Evo 4G Wifi test — how bad is it?

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Evo 4G Wifi signal test

It’s no great secret that the Evo 4G doesn’t do as well as other Android phones when it comes to holding a Wifi signal. In fact, we’ve got page after page in our forums of how displeased many of you are.

But how does the Evo 4G’s Wifi stack up? We put it through a couple of relatively unscientific tests, using the Wifi Analyzer app from the Android Market. Check out our results after the break.

Evo 4G Wifi test – Phil’s results

The particulars:

  • Router: Linksys WRT350N, 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz
  • Phones: Nexus One, Evo 4G, Motorola Droid

My router’s in one corner of my house. I started in the corner of the house farthest away, working my way back toward the base. I held the each phone in the same manner, pointed in the same direction, and let it settle on a signal. Rooms are listed from farthest to closest. Strongest signal is noted in bold.

  Evo 4G Nexus One Droid
Laundry room -95/-98 dBm -90 dBm -85 dBm
Dining room -91/-85 dBm -80 dBm -84 dBm
Living room -80/-88 dBm -66 dBm -78 dBm
Bedroom -89/-86 dBm -71 dBm -69 dBm
Office (router location) -49/-50 dBm -42 dBm -45 dBm

Note: Evo 4G was tested with two radios. First number is stock, second is 1.39.00.05.31 from Geek for Me. Also, I’ll re-run this test with a Droid Incredible, just as soon as I find out in stock.

Evo 4G Wifi test – Jerry’s results

The particulars:

  • Router: Netgear WNR3500L 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4GHz
  • Phones: Evo 4G (with 1.39.00.05.31 radio), Nexus One, Sprint Hero, Google Ion (dev phone)
  Evo 4G Nexus One Sprint Hero Google Ion
Back porch No signal -90 dBm
-90 dBm No signal
Living room -60 dBm -47 dBm -52 dBm -60 dBm
Kitchen -85 dBm -60 dBm -65 dBm -80 dBm
Office (router location) -48 dBm -35 dBm -45 dBm -50 dBm

Our unscientific conclusions

It doesn’t take a blogger to tell you that the Evo 4G doesn’t get nearly as good a Wifi signal as other phones. In our tests, the Nexus One (and the Droid, too) bested just about everything.

Will a software update be able to make things better? Maybe, but there likely are hardware concerns, too. We wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a reason to not buy the Evo 4G. But it is something you should be aware of before purchasing one.