Database Users

O2 Mini S XDA WiFi - Poor Range?

Hi folks
I'm new here.. please be nice!
I'm new to all this, but I've had my O2 Mini S a few days now and I love it.
One thing, though... the WiFi range seems really poor. I can get a decent connection all over the house and garden with my laptop (it's a DLink router 'b', not 'g'), but when I connect using my XDA the signal strength plummets to to non-existent as soon as I take a few steps out of the room.
I haven't installed any hacks or mods, and I've set the signal output thingy to max, but it doesn't seem to make much difference.
ShHould I ask for a replacement?
Thanks for your help!

Hello mate,
I have the same unit and to be honest the wifi range is nowhere near as good as something like a laptop, or even a PSP.
I've compared to some of the HP units that guys are work are using and the range is comparable. I get one floor above or below my AP but no more.
Scott

Have you guys changed the power options for the WiFi to 'Best Performance' it increases the range at the expense of the battery life.

Sorry just read the part when you mentioned the 'signal thingy' I'm guessing this is what I mentioned. In which case *shrugs*

great device! few comments

Ladies and Gentlemen!
Just receivd my HTC Herald few days ago and I am happy to say :
this device is vey good.
on the PROS side:
battery life is very good - on pair with Excalibur
keyboard is sensational - sprung keyboard.
keyboard is identical to Hermes keyboard but has Exclaibur like rubber feel to it. very sexy!
device plays chimes when hardware keyboard is being slided out/ slided in.
very cool this one. my wife wants this device badly now
overall very well built device. great quality.
D-pad look is similar to HTC TyTN D-Pad but feels completely different! much better this one. better click easier to use. big step forward.
sylus - identical to Trinity. non-telescopic one. very convenient to use.
screen is very bright and clear.
WiFI and BT - can not compain about that one.
on CONS side:
200MHz processor - SKYPE is big NO NO unless processor is overclocked...
multimedia speaker sound is very soft. quite easy to miss on incomming call. did that few time already.
device is not as light as Artemis for an instance. it feels a bit heavier than it should.
I have noticed that this is due to the battery weight mainly.
great form factor! excellent replacement for HTC Wizard.

I hope when they come with the next version for the TyTn it is with the sprung keyboard with chimes
Regards

where did you purchase the herald?
im interested in getting one.

Sorry. I am afraid that HTC P4350 is not commercially available yet.
P.S. after almost full week of having Herald in operation I have eventually realised that great keyboard and D-Pad makes this phone exceptional for me.
I wouldn't touch Hermes any more. what a difference!
bigneeker said:
where did you purchase the herald?
im interested in getting one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I'm with you on that one SecureGSM... I too have a P4350 (although an older firmware than yours), and think it's a keeper.
Size is great, dpad is great and keyboard is pretty good (not quite as good as Hermes IMHO, primarily due to location of button for left soft key).
I love the spring out keyboard action, but wish it was a bit lighter (why so heavy?) and wish it looked a bit more special and a bit less industrial
P

Cheers, Modaco!
It is the battery that makes this device feels heavy! I have realised that when I removed the battery out. Not sure why.. may be HTC has to use new designed battery in conformance with new European standards and regulations? battery is definetely heavier than normal would be. I guess this is the question to technical gurus. I am not one of those, sorry
modaco said:
I'm with you on that one SecureGSM... I too have a P4350 (although an older firmware than yours), and think it's a keeper.
... but wish it was a bit lighter (why so heavy?) and wish it looked a bit more special and a bit less industrial
P
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

In Germany it costs "only" 120 dollars less than the Tytn, but especially with a data flat I would not want to miss 3G and HSDPA anymore. The problems with the low speaker sound and low A2DP stereo quality leaves a lot of HTC customers angry. Too bad the Herald does not improve on this yet. Looking forward to the O2 Flame now, even if Quanta produces it...

Skype on HTC Herald (Dopod C800)
Dear all,
Have anyone actually tried skype on HTC Herald ?
I need to double confirm that HTC Herald is not able to
handle skype properly, so I will have to go for HTC Hermes instead. Basically I love every review on the Herald
except on the problem with skype.
Pls advise.
Thanks.

