LTE connection observations - Summer 2014

[fubka]

I had my first out of town travel over the weekend and here is something that I noticed while being in multiple different cities. Firstly let me state that I have a Galaxy Nexus and can only get LTE on band 25.

 

My home city is Washington DC does not officially have LTE. LTE is around town, mostly in NE and SE with some cells interspersed throughout. My old phone was a Photon 4G and WiMax coverage is pretty solid in DC. At my home, I am pretty sure the building next to mine has the WiMax antennas on the roof; however, I cannot connect to LTE. I can force my phone in LTE only and pick up the LTE signal, I just cannot get any data on it to transfer, way to low dBm.

 

When I do get LTE in DC, I noticed that the signal must be very strong for it to switch from 3g to LTE. Even sometimes with a sub 85dBA signal I can get bumped back to 3G.

 

This is different from what I noticed over the weekend. While in Pittsburgh, my phone was almost always connected to LTE. It even stayed connected to LTE with on bare and a 140dBa signal. My data transfer speeds dropped of significantly, but I still had LTE.

 

I noticed that both cities have not officially launched at LTE markets as of July 4, 2014. I just wonder why there is such a difference. Clearly it seems that Pittsburgh is further along in its deployment. But why can you stay on LTE in Pittsburgh, while in DC it wants to kick you for almost any reason? Could it be because of the different hardware that is being deployed?

 

Thanks for any thoughts or shared experiences.

 

 

 

[Josh]

It was like that here in Pittsburgh for a while too, as more sites have come online and maybe a prl update or 2 later, it has gotten better. I have found that each phone is different in each area too, as I have an S4 and my fiancée has a optimus G. Her phone is always the first to find 4G, but the first to loose it as well... while mine sometimes needs me to refresh the connection, but typically holds on longer with better signal.

 

I will be interested to see how much better the new spark phones are with finding and holding a connection, but I am worried about the lack of SvDO (at least until VoLTE).

[nexuss4g]

I had my first out of town travel over the weekend and here is something that I noticed while being in multiple different cities. Firstly let me state that I have a Galaxy Nexus and can only get LTE on band 25.

 

 

Thanks for any thoughts or shared experiences.

 

I had the Galaxy Nexus for a year, from what I read in this forum and in others is thas the Gnex  has one of the weakest radios, so connectivity to 3G and LTE was a bit bad that it also affected battery life. I used to carry 2 high capacity batteries.

 

Also, I know that when we got the 4.3 update, it created a bug when connected to LTE and you would fall back  to 3G, data would not work unless you toggle airplaine mode. so maybe this is what you are experiencing ?

 

After a month of all these issues, decided to upgrade to the Moto X even tho it was not pure stock.

 

get better LTE and 3G bars where I had minimal service such as my office. 

[BlueAngel]

I have noticed on both my iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 that connecting to LTE rarely happens anymore, I can be in known great reception areas and still stay connected to 3G. I have called Sprint and they are clueless on the issue, whether it be my phones or something on my account. Mind you I have had no issues for a year before this started happening. LTE can be at ~80 or ~90 and still falls back to 3g. It's beginning to piss me off now.

Edited July 8, 2014 by BlueAngel

[WiWavelength]

LTE can be at ~80 or ~90 and still falls back to 3g. It's beginning to piss me off now.

 

Never a good night at the Roxborough?  What a shame...

 

 

AJ

[BlueAngel]

Never a good night at the Roxborough?  What a shame...

 

 

AJ

Funny.

[BlueAngel]

I went to the Sprint store today as calling customer service gets me no where. But I had them do their diagnostics on my phone and account and everything came back golden, apparently I have only had 3 dropped calls since may and I don't recall any of them. My service to them is considered excellent, but they refreshed the profile to my phone and other crap and we will see how the connection improves in a few days if at all.

[AJColaSC]

I haven't been getting consistent LTE since the end of April either.  Places i used to get strong LTE are now between 3G and mediocre LTE, places where I would connect to weak LTE are 3G only.  Inside LTE coverage does not exist outside of the 1 mile radios of the tower in my area.

[BlueAngel]

I haven't been getting consistent LTE since the end of April either. Places i used to get strong LTE are now between 3G and mediocre LTE, places where I would connect to weak LTE are 3G only. Inside LTE coverage does not exist outside of the 1 mile radios of the tower in my area.

