Database Users

COMMUNICATIONS: LTE Strength and Throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the Note5's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

I think there is something wrong with LTE connection on this device. My previous device was Note3 N9005 and it got full signal bars when I connected to LTE network, but with Note5 I don't get more than 2 or 3 signal bars and 4G speed is extremely slow and not stable. I tried both in same place in my room. But when I force it to 2G, it gets full signal bars. I attached screenshot of LTE connection.
Anybody else having this problem?
Sent from my SM-N920CD using Tapatalk

Cannot believe I am typing this heresy, but I am MUCH more satisfied with the LTE signal on my Sprint Note 5 than on my Nexus 6. Yes, I said it. Samsung > Motorola.
Granted, the N6 has a somewhat well-known bug with the LTE / 3G switching ever since Project Fi came into existence, but even before that problem soured me on Nexus, the N6 (both my phone, my replacement phone, and my wife's phone) spent MUCH more time in 3G than the Note 5 does. No comparison.

I too am getting MUCH better signal strength and speeds on my SM-N920P than my Note 4, sitting right next to it. I get dropped calls, and data at a ridiculously low speed on my Note 4. On the Note 5, I haven't had a single dropout on voice, and I get 25M down/3M up. I'm extremely satisfied with the Note 5. I thought there wasn't any LTE towers where I'm visiting, and now, I know it was the Note 4 that was the problem. I have a feeling when I get home, my speeds are going to double, if not triple, because I live in a Spark covered area, and was only getting 18M down on the Note 4. I have a feeling it will now be in the 50+ range.

I get 10x better signal with my N920P than my Nexus 5.

My Note 5 is doing considerably better than my Note 3. I'm loving it!!

In terms of raw LTE reception - My Note 5 will always be 10-15dBm weaker compared to other LTE handsets and will usually switch to HSDPA (3G) when these are still on LTE. No WiFi, Bluetooth nor 3G performance issues however, what leads me to think that the LTE Antenna is poorly designed in this phone.

Fatherboard said:
In terms of raw LTE reception - My Note 5 will always be 10-15dBm weaker compared to other LTE handsets and will usually switch to HSDPA (3G) when these are still on LTE. No WiFi, Bluetooth nor 3G performance issues however, what leads me to think that the LTE Antenna is poorly designed in this phone.
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100% agree. My Nexus 6 gets much better signal.

Hello everyone...a little question: I'm on 3G with my Note5 (Network Mode: GSM/UMTS), and i can reach even H+, but i don't know, why the phone won't connect to H+. Someone knows how can i resolve this?

I know my Note 3 gets a better signal and more speed than my Note 4 and Note 5. I am on AT&T and the Note 3 is an AT&T branded phone where the 4 and 5 are international versions.

I'm very satisfied with it's LTE reception, it's a little better than my wife's GS6 which tends to drop the connection before mine.
I'm on T-mobile so dropping LTE when in a big building does happen from time to time, but that's true on every phone I've used on T-mobile in NJ.
Seems to beat my nexus 5x as well.

Verizon LTE in chicago is fast, very fast and reliable. I'm usually the envy of all my buddies when you all meet up. Tmobile service weak, sprint even worse and AT&T, none of my friends have ATT. Most are on Tmobile or sprint. I'm the only SMART one that has Verizon. So let's get this out of the way, the verizon commercials are true. The service, signal, speed and strength are living up the the verizon commericals about being #1 and their expensive as well. I wanted the fastest and I'm getting what I pay for. O Hare airport, Xspot fitness, Rockford, suburbs, down town chciago and wher ever I go , Verizon backs up their cockiness. Except when I'm at work. But hey, you can get the greatest all the time right?

