4G not as good on S3

[tech_head]

The Bionic, Droid and Razr use a separate LTE radio that is exclusive to Motorola. Only the voice and 3G are Qualcomm. Motorola's LTE radio draws less power and is better than just about any on the market.

 

[mkstn]

My S3 does not get the reception that my Charege got! A friend was over with his Moto Razor (nice phone) but it was about the same as the S3. Neither as good as the Samsung Charge!!!

 

[Dave12308]

It's pretty well-known that the Bionic, at launch and for a period afterward, was a major misstep for Motorola on a lot of fronts. They rushed a quickly redesigned phone to market, and the quality suffered greatly for it. Luckily for Bionic owners, they were able to address this with subsequent updates. Motorola's devices are also widely regarded as being some of the best for reception. The Bionic was a misstep in this department (and in other departments). Missteps happen to everyone now and then

There was never anything wrong with the Bionic's radios. It was/is Verizons network that is mucked up. For awhile there, they were changing the way the device authenticates to the network more often than a person changes their socks. All Verizon LTE devices have been plagued with various network issues from time to time, and just when you think it's fixed, VZW tends to start messing around with things once again. The Bionic was also not a quickly rushed redesigned phone, it already existed under the name "Targa" and was only called "Bionic" because they recycled the name when they scrapped the original device. The XT875 came out right when it was supposed to, with the "wrong" name.

 

[CdzNutz]

I don't know about the technical side of this issue like the rest of you, but I can relay my real world experience. I will let you know in order what has happened to my 4g. Thunderbolt (perfect 4g most all of the time @ home and work) Nexus (4g extremely spotty with data issues-returned after 6 days) Rezound (perfect 4g most all of the time home and work) Galaxy S3 (strong 4g most everywhere except for @ home and work where it is weak, but has not dropped data and very rarely drops 4g) Won't be returning the Galaxy S3, even though the 4g is not as strong (for me and my area) I love the phone too much to part with it. Just my experience, take from it what you will. :icon_eek: Houston,TX

 

[unboostedzc]

I thoguht I was going to be disappointed with my 3G/LTE reception with my SIII (coming from Droid X then Bionic), but it seems to be the complete opposite for me personally.

Even with my Bionic running updated radio and ICS leak, my SIII seems to run circles around it in reception strength and overall speed. At my office, I could typically tether my bionic to lappy and download a constant 1.2-1.4mbps with the occasional peak at ~1.9/2.0mbps; with random cutouts and latency prevaling pretty frequently.

After 3-4 days of testing with my SIII, I can tether and download at a very consitant 2.2-2.4mbps and peaking right around 3mbps. The latency is consistant with the bionic, however the SIII doesn't just stop/cut out every so ofen that was very noticible with the Bionic.

I noticed too that the SIII seems to have dual 3G radios that the bionic lacked. True data/voice (while even on 3G) is something I've wanted since leaving AT&T two years ago and I've finally got it. Combined with not having the spotty 3G->4G->3G transitioning (complete loss of data in most cases, if not just getting 3G back and not able to get 4G until a reboot) and other miscellaneous issues (SD card/SIM card issues) I had with the Bionic since day one I am definitely happy with the upgrade.

To me, the SIII is everything I expected from the Bionic when I switched from my Droid X. It's a shame, b/c I personally really don't like the aesthetics (physical home button, shape, fact that it's Samsung not Motorola) nor did I bate in excitement for the release of it like I did the Bionic; but I can't argue with its performance.

 

[AdamPA1006]

Man this is not what I want to hear. Reception at my house SUCKS, and its always switching between 3g/LTE. I have a Bionic BTW. This is not what I want to hear

 

[michelle4439]

I have a Droid razor and reception is really good. I wanted to get the Samsung s3 and try a great phone. Well it sucks!! I Love the phone but the reception is awful. I have tried it for 2 days. I can't deal with the bad reception so I have gone back to my razor and No there is nothing wrong with the phone it is not defective. My sister got her one and has been using it for about a week and her reception is as awful as mine. What good is this great phone when the reception is so awful??!!!

