Database Users

HSDPA/3G automatic switching

Hello,
I have just upgraded to the official GPS ROM and I am on the Swedish 3 operator. I have noticed since the upgrade that the network connection is switching from 3G to HSDPA when there is a demand of bandwidth or simply when there is data in either direction.
I can see that the purpose of this was to make it possible and more reliable to place and receive calls during data sessions. I have figured out though, that with the old ROM, there was no such switching (but there was no distinction with the icon, so you really had no idea) and the connection speed was always constantly 1Mbits/s when using Internet Sharing for example. Now with the HSDPA/3G switching/throttling, the connection often drops down to 3G speeds and Skype-calls are lacking quality from this a bit when using Skype in the car which i do quite regularly nowadays using my Jabra JX-10 headset.
I also realize that there is still a problem with outgoing and incoming calls during these automaticly switched-on HSDPA-sessions. That is probably why HTC has decided to keep the HSDPA sessions as short as possible, that's fine, but what boggles me is the algorithm used for the switching. It seems to always kick in HSDPA in the beginning of a new data session, and after a short time of inactivity (while pondering what favourite page to open this time) the connection drops down to 3G and it won't kick back to HSDPA even when you start browsing again, until a certain period of "non-HSDPA-ratio" has been reached and the phone thinks it would be OK to kick in the highspeed again for a little while.
I also noticed that using Skype would keep HSDPA alive once you place a call from a fresh started data session and keep talking ;-)
This is not a particular problem to me, I was just wondering of anyone else here has noticed and had an idea of what the programmers had in mind?
BTW: I am running TomTom 6.010 and Franson GpsGate on the machine now and it works absolutely like a dream. I used to have a Blue-I Bluetooth GPS in the car (Trimble based chipset, only 8 channels but quite OK piece of hardware) but this is far superior when it comes to HOLDING a persistent fix also when moving indoors. The TTFF is quite fast as long as you are outdoors, most of the time i have a fix before i leave the parking space. I noticed there being a dynamic number of satellites of the receiver, sometimes i see 7 out of 8 satellites, and then sometimes i see 10 out of 12! Anyone noticed?
Thanks in advance! Cheers...

It’s not your phone that decide to change from HSDPA mode to normal R99 (384kbits) mode and vice versa. Everything are always controlled by the network. The behaviors that you describe are normal. Besides the HSDPA is quit new for the operators and new parameters needs to be tuned for best performance for every users.
BTW, the degradation that you notice. You are not alone that use HSDPA.... Its finally the big success for 3G

I use Phone Alarm profiles and BandSwitch to control my connection based on business hours. I get a poor singal unless on 3G where my office is located. I force it to GPRS otherwise to save battery.

I have similar problems, cannot receive or start calls when HSDPA connected. Shouldn't that be possible anyway, calling and transferring data at the same time? Or is this a network provider problem?

I too am on the Swedish operator 3. I have an unlocked, non-operator distributed HTC TyTN that I had updated the radio to 1.40xxx and the ROM to Black Dymond 3.5 and was having the exact same problem. I could reproduce the incoming call not getting through error every single time I got the phone to go into HSDPA mode.
After some initial searching I read somewhere it was network dependent (Nokia switches vs Ericsson) and the only way to solve it was to disable the HSDPA using e.g. HTweakC, which I did and it solved the problem, but then of course I couldn't take advantage of the high-speed data access, which was the major reason I got this phone.
I recently noticed that 3 released a new extended ROM with instructions to update the ROM to the latest (as is available on the ftp here) then install their ExtROM. I went to the trouble to try and breakdown what was in this extended ROM, but being a newbie to pocketpc it was all hyroglyphics to me, so I went ahead and installed it over my old HTC ext ROM (which I saved for later use just in case).
When I get around to it I may mount this extended ROM here (I have it, but don't have too much time to put it up right now, so someone may beat me to it).
Anyway, Black Dymond 3.5 didn't install the Extended ROM after a hard reset (assuming that was the intention), so I did it myself afterwards. One initial bug that showed up quickly was the Comm Manager not wanting to start saying it would only manage a max of 7 items (whatever that means). So I installed Schaps latest Comm Manager and it worked fine.
Well, guess what, now there's a daemond that starts on boot and the phone app is different (another bug is that the text on the phone app buttons remain in the 3 theme although I changed back to black, but that's minor), but now I cannot replicate the no incoming calls during HSDPA error.
Apparently they've added something that makes the phone connect properly to their 3G/HSDPA network for call handling. Now I've got full HSDPA speed and no problem on incoming calls (plus still have Black Dymond's great VOIP/SIP WM6 solution).