Cellular strength and throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the LG V30's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

I really like to know how is the cellular reception on this phone. In my V20, I think it's bad. It's the only con that I see on V20.
Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

On Rogers in Toronto, Canada. No issues with reception, signal strength, or LTE connectivity.

cazcryy said:
On Rogers in Toronto, Canada. No issues with reception, signal strength, or LTE connectivity.
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Would you mind sharing your APN settings? I'm on Rogers & I have 1-2 bars max, while it's full on my S8. I haven't turned on data yet in case I need to return it since I had similar issues on the G6 & had lots of problems sending & receiving SMS/MMS while connected to wifi.

daandman said:
Would you mind sharing your APN settings? I'm on Rogers & I have 1-2 bars max, while it's full on my S8. I haven't turned on data yet in case I need to return it since I had similar issues on the G6 & had lots of problems sending & receiving SMS/MMS while connected to wifi.
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Sure

cazcryy said:
Sure
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Mine are the exact same, weird. Thanks.

daandman said:
Mine are the exact same, weird. Thanks.
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Really, I usually have 4 bars with the occasional 3 bars and 3G maybe once or twice since I've had it. What areas are you usually seeing 1-2 bars? Is it indoors also?

cazcryy said:
Really, I usually have 4 bars with the occasional 3 bars and 3G maybe once or twice since I've had it. What areas are you usually seeing 1-2 bars? Is it indoors also?
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It's everywhere, I have an S8 & when I put my sim card in I get full bars and no issues in the exact same locations. I think I'm gonna return my V30 today actually, I had the same issues with my G6 & I'm hesitant to trust LG phones now, which is too bad because I love them.

Bars mean little because each manufacturer uses a different standard and different thresholds. One phones 3 bars is not the same as another. If you want to compare phones then you need the actual signal strength the phone is getting.

I think that this device does really well on T-Mobile in San Antonio Texas.
Get an Intel 7 Plus if you want to see just how good the V30 really is.
No, don't do that.
Seriously though, my calls are clear, my data is consistent and I can travel outside the major city.
Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk.

I live in Redwood City, CA (silicon valley) and I get perfect reception, all 5 bars LTE.
Speed test shows 60mbit. Amazing. I thought it was a mistake and I tried it again on another block of the city and I got 65mbit. I have T-Mobile and I can't wait for them to roll out 5G on the 600mhz spectrum.
---------- Post added at 10:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------
daandman said:
It's everywhere, I have an S8 & when I put my sim card in I get full bars and no issues in the exact same locations. I think I'm gonna return my V30 today actually, I had the same issues with my G6 & I'm hesitant to trust LG phones now, which is too bad because I love them.
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You should think twice about returning it. Don't be too hasty because it's probably your location or network provider and not the phone. You need to download an app to check the actual signal strength in dB and not look at bars. They mean nothing. I use Signal Check Pro.

hojo82 said:
I live in Redwood City, CA (silicon valley) and I get perfect reception, all 5 bars LTE.
Speed test shows 60mbit. Amazing. I thought it was a mistake and I tried it again on another block of the city and I got 65mbit. I have T-Mobile and I can't wait for them to roll out 5G on the 600mhz spectrum.
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I'm as impressed by the low ping speed (20ms) as the the download speed. Wow. Lower pings are less lag.
That's about the lowest I've seen for a cellular network connection. I've occasionally gotten low 20's with AT&T, but usually high 20s -- which is still fantastic compared to MVNOs (because they don't have direct connection to carrier's data servers). Your phone can FEEL like it has a slow connection, due to the high lag when you have higher ping speeds.
A lot of people only focus on download speeds, and they may have triple digit ping speeds (bad).
You will get lower ping speeds with an ethernet connection and even very good Wi-Fi, of course, but for cellular network that 20ms is the best test I've ever seen.

hojo82 said:
You should think twice about returning it. Don't be too hasty because it's probably your location or network provider and not the phone. You need to download an app to check the actual signal strength in dB and not look at bars. They mean nothing. I use Signal Check Pro.
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My Galaxy S8 works perfectly with my sim card in the exact same locations.

