New to PM - Poor reception

[mmendes2]

Hello all, I just joined PM and have significantly worse reception with my new PM 4G LTE plan then with my previous provider.  Tried rebooting and re-install SIM.  What else can I try? Im using a US-purchased Samsung S21 (SM-G991U1) purchased direct from Samsung, .  Could I be missing some significant band? I believe all PM-utilized bands available on the Samsung.

Public Mobile uses the following frequency bands: 4G LTE and LTE Advanced: 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS). HSPA: 850 MHz, 1900 MHz (UMTS) 

3G = 850 (5), 1900 (2)

4G = 850 (5), 1900 (2), 700 (12/13/17/29), 1700/2100 (4), 2600 (7), 1700/2100 (66)

[mmendes2]

Using a Samsung s21.  Maybe 1.5 years old at this point? Set it to 3G and had WhatsApp video calls falling while walking around high park (ie. Not at home in dead spot).  Call quality seems fine at 3G but dropped video call was surprising.  I know I could switch to LTE but this is getting annoying.  Never had these issues on Fido.

[softech]

@mixim10   OP is using US model S21, but that should not be the reason

I think it could be just some "dead spot" where OP is at.  Should be better if OP move around town 

[mixim10]

Hello,

I have never had poor reception whenever I am in Etobicoke.  I've been with PM for 6 years and have taken my phone to even remote areas in Canada with no issues.    Are you using an older phone?

[darlicious]

@mmendes2 

Lol....just knowing that fido is less one more customer is celebration enough for me! 😀🥂🍾

[mmendes2]

Ha! With the money I saved moving to PM I can buy my own drinks 😂

[darlicious]

@mmendes2 

Using 4G LTE data a poor signal will affect the ability to game effectively. The 3G network suffers from higher latency due to network traffic.

[mmendes2]

I don't suppose there is an estimate on 5G going standalone? Any tentative dates for spectrum auctions?

[mmendes2]

From the extremely limited testing I did notice severe lag in a mobile game but I wouldn't call that conclusive.  I'll do some more testing and look into it further.

[darlicious]

@dust2dust 

Very true.

@mmendes2

My faux pas.....excuse. Please you are welcome to join us in a celebratory drink. What's your poison? 🤪

[dust2dust]

It's also a huge cheers to mmendes2 for staying engaged with it all. It's always great having full engagement with the customer. Unlike those that ask and leave, never to be heard from again.

But still...some regulars are all too quick to throw in the contact support. 🙂

[softech]

@darlicious I think jade should buy.. we saved her manpower for unnecessary tickets. lol

[darlicious]

@dust2dust @softech 

Look at that not one mention to contact customer support! Nice troubleshooting fellow members. A job well done! Whose buying the drinks?😁🍷🍺🍹🥃🍸🥂🍾😉

[darlicious]

@mmendes2 

Interesting.....it's your 4G LTE signal that's the issue. Keeping it on 3G only or 3G/2G only (only Roger's still has the 2G network for a few more months) while at home when you are using wifi is the simple fix. Texts and data still work on the 3G network and you wouldn't be using mobile data while at home anyways unless you had a power outage. You would just want to remember to change your settings when you leave the house to use the 4G LTE network for data rather than the 3G network.

This could be caused by cell tower upgrades in your area as they continue to set up 5G. The 5G network currently piggybacks on LTE for the most part until more spectrum is put on auction to allow for 5G to stand alone with transmission and use the LTE spectrum as a supplementary spectrum source rather than is main source currently.

Keep in mind that my 4G LTE signal strength in the centre of Vancouver without any real obstructions fluctuates between -100dBm 49asu and -109dBm 31asu using throttled to 3mbps 4G LTE service ("3G" plan.) It's still usable mobile data if I'm not on wifi. But below -110dBm is in the very poor to unusable range.

Monitoring your signal strength over the next couple of weeks and different areas around your house to see if it improves will indicate if it's just tower maintenance and upgrades causing the issue or not. You will likely see a dramatic improvement in signal strength outside of your home and elsewhere which really is what counts with mobile data vs when you are at home.

[dust2dust]

It still remains to be seen how well the calls stay connected. The phone sitting idle on LTE is fine albeit not all bars (as mine was before the firmware change). The phone automatically switching down to 3G seems fine (mine wasn't doing that with calls from Bellus customers). Setting the phone to 3G bypasses the switch down. But now you have HSPA data, not LTE data. Was data working acceptably while on LTE?

[darlicious · Accepted solution]

@mmendes2 

The signal strength reading is much more accurate and you can see the difference moving a few feet can make rather than going by bars on your screen. It will also help identify what is impeding your signal. You mentioned it's the main floor of your house. The entire floor? Or the centre of your house? Do you have a second floor? Basement? Is the signal fine in those areas? I have one area of about 25 sq.ft. in my kitchen that I can have poor reception both for  calling and my wifi due to the chimney stack, fridge and stove block the wifi signal especially  and interfere with voice reception during a call if I walk thru it. There is a workaround while we await the implementation of VoLTE hopefully in the next 6 months or so.....

You can use this workaround to ensure you don't miss important calls while on your main floor or if you need to ensure you have good reception during a call. Weather can affect signal transmission as can the season (ie. deciduous trees vs coniferous) so you may find some days are better than others for your reception.

