How To Get Better Reception On Iphone 5s

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[POLL] Call reception - better worse than Verizon S3?

Thread starter boe
Start date May 21, 2013

Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.

I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.

I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.

To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.

Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2013

KennyG123

Senior Moderator / Mod Committee / Spider-Mod

Please do not check "yes this is a question" as all Qs get moved to Q&A. If you post a poll put POLL in the title instead.
Edited
FNM

From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.

I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.

From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.

I'm much much much more concerned about call reception than 4G. I work with someone who has the Verizon razr and they never have reception issues at the office. I can't make or receive calls on my Verizon S3 at the office.

Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.

I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.

To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.

I had terrible S3 reception. The DNA has a solid Radio.
I'm hoping the S4 has a really good one too, or else, i'm sending mine back, the only thing that sucks with the dna is theres no root, and theres no way of s-offing it currently.

I am curious as well as samsung has a history with bad radios and hoping they finalyl figured it out, otherwise I will have to pass.

From what I have read, the CDMA S3 had a poor CDMA chip/radio so that's why lot of them have issues on Verizon/sprint. If the Sprint S4 is any thing like the verizon one voice/CDMA wise then it should be way better than the S3 and even better than the ONE.
I know you said this wasn't about the RAZR, but I have had two of them and both of them had very bad signal issues holding 4G. The first one even had a hard time holding 3G or any thing for that matter. I got a S3 from Verizon for free in the end due to the issues just getting worse and worse along with Flash player not working on update 4.0.4 even though Flash player should work just fine on ICS.

Yep, the S3 has bad 2g/3g but real good 4g. Weird.

I had terrible S3 reception. The DNA has a solid Radio.
I'm hoping the S4 has a really good one too, or else, i'm sending mine back, the only thing that sucks with the dna is theres no root, and theres no way of s-offing it currently.

The DNA is a sweet phone. I came VERY close to buying one, but the lack of SD card slot (and only 16G) and non-removable turned me off. Other than that a very sweet phone!

The DNA is a sweet phone. I came VERY close to buying one, but the lack of SD card slot (and only 16G) and non-removable turned me off. Other than that a very sweet phone!

I was close to getting the DNA as well but Sense seems a little sluggish on it compared to wiz and the battery was a bit underpowered for my needs. I can be on the phone with a client or tech support for hours at a time. There are rumors the One will have a larger screen on Verizon which should cover my issues.

If anyone has the Verizon S3 and the Verizon S4 it might be helpful if you showed network db side by side in an area with no reception or bad reception on the S3.

I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.

I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.

I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.

One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.

Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app

GS4 has been noticeably better then my GS3

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app

I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.

I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.

One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.

Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app

THanks! This is exactly the sort of info that is helpful. Someone who has an S3 that can't work in some areas and then using an S4 in those same spots.

I just received my S4 today, hoping like hell that the reception was better than my S3. I travel A LOT and know every area in my 200+mile drive, that I have reception issues in. I haven't been able to use my S3 in my house, since I moved here 2 months ago; I believe its a combination of the metal roof and ****y phone, so I upgraded one of my lines to the S4.
I am finally able to walk thru every part of my house and talk without any.issues. I used to have no service in my kitchen, now I have 2 bars with crystal clear reception. I'll know tomorrow if its fixed the issues in the other areas I have issues in, but for now I'm excited.

I did active my old droidX a week ago to see if I could use it in the areas I always have problms, and I could, which means its the ****ty S3.

One other thing to note is the battery life. I've read that its horrible etc: I charged my phone to 100% before activation and I'm still running with 51%, 6 hours later and I've uploaded everything and been playing with the new features the whole night. I did have a 43 minutes call in there as well, so the battery life seems extremely compatible with my S3. I also ordered 2 spares with a charger from Amazon and I'll see how they stack up with the factory battery over the next few days. I'm a phone abuser for work; 5000+ text, 3000+ minutes and probably 10,000+ emails a month, so it will be put thru the paces for certain. I'll update my overall impression with the reception tomorrow night.

