Will someone kindly explain to me, in plain English, the difference between the different types of data services available on the Athena and other 3G devices?
Here's what I know now:The basic voice/data protocol when not in a 3G coverage area is GSM. Since I use AT&T, the 2G (or 2.5G) data service is EDGE. When in the most rural of areas, I'm using simple GPRS for data service, represented by a G on the status bar. When EDGE is available, the G changes to an E.
So far, so good.
Where I'm getting confused is when I enter a 3G service area. It seems that there are two levels of 3G: UMTS (represented by 3G on the status bar) and HSDPA (represented by an H). Also, when in a 3G area, the phone application (and the Wireless Today plugin if it's enabled) show "AT&T UMTS." Now, as I understood it, UMTS is an entire cellular protocol, designed to succeed GSM, and not a data service specifically. HSDPA is the data service.
So, what is the practical difference between a "3G" on the status bar and an "H" on the status bar?
Can someone in the know please sort this out for me?
Thanks.
In simple English the '3G' symbol shows when we are in a UMTS active area. It will show the large "3G" connected to the small "3G" when attached to the UMTS data network but not downloading/uploading anything.
If you then open an application (like Outlook and hit send/receive) the ["3G" 's] both change to ["H" 's] as the HSDPA compression kicks in. This is, of course, depending on having the HSDPA active.
Once the data exchange has ended, it returns to ["3G" 's] to show that we are still in a high speed data 'available' area. If we leave the "3G" area, we get handed of to the "E" 's for the Edge network. If we leave the Edge area, we get downgraded again to ["G" 's] for the GPRS. As you have correctly noted, it's all about speed.
You should only see the ["H" 's] on for an extended time if you are downloading a large file or perhaps streaming media to your device. The "H" shows that the compression algorithm is active, otherwise, the 3G shows when the service is available, but idle.
You may see a single '3G' meaning you are in a UMTS active area but not connected. You should never see a single "H", only a double "H" during a "3G" connected session. I have tested this by turning off HSDPA and the double "3G" remains during downlink, meaning the data is still at a higer speed than Edge, but not using the HSDPA compression. Hope this answers your question.
raskell said:
In simple English the '3G' symbol shows when we are in a UMTS active area. It will show the large "3G" connected to the small "3G" when attached to the UMTS data network but not downloading/uploading anything.
If you then open an application (like Outlook and hit send/receive) the ["3G" 's] both change to ["H" 's] as the HSDPA compression kicks in. This is, of course, depending on having the HSDPA active.
Once the data exchange has ended, it returns to ["3G" 's] to show that we are still in a high speed data 'available' area. If we leave the "3G" area, we get handed of to the "E" 's for the Edge network. If we leave the Edge area, we get downgraded again to ["G" 's] for the GPRS. As you have correctly noted, it's all about speed.
You should only see the ["H" 's] on for an extended time if you are downloading a large file or perhaps streaming media to your device. The "H" shows that the compression algorithm is active, otherwise, the 3G shows when the service is available, but idle.
You may see a single '3G' meaning you are in a UMTS active area but not connected. You should never see a single "H", only a double "H" during a "3G" connected session. I have tested this by turning off HSDPA and the double "3G" remains during downlink, meaning the data is still at a higer speed than Edge, but not using the HSDPA compression. Hope this answers your question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent explanation. Thanks. Not that I needed it, but many noobs to 3G based devices might.
Thanks for your positive comments, mackaby007
Related
I'm a little confused about the internet connection icons that vary according to ROM and carrier. If I'm on Cingular in the US what 3G technology is this? Is it UMTS or HSDPA? Also, which icon set would I need to properly display whether I'm on GPRS, EDGE, or the 3G network?
