Which is better: Phones with Internal or External Antenna?

Good to know someone else has had similar luck with the Razr v3c. Out of curiosity, has anyone been unhappy with their service from the Razr with Verizon?
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Courtney
motorola phones

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› See More: Which is better: Phones with Internal or External Antenna?

Originally Posted by paulcman

I went 2 floors underground in an office building today with my Razr V3c and had no loss in signal strength or reception for over 20 minutes (all while moving around on that level)! My LG VX6100 with external antenna would have long since dropped that call.

This is great help for me as I currently have problems getting reception in my downstairs apartment.

Originally Posted by d3adeyes

i have been involved with radios for a long time ( a ham for about 10 years ) and an external antenna will always be a better choice and using it fully extended is best

with that being said it will still depend on the phone you are using . If it works fine for you being an internal antenna then no worries but if that phone is not offered with an external antenna then how could you compare them . So bottom line is if the antenna works for you great but if you are running into reception problems then you may need to find a phone with an external antenna to get the reception you need

I agree with this. I have an E815 (Moto) and the only time I extend the antenna is when my signal waivers, other than that I never do. I do like the option to be able to 'increase' your signal that way but it's all about what works for you. With internal ones, you definitely want to make sure you don't cover the part of the phone where the antenna is located.

Hi

Originally Posted by d3adeyes

i have been involved with radios for a long time ( a ham for about 10 years ) and an external antenna will always be a better choice and using it fully extended is best

with that being said it will still depend on the phone you are using . If it works fine for you being an internal antenna then no worries but if that phone is not offered with an external antenna then how could you compare them . So bottom line is if the antenna works for you great but if you are running into reception problems then you may need to find a phone with an external antenna to get the reception you need

Than you of all people should know that location is certainly not the only factor. Power being one. On top of that, plastic is certainly not the most difficult materials for radio waves to pass through ( phone casing ).

There are also many antenna designs available, not all are a "stick."

However, you are correct that if your phone does have an external antenna, it is best if you have it fully deployed ( extended ). This is because it is designed to operate in that fashion, if it was designed to operate at the storage height, than it would not be able to be extended.

Another factor is how the frequency band ( range ) is shared or otherwise used. CDMA, FDMA, or TDMA.

Anywho...

Your call quality will depend on many factors but external or internal antenna placement is one of the smallest.

About holding the phone properly. You can certainly restrict ability to transmit and receive radio signals if your finger placement is incorrect. What will mainly happen is your phone will need to use more power to transmit but this is only temporary as after transmitting at full power will begin to build up enough heat where the phone will need to reduce power in order to prevent overheating. Of course, the tower will not provide any additional transmitting power and therefore incoming signal will not improve.

I think it depends on the model.. my old Kyocera 5135 (external antenna) got excellent reception, then i got an Audiovox 8910 (external also) and it was pretty much terrible. Some places it worked well, but for the most part it was lame. But my Razr V3c gets excellent reception and it obviously has internal antenna.

These phones were all on Bell Mobility.

From my experience:

I've always thought the service was more important partly due to the heavy marketing cellular companies use on us. However, recently I've been enlightened so to speak, by how much connection my friend who has T-mobile gets as oppose to me with Verizon in the central area of NJ. Usually T-mobile is known for tremendous amounts of minutes to cover for its poor service, while verizon is known for its quality of service and high priced service plans. Since connection is one of my main priorities, I went with Verizon. Recent events, however, changed my understanding of how T-mobile can actually be a great service provider when my friend just so happend to get great service( 4 bars) in a big grocery store, where I, had no connection at all.

My friend, then turned to his phone as the reason for having such a great connection and it made me wonder, how much a phone actually plays in this ordeal. So here's my question: Does anyone know exactly? Does anyone have a similar experience? If so, what kind of phone do you have? (my friend just so happens to have a Samsung D248 --> Samsung D428 - Full phone specifications )

Also, does anyone know, the particular data to look for on a phone's spec data sheet that would tell a consumer that this particular phone would have a great signal receiving antenna to get the best out of a service provider's connection? Thanks!

Originally Posted by Madmax_025

I agree ! I broke two on my old phones before.

I broke it one time a then I buy only phones with internal! I am not persistent

Another thing that interferes with reception, and blocks the antenna, is putting the phone in your pocket. As opposed to on your belt, or attached to a purse, etc...where the antenna is exposed, to receive the best signal possible.

There are SO many factors involved...provider, geographical location, phone, structural and terrain, weather (yes raindrops DO affect reception)...

My Familys Razr's get better reception in my house then any previous handset we have owned by a country mile. (V3c x3)

I mean, alot clearer, no fading in an out and no eventuall drop that the more recent samsungs were doing alot in my house.

The motos, ring with every call, other handsets like the sammys,would pick up the call an ring maybe 50% of time,so dropping half of my incomin calls was getting to be a major pain.

I know i should prob get a repeater, however for the time being, the moto's with thier internall antennae are whipping the lama,or thier external cousins arses.

All phones on same network btw.

peace

WR

my razr had real good service while my step-fathers motorola "something" with external antenna didn't have as good reception... i think it depends on where u are located and other factors