Database Users

Phone signal strength problems - anyone else had problems

I have moved from a Nokia 7610 to a Wizard (on O2). I have fallen in love with it for all sorts of reasons.
The major hassle so far is signal strength. I'm not sure if I have a dud phone? For the last month I have run the Nokia and Wizard in parallel. I am constantly finding myself out of range or with one bar of signal. The phone doesn't function reliably with a single bar. Most irritating is that this happens at home also. (The nokia was on O2 also).
If there is not a solution to this I may have to go back to the nokia and accept what I was trying to avoid - having to carry a phone and a PDA.
Thanks - Kneale

do you have another pda phone you can run it against?
reason i ask is dont forget that nokia phones have more bars than the jams do
so for instance, 8 bars in nokia (full) would be eqiv to 5 bars in the jam (full) if that makes sense
ignore the numbers at the top, i dont know the exact number of bars

Thanks. No - I don't have another PDA phone. I realise there is a difference in number of signal bars. I'm simply not getting a good enough signal in to make it functional as a phone.
I work as a doctor and need a 100% reliable phone more than a PDA. Just beginning to get into all the software / music / video / etc. aspects of it however. Would find it hard to give up now!
Kneale

Dont expect this phone is going to have premium reception... the only phone I found exceptional is Sony Ericsson Z600 so far...
People said 1.12.0 GSM firmware would have better reception. You might try to upgrade your ROM. I think O2 provided latest official firmware as well, so you might wanna test with it.

Yes - my cda is the same. My SE 700i has a far better reception. The O2 seems to fall out of range alot - I have to out it into flight mode on then off!

I also posted a while ago that the signal strength is pretty poor. Never had much trouble with my nokia but in a few places eg work im pretty much on the 1 bar and have lost the signal on one occasion.

Thanks for this. Finally got so irritated with it that today I visited the O2 shop and then spoke to the on-line customer service. Both were very good.
Bottom line is that they are sending me out a replacement to try in case I have a dud. I'll let you know how I get on.
Kneale

i think i will need to retract what i said!
for the last 24 hours, my reception goes down and then nothing, just the dots
have to go into flight mode then out and i get my bars back

Of cource, about signal stregth, nokia is the best.
But you can improve signal stregth of your pda phone by switching it to manual network searching mode.
Go to phone/ settings/ networks/ manual.

oainot said:
Of cource, about signal stregth, nokia is the best.
But you can improve signal stregth of your pda phone by switching it to manual network searching mode.
Go to phone/ settings/ networks/ manual.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How will that improve signal strength exactly ?

knowsleyroader said:
oainot said:
Of cource, about signal stregth, nokia is the best.
But you can improve signal stregth of your pda phone by switching it to manual network searching mode.
Go to phone/ settings/ networks/ manual.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How will that improve signal strength exactly ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't, but it can speed up the re-acquisition of cell (i.e. less search time).

short battery life - TYTN

I have a v1605, and am getting alarmingly short battery life out of it. For example -
7pm: fully charged
>> one 10 minute call, about 10 emails received
4am: completely dead
The only thing I have running is Goodlink push email... I'm not sure how often that polls/ is active, but I cant believe it's all about Goodlink - they wouldnt still be in business. I have the screen on its dimmest, and set to turn off after 10 second of inactivity.
So my question is - what kind of battery life are people getting?
The best I've had is 24 hours - anyone get consistently more than that?

Tytn battery life
One other thought is that I'm currently roaming on Voda in Japan, and so am on an entirely 3G network.
Does anyone know if 3G is more power-hungry than 2G?

Re: Tytn battery life
timbatop said:
One other thought is that I'm currently roaming on Voda in Japan, and so am on an entirely 3G network.
Does anyone know if 3G is more power-hungry than 2G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3G consumes more battery than normal gsm

Goodlink is a notorious powerhog, too...

My 1 GB Twinmos memory card was draining my battery. Switched back to my 512 MB card and and the battery life was doubled...

Never the less TyTN should live longer. Perhaps smth is wrong with the battary

As an indicator, I spend around 2 hours on calls and receive around 150 mails a day via Vodafone Blackberry push email Client, with the phone swapping between GPRS and 3G for connectivity.
My phone is fully charged at 7am and by early afternoon (3ish) I get the battery low message.