GliTCH82 said:
I'm a little confused about the internet connection icons that vary according to ROM and carrier. If I'm on Cingular in the US what 3G technology is this? Is it UMTS or HSDPA? Also, which icon set would I need to properly display whether I'm on GPRS, EDGE, or the 3G network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will answer some of your question at least:
http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=cellulargenerations
Mike
GliTCH82 said:
I'm a little confused about the internet connection icons that vary according to ROM and carrier. If I'm on Cingular in the US what 3G technology is this? Is it UMTS or HSDPA? Also, which icon set would I need to properly display whether I'm on GPRS, EDGE, or the 3G network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all 3G cingular towers in the US have been upgraded to support HSDPA. if your device can use HSDPA, and you're on a cingular UMTS tower, then you'll be able to take advantage of HSDPA. HSDPA activates and deactivates on the fly, so if you're not actively transferring data the device will shut down HSDPA and fall back to UMTS until data beings to move again.
if you are using a cingular 8525 with 1.34 ROM, you'll see "U" when connected via UMTS, regardless of HSDPA being active or not.
if you are using a cingular 8525 with 2.06 ROM, you'll see "3G" when connected via UMTS/HSDPA, or optionally (via registry edit) "3G" with UMTS and "H" when HSDPA is actived.
i hope that was semi clear...i tried!
wait a minute. ive got a U showing, but i have 3G with a 3G simcard, so if it doesnt say 3G, than im not getting 3G? ive always thought the U was 3G.
K ya know beside the signal bar it shows a "G" then if you click on it it asks if you want to turn on wireless, well now there is a "U".
Is there someplace that can tell me what all these symbols mean?
Wow.... seriously... where do you live?
The U means that you now are connected to UMTS which gives you the "broadband" access through your provider. Make sure you have unlim data plan. It will start to eat it up when you realize what you get to do with all that bandwidth. Have FUN!!!
well does it eat up data if you "dont" use messenger or web browse? AKA: just use the phone?
I do have a data plan for unlimited text messaging and i use Wifi when i wanna surf.
Quick guide:
Starting with the slowest.
Second Generation:
GSM
GPRS (the G symbol)
EDGE (the E symbol)
Third Generation:
UMTS (the U symbol or depending on localisation, 3G symbol)
HSDPA (the H symbol, if you've got this, then you're in for some fast download speeds)
It all depends on which network you're on and proximity to a tower as to what speed you will actually get.
There are other types, but these are the ones you're more likely to come across using a Hermes.
U Bet
ROTFLMAO.... I thought I had a bug in my ROM after flashing it, even went to the trouble of rolling back.
What a freakin' idiot I am!....
I live in an area where i see U and H fairly often up there.
However, to me it makes little difference, I don't download large files with the device. Web browsing seems mostly unaffected by the connection type.
Having the device in 3G or 3.5G modes does however drain the battery somewhat faster. I saw the difference in my Uni. Can't comment on EDGE as the Uni doesn't have it, I'll be getting my Hermes today so I should be able to comment on that.
It would be logical that the faster connection speeds would drain the battery faster, but I don't know how much faster we're talking about.
However, if battery life is a concern at all for anyone reading this, I would recommend turning off 3G altogether. Why? Web pages are going to render just as fast. Surfing the web is painful on these things regardless of the connection type.
On T-Mobile at least - here is a rough guide for the download speeds for different connection types. These are averages and do change and vary with signal strength. I work for T-Mobile, so these are accurate ^^
GPRS - around 44 kbps
UTMS (3G) - around 386 kbps
HSDPA (3.5G) - up to 1.8 mbps (increasing to 3.6 soon)
If you are on T-Mobile, and in a 3G area, then you will be most likely connected to HSDPA as it covers the whole of their 3G network.
Hope this is of some interest....
Doom Tints said:
if battery life is a concern at all for anyone reading this, I would recommend turning off 3G altogether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But how? AFAIK it's not trivial with my unit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=337485.
From your network type, select 'GSM' instead of 'Auto', which I'm sure it is on now. That will do the trick. You might see an 'E' if you service provider offers EDGE, but this won't be an issue, otherwise you will just see the 'G' again.
Thank you. Now I know that in this sense, WCDMA = UMTS = "3G" icon.