Hi,
I am also planning to order the Herald.
Great device in my opinion. The only disavantage is indeed the processor.
But if you overclock the processor to 240mhz, skype will work, i guess.
The HTC 9100 has the same processor and some people already reported skype succesfully working after overclocking tot 240 Mhz.
Am i correct ?
regards,
Dieter.

Can you tell me if the Herald has a low Wi-fi reception, like the Hermes? Thank you.

Hi Frankie_R,
you mean that the Hermes actually weak WIFI issue ?
will that affect the voice quality when using SKYPE ?
Hi ddv,
I have a review in local newspaper that the device is working properly on Skype without overclocking.
Not sure how true.
Unless the new 200MHz Processor is very efficient, I
seriously doubt it can handle skype with acceptable
voice quality even at 240Mhz overclocking.
Of couse, I wouls prefer to wait for actual
experience feedback.
At the mean time, I can still wait for the
ETEN M700 to come out.
Thanks for reading

sylvester_k said:
Hi Frankie_R,
you mean that the Hermes actually weak WIFI issue?
will that affect the voice quality when using SKYPE ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the signal isn't too weak (but the Hermes has a low reception, so you must be not too far away from the source) Skype will work without any problem.

The definitive GPS evaluation

Hi everyone,
I am about to buy my first PDA/phone, and the choice boils down to either the E-ten X500 or the HTC P3600.
The E-ten has got the lead where GPS is concerned thanks to SIRFIII but the 3600 has UMTS/HSDPA...
I have read as much as I could on the Qualcomm chip that is used in the P3600 and since the GPS feature is very important to me, I'm worried that the P3600 is not the way to go.
I would therefore like to ask your findings in the GPS usage, not only in Time Till First Fix (although ofcourse very important), but also in keeping the fix, re-acquiring a lost signal, etc...

Have a S300+ (french vodafone version) with the original ROM and Radio version and for me it's less than a minute.

Hi,
TTFF is impossible under 30 sec (except A-GPS), 30 secs is the minimum to acquire ephemeride in good conditions.
If you are searching the best sensitivity, sure, take the ETEN (sirf III) !
But, with my french Renault Clio and its athermic heat shield, no big issues, no delay over than 10 meters, even in city, hot start less than 5sec (tunnel exit).
So really happy, it's nearly like a BT antenna (in same conditions)...
I will post tomorrow some pics showing differences between radio 1.38.00.11 and 1.41.00.11 on the same route, there is no changes in quality so all people can upgrade to 1.41.0.11 (for the gps part)

hi I have a P3600 and a separate Rikaline 6033 BT GPS. "the only 32 Parallel Channel GPS receiver in the world - Uses the latest Fujitsu Japanese chipset giving excellent precision
- Superior than the Sirf III Chipset with greater sensitivity and lower power consumption"
I can say (marketing blurb aside!) the Rikaline is a superb device, and the P3600 is almost identical.
It finds a fix very quickly from cold (unless in a moving car) and the sensitivity of the P3600 seems to be nigh on identical to the Rikaline BT device. I did own another BT GPS for a short period of time - but found the sensitivity poor so returned it for the Rikaline.
I have to say the P3600 is a great solution. My only gripe is to do with the poor Voda 3G coverage in the UK.
I would say that phone reception is slightly better on my M600 - but that's going on number of bars in the signal strength....

Please put the full name: "Time To First Fix" I guess in addition to the abbreviation (TTFF) in your vote
It can be : Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation or something esle
We are in a PDA dedicated forum... and not every body is suited to understand such GPS abbreviations

Cyrus Kourosh said:
Please put the full name: "Time To First Fix" I guess in addition to the abbreviation (TTFF) in your vote
It can be : Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation or something esle
We are in a PDA dedicated forum... and not every body is suited to understand such GPS abbreviations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
post edited... Dunno if I can change the poll though....

