Database Users

Signal Strength on Hermes

Just received my Vodafone v1605 which vodafone kindly supplied me for just £14.99.
I've had a K-Jam for the last 18 months and have gotten on fine with it, but i've just put my other Voda Sim card in the Hermes and am only getting 0-2 bars signal, compared to 4-5 on my wizard... is this to be expected? granted i'm using updated radio rom on the kjam, but i never noticed anything so drastic by changing them in the past.
i'm sitting here now with no bars on hermes and 5 on wizard, even after swapping the sims over to see if that was the problem.

Pls just chech that you aren't on UMTS with the Hermes... most of the time that signal strenght is slightly lower...

What plan are you on for £14.99?

well i changed contract from anytime125 with stop the clock which i was paying 25quid for to something with 150mins and 250 txts which can be used as about 11mb of data instead.. still costing me 25quid.
thought it was a bit of a bargain so went for it... i did go through to the cancelation dept though cos i was going to go to tmobile.

Mark (NL) said:
Pls just chech that you aren't on UMTS with the Hermes... most of the time that signal strenght is slightly lower...
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yes, i'm on 3g at the moment. didn't realize that the signal would be lowered because of that.

Is not as much that the signal will be lower because of 3G, just that 3G coverage on a whole lot of places is less than GSM/ GPRS coverage

thefunkygibbon said:
yes, i'm on 3g at the moment. didn't realize that the signal would be lowered because of that.
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Nothing to worry about mate, You'll still be able to make calls and get on the net with a low UMTS signal, but if you run a mobile speedtest, the signal strength does come into play.
e.g: it may be the difference between regular UMTS web speeds i.e. 300kbps compared to HSDPA (does vodafone even support this yet?) speeds which max out @ 1.8 Mbps! And lower signal strength will also be a good indicator wether it's worth trying a video call (if ur into that).
But suffice to know, 1 bar or even a dot in UMTS can still make and receive calls, and if it drops too low, the Auto band mode will automatically swith to GPRS until ur within a good signal range for UMTS.
Hope this helps a little.

cool , thanks guys that really cleared things up for me

I have the v1605 and the call quality is the worst I have ever had. Breaks up a lot where other phones dont.

bri.s said:
I have the v1605 and the call quality is the worst I have ever had. Breaks up a lot where other phones dont.
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Search the wiki and look to upgrade/flash a better ROM (this will invalidate your warranty, so be sure to get hold of an original Vodaphone ROM for your devoce, incase you ever have to flash it back to it). I have some friends with the v1605 and they all report better signal strength after flashing other Radio ROMs.
Just a thought.

tmous htc hd2 data signal radio 2.11

i am on the stock radio 2.10 stock rom with alot of tweaks i have done my self ok the problem is it seems my tmobo conection is harribal indoors 1 or 2 bars edge and alway s changeing if i step outside the bars shoot all the way to full 3g will flashing the 2.11 radio help this at all or is this just what i have to deal with on tmobo network any tips or tweaks on geting better service indoors would help this seems to be any building or house not just one location PLEAS HELP!!!!

sev15 said:
i am on the stock radio 2.10 stock rom with alot of tweaks i have done my self ok the problem is it seems my tmobo conection is harribal indoors 1 or 2 bars edge and alway s changeing if i step outside the bars shoot all the way to full 3g will flashing the 2.11 radio help this at all or is this just what i have to deal with on tmobo network any tips or tweaks on geting better service indoors would help this seems to be any building or house not just one location PLEAS HELP!!!!
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A lot of us have the same issue. I think it could be that the signal strength in certain areas is not strong enough when inside buildings.

sev15 said:
i am on the stock radio 2.10 stock rom with alot of tweaks i have done my self ok the problem is it seems my tmobo conection is harribal indoors 1 or 2 bars edge and alway s changeing if i step outside the bars shoot all the way to full 3g will flashing the 2.11 radio help this at all or is this just what i have to deal with on tmobo network any tips or tweaks on geting better service indoors would help this seems to be any building or house not just one location PLEAS HELP!!!!
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T-Mobiles 1700mhz 3g band doesn't penetrate walls or objects as well as a lower mhz signal would like at&t's 850 band. It travels farther, though, so t-mobile doesn't need as many towers to cover an area, but that also means there is going to be more areas that have weak signals in a covered area. So, unless you're close to one of there towers, you won't get good 3g signals inside buildings.

zarathustrax said:
T-Mobiles 1700mhz 3g band doesn't penetrate walls or objects as well as a lower mhz signal would like at&t's 850 band. It travels farther, though, so t-mobile doesn't need as many towers to cover an area, but that also means there is going to be more areas that have weak signals in a covered area. So, unless you're close to one of there towers, you won't get good 3g signals inside buildings.
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The radio has to have something to do with it though because the 1700mhz band penetrates just fine for other HTC phones.
I have my HD2, MT3G and the G1...here at my desk at work, I can have all three side by side and the G1 has 2 bars 3G...the MT3G has 3 bars 3G...and my HD2 bounces all over the place between 3G and Edge... so you cannot tell me that they are receiving different signals.
...outside, or in 99% of other places I go I have no 3G problems with my HD2...unfortunately though, I spend a lot of time at work and would really love to have at least a steady 3G connection without having to put my SIM in a different phone.