Ok, as a noob I of course missed the fact that the daemon starting at boot is Voice Commander. Still the actual phone app/dll is somehow different with this ExtROM and it's solved my problems.

GSM connection problem

I am only writing here after I tried everything I could possibly imagine with no result. Sorry the long text.
I'd like to hear ideas from you. Anyone with a similar problem.
I have a Blackstone, and never had even the smallest problem with GSM signal. But now I face the following:
- If I set the Band to "Auto", my phone connects to the HSPDA network with no problem, and I use internet and make calls normally.
- If I set the band to "GSM", sometimes it connect, sometimes not. When I manage to connect, if I try to use the internet, sometimes I lose the signal. When I am making a call, it frequently hangs up. The problem is random, sometimes I can use GSM with internet and calls for a long time, but suddenly it crashes again!
The solution would be always connect to HSPDA, but the problem is that on "Auto" the phone sometimes goes to GSM alone, and the signal breaks down.
I cannot be sure exactly when this problem began. But it was after I installed PDAVIET's Rom (WM 6.5 21053 and manila 2.5), and radio 1.17.25.09.
Among everything I have done:
- Flashed dozens of Roms always hard-reseting twice after. Tried stock Roms, cooked Roms with WM 6.1 / 6.5, manila 1.3 / 2.1 / 2.5.
- Flashed radios 1.13 / 1.14 and 1.17 in combination with all Roms. Tried with and without ripphone.dll's
- To eliminate a operator problem, I used my chip on a nokia for a few days, and didn'd have a single problem with signal, calls, internet. I installed a chip from another operator and faced the same problem.
Nothing I have done made any result.
Even using my stock Rom didn't solved. I used this phone for 8 months with no problem. So I came to the conclusion this is hardware related, with the antenna or something.
Thanks

All right, have been through a few more Roms and Radios and the problem remains unchanged...
Really looks like an antenna related problem. Apparently I will never connect to GSM again unless I take my device to service (have no guarantee), and be lucky!
But anyway, I found a solution to the connection instability and phone calls interruptions. Solved my life for now. It is very complicated:
*********************
HKLM\Software\OEM\UMTS
OpMode=2
*********************
This forces the phone to always stay in the 3G band. The "Auto" mode you can set in Comm Manager lets the phone change to GSM when the signal is low or whenever he wants, and my connection breaks down.
BTW, other modes are:
OpMode=0 (Auto mode)
OpMode=1 (GSM only mode)
OpMode=2 (3G only mode)
I know this may not be useful for anyone, but I just felt like sharing...

1.66 question.

Hi everyone.
Since upgrading to 1.66, I have noticed something rather annoying and hope someone can provide a solution to fixing it.
When I was on 1.48, the H icon at the top of the screen would always be there. I was effectively connected to the internet all the time, and was able to leave MSN messenger etc open and I'd always be online.
When I upgraded to 1.66, the icon at the top of the screen is always 3G. It only changes to H when I'm actually using the internet. If I open the browser and check out a website, the 3G changes to H and the website begins to load. It changes back to 3G when any internet connectivity is idle.
I can only access the internet when H is displayed, but I want it connected permanently like it was on 1.48.
It's like the phone is disconnecting from the internet when I'm not using the browser. It's not very useful when I need to keep MSN messenger open all day.
Thanks.