sickboy555 said:
hi I have a P3600 and a separate Rikaline 6033 BT GPS. "the only 32 Parallel Channel GPS receiver in the world - Uses the latest Fujitsu Japanese chipset giving excellent precision
- Superior than the Sirf III Chipset with greater sensitivity and lower power consumption"
I can say (marketing blurb aside!) the Rikaline is a superb device, and the P3600 is almost identical.
It finds a fix very quickly from cold (unless in a moving car) and the sensitivity of the P3600 seems to be nigh on identical to the Rikaline BT device. I did own another BT GPS for a short period of time - but found the sensitivity poor so returned it for the Rikaline.
I have to say the P3600 is a great solution. My only gripe is to do with the poor Voda 3G coverage in the UK.
I would say that phone reception is slightly better on my M600 - but that's going on number of bars in the signal strength....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx for the great info!
Can anyone back this up?
The reason I ask is that it is generally accepted that SirfIII is better than the Qualcom, and from a technical standpoint I can understand and accept this. However, if usage on a day to day basis shows equal or near-equal performance, I could care less about reputation and would go for the P3600
Hell, some might argue that if the Qualcom gets the job done with less sattellites, it's actually a better solution for it
On the other hand, I already put an offer in on a used X500 and can't seem to find any decent priced used P3600's where I live, so that might end up being the deciding factor anyway. But still, if the GPS is fine and I do get a chance to purchase a used one, I won't hesitate

If it can help :
Cyrus Kourosh said:
Here is the test of the HTC P3600 GPS (Qualcomm gpsONE chipset) compared to SiRFstar III GPS chipset based devices
made by www.gpspassion.com
--> English version
--> French version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Cyrus Kourosh said:
If it can help :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree with this test !
Got the S300+ SFR, and it works like a charm !
Depend of the radio version etc...

I already saw that one but thanx anyway
Actually, that was the review which caused me to start doubting the P3600 as far as GPS is concerned
The problem is that the only thing that is translated into real-world usage in this review is the slow Time Till First Fix they mention (though this is not reflected by the poll here I must say...Maybe thanks to the radio updates in the meantime...).
It does not really answer my questions on how GPS usage is affected on a daily basis.
Ok, there is deviance from a set route and you can witness that on the tracks they map, but how does this translate into the real world?
Does it point you in the wrong direction a lot?
Is it slow in giving you the right directions because of a more latent signal?
Does it lose its signal a lot?
Does it not reconnect quickly after connection is lost (tunnels and such)?
From what I'm seeing here on the forum (or from what I am not seeing actually: complaints ) this GPS seems to perform just fine so what is the relevance of the findings of the gpspassion comparison?
I'm not questionning these guys' work though, they seem particularly tech-savvy when it comes to GPS and I appreciate what they do.
But I'm starting to wonder in how far the SirfIII is actually any better.
I just set an appointment to pick up the X500 this weekend though, so if you guys are going to stop me from buying it, the window of opportunity is fading

I don't doubt that the X500 has better GPS but I'll never own an ETEN product again. Go with HTC.

Argh....we've been down this road a lot on this board already....
There's no actual winner here... I've used both a BT GPS mouse and now the Qualcomm in Trinity, and i can tell you there's no notable difference in the normal usage scenario's...
But hell...if you wanna start a chronometer everytime you fire up the nav, go right ahead Does it make you feel better if either one turns out to be just 5 seconds faster than the other ?
The P3600 is just as excellent (if not better) in keeping the fix and reacquiring it, it's got HSDPA/UMTS, it's already got WM6 by now, and just looks freakin' good as opposed to the freakin' ugly E-Ten...
Am I biased ? Hell no....

DisTreSs said:
I already saw that one but thanx anyway
Actually, that was the review which caused me to start doubting the P3600 as far as GPS is concerned
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at that review it appears they tested it in an 'urban canyon' - city with lots of tall buildings type scenario. In that environment it is no surprise that the SIRF3 outperformed the Qualcomm chipset.
So whether or not it will work for you depends what the environment is like that you'll be using it in. If you are spending a lot of time in a city with lots of tall buildings and short streets (ie you'll be turning a lot) then maybe a SIRF3 based device is for you. But if you spend most of your time in the suburbs or open space then don't worry, the difference will be negligible.
DisTreSs said:
Does it point you in the wrong direction a lot?
Is it slow in giving you the right directions because of a more latent signal?
Does it lose its signal a lot?
Does it not reconnect quickly after connection is lost (tunnels and such)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My answers to your question would be no, no, no and no...
Having used both a SIRF3 BT GPS module and the internal GPS on the Trinity I would say there is absolutely no difference in performance in the environment I use it in, which is mostly suburban driving with occasional trips into the city.
Also TTFF I found was negligible between the 2 - cold time was ~3mins on both, warm < 30s on both.
Only real difference I noticed was that inside my house I can get a fix on the SIRF3 in most places, with the Trinity internal GPS I can only get a within fix 1 - 2m from a window. But since I don't have much use for the GPS inside this is kinda irrelevant!

