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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!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Hey there, I enjoy reading this forum but I had little to contribute with as I am an android noob. So unfortunately my first post is a question forced by the fact that something is wrong with my DHD Thank you in advance for your advices!
The problem is - when in areas with low 3G coverage the phone keeps on searching for 3G for too long instant of seamlessly switching to 2G, which often has full signal bars. This way the phone acts as if there was no signal and sends incoming calls to the voicemail even though all it has to do is to switch to 2G as soon as 3G gets too weak.
My previous phones had no problem with this. In my city the 3G quality varies from area to area but the 2G coverage is perfect almost everywhere. So I used to be sure that my phone never really disconnects from the network, it only might have dropped the 3G signal in favor of 2G while keeping the calls and everything.
I know I can disable the 3G and stick to 2G and EDGE but this way using full data capabilities of the phone turns into pain instead of pleasure.
Just to make sure and to show I did my homework, this is NOT:
- the death grip case
- a network related problem /I suppose.../
- a problem with data connection /I have never run into any problems with this/
My questions are:
- is anyone of you experiencing this?
- is there a way to force the phone to hand over the connection from 3G to 2G quicker without "blind spots"?
- does any custom ROM improve this? /I am running the latest stock HTC DHD android 2.2 with Sense/
- is there any hint that android 2.3 gingerbread should fix this issue?
Thank you, hope to find a piece of good advice here!
I`ve found this service menu and I switched the preffered network from WCDMA preferred to GSM AUTO PRL. will see if it helps.
I havent noticed any more problems since I did the switch. I think it helped. I cannot be 100% sure but I think it did the thing for me. I forgot to mention that I also switched networks mode from Auto to European but I think this has nothing to do with the issue.
fortuneman had my answer. To access the service menu on the soft phone keypad enter *#*#4636#*#* and its under Phone Information.
Switching from 2g to 3g works seamlessly. But the other way around doesn't work that well. Nothing to do with the phone. Just the net tech that has its flaws. If your in a call and switch to 2g, the call will most certainly be disconnected.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
I've placed my Omnia 7 next to my girlfriend's Focus in a place in my house that has traditionally been very poor in reception. She is able to get 1-2 bars on 3G compared to my NO SERVICE-zero bars on EDGE under the same network (ATT). Is anyone else getting fairly weak reception on their Omnia and is it all possible that my 4 year old SIM card is accounting for the difference in signal strength?
Next chance I get, I'll try swapping our SIMs....
I am not too sure of this but maybe the Omnia 7 isn't using its full potential on the US carrier since it is a EU device. (this shouldn't matter really but I am trying to say that it might be a software issue of how the phone switches connections)
By that I mean that some forum members (check the Focus Forum) have fiddled with the diagnostic codes to make their Focus phones have a more stable 3g or above connection.
Trying looking into that and posting there since the Omnia community is a little bit smaller it seems.
Or the phone is just not up to scratch ;D
Eriatarka said:
I've placed my Omnia 7 next to my girlfriend's Focus in a place in my house that has traditionally been very poor in reception. She is able to get 1-2 bars on 3G compared to my NO SERVICE-zero bars on EDGE under the same network (ATT). Is anyone else getting fairly weak reception on their Omnia and is it all possible that my 4 year old SIM card is accounting for the difference in signal strength?
Next chance I get, I'll try swapping our SIMs....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be your SIM if its old and not a 3G sim. Do you get 3G elsewhere?
The reason i ask is that EDGE is a 2G tech.
I work in mobile tech support myself, and i have seen SIM cards cause some seemingly random issues. (1 in particular was a handset unable to read SIM contacts, but his prior phone was OK)
On the other hand, i have also noticed 1 bar less then was displayed by my prior HD2. I have dismissed this as you should not reply on the number or bars to determine signal strength. They are coded differently. There is no standard, and in fact, changes by the Carrier can effect 'bars' displayed on the phone. (Think of a little buzz box with a 20ltr tank reporting 1/2 full, while a 4x4 with a 40ltr tank reporting 1/4. Both have the same amount of fuel)
ive noticed i get a bar or two less than my girlfriends desire and my diamond2 all on the same network & with new sim cards. this generaly means when she has 3G or HSDPA im stuck with GPRS unless were in an area with 3 or 4 bars.
