1. audioengineer's Avatar
    I know there is an issue with the ability of the Blackberry KEYone to receive a strong enough cell phone signal. I have just done some massive field strength testing and here are the results. The testing took place in metro Dallas in a major market so factor that into the results. It seems that the Blackberry KEYone receives about 10 dbm less signal than other cell phones. My typical signal in my residence varies between -118 dbm at the low with 2 bars up to a high of about -99 dbm with 3 bars. Even at the worst signal level of -118 dbm, it is still good enough to make and receive clear phone calls. The average signal level in the house was about -107 dbm which is enough to make clear phone calls. The next part of the test I took the phone outside in the open air and performed the same tests. Once I was outside, there was a major positive difference and jump in signal level. Outside, in the open air, the signal varies between -104 dbm at the low with 3 bars up to high of about -88 dbm with 4 bars. The phone inside the house at -118 dbm isn't operating in the 4G LTE mode. The phone outside the house operates in the 4G LTE mode and has plenty of signal. The average signal outside the house was about -98 dbm with 3 bars and 4G LTE. These results, as stated before, are about 10 dbm less signal than other cell phones. The signal never got so low either inside or definitely not outside that I couldn't make and receive clear phone calls and outside there was plenty of signal. One other thing...I am on the AT&T Network and AT&T is based in downtown Dallas. I was debating whether I wanted to keep or get rid of the phone because I just got it and I could have returned it for a full refund. I have decided to keep the phone after running the signal strength tests. I have the newer black model with the screen popping off issue having been resolved. My only concern with the phone was the antenna field strength and while not as good as others, it does the job adequately enough. I have found no other problems in the operation and use of the Blackberry KEYone. I'd rather pay $500 for this phone than $1000 for a new Iphone. You also have to remember that I am in and around a major city where AT&T is based. If you live around any major city, you shouldn't have any problems using this phone. If you live in the boonies in the middle of nowhere and phone signal is a problem with your carrier, you shouldn't own this phone for the reasons listed above.
    Xeak and FF22 like this.
    09-15-17 08:08 PM
  2. anon(4297019)'s Avatar
    Which paragraph should I read first? ;-)
    09-15-17 09:21 PM
  3. audioengineer's Avatar
    Which paragraph should I read first? ;-)
    Can you read at all?
    PicmanPanther and Carjackd like this.
    09-15-17 09:27 PM
  4. John Vieira's Avatar
    "I'd rather pay $550 for this phone than $1000 for an iPhone."

    Well it's a good thing you have other options. Like a G6 at like $300. An S8 for like $400.

    Both excellent devices, cheaper than a keyone, and not failing from basic design flaws.

    But hey, a fool and his money.
    09-15-17 09:30 PM
  5. conite's Avatar
    "I'd rather pay $550 for this phone than $1000 for an iPhone."

    Well it's a good thing you have other options. Like a G6 at like $300. An S8 for like $400.

    Both excellent devices, cheaper than a keyone, and not failing from basic design flaws.

    But hey, a fool and his money.
    Let me know how much they are selling their capacitive pkd variants for.

    Sigewif likes this.
    09-15-17 09:41 PM
  6. conite's Avatar
    "I'd rather pay $550 for this phone than $1000 for an iPhone."

    Well it's a good thing you have other options. Like a G6 at like $300. An S8 for like $400.

    Both excellent devices, cheaper than a keyone, and not failing from basic design flaws.

    But hey, a fool and his money.
    Let me know how much they are selling their capacitive pkb variants for.

    Buying phones out of the trunk of a car doesn't really count:
    09-15-17 09:41 PM
  7. John Vieira's Avatar
    Let me know how much they are selling their capacitive pkb variants for.

    Buying phones out of the trunk of a car doesn't really count:
    https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9669d3dd65.jpg
    You can also hunt for deals. But that's up to you.

    You're also getting phones with actual support, and manufacturers who give a damn.

    And actually use glue.

    And don't have terrible signal.
    elfabio80 and bazillus like this.
    09-15-17 10:09 PM
  8. conite's Avatar
    You can also hunt for deals. But that's up to you.

    You're also getting phones with actual support, and manufacturers who give a damn.

    And actually use glue.

    And don't have terrible signal.
    I think TCL has been very supportive with the initial screen issue.

