vB Easy Archive - Samsung A920 Reception Problems (Vancouver)

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Samsung A920 Reception Problems (Vancouver)
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Posted by: grandshervee

Hi, so I have searched as best as I can and can't see anyone with my dilemma.

My previous phone was the Audiovox from 4 yrs ago (a candy bar, the one that was reliable). It was on the digital and analog netowrk. This phone was begining to drop calls (at my house mainly), so it was time to switch. I had 0 drop call issues 1 yr ago.

I am now on the 1x network with the a920. I find that it drops calls even though it has a 5 bars at my house. It says signal faded or just drops it.

I live in the British Properties of Vancouver near Jim Pattison's house.

Other problem places for me are Stanley Park and the main Vancouver library.

Is this a problem with Bell's network or this model phone?

I have already switched phones once (to another A920) thinking I had a faulty phone, but this new one has the same problems as well.

Suggestions? I have a few more days left of my 15 day trial, should I pick up the e815, although it is no longer on sale? Bell store members keep saying that the Samsung is a better phone.

Posted by: cellphonejunky

I KNEW IT....I have been holding out to get the samsung a920 simply because Samsung phones are not known to have good RF.

I live in Vancouver also....now I'm definately not geting this phone. I had the sph a680 and it was horrid for reception.

THnks for the feedback

PS> I"D return it and wait for the upcoming razr. It has better receptioin.

Posted by: Bhagwan

It sounds like typical Samsung........tons of features, great ergonomics, solid build but sadly, crappy performance

I wouldn't touch a recent Samsung phone, especially on Bell.

Posted by: grandshervee

It really does feel like a solid phone, but first and foremost, I need a phone, not a toy.

Thing is, all the Bell World reps say that Samsungs perform really well on the network...maybe they're lying

Posted by: cellphonejunky

they have to tell you that...because if they sell x amount of phones from a manufacturer they get a trip to Hawaii....lafs.

Samsungs are famous for having reception problems.....I can honestly say that I will never use a samsung mobile phone again.

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bhagwan

It sounds like typical Samsung........tons of features, great ergonomics, solid build but sadly, crappy performance

I wouldn't touch a recent Samsung phone, especially on Bell.

Jeez does Bell have any Good Phones with Features similiar to the Competiton's that actually work outside of the LAB?
14,ooo hours of Testing ? WHERE ? Please enlighten the Rabble !!!
Wheres the NOKIA ? At least those phones Work , Unless Bell cripples them !!

Quote:

BELL is a 4 Letter Word!

Posted by: cellphonejunky

there is...they are in europe and asia on the gsm umts networks....hehe...don't worry...NA will catch up...so don't buy any of the EVDO phones now dummy.

Posted by: huck-guai

thank you for being so honest about the phone.....some people are most caught up in all the flashy features to concern themselves with reception

Posted by: huck-guai

Quote:

Originally Posted by cellphonejunk

PS> I"D return it and wait for the upcoming razr. It has better receptioin.

phone hasn't come out yet so let's not get to confident about the rf on this phone. Its the first intenna fot motorola on a cdma unit right?

Posted by: grandshervee

NP on giving you my concerns on the RF. Bells and Whistles are great, as long as it performs its main purpose.

i have another question for people:

I understand that I am now locked into my contract. That part I am fine with. But if I decide to return the A920 and NOT upgrade to another phone at this moment, can I just sit tight with my old phone and 'attempt' to upgrade again at a later date or do I have to complete the upgrade now that I have started it? Do I lose my discount if I wait?

Thanks.

edit: How do you like your E815?

Posted by: Bhagwan

Quote:

Originally Posted by TelecomZombie

The Motorla 815 is a good performing phone........as a phone. I smell hypocrite here

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bhagwan

The Motorla 815 is a good performing phone........as a phone.

Much like the V710 has been on Telus for over a Year!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bhagwan

It sounds like typical Samsung........ crappy performance ...I wouldn't touch a recent Samsung phone, especially on Bell.

Why particularly no Samsung on Bell for you ? Network Failures, Outages or is it just a Lack of Network that only the best RF performers can disguise?

I had great hopes for this phone but between what I have ascertained here & talking to various people off these forums with the a920, BELL has a Long way to go before they can offer a Truly reliable handset that performs at the Highly Advertised Performance levels that the Marketing Dept. keeps Pushing !!

I've yet to encounter one person who can get 1 day of moderate usage out of this phone in GTA ! Extended Battery should be included.
Wheres the NOKIA ? Or did Telus get the Better pick of the Products again ?

Quote:

BELL is a 4 Letter Word !

Posted by: grandshervee

Is it possible the A920 could have its reception woes remedied with a firmware/software upgrade?