Doom Tints said:
From your network type, select 'GSM' instead of 'Auto', which I'm sure it is on now. That will do the trick. You might see an 'E' if you service provider offers EDGE, but this won't be an issue, otherwise you will just see the 'G' again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That looks notoriously like one of my posts earlier in another thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=337485
Yeah. Someone said OH MY I HOW DO I DO THIS IT'S HARD OMG and then pasted a link to your thread, which says clearly how to do it.
A simple cut and paste seemed in order.
Radio Access Technologies
Hmmm...u poor guys..in Austria the speeds are different:
HSDPA : 7,2 MB (yep MegaBits) DL and 1,7 Mbits UL
BTW: HSDPA is not 3.5G its just a bunch of new coding schemes and NodeB software mods :.)
homerjay1981 said:
Hmmm...u poor guys..in Austria the speeds are different:
HSDPA : 7,2 MB (yep MegaBits) DL and 1,7 Mbits UL
BTW: HSDPA is not 3.5G its just a bunch of new coding schemes and NodeB software mods :.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile UK will have these speeds by the end of 2008 all going well
Well my phone bill is the same so thats good
Text messages get sent a tiny bit faster, surfing is a bit faster. I dont see what the big deal about the HW upgrade was. oh well
At the top were you see signal strength I nebver seem to have 3G enabled and internet seems to be slugish I sometimes have the Letters G,H,U I don't know what these mean is there a way I can have 3G all the time?
Thanks. Stock Rom!
as far as i know h and u stand for 3g not sure tho
djteotancolis said:
as far as i know h and u stand for 3g not sure tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it does its so slow. I want to know how to enable 3G permanently.
were you getting faster 3g on other phones? and i think there is a cab but u may have to search for that
As far as I know (In my area) H is for HSDPA, which is an enhanced form of 3G. So it seems that you are getting 3G data... While G stands for GPRS, which is 2G.
No idea what the U would stand for though.
Also, if you have 3G enabled to auto-connect (I presume it is, if it's switching between the connections,) then your phone should just pick up a 3G signal whenever it can find it. If 3G is patchy in your area, you won't be able to get it all the time.
theblake said:
As far as I know (In my area) H is for HSDPA, which is an enhanced form of 3G. So it seems that you are getting 3G data... While G stands for GPRS, which is 2G.
No idea what the U would stand for though.
Also, if you have 3G enabled to auto-connect (I presume it is, if it's switching between the connections,) then your phone should just pick up a 3G signal whenever it can find it. If 3G is patchy in your area, you won't be able to get it all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right I see when I'm on HSDPA it is still very sluggish until I seem to hit 3G and its like wi-fi, so my 3G is already connected just needs a place with good signal when I'm on way to college on the bus I seem so find a good area with 3G. Thanks for your help.
H = 3G
G = 1G (G is much much slower than E=Edge=2G)
If you want to have 3G only enabled go to Settings>Wireless Controlls>Phone>Band>WCDMA (Note that if you're in an area with no 3g, you will have zero signal and the phone will not switch to edge or gprs).
In the right order:
G=1G: 'Global System for Mobile communication', or GSM, basic mobile network.. can be used only for SMS and Phone calls
E=2G: EDGE (or 'Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution'), basicly GSM and GPRS (data transfer) combines..it allowes for speeds over the mobile network up to 9 600 bit/s
U=3G: 'Universal Mobile Telecommunications System', or 'UMTS' up to 2 Mbit/s data transfer on stationary devices and up to 384 kbit/s on mobile devices. About 40 times faster than GSM. This enables you to transfer data, such as images and be able to transfer data during a phonecall.. like sending a MMS or using Video Calls.
H=3G: 'High Speed Downlink Packet Access', or HSDPA, it allows for speeds up to 14,4 Mb/s though it is normally (at least in scandinavia) offered commercially in lower speeds, up to 7,2 Mb/s
Note: Because the most operators use high frequency to transmit '3G' signals, wich can cause your signal to be lower if you're inside (house or whatever, not outside), some operators though, transmit on a lower frequency, though then it's called CMDA, wich is also a form of '3G'
Had the same problem with a Telstra HD2 on Optus. Here's what you need to do. Settings -> Wireless controls -> phone -> Band -> Select auto for both. That should do it.
