Galaxy S5 (S907VL) - Poor signal strength.

[Requimatic]

According to the coverage map, I should be fine as far as signal strength goes. However, according to both the phone itself and subsequent speed tests, I'm getting less-than-3G speeds at all times, almost.

This is a brand-new ST-branded phone boasting 4G/LTE. I spoke with a tech/rep on the ST website earlier and after going through everything (APN settings (of which, all but the name are greyed out or blank), etc.), it apparently boils down to.. poor coverage.

So my question is this: how can a friend of mine with a Galaxy S5 be standing right next to me and have 4 to 5 bars of 4G, while I'm lucky to be sustaining 1 bar (and often drop down in to 3G)? I had to fix Messenger on her phone for her, and it downloaded it almost instantly... yet takes me around 25-30 minutes to complete.

SpeedTest.net app shows 0.3Mbps more than anything. I tried it in town earlier when I apparently had 4 bars of "LTE", and it didn't even reach 1Mbps.

It should be noted that there's an active cell tower around a mile from my home, also, although I don't know if it's a Verizon tower or not.

Anyway, any help would be appreciated. I would rather not have to unlock the device and find another carrier, but if that's what it means for me to attain reliable 4G services.. I might have to.

[alita]

Hi Requimatic. My name is Straight Talk Alita. Sorry that you’re having a problem. We need to pull up your account to check with this. Please check your Forum inbox for a private message. Thank you.

[JDennis]

Did you ever get a real solution to this? Experiencing the same problem on our phones. They were working fine the first month. After renewing we have horrible data rates and bad voice signal....

[ST - Larry]

Hi JDennis. My name is Straight Talk Larry. We need to take this issue offline so we can address it further. I will contact you directly with a private message. Please click on "New Messages" beside User Control Panel to view your forum inbox. Thank you.

[Jacoby]

I have the same trouble with the same phone any idea how to fix it

[ST - Felice]

Hi Jacoby. My name is Straight Talk Felice. We are sorry about your issue. Let us get this resolved. Please check your Forum inbox for a message.