Try changing the access point
if you go into the connections setting for the tmob data connection access point address. tmob default is epc.tmobile.com. try usin wap.voicestream.com or internet2.voicestream.com

well i guess we cant look foward for better service tell more towers go up i did have a sidekick lx that was not bad indoors could this be due to the danger server if so is there anyway to use that server instead
it kinda sux when friends from work sit next to me and can use att and verizon tv and streaming and i can not with my supper phone with bad indoor connection wish i could do something about it or some of the supper guys here at xda

Radios are ****, plain and simple. I have a g1 full bars 3g always on and my hd2 1-2 bars, 3g comes in and out. I called t-mo support and they tried the singal in your area bs. I said listen I have a G1 right next to the hd2 and that old clunker has full signal so stop there. Then they said, we are aware of the problem and are working on it.

same here
i have my g1 and HD2 side by side and the g1 has 3 bars 3g and the HD2 has only 1 bar edge and won't respond!

No complaints about the HD2's reception here. Having come from a Nexus One, I had them at the same time for about 2 weeks.
The Nexus One dropped calls constantly while inside at work, forget about keeping a reliable 3G signal, in fact I was lucky to keep EDGE indoors. If you moved the wrong way (literally!) it would bounce around in signal strength and would lose data connection constantly.
Looking at the HD2, I have 3G connection pretty much constantly, jumping into H on a regular basis. No dropped calls, sound quality from the ear speaker is phenomenal , and never a lost data connection.
Outdoors is even better.
Again, no complaints here about TMoUS's signal here!

anyone know if the 2.11 will help at all

I HATE that the HD2 will sometimes show full (phone) bars, not 3g or E, but yet not let you call. I had this happen to me for 2 minutes today. I had to go into settings and turn the phone option off/on and wait a minute for it to get a signal again. I'm in NYC, there's usually full 3G bars when outside.
This phone doesn't handle weak signals or situations when you enter and leave areas with no reception.

hmmmmmmm
i just found something iv been testing it for 30 min now if i lay my hd2 down flat on table or anything flat i can keep 3 bars 3g indoors i pick it up and hold in hand and boom 1 bar edge this is wierd wonder if this means anything im going to tryit at work tomorow see if it dose the same thing tryit see if your phone dose the same guys let me know i can stream video on mobi tv as long as its laying flat 3g i pick it up and the video stops and phone goes to edge

sev15 said:
i just found something iv been testing it for 30 min now if i lay my hd2 down flat on table or anything flat i can keep 3 bars 3g indoors i pick it up and hold in hand and boom 1 bar edge this is wierd wonder if this means anything im going to tryit at work tomorow see if it dose the same thing tryit see if your phone dose the same guys let me know i can stream video on mobi tv as long as its laying flat 3g i pick it up and the video stops and phone goes to edge
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Yes, that's one of the crazy things with this phone. It can sit on a table all day and the 3G icon will be full bars. As soon as you touch the damn thing, you see the bars drop to 1 then it goes to Edge full bars then it drops to G...and will not go back to 3G until you put the phone down.
This needs to update fast. Thing I'm gonna go back to my TP2 until then.

I am a little confused here. some posts seem as if it might be a device issue and others seem to be leaning towards t-mobile. i had some really bad issues with my reception until i changed Radios. i am currently using 2.10.50.19._2 and my 3g signal seems to cut out less. but its is not as strong as my Tp2 which had excellent 3g signal, but i did call t-mobile and they said there have been issues reported in my area and they are working on it but if that is the case then my tp2 would also have the same issues which it does not! so i don't know what to make of it??

piztol44pete said:
I am a little confused here. some posts seem as if it might be a device issue and others seem to be leaning towards t-mobile. i had some really bad issues with my reception until i changed Radios. i am currently using 2.10.50.19._2 and my 3g signal seems to cut out less. but its is not as strong as my Tp2 which had excellent 3g signal, but i did call t-mobile and they said there have been issues reported in my area and they are working on it but if that is the case then my tp2 would also have the same issues which it does not! so i don't know what to make of it??
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I think its the phone. I've never had issues with my G1. I went to the Cliq and it had bad reception. I could set it next to my friends G1 and Mytouch and they both had 2 - 3 bas of 3G and I would be on Edge. The HD2 is a little better but not as good as the G1 and MyTouch. The N1 has the exact same issues and they are both HTC. Hopefully a radio or software update will fix the issue. Its a know issue with Tmobile so they are aware of the issue.

