Database Users

Unable to connect to network

I am on an AT&T 8525(see signature) running WM 6.1. I am in an area where my phone shows that I am on AT&T's network in the southeast US with 2 bars but I have no service. I cannot make a phone call although I occasionally receive a call, I cannot answer it. I also cannot get any data connection to work except the occasional SMS message. My wife is on T-Mobile with an 8125 and she has about the same coverage although she can make and receive calls about 90% of the time so there is no doubt that we are on the fringe of coverage.
I've tried changing the network band on my phone with no luck(trying to see if for some reason T-Mobile is on something different than AT&T). I tried upgrading my radio ROM as well to see if that would help(see sig) but didn't change anything. In other areas, with just the one bar of signal strength I've been able to make calls 100% of the time. It's only this one area that gives me fits.
I have FieldTest.exe on my phone but must admit that other than looking at the pretty numbers, I don't really know how to interpret the results of that app. Any suggestions?
Rick

I am having same problem, tried something like 3 roms , and it sometimes work for a while then stop working again, i was a new rom when i found it was making calls but no 3G connection, i tried another rom, made few calls then now it is unable to connect to anything , please let me know if you find a solution

Reason for "SIM does not allow a connection to this network"

I remember people talking about this on the G1 forums and people were thinking this was a bug in the Android software. I do not know if anyone has provided the answer to this already, but I figured I would share what I have found. (I also posted this in the G1 section)
Turns out that tmobile and at&t have dropped their roaming agreement in several areas. The "not allowed on this network" message is due to the phone trying to connect to these towers. Even when selecting "select auto" or selecting a weak tmobile tower, because it fails connecting to the weak tower and then will try to connect to the stronger tower (att) but is not allowed.
This whole thing sucks though, because I have a metal roof that kills my tmobile signal, but I am able to get a weak att signal inside.

negatory
I believe you're wrong there about signal strength.
I've had two seperate g1's that displayed this error when inserting a TMO and/or ATT sim. The phones were both unlocked, and sitting with 2 feet of a TMO g1 with 4 bars of 3G signal.
After updating the radios to most current and calling TMO to question someone withe sense, I was upgraded through 2 levels of customer support. The last fella I talked to apparently knew things, but couldn't say much - you get the idea. He did reset my connection (or said he did) and I watched as service for all three phones on my account died (connectivity) and then gained signal again. All while on the phone with him.
Afterwards, he suggested I clear all caches, facotory reset, etc.
Low and behold, both phones worked with 3G (TMO) and EDGE (ATT) just fine afterwards. Now, was it something HE did exclusively, or a combination of his 'reset' (whatever it was) AND my factory wipe of the phones ? Got me.
I WILL BET YOU A COKE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH UPGRADING THE RADIO TO CURRENT -AND- WIPING. If i'm wrong, i'll paypal you coke money... but I think I'm right.
If a tmo person in the know, -not a speculator-, would like to grace us, that would be cool.
This has worked for a total of three "Your SIM card does not allow connection to this network" type error'd phones. All of which were unlocked, rooted, and running cyanogenmod latest.
2 cents.

I contacted Google support about this. Apparently if T-Mobile has property rights to the area where you're connecting you are only allowed to connect to T-Mobile's network no matter how poor or lack of signal there is.

Yeah, I tested this myself, tried to connect to the only tower available (an att) and was not allowed. I know you have the roaming issue is you ever see "emergency calling only" in the service bar. Means it has a signal but is not allowed to roam on that signal. I have a good signal outside and in parts of the house, just not where I am the most. There might be a bug where it gets stuck trying to connect to the wrong towers, but the source of the issue lies in the lack of access to att towers in many areas.

Can a Canadian SGS be put to 2G?