Welcome to my world, there has been no change for me today it's still the same old lack of LTE, here's hoping when my upgrade is due in September I get a nice setup with the Galaxy S5.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hankbear]

I had this problem at my work location for a while, but it has improved.  At the time, I wondered about the cause.  Was it simply more users with LTE-capable phones and a backhaul issue?  Was it a tower problem?  Was it the down-tilt changed?  Hard to be sure, and the improvement has been very gradual, but there has been improvement.  Today, instead of .04 Mbps download speed, I am getting .63 Mbps at -108 dBm, which is not all that strong.  A year ago, I was getting 26.34 Mbps down at this same location.  Most places, speed is much better than .63 Mbps, though.  One weird thing about my office is that, according to the NV progress maps, there are multiple upgraded towers around me, all within a very short distance.  I do have very good voice service with 1X 800, since there is one tower with 800 close by.

[S4GRU]

I had this problem at my work location for a while, but it has improved. At the time, I wondered about the cause. Was it simply more users with LTE-capable phones and a backhaul issue? Was it a tower problem? Was it the down-tilt changed? Hard to be sure, and the improvement has been very gradual, but there has been improvement. Today, instead of .04 Mbps download speed, I am getting .63 Mbps at -108 dBm, which is not all that strong. A year ago, I was getting 26.34 Mbps down at this same location. Most places, speed is much better than .63 Mbps, though. One weird thing about my office is that, according to the NV progress maps, there are multiple upgraded towers around me, all within a very short distance. I do have very good voice service with 1X 800, since there is one tower with 800 close by.

Do you not have Band 26 or 41 in the area, yet? Most of the Atlanta metro should have them by now. Many large urban areas Band 25 is just swamped.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[hankbear]

Do you not have Band 26 or 41 in the area, yet? Most of the Atlanta metro should have them by now. Many large urban areas Band 25 is just swamped.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Note 3.  

[S4GRU]

Note 3.

Ahhh, yes. The Note 3 is not Triband. I'm sorry.

 

You plan on upgrading this Fall to the Note 4 and get into the Triband network?

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[hankbear]

Ahhh, yes. The Note 3 is not Triband. I'm sorry.

 

You plan on upgrading this Fall to the Note 4 and get into the Triband network?

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Of course!  Or, if I can't stand the Note 3 screen in sunlight any longer, I might go for something else.  Mostly, it depends on the screen.  It has to be really close to 5.5" and high resolution, along with better sunlight visibility in the car.  I also need a microsd card slot.  I love the Note 3, and it's the best performing phone I've ever had, but not being tri-band and not having the best visibility in the sun are two strikes against it.

 

I've looked at the reviews of the LG G3, but it's getting bad marks for the screen quality, so....

 

P.S.  What's your current daily driver?

Edited July 9, 2014 by hankbear

[S4GRU]

P.S. What's your current daily driver?

I'm using the Nexus 5. Since I have to use the Duopoly where I live, it's the best device for tracking the AT&T network. No other AT&T device is capable of accessing Engineering screens...at least that I'm aware.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[hankbear]

I'm using the Nexus 5. Since I have to use the Duopoly where I live, it's the best device for tracking the AT&T network. No other AT&T device is capable of accessing Engineering screens...at least that I'm aware.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I have a co-worker who has one on Sprint.  He loves it, and if the screen were a bit larger I would consider it, but I am so used to the Note 2 and Note 3 screens, now.  The thought of having less bloatware is appealing, though.

[afazel]

How about an HTC one Max?

[hankbear]

How about an HTC one Max?

I've considered it, but it's not as fast as the Note 3 and doesn't have as much RAM.  Given how badly burned I was by the EVO 4G LTE, it's hard for me to take a chance on an HTC, again, anyway.  And, even though I have big hands, I wonder if the Max would be too big, even for me.  At some point, I do want to put my hands on one and see the screen in person, though.

 

I think what I really want is a Note 4!  LOL!  However, I would love to have a 4K screen that is good in direct sunlight.  I doubt the Note 4 will change to some other technology than AMOLED, which appears to be the limiting factor with sunlight visibility.  Although, to be fair to Samsung, they do keep improving.  The Note 3 screen *is* better than the S4 or the Note 2 in sunlight.  I haven't had a chance to see an S5 in sunlight, though.

[The_Chemist]

Of course!  Or, if I can't stand the Note 3 screen in sunlight any longer, I might go for something else.  Mostly, it depends on the screen.  It has to be really close to 5.5" and high resolution, along with better sunlight visibility in the car.  I also need a microsd card slot.  I love the Note 3, and it's the best performing phone I've ever had, but not being tri-band and not having the best visibility in the sun are two strikes against it.

 

I've looked at the reviews of the LG G3, but it's getting bad marks for the screen quality, so....

 

P.S.  What's your current daily driver?

I read and saw many LG G3 reviews. That is definitely not a phone you want if sunlight visibility is a must.

