Database Users

Is there any way reception for me will improve...or should i return the SGS???

I get decent reception everywhere, EXCEPT where i work (a university in Vancouver). At my desk, sometimes I will get calls, but most times it goes straight to voicemail. In the library, I can't get any reception, and internet works very slow (over 1 min to open a webpage). I am with Bell Mobility. I used to have an htc touch, and although reception would also come in and out at work...its not even close to being as bad as my SGS.
My co-workers who are with other carriers get full bars in the same areas i get no reception. Is there anything I can do to keep the SGS and still get reception?

Are your coworkers on Rogers? I do find their network seems to penetrate buildings a bit better than Bell's.

reception is always good on 850 band
but there are places like Subway, or really thick concrete walls where signal will simply not go through

Nirvana388 said:
Are your coworkers on Rogers? I do find their network seems to penetrate buildings a bit better than Bell's.
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Yes, they are with rogers. I can't even get texts or calls at all in the library, and my desk is hit and miss...I think to myself..."i spend 1/3 of my day here...whats the point then?"

What frequencies does bell support? Is it possible they use 2 frequencies for their network but only 1 is supported by this phone (here in Australia, telstra uses 850mhz, and special i9000's are apparently required for that)

andrewluecke said:
What frequencies does bell support? Is it possible they use 2 frequencies for their network but only 1 is supported by this phone (here in Australia, telstra uses 850mhz, and special i9000's are apparently required for that)
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Yeah the international i9000 supports 900/1400/2100 bands.
I think AT&T uses 900 where as Rogers uses 850, not sure though. :\

sturmeh said:
Yeah the international i9000 supports 900/1400/2100 bands.
I think AT&T uses 900 where as Rogers uses 850, not sure though. :\
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AT&T is also 850
900 is only used in Europe

Try turning data off or using 2g only mode when at work. Other wise buy a new at&t sgs. Apps like locale and tasker can make switching off data/2g mode painless
Sent from my Apple Newton 2100

I've got similar problems, except that for some reason my connection drops significantly at home. Everywhere else it's almost always constant 4 bars or 3, but at my house it drops to 2, 1 or sometimes loses it altogether (though latter rarely happens). So it's not THAT bad or anything but annoying nonetheless... damn Bell. As soon as it's unlockable I think I'll head over back to Rogers, Fido or whatever.

Bell uses 850/1900 bands the same as Rogers and AT&T. As we discussed in another thread, turning off the 3g is not an option for Bell as Bell has no underlying 2g GSM network to fall back on. This is probably why your coworkers are getting better reception, they are most likely falling back on Rogers 2g network when inside. This will probably not improve unless Bell puts up a new microcell nearby you or something. It is most likely just the building though that is blocking the 3g signal. If you switched to Rogers when they get the Captivate later this year, or get bell to unlock your Galaxy and switch you may get better voice/sms reception because you can then fallback on Rogers 2g.

he just need to get it unlock, so he can use another network
no need to switch phone

[Q] MT4G on AT&T - anyone doing this??

Just curious if anyone is using the MT4G on AT&T and how well that's working? I know we can unlock it for use with any carrier but wanted some feedback before I spend the money to get my gf (now using iphone 3gs) an MT4G to use on AT&T.
I already know that 4G won't work. I got her a Captivate for Christmas but she really likes Sense and AT&T's phones are so locked down it's stupid. Can't use custom ringtones, can't sideload apps, etc.
Can anyone help out?

So I'm doing some research and it looks like there's minial wcdma overlap which means spotty 3g coverage? Is that right? I really don't know how to interpret what I'm seeing though so I would be really appreciative for the input of someone more informed than I.
LINKY
CAPTIVATE
GSM 850
GSM 900
GSM 1800
GSM 1900
WCDMA 850
WCDMA 1900
WCDMA 2100
MYTOUCH 4G
GSM 850
GSM 900
GSM 1800
GSM 1900
WCDMA 1700
WCDMA 2100
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Courtesy of PhoneScoop.com

i am using my MT4G on att and its preety good reception wise. I got 15 dollar unlimited data plan. Bec this is tmobil made hardware so i only get edge.

Why not just grab her an att nexus one and flash sense into it? Evil D's ports are really good!

Phateless said:
I already know that 4G won't work.
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3G won't work either. My question is why on earth would you want to take a MT4G over to the [IMO] worst network of all time?

Only bands 1& 4 right?

