This is interesting. Verizon has now released what appears to be official statement to the crew over at The Verge basically saying that their new Samsung Galaxy Nexus with 4G LTE has zero signal or service performance issues like many (us included) have reported. They go on to mention it just reports the signal bars different and will change the meter in a future update.

Earlier this week the made a statement on Twitter mentioning they were looking into the issue and would provide a fix. Today they are now saying there isn’t an issue and instead it’s the way the device displays the info. They will still provide an update and the patch “will adjust the signal strength indicator to more closely match other Verizon Wireless devices.”

While the possibility of an issue was extremely exaggerated by many I still feel there is a potential issue at hand. Either way this update will be masking what appears to be a weaker signal than other phones, not just what is being displayed. Not all devices or brands will display signal and “bars” the same so that isn’t an accurate way to determine if you have a solid connection or not. Here is the full official statement from Verizon:

There is no issue with the performance of the device. There is a difference in the way the signal is translated into bars on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus compared to other smart phones. A future software update will adjust the signal strength indicator to more closely match other Verizon Wireless devices.

What do you guys think? Is there still a problem with the Galaxy Nexus and LTE. I personally think there is some sort of issue that will still probably be addressed in the update and Verizon just isn’t saying so. Here is a quick video I made showing my Galaxy Nexus stuck on 3G sitting next to my XYBOARD 8.2″ tablet with 4G LTE. It constantly has not only more bars, but a better and faster connection. You tell me?

What do you guys think?

[device id=2091]

34 COMMENTS

  1. My signal has been dropping in and out the last 2 days, but I heard Verizon is tweaking the network in/around Los Angeles. Aside from that, speeds have been decent when compared to my Thunderbolt. Voice calls are definitely much better though

  2. My phone stays at about 2-3 bars and speeds a great, quality (video) degrades when bars between 0-1 but speeds remain great. Calls and Text messaging is great also.

    Battery life with the default battery is ok but not great, my average day is about 12-15 hours and by the end I am left with less than 3% battery life and this is with little to no use on the phone (mostly idle time).

    Overall the phone is performing great since I got it on Saturday 5 days ago.

    Follow me on Twitter (@lovtrain:twitter )

  3. Missed calls, text that wont send, 6 hour battery life… looks like i had better return the Nexus while i still can. Its a shame, i like the phone, i just wish i could make calls with it.

    • @dbolot1:disqus Well no, but I’m showing that one device has 4G LTE while another doesn’t — sitting right next to each other. Just showing that with multiple speedtests it never once found a good enough signal to make me happy, while the XYBOARD clearly was doing ok

  4. Living in Denver, my Nexus has been great. I have pretty solid 4g connection through most of the city, good speeds, no dropped calls yet and the extended battery is working like a charm. Yesterday I got 16.5 hours on moderate use and today I have been on battery for 10 hours and 31 minutes and I have 67% battery left.

    I couldn’t be happier.

  5. I have noticed drops on the data side in places where i have a friend sitting next to me with full 3g signal on an incredible 2. My wifes nexus has dropped calls at least 15 times since she got it and data has been the same as mine

  6. There is a serious problem. I went to a Verizon store today in Upland ,CA and they acted as if they never heard of the issue. They replaced my sim card and I’m still having an issue. When I power my phone, 4G works for no more than 5 minutes and then it switches to a weak 3G signal. I’m not happy.

  7. My phone has serious call dropping/connection loss.  I had the tech at my local Verizon store compare it to his Nexus which also had weak signal strength (about -96db).  We also compared signal to other phones in the store and found the other phones to have around -84db which is much much better.  That spread is the difference between barely hanging on to 1 bar and a solid 3 bars on my Nexus.  I don’t think Verizon is being honest because my experience is that the signal is weaker on the Nexus, not just looking at the bars.  I am also getting sudden disconnects going from any number of bars to dead instantly.  Dropping calls is completely unacceptable.  I can understand problems with the cutting edge 4G signal, but the phone call function is the same thing they have done for years.  Oh, and don’t forget it’s A PHONE.  I have until Jan 15th to return the phone so if they don’t have my phone working 100% of the time like all of my previous phones I will be returning it and reactivating my Envy3.  My phone reports 10% time without signal.  Cell Standby reports 10% of battery usage.  I didn’t sign up for being tethered to a charger all day just to keep my phone from diving into cold brick mode while I sit at work less than 1/4 mile from the cell tower.

