Very weak signal inside my house in a large town. Oshawa.

[yogi799]

Hi guys, this is becoming a big problem for me. I live in East Oshawa, Townline and Taunton area. It is an area with thousands of homes everywhere. I do live near a wooded ravine and tall trees but still... I get between 1 and 3 bars inside my house on main floor and people frequently get my voicemail and when i make calls it either fails or takes 10 seconds or more and i often have to go upstairs to even make a phone call.

Never had this problem with Bell and my son with Chatr gets better singnal in my basement than I get on the main floor (pathetic!). Is Telus network so bad near North Townline in Oshawa or is something else going on? Can i do anything? Is there some tech dept which can confirm strenght of the signal in my exect area if i gave them the address? This is becoming a huge problem and i might have to leave Public if this persists. Thank you!

[mik101]

Likely an issue of 3G/4G coverage.

See here:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Signal-strength/m-p/339221#M87039

[yogi799]

I rest my case. This is shocking. chatr works perfect on my phone... and so does my PM simcard ... but only on my son's S6. I give up.

Screenshots from my Galaxy s7 edge

https://cuqnzg.bn.files.1drv.com/y4pDy-xyIUcxG_UsnADnP9yIdP5h0krE8RSFwjnaHKchq-8bumka9lv7JqCZIcbtOoY...

https://3vkeqq.bn.files.1drv.com/y4pOghxJNIzM4CgL19b-d2UjHeVuEKKO__6_9V3HrF-JhqclGMVvCSGLbSDveU0HzVw...

[yogi799]

I have not done signal strenght test (didn't even know how to get to that screen before someone has posted it), and I also did not just go by the number of bars - but rather the fact that my phone is unable to make and receive 50% of calls on a PM simcard in my house. As far as the bars, it usually it shows 1-2 bars max which is probably what is causing it.

chatr and freedom show 4 bars on my phone. chatr even showed 5, long term test (post above)

[yogi799]

So I've continued testing.... Have had a chatr SIMcard in my phone for 2 hours now (tried a longer term test) and I continue to get strong 4-5 bars in my house where i got barely 2 with PM.

Dang. 

My sons's Galaxy S6 meanwhile has my PM simcard in it and it's good as well. Good 4 bars INCLUDING the basement.

This is a crazy problem because it seems my phone is fine hardware-wise.... But I am afraid i might need to move to another provider due to only 1-2 bars w PM, which sucks.

[kav2001c]

I doubt it

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@CellGirl wrote:

@yogi799 

Hello. Do you think it would be worthwhile to get a replacement PM SIM?

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[wildstreak73]

It could take a while to activate. It took a month for my LG G3 to become active.  I had even ordered a second sim because I thought the first one was faulty. 

[will13am]

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@yogi799 wrote:

Guys, this is the final conclusion.

I am totally confused but it seems some weird ghost problem is happening.

I have done several tests: 3 different provider and 3 different phones.

My Galaxy S7Edge hates PM simcard: I get low 1-2 bars and unable to make / receive calls 50% of the time.

My phone (same phone) with Freedom and chatr simcards gets 3-4 bars (mostly 4) and no problem calling.

My Wife's S9 shows 4 bars with all three: PM, Freedom and chatr. No issues.

My Son's S6 shows 4 bars with all three: PM, Freedom and chatr. No issues.

So the only toxic combo is my phone with PM. 1-2 bars and problems. But my phone with thier Freedom and chatr simcards is as happy as can be and shows mostly 4 bars like their phones (sometimes 3).

What gives????

Do I just need to suck it up and conclude my phone just hates PM??? I don't want to switch but what if there is nothing i can do? It seems it may not be a hardware issues as my phone seems to like other providers...

(original thread is here, but it is pretty much closed as it is NOT PM's fault I am certain: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Very-weak-signal-inside-my-house-in-a...)

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I cannot fully explain what you are saying without being there and doing further independent testing.  I can say this much.  The SIM card is pretty much a verification tool for obtaining network access.  I am unaware of any phone that uses the SIM card as part of the antenna.  Please, no more discussions about broken SIM cards unless network access (not to be confused with connectivity) is the problem. 

[CellGirl]

@yogi799 

Hello. Do you think it would be worthwhile to get a replacement PM SIM?