I heard that sometimes switching to 2G has given some people better reception in certain areas. Can I do this on my Samsung Vibrant (Bell Mobility)? I don't see the option in the menu

The Bell Galaxy S unfortunately cannot be put into 2g mode on Bell's network, and here is why:
Bell's current 3g/HSDPA network uses GSM cell technology, enabling SIM devices such as the Galaxy S and IPhone to work on it's network. Prior to launching this network Bell used a CDMA network similar to Verizon and Sprint in the states. Bell launched their new GSM network in order to be able to get the newest phones and stay competitive with Rogers. Because Bell's 1g and 2g networks are CDMA based they are not compatible with the GSM radio chip in the Galaxy S. This is why newer Bell phones have SIM cards but older ones do not.
If the option to use 2g networks were there (and it was in my original Bell Galaxy i7500) you would completely disconnect from the cellular network if you enabled it. The option is available on Rogers Android phones and does work as Rogers has a 1g/2g GSM network that the phone can fall back on.
This isn't much of a problem in urban centres (and most places in Southern Ontario) as Bell's 3G network is quite large and reliable. You may run into trouble in rural areas where Bell may not have upgraded their towers to broadcast the new network. I believe in these areas the phone goes into roaming and utilizes Rogers 1g/2g network.
Hope this clears up the issue for you

Nirvana388 said:
The Bell Galaxy S unfortunately cannot be put into 2g mode on Bell's network, and here is why:
Bell's current 3g/HSDPA network uses GSM cell technology, enabling SIM devices such as the Galaxy S and IPhone to work on it's network. Prior to launching this network Bell used a CDMA network similar to Verizon and Sprint in the states. Bell launched their new GSM network in order to be able to get the newest phones and stay competitive with Rogers. Because Bell's 1g and 2g networks are CDMA based they are not compatible with the GSM radio chip in the Galaxy S. This is why newer Bell phones have SIM cards but older ones do not.
If the option to use 2g networks were there (and it was in my original Bell Galaxy i7500) you would completely disconnect from the cellular network if you enabled it. The option is available on Rogers Android phones and does work as Rogers has a 1g/2g GSM network that the phone can fall back on.
This isn't much of a problem in urban centres (and most places in Southern Ontario) as Bell's 3G network is quite large and reliable. You may run into trouble in rural areas where Bell may not have upgraded their towers to broadcast the new network. I believe in these areas the phone goes into roaming and utilizes Rogers 1g/2g network.
Hope this clears up the issue for you
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Wow...thanks for the great info! Weird thing is, the ONLY place i have ever had any problem is at my work (a university in lower mainland). Is there anything I can do? Seems like most calls go straight to voicemail. Thanks for the great info again!

Unfortunately some buildings are just great at blocking signal due to their construction or design, I know a lot of University campus buildings are designed to block cell reception to prevent phones from being used in class. My workplace building is particularly bad at blocking cell reception. On my old bell phone which was on their cmda network I got no reception at my desk. On my galaxy S with their new network I get anywhere from 1-5 bars but never lose service. If you're in a building that does block signal, there's unfortunately not a lot you can do outside of holding the phone in a location where it gets the best signal.

it will automatically switch between G, 2G and 3G
as long as you are close enough to a window

Nirvana388 said:
Unfortunately some buildings are just great at blocking signal due to their construction or design, I know a lot of University campus buildings are designed to block cell reception to prevent phones from being used in class. My workplace building is particularly bad at blocking cell reception. On my old bell phone which was on their cmda network I got no reception at my desk. On my galaxy S with their new network I get anywhere from 1-5 bars but never lose service. If you're in a building that does block signal, there's unfortunately not a lot you can do outside of holding the phone in a location where it gets the best signal.
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I would of thought it was the building too....but my co-workers get full reception. No static, no dropped calls, crystal clear reception. Could it be a Bell dead spot?

Singhman said:
I would of thought it was the building too....but my co-workers get full reception. No static, no dropped calls, crystal clear reception. Could it be a Bell dead spot?
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very possible
some areas have towers from Fido/Rogers, other areas have towers from Bell
in areas where you get all 3 towers (signal crash)
and you get sporadically excellent signal to almost no signal for data even if you are standing outside or near a window.
if you drive a bit further away then everything is back to normal

Missed calls when no reception/signal

Guys,
Can you all clarify this. I am new to Tmobile.. and the service in my area is not the greatest (esp. in my house). It seems that while in my house several people called me and due to the poor signal, I did not even get the missed calls. Isn't it supposed to let me know I have missed calls once I am in a better reception area?
I have never had that problem with AT&T ..

Omnia7 + T-Mobile UK domestic data roaming = Tragedy???