 

[mkstn]

Samsung... you just can't depend on them. I have had more issues with Samsung electronics (TV's DVD Phones) that I really was afraid to get this phone. I may be selling some accessories soon. :angry:

 

[balticzar]

I had a ton of reception issues with my Nexus. Took it back for a Razr then ultimately the Razr Maxx. Moto radios are far superior to Samsung from what I've read as well as from anecdotal experience. So far not bad with the S3 though. Superior to the Nexus but no where near the Moto devices I've had.
However, with that said, it's still good enough for me to stick with it. Loving, loving this phone thus far.

 

[Caesars]

I'm reading a ton of conflicting experiences, i guess time will tell.

Googorola MAXX

 

[JJDH]

Must be the area for some. The s3 is far better than the nexus. The s3 hardware is better all around, including sound and Bluetooth. No issues here. The phone is very good

sIII

 

[bsweetness]

There was never anything wrong with the Bionic's radios. It was/is Verizons network that is mucked up. For awhile there, they were changing the way the device authenticates to the network more often than a person changes their socks. All Verizon LTE devices have been plagued with various network issues from time to time, and just when you think it's fixed, VZW tends to start messing around with things once again. The Bionic was also not a quickly rushed redesigned phone, it already existed under the name "Targa" and was only called "Bionic" because they recycled the name when they scrapped the original device. The XT875 came out right when it was supposed to, with the "wrong" name.

Verizon's network definitely was part of the problem. But another part of the problem was the way the Bionic's radios handled the network. If that wasn't the case, it would have been improvements on Verizon's side of things that improved reception and Motorola wouldn't have needed to update the radios as much as they did. Both definitely played a role, but Motorola's radios were to blame in part. It was their first time with a LTE device, so there was bound to be a few hiccups.

The Targa was slated for a fall launch when the Etna (the internal codename for the original design of the Bionic) was scrapped, but the Targa that was released as the Bionic wasn't exactly the device it was originally intended to be. Just like the Etna, the Targa had been designed with a Tegra 2 processor in mind. Motorola had to quickly redesign much of the Targa around the TI processor, along with making a few other changes from the intended design. Under normal circumstances, this would have delayed the launch of the device from its intended target (fall) for a few months. Motorola didn't want to do that for a few reasons, chief among them their lack of a LTE device on Verizon and not wanting to interfere with the holiday launch of the RAZR. So they rushed the redesign of the Targa, and released that device with the Bionic name, rather than cancelling it completely.

 

[tc1]

I have a Droid razor and reception is really good. I wanted to get the Samsung s3 and try a great phone. Well it sucks!! I Love the phone but the reception is awful. I have tried it for 2 days. I can't deal with the bad reception so I have gone back to my razor and No there is nothing wrong with the phone it is not defective. My sister got her one and has been using it for about a week and her reception is as awful as mine. What good is this great phone when the reception is so awful??!!!

Damn.... Not what I was wanting to hear.

And yes Motorola has excellent reception.

 

[bsweetness]

I have a Droid razor and reception is really good. I wanted to get the Samsung s3 and try a great phone. Well it sucks!! I Love the phone but the reception is awful. I have tried it for 2 days. I can't deal with the bad reception so I have gone back to my razor and No there is nothing wrong with the phone it is not defective. My sister got her one and has been using it for about a week and her reception is as awful as mine. What good is this great phone when the reception is so awful??!!!

Those were my exact thoughts with the Galaxy Nexus - great device, terrible phone. I'm hoping I have better luck with the S3 once it arrives, but seeing all of these posts about the S3 offering worse reception over previous devices is dampening my hope. :frown:

 

[huskur]

Those were my exact thoughts with the Galaxy Nexus - great device, terrible phone. I'm hoping I have better luck with the S3 once it arrives, but seeing all of these posts about the S3 offering worse reception over previous devices is dampening my hope. :frown:

Don't worry brother. The SG3 radio is fine. In side by side comparison with a Razr Maxx within 10' of each other the SG3 radio connects and switches from 3G to 4G better/faster than the Maxx. I have done a 3 day comparison before I made the decision to stick with the SG3. Don't sweat it......really