It's not disconnected when it says 3G. It simply switches to the slower mode when nothing is being transferred to save resources. As soon as something actually needs to be transferred it goes to H again to get the fastest available speed.

kilrah said:
It's not disconnected when it says 3G. It simply switches to the slower mode when nothing is being transferred to save resources. As soon as something actually needs to be transferred it goes to H again to get the fastest available speed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, okay. I can't seem to visit any websites when 3G is displayed though. Perhaps that could be to do with my operator settings or something?

i have had the same problem since installing the sms patches.... i have since hard reset to remove the patch... and testing it now... it is very anoying because it keeps my msn disconnected...

I'm using Dutty's 1.5 (it's a great ROM!) with a 2.07 radio and I've got the same problem..
When it says 3G, nothing seems to come through.. when it changes to H, the webpage starts loading...
Does anyone have a fix to make it not switch back and forth between H and 3G? It gets frustrating because it often takes 1 or 2 seconds to switch between the modes....

tsttse said:
i have had the same problem since installing the sms patches.... i have since hard reset to remove the patch... and testing it now... it is very anoying because it keeps my msn disconnected...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know how to you get on because I need this fixed.

My MSN stays connected fine in 3G. Push email works perfect too.

The icons only show the available type of signal.
They don't mean you are connected.
When you do connect by opening an app that uses the appropriate signal then the icon changes to show the signal that you are connected with.
If H is not available in a particular area then it will stay on 3G and if that's not available then G with show.

Hey guys. I'm on my 4th HD2 handset now since upgrading my vodafone contract one month ago. First two handsets had similar probs as allot of you have had, i.e sms not working, alarm not working etc etc. I upgraded to the 1.66 rom when i got my 3rd handset from phones4u. I then started getting the same issues as you just described- internet only profficiently working when H coverage is active. When it goes below that then nothing happens at all. I returned the handset today and got a new one. This one already had the 1.66 Rom update installed and sure enough, had the same internet issues. I started fiddling with settings and changed the band setting from 'auto' to 'WCDMA'. ( just trial and error, so senior members please chime in if i have given bad advise!) This seems to keep the network coverage constantly in H and since changing it several hours ago i have not had any issues.
Start> Settings>Wireless controls>Phone>Band> Change Auto to WCDMA
Give it a go!

Tristan29 said:
I started fiddling with settings and changed the band setting from 'auto' to 'WCDMA'. ( just trial and error, so senior members please chime in if i have given bad advise!) This seems to keep the network coverage constantly in H and since changing it several hours ago i have not had any issues.
Start> Settings>Wireless controls>Phone>Band> Change Auto to WCDMA
Give it a go!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldnt that make the phone stick to the 3G/HSDPA/WCDMA band only and cause the phone to have no reception around certain areas that still operate on 2G GSM?

Exact.
I rather tend to do the opposite for that reason if I have trouble (sometimes you're in areas where 3G reception is low and it keeps switching between 3G and EDGE all the time), I'll force EDGE only. It's slower, but at least the connection is constant.

When at work mine fights bewteen 3g and h and both are like 1 bar signals, i'd rather disable both when at work as G is full signal.
Is there a way?

Gsm signal issue

I have my sgs for 2 weeks now. GSM disconnects around every 2 days.
At service mode (*#*#4636#*#* - Phone information) i can see this repport:
GSM disconnects:
====DATA=====
State: inactive
disconnected with last try
at 00:59
fail because No Error
The question is: why does this happen?
Is this an android issue or a hardware problem?
Any pointers?
Thanks in advance
.

do you ever enter a building, subway, or some other location where the GSM becomes poor?

