Low signal - Need to set to WCDMA to get 3G - Networking

I am working in an office which has a very low HSPDA signal. I can get one bar on my Diamond on HSPDA.
The handset will not switch to using HSPDA automatically however if I change the network type under Phone Settings I can consistently pick up the fast data network.
Is there an easier way to force the phone to take a HSPDA signal?
When I leave the office I am having to set this back to auto as if I don't, I end up only having coverage in 3G areas.
Thanks
Aidan

Related

3g htc hd 2

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.
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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.

Force phone to use H network instead of E

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.

[Q] Option to use only 3G NOT HSPDA

HI all!
Right now I am using [Build][10.12.2010][NexusHD2-FRG83D V1.8 PPP+RMNET][Kernel: hastarin r8.5.3_oldcam] and that is quite ok for me.
However I havent found anywhere on that build an option to disable HDSPA speed.
What I would like is accept 3G but disable HSPDA. Now I only have a change to disable 3G totally and only get 2G. Basicly area where I live is keeping me a situation that phone is very often trying to connect HSPDA but then changes is 3G speed. It causes me time&battery drain.
I have found a solution to force phone only use 3G but that is what I wanted. 2G and 3G are ok but I want to disable HSPDA.
Anybody could help me?
Up, Up... anybody have same kind of need?
i also need same help regarding this, reason is my data plan only use 3g (umts) and not 3.5g (hsdpa)... but my android always switch 3g to hsdpa back and forth and drain battery much faster
is there any tweak/program/widget/application that can enable 3g (umts) only?
windows doenst have this problem cause in winmo i can switch the option easily (enable/disable hspa)... but android dont have this kind of thing
I have the same problem. I don't even have HSPDA where I live, yet it tries to connect, fails, and then connects to 3G. It's a very time consuming processor to wait for the phone to do this when I am just trying to load a website.
Yes.. maybe it will not drain much memory but.. who wouldn't want a fast internet..
Afaik Hsdpa uses the same radio towers (or whatever the name is) as Umts... just different software. so there should be no battery drain caused by this.
This mite help you
1. Go to your dialer
2. Dial *#*#INFO#*#*
3. Click 'Phone information'
4. Scroll down to the first dropdown selection and set according to your preference below...
For simplicity, there are two main types of cell carriers, GSM and CDMA.
The following popular data communication technology is associated with each cell carrier type:
GSM = GPRS (2g), EDGE(2g), UMTS(3g), WCDMA(3g), HSDPA(3g) {Cell Carrier examples: AT&T and T-Mobile}
CDMA = CDMA*(2/3g) EV-DO(3g) WiMax(3/4g) {Cell Carrier examples: Verizon and Sprint}
Now that the general stuff is out of the way, here's my take on the Preferred Network types:
WCDMA preferred - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 3G is favored more.
GSM only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
WCDMA only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM auto (PRL) - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more. This one is a bit confusing to me since PRL is associated mostly with CDMA technology and not GSM technology.
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
CDMA only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
EvDo only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) - Some phones are equipped with both GSM and CDMA capabilities. This setting appears to just have the phone attempt to stay connected to the data communication type that works the best. (Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S will take advantage of this???)
Unknown - If none of the above fit or the phone is acting weird as far as connecting to the carrier, you will see your preferred network type is set to this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en
domenukk said:
Afaik Hsdpa uses the same radio towers (or whatever the name is) as Umts... just different software. so there should be no battery drain caused by this.
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Click to collapse
uhh... maybe you dont catch what us mean....
when umts change to hspda (icon change from 3g to H) then it use battery power.. in my case i use 3g (umts and not 3.5g or hspda )data plan only... but android keep searching hspda signal and THIS is when battery used the most (the process) and EVEN when my area have 3.5g covered but because i use 3g only data plan... then the back and forth process (3g<->H) will kep coming and rdrain my battery fast
so... we look for any kind of workaround so our android keep stay in 3g (umts) and not drain any unnecessary battery power searching for hspda
btw sorry for my english
agarp said:
This mite help you
1. Go to your dialer
2. Dial *#*#INFO#*#*
3. Click 'Phone information'
4. Scroll down to the first dropdown selection and set according to your preference below...
Source http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use this thing before and no luck
i use "wcdma only" as the option and android still process 3g and 3.5 back and forth, maybe android "thinks" 3g/umts and 3.5/hspda as the same?? android categorize umts and hspda as one big fat 3G network
i wonder why newer os like android doesnt have this kind of feature in winmo there is an option :
disable hspa = so hspda disabled.. AKA 2G or UMTS only
enable hspa = enabled hspda, hspa, hsupa etc.. AKA 2G, UMTS and HSPDA
try this settings
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
agarp said:
try this settings
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
isnt cdma auto (prl) used exclusively for cdma phones? (those phones with evdo and wimax thing) and not used for our hd2 (GSM)???
C'mon how this is impossible with newer phone software??
This feature has been in WinMo and Symbian in many years!!
It is really frustrating that almost every time my phone is trying to make HSPDA connect and then decide 3G is enough and possible. It causes some delay and sometimes also timed out errors.
agreed
my android keep going back and forth between umts 3G and hspda 3.5G like some clueless kid while 2 experienced guy (symbian & winmo) laugh at him
i know this is a old topic
i have still this issue
my phone is switching to hsdpa an back to 3g after a few seconds
when the phone is connected to my slow wifi connection everything works fine and i can use it for 3 day's
when it is connected to hsdpa my battery is empty after 15 hours and the voip connection is not working properly (i need to start a ping to some server first to keep the connection alive so i can call with voip)
I just came upon this thread, but I don't have this problem, so I can't really test it out this theory. But my thought was, what if you just went into the build.prop file and edited the ro.ril.hsxpa.category settting from ro.ril.hsxpa.category=2 to ro.ril.hsxpa.category=0. I just tested it out and it never jumped from 3g to H. My only concern is that you wouln't get the fastest speed you could be getting. Test it out and let me know though.
at this moment it is not posible to root my phone (SE Xperia pro with latest firmware)
so i am afraid we need to wait to test this
but thanks for the hint