    The OP has gone to great lengths demonstrating that his signal is not "terrible". I myself have never had a single dropped call, and my KEYᵒⁿᵉ seems to behave similarly to all my other devices with respect to reception.
    09-15-17 10:19 PM
  9. freinhar's Avatar
    I wonder whether this affects different frequencies differently, meaning the signal might be better or worse in different countries. Here in Australia, the reception on my KEYone is substantially better than the Google Pixel XL I had previously. I used to have zero reception on the Pixel inside the local Ikea for example, while I get 2-3 bars on the KEYone.
    09-15-17 10:30 PM
  10. dastillero1975's Avatar
    I wonder whether this affects different frequencies differently, meaning the signal might be better or worse in different countries. Here in Australia, the reception on my KEYone is substantially better than the Google Pixel XL I had previously. I used to have zero reception on the Pixel inside the local Ikea for example, while I get 2-3 bars on the KEYone.
    Here in Spain K1 reception was not very good (not terrible either) during the tests I was able to do.
    With the three "majors" (Movistar, Vodafone and Orange) it has the signal lost on poor reception areas where BB Priv and Xperia Z5 had 2 bars and Blackview BV8000 Pro had one bar. I couldn't make any calls under that circumstances so it wasn't an indicator error.
    At my flat the K1 had no signal at all while the other three phones went from no signal to 2 bars max (this building must have something in their structure cause going out fills all bars on all phones, so signal is good around here).

    Test were done with a K1 around the time it was presented at Barcelona, so maybe the things got better since then.
    09-16-17 03:40 AM
  11. gbo1974's Avatar
    Thank you for conducting that test Signal strength was the first thing I noticed on the K1. My iPhone received a better signal and I noted that on the review, but I am in the sticks Northwest of the DFW area, I like the phone, and the signal is just a slight difference.
    09-16-17 07:02 AM
  12. furieux's Avatar
    I cannot test here in sNJ since ATT signal is so poor they coughed up a free microcell...
    09-16-17 07:10 AM
  13. anon(9638631)'s Avatar
    You can also hunt for deals. But that's up to you.

    You're also getting phones with actual support, and manufacturers who give a damn.

    And actually use glue.

    And don't have terrible signal.
    Or, you could get a Huawei or ASUS device.
    09-16-17 09:12 AM
  14. Matthew Davis7's Avatar
    I have had a similar experience on AT&T in the Chicagoland area. Never have had a dropped call unless I accidentally hit the power button. Hehe.

    I, too thought I wasn't getting a 4G signal in my home until I turned off WiFi, and then viola, 4G!

    Sent from my BlackBerry KEYone - the most elegantly productive, secure and utterly satisfying mobile device
    09-16-17 09:34 AM
  15. audioengineer's Avatar
    I would like to see everyone conduct the same signal strength tests as I did when I started this thread. If you are going to conduct your own signal strength, make sure you mention your provider, where you are located and if you're around a major city or in the middle of nowhere. The more KEYone users who do this, the better idea we'll have of the capability of the KEYone antenna under various circumstances. There's no doubt that the provider and where you're located make a big difference. I think AT&T makes extra effort to have a good signal in the Dallas area because AT&T's corporate offices are located in downtown Dallas.
    BigAl_BB9900 likes this.
    09-16-17 12:46 PM
  16. anon(8679041)'s Avatar
    Can you read at all?
    But he's right. Formatted posts are easier to read. Cheers!
    09-16-17 04:24 PM
  17. Sarek1701's Avatar
    My house is in between 3 Telus towers and far from all, and I never used LTE at home with my Priv because the signal sucked. HSPA was fine, and I figured that I saved battery. For what it's worth, my KEYone has much better LTE pickup than the Priv, and I've never had any dropped calls. I also use a Ringke Fusion case, so there may be some mitigation of the "Antennagate" issues some have reported.
    FF22 and thekidshop like this.
    09-16-17 05:53 PM
  18. thekidshop's Avatar
    I think TCL has been very supportive with the initial screen issue.

    The OP has gone to great lengths demonstrating that his signal is not "terrible". I myself have never had a single dropped call, and my KEYᵒⁿᵉ seems to behave similarly to all my other devices with respect to reception.
    My self neither I'm shocked at all the noise about signal strength. I have no issues at all in on Telus in Vancouver. Has anyone ever thought it may be a carrier issue??
    freinhar likes this.
    09-16-17 09:22 PM
  19. yyz321's Avatar
    Here in Spain K1 reception was not very good (not terrible either) during the tests I was able to do.
    With the three "majors" (Movistar, Vodafone and Orange) it has the signal lost on poor reception areas where BB Priv and Xperia Z5 had 2 bars and Blackview BV8000 Pro had one bar. I couldn't make any calls under that circumstances so it wasn't an indicator error.
    At my flat the K1 had no signal at all while the other three phones went from no signal to 2 bars max (this building must have something in their structure cause going out fills all bars on all phones, so signal is good around here).