AllGamer said:
do you ever enter a building, subway, or some other location where the GSM becomes poor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not the problem.
Gsm disconnects just like that ,at home for instance. And when I notice that and try to reconnect (settings- wireless networks- mobile networks - networks operators) it doesnt find ANY of them.
Then I restart the phone and gsm network is back.
If I dont notice disconnection in time (so I can restart phone, people just cannot reach me....quite frustrating...

i see what you mean now.
yes, i've noticed that on mine too, but.... that's because i was fooling around with some new Apps Widgets settings i was testing to control the radio and data to save battery.
Did you install any new Apps recently that might cause that?

betoNL said:
That's not the problem.
Gsm disconnects just like that ,at home for instance. And when I notice that and try to reconnect (settings- wireless networks- mobile networks - networks operators) it doesnt find ANY of them.
Then I restart the phone and gsm network is back.
If I dont notice disconnection in time (so I can restart phone, people just cannot reach me....quite frustrating...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you have an old sim card? i had a 3g sim card that wasnt even 1 years old and replacing it fixed connectivity issues on my nexus 1 and i had a similar experience with my old htc magic

AllGamer said:
i see what you mean now.
yes, i've noticed that on mine too, but.... that's because i was fooling around with some new Apps Widgets settings i was testing to control the radio and data to save battery.
Did you install any new Apps recently that might cause that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I installed all kind of apps. but i have the feeling this problem was happening even before that.
And I dont need widgets to control data ( I think) because I set the sgs to use 2g networks only and I dont have apn configured( section is empty. Internet connec. only via wifi.
hondaguy said:
do you have an old sim card? i had a 3g sim card that wasnt even 1 years old and replacing it fixed connectivity issues on my nexus 1 and i had a similar experience with my old htc magic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, my sim card is VERY old (2002) and the carrier (Telfort) is roaming into another carrier's network (Kpn) with no extra costs of course like real roaming, but still roaming (I get the little "R" next to the signal strenght bars)
Anyway this never happened with the Nokia 5800xm running Symbian OS and using the same sim card...
Starting to get pissed of with Android...
With Symbian you hack or root or tweak because you want to, not because you NEED to like with Android....
And then you prob. get side effects...
Thank you guys for your time

I would get a new sim card if I were you. Every android phone that I have had seems to work better with a good 3g sim.

Get a new SIM card.

same problem, different phone
i have the same problem on kaiser with flashed android on it.
sim is 2 years old, and now suddenly this happened, tried differents sim cards, but the problem persists. My guess is, it is a software problem.
Maybe i will report when I flash original WM6.1 rom onto it, if you are interested in the result
btw, this happened about two days ago and because of this im buying galaxy s so i hope the problem will be gone with new phone

did you guys see this other topic?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=769582
anyone able to reproduce this issue?

Maranevim said:
i have the same problem on kaiser with flashed android on it.
sim is 2 years old, and now suddenly this happened, tried differents sim cards, but the problem persists. My guess is, it is a software problem.
Maybe i will report when I flash original WM6.1 rom onto it, if you are interested in the result
btw, this happened about two days ago and because of this im buying galaxy s so i hope the problem will be gone with new phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why you think the problem will be gone if it's still android and I also got it with my sgs? Or are you counting on Froyo?
Yesterday I upgraded my sgs to froyo jpc with kies. I am new with Android but the post of Aery was so clear that i didnt resist: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=769400&highlight=froyo+upgrade
I did get stuck on reboot but could get out of it after applying a cache/data/factory reset on recovery mode (3 buttons)
Now I am being carefull with the 3rd party apps., and so far so good, no gsm disconnections .
Froyo is of course better that eclair but Android is still disappointing to me.
You flashed Android onto a WM device (i'm impressed); could you not teach me how to flash Symbian onto my SGS?
Voice dialing (over bluetooth or not) and proper connectivity control (network, data, gps and bluetooth) of android is years behind Symbian; and such a well written, light OS, it will just fly on a high-end hardware like the sgs; but that is an issue for another thread.http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=7938430#post7938430
Pls keep reporting..
AllGamer said:
did you guys see this other topic?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=769582
anyone able to reproduce this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think indeed that's not the same issue. My problem is that the radio signal get turned off during inactivity. That's why I got connection back after reboot: radio signal gets turned on again; later I learned how to turn radio signal back on without rebooting, but that is just a remedy , no real solution.
Try to upgrade to froyo, make a factory reset and be carefull with 3rd party apps. With froyo you will need less interfering tools anyway
I dont thing that my old sim card is the problem, but i'll try to replace it anyway...but first things first
Btw dou you have 3g turned on? Cause I never...
Another mistery: When I have 3G on I see those bars (signal strenght) dancing and that "death grip" thing happening:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LROTHrTR92k
But when I have it on 2G only the bars doesnt move even if I strangle it with both hands.....
Please repport later how it's going...