I was also experiencing short battery life with my TyTn and found that when I forced the phone to only use GSM my battery life was extended by 24Hrs.
If I want to use the phone for 3G or HSDPA I then enabled it.
To adjust the setting, go to "Settings", "Phone", "Band" and adjust Network Type to "GSM"

Nice comparison/review of TyTN and 8525

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/Cingular-8525.htm
And guess what? They like the TyTN button arrangement better (not to mention the fact that it's unlocked and has the front camera).
Enjoy...

wow, this posts looks familar; I swear I just read this post at hofo...joking aside, it is a good review

Battery last for 3 days?????
The author of the review mentions that his 8525 battery lasts 3 days in 3G area. Me TyTN's battery is dead in one day if using Cingular's UMTS network in Boston area and it's without using WiFi and Bluetooth. Shoud I enable WiFi or listen to online Internet radio over 3G my battery is dead in 1-2 hours. What's your experience? Or my battery is defective?
(Hermes TyTN ROM 1.18.225.3, Radio 1.13)

I'm in Boston and get about 1 day of life from the battery, but I'm using goodlink which is a notorious battery hog. If I set goodlink in offline mode and manually sync I get about 2 days of life (including some light inet browsing).

I can see the battery lasting a couple of days with just UMTS ... but with DirectPush in the mix .. a day is a good bet .. add BT and you can only imagine what will happen ..

HSDPA Nexus One users (tips, battery optimisation & stats, signal, etc..)

Hi,
I'm starting this thread to collect informations about using the N1 on a HSDPA network. Over the next weeks I'll be posting stats and infos about my experience on a HSDPA network.
*-----------------------------------------------------*
Tips
*-----------------------------------------------------*
(reserved)
*-----------------------------------------------------*
Battery optimization
*-----------------------------------------------------*
HSDPA seems to be very hard on the battery, and to get the most of your N1 there will be some sacrifice.
What COULD help:
- Dial *#*#4636#*#* and set the phone to "WCDMA Only" in the phone informations.
- Try the app called "battery refresh" on the android store. It will discharge your phone. Then boot into recovery and wipe your battery stats.
- Install setCPU from the android store (1$) and force it to 245/576 while the phone is standby/sleep (thanks djmcnz)
- there's an app on the appstore called JuiceDefender that allow you to disable APN based on time or your location.
What WILL help
- disable sync (push). This have a MAJOR impact on HSDPA network
- and obliviously set brightness to auto or lowest acceptable value.
*-----------------------------------------------------*
Signal optimization
*-----------------------------------------------------*
So far I've tried two different radio rom, and the older 4.03.00.21_2 seem to offer better signal. So you could try using that one.
*-----------------------------------------------------*
Bandwith optimization
*-----------------------------------------------------*
- If you have a rooted N1, you could try in "spare parts" the hotweiss's Radio mod (in miscellaneous). In my case, there's not difference but still could be worth a try.
*-----------------------------------------------------*
N.B. : Fellow canadians, if you are on Bell or Telus with your N1, your are on a HSDPA network.

(reserved)

aad4321 said:
i NEED push on my work email at peek times. the sense ui version allows u to turn off push at different times. I would like to see this for the nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try JuiceDefender, I think that app does exactly that.

I seem to get alot of network connection errors from market, to internet, and some games that use internet.
I noticed my signal is usally full bars but switches alot between 3G and H (HSDPA)
Are my connections errors due to the switching of 3G and H much like some people have issues with EDGE and 3G switching back and forth in certain spots?
Also that *#*#4636#*#* didn't work. EDIT: nevermind, needs to be done on the stock dialer.
I set my network from WCDMA prefered to WCDMA only. See how that works. EDIT: Still switches from 3G to HSDPA...

Sistum Id said:
I set my network from WCDMA prefered to WCDMA only. See how that works. EDIT: Still switches from 3G to HSDPA...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this is normal behavior. The 'WCDMA only' option disables EDGE network connections so that you only use the 3G/HSDPA.
Cheers

I hope there is a bug on the N1 radios..Cause I can't last 20hrs with 1hr worth of calls..and small use of internet. Yet other people saying they easily go pass 30hrs with heavy use...liars..