 

I also own a Note 3. I didn't think the visibility in sunlight was too bad. The screen is supposed to be able to produce 600 nits brightness out in the sun when using auto brightness.

[The_Chemist]

I had this problem at my work location for a while, but it has improved.  At the time, I wondered about the cause.  Was it simply more users with LTE-capable phones and a backhaul issue?  Was it a tower problem?  Was it the down-tilt changed?  Hard to be sure, and the improvement has been very gradual, but there has been improvement.  Today, instead of .04 Mbps download speed, I am getting .63 Mbps at -108 dBm, which is not all that strong.  A year ago, I was getting 26.34 Mbps down at this same location.  Most places, speed is much better than .63 Mbps, though.  One weird thing about my office is that, according to the NV progress maps, there are multiple upgraded towers around me, all within a very short distance.  I do have very good voice service with 1X 800, since there is one tower with 800 close by.

I'm in the Harrisburg Shentel market. Speed is down here compared to when I left Verizon to join Sprint last November. I used to get 28 Mbps down at my work location. Now I'm lucky to get 10 Mbps down even with a -84 dBm RSRP signal level. I'm not sure what the deal is with that. 800 MHz LTE is up and running here now. One of these days soon I'm going to re- activate my LG G2 and check out speed and signal level on band 26.

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

I read and saw many LG G3 reviews. That is definitely not a phone you want if sunlight visibility is a must.

 

I also own a Note 3. I didn't think the visibility in sunlight was too bad. The screen is supposed to be able to produce 600 nits brightness out in the sun when using auto brightness.

Not true, at least not with my G3. I can see perfectly fine in direct sunlight. Its actually brighter than my iPhone 5 screen. I use this phone outside every single day.

 

Sent from my LG G3 using Tapatalk

[The_Chemist]

Not true, at least not with my G3. I can see perfectly fine in direct sunlight. Its actually brighter than my iPhone 5 screen. I use this phone outside every single day.

 

Sent from my LG G3 using Tapatalk

That's interesting.  Many reviewers have portrayed the screen as unusable in sunlight.  One that comes to mind is Lisa from Mobile Tech Review.  I'd believe a first hand user like yourself over the reviewers though. 

 

Would you be willing to share your thoughts on LTE reception on your G3 along with in-call sound quality and speaker quality?  I'd really be interested.

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

That's interesting. Many reviewers have portrayed the screen as unusable in sunlight. One that comes to mind is Lisa from Mobile Tech Review. I'd believe a first hand user like yourself over the reviewers though.

 

Would you be willing to share your thoughts on LTE reception on your G3 along with in-call sound quality and speaker quality? I'd really be interested.

If you peruse through the G3 users thread, you'll get a lot or positive feedback on the handset.

 

The G3's RF reception is great and some say on-par with the N5 (I've never used an N5 for comparison). I can tell you that the G3 is better than the iPhone 's for B25 and B26 reception and they're really good performers.

 

Call quality is phenomenal. The speaker is clear and loud with no distortion - easily besting the iPhone's (once again great in this dept as well). But what really blows my mind is HD Voice quality. It sounds way better on the G3 than the iPhone 5c.

 

All around, the G3 is an excellent handset and for my money, the best on the market currently.

 

Sent from my LG G3 using Tapatalk

[chamb]

I'm in the Harrisburg Shentel market. Speed is down here compared to when I left Verizon to join Sprint last November. I used to get 28 Mbps down at my work location. Now I'm lucky to get 10 Mbps down even with a -84 dBm RSRP signal level. I'm not sure what the deal is with that. 800 MHz LTE is up and running here now. One of these days soon I'm going to re- activate my LG G2 and check out speed and signal level on band 26.

The deal with that is that more people with more smartphones are using more data for more hours, for more things. Hopefully the addition of 800 LTE will take some of the load off of the 1900 LTE and then in the future, the 2.5 LTE should really take more of the load off the 1900 LTE. 

[The_Chemist]

If you peruse through the G3 users thread, you'll get a lot or positive feedback on the handset.

 

The G3's RF reception is great and some say on-par with the N5 (I've never used an N5 for comparison). I can tell you that the G3 is better than the iPhone 's for B25 and B26 reception and they're really good performers.

 

Call quality is phenomenal. The speaker is clear and loud with no distortion - easily besting the iPhone's (once again great in this dept as well). But what really blows my mind is HD Voice quality. It sounds way better on the G3 than the iPhone 5c.

 

All around, the G3 is an excellent handset and for my money, the best on the market currently.

 

Sent from my LG G3 using Tapatalk

Hey, Thanks for all the input.  I was looking at purchasing a G3, but after my G2 experience, was a little hesitant  My main concerns were great LTE reception and sound quality.