I had the same issue, i sent mine back and got my money back, i had also tried with different simcards and resets and nothing worked.. so hopefully my new galaxy wont have this problem. Its strange that these problems are so rare though.. But as long i get it going ill be a happy man.

fourth day with JPC ( and 4 days after a factory reset) so far so good no disconnections . I think problem is gone...
Today just to be safe, I got a new sim card....the other one was too old anyway(8 years)

i have the same issue, for a few days i can't get 3g. i'm seriously wondering about sending back my sgs. i've ttried all the settings, changed my sim..nothing...begin to think it was a fullish thing to change Desire to SGS..

alpachiles said:
i have the same issue, for a few days i can't get 3g. i'm seriously wondering about sending back my sgs. i've ttried all the settings, changed my sim..nothing...begin to think it was a fullish thing to change Desire to SGS..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... this is not the same issue.
I have 3G (WCDMA) disabled. I only use 2G (GSM) and WIFI for data/internet connection.
I Dont have a data account, I dont need it therefore I disabled 3G in order to save battery.
If you do want to use 3G, just go to settings - wireless and network - mobile network settings - network mode and set auto-mode (GSM/WCDMA or 3G/2G)
If it doesn't work, apply a data/factory reset and try again.
And if it doesnt work, it's probably hardware related and you should return it or send it for repair.
My issue is more complicated; next to the fact that I dont want to use 3g, my carrier is roaming to another network and probably Android OS or the firmware cannot handle it properly.
Android is still premature and the "Samsung - Android integration" seems to need a lot of development as well.
It is just a shame that basic functions like proper connectivity control just wont cut it. And Google is not doing any good either.
And dont let me get started on the voice recognition issue......
Hardwarewise, the SGS is superior that htc desire.....I wonder how it would perform if running Symbian^3 OS or Meego.....
I get a great sound quality from the stock music player just by mixing the equalizer and using the music clarity effect...just great...better than any other device I tried.
And the OFFLINE Gps experience is just great as well: the combination SGS - Motonav - External Bluetooth gps device is working like a charm.
I wouldn't change my sgs just yet......

yesterday i was swiching sims to determine if is a sim fault and suddenly i have my 3g/h back. happy owner again. i've tried all to do this, from firmware upgrade to servide mode settings..i don't know why but i'm ok again...