You can try to go to settings, personal, phone, band, and change the select yout network type option to wcdma. Leave the slect your gsm/umts band option to auto. This tells it to only connect to 3g. I had to do it with my at&t windows mobile phone when I was at my job to keep it on 3g. Also with my t-mobile hd2, in certain places i have to do it otherwise it switches between 3g and edge. Downside is, if there is no 3G signal available your phone will have no signal. It should work since the phone is detecting 3g signal.

Its great to know that I am not the only person experiencing these issues with the HD2. I lay it down on my desk and it will read 3 bars 3G. Pick it up, and it drops to Edge. Never had these problems with my Xperia X1i. Something I have noticed is the battery life on my HD2 is much better than my Xperia X1i. Although it has a larger screen and smaller battery. I think the Engineers at HTC reduced the power to the Radio to help improve battery life. Anyone have any theories on how to increase the power to the radio antenna?

Just saw this thread when I was looking for a solution to this exact problem. I just recently moved to Houston and can not seem to get a T-Mobile signal inside my house with my HD2. It got signal just fine in Alabama, but nothing here.
I have a Dash 3G right next to the HD2 with 3 bars of 3G, hd2 has nothing. I even put my sim card in an old hacked iPhone and it even gets signal inside. I can't figure this out but its making me consider having to get rid of the phone. What good is it when the phone doesn't get signal?
I also just saw the new 2.11.50.20 radio on the forums, so after I charge my hd2 i'm gonna try that out and see if it helps.

I am from Houston too. ( Pearland Actually )
Same story here, inside my house NO 3G! However if I am driving around town I usually have 3 or 4 bars 3G. Let us know if that new radio ROM helps at all.
sullitf said:
Just saw this thread when I was looking for a solution to this exact problem. I just recently moved to Houston and can not seem to get a T-Mobile signal inside my house with my HD2. It got signal just fine in Alabama, but nothing here.
I have a Dash 3G right next to the HD2 with 3 bars of 3G, hd2 has nothing. I even put my sim card in an old hacked iPhone and it even gets signal inside. I can't figure this out but its making me consider having to get rid of the phone. What good is it when the phone doesn't get signal?
I also just saw the new 2.11.50.20 radio on the forums, so after I charge my hd2 i'm gonna try that out and see if it helps.
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WhiteSites said:
I am from Houston too. ( Pearland Actually )
Same story here, inside my house NO 3G! However if I am driving around town I usually have 3 or 4 bars 3G. Let us know if that new radio ROM helps at all.
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No help. 2.11.50.20 isn't doing anything, still getting 0 bars inside and 2 bars of when I go onto my front porch. Down the road I get full 3G, so I don't understand whats going on at all

3G mode not working sometimes

Have had this phone a coupla months, happy with it except the stupid GPS problem and some other connection problem.
When using wifi connection at home, if i stop browsing and close the screen for a few minutes and go back to surf internet, the wifi will stop working, turning wifi off and on again will make it work. Not too difficult but sometimes this feels sucks.
second problem is, occationally i will lose the "3G" or "H" sign on the top and cannot connect to internet using 3G data connection. i have no idea why this is happening. sometimes when i am out on street, try to check some information online, 3g is my only option and it really bothers me when it stops working. i'm using orange. all setting are as original.
Anyone knows how to solve these 2 problems?

the phone either works on
850/1900/2100
or
900/1900/2100
so depending on the model that you purchased
and where you live
also the cell phone provider that you are using
you might not get the full band usage of your phone
for example using the above models on a phone service that only uses
1700/1900/2100
then you are cripled
some telcos only use 1 band or 2 bands at most
1700 or 2100 for example

ehe12 said:
Have had this phone a coupla months, happy with it except the stupid GPS problem and some other connection problem.
When using wifi connection at home, if i stop browsing and close the screen for a few minutes and go back to surf internet, the wifi will stop working, turning wifi off and on again will make it work. Not too difficult but sometimes this feels sucks.
second problem is, occationally i will lose the "3G" or "H" sign on the top and cannot connect to internet using 3G data connection. i have no idea why this is happening. sometimes when i am out on street, try to check some information online, 3g is my only option and it really bothers me when it stops working. i'm using orange. all setting are as original.
Anyone knows how to solve these 2 problems?
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3g nodes and 2g bts wont give you the same area coverage, yes you will lose the H and drop down to 3g if your -db rating (signal is low) is at the highest limit for the cell and it deems you either need handing off to another site or you were one of the last ones to be allocated a slot and get kicked.
its how the cookie crumbles, no where will give you 100% coverage and if u are close to a small site thats overloaded with traffic you will always get crappy uplink and downlink...
b