[RobertQc]

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@yogi799 wrote:

it's not that easy to do that is it?

i'd have to sign up for another monthly plan to get another simcard, no?

---

@yogi799  Actually, getting another pm active sim will not cost you anything, you will actually profit $2 if you do it by march 18th. You are allowed to referral yourself.

See this promotion https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Share-the-love-get-a-25-Credit-for-You-...

Go buy a sim $10, register a new account, referr yourself, pay $10 plan. You are now out $20+tax.

Within 72 hours you will get a $25 credit on your account that you would have to fund anyway next month.

It all comes down to how much work are you willing to do to diagnose your issue. If it even is an issue. A picture of some bars that doesn't cause any issues is superficial.

Someone did just move all your and my posts into one, so I didn't read the other 4 new pages, but so far I do not hear of any issues you are having (no service, dropped calls, etc)

[RobertQc]

It's built into every andriod phone

[RobertQc]

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@yogi799 wrote:

it's not that easy to do that is it?

i'd have to sign up for another monthly, no?

---

Have you actually gone into the system settings and looked at the actual signal strength instead of going by "bars" ?

There are too many variables to come up with a conclusion, I could speculate a handful of various different issues.

Otherwise I would simply say, is the signal strength good enough? Then just ignore it if everything is working.

[yogi799]

it's not that easy to do that is it?

i'd have to sign up for another monthly plan to get another simcard, no?

[RobertQc]

@yogi799  Get ONE other bell or telus or pm sim (they are all the same network) and try it on all 3 phones

Also do the tests when connected to 3G

Then do the tests when connected to LTE

Then do the test again while during an active phone call

Make sure all power savings features are disabled for testing

Have all the phones battery at 100%, and currently plugged in

Otherwise the amount of possibilities are too high for me to make any suggestion.

[yogi799]

For those who have not read the prior thread, just quick FYI that my Galaxy S7EDGE recently got a new screen so it was all disassembled, but that seems not to be too terribly relevant based on the above (initially i suspected either PM issue or my hardware failure)...

[yogi799]

Cross-referencing threads.

This one can be closed. it is NOT PM FAULT based on the experiments.

Updates at

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Does-PM-Simcard-hate-my-Galaxy-S7-Edg...

[yogi799]

Guys, this is the final conclusion.

I am totally confused but it seems some weird ghost problem is happening.

I have done several tests: 3 different provider and 3 different phones.

My Galaxy S7Edge hates PM simcard: I get low 1-2 bars and unable to make / receive calls 50% of the time.

My phone (same phone) with Freedom and chatr simcards gets 3-4 bars (mostly 4) and no problem calling.

My Wife's S9 shows 4 bars with all three: PM, Freedom and chatr. No issues.

My Son's S6 shows 4 bars with all three: PM, Freedom and chatr. No issues.

So the only toxic combo is my phone with PM. 1-2 bars and problems. But my phone with thier Freedom and chatr simcards is as happy as can be and shows mostly 4 bars like their phones (sometimes 3).

What gives????

Do I just need to suck it up and conclude my phone just hates PM??? I don't want to switch but what if there is nothing i can do? It seems it may not be a hardware issues as my phone seems to like other providers...

(original thread is here, but it is pretty much closed as it is NOT PM's fault I am certain: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Very-weak-signal-inside-my-house-in-a...)

[mimmo]

I'd say its time for a galaxy s10 🙂 

in all seriousness if you have sis by side comparisons and you see a dfference then yes there is likley an issue with your phone. 

[yogi799]

OK, did some more tests today guys.

It may be pointing to my hardware issue.... let me know what you think

My phone : recently opened and fixed GS 7 Edge.

My sons : never opened GS 6

All results in the same locaiton, main floor of my house.

My phone with PM SIM 1-2 bars

Son's phone with PM SIM 4-5 bars

My phone with chatr SIM 3-4 bars

Son's phone with chatr SIM 4-5 bars

My phone with PM SIM: takes 10-20 sec to make a phone call, sometimes cannot make one at all.

I should keep the SIM swapped for a bit longer than 5 minutes to do thorough testing but I think it is becoming clear something is up with my phone after the screen change, don't you think?