I've noticed that signal strength is a few dB lower than what I got on my LG G4 (3-5 dB). Not a big deal, even at home where I'm unfortunately in kind of a fringe area. Throughput doesn't seem to be affected much.

No issues on this end. Latency is always nice and quick, networks and radios switch very quickly, and knowing it will only get better with 600MHz rollout and 5G just makes me happy.
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/3315082329

LTE just doesn't want to work for me for some reason. No methods of fixing it that I've tried helped so far so I may try ordering a new SIM card from my carrier. Quite disappointing so far but maybe it's not my V30 to blame

I have two phones. Oneplus X and V30. In the same place on Oneplus X i have LTE signal with strength 85-95 dBm but on V30 I have 100-108 dBm ;/

FWIW, I have an LGH931 on AT&T since mid-December. I live in San Francisco with lots of difficult terrains (urban canyons, hills, etc.). I still have an HTC 10 and never worried about cell reception. Yes, the bars are generally lower on the V30, but it doesn't mean anything. I use LTE Discovery to measure the -dbm signal strength. The V30 has a problem with switching bands quickly and the thresholds are set to low. One bar/no bars seems to indicate -120dbm and barely enough for reliable calls or consistent data. I had two events when calls came in over wifi at my home, an indicator of low/no cell signal levels. Never happened with the HTC 10 before. A friend of mine traveled to Kingman, AZ recently and had a terrible time, plenty of dropped calls. He returned his US998 version. I believe generally the problem is with AT&T and the V30 radio settings.

AT&T LG V30 here.
Very disappointed by the signal strength and radio behavior of the device in general.
At home my Blackberry gets -92dBm and the V30 gets -103 dBm.
At work my Blackberry gets -98dBm and the V30 gets -114dBm!
Of course I went through all the getting a new SIM card, holding it a certain way and so on but no difference whatsoever.
This is the best phone I ve ever had, unfortunately the radio settings or hardware or both do not do it any justice.
From what I read it can be simply fixed or improved if AT&T and LG alter the threshold band settings, since other variants do not suffer from the same issue.
Hopefully an update is going to happen soon or I am not sure what I am going to do.

Im getting regular 150-200 mbps on tmobile in Florida. Almost never under 80 and ive noticed a big increase in signal reliability. Very happy with the cellular signal on this phone.

Cellular strength and throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

I have found the signal not that great.
I tried using two sims both support 4g on two different networks in uk EE and o2.
I went to top of my road which is up a big hill and both services even on old redmi note 2 could max out 2g/3g 4g was also max on ee sim 4g could not be tested for o2 on that phone no b20 support - now on this new ones i only get half bar max 3 quarters.
I my house i always would get on o2 2g/3g max signal redmi note 2 again its now dropped to 3 quarters and ee it keeps trying to connect to 4g with 0 signal
also found gps to be off by around 25+ meters

I am thinking of switching back to old phone the signal is just so bad on this phone its at the point now both my sims are useless in my home which is stupid my old phone didnt even support as many bands as this one yet it has far better signal

I think you might have a problem with that phone. If your GPS is 25m off, it can't see enough satellites. If it has a poor reception too, then you either live in a faraday cage, or have a defective phone. I have mine for 2 weeks now, and have great signal (about the same as my 4X or RN3 Pro), with fast and precise GPS.

Using the phone on T-Mobile in Chicago, IL - USA, signal strength has been pretty good, not amazing but much better than my Moto G6.
Average download speeds ~10Mbps with peaks of 20Mbps
My G6 average under 10Mbps and peaked at 12Mbps
My OnePlus 5 averaged 20Mbps with peaks of 50Mbps.
Not too bad although it doesn't support carrier aggregation so speeds aren't as fast as my OnePlus.

used to get 100mb/s on a place with my galaxy a3 through 4g, but everytime i tried with the xiaomi i could only get 30-40mb/s.
same on another spot where i had 20 mb/s (galaxy a3) and now only 8-10mb/s with the a2 lite.
i checked it's all the same band used but the xiaomi just has weaker reception signal.