And TelecomZombie, are you referring to the a920 when u write:

I've yet to encounter one person who can get 1 day of moderate usage out of this phone in GTA

Posted by: TelecomZombie

a920 certainly as I acoust perfect strangers in the street asking about their phones & direct them Howardforums.com & often invite them to the GTA meets ! One gentleman from India while he quite enjoyed the Phone features was disgusted by the Battery life , Bells failure to Provision the Picture messaging on his account & the Lack of service in various pockets in GTA !
Good thing Bell has 3 years to correct their errors/LIES & perhaps keep this fellow as a Customer in the future if he doesn't leave before .

Quote:

BELL is a 4 Letter Word !

Posted by: huck-guai

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandshervee

edit: How do you like your E815?

I love my e815.
Reception is suberp, voice quality great, very loud as well.
I like the fact that it has 40mb internal memory as opposed to the v710 which only has 12mb and the v635 which only had 5mb.

Im not too fond of how big the phone is (could have fit all this in an even smaller form than the a840). I'm also not to fond of how they didn't bother to make this phone evdo although it is capable.

But considering how evdo seems to suck the juice out of all the other phones (the a920, some e815's and some phones in the states) it could be a blessing in disguise.

I really only have the samsung a680 to compare this against as I am still new to the cdma game but I think it could be better than the a920.

I have not used the a920 (which is why I keep asking people for a direct a920 vs e815 comparison) but it seems that the a920 only has evdo as its advantage. For people who don't care about this then its not a big selling point.

Posted by: grandshervee

To be honest, I have used EVDO a fair bit, a few minutes 2 times a day (5 mins/ use), and it hasnt killed my batt really. But that is good to know what you think about the e815. I did find it quite heavy and big too, hence why if I can make the sammy work, it would be great, but thanks for your info.

But does anyone know if firmware upgrades improve RF or if Samsungs do that in updated in general?

Posted by: tarek

Hey, I have a Samsung A920 and I'm in Vancouver too. It kinda seems like everyone is bashing the phone on reception problems, however I want to put in my 2 cents.

The only place I've noticed any reception problems is in and around my house in Westood Plateau. For those who don't know that's on a big mountain, and every single person who comes to my house, regardless of network has connection problems. There's just not a tower near here I suppose. But once I get down the mountain a bit I've never had a problem. I even went all the way on the ferry from here to Victoria and I had a signal for almost the whole voyage. And I've been to Stanley Park too as the person who had started the thread (too lazy to check who) and as far as I recall I didn't have any troubles making/receiving a phone call.

There ya have it, works fine for me everywhere but in my house and street. Take that as you wish.

*What I really want to know is where I can get a 512MB transflash card in Vancouver (I don't want to order one in from Toronto or the US), I just want to pick it up locally! Can't find one ANYWHERE!*

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandshervee

good to know what you think about the e815. I did find it quite heavy and big too, hence why if I can make the sammy work, it would be great, thanks for your info.

I have no interest in the e815. The A920 is an advancement for Bell to the front FINALLY ! First EVDO Handset !

Battery life could unquestionably be better but hey this is a extremely common complaint raised
by me against many phones ! Honestly I can go through 3 batteries a day using GSM/GPRS & need to double the number any time I wish to do similiar data transfer with CDMA !!

Quote:

BELL is a 4 Letter Word !

Posted by: cellphonejunky

Quote:

Originally Posted by TelecomZombie

Much like the V710 has been on Telus for over a Year!

Why particularly no Samsung on Bell for you ? Network Failures, Outages or is it just a Lack of Network that only the best RF performers can disguise?

I had great hopes for this phone but between what I have ascertained here & talking to various people off these forums with the a920, BELL has a Long way to go before they can offer a Truly reliable handset that performs at the Highly Advertised Performance levels that the Marketing Dept. keeps Pushing !!

This is slightly off topic...but having used NOrth American handsets..(rogers, bell and Telus)....Ive noticed that the Powers that be that govern radio emmission on cellular handsets calibrates the rf lower than compared to Foreign phones (specifically unlocked gsm phones). I do notice that my foreign handsets that are not geared for the NA market (specifically unlocked gsm foreign phones) do generally have awesome reception if compared to the same counter parts that are available here in NA. Like the moto v635.Anyone notice this as well or is it just me.???

Posted by: Bhagwan

Quote:

Originally Posted by TelecomZombie

Samsung is crap plain and simple IMHO

I'd say go Motorola or LG if you are on the Bell network. My Lg 6200 wotks great as does my employees Motorola E815. They work great as phones, obviously there are other issues with both handsets

Posted by: huck-guai

samsung is not crap. They have carried Bell for quite some time now (maybe a little to much)
just because this is their first intenna handset, a few bugs and not so good reception are bound to happen. Everyone seem to be on the moto bandwagon but where were you when they launched the c341?