[kav2001c]

@sheytoon 

lol

Ok I totally misread that!

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@sheytoon wrote:

@kav2001c, you are right, but this is Oshawa, not Ottawa 🙂

It's all Bell in the GTA.

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[yogi799]

More updates tomorrow guys. Seems that my phone may have been really messed up worse than i though. My batter or something large inside is loose, my ability to make phone calls deteriorated immediately (just an hour after my positive posts above). 

So the jury is still out... Will take the phone back again to the shop and report.

Darn it, just when i thought thing have stabilized. I could not order food , no connection despite 3 bars!!! Phonecalls i received where almost immediately dropped. So it is definitely my phone again, not PM's fault at the moment.

Will post updates. 

[Dankaroo]

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@sheytoon wrote:

@yogi799, ok so this is new information.

You are comparing Telus coverage with Rogers. They have different towers.

Bell would have the same coverage as Telus. It sounds like Rogers is a better fit for your home, so I would go that route.

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Just thought I would add that there may be certain dead zones such as basements/underground rooms where there will likely be no coverage.

[sheytoon]

@yogi799, ok so this is new information.

You are comparing Telus coverage with Rogers and Freedom. They all have different towers.

Bell would have the same coverage as Telus. It sounds like Rogers or Freedom is a better fit for your home, so I would go that route.

[computergeek541]

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@yogi799 wrote:

So I took the phone in and they checked the antenna connection and all...

I then put a chatr and freedom simcards in and they both produced 4-5 bars in the same place in my house where PM shows only 2.

I then put my Simcard back in and STILL just two bars but lo and behold i can receive phonecalls now.

So it is clear that PM has a weaker signal despite the fact that I have 2 towers with many carieers nearby, within less than 1km from my house.

As you have concluded, this just means that Telus has a weaker signal than Rogers there.  It does not mean that there isn't anything wrong with your device.

If we take an example of a Wi-Fi router, I could remove some of the antennae or even snap them in half, but sitll receive what appears to be a full or good signal if I am near it. That doesn't mean that there still isn't something wrong with it.

[bud21ca]

Carriers do share towers in some places. Reception depends on the frequency that the carrier uses at a tower. Also some phones get better reception than others.

[yogi799]

Guys at the store which fixed my screen a month ago told me (not sure if correctly), that YES, carieers share towers but they have their own "boxes" on them... and hence the signal strenght may not be the same even from the same tower... 

True?

As long as i can get calls and not have them dropped i am happy, so no i did not conduct any other extensive tests after my phone began getting incoming calls with 2 bars.

[yogi799]

Yes, it would be an interesting test, but my priority was ruling out my hardware failure (or near failure), so i focused on using other simcards in my phone, not the other way around.

I have been with Bell and earlier with rogers for years and there has never been a problem in my house. My son is receiving calls in the basement on chatr. I did not receive a call on my phone on PM in the same basement spot.... we tried twice.

[mimmo]

what happens when you put you sim in a different phone.  also I would be also curious to see what happens when yo have a bell/ virgin /telus/koodo sim in your phone.

[yogi799]

So I took the phone in and they checked the antenna connection and all...

I then put a chatr and freedom simcards in and they both produced 4-5 bars in the same place in my house where PM shows only 2.

I then put my Simcard back in and STILL just two bars but lo and behold i can receive phonecalls now.

So it is clear that PM has a weaker signal despite the fact that I have 2 towers with many carieers nearby, within less than 1km from my house.

Not sure if phone hardware check fixed anything as i still see just 2 bars but 6-10 different tests produced incoming calls (because really, why would 2 bars mean no incoming calls to begin with, right??)

So, i think PM is weaker here (and no basement reception compared to chatr) but as long as i get calls i am good. Will continue testing but maybe all is good now...

Thanks to everyone for their input, really truly appreciated guys (and gals).

[yogi799]

My phone received a new screen only about a month before switching to pm from bell so it is possible that I had not noticed a weak signal on bell as well.

Prior to the new screen bell was giving me super strong signal. Can't wait to test and possibly return my phone for inspection. 

Will report hardware tests tonight. 

[sheytoon]

@kav2001c, you are right, but this is Oshawa, not Ottawa 🙂

It's all Bell in the GTA.