s21 poor signal strength

[mozzy]

I've just upgraded to the s21 from the s10. Problem is that I now only get 1 bar showing on the signal strength most of the time (including home). On the s10 it was on 3 bars most of the time using the same network and SIM. If I swap the SIM card back to the s10 I get 3 bars showing again 

I have tried resetting the network, a hard reboot, changing to SIM tray 2 but all to no avail. Anyone else experienced this/any ideas or is this device faulty??

[Paul671]

Thanks for the suggesting Jacques. Before using "Samsung Band selection app" I had LTE -114/26asu. After I have -85/52asu. I'm not sure how the app is working though: I enabled only 4 LTE bands (excluding B1 : 2100) and it seemed to give the improvement.  But now I've un-selected any Band Selection, and left Network Mode = automatic...  I still see the massive signal improvement.

[Paul671]

It seems my above success with 'Automatic settings' was short lived. After a few minutes the phone switched to B1 again, which is very weak for me here.
I tried a few more settings and get voice and data, with good signal strength using:
LTE Bands: 3 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, + all the WCDMA and GSM bands. My phone camped on B20. Data and voice good. It auto-switched to B8 as 3G HSPA+ for voice. I'll Leave overnight see what happens.
Concerns:
- By disabling B1 and B40, I force my phone to use the strong B20 at my home. But when I move locations I fear I'll be close to B1/B40 cells whilst distant from B20 cells and so hit issues again.
- I don't know if I should be getting VoLTE.

I'm in the UK, on GiffGaff (O2) network.
Bands controlled using "Samsung Band selection app".
Activity monitored using "Cell info lite app".

[Anonymous User]

Same issue hear for me im afraid. My s21 Ultra 5G gets 1 bar in my house while an A52 samsung, and a cheap Nokia get full signal. 

The phone is now seeming to be worse as time goes on also.

[Paul671]

I've had a few weeks of being able to monitor cells and disable certain bands. I've got a theory that when my S21 shows only 1 bar at home, it's not necessarily a problem. That signal strength is weak, but seems acceptable for typical web browsing and YouTube video watching in a phone. Also at home, there are much stronger cells within range that for some reason don't get selected. My theory is that the phone camps to the most optimal cell considering (guessing here) other users, capacity, signal to noise ratio etc, not just received signal strength.

Next test I'll do is get another LTE phone that isn't a recent Samsung, and see if that also camps on cells that aren't necessarily the strongest in a particular area.

If anyone knows any LTE network details that contradict or discount my ideas above, I'm all ears.

[kleake]

I show 1 bar often, and drop calls, miss texts, and go to "no signal".   1 bar is definitely low/no signal.  You might be hanging on just barely, but most of us are actually getting only 1 bar of signal where other phones get 3-4 at least.

[Frankie001]

I've gone from a Galaxy s10  to a S21fe  and only getting 2 bars signal strength  and the  mast is a couple hundred feet away  . Seems samsung  have a  weak spot with their latest phones 📱 

[unhappy101]

Mines cr*p too, based in uk. Was fine with my huawei only thing that changed was the handset, still on same network👎👎👎

[Sam2can]

Same issue here. Two S21 Ultras in 2 years,  both had very similar issues. Both worked well for about a year before signal strength become degraded. Symptoms worse when moving/travelling whilst others around are happily streaming whilst I can barely surf the web. Calls dropping constantly, rubbish...   not usable.

Samsung replaced the first device which took almost 6 weeks but they won't replace the second one, technician observed 'no faults'. Same sim in backup phone from 2015, no problems.

Won' t be buying Samsung again.

[FBC jr]

Same issue here on my S21 Ultra. Tried upgrading my SIM Card to 5g, but same signal strenght. Let it check by a technician if something is wrong on its antenae or its software, gladly everything is fine. I even bought a signal booster online but it did not work. Maybe S21 really has poor signal issue..☹️

[Members_967RNg7]

For what it's worth, I also have had signal problems with my S21 ultra from day one. 

Had no idea so many others also had am issue and had been blaming my carrier all this time.