Galaxy S4 Mini VS Xiaomi A2 Lite
LTE and UMTS Network tested:
Germany Vodafone: Signal Strengh from the A2 is weaker about 5-7 ASU (Arbitrary Strength Unit) or - 10-14 dBm.
So the antenna is probably not the best

Does it support wifi calling on T- mobile??
iLovPieNCake said:
Using the phone on T-Mobile in Chicago, IL - USA, signal strength has been pretty good, not amazing but much better than my Moto G6.
Average download speeds ~10Mbps with peaks of 20Mbps
My G6 average under 10Mbps and peaked at 12Mbps
My OnePlus 5 averaged 20Mbps with peaks of 50Mbps.
Not too bad although it doesn't support carrier aggregation so speeds aren't as fast as my OnePlus.
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Click to collapse

Xmister said:
I think you might have a problem with that phone. If your GPS is 25m off, it can't see enough satellites. If it has a poor reception too, then you either live in a faraday cage, or have a defective phone. I have mine for 2 weeks now, and have great signal (about the same as my 4X or RN3 Pro), with fast and precise GPS.
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It appears to of been fixed with one of the updates for the gps side of things that is mobile signal is still poor.
I noticed the gps faces the wrong way as well which is annoying

I've had my A2 Lite (4/32 version) for a week now, I got sims from Vodafone, Three & Giffgaff (for O2) and tried all 3 plus my Plusnet (EE) in my Vodafone SU6 & the A2 Lite and the phones were showing the exact same signal strength.
I've just changed to Sky Mobile as the O2 signal is better at my new place and the signal (here at least) shows as between -91 & -95 db. I was getting full signal bars earlier on the other side of town as well. The DL speed is up to 25Mbps and UL up to 17Mbps so no problem with a weak reception signal here at least.
I'm in the UK BTW.
---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------
mortmaru said:
I noticed the gps faces the wrong way as well which is annoying
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Click to collapse
Have you calibrated the compass yet? You need to move the phone in a figure of eight while rotating it, you need to do this for any phone. Really easy to drop the phone doing this so take care.

iLovPieNCake said:
Using the phone on T-Mobile in Chicago, IL - USA, signal strength has been pretty good, not amazing but much better than my Moto G6.
Average download speeds ~10Mbps with peaks of 20Mbps
My G6 average under 10Mbps and peaked at 12Mbps
My OnePlus 5 averaged 20Mbps with peaks of 50Mbps.
Not too bad although it doesn't support carrier aggregation so speeds aren't as fast as my OnePlus.
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Did u notice any problems with calls? As in not receiving any or if someone tell u it goes straight to your voicemail. I tried a redmi note 4 global version before but it didn't work that good for some reason even though the right bands were listed. Data and sms were fine, outgoing calls would have a 20 second delay before it rings. I'm interested in this phone for tmobile and att. This looks like xiaomi's best budget phone with bands that support those if it doesn't have problems like I experienced before

anon1135 said:
Did u notice any problems with calls? As in not receiving any or if someone tell u it goes straight to your voicemail. I tried a redmi note 4 global version before but it didn't work that good for some reason even though the right bands were listed. Data and sms were fine, outgoing calls would have a 20 second delay before it rings. I'm interested in this phone for tmobile and att. This looks like xiaomi's best budget phone with bands that support those if it doesn't have problems like I experienced before
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The delay before a call is exclusively a matter of the provider, not the device.

dali13gr said:
The delay before a call is exclusively a matter of the provider, not the device.
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Click to collapse
Damn, looks like Chinese phones on t mobile around my area is bad but good for others elsewhere in the US