Posted by: grandshervee

Ok so I called Bell and made a trouble ticket. The rep said he has had a lot of luck with Samsungs himself (680 iirc), but suggested I try other phones. He said that my drop calls, b/c they are in various locations and happened on 2 separate A920s, are due to the network and not the actual phone.

More trouble tickets would be needed to really see a major change, unless many more have already been made (in my area that is).

I asked about whether a firmware upgrade could make a difference, and he said most likely no. Anyone else care to comment? Should I not bank on this?

So it looks like I will have to try the E815.

I dont know much about LG phones, so I'll search up on them.

ugh...this is so frustrating.

The rep did make one interesting comment. He said that you have 15 days to exchange phones and cancel your plan without penalty, but he also said that you can continue to exchange phones for an additional 15 days but be locked in for good for the contract. And then of course, after those second set of 15 days, you are stuck with that phone as well. Can anyone comment on this? I wrote down his info and ID in case I get screwed.

What to do, what to do

Posted by: huck-guai

you do have 15 days to try out the phone. Its only common courtesy.

I do not live in your area so I cannot comment. The other guy had no problem in Stanley park where you did have issues so maybe it could be the network at during the time you went down. Perhaps you also were in different parts so reception could be weak in some places.

try to phone out some more where you usually habituate then decide if its right for you. If not then try the e815. The phone does seem bulky but its the same size (almost) as the a920

Posted by: grandshervee

I actually tried it in two different locations at Stanley Park. If people are familiar with the area, next to the pool and also near the former tea house.

I will be trying out the phones. I am just searching things re: the Sanyo 8300.

Posted by: huck-guai

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandshervee

I actually tried it in two different locations at Stanley Park. If people are familiar with the area, next to the pool and also near the former tea house.

I will be trying out the phones. I am just searching things re: the Sanyo 8300.

I've only been there once and all I can remember is the statue of that boy (not sure what it was)

is the sanyo 8300 even offered by bell? Not to sure of that. Do research on the e815 instead.

Posted by: grandshervee

Done the research on the E815 already. I like how it can be unlocked with so many features. Potential seems great, and the fact that it has been out longer gives me some peace at mind.

I don't see really much else doing it for me. I have read a lot of good things about the E815, but am having problems finding the cons, can someone help me out here?

Thanks.

Posted by: huck-guai

cons: too big, external antenna, no evdo, crippled bluetooth, very old phone compared to Rogers v635(i)

Posted by: grandshervee

ahh good to know...only things I could fine were mainly the weak vibrate and size. I m looking on ebay to see if there are antenna knubs that are less instrusive. hopefully that wont be too hard to find one.

Maybe one day Bell will be on par with the GSM phone providers in terms of selection.

And I wish their Nokia wasn't so basic otherwise I would take it in a heartbeat. I'm a nokia guy.

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandshervee

I actually tried it in two different locations at Stanley Park. If people are familiar with the area, next to the pool and also near the former tea house.

Yes !

Quote:

BELL is a 4 Letter Word !

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Quote:

Originally Posted by huck-guai

cons: too big, external antenna, no evdo, crippled bluetooth, very old phone compared to Rogers v635(i)

Translation = JUNK!

Call in the NOKIA Calvary !

Who cares about EVDO now, considering the state of Deployment?

Quote:

BELL is a 4 Letter Word! :

Posted by: grandshervee

^Your posts are bringing some amusement to my day. I don't think I have ever seen anyone be so anti-Bell

...Oh well. Tomorrow I'm going to walk into Bell and see my other options. I hope I will not be forced to switch carriers. I finally got a decent plan (ie customer retention).

Posted by: grandshervee

Ok so for all people with the A920...I made a short cut with the keypad for my inbox. Up to be exact. And when I go to delete individual text messages, it reads error reading messages. Now isnt that great

Posted by: grandshervee

And finally. I have had enough with this phone. 2 more drop/near drop calls at 900 Harbourside in North Van and on Southborough near King Georges Way.

Phone is going back to Bell. I will keep my plan and do my HU another day some time down the road when more phones are available. Hopefully a decent Nokia.

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandshervee

. Hopefully a decent Nokia.

Shortly for my sake as BELL has a Contract on Me !
If the Nokia I was told is coming does & its not Crippled (even if it is

) I should be Happy ! NO EVDO but It should be at least servicable !

Quote:

I love my E815 T Shirt !

Posted by: grandshervee

Model number plz

Posted by: Bhagwan

Quote:

Originally Posted by huck-guai

samsung is not crap. They have carried Bell for quite some time now (maybe a little to much)
just because this is their first intenna handset, a few bugs and not so good reception are bound to happen. Everyone seem to be on the moto bandwagon but where were you when they launched the c341?

I never said all Motorola phones are good. I said the Motorola E815 is a good phone.

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandshervee

Model number plz

Something like this !

Quote:

I Love my E815 T shirt !