Just got the G2...awesome so far...only one annoyance. The tmo HSPA+ network has been available to me almost everywhere (in houston) but it seems to switch to the Edge (3G) network whenever it wants? Is there a way to force or to stay on the 4G network? Thanks!
GPRS (G) AND EDGE (E) are both 2G technologies (EDGE is on top of GPRS). 3G is UMTS, and HSDPA is again on top of UMTS. You can find a setting for 2G only in Android options, but there is nothing to force 3G speeds. The reason is that phone uses HSDPA all the time unless there is no HSDPA signal, then it drops to EDGE, or GPRS.
So you cannot force it, it's defined by what can the mobile network provide at that specific spot. If there is no 3G/HSDPA coverage, you have no 3G speeds. It is as simple as that. It's like if you would like to use WiFi even at places with no WiFi coverage - you cannot, because it's not there.
Ok, but lets say for instance sitting at my desk at work i'll be connected HSPA+ for 10 minutes and then it drops down to Edge? Whats the reason for that?
You were at the the borderline of what is and what is not a acceptable level of signal from the network tower. For 10 minutes it was above the limit, then it dropped and it was not more usable, so the phone dropped to lower speed.
thanks for the explanation man!
Wrong forum though. This this about having separate G2 and DZ forums is bound to lead to lots of this, I guess.
Just a bit of a curious observation. Coming from the US almost 2 years ago, while connected to a HSPA network, my android would always display the 'H' icon, whether in a state of active download and/or uploading or not. Occasionally, it would fall back to an E logo for the EDGE network within buildings, etc.
Now, here in NL, over the course of 2 years I've subscribed to two different providers and both exhibited similar behavior (KPN and Vodafone for you Dutchies). Within good reach of the towers, my phone shows the 3G icon, but when actively downloading or uploading something, as exhibited by the up and down arrows, the H icon is immediately displayed, and when active DL/UL stops, the H icon changes back to the 3G icon.
Is this constant switching a network-capacity measure taken by the providers here to limit the number of devices communicating with the faster (H/H+) equipment?
It may depend on the type of UTMS. It may be DC-HSPA down to another form. It could just be your ROM too.
Sent from my XT862 using xda app-developers app
Depends on the network you use. If your network supports UMTS (displayed 3G in android) then your connection falls back on UMTS to save power. If the bandwidth is needed it will ramp up to HS(D)PA (H) or HSPA+ (H+). Some networks just have HSDPA and HSPA+ and no UMTS, therefore they will jump between H and H+ depending on network load.
androo45 said:
Depends on the network you use. If your network supports UMTS (displayed 3G in android) then your connection falls back on UMTS to save power. If the bandwidth is needed it will ramp up to HS(D)PA (H) or HSPA+ (H+). Some networks just have HSDPA and HSPA+ and no UMTS, therefore they will jump between H and H+ depending on network load.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure about this? First, I thought HSDPA and HSPA+ are UMTS enhancements, and at their core, are still UMTS-based. Secondly, I've not seen it indicated that H or H+ would require more power than UMTS which has not been enhanced or upgraded to the newer UMTS implementations.
floepie said:
Are you sure about this? First, I thought HSDPA and HSPA+ are UMTS enhancements, and at their core, are still UMTS-based. Secondly, I've not seen it indicated that H or H+ would require more power than UMTS which has not been enhanced or upgraded to the newer UMTS implementations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the core it is still UMTS. Hence it jumps a millisecond to UMTS if it is switching between HSPA+ and HSDPA. The UMTS 'core' is there, but not made available by my carrier to be used by my phone.
The UMTS/HSDPA power draw comparison is my experience: on HSPDA data i lose about 35-40% a night (=8h) while I do maybe 10-15% on UMTS (other provider)