I can still get though a full day, business and pleasure on a single charge using HSDPA, WiFi and making calls... lots of calls.
In an average (16h) day I will be connected via 3G for about 10 of those and WiFi for the remaining six. I make about 180 mins of calls a day, 20% of those using the speaker, I have a feed reader with 20 feeds that update constantly, I listen to music to and form work (20mins + 20mins), I might play a game or two and I often read xda and/or download during the day. Brightness at about 55% fixed.
I charge my phone overnight, every night (have been doing this since my original RAZR anyway).
I have never, ever run out of battery during a given day.
Setting the CPU to min in standby is not a good idea - it needs some headroom to actually complete background tasks and 245 is too low IMHO and will be counter-productive. I suggest 245/576.
If your usage is much above mine then I'm not sure how many marginal tips will be needed before it makes a meaningful difference...

Sistum Id said:
I seem to get alot of network connection errors from market, to internet, and some games that use internet.
I noticed my signal is usally full bars but switches alot between 3G and H (HSDPA)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got these errors on T-Mobile as well - since moving over to AT&T with the AT&T version they have completely disappeared.

krohnjw said:
I got these errors on T-Mobile as well - since moving over to AT&T with the AT&T version they have completely disappeared.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'm not sure but on mine it switch from 3G to H only when I fetch data. Else it stays on 3G.

Nierdal said:
You could try JuiceDefender, I think that app does exactly that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Testing Juice Defender now. So far it's an incredible solution to battery drain, if it does what it claims. Will post findings this weekend.

Daswolven said:
Testing Juice Defender now. So far it's an incredible solution to battery drain, if it does what it claims. Will post findings this weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep I'm getting the same results here. Juice Defender is the most effective thing I've tried so far. I'll collecting stats about it right now will post later.

europe - preferred network - voice calls

Hey guys,
Well, I ordered the essential phone from amazon.com and had it shipped to Europe (Belgium). It's working great for the most part but I have a question for anybody else who imported it from the USA about the preferred network.
If I check on the the frequency check site it shows that all protocols are compatible with my provider, including UMTS (which I presume is WCDMA).
If I set my preferred network to anything with WCDMA then it's impossible to make voice calls. Normally the GSM/WCDMA/LTE option int he preferred mobile networks should be perfect for me, no? The workaround I use is to select LTE/GSM/TDSCDMA in which case my phone connects with LTE and and allows me to make voice calls.. the weird thing is that it looks like my data connection drops to GSM (2G) while making a call.
Is this all normal? Anybody else encountered any issues and found workarounds/fixes?
thanks!
[edit, one of my friends has the same phone and issue, so it's not device specific. i also e-mailed essential and their first response wasn't helpfull and completely besides the point]

canned_polar_bear said:
Hey guys,
Well, I ordered the essential phone from amazon.com and had it shipped to Europe (Belgium). It's working great for the most part but I have a question for anybody else who imported it from the USA about the preferred network.
If I check on the the frequency check site it shows that all protocols are compatible with my provider, including UMTS (which I presume is WCDMA).
If I set my preferred network to anything with WCDMA then it's impossible to make voice calls. Normally the GSM/WCDMA/LTE option int he preferred mobile networks should be perfect for me, no? The workaround I use is to select LTE/GSM/TDSCDMA in which case my phone connects with LTE and and allows me to make voice calls.. the weird thing is that it looks like my data connection drops to GSM (2G) while making a call.
Is this all normal? Anybody else encountered any issues and found workarounds/fixes?
thanks!
[edit, one of my friends has the same phone and issue, so it's not device specific. i also e-mailed essential and their first response wasn't helpfull and completely besides the point]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate while I don't know if this will fix it but may help... Try dialing *#*#4636#*#* on your phones dialer and then click on phone and then click three dots in the top right corner and then select radio bands and then select Europe.... It should help but then again not sure

joshclouds said:
Hey mate while I don't know if this will fix it but may help... Try dialing *#*#4636#*#* on your phones dialer and then click on phone and then click three dots in the top right corner and then select radio bands and then select Europe.... It should help but then again not sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks but that didn't work. back to the LTE/GSM/TDSCDMA prefered network...