Not entirely sure, but I think the Omnia 7 doesn't support US 3G frequency bands, that's why it's limited to EDGE - and then it depends on where you live... I suppose it's entirely plausible AT&T has a strong 3G network in your area, but not an EDGE one
mine has a good reception ... as good as other devices ...
In my House I sometimes got 4 dots but when a call comes through the connection is lost between talk without walkin on the same spot.. First I thought ok bad reception (had not before with my xperia1) But yesterdaynight I got the same problem outside my home. So the conversation gets totally jammed.
And I live in the Netherlands and not in the county side but in the big city...
So I managed to switch the SIMs on my girlfriend's Focus and my Omnia and unfortunately the poor signal remained on the phone, ruling out the SIM card having any negative effect.
I will get 3G outside my home and sometimes 3G+ (I'm not sure what the difference is), but inside my house, side-by-side, the Focus gets better reception and is more often on 3G whereas my Omnia will get worse reception often on EDGE.
Lame!
I might have to drop some cash for ATT's Microcell... Damn you ATT.
I notice it as well.
When I used my HD, the reception was fine inside MRT tunnels. Now with my Omnia 7 (same SIM card, by the way), I can't get a clear signal inside MRT tunnels during my commute.
Shame.
I don't know what caused it, though.. Anyone can shed a light on the issue ?
Mine has just suddenly started to not have any signal ANYWHERE in the house... the other 2 Vodafone phones here have near-full signal.
Eriatarka said:
So I managed to switch the SIMs on my girlfriend's Focus and my Omnia and unfortunately the poor signal remained on the phone, ruling out the SIM card having any negative effect.
I will get 3G outside my home and sometimes 3G+ (I'm not sure what the difference is), but inside my house, side-by-side, the Focus gets better reception and is more often on 3G whereas my Omnia will get worse reception often on EDGE.
Lame!
I might have to drop some cash for ATT's Microcell... Damn you ATT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi I think I have found you a solution. Having been on the Focus forums I have noticed that people have enabled full "3g" through the root menu in diagnosis software.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=839154&page=8 ..... read this first please. Looks like it enabled full 3g but messed up his GPS settings (could be that he configured it wrong) Always make sure that you write down your original settings when using Diagnosis tool!!!!!!
If this doesn't help you then maybe flashing a different rom onto it would work.
I played around with some of the diagnostic settings but nothing really changed.
How exactly do I access the root menu to change the 3G settings you mention?
*#197328640# - Root Menu
Things you can do with this code
Speed up your internet by enabling hspda/hsupa
*#197328640#
1,8,3,5,2,3,[END]
Just be careful with this stuff. And always remember to back up your previous settings by writing them down somewhere so that you can restore it.
The link I gave you above leads to these codes.
BTW .. samsung updated the diagnosis tool .. if you have 0.9 something you might be fine! But if it updated then you will not be able to get into the root menu.
I received the Samsung Focus 2 weeks ago today. After I post this I will be heading over to Amazon Wireless to make return arrangements.
I come from a Windows Mobile (Tilt 2) and I don't think I am yet ready to transition to this type of phone. I depend too much on Pocket Informant and I couldn't find any app to replace that. Actually this is not really the reason I gave up. This is the reason that kept me on the fence.
At my work I have a very poor 3G signal indoors. The signal fluctuates between 2 bars to no signal indication and sometimes switching to Edge. With the Tilt 2 I turn off 3G and that keeps the phone happy. Several times I found the Focus showing no signal (small crossed out circle at the top left). Even after I went to an area with good 3G signal the Focus did not change from its no signal status. I had to actually turn it off and back on (soft reset, I guess) to get a strong 3G signal.
Searching on Google for means to turn 3G off in the Focus showed that only a few months ago there was such an option Settings | Cellular. Apparently now it is removed.