DisTreSs said:
....
Does it point you in the wrong direction a lot?
Is it slow in giving you the right directions because of a more latent signal?
Does it lose its signal a lot?
Does it not reconnect quickly after connection is lost (tunnels and such)?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello:
my answers are NO, NO, NO and NO.
I get a faster fix when I'm not moving but it is always under 2 minutes (always with TT6).
The whole "fix-discussion" depends on where the satelites actually are and how many of them are "available" in the sky...
I did not recognize any differance between the radio roms for the GPS...

Antzzz said:
...
Only real difference I noticed was that inside my house I can get a fix on the SIRF3 in most places, with the Trinity internal GPS I can only get a within fix 1 - 2m from a window. But since I don't have much use for the GPS inside this is kinda irrelevant!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point....

DisTreSs said:
Does it point you in the wrong direction a lot?
Is it slow in giving you the right directions because of a more latent signal?
Does it lose its signal a lot?
Does it not reconnect quickly after connection is lost (tunnels and such)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No at all... (No signal lost, No wrong direction, No slow redirection, No slow reconnection ...)
For me, It is my first GPS... I never had one before, so I can not compare.
However, this GPS does not have such problems.... and works really perfect for classical/personal use.
I am using it extensively for months, and It fits all my needs and expectations.
Also, I do not have any experience with Eten.
But for me... the HTC Trinity is the best and the most complete communicating PDA never constructed

Now we're getting somewhere!
Thanks all for your great replies!!! Keep 'em comming
I'm starting to think about cancelling the X500 now damnit
Just when I thought I had it all figured out....

Antzzz said:
Only real difference I noticed was that inside my house I can get a fix on the SIRF3 in most places, with the Trinity internal GPS I can only get a within fix 1 - 2m from a window. But since I don't have much use for the GPS inside this is kinda irrelevant!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except when you are drunk, it very useful to find the way to your bedroom Looooll

Yes and you wouldn't want to get stuck in the hallway for 10 minutes waiting to get a fix

DisTreSs said:
Yes and you wouldn't want to get stuck in the hallway for 10 minutes waiting to get a fix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main problem for the GPS in this situation is to always show you the right direction while the world is turning, turning, turning....

help??

hi all, i've been using a nokia e61i and want to switch back to a wm phone, i am torn between the universal or a tilt, Im leanning towards the universal but i hear the battery sucks, any input???
thanks in advance

mistamikel said:
hi all, i've been using a nokia e61i and want to switch back to a wm phone, i am torn between the universal or a tilt, Im leanning towards the universal but i hear the battery sucks, any input???
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course Universal mate! with no doubt
Battery issue is a lie, I have my original one since 2005 and still 24-30 h of lasting using WI-FI, Bluetooth, GPRS and music
Go for it!

anyone else ???

also can the device ues a 16gig mem card??

mistamikel said:
anyone else ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have two Unis and both can't last me longer than a day of heavy use! Actually to be honest there is no such thing as "heavy use" in my world, because the battery can't handle it.
I can listen to music, play a game or prepare for a meeting while going to work but then I risk of not being able to do anything else as my battery is dead!
a 20 min game can cost me a third of my battery's life and that is without sound and the backlight at it's min. Both of my Unis are the same in terms of battery life.
But listen I have had so many phones over the years and I will never go back to any of them as the Uni is the ultimate device out there right now.
Don't waste your time on the tilt if you don't mind the bulk!
That being said I at the moment am thinking of getting the iPhone as its internet browsing speeds on 3G and WiFi are faster. But I'll be sacrificing so much more for that.
You asked tilt or Uni... well without a doubt Uni is the winner! and I'm sure everyone on this forum who doesn't mind the bulk will tell you the same!
OR! you can wait until HTC OMNI come out in October I believe, and it's supposed to be the replacement for the Uni... I'd wait for that before I make a move. But then again I want to get an iPhone so what do I know.
Hope this helped!
Good luck!
P.S. either of my Unis work in a basement of a house or a building where most phones have reception, which is absolutely frustrating not to mention frequent signal loss.
But then again, perhaps all I need is a new battery and all my issues will be solved! Accept for browsing speeds…