• Download a voip provider app such as fongo or textnow.
• Choose a Canadian phone number.
• Choose the appropriate call forwarding option ie. busy/unreachable.
• Call forward your pm phone # to your voip phone #.
• Now any calls that may divert to voicemail because of a poor signal will ring thru to your voip phone # while on wifi or mobile data (0.5mb=1min).

This won't fix dropped calls or poor reception whole using your pm phone number for calls but on days that your signal is worse than others and you need to in the area of your home with the issue you have a back up in place....most importantly for incoming calling so you don't have to worry that you are missing calls. You can also consider a cell signal booster if it's a large area of poor coverage and waiting for VoLTE implementation is longer than our estimation. At about $100 testing one from Amazon (30 day return policy) will determine how effective one can be along with using the app cellmapper ( I think that's the one) which can give you the readings from the different bandwidth you are connecting to.....coupled with @sheytoon 's expertise on your results using the app before ordering a signal booster will determine its effectiveness on boosting your signal. Your savings here compared to fido should pay for it if you think you need one? 

If you joined pm in the two weeks preceding October 31st the $10 bonus referral credit and extra $25 ($5×5 months) promotional credit will have covered a third or more of the cost of a signal booster. If you didn't use a referral code simply private message any community member and ask for their referral code. (Unsolicited referral codes should not be used.) Customer support can add one after the fact for you....and yours if you also activated other family after your activation. (Which gives you an additional $25 credit during the promotional period ending on October 31st.)

[mmendes2]

Looks like it's an LTE reception issue... Switched 2 US Samsung phones to 3G and reception is perfect.  Full bars.   -88dBm 31 asu on average.  If I switch to LTE I get around  -114dBm 31 asu.  Is there anything that can be done besides downgrading??

[dust2dust]

Yes, 3G=WCDMA=UMTS. (GSM is 2G) I get the same thing. But I also get the bars from making a call. Like calling 611, go to that about screen and see the numbers. See the bars up top. All while 611 is jabbering away.

[mmendes2]

Interesting, I switched to WCDMA/GSM (auto-connect) and I have a signal strength of -88dBm 31 asu

[mmendes2]

So I just made a call and checked the Signal Strength and I see -114dBm 26 asu

How would I change to 3G only? Would that be:

Settings >> Connections >> Mobile Networks >> Network Mode >> WCDMA only (or GSM only?)

[dust2dust]

Well I was stumped, and so were Telus techs, so much that they threw up their hands giving up. So as that last frontier, I changed the firmware from UAE to India. Magically more bars. And fixed the problem.

As for 3G bars, even just watching the bars change when you dial 611 will be enough to see the bars for 3G.

[softech]

@mmendes2   to confirm the signal bars for voice, please change your preferred network type to 3G Only as PM is only using 3G for voice, so it is the 3G bars that matter

[mmendes2]

LOL ok that explains it.  I was wondering..... using that site Im guessing those Bell towers must also co-host Telus.

There's 2 Bell towers close by.... so Im still stumped.

[mmendes2]

Pretty sure it's an 8.  The G991U1UES5CVI8 version comes up with google hits, I didn't find anything with a B.

Agreed though, I can't imagine the phone is the issue.

I just tried using the sim in a friends S21 Ultra (bought the phones together) and same issue.... fluctuates between 2 and 4 bars.  Looks like it's a tower location issue 😕

[softech]

@mmendes2  forgot to tell you , check Bell towers

Telus are Bell are sharing towers across the country  🙂

[mmendes2]

Oh wow, Im hoping that https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html is missing a number of Telus towers.

It looks like Etobicoke is blanketed with towers from Rogers and Bell but Telus is few and far between.

[dust2dust]

What are the chances the 8 is a B?

But this is probably a rabbit hole. The phone is likely fine. It's a US unbranded version. Like my now-India unbranded version. I was just surprised that it came up with more bars at the exact same location.

[darlicious]

@mmendes2 

You can narrow down your location on this map then click on the local telus and bell towers to determine  the likely towers you are connecting to for the 3G network.

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html?lat=43.644461&lng=-79.567709&zoom=13&type=Road...

[softech]

---

@mmendes2 wrote:

Is there a way to see the 3g or PM tower location in an area?

---

@mmendes2  

you can try 

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html

https://www.cellmapper.net/map

[darlicious]

@mmendes2 

If toggling airplane mode on/off doesn't improve your connectivity then it's probably location, location, location. Without knowing you're actually location ( postal code) we can't check for your local cell towers carrying the 3G network. But many obstacles in your surrounding are can impede your signal strength. Just your fridge, microwave and chimney stack configuration can affect your signal along construction material of your home like the type of insulation used. Large concrete buildings, trees, typography etc....

You can test your 3G network signal strength around your home (N,S,E,W), near windows and not, different levels and inside or out to figure whether its  just one small area affected or an outside building or obstruction that you cannot change. 

Go to your settings and set your phone to 3G only and make a call in the most problematic area of your home and see if the quality has improved at all. Once you hang up go to Settings>>About Phone>>Sim card status>>Signal strength>>___dBm? Preferably you want to see a reading between -50dBm and -95dBm. Now take readings in and around your home to determine how affected you are by your 3G network signal strength.

[mmendes2]

Im not opposed to a firmware upgrade, but I'd like to confirm if it will address the issue... tough to tell. 

Baseband version: G991U1UES5CVI8 (note, the l before the 8 could be an L or 1 or i, tough to tell)

Service Provider software version is:

SAOMC_SM-G991U1_OYM_XAA_12_0037

XAA/XAA,XAA/XAA