  8. This is taking me back to when I bought my ATRIX and they capped the phone’s “4G” (3G+/HSPA+) uploading packets so the iPhone 4’s 3G speeds were faster than ours.  Livid, and I feel for you guys.  Hopefully Verizon and Google get their act together.

  9. As a current owner of all 3 of Verizons top tier Android phones (Razr / Rezound / G-Nexus), I can easily state that there exists a radio performance gap between two of my devices compared to the 3rd. My Razr & Rezound pull solid bar(s) status regularly, my G-Nexus on the other hand is much more temperamental with its signal strength. Of all 3 devices, the Rezound displays the best signal the most often (haven’t been disappointed yet), with the Razr usually pulling a close second. As an overall performer, I have to give it to the Rezound, even if its not my favorite of the three. Now listing them by personal preference (general feel), it goes something like this: Razr – G-Nexus – Rezound. The Rezound would score higher, if it didn’t ‘feel’ like so many other HTC phones I’ve owned in the past.

  10. Is anyone actually looking at their signal strength reading in Settings/about phone/Signal ? I have compared my Nexus against my wife’s Samsung regular Galaxy , my original Droid, and even a 3 + year old laptop built in Verizon air card 3g signal and the Nexus has a noticeable worse signal reception(no 4G in my area yet). When the other devices are showing say -74-75dbm my Nexus is only receiving -93-100dbm. That is NOT a software fix issue. I am on my second Nexus after Verizon Tier2 techsupport did a signal survey in my area and confirmed a good 3G signal and had me exchange my phone. Same crappy reception numbers and I frequently get a Network Problem Check your internet connection message while using apps. I don’t see a software fix helping and will likely be exchanging my phone for a Rezound or returning alltogether and waiting it out.

  11. Hello fellow Verizon Galaxy Nexus users. I’m not as tech savvy as some people on here, but I have a problem that is a bit of an issue for me… I can’t seem to get connected with the internet outside of wifi hot spots. In other words, I NEED to be connected to wireless internet to be able to connect. This is a MAJOR ISSUE for me. Is anyone having the same problem???? Is this the same “signal” problem that everyone else has? 

    Advice and/or comments are much appreciated!Thank you!

  12. I’m a Samsung galaxy nexus user. I have had a problem with the signal of this phone. It has been a problem since I started using the phone. I’m in a 3G area. You would think since it’s a 3G and 4g phone. It should still work. I went to Verizon’s store once already, all they did was chAnge the sim card. That didn’t change the signal none. It worked when we were there. I think it’s funny how my husbands 4g droid bionic works while the Samsung galaxy nexus doesn’t. They are both 4g phones and the verizon helper said we didnt have 4g area where i lived. Like I said its funny how his 4g is able to work still. I really like the Samsung galaxy nexus phone but I need service. It didn’t even work at the Walmart I go to either. The only time it actually gave me signal was when I was in the verizon store. Why wouldn’t it work there it’s their phone. All their phones will work there, but once you leave they won’t work anymore.

    • Exact thing happened to me this past weekend, got turned away from two verizon stores stating that the phone is fine…I just said well if I could live and work from this store I’d be great but I know for a fact this is not going to work when I leave this store.

  13. Cont’d…..that’s the other thing, the Verizon stores always have the newest towers near them. You would think they would set up a towers every where. Not just in certain spots. I might be changing to a different phone. I really need a phone that works. Maybe if they fix this phone. I’ll go back. They also said there will be a 4g tower near me some time in the middle of 2012. I don’t think I can wait that long. Honestly that isn’t actually telling us anything. Just a some specific detail. We need more details about when. The people who go against everyone about the signal problem probably has a 4g tower near them. While everyone else just has 3G tower but it should still pick up that tower. That is from what the verizon tech told me. But it has that issue of changing btw 4g and 3g towers You will keep running it to the same problem.