Sorry, I know this was long but I wanted to tell how I'll be comparing and already have been, to show a major improvement so far.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app

You Sir, Have Given Me hope.

You guys have all given me hope. When I read the op, I seriously thought I wrote it or my wife did. I too have problems using my s3 at work after switching from a Droid Razr to the s3. Everyone at work has an iPhone and have no issues with making calls.

Based on everyone's input, I'm almost willing to try an s4 out before I'm forced to switch to an iPhone 5 (those are the only options for work this time around).

Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Last edited: May 23, 2013

If anyone has the Verizon S3 and the Verizon S4 it might be helpful if you showed network db side by side in an area with no reception or bad reception on the S3.

i get my s4 later today, ill get some screens of the network db side by side and post to see what my results are. Ill have 2 s3s and a s4 so I can see them all side by side. I have a few places on my way to my house the s3 wont pick up so we will see how the s4 does

Anyone here who switched from a Verizon S3? I work in an office with people who have the Verizon RAZR and Verizon iphone with no problems but my Verizon S3 says no signal and dies by 3PM. I've switched it out and it still sucks for reception but I like most other things about it.
I typically use 2000-3000 minutes a month so reception for voice is EXTREMELY important to me.

I either will move to the HTC DNA or One if the S4 has the same reception issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy and S3 on Verizon. If your S3 never gave you any reception problems that is wonderful for you but PLEASE feel free to start another thread saying how great your reception is or for you to tell me I must have gotten 4 defective phones and SIMs. This thread is aimed at helping me decide which phone to get.

To be clear, this isn't a thread about iphone or DNA or RAZR, Sprint S3, Tmobile S3 or ATT S3 reception or how you never had reception issues on your S3. This survey is specifically targeted to find out if people who had reception issues with the S3 got any relief with the S4.

I'm with you 110% Boe. For those of us who have bad reception issues with the S3 it can be a tough road getting people who are happy with their S3, to understand exactly how irritating it is to have a phone that does a lot very well, but can NEVER be trusted as a telephone. I am really looking forward to seeing the responses in this thread. I'm on Verizon.

I'm with you 110% Boe. For those of us who have bad reception issues with the S3 it can be a tough road getting people who are happy with their S3, to understand exactly how irritating it is to have a phone that does a lot very well, but can NEVER be trusted as a telephone. I am really looking forward to seeing the responses in this thread. I'm on Verizon.

Yeah for some reason they insist on posting things like I never have problems with my S3 (perhaps they never use it as a phone) or you must have gotten a defective one (all 4 times I replaced my phones and sims at difference Verizon stores throughout the country - amazingly bad luck).

i have a galaxy nexus and can say without a doubt that the s4 radios are better by far. way better. i keep a 4g signal everywhere my galaxy nexus would drop to 3g or 1x, matter of fact i have yet to lose 4g anywhere but in an elevator.

gps locks are also way faster.

very impressive.

i have a galaxy nexus and can say without a doubt that the s4 radios are better by far. way better. i keep a 4g signal everywhere my galaxy nexus would drop to 3g or 1x, matter of fact i have yet to lose 4g anywhere but in an elevator.
gps locks are also way faster.

very impressive.

I picked up the s4 this morning. Reception so far OK. I'm in the office where I frequently get no signal. For whatever reason today my S3 and S4 are getting signal. However, both are reading about 100db on average - no real difference between the two so i'm as yet, unconvinced this is an improvement over the S3. I'll be going to yet another place I frequently can't make calls on my S3 later today and we'll see how the S4 does. Clouds, lack of clouds etc can all impact reception so I'll need more testing to know anything regarding this phone's reception.'

Foxfi doesn't seem to work on the S4 but does on my S3 so I'll have to find another sharing program if I decide to keep this phone.