With 3G trying desperately to hang in there instead of just giving up and letting Edge take over, this phone is useless to me 8 to 12 hours a day. The Tilt 2 had a similar issue before I tweaked it to give me the band switch. However the Tilt 2 did not get stuck in the no signal state. I wish AT&T did not remove this from settings.
So long, Focus.
Um... there's totally still an option called Cellular in Settings. Whatever, though. If you don't enjoy the phone, there's no reason for you to keep it. However, there's equally no reason for you to share this information with us, since a large part of your issue is born of ignorance of the OS (not finding a setting that is clearly there) and your lack of enjoyment of the phone should have no effect on anyone who owns one.
FishFaceMcGee said:
Um... there's totally still an option called Cellular in Settings. Whatever, though. If you don't enjoy the phone, there's no reason for you to keep it. However, there's equally no reason for you to share this information with us, since a large part of your issue is born of ignorance of the OS (not finding a setting that is clearly there) and your lack of enjoyment of the phone should have no effect on anyone who owns one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Cellular option is still there, in Settings. However, unlike screen shots or pictures I saw during my search (see this sample), I do not have the option to turn off 3G.
If your phone has it, good for you. Mine does not. Hardly a reason to call me ignorant for this though.
That's strange. My Focus appears to have better reception than my Tilt 2.
Actually, the 3G only setting is under the diagnostic menu I believe. The should have a thread in this forum on it.
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Tempest790 said:
That's strange. My Focus appears to have better reception than my Tilt 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, side by side, the 2 phones had a similar reception. The Tilt 2 got an extra bar or 2 when I forced it to Edge. However, the Tilt 2 did not get stuck with the no signal indication.
Actually, the 3G only setting is under the diagnostic menu I believe. The should have a thread in this forum on it.
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While at this moment I do not have the phone with me, I just looked in the PDF I downloaded from that other thread (the PDF shows [2] Band Selection) and I remember that I was in that area and when I tried to make a change I got a message saying something about the selection or option being restricted. Sorry, but I do not remember the exact words. I guess I could try again later tonight after I get home. Thank you.
Tempest790 said:
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I select "[2] Band Selection" the exact message is:
"RAT Selection option is restricted".
Yeah, that's what I got. I also got my phone from freaking Amazon.com and didn't work right. Had do alittle talking around but they me exchange it at the Att Wireless Store. Have you actually tried any other Samsung Focus Phones to see if its just the phone itself?
I got mine from att store, I'm using the org diagnostic app version, I get same error message.
Seed 2.0 said:
I got mine from att store, I'm using the org diagnostic app version, I get same error message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would switch phones then. The phone has to be unlocked to switch bands, even turning off 3G. That's stupid, I know. I have a Dell Venue Pro sitting here that can switch bands but that phone is VERY buggy.
Fuzzy John said:
Yes, the Cellular option is still there, in Settings. However, unlike screen shots or pictures I saw during my search (see this sample), I do not have the option to turn off 3G.
If your phone has it, good for you. Mine does not. Hardly a reason to call me ignorant for this though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW: 3G = "Data Connection" on the Focus' settings menu. As far as I know, 3G has nothing to do with voice calls. I suspect that the name of that switch was changed with an eye toward future data options on cell phones. I hope that helps. (Even the person who posted that picture notes that they modified the label to be "Cellular Data". You can see that in the comments area of the image/post that you listed. )
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might very well be correct, however on my Tilt 2 I have to turn off 3g in order to get full voice bars back in the location where my room is in my house. It doesn't seem to make any sense; why would the phone's 3g connection interfere w/ the 2g voice? Yet it seems like this is the case.
ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry. I may have used the wrong terms. After all I admit I am not really familiar with all the terminology. I am more like a user. Anyway, on my Tilt 2 phone I have a switch which turn off 3G. This puts the phone in Edge mode. Gives me a lot better reception in areas where the 3G signal is flaky. True, I cannot talk and do data at the same time. Also true that my data rate is slower. But I can receive and make calls while I am in that area.
ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Both voice and data work on 3G if it is available. You can tell this by the fact that once your phone is on 3G, you will not encounter the annoying speaker buzz from GSM phones.
The switch in the settings are for cell data connection. If you turn it off, it turns off the data connection, 2G or 3G. There is no separate setting to turn off 3G data only (a commonly requested feature but non-existent on all AT&T phones). You will always have to access the secret menu to select your band (WCDMA or GSM).
The bars are for signal strength, not just for vocie service.
EDIT: rjohnstone
foxbat121 said:
Nope. Both voice and data work on 3G if it is available. You can tell this by the fact that once your phone is on 3G, you will not encounter the annoying speaker buzz from GSM phones.
The switch in the settings are for cell data connection. If you turn it off, it turns off the data connection, 2G or 3G. There is no separate setting to turn off 3G data only (a commonly requested feature but non-existent on all AT&T phones). You will always have to access the secret menu to select your band (WCDMA or GSM).
The bars are for signal strength, not just for vocie service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G contains the following quote:
"The UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure"
<snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=2877
"Modes GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
WCDMA 850 / 1900 / 2100"
Those are the GSM and 3G bands that the Samsung Focus uses. <snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
I'm always willing to accept that I can be wrong (EDIT: and it seems that I was). I'm only human after all. If I'm the one who's somehow misunderstanding, then I would be open to having some information shared so that I can learn more about it. Would you have any links to back your claim up?
GrayWolf said:
I'm sorry to say that you've misunderstood how AT&T's network is set up. 3G + GSM = Data + Voice. Not 3G = Voice & Data.
contains the following quote:
"The UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure"
To further back the position that our phones do not use 3G to carry voice data:
"Modes GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
WCDMA 850 / 1900 / 2100"
Those are the GSM and 3G bands that the Samsung Focus uses. GSM for voice traffic, WCDMA (3G) for data.
I'm always willing to accept that I can be wrong. I'm only human after all. If I'm the one who's somehow misunderstanding, then I would be open to having some information shared so that I can learn more about it. Would you have any links to back your claim up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T sends both voice and data traffic over the 3G connection when in a 3G area.
The GSM radio only comes into play when the data connection falls back to EDGE (i.e., 3G signal is too weak or not present).
This is why your call drops when you switch from a 3G area to a GSM/EDGE area.
It's a hard hand off to the next tower.
rjohnstone said:
AT&T sends both voice and data traffic over the 3G connection when in a 3G area.
The GSM radio only comes into play when the data connection falls back to EDGE (i.e., 3G signal is too weak or not present).
This is why your call drops when you switch from a 3G area to a GSM/EDGE area.
It's a hard hand off to the next tower.
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Thanks - would you happen to have any links that explains this in any detail?
I looked around after you mentioned it and found that I should have ran a few more keyword searches before posting. So far, the best explanation that I've found seems to be here:
"3G or Non 3G-that is the question"
http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/G...at-is-the-question/m-p/1544262/highlight/true
The specific/relevant portion that I'm referring to is:
Yea 3G is amazing. It's the replacement for GSM. It's a completely seperate network. When in 3G at present signal in some area's might seem a bit more week than GSM because in some area's it runs on the 1900mhz frequency which has less penetration. But AT&T has plans of phasing out GSM in the future for 3G on the GSM frequency.
But 3G on the W-CDMA side handles call's and data, GSM also does handle voice and data. But the two networks are seperate. For example. If your phone is in 3G then the 3G network is handling the call and not transmitting anything to do with GSM at all. But if you travel to a non 3G area while in the call then your phone will hand off to the GSM network to continue the voice call and the call quality will get that crackly raspy phenomenom. Hope this helps!
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Now that's another person's statement on a forum and, like rjohnstone's post, makes logical sense. I'd love to read a bit more about this, if there are any useful links out there?
GrayWolf said:
Thanks - would you happen to have any links that explains this in any detail?