  14. no issue on my end, seems to be an indicator issue.  nearly three weeks in the phone has performed well.  for all of you trying to use task killers or juice defenders, disable those and try again. juice defender ultimate is still working on an update for ICS (and actually any 4g android phone), as it’s causing signal strength issues.

  15. There’s more going on than just a dfferent representation of signal strength.  I’ve run dozens of tests with my Verizon Galaxy Nexus side-by-side with a Verizon HTC Rezound and the Rezound blows the Nexus away every time. I expected the Rezound to perform better on tests like what Vellamo puts it through since the specs on the Rezound are a bit better, but I really wasn’t expecting much difference on the speedtest.net results. The Nexus consistently achieves half the bandwidth of the Rezound.

    The more I use the Nexus, the more I like it, but this connection/performance issue doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not sure why Verizon would hide it if they thought that the update was going to improve actual performance and not just the bars, but I’m waiting and hoping.  I have until Jan 15 to return it and pick up the Rezound instead.  If they can address the connection issue before then, I’ll gladly stick with it. 

    And for what it’s worth, I would prefer that the bars be more accurate rather than giving me an inflated perception of my signal strength.  As long as I know how to interpret the number of bars I have and the connectivity and performance is on par with other comparable devices, I really don’t care if their device shows 4 bars when mine only shows 1.

  16. Galaxy Nexus – I can’t make calls in most areas unless they have VERY strong 4G… strange!
    Battery life is the worst of any phone I’ve owned!
    Verizon still scratching their heads, acting as if I am the first person to have this issue!
    My HTC Rezound works fine… Dumping the Galaxy Nexus!

  17. So many issues with this “phone” not worth even dicussing..Such an abortion on what could have been honestly the best phone ever seen..But the liars, thieves, and google want money NOT functionign phones HELL THEY ALL USE MS & units!!

  18. Well… I don’t really have time to get into the specifics nor should I have too after paying for what these pones cost now! Galaxy Nexus connectivity issues DO EXSIST!  My Wife an I are on the same plan…she has the Rezound I have the Nexus… She never has issues I consistently do…read the below issues….DO NOT BUY THE NEXUS  

  19. Maybe Verizon’s attitude stems from knowing you’re locked into a $299 2yr contract. I can sit next to a Verizon Apple S4 and LG VX9200 and watch them txt away while my Galaxy Nexus  can’t get a signal. Don’t recall Verizon advertising 4G LTE is 10x faster than 3G when it works. Ready to toss the phone and maybe Verizon too. 

  20. I have the same issue I just ordered one from Wirefly last week and since opening the signal is so spotty it’s ridiculous…my first instinct was to blame Wirefly for sending me a defective phone but as i look online this is a known issue for this phone. How is Verizon still allowed to sell this phone?!!! I don’t see a fix in place and this was brought up in Dec when it came out…how crooked

  21. SOLUTION:

    My Nexus won’t work on the LTE setting. You can go into the settings / more / mobile networks / network mode and switch it to CDMA ONLY. Does it suck that I paid $300 for a top of the line 4G device that won’t run 4G? Yes. But I still love my Nexus performing flawlessly on 3G.

  22. My nexus barely gets service on 3G which is really odd because my first one was fine on service,but then i got a refurb yesterday and have had little to no service since! Its very frustrating that i paid $300 for a phone that doesn’t get any service!!!

  23. I just couldn’t take it any longer, after 5 days with the phone I sent it back to Verizon, I’ll wait and see if the issue gets solved in the future.

  24. There are some signal issues with Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE and Verizon also admitted this issue earlier. Verizon should has fixed the issue as soon as possible. Thanks for the further details you have been shared regarding the issue.

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