Lumia 1520.3 on T-Mobile Weak Cell Signal

[matrixcaptain84]

Just picked up the Lumia 1520.3 and using it on T-Mobile. I am now getting 2-3 bars when I used to get solid full bars in the same area with my Lumia 925. Anyone else experiencing this? Issue with the phone or just how it is because it is not an official T-Mobile phone?

 

[Branta]

You don't tell us which network was factory configured on the 1520 or which T-Mo region, but there are often frequency band support issues with phones used for a network other than the one for which they were manufactured. It is also possible you have a temporary maintenance issue on your local cell, which will resolve when T-Mo complete repairs and switch on the tower again.

 

[matrixcaptain84]

Not sure which, it is the model sold by Newegg.com.

 

[Branta]

I'm not familiar with the 1520 or its US variants so moving the thread to the dedicated 1520 section where it should get more attention from users.

 

[metalchick719]

If it's the RM-938 version, you should be getting the same signal strength as you were with your 925. Question, do you have Access Point all set up? I have a Rogers 920 that got excellent speeds on T-Mobile in the NYC area and I had no choice but to install Access Point (manually entering the APNs didn't work for me). The only other thing I can think is that it was a different version.

 

[matrixcaptain84]

Correct it is the RM-938 model. I assumed just as you mentioned that I would see identical signal strength as I had with my T-Mobile branded Lumia 925. I guess a call to Nokia support and T-Mobile will help decide if I return this amazing phone or not.

 

[matrixcaptain84]

Well a call to Nokia support resulted in them telling my SIM card was the problem and if that didn't work, soft reset the phone. Took the phone over to T-Mobile and swapped the SIM card and still experiencing the same signal issues. Confirmed with T-Mobile phone support that there wasn't any issues with the network in my area recently. I am at a lose here.

 

[Dinky89484]

Well a call to Nokia support resulted in them telling my SIM card was the problem and if that didn't work, soft reset the phone. Took the phone over to T-Mobile and swapped the SIM card and still experiencing the same signal issues. Confirmed with T-Mobile phone support that there wasn't any issues with the network in my area recently. I am at a lose here.

I have a 1520.3 on T-Mobile and can confirm also that I seem to be have having weaker cell signal as compared to my 920 pentaband unit on T-Mobile. I just chalk it up to the 1520 having weaker signal but who knows if that's truly the case. I get great LTE outdoors though. My 920 definitely had stronger signal indoors.

 

[Monkeeking]

t-mobile, 1520.3/Same problem. I actually had a cut microsim in there and signal was great. LTE 3G and Edge. Was not getting H+ or H with the cut microsim. I didn't think anything of it. And went in to get a nano sim because i'm a little anal and it was bothering me. LOL But i then notice I started to get H+ and H with the new nano sim along with LTE and 3g. But it's quite annoying. because the new sim was constantly switching between the three everywhere i went. And calls were constantly being dropped. So i went back into t-mobile and they told me I had an older nano sim and they will give me a more current model. Well that fixed the dropped calls issue for the most part. But i never got 5 bars of LTE anywhere i went. And the T-mobile coverage in my area is excellent with my iphone, s3, s4, and lumia 925. Now everywhere I go the most i get is 4 bars of lte and 2-3 most of the time if not switching between 3g H H+. I am tempted to go back to a cut microsim. Hope this helps.

 

[matrixcaptain84]

Since I've tried everything I could think of, I ended up exchanging the phone to rule out the possibility of a hardware issue. Should have the new phone bad by the end of the week.

 

[Moises Corilloclla]

Though not totally on topic, I have a 1520.1 and i experience some weird things on T-Mobile. The phone usually goes between H or H+ but in some areas despite there being a decent three or four bars hspda signal, browsing becomes sort of difficult. In some parts of NYC, it seems that the traffic gets so cluttered that it slows speeds. And when on the move, it also shows some problems when using internet, despite a good signal.
I think it has to do more with the quality of T-Mobile coverage than anything else.

 

[Win Luck]

Please let me know the result, I also have the same problem with the same Newegg shipment - Build creation Date 1/24/2014.

 

[Rhoyz]

I have the rm-938 and I'm getting good reception here in NYC. 4-5 bars of LTE.
Sent from my RM-938_lta_lta_905 using Tapatalk

 

[Matthew Heinselman]

I am having the exactly same issues as everyone else on this thread. I'm on T-Mobile in the San Diego area with the Nokia Lumia 1520.3 that I picked up from B&H Photo. It works fine but I should be getting full bars and it drops to H and H+ when I should have LTE. This phone has all of T-Mobiles bands so I should be getting a better signal.

 

[rudypoochris]

Same issue. Sucks. My 920 was better and the 635 blows this away. I end up on edge a lot when there is 4G and LTE availability. Worth trying another ROM....?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Both cell and wi-fi strengths are worse on my 1520.3 than my wife's 925. Both on T-mobile, same plan. Most of the time the 1520 has one less bar of each compared to the 925 at the same place and time. The only place I have had no bars is one office building I go to a few times a month. So I don't know if the 1520 is sub par or the 925 is better than most phones. FWIW, I have had two 1520.3s and it was the same for the first one.

 

[enthuz]

Sorry for reviving an old thread, however I'm curious if this is what I have to look forward to with a 1520.3? What was your outcome with your use?

 

[RumoredNow]

When I had my 1520.3 on T-Mo I had signal penetration issues. I live in an apartment building with lots brickwork and no clear line of sight to any tower. One is on the other side of a hill and not the closest. The closest is about level, but there are many large structures in the way.

And with no WiFi calling App on non-T-Mo Lumias it was not the best use scenario. You may want to look at their Signal Booster.

I eventually moved to Straight Talk with an ATT flavor SIM and then on to Cricket which uses AT&T towers. Now my signal is fine. And I'm saving a ton of money. T-Mo has some nice value added features. I would understand not wanting to give them up.

 

[enthuz]

Yes, T-Mobile isn't great with building penetration signals. I can deal with no WiFi calling. I just want to ensure I get signals at home. On my wife's iPhone, she gets 3-4 bars at all times at home. So if I can get that, then I'm good. I wonder if anyone's signal strength increased with Windows 10 and later firmware updates.