    Test were done with a K1 around the time it was presented at Barcelona, so maybe the things got better since then.
    I noticed this as well on my Priv and I did my own tests when I forgot got my Priv because I thought it had poor signal strength. I think the reason why it goes to full bars when you call is because of something in the phone's software and or the phone is changing network bands.

    For example, when I make a call, I think I see it drop down from LTE to 4G or even 3G so I went into my phone's network settings and selected 4G/3G/2G instead of LTE and now I get full bars all the time (signal strength is also significantly stronger too -- about 30dBm difference) and battery life is much better too.
    09-17-17 01:40 PM
  20. Emaderton3's Avatar
    I know there is an issue with the ability of the Blackberry KEYone to receive a strong enough cell phone signal. I have just done some massive field strength testing and here are the results. The testing took place in metro Dallas in a major market so factor that into the results. It seems that the Blackberry KEYone receives about 10 dbm less signal than other cell phones. My typical signal in my residence varies between -118 dbm at the low with 2 bars up to a high of about -99 dbm with 3 bars. Even at the worst signal level of -118 dbm, it is still good enough to make and receive clear phone calls. The average signal level in the house was about -107 dbm which is enough to make clear phone calls. The next part of the test I took the phone outside in the open air and performed the same tests. Once I was outside, there was a major positive difference and jump in signal level. Outside, in the open air, the signal varies between -104 dbm at the low with 3 bars up to high of about -88 dbm with 4 bars. The phone inside the house at -118 dbm isn't operating in the 4G LTE mode. The phone outside the house operates in the 4G LTE mode and has plenty of signal. The average signal outside the house was about -98 dbm with 3 bars and 4G LTE. These results, as stated before, are about 10 dbm less signal than other cell phones. The signal never got so low either inside or definitely not outside that I couldn't make and receive clear phone calls and outside there was plenty of signal. One other thing...I am on the AT&T Network and AT&T is based in downtown Dallas. I was debating whether I wanted to keep or get rid of the phone because I just got it and I could have returned it for a full refund. I have decided to keep the phone after running the signal strength tests. I have the newer black model with the screen popping off issue having been resolved. My only concern with the phone was the antenna field strength and while not as good as others, it does the job adequately enough. I have found no other problems in the operation and use of the Blackberry KEYone. I'd rather pay $500 for this phone than $1000 for a new Iphone. You also have to remember that I am in and around a major city where AT&T is based. If you live around any major city, you shouldn't have any problems using this phone. If you live in the boonies in the middle of nowhere and phone signal is a problem with your carrier, you shouldn't own this phone for the reasons listed above.
    What if you do it with a case on?

    Posted via CB10
    09-17-17 01:47 PM
  21. audioengineer's Avatar
    What if you do it with a case on?

    Posted via CB10
    The case will block the phone's antennas and degenerate the signal. The KEYone antennas already deliver 10 db less signal than other cell phones. My best estimate is that having a case on the phone will degenerate the signal another 5 to 10 db. Considering that with this phone you already start out 10 db down, I wouldn't do anything to degenerate the signal any further. The KEYone is a well constructed, solid phone since they solved the problem of the screen popping off. I would advise you not to use a case and do everything possible to maximize the phone's signal capability.
    09-17-17 02:14 PM
  22. JAL1's Avatar
    I just got an Incipio dual pro and have been testing it. The signal is not weaker with the case on it as far as I can tell. The case, however, does "fix" the antenna gate problem in low signal areas such that I can now hold the phone at the bottom without massive signal loss.
    09-17-17 04:01 PM
  23. Emaderton3's Avatar
    The case will block the phone's antennas and degenerate the signal. The KEYone antennas already deliver 10 db less signal than other cell phones. My best estimate is that having a case on the phone will degenerate the signal another 5 to 10 db. Considering that with this phone you already start out 10 db down, I wouldn't do anything to degenerate the signal any further. The KEYone is a well constructed, solid phone since they solved the problem of the screen popping off. I would advise you not to use a case and do everything possible to maximize the phone's signal capability.
    That's what I thought. But every thread on here as said, and some shown, that the case increases reception.

    Posted via CB10
    09-17-17 04:54 PM
  24. audioengineer's Avatar
    That's what I thought. But every thread on here as said, and some shown, that the case increases reception.

    Posted via CB10
    If the case is made out of plastic, leather or any other non-conductive material, there is no way it will improve the signal. If it covers the 4 antennas, it will only degenerate the signal.
    09-17-17 04:59 PM
  25. Emaderton3's Avatar
    If the case is made out of plastic, leather or any other non-conductive material, there is no way it will improve the signal. If it covers the 4 antennas, it will only degenerate the signal.
    Oh, I agree. I'm an engineer (though don't practice it much).

    Posted via CB10
    09-17-17 05:06 PM
36 12

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