Captivate reception problem?
 

with the recent iphone 4 & antennagate fiasco, it looks like a video has been posted on youtube showing the samsung captivate (possibly other versions too) has the death grip reception issue. obviously not as bad as the iphone 4's one finger on the gap but still seems somewhat like an issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVsiAhltY5I

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

The iPhone and this are 2 different issues..in the iPhone they put the antenna outside so whenever you hold it causes interference in the signal...

Bars are just indicators..they do not display how good a connection is..its just a "general indicator"...unlike CDMA, GSM can connect to multiple towers, so you can be at 0 bars and still have good signal..I read indications where people had 0 bars and never had a disconnected call on the vibrant..on the iphone people had full bars and still lost calls.

on the iphone though is not only an issue with displaying the bars as it is with interference of the signal...

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

The antenna on the Captivate at least is partly the battery cover. There is a contact that sticks out of the phone and touches a bare, unpainted part of the inside of the cover.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

This phone or any other phone for that matter does not even close to how bad the iPhone4's issue is. ;)

This is a good little read for any body thinking of getting this phone. :)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...21&postcount=1

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Then watch my other video where I show the dBm drop to zero when I touch the phone.

I've also done speed tests (though not yet on video) where holding the phone absolutely kills the connection.

And last but not least, I tested calling out with zero bars yesterday to the phone next to me and the other phone wouldn't start ringing until I removed my hand from my phone. This is absolutely a problem, but I'm hoping it's just a bad phone. Going to bring it back today to see if another unit works better.

btw I'm very surprised so many people have looked at that video! I drunkenly put it up to shut up some poster at androidforums who was essentially calling me an Apple troll for saying the Captivate suffered from reception issues =P

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

i just hope the epic 4g doesn't have this problem.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

All that I care about is that I can hold it comfortably while I make a call, which so far I can. Very interesting though I'll pay attention to how I'm holding it now.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Oh snap I have to change my device in my profile.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Hmm...so far this is the first time I am hearing this :/...the 0 bar thing was from people on T-Mobile Vibrant...and they were still able to make calls and use 3G data...

See if you can exchange if not maybe it is specific to the Captivate..or maybe there is an issue with AT&T itself :/

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

With calls, admittedly, this is "looking for a problem when there probably isn't one", as in; I have to really work to get zero bars and "prove my point" by dropping a call or failing to make one.

But when it comes to browsing the web, holding the phone in portrait in my right hand, or in landscape with my right hand touching the back, I see a real hit in speed and connectivity.

To be honest, if this is a general hardware failure, I'll suck it up because I'm stuck with ATT. My credit sucks and I can't afford the $400 security deposit that Verizon wants, and besides the antenna issue this is the best Android on ATT.

I can learn to change my holding habits if I have to. I think it's ridiculous, but I can do it. Everything else about the phone is pretty amazing. If you're techie enough to work through the initial un-user-friendliness of even the most simplest of tasks, then once you get the phone setup as you want it, it's pretty damn slick.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Hmm...best way to tell is visit a T-mobile store and hold it the same way you do know...and even if bars disappear try to surf the net and see how it is...

There is no question you will loose signal when you touch it due to FCC requiring the antenna to be on the bottom..but it shouldn't be that significant...so it may just mean crappy signals from AT&T...

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

I made a newer/better video example here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwoyRvr71kQ

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

There is no question that when antenna is places on the bottom of the phone the signal drops, in the example you had 2-3 bars and when holding it, it turns into 0-1 bars...

The problem with the iphone 4 is when that happens..signal is completely dead..so its not about the bars as it is about having dropped calls.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

And the problem with the Captivate is that signal is completely dropped. Did you actually watch the video? I can replace a data ping with a cellular ping and get the same results.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Yes I saw the video..but I do not see where you meant the signal was completely dropped..do you mean when it turned 0 bars?

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

No I mean when my 3g signal for download speed goes from 1.56mbps to 0.04mbps when I pick it up. btw if that sounded rude it wasn't meant to!

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

ok but 0.04mb is not signal dead..on iphone 4 it would have been a complete timeout..or 0.00mb

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Okay, well I think you're really splitting hairs here. Would you enjoy having a 0.04mbps connection?