For those on T-Mobile UK Network, could you share your thoughts about the data roaming between T-Mobile - Orange 3G network?
Does it work for you, does it boosts speeds?
In my case it defaults to T-Mobile Orange, although this is a correct selection signal-wise, as I've got 3-4 bars of 3G+ (2-3 bars with 'vanilla' T-Mobile), I guess Orange speeds are **** in my area, resulting to 700/40 Kbps down/up best case scenario (40 Kbps, that's kilobit per second, or 5 KB/sec). Worst case scenario is ping time-outs, because the upload speed is so slow that even the initial command is difficult to be transmitted. Sites with pictures is almost a no go, the same applies to traffic intensive apps, e.g. maps.
When I force T-Mobile via Settings (manual Network selection, data roaming set to off) speeds go up, to acceptable 1700/300 Kbps. But after a couple of minutes, the network changes to T-Mobile Orange.
I called cc to deactivate data roaming (international), just in case it deactivates domestic one, but to no avail. No one in T-Mobile knows if I can opt-out of domestic data roaming and give me foolish instructions ''remove your battery, remove SIM card, reboot phone blah blah blah****''
Any experiences? Does 3G roaming work for you?

Hi, its kinda hard for me to tell as I normally have quite bad signal and its really annoying. I had issues with WiFi and 3G conflicting and I thought it was the 3G but since I updated to mi7ROM I havent had this problem - so not sure pal

I'm on Orange UK and opted into this ages ago. As far as I can tell it's a load of rubbish and doesn't work properly.
In my flat I get low GPRS with Orange. If i force it to T-Mobile I get full 3G. However the roaming defaults to Orange and so I'm stuck with GPRS and poor reception.
In addition the Omnia can't seem to handle switching between networks properly resulting in data connection problems where it will lose it altogether.
I have noticed that the T-Mobile 3G speed seems higher than the Orange 3G speed too.

i can only echo Freypal, thats the exact same as my situation. great idea, but it doesnt seem to have been implemented properly.

robnewton1 said:
i can only echo Freypal, thats the exact same as my situation. great idea, but it doesnt seem to have been implemented properly.
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As a t-mob customer i too find that the auto switch to orange results in my data falling over, requiring me to go into flight mode so that it will auto reselect the t-mob network.
I did ask to be opted out but the t-mob CS recommended that I be patient. They are aware that there are problems but hope to have them sorted soon(ish)

I'm having exactly the same experience as the original poster. I took the phone into the shop and a staffmember agreed that the Orange-TMobile 3G is not working yet and they are getting a lot of complaints. I spoke to customer services but they say you cannot opt out and they are working to resolve the problems...but they would not give a timeframe when pushed ("days, weeks or months?").
I think its worth starting an Ofcom complaint.

Please sign this petition I set up.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/t-mobile-orange-signal/
T-Mobile has implemented signal sharing with Orange. In theory this should enhance coverage--particularly 3G coverage--for T-Mobile customers.
The reality is that this signal sharing is not working properly. T-Mobile customers' phones are constantly getting stuck on Orange transmitters even when there is good T-Mobile reception available. This can mean customers have barely 1 bar of low-speed 2G ("G") Orange signal even when there is strong T-Mobile 3G signal available in the area.
T-Mobile say they have activated "smart signal sharing" which should prevent the above from occurring. However, this has failed to fix the problem.
T-Mobile say customers can't opt out of the new scheme. It needs to take notice that for many of its customers the signal sharing scheme is counter-productive and *reduces* the quality of the service they are getting.
Please sign this petition so that T-Mobile/OFCOM realize the extent of this problem.

sab742 said:
Please sign this petition I set up.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/t-mobile-orange-signal/
T-Mobile has implemented signal sharing with Orange. In theory this should enhance coverage--particularly 3G coverage--for T-Mobile customers.
The reality is that this signal sharing is not working properly. T-Mobile customers' phones are constantly getting stuck on Orange transmitters even when there is good T-Mobile reception available. This can mean customers have barely 1 bar of low-speed 2G ("G") Orange signal even when there is strong T-Mobile 3G signal available in the area.
T-Mobile say they have activated "smart signal sharing" which should prevent the above from occurring. However, this has failed to fix the problem.
T-Mobile say customers can't opt out of the new scheme. It needs to take notice that for many of its customers the signal sharing scheme is counter-productive and *reduces* the quality of the service they are getting.
Please sign this petition so that T-Mobile/OFCOM realize the extent of this problem.
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Signed