Have been living with a 1 or 2 bar signal since upgrading to the NEW dual band router from Verizon on my iPhone 6. Recently at a friends house and they are using a Linksys 5 Ghz router I was getting 4 to 5 bars and superior speed one floor removed from the router location. So what gives? I sit my phone next to the Verizon router and same result. Removed the LIFEPROOF case on phone, no better. My phone is also from Verizon so I can't say there is a mismatch somewhere. The forum here shows other people with same issue but no solutions. All software is up to date as well.
I understand how important it is to get a strong signal. May I ask if you're referring to Wi-Fi? How many devices are connected to router? Do other devices in the household have a similar issue?
YosefT_VZW
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Yes wireless. So I have 2 units coaxed in currently. Laptop with wireless shut off, and WD network storage which I shut down just to see if it would make a difference. 4 wireless devices . HP printer, IPhone 6, Ipad2, IPhone 4.
2 phones and Ipad have 1-2 bars. Can't speak to HP printer signal.
Vacations195,
We appreciate your information and that does help alot. Let's continue on. Do you have the make/model of the router? Has this always been an issue with this device since you got it?
TakendraW_VZW
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Verizon Quantum Gateway G1100.
Yes. Always have weak signal.
Vacations195,
Thanks for the information. With the information you provided, this appears to be a router that is for your FIOS Home Service and not your cellular phone? Do you have one of our Verizon Network Extenders? http://vz.to/1LRD5iL If not on Wi-Fi how is signal strength?
TakendraW_VZW
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No. I do not have a network extender. As I am typing this I'm sitting right next to the router. My wireless connection on the phone is 1 bar. Just a note, when I get a cellular call the signal strength goes to 4/5 bars thru the cellular connection.
Just to reiterate my original statement. At a friends house using Linksys 5 ghz router on a different floor of the house. 4/5 bars on wireless with superior download speeds.
With the Verizon Router I Facetime my grandchildren and get constant disconnects on my end. Why would I need a network extender if I can't get strong signal next to the router. The original 2.4ghz router that was replaced had better signal strength.
Rich
vacations195,
We apologize for any confusion. If this is in regards to your FiOS router please reach out to Verizon Support by calling them directly at 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-837-4966).
AdamG_VZW
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Were you able to get your issue resolved? I was thinking of upgrading to the Quantum but am having doubts because of your post.
I think there is still some confusion around what bars mean what and what is actually happening.
The Quantum Gateway for Verizon FiOS supports both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands. If referring to the signal strength regarding Wi-Fi (On Apple devices, this is the icon that replaces "LTE" "3G" or "1X" when the Wi-Fi is connected), there's two things to keep in mind. First, the 5Ghz signal, while often times being significantly faster, will have less range from your traditional 2.4Ghz network. But that's fine. 5Ghz will cover most homes adequately, and provide the identically significant boost in performance regardless of the situation. It's not like 2.4Ghz, where you can literally blast your neighborhood with your signal running the router at default settings, and causing congestion for all others around you in doing so. The second thing to keep in mind, is that regardless of a call coming in or not, the signal bars should not change as significant as you're mentioning with Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is agnostic to what travels over it. The only thing, short of major interference, that could change your signal this drastically is a marginal signal being made better by the phone vibrating out of position, or by a signal absorbing material being removed from the phone.
Another situation to consider is the number of networks Verizon operates to deliver cell service. They operate "Three" networks in essence, with some having multiple sub-networks so to speak. There is your LTE network, consisting of three "sub-networks" known as Band 13, Band 4 (XLTE), and Band 2 (XLTE). Band 13 is 700Mhz. Like your 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi, this travels long and far, and doesn't tend to be as fast. There is Band 2 LTE. This operates at 1700Mhz and is closer to 5Ghz in nature, not being able to travel as far/as reliable through materials. Then there is Band 4, this is your 5Ghz of cellular networks. Very fast, but has nowhere near the range of your 700Mhz signal. There is also your 3G EV-DO network, which is the legacy data network, and then your 1X Data/Voice network operating at 850Mhz.
There's yet another factor to consider. LTE at 700Mhz won't travel as far as 1X at 850Mhz, despite the 1X having a higher frequency. This is because LTE, due to the fact that it operates faster, is far more prone to interference because of a higher modulation rate. The same holds true when your EV-DO data, commonly operated on the same frequencies "Band 2" LTE operates on, tends to go further out than LTE because LTE has a higher modulation rate, and is more prone to errors.
Now, what you describe is a situation where an incoming call causes your phone to show 4 bars, whereas without a call only one bar appears. This is *MOST LIKELY* due to your phone switching from the LTE network, to the 1X network. This occurs usually because your phone does not support Voice over LTE, and/or you're not in a Voice over LTE enabled market. If using Voice over LTE, your phone will continue to show "1 bar" of signal assuming that "1 bar" is LTE when a call arrives.
Here's another issue with using bars. Bars are meaningless in the wireless world. They are a guesstimate representation of the actual signal the phone has available. If your phone is connected to Band 4 or Band 2 LTE, it will show the signal strength of the primary band it is connected to. The phone will prefer 1 bar of Band 4 over 4 bars of Band 13. Thus, while the phone technically has "4 bars" of signal on LTE overall, it will show 1 bar because it is on a frequency with a weaker signal (which is again, not necessarily a bad thing depending on your location).
Now this gets a little more screwy with something called Carrier Aggregation, a method cell networks are using to actually improve network capacity and speeds. Carrier Aggregation means your phone can use more than one frequency at a time. Let's say your phone is aggregating Band 4, Band 2, and Band 13 LTE. The Band 4, being the most preferred on Verizon phones, will appear as the primary band. The phone will show "1 bar" because it is connected to Band 4. However, it is connected to Band 2 "2 bars" and Band 13 "4 bars" and combining the results together, giving you effectively a 5 bar signal. The phone isn't going to display it like this.
Now as for why there is a difference between your home and a friend/relative's place, you would need to determine what kind of MOBILE network your phone is connected to. Again, because Wi-Fi is agnostic. You may be on 3G/1X while at a relative's home, but using LTE in your place. Technically, weak LTE will provide better service than strong 3G/1X for data. But it can go either which way for voice. We need far more information on what the environment is like to give you an idea of why this is happening, before we can suggest throwing hardware at a problem.
TL;DR / Summary: This is more than likely a case where the bars aren't showing you the true picture, and you're confusing the Wi-Fi signal strength with the Cellular signal strength. Wi-Fi will not exhibit the symptoms you're seeing in regards to signal strength. Nor is throwing hardware at the problem going to properly "fix" this, assuming something is broken. If you'd like to experiment with what the real problem is, turn on Voice over LTE on your phone. Try things out for a bit, and then turn on Wi-Fi calling, leaving Voice over LTE enabled, and see if there is any improvement.
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