I looked around after you mentioned it and found that I should have ran a few more keyword searches before posting. So far, the best explanation that I've found seems to be here:
"3G or Non 3G-that is the question"
The specific/relevant portion that I'm referring to is:
Now that's another person's statement on a forum and, like rjohnstone's post, makes logical sense. I'd love to read a bit more about this, if there are any useful links out there?
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Graywolf,
My friend is a tower manager for T-Mobile.
He helped setup the initial GSM/EDGE network for Cingular back when they leased tower time from T-Mobile while they were making the transition from TDMA devices from the old AT&T network.
He explained how the call handlers worked and how the air interface works when handing off from UMTS/HSPA over to the GSM/EDGE network.
All of AT&T's handsets are programmed to use either GSM/EDGE or UMTS/HSPA, not both at the same time.
The point is, a handset can't have a GSM voice call and an HSPA data session occurring at the same time. The radios are not configured to allow it.
Many towers run both GSM/EDGE radios and UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ radios.
Mainly to support legacy devices.
You will also notice that the old network is still there when you turn of the 3G radio in an iPhone or any other handset that permits it.
Yes, AT&T is working to decommission the older GSM/EDGE towers all together to recover the 850Mhz frequencies for use with HSPA+. This will give them better building penetration in large metropolitan areas.
Right now, AT&T does use the 1900MHz band for HSPA, and as the residence of NY will tell you, it sucks at going through walls.
You will have to do some digging for old AT&T press releases, but the info is out there.
Gotta give credit where it's due. I appreciate the technical detail combined with layman phrasing. I'll do more digging later but you've given me a nice high-level view of things. I did have a suspicion that my understanding was flawed somehow. Thanks for taking the time to share, rjohnstone!
Yep your right I typed it wrong.. voice and data both work on 2G and 3G, but I know I'm in a 3G area only and when I turn data off 3G goes out. Now that doesn't mean I'm only making or recieving calls on the 2G band. It just mean 3G data is off. So if you want to turn off 3G all together, I don't see it on these phones yet. When I turn the celluar data back on, the 3G symbol comes back on, because it would be pretty dumb for the 3G to be controlled by turning data on and off.
Hi everybody, I've been using CM10.1 build of July 3rd since it came out, with overall good satisfaction.
One major issue bothers me and I would like to get rid of it: when I enter a bad 3G reception area, my Defy+ disconnects from the 3g network, and it stays disconnected even if I move back to a good reception site, because it prompts for the SIM PIN and obviously I'm not watching the screen every second.
I dont think this is normal. It should retain the PIN entered at power-on, and restore 3G connectivity as network becomes available again.
I'm on italian TRE network operator, which has commercial agreements with competitors in order to fall back to nationwide roaming in areas where it is not present. Also, it only operates 3G frequencies, while when in roaming the phone should lock into 3G and 2G as well. Maybe this piece of information can help you in helping me.
I'm on mixed GSM/WCDA mixed mode (WCDMA preferred).
I tried to search in other thread but couldn't narrow down an exact asnwer, most of the topics I read dealt with RIL BUG (?).
Thanks
manualle said:
Hi everybody, I've been using CM10.1 build of July 3rd since it came out, with overall good satisfaction.
One major issue bothers me and I would like to get rid of it: when I enter a bad 3G reception area, my Defy+ disconnects from the 3g network, and it stays disconnected even if I move back to a good reception site, because it prompts for the SIM PIN and obviously I'm not watching the screen every second.
I dont think this is normal. It should retain the PIN entered at power-on, and restore 3G connectivity as network becomes available again.
I'm on italian TRE network operator, which has commercial agreements with competitors in order to fall back to nationwide roaming in areas where it is not present. Also, it only operates 3G frequencies, while when in roaming the phone should lock into 3G and 2G as well. Maybe this piece of information can help you in helping me.
I'm on mixed GSM/WCDA mixed mode (WCDMA preferred).
I tried to search in other thread but couldn't narrow down an exact asnwer, most of the topics I read dealt with RIL BUG (?).
Thanks
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same problem for me
atma_weapon said:
same problem for me
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What build are you on?