Can someone explain GPRS a little clearer for a newbie - Networking

OK so Ive installed SPB GPRS monitor but a little confused - I presumed that if you received (for example) 30 emails at 2kb each then your traffic would be 60kb for that session/day etc? Hmmmm there must be something Im missing as the GPRS monitor is always showing a lot higher and also included traffic when I was connected only via my wireless router. Its definitely all set up correctly so perhaps someone could give me a little GPRS lesson? ta x
It also seems to want to increase whenever it feels like it - I turned it on to check the calendar and it increased 6kb LOL
EDIT:
even stranger - I just turned it on to check my calendar and its increased from 93kb to 97kb and I havent sent or received anything yet GPRS is connected....but that should make a difference should it?

I am not an expert on this but here are some basic facts for starters:
1) When checking emails or calendar or whatever, various headers and other data are sent as well so if you have 30 emails at 2Kb each your traffic will exceed 60k because the email program and the server have to talk amongst themselves to let each other know there are new emails and what to download.
2) What do you mean, check the calendar? If you are synchronizing with exchange server then even when your WiFi is connected ActiveSync tends to go for GPRS (thank you M$) and even if there are no new items to download simply checking the calendar might cost you the 6k (I am not sure, but thank M$ again for the protocol)
3) Make sure you don't have any apps in the background that are set to automatically update, like weather plug-ins. Those will connect to GPRS if WiFi isn't present when they need to update. Note that when you put the device on standby, it turns WiFi off, but keeps GPRS on.
Well, hope that shed some light on the issue for you.

Please don't double post, evidently madkitty.

that makes things clearer - I also hadnt realised that when I was checking for emails every 10 mins it was costing...I only thought it was when you sent or received them
think we should all get GPRS manual from the network operators :lol:

Related

icq for ppc here

I found that mirrabilis do their own icq client for ppc. Its a beta but seems ok.
http://www.icq.com/download/ftp-pocketpc.html
I was so pi553d at that jabber pile of junk that didnt work and filled my ppc directories with junk I felt I had to post this. It seems fine but it is beta, you have been warned.
and it's more than one year old they have never released a final version.
i never really seen any of their icq versions to be a fit for release final version
WOW, it works really really well!
I dont really see any reason for another version..... well ok give me a day or two to find the bugs
re
Does this software lose connection when the machine is powered down, or switchws of after 5 mins of non use. That happens with my messenger and it ends up disconecting me. Used to be that GPRS would disconnect but I know the GPRS connections stays connected when the machine powers down ?
Cheers, Shire
The ICQ client for WM2003 works really well - it's wicked sending and receiving IM messages on the move. Virtually free too, even with O2's ridiculous GPRS charges. Far cheaper than SMS.
In my testing, I've found the following.
Start the ICQ client once you've connected the GPRS and all will be well. The machine does a Teletubbies "Eh-oh" when you get a new message, but I can't get the machine to vibrate. So, if you're walking around doing your Christmas shopping :roll: it's easy to miss messages.
Even if the machine powers off, or if you switch it off, the IM client still works.
However, if you lose your GSM signal, the GPRS won't automatically reconnect (well, mine doesn't), so ICQ will stop working. The only way to check for this situation is to switch on your XDA2 and look at the Wireless status (or look at your GPRS Monitor icon). The remedy seems to be closing ICQ and restarting it once you've reconnected to GPRS.
My wishlist for this ICQ client:
- more configurable alerts, ideally including vibration
- better connection status monitoring, with automatic reconnection if the GSM or GPRS line drops
- some kind of Today screen notification that a new message has arrived
The current version must have been written for users with a separate PDA and phone, who are therefore likely to be monitoring their connection frequently and not just turning on ICQ at start-up and leaving it on all day. It was also written before the arrival of vibrating phone PDAs.
but when it's using grps then you pay something to be online because to keep the icq server updated that you are online and the icq server keeping you uptodate about which of your contacts are online
though how much is being sendt in the way of MB i dont know
You're right, but in my experience it's requiring virtually no bandwidth at all to maintain the connection. Yesterday, for example, it used about 4kB/hour with no messages being sent/received, which is nothing relative to the cost of SMS.
Edit: On the standard O2 GPRS rate of £2.35 per MB, the cost of 1 kB is 0.23 pence. So, 4kB per hour is about 1p per hour, or £0.24 / €0.36 per 24 hours.
re
ooops sorry got confused over ICQ and IRC. I am after an IRC application for xda 2. Sorry I'll look elsewhere, DOH.
Cheers, Shire
re
re IRC software, I now have PocketChat installed and working on my XDA 2.
Cheers, Shire
I found the ICQ traffic to be a little higher. I have around 15 contacts on my list maybe thats why?
I worked out I'd be using around 3-4MB per month just for ICQ being idle which on the O2 data-nonsense tarrif is a little too much for me.