I dont know where you are or what provider you use, but I have the same problem with my I900M on bell. it is apparently a widely known issue with Bell, and they associated my phone with the ongoing ticket incase it gets resolved they'll contact me.
Also, when I lose the 3g, ts a good chance my phone is going to lock up and need a battery pull to boot back up.
So Basically if I leave the house or wifi spot, I try not to show people my internet on my phone so it doesnt look like I'm carrying a brick in my pocket everywhere.

anarchyuk said:
3g nodes and 2g bts wont give you the same area coverage, yes you will lose the H and drop down to 3g if your -db rating (signal is low) is at the highest limit for the cell and it deems you either need handing off to another site or you were one of the last ones to be allocated a slot and get kicked.
its how the cookie crumbles, no where will give you 100% coverage and if u are close to a small site thats overloaded with traffic you will always get crappy uplink and downlink...
b
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so that's something to do with the carrier? Thanks for the explanation!

Puzzling coverage...

I'm on the Three network, have an unlocked HTC desire HD with 17 m2 radio.
Normally I get terrible signal in the flat that i live in, its a granite building in Aberdeen. Occasional the signal is around 1 bar, sometimes grey, and most of the time its X.. (no service), but i still manage to get 3G or H. When looking at the APN settings and specifically at available networks when doing a manual search, next to 3 is a green star which I assume means it's connected to 3 mobile network. But sometimes i get amazing signal, full bars, which puzzled me! so I looked at the available networks and next to 3, there was no star, so i tried calling a number and it rang and came through. I also tried using mobile internet when in this "good coverage" state, and google would not load (G is displayed in the notifications bar). After a while, the bars would drop to 1 or grey, and i would then get H or 3G, and google loads again. What's going on? and how can i take advantage of this when i have no signal.

try and find the app called open signal maps
that can be used to see where the signal-towers are
and how good the signal is
or use this site and search your adress
http://opensignalmaps.com/
sincere regards,
blokhoofd

The antenna is really wierd.
Normally I only get 2G connection.
But if I completly take my hand off the lower cover and lift the phone up a bit for a better signal, I get a 3Mbps connection, though as soon as I lower my phone back to normal the 3G signal is completly gone or gets really bad (zero bars and lower than EDGE speed)!
The antenna in this phone sucks really bad, my old Nokia phone atleast had a stable connection.

This is very bad news... I was considering DHD, but if there are isseus with gsm signal than I am really worried... Is it also happening on the stock ROM?

As long as network coverege is good you should be okay.
I swaped my SIM card with a friends and with better coverege, 3.5G worked good (solid 2Mbps), only slight drop if SIM cover is completly covered, which doesn't happen in normal use.
I just can't understand how I can get such high speeds with my SIM while on a badly covered area. haven't tested how well other devices pick up the 3G signal (my old phone wasn't 3G yet)
I'm still using stock ROM btw.

Have you tried a different radio?
People are reporting different results with them, so might be an idea to play around and see if anyone of them works better for you

I've tried the new Orange radio and I'm getting better signal, although threes coverage isn't great I would expect the device to seamlessly change between 3.5g and gprs but it doesn't it'll get stuck on hsdpa network until the x appears and sometimes it'll go to gprs and go back to three bars. Before it would be on x all the time and that's probably why the battery was quite ****. 3g doesnt penetrate buildings very well and I live in a granite building so would explain why I get better gprs signal. I just wish the antenna was smart and changed seamlessly.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

So annoying dhd still not selecting the next best connection just no service but if I select to detect network automatically it connects eventually
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

[Q] Repeating cellular network using a cellphone?

I was wondering if it is at all possible to repeat a cellular network signal using a cellphone. Is such a thing possible?
I am talking about using an application on any cellphone on any network, with any OS. Are cellphones built in any way to rebroadcast cellular network signal? If not an app, does anyone have any generalized DIY information on gutting a phone and using it's internal antennae to rebroadcast the cellular signal in some way?
Example scenario: Cellphone is in a location that has full signal strength. Less than 5 meters away there is 0 signal due to a ceiling of doom. The cellphone has horizontal line of sight to the dead-zone. The cellphone in the full bars area by means of an app (or some hardware modification) is able to rebroadcast the signal to some degree towards the dead-zone.
Thanks!

Would be pretty cool, but I doubt any cell phone has a built in transmitter, which is what you need to transmit the signal.

Azure1203 said:
Would be pretty cool, but I doubt any cell phone has a built in transmitter, which is what you need to transmit the signal.
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You are using avian carrier for your uplink?