Let me put it this way: in other videos that I've seen, people are cupping and holding the phone every which way, sometimes using two hands, to try and drop the signal a tiny bit just to prove that the antenna is being affected. All I had to do was put my hand over the back and I dropped to zero. Then I gripped the phone, admittedly tighter than usual, and tanked the reception again.

My question to you is "can YOU tank your reception twice in 12 seconds? And if not, wouldn't you say that's a problem for the Captivate?"

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

Well lets look at it this way..the FCC passed a REGULATION required all the latest phones to have an antenna on the bottom..when an Antenna is on the bottom..signal loss prevention is not possible...

But the point here is that 0 would still not drop your phone calls like it does on an iphone 4...In the end you were on a 2-3 bars on the test...that means you had a weak connection to begin with and added more interference..people on the iphone 4 had 5 bars drop to 0 and lost calls...

As you said you don't hold the captivate that tight normally..now for the iphone 4 all you have to do is place your finger on the antenna and it tanks...so you have to be careful how you hold it..this is because the antenna is on the outside instead of the inside...

Apple makes those commercial to confuse people into thinking it is an issue with loosing bars..but the real issue is not the loosing of the bars as is it going completely dead...it is a related but different issue

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

The iphone has been misrepresenting signal with it's bar graphic essentially from the beginning. I have 3 bars in my apartment. The bounce from 2-4 is pretty normal for this phone. It's another known "problem".

I've said numerous times that this does not affect call use, especially when I hold it how it feels naturally. I can drop the call, if I want to, but I have to try.

It does, however, affect browsing speed over 3g. And it's not about how tight the grip is. That's why I did the hand test. Yes, I understand that by doing that I was completely blocking the antenna, but on my previous android phone, the Aria, it's so small that you cup the whole thing and I never had that issue.
I haven't seen any commercials. I don't watch tv anymore. I do know that these are two different issues. To be honest here, have I EVER once in my videos even mentioned the iphone? I'm not anti iphone and I'm not pro android. I prefer android and even though it just crashed on me (my Aria did the same once) where I had to remove the battery and put it back in to boot back up, even with all it's problems, it's an awesome device with real potential and I'm keeping it.

In the end, the real problem is that I do have to hold the phone differently if I want the best speeds. I can deal with that. I'm starting to hold the phone by the left/right bezel when in landscape and I'm already used to it. No more hooking 2-3 fingers over the battery door = no more problem. (and yes, I know it's not a connectivity issue, it's a blocking issue).

It amazes me that there is a debate here. I'm not trying to prove anything beyond the fact that there is an issue that seems bigger than most seem willing to accept.

Not everything has to be vs the iphone. As it stands, by itself, the Captivate has a problem. It exists. It can be reproduced easily for demonstration, and it CAN affect use.

Because the video got popular many people think that my intention was to blow a problem out of proportion, or bring attention to a non-issue. I made the first video because people didn't believe that I could even drop the reception at all. I made the second video when people requested it because they didn't think the bar drop meant anything, and they'd rather see the tech-ier indicator. I made the third video because even with my first 2 people didn't believe that actual performance was being hindered.

I don't know what to do past that. Short of popping an eyeball out and installing a webcam that follows my use over time to prove that holding the phone certain ways causes an issue, there will be no pleasing some people.

By the way, I'm not mad at you or anything you said. I'm just starting to get frustrated that people keep telling me that the tests prove nothing and there "is no real problem". And everyone else brings up the iphone. I never did. The closest I came was using the antenna-gate tag, and that was because big tech sites started using that phrase with the Captivate before I ever did.

I'm honestly not arguing with you. I'm just venting. I know that I came to your guy's site uninvited and I apologize if I'm coming off as a jerk. My only intention with these videos was to help others see the same problem I was experiencing and let them decide if it was an issue for them. If you look at all my comments on the videos I continue to promote the phone and agree/admit that the problem (while it does indeed exist) can be worked with and the phone is still very much worth getting.

Re: Captivate reception problem?
 

I know your intentions..in my case I was trying to clarify the difference so that everyone else who stumbles in this thread does not misinterpret it with what is going on with the iphone...(hence if you notice I never said that you don't loose speed)

Ever since the FCC regulation, expect all phones from now on to include it on bottom and some 3g speed issues will happen due to interference..mostly in areas with weak signals...