Turning off internet connection

When I go online and check my e-mails it does not close down the connection when I log off. How do I set my XDA 11 to do this?
Hold down the red button for a few seconds and it will kill it.
Gordon
I too wondered this, but came to the conclusion there is no way currently of getting a program to close its connection afterwards.
This doesn't bother me as much for the price of the connection as if you're just online checking mail etc, it won't cost much as it's per mb. However, I noticed when I left the connection on and was making calls etc, the battery decreases significantly faster than if it weren't connected to GPRS.
Has anyone found a program that monitors connections and disconnects them after so much inactivity? Does SPB GPRS Monitor do this, if so please tell me how cos I've already got it!
Cheers
Anthony

Push Mail

Hi guys
quick question ..
I would like to have Microsoft Push mail activated on my phone however I ve noticed that if I do, it keeps me connected to the internet throughout the entire day... now I am on data flat so I m not worried about costs however, I figured that being constantly online drains the battery pretty much ..
so .. is there a way of dealing with problem? can I have the phone check for emails and automatically disconnect after it has done so?
thxx
Amanox said:
can I have the phone check for emails and automatically disconnect after it has done so?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just an amateur and I certainly cannot pretend to know everything, but it seems to me that what you're asking for isn't really what Push is about.
You might be better off simply configuring the default mail programme to check for mail at short intervals.
You can set when to pull email from your ActiveSync Menu. This way it only connects to ActiveSync over the air when you specify.
as they said, just go to activesync ->menu-> schedule change to every hour or whatever
pushmail (as items arrive) requires an active connection between the phone and the mail server so gprs must be connected all the time
If you pull every 15 minutes you'll probably end up using more battery (connecting, checking, disconnecting).
My phone is always connect to GPRS/HSDPA and I've not had any real issue with the battery life.
Agree with Artesea.
My data connection is better when left on. I found a heavy use of battery, in the early days, when i used to have it connect when it needed.
If you are on a flat data plan, i advise leave it on.

Does the auto disconnect registry tweak affect push email?

