Two smartphones, same network, different phone signal

[Buzzard]

Last Saturday I was moaning about the lack of a phone signal where I was.

The chap I was talking to said he was on the same network and after looking at his phone he said he had 3 bars where I only had 1.  Both of us have a Samsung phone but different models, his might be more modern.

Does anyone have an idea of what's going on, or not as the case may be?

Thanks.

[njee20]

Different aerials in different phones. "Bars of signal" is quite a transient metric. He was standing nearer the mast. Aliens.

[Steven B]

Different models of phone will have different antennas, some of which will be better than others.

Was the phone with the lower signal strength in a case?

There's also no easy way of knowing if you were both attached to the same base-station. You could have been on the edge of two cells, one connected to one (with three bars), the other connected to a second further away cell (one bar).

It's also possible that the local environment had an impact. How often have you been able to make a call in one part of a room but not another?

[Buzzard]

Was the phone with the lower signal strength in a case?

Yes and it's been in a case since day 1.  I've now ditched the case and put the original back on and will do some tests to see if it makes a difference.

Thanks.

[Malc]

You shouldn't pay too much attention to the signal bars. See https://www.signalbooster.com/pages/what-do-signal-bars-on-a-cell-phone-really-mean