Network Signal Strength

Hi,
One of the really disappointing things about the Diamond was it's poor ability to to hold onto a network, especially 3G. In place where you'd get 100% full bars on a nokia, you get maybe just 60% on the Diamond.
So.. have HTC corrected this flaw on the HD? Any cell phone that has poor reception is not worth buying.
what is you experiance? is it god or bad? Will I be disappoined after spending over £500?
Thanks
Mark

I would also like to hear how the Touch HD is performing on 3G compared to the Diamond. As this is the only reason for me to get the Touch HD.
Thanks!

I may not be much help here as my last phone din't support 3G so don't know what coverage is like in my area but i have had my HD for 5 days now and have only ever had a 3G connection about twice and it was a very weak signal at that, my connection always falls back to edge which is very disappointing.

Have had mine for 5 days now and have no issue's what so ever with signal strenght, am in a 3g covered area all the time and have yet to have it drop the signal on me.

Not so good for me...
I live in a poor reception area and have tried sim cards for Orange, T-Mobile and 3 and I can confirm the HD does not seem to get a signal, my Hemes would JUST get a signal and was good enough to leave on the side in the house for the push email and phone to ring, I always had to goto the window to talk though, but the HD only works at all if I go outside.
I really like the HD, the larger screen is perfect for me having quite big fingers, I even forgive the poor shutter performance of the camera, but a phone that gets no signal in my house is very close to a deal breaker for me and am extremely unhappily considering returning for a refund.
Incidentally I used to get the same problem with my old universal but not my Blue Diamond, I tried changing radio versions on the hermes to see if I could make it better than ever but the 3 different radio roms I tried all had the same signal strength.
I contacted HTC this morning (0845 8900079) they said there was no known issue and offered no help other than for me to return the handset
I'm not a happy nerd.

As long a the reception is as good as my Touch pro I'm all good. I've herd its better than the Touch pro.. I would find it hard to believe it would be worse since it uses the same hardware..just a different radio rom. We do know the GPS reception is better than the Diamond or Touch Pro from user tests.

hmmmn
Same processor etc, but different form factor must mean differences of layout of the components within, so things like the positions of antennas must be a factor in signal quality, difficult to say that if a touch diamon/pro/hd share hardware they will all have good reception.
All I know for sure after my tests in my rubbish signal area is that the Blackstone does not perform as well as my Hermes.

I cannot confirm this. I think my Touch HD in weak signal areas performs much better than my old Hermes. Where I always had 50% signal strenght now I have 90 to 100%. Also the HSDPA is available much more than just 3G. I think signal wise this is a fine piece of engineering.

Network is working brilliantly for me.
It autoconnects to my known networks perfectly and fetches all my mail without flaw.
I also noticed that contrary to the other HTC devices people at the office own, my HD has a battery lifetime of over 4 full days with WiFi constantly conencted.

Not sure what to make of it then, i've just done some more tinkering and still the hermess (orange M3100 running wm6.1 and latest eu radio) is getting a single bar of network on my window sill compared to a constant network searching on the blackstone, i wonder if i have a dicky blackstone, perhaps an exchange is the way to go. I'll be really pleased if thats what it is, i want to love the HD!!

lumbard said:
Not sure what to make of it then, i've just done some more tinkering and still the hermess (orange M3100 running wm6.1 and latest eu radio) is getting a single bar of network on my window sill compared to a constant network searching on the blackstone, i wonder if i have a dicky blackstone, perhaps an exchange is the way to go. I'll be really pleased if thats what it is, i want to love the HD!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd exchange it..could be a rare lemon. It may just be the performance on this particular line of Qualcom chipsets. Most have reported the signal being better than the Diamond and Touch Pro, which if thats the case is great. I have never had issues in weak signal areas of my house dropping a call with my touch pro or old tytn II.