I just received the phone last Saturday here in Belgium and I noticed a lot of battery drainage due to a loss in cellular signal. Fiddled around a bit and set my radio band to Europe and preferred network type to LTE/WCDMA. Still managing to maintain LTE+ and make phone calls at the same time. My provider is Proximus. Let's see how it goes the upcoming days and how it affects battery usage.

niko_c said:
I just received the phone last Saturday here in Belgium and I noticed a lot of battery drainage due to a loss in cellular signal. Fiddled around a bit and set my radio band to Europe and preferred network type to LTE/WCDMA. Still managing to maintain LTE+ and make phone calls at the same time. My provider is Proximus. Let's see how it goes the upcoming days and how it affects battery usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
really weird, i'm on the same provider and tried exactly what you mentioned above but wasn't able to make phone calls.... on the upside my battery life has been stellar with the preferred network type i'm using. really impressive not to mention when it's asleep which is amazing, it stays at 100% overnight.
which hardware revision are you on? mine is 1.8 running android 7.1.1

canned_polar_bear said:
really weird, i'm on the same provider and tried exactly what you mentioned above but wasn't able to make phone calls.... on the upside my battery life has been stellar with the preferred network type i'm using. really impressive not to mention when it's asleep which is amazing, it stays at 100% overnight.
which hardware revision are you on? mine is 1.8 running android 7.1.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same hardware revision and same android version with security patch from November. I lost 15% battery overnight in airplane mode I guess something is going wrong at the quality control level at Essential Even though it has a lot of problems, I'm still loving this phone! It evokes an emotional response

niko_c said:
Same hardware revision and same android version with security patch from November. I lost 15% battery overnight in airplane mode I guess something is going wrong at the quality control level at Essential Even though it has a lot of problems, I'm still loving this phone! It evokes an emotional response
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
15% in airplane mode?? hmm that's very odd, specially since mine stays at 100% overnight.. then again i don't have any of those social media apps or anything special and I did set it to turn off wifi while sleeping and not charging. you might have a rogue app on your hands.
well i guess all that's left for us to do is cobble together a franken-phone from both our essentials and we'll have the perfect phone.!!
after i got used to the weight I started really enjoying the phone as well.

canned_polar_bear said:
15% in airplane mode?? hmm that's very odd, specially since mine stays at 100% overnight.. then again i don't have any of those social media apps or anything special and I did set it to turn off wifi while sleeping and not charging. you might have a rogue app on your hands.
well i guess all that's left for us to do is cobble together a franken-phone from both our essentials and we'll have the perfect phone.!!
after i got used to the weight I started really enjoying the phone as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No social media apps here either, only Whatsapp as an extra messenger service. I have all background autosyncs for all accounts disabled as well and yet lost another 9% over night...
Aah well, Oreo might bring some improvements and beta is already released for Essential Phone!

Hey guys,
I know the thread is old, but before I start a new one, maybe we could warm this one up?
I have a pretty similar (or the same) Problem with connecting to the different network types.
I just got my PH-1 from ebay two weeks ago. Sprint variant, but worked without a Problem here in Germanys GSM-based network - so I thought! After some days I noticed that in some areas I only had poor to no reception, where I knew it should be better (I never changed my carrier). Some twiddling and I found out, that the PH-1 only uses the 4G and 2G networks - not 3G! The 'Preferred network' was set to 'global' and I even went to *#*#4636#*#* --> three dots menu --> Europe. Just to be sure. So perhaps the antenna doesn't work properly I thought, but when I switch to 'WCDMA only' I get full reception 3G (H+). So the device is able to use alle three types of networks. After that I tried all different combinations, but in the end it comes to either 3G or 4G and 2G.
I tried another SIM-Card from the same Provider (o2/Telefónica) but its the same with the PH-1 and the SIMs work without any problems in my old device.
After that I followed the big discussion thread about unlocking the device on this forum and in the end successfully unlocked AND SIM-unlocked the device by flashing the modemst1 and modemst2. That changed nothing
My next step was flashing LineageOS 15.1 - also nothing changed...
Thus this is surely related to the PH-1 directly. Any ideas what the reason for this could be? Are there any other preferences I could try to change?

Any tips for europe and android pie with this phone? Should i set it to 4g/lte as preferred?

morfeas-dsl- said:
Any tips for europe and android pie with this phone? Should i set it to 4g/lte as preferred?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is same as 3G/4G LTE so should be fine - i use LTE only because have VoLTE but if not then good have 4G/LTE enabled.