I seem to have reception issues with my new A2 lite, I am using Optus 3g down in Tasmania, Australia
With my old trusty Motorola 2nd gen, the reception was low at home and at work but still usable, however this A2 barely has signal in those locations, when it does have signal it seems to sit at 0 to 1 bar for a while then for some reason drops out to no signal for a while, I only have good signal outside and in town areas.
Is the reception power level lower? or does it not check for reception as often? The call quality is fine when I make calls in 1-2 bar reception areas, doesn’t appear to drop out.
Perhaps this is just the gamble with a budget phone and I doubt there is much I can do apart from trying a different carrier or look at another phone. Trouble is reviews do not seem to comment a lot on reception quality and it wasn’t something I expected to be an issue. Makes me miss the 2014 Moto it was a top phone.

My signal strength is not that good in this device. It gives few signal bars than my oppo . Does not insist to pull any more signal where I get a bar on my old phone..then switches to 2G even when " forced to 3g" is activated. I don't get why it's happening. Otherwise on a 4G zones it's best. But I'd prefer good 3g signal that it cannot give.

Is the weak cellular signal a hardware problem? Or software?
Has anyone tested other ROMs and noticed improvement in cellular signal? A different kernel or different RIL show improvement?

Ya, I wonder if you can buy micro antennas to place inside the phone. There's 2 or 3 u.FL(uFL, IPEX) antenna connectors inside the phone. Who knows, maybe a set was suppose to be bridged and share an antenna, I'd have to look at the schematic or trace the board myself.
---------- Post added at 09:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 AM ----------
Ya, you can definitely buy antennas to put in the phone. Just search MHF4 antennas. I'm going to work on figuring out where the 3 MHF4 connectors go inside the phone.

AlaskaTHPS said:
Ya, I wonder if you can buy micro antennas to place inside the phone. There's 2 or 3 u.FL(uFL, IPEX) antenna connectors inside the phone. Who knows, maybe a set was suppose to be bridged and share an antenna, I'd have to look at the schematic or trace the board myself.
---------- Post added at 09:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 AM ----------
Ya, you can definitely buy antennas to put in the phone. Just search MHF4 antennas. I'm going to work on figuring out where the 3 MHF4 connectors go inside the phone.
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Interesting. Have you figured this out? Is there room inside the phone for additional antennas?
Adding antennas should increase signal strength for the bands currently supported?
Is there a way to add bands using additional antenna and editing the ril/modem file of the rom?

rcll said:
Interesting. Have you figured this out? Is there room inside the phone for additional antennas?
Adding antennas should increase signal strength for the bands currently supported?
Is there a way to add bands using additional antenna and editing the ril/modem file of the rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There IS room for some small passive antennas. Antennas don't add bands, they just extend your current bands signal. There are some cheap mhl4 antennas online that would fit in there, but you need to know which connector is for which bands or use an antenna that covers most bands and bridge the connectors to one antenna.

Antennas?
AlaskaTHPS said:
Ya, I wonder if you can buy micro antennas to place inside the phone. There's 2 or 3 u.FL(uFL, IPEX) antenna connectors inside the phone. Who knows, maybe a set was suppose to be bridged and share an antenna, I'd have to look at the schematic or trace the board myself.
---------- Post added at 09:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 AM ----------
Ya, you can definitely buy antennas to put in the phone. Just search MHF4 antennas. I'm going to work on figuring out where the 3 MHF4 connectors go inside the phone.
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Did you work out if the MHF4 antennas were a viable option?
Can the spare connectors in the phone actually be used for an antenna?
If so, does it work?

