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The best phone for signal strength?


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Old 12-05-2015, 22:37
mupet0000
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I've had a Galaxy S6 for a month now, loving the phone but I'm really disappointed by the signal strength compared to my Galaxy S4. There's between 5-10dBm difference and it's enough to see a usable 4G signal turn into a slow 3G signal.

I'm on Three and there are plenty of spots where the 4G is poor, my house included. The S4 can hang onto 4G just fine but the S6 in the same spots has a worse signal (in terms of dBm) and it also seems to drop to 3G more aggressively rather than holding onto 4G. So worse signal and drops to 3G quicker, bad combo.

I've seen a marginal improvement in the phone holding onto 4G after some OTA updates but still the signal is worse than my S4. As much as I like the phone, I'm not going to keep it if the radio can't compete with my 2 year old S4.

So I'm looking for suggestions for a new smartphone with a great radio. Maybe a Note 4, maybe an iPhone 6? Which smartphones do you find have the best signal?
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Old 13-05-2015, 00:38
DevonBloke
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All I can say is ever since not using the old Nokias (6110 etc), signal has never been as good. iPhone 3Gs / 5 pretty crappy really.
Then I got my iPhone 6 and right away noticed a difference.
Also family members and friends who subsequently got the 6, it was the first thing they mentioned so I wasn't just imagining it.
I still don't think it's quite as good as an old mobile with external antenna but it's damn close!
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Old 13-05-2015, 07:28
lightspeed2398
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I always think that the Motorola line up has good reception. The current Moto X has an external antenna.

If not I agree with Devon that the antenna on the 6 is pretty good.
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Old 13-05-2015, 15:26
PhilipS
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All I can say is ever since not using the old Nokias (6110 etc), signal has never been as good. iPhone 3Gs / 5 pretty crappy really.
Then I got my iPhone 6 and right away noticed a difference.
Also family members and friends who subsequently got the 6, it was the first thing they mentioned so I wasn't just imagining it.
I still don't think it's quite as good as an old mobile with external antenna but it's damn close!
I'd confirm this - the 6 (and 6 plus) seem to be better at dealing with low signal levels than the 5. I swapped from a Samsung 4S to an iphone 6, and the 6 definitely has the edge there as well, at least for me.

The option for an external antenna would appeal to me as well, but I can't see Apple, or Samsung, spoiling their nice sleek devices with an ugly socket, somehow.
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Old 13-05-2015, 16:22
jaffboy151
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I can confirm that later models of Samsung (I presently have the note 3) after the S4 have noticeably weaker signal levels then before and loose true network much easier then before, the note 4 has better GPS then the note 3 but no reports on any improvement in reception levels.
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Old 13-05-2015, 16:25
booie
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Plastic phones seem to do better than the glass clad aluminium type for signal. which might be why you were doing better with your Galaxy s4 than you are with your S6.
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Old 13-05-2015, 16:57
matty1000kk
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I always think that the Motorola line up has good reception. The current Moto X has an external antenna.

If not I agree with Devon that the antenna on the 6 is pretty good.
Agreed. My Nexus 6 is a small improvement over my HTC One m7 and to be fair that was pretty decent.
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Old 13-05-2015, 17:14
old bill2
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Living in rural Suffolk a decent phone signal for me is a must. I have found both the Backberry Z30 and Passport to hold on to a signal far better then anything else. Then comes the Moto X and Nexus 6 and IPhone 6 (+). They all seem to be about the same. The HTC M9 is almost as good for signal reception. And the worst by a long way the S6. Yes I have used all the above phones. Where I work at the 6+ manages to get 1-2 bars of 4G. So does the Motos. The S6 just stays on H+.
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Old 13-05-2015, 17:23
InfamousTeal
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Just to add that I had an S4, and needed inTouch in my house as I had no service..

switched to a Sony Z2, 2/3 bars consistently (all 3G), no need for intouch at all!
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Old 13-05-2015, 17:32
M1kos
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every handset is different even two the same make i had a lemon Z2 which was weaker than my previous Z so i took it back and swapped it for a another one which was noticeably better but still not quite up to the Z
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Old 13-05-2015, 17:59
Gigabit
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Samsung phones, especially the Note 3, have terrible reception, in my experience.

I have the Moto X (2013) and I find that to be slightly above average, better than the iPhone 5S but not as good as the iPhone 4S which I think is the best phone I have ever owned, signal-wise. The iPhone 6 isn't too bad either.
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Old 14-05-2015, 09:37
Jon_111
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Motorola phones have always been fairly good for me. Mrs has an iPhone 5 and previous to that a 4 and they seem to fairly good at hanging onto a signal. I've had a first gen Moto X and now have the 2nd gen and think the the latter is slightly better. I'm in rural N Yorkshire on Vodafone 4G and some days my phone reports up to 50% of the day without signal? Find it very strange as I never catch the Moto X without a signal and only the very occasional call goes straight to answerphone.
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Old 14-05-2015, 10:00
Everything Goes
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All I can say is ever since not using the old Nokias (6110 etc), signal has never been as good. iPhone 3Gs / 5 pretty crappy really.
Then I got my iPhone 6 and right away noticed a difference.
Also family members and friends who subsequently got the 6, it was the first thing they mentioned so I wasn't just imagining it.
I still don't think it's quite as good as an old mobile with external antenna but it's damn close!
Yes the iPhones were poor until the iPhone 6.
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Old 14-05-2015, 19:34
magicdesign
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So, I have done a fair bit of research into this.