betoNL said:
Well... this is not the same issue.
I have 3G (WCDMA) disabled. I only use 2G (GSM) and WIFI for data/internet connection.
I Dont have a data account, I dont need it therefore I disabled 3G in order to save battery.
If you do want to use 3G, just go to settings - wireless and network - mobile network settings - network mode and set auto-mode (GSM/WCDMA or 3G/2G)
If it doesn't work, apply a data/factory reset and try again.
And if it doesnt work, it's probably hardware related and you should return it or send it for repair.
My issue is more complicated; next to the fact that I dont want to use 3g, my carrier is roaming to another network and probably Android OS or the firmware cannot handle it properly.
Android is still premature and the "Samsung - Android integration" seems to need a lot of development as well.
It is just a shame that basic functions like proper connectivity control just wont cut it. And Google is not doing any good either.
And dont let me get started on the voice recognition issue......
Hardwarewise, the SGS is superior that htc desire.....I wonder how it would perform if running Symbian^3 OS or Meego.....
I get a great sound quality from the stock music player just by mixing the equalizer and using the music clarity effect...just great...better than any other device I tried.
And the OFFLINE Gps experience is just great as well: the combination SGS - Motonav - External Bluetooth gps device is working like a charm.
I wouldn't change my sgs just yet......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I know its been a long time since you wrote this thread but I just came by it!
I have the exact same problem with you (I had it since August) even now with the official froyo. I tried factory reset and no new apps (that could cause the problem) but it still disconnects randomly in GSM mode. However, when I have it on auto (gsm and wcdma) I have no issues. I just disconnect data from the power button in froyo. I am wondering if you ever found a solution..
Chryssa

Well, I am subscribed to this topic so I saw your post.
Good and bad news:
First the bad one: No solution yet, it keeps disconnecting IF I stay on "gsm only".
And the good (or a little better) news:
I noticed that on sgs, using "gsm only" or "gsm/wcdma (auto mode) makes no difference on battery consumption....
By the way, this is a Samsung issue, not really an Android one.
On a HTC Desire HD, you can use "gsm only" mode with no problems...

Thank you for your answer!
I noticed that about the battery too. So not too bad, I just have to keep it on auto mode then..

Same issue
Im having the same issue but in a optimus t the worst part is that i cant get service at all.. when i press change network preferred it wont change and when i try to press on turn on radio it wont work either....

[Q] Issue with radio

Hi,
I apologize if it's the wrong forum or if I missed something in my search over the forums (and internet).
Current setup :
HTC Legend rooted, flashed with Azure 1.0.1 (cyanogen 6.0)
Kernel 2.6.29
Baseband 47.26.35.04u_7.05.35.26L
Issue :
For some reason I can't get my 3G connection stable. eg. When I enable Wifi - 3G drops (which is set up that way), but when I disable Wifi 3G doesn't come back up. Even though the settings are correct.
I'm having a hard time getting any mobile data correctly going, it generally requires me to enable/disable wifi and reboot the phone several times.
Basically I've tried factory resets, checking the settings (config of mobile networks too), it doesn't stay in 2G mode, ... I've test with other Cyanogen based roms and it's the exact same issue. Is it possible this is due to a radio being wrong or is it possible it's actually the phone?
So:
- 2G only is DISabled
- Mobile data is enabled
- wifi off
- settings (mobile connection parameters) are correct
- tried different roms
- checked in places I know I should get a good connection (My provider is Telenet, they use the Mobistar network, my previous provider was mobistar. So the coverage should remain the same.)
I am at my wits end and do apologize if this is a stupid question, but I can't think of anything else that could interfere with this.

Have you tried to leave the 2G/3G settings by default? That is, not to disable 2G. It is anyway switching to the best it can aquire, so if you have strong signal you should get allways 3G. I never had these problems with any ROM I've tried...nightly, Azure, RC1/RC2
Sent from my Legend using XDA App

Check this link, and join the others with the same problem...
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=2207

Quick solution : put one of HTCs widgets for mobile network on your homescreen and as soon as you turn WiFi off toggle the mobile network widget and 3G should start working again . It's a hit or miss though.
Sent from my HTC Legend using XDA App

mcuppens said:
Check this link, and join the others with the same problem...
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=2207
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must have used the wrong keywords >.< Sorry. Though thank you for the link, it is EXACTLY the prob I am encountering. At least now I know it's not the rooting that caused it.
About the HTC widget : I've used it, but it's indeed a hit or miss. Best solution seems to switch to 2G and switch back to 3G that way.
Leaving all the settings at standard (and the most recent flash to the CM RC1) helped with the overall connectivity though.