Cellular strength and throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the Honor Play's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

the worst smartphone , this phone can't get 4G+ or LTA-A and always pick up slowest LTA band compared to galaxy note 4 I rather put data sim on galaxy note 4 better then Honor play i have this phone for more then a week and always disappointing me

msfm360 said:
the worst smartphone , this phone can't get 4G+ or LTA-A and always pick up slowest LTA band compared to galaxy note 4 I rather put data sim on galaxy note 4 better then Honor play i have this phone for more then a week and always disappointing me
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I Guess it is your network strength or something at the location you live, coz i have been using the device for quite some time, and i think its network reception in pretty decent and hence the overall connectivity is.
And about the device not getting 4G or LTA, i think mine does not even go down from 4G to 3G except deep basements..

nanodroid.cyberbot said:
I Guess it is your network strength or something at the location you live, coz i have been using the device for quite some time, and i think its network reception in pretty decent and hence the overall connectivity is.
And about the device not getting 4G or LTA, i think mine does not even go down from 4G to 3G except deep basements..
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Click to collapse
4G+ not 4G, LTA-A is different read about it
I don't know if this phone support Volte

No issues.
It took some time at all the locations to 'get used' to the strongest/closest signals. But the modem works absolutely fine. Especially, the feature where internet from other SIM is used when u receive a call on that SIM and default SIM is off.

Cellular strength is very good on the Honor Play. No complaints at all.

Cellular strength and throughput

We know how much you like to stream, ahem, "videos", and so cellular data is mega-important. Rate this thread to express how you think the OnePlus 7 Pro's LTE performs. A higher rating indicates that it's fantastic: throughput is excellent and signal strength is top-notch.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add.

not as good as my previous device(Nexus6p)

Signal strength is not very good, comparing to a P30 Pro its slightly lower (1-2dB) when held freely and quite a bit lower (6-8dB) when put on a table or held in hand - all measured with the built-in RSSI indicator in settings.

One thing I can not complain about is the cell signal and reception on the Huawei P30 Pro as it is really good. Where other smartphones fail the P30 Pro does not

At times even with full 4g signal strength oneplus 7 pro fails to reach internet. The issue is random & frequent. Didn't have this issue on op6t. I had changed mobile network to LTE only using *#*#4636#*#* , but with this issue on 4g has now set network to wcdma only.
Anyone else noticed this issue?

Strength is superb comparing to my previous phone, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. Where i was loosing signal (elevator in an old type of building), phone calls were dropping, no data, on 7 pro i can surf the web with ease

I've had no issues so far. Seems solid.

This is been my concern before my purchase of this phone and deciding if I go with Verizon or AT&t, I'm leaving Sprint after two years of absolute misery. I was wondering you guys were on different carriers. I'm so tired of buying phones and being burnt locked out bootloaders and the cell carrier pulling the wool over my eyes with security updates so I want to buy from OnePlus directly choose a good carrier that's why I'm coming to the best source there is lol! I was looking to go with AT&t because I wanted to give my wife a used OnePlus 3T the unlocked us version. But I agree with the previous statement success signal I have ever had was my Nexus 6p and I still have it it's in mint condition but it will just not read a SIM card for whatever reason. Thanks for any answer you can provide I really appreciate it I've been dying to try a OnePlus for a few years

Recent test on t mobile. On a simple choice plan with unlimited data. Believe this was on band 4

Compared to my Pixel 3 XL on TMO I have found it as good but not better. The 3XL is a steller performer though in the midband LTE range so as good is still great

Definitely better on my 6. Not the worst, but could be better

I can't say if cell strength is better or worse. I switched to AT&T from Verizon when I got the 7 pro. Although, I don't have any complaints on the signal strength with AT&T. I can say WiFi strength is better than on my LG V30. There are places at work (the bathroom ... I'm talking about the bathroom) where I got almost no signal with the V30 and I'm getting a strong signal with the 7 pro.

T-Mobile cell signal and strength are very good. Better than my prior devices...

Mint Mobile here (basically T-Mobile but cheaper. Check it out. Seriously I get 8GB LTE and unlimited talk/text for $240 a year).
Connection seems excellent for me. Much better than my old nextbit robin, and seems more consistent than my OnePlus 3T as well, ESPECIALLY WiFi connectivity. Have never had it drop WiFi and it reaches well into my driveway.