I've set up my Gmail account using activesync (as item arrives) and all is well. However, I performed a few tests (sending emails to myself from other accounts) and noticed that the emails don't actually get to my phone immediately. They arrive immediately on the mail client on my PC but arrive about 10 minutes later on my HD2. Is this normal? If not, does the auto disconnect registry tweak I performed have anything to do with it. I'm guessing for mail to reach my phone as they arrive, some sort of constant connection is required with the google server. So does the auto disconnect tweak disrupt this connection? Also, is this constant connection drain the battery significantly quicker. I don't mind sacrificing a small amount of battery life for the push email feature, but if we're talking big drains then I might have to reconsider the sync frequencies.
OK, emails have started arriving exactly the same time on my phone as my PC mail client now. I'm guessing the auto disconnect doesn't affect anything then. It would be nice to know if its draining my battery quicker though when set to sync as item arrives.
Thanks in advance.
I was experimenting today and found the same issue. I'm not convinced that google sync works correctly just yet given that it is in beta.
I have gone back to non push mail.
WB
So hows the pushmail going on with you ?
Does it receive mail instantly ? does it drain battery faster in that way ?
Autosync with gmail seems to be unstable. I usually get mail on my phone instantly, but sometimes it can take up to 15 minutes. It would probably be better to set the phone to check mail every fifth minute or so, but what about the battery?
Does the auto disconnect affect weather, twitter or facebook updates btw?
Genuine 'Push' email can't work if autodisconnect is enabled (and actually working!)
The message that a new item is available is 'pushed' to the device from the server, which requires an open data connection.
If the data connection is closed, the 'new item available' flags won't be received until either the next scheduled poll, or the next push 'heartbeat' connection from the device which reopens the data connection.
qweac said:
Does the auto disconnect affect weather, twitter or facebook updates btw?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weather will be OK as it polls the server on a regular basis which reopens the data connection. I'm not sure about Twitter or FB- maybe having the programs open maintains the data connection?
shaliru said:
OK, emails have started arriving exactly the same time on my phone as my PC mail client now. I'm guessing the auto disconnect doesn't affect anything then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything works fine for now (push wise) but as NeilM mentioned, I don't think its compatible with autodisconnect. In notifications, it shows that the connection (T-mobile internet in my case) is still active. And when I hold the call end button and 'Terminate Data Connection' the connection is re-established again immediately.
To disable this constant connection, I've set it to download every 30 mins peak, and 60 mins off peak -
I've never used push email before but I'm guessing it creates a constant connection between the phone and the server.
shaliru said:
I've never used push email before but I'm guessing it creates a constant connection between the phone and the server.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats correct- the phone sends a 'heartbeat' signal every so often (depending on the Exchange server settings, but usually every 15 minutes) just to refresh it's current IP address setting on the server. In practice, the IP address will rarely change as long as the data connection is maintained.
In this way, the server always knows where to send items as they arrive, and the action of sending resets the 'heartbeat' counter. Likewise any item sent from the phone resets the 'heartbeat'
The data involved in the heartbeat process is around 4MB per month, which is similar to the amount used in the handshaking when polling at 30 minute intervals.
If you have auto-disconnect active, then the server won't be able to send new items, so they will only get sent when a new connection is established by the heartbeat process, or when a connection is forced by a send/receive operation.
shaliru said:
I've set up my Gmail account using activesync (as item arrives) and all is well. However, I performed a few tests (sending emails to myself from other accounts) and noticed that the emails don't actually get to my phone immediately. They arrive immediately on the mail client on my PC but arrive about 10 minutes later on my HD2. Is this normal? If not, does the auto disconnect registry tweak I performed have anything to do with it. I'm guessing for mail to reach my phone as they arrive, some sort of constant connection is required with the google server. So does the auto disconnect tweak disrupt this connection? Also, is this constant connection drain the battery significantly quicker. I don't mind sacrificing a small amount of battery life for the push email feature, but if we're talking big drains then I might have to reconsider the sync frequencies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, on my device, the auto disconnect never worked.
I set the values
HKLM\Comm\ConnMgr\Planner\Settings\CacheTime=60
HKLM\Comm\ConnMgr\Planner\Settings\VPNCacheTime=60
and set SuspendResume=""
And all the auto-updates are off (weather, stocks, etc)
and still - once I start a connection (Mostly if I do it for waether update, but sometimes even from SkyFire), it stays on, until I turn it off from the settings.
(Is there anything I missed in the settings to enable auto disconnect ?)

Email sync via 3G NOT wifi even though available

I have looked and looked, and cant seem to find a solution that works for me. I am with Telstra in Australia (why do Telstra like to make things so difficult??)
My problem is that my Outlook Email will only sync with exchange via 3G even though there is a working wifi connection availalable. I get heaps of mail so I am rapidly going through nearly 1G of data each month - even though I am on a good package this is not ideal!!
From my understanding of this thread ... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611724&highlight=activesync+work+connection I updated the Broadcomm Network Adaptors to Internet (they were Work), and then deleted the proxy settings for the Telstra Internet connection.
BUT still my mail is updating over 3G and not wifi. I can access Internet etc over wifi though.
Interestingly, I can only update Bigpond mail over wifi and not 3G. Thats not a big deal as I get minimal mail to that account and I am happy to check it at home - its the Outlook email thats chewing up heaps of data that I worried about.
I hope that I cant be the only one with this problem so if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it! (I know it will be one check box deep in the phone settings, I just dont know which one it is!)
Thanks
That's how it works. Push (Activesync connection) needs a direct connection between the server and device, so that the server can page the device when it's got something for it. This wouldn't work through wifi, because when you're on wifi you're behind a router, which doesn't allow connections from the outside to reach your device. So Activesync will always want to use the data connection.
One thing you can do is NOT to set activesync to receive new mail when it arrives, but only manually or at time intervals, it might work.
Or, simply set it to download only the first 5kB of each message, which is always enough to see what the mail is about , and you can always click "download whole message" for those you need. If you manage to use 1GB with 5kB messages, you're really spending your life on your email box
Thanks so much.
You would think that if Blackberry and Apple have managed to get their email to push over wifi that MS could get Direct Push to work over wifi too!! I've disabled MS Direct Push and changed Active Sync to check every 5 minutes. So, its not quite the same, but its near enough for me!
Thanks again ... I will stop searching for the solution now (and will reduce the download setting too ...)
Sarah, same exact problem here, it really annoyed me, then only way I could have used wifi to sync my outlook, Gmail, etc(which have the same issue) is to set the phone to Airplane mode and then enable wifi, only then it will sync via wifi.
Thank you Kilrah, that was a very spot on answer - it is very apreciated !
Cheers !

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