clearer. I'm inclined to believe her.

[digiblur]

Yes, Samsung supplied the airave in 2008. A second model came out from them as well that was 1x. Then Airvana made the EVDO one. Airvana also made the 2.5 or 2.0 or whatever is on the side. This model has the 800smr beacon in it.

 

The Samsung models were awesome, no issues and never touched them. I can not say the same for the Airvana ones. I switched since my Evo LTE had issues with the Samsung and would require a reboot anytime it stayed on the unit overnight.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[S4GRU]

If SVDO is important, only the GS3 fits the bill of the solid RF Performers including 1x, EVDO and LTE. The LGOG and Note 2 do not do SVDO.

 

Robert via LG Optimus G using Tapatalk

 

 

[cablemonkey]

What about the Samsung Galaxy Victory? I was actually looking at one of these, based on the occasional comments I've seen here regarding how good its reception is.

[digiblur]

What about the Samsung Galaxy Victory? I was actually looking at one of these, based on the occasional comments I've seen here regarding how good its reception is.

 

It isn't a flagship phone so I haven't seen many members here with it but I have heard it works well.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[jefbal99]

My Note 2 is the best RF device I think I've every had. My wife has the Photon Q LTE and standing side by side at our new property, I have 1-2 LTE bars (true bars from CM10.1) and she is on 3G. I'm not sure on the exact dbm, but it rocks.

[digiblur]

Sometimes too good. I constantly pick up an LTE site around my house that is 5-7 miles away. It's tease thinking that then finally fixed our accepted sites that haven't been turned on yet.

[S4GRU]

What about the Samsung Galaxy Victory? I was actually looking at one of these, based on the occasional comments I've seen here regarding how good its reception is.

 

The Victory equals or bests every device I've ever tested in 1x and EVDO on 850 and 1900 and LTE on 1900. It's a solid budget device when it comes to radio performance.

 

My sister in law picked one up on my recommendation based on where she lives and works. She says the difference between the Victory and her OG EVO is night and day when it comes to signal strength, and voice and data connections.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[dedub]

how is the victory on battery life? My sister picked up an lg viper (cause it was cheap) but has been unhappy with the battery life.

[S4GRU]

how is the victory on battery life? My sister picked up an lg viper (cause it was cheap) but has been unhappy with the battery life.

 

It's way better than the Viper. I have the Viper also, so I have compared the two. It's not as good as the GS3, but I'd say it has about 80% - 85% of the battery time as the GS3. Whereas the Viper is about 50% - 55%.

 

Robert

[compneo]

This is only the second day I have my Note2 and I must say it blows my old phones away with the reception. I know it has been said that the EVO and Gnex have issues with reception. My Gnex would get signals or hold them longer than the EVO with weaker signals so I thought that was going to be similar to the reception difference to the Note2. I was very surprised to see that the Note2 pulls a 4g signal in some cases 1-2 miles further than the EVO and Gnex. I watched the EVO and Note2 debug screens while wife was driving this morning to an appt. and where the EVO usually jumps 5-15 decibels at a time, the Note2 would move 1-3 decibels at a time. Also, in areas that the EVO had -125 4G signal and dropped off, the Note2 was sitting at -104. It is very eye opening to get a phone with great reception, as it definitely changes your coverage.

 

This morning I was with a friend and I said, man I have 4g here with my new phone. He has an EVO and said he only had 3g. I said it was because his phone was a POS. He said wait, you were using an EVO just yesterday and I told him that was yesterday, today it is a POS, He didn't laugh, but I did.

[koiulpoi]

The Victory equals or bests every device I've ever tested in 1x and EVDO on 850 and 1900 and LTE on 1900. It's a solid budget device when it comes to radio performance.

 

My sister in law picked one up on my recommendation based on where she lives and works. She says the difference between the Victory and her OG EVO is night and day when it comes to signal strength, and voice and data connections.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

So, that RF comparison article... *poke*

[S4GRU]

So, that RF comparison article... *poke*

 

It won't be any time soon, I'm afraid.

 

Robert

[koiulpoi]

It won't be any time soon, I'm afraid.

 

Robert

Oh, no, I completely understand that you're busy! Why not pass the data to someone else to write the article and just give you all the credit I'd volunteer, but I don't think I'd know what to do with the data; I'm just curious to see it!