[Q] Best Network Type?

So when I got my Mytouch 4g I realized the default radio is set to GSM only, however with my stock Nexus One it is set to WCDMA preferred.
I've been using my MT4G for about a month now, two weeks with it on GSM Only and another two weeks with it on WCDMA preferred.
I've noticed that while on GSM only it tends to prefer edge instead of 3g or HSDPA+ and find it very annoying because it does it in places where I know i hit HSDPA+.
When I set it to WCDMA preferred i've noticed that it sticks to 3g/hsdpa+ a lot more often and it's stable, except for in the market. A lot of the times when i go into the market while in wcdma preferred it times out and tells me theres no connection or something like that.
Can anyone tell me which network type is best for this phone? Or maybe explain them a little bit? I just find it odd that my Nexus One and my Mytouch 4g have different defaults if they're both on the same carrier
its prob just the setting it was on when the phone was out the box. when i got mine, it was set on auto. "gsm only" will NOT allow you to connect to 3G or hsdpa+! gsm is edge and gprs! if you want it to chose between the two then AUTO is the way to go. it will prob pick wcdma first and then only jump down to gsm when the wcdma signal is weak or non-existent. i prefer mine on wcdma all the time too. i havent had any issues with the market as of yet. you might want to try to clear the data and cache in market and see if that helps. when mine is on auto it 99% of the time stays on wcdma until the signal gets weak and then auto switches to gsm/edge. the only reason i dont keep mine on auto is because when its on auto and i receive a phone call, i dont get data(the H or E disappears while on call, then pick back up when i end the call) and i need to have data going in and out while on the phone to get emails from school and my job so therefore i leave it on wcdma only
Thats pretty much correct. GSM only means 2g only. Wcdma only means 3g only. So if you dont have a 3g sig. You have no sig. Wcdma prefered/auto means that it will stay on 3g untill the signal becomes low and switches to 2g. When it finds a good 3g signal again it will switch back to 3g.
If you hav it on auto, when your on a call it stays on 3g until it gets low then switches to 2g to keep the call alive. But it does NOT switch back to 3G untill you hang up.
I usually keep mine on wcdma only because i have good 3g where i live and i hate when it switches to 2g during a call because i personally can notice a sound quality difference and i alao like to be able to use internet in call if i need it

How to favor 3G over 4G when signal is weak?

I have discovered that my MXP consumes more battery than it needs to over night. This is because, on my night stand, I have strong 3G signal, but weak 4G signal and the phone hangs on to the weak 4G signal consuming unnecessary power, even though I have good WiFi too. If I manually select my 'Preferred network type' to 3G in settings at night, this works, but I can't automate the process of setting 3G or 4G modes.
I discovered the "test mode" (dial #*#*4636*#*# on the phone keypad) and the Phone information section allows you set many more options via the Set preferred network type drop down. I'm unclear what the different options option will achieve. I want the phone to prefer 3G over 4G when the signal is poor. Is there an option for this?
Phone is stock, unrooted, on the EE network in the UK
3G = WCDMA
WCDMA PREFERRED (prefer 3G)
WCDMA ONLY (it will turn off you 4G and 2G.)
thing is if the phone shows it is hanging on to a weak 4g signal you have to remember just because it is displaying a weak signal it is still connected to the stronger 3g signal, it has to be otherwise you wouldn't get calls and texts.
Will have to experiment, but
> WCDMA PREFERRED (prefer 3G)
Does this mean it won't connect to 4G at all if 3G is available?
> if the phone shows it is hanging on to a weak 4g signal you have to remember just because it is displaying a weak signal it is still connected to the stronger 3g signal
Maybe, but my issue is the power consumption when connected to a weak 4G signal
Silly thing is it's not necessary to maintain a connection to 4G at all when WiFi is active, when the only useful benefit of 4G is fast data
If a phone is connected to a weak signal, it will take greater toll on battery.
Try - settings, more, mobile networks and then preferred network type. You can then set 3g?
Richy101 said:
Try - settings, more, mobile networks and then preferred network type. You can then set 3g?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want the phone to automatically prefer 3G over 4G when the 4G signal is poor. Doesn't look like this is possible, and I'm stuck with aggressive 'hanging on to' 4G despite heavy power consumption.

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