The better brands for signal:

Motorola
Blackberry
Some Nokia devices
Sony

The average signal oem

Apple
Htc

Weak signal devices

Samsung
Lg
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Old 14-05-2015, 19:39
d123
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So, I have done a fair bit of research into this.

The better brands for signal:

Motorola
Blackberry
Some Nokia devices
Sony

The average signal oem

Apple
Htc

Weak signal devices

Samsung
Lg
The iPhone 6 (as was the 4s from memory) is far better than any recent Motorola device I've tried (original E, original G, original 4G, new G, new 4G and X), so your list is a little inaccurate.
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Old 14-05-2015, 20:50
magicdesign
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The iPhone 6 (as was the 4s from memory) is far better than any recent Motorola device I've tried (original E, original G, original 4G, new G, new 4G and X), so your list is a little inaccurate.
Just my experience, including the 4s and 6. I am not going to get into an argument with you. It is just my own personal experience, living in a weak signal area and testing a large number of devices.
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Old 14-05-2015, 21:19
d123
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Just my experience, including the 4s and 6. I am not going to get into an argument with you. It is just my own personal experience, living in a weak signal area and testing a large number of devices.
Oh, sorry, I misunderstood your post, I thought you meant you had done research into the matter (as opposed to it just being your personal experience and an opinion).

Probably better to be clearer to avoid misunderstanding .
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Old 14-05-2015, 22:20
Gigabit
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The 4S had fantastic signal. The 5S was worse and the 6 was better than the 5S, in my experience anyway.
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Old 14-05-2015, 22:53
mupet0000
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Appreciate all the input guys! So out of the devices mentioned, my favourites are the iPhone 6, Moto X (2014) & the Nexus 6.

Has anyone had any experience with the Note 4 signal compared to other devices? I'd like to rule it out if it's as bad as other Samsung devices.

So far, I'm leaning towards the iPhone 6.
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Old 15-05-2015, 04:58
old bill2
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The Note 4 is slightly better then the S6. But not by a lot. When I compared them at various locations the Note 4 was about 1db better.
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Old 15-05-2015, 09:42
finbaar
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Oh, sorry, I misunderstood your post, I thought you meant you had done research into the matter (as opposed to it just being your personal experience and an opinion).

Probably better to be clearer to avoid misunderstanding .
It really bothers me when the term research is misused. Research in this case could have been as simple as having a number of devices at the same location at the same time. The same location at different times (separated by weeks/months/years) is an invalid test as far as real conclusions go. But at least d123 was talking about a personal experience.

What absolutely pisses me off is when someone says “I have done my research and I know which TV (or whatever) I am going to buy”.
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Old 15-05-2015, 10:37
clonmult
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Samsung phones, especially the Note 3, have terrible reception, in my experience.

I have the Moto X (2013) and I find that to be slightly above average, better than the iPhone 5S but not as good as the iPhone 4S which I think is the best phone I have ever owned, signal-wise. The iPhone 6 isn't too bad either.
If the 4S is the best you've owned signal wise, you must have had some pretty bad phones. I like my 4S, but signal strength is not something that they're renowned for.

I'm intrigued as to how people are backing up some of these claims, as the phones themselves don't give accurate readings of signal strength ....
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Old 17-05-2015, 06:14
magicdesign
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It really bothers me when the term research is misused. Research in this case could have been as simple as having a number of devices at the same location at the same time. The same location at different times (separated by weeks/months/years) is an invalid test as far as real conclusions go. But at least d123 was talking about a personal experience.

What absolutely pisses me off is when someone says “I have done my research and I know which TV (or whatever) I am going to buy”.
You clearly do not understand the definition of research then. Look it up.
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Old 17-05-2015, 10:13
Gigabit
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If the 4S is the best you've owned signal wise, you must have had some pretty bad phones. I like my 4S, but signal strength is not something that they're renowned for.
I have owned the following phones:

Moto X 2013, 2014
Moto G First Gen
Moto E First, Second Gen
iPhone 3G, 4, 4S, 5S, 6
Samsung Galaxy Note 3, 4
Samsung Galaxy S2, S4
OnePlus One
HTC One M7, M8, M9
Nokia Lumia 830
HTC Incredible S, Desire HD
Sony Xperia Z1, Z2, Z3

Those are what I remember off the top of my head. The iPhone 4S was the best out of those, as far as I remember. The Note 3 was particularly bad, as I have mentioned: I got rid of it for that reason.

I remember the iPhone 4S being quite renowned for its ability to latch onto signal, it was recommended by an Australian carrier because it was so good in weak signal areas. Apple probably did quite a lot of testing to get it really good after the iPhone 4's antenna issues.
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Old 17-05-2015, 11:07
d123
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You clearly do not understand the definition of research then. Look it up.
Research: (noun) the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
"the group carries out research in geochemistry"
I'll bite, just using a handset and then having an opinion does not constitute "research" it just shows a personal experience.

Research would indicate a systematic approach, say using 10 of the same handsets, from the same location at the same time and comparing the average results against multiples of tens of the other handsets being tested at the same time and place.

When you said you "did a fair amount of research", I doubt you did that, did you?
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