Although the captivate supports 2100, at&t only operates 850 & 1900 in the us. Some phones have 2100 for global roaming because that's what most others use.
While at&t does have a larger footprint, I just paid them $180 to get out of my contract and I'm much happier with tmobile. Texts actually send and web pages actually load.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

It works just fine, just slower, obviously.
And yes, it is 3G.

Let me be super clear about this... 3G WILL NOT WORK on AT&T. The MT4G just doesn't have the right radio. However, the Vibrant (surprisingly) does have the 850 band on its 3G radio, and does sort of work for AT&T.
If you want an Android phone on AT&T, I recommend buying something unlocked from Canada. Rogers and Bell both share AT&T's 3G bands (850 & 1900), and have a better selection than AT&T itself.

Really great comments here. She's got a year left on her contract, that's why. She's gonna find out her termination fee tomorrow cuz she loves my mt4g, lol.
I always knew that an N1 is definitely her best bet but can't find one used and have an mt4g in the works for $260.

We're talking slightly different things here as well. HSPDA on ATT won't work.
However, "EDGE" describes a family of service classes, not a single speed. Depending on your location and the service speeds there, EDGE may in fact be qualified to be called 3G according to the ITU (the international body that certifies this nomenclature).
As the radio in this phone most certainly does support EDGE, whether or not you can get 3G speeds on AT&T will depend on your location. For most of us this will still be a "no," but if the OP is in one of the special markets (LA, NYC, ATL) you can see it. Since OP is in Oakland, I figured he might get lucky.
I swap cards a bit on mine (one SIMM or work, and one for personal use) and have been in areas where the EDGE network was nearly as fast as the supposed 4G on the other card.
I should probably start using the that bandwith meter app and record my results. It could be interesting.

ReverendJasen said:
We're talking slightly different things here as well. HSPDA on ATT won't work.
However, "EDGE" describes a family of service classes, not a single speed. Depending on your location and the service speeds there, EDGE may in fact be qualified to be called 3G according to the ITU (the international body that certifies this nomenclature)...
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EDGE is not generally considered a 3G technology, although it is a significant improvement over GPRS, and it offers speeds approaching true 3G speeds.
Calling EDGE "3G" is somewhat like T-Mobile calling HSPA+ "4G"; it's playing a little fast and loose with the definitions. I do agree that in ideal circumstances, EDGE speeds can be pretty good, but it really falters when it comes to streaming media or any other data-intensive task.

Please post questions in Q&A section.

[Q] Will Nexus 4 still get 42 mbps hspa+ after 1900mhz refarm?

I just wanted to ask a question about the Nexus 4 for T-Mobile users specifically.
As many are probably aware T-Mobile in the US is refarming their spectrum to provide 42mbps speeds on the 1900mhz spectrum which will allow phones like the iPhone to get hspa+ speeds.
I don't care about the iPhone. I want to know what network speeds will be like for current handsets like the nexus 4 that get 42 Mbps right now.
I ask because I am currently in Boston with a gnex and when I first switched to T-Mobile network speeds kept getting better but within the last 6 months speeds have just gotten worse. I think the 1900mhz refarm may be to blame.
I would love to get 42Mbps speeds and this would be my main reason for upgrading to a nexus 4. But does the nexus 4 only support DC-HSPA+ on T-mobile's current bands or will it supports hspa+ (42mbps) on the 1900mhz bands as well. I ask because if this is not the case there is a serious issue of future proofing for this phone and I would probably wait for the next Nexus.
So just wandering if anyone knows more about this kind of stuff than me. Thanks!

Of course it will still get HSPA+:42
The reason your speeds are getting slower has to do with network congestion and 1900mhz should allow for a greater transmission

Thanks. Just wanted to make sure.

spitefulcheerio said:
Of course it will still get HSPA+:42
The reason your speeds are getting slower has to do with network congestion and 1900mhz should allow for a greater transmission
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Sorry to bring old post back up but this isn't correct. It will not be 1700mhz HSPA+ and 1900mhz HSPA+. It will be 1700 LTE, 1900 HSPA+. Currently HSPA+ is on 1700mhz. So it might be worse for the Nexus 4.

Maybe you can then enable the hidden LTE?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Are these speeds LTE level?

I know T- mobile is rolling out their 1900mhz band across the US this year, and in the last few days I've noticed much better signal strength and I just ran a speedtest and was very impressed by the results. I've had better upload results but this is by far the fastest upload speeds I've seen on the mobile data network.
Showed the 'H' icon next to the signal bars, I wonder if our phones will ever show 'LTE'?
I know I'm getting 4G but never says 4G. Always just 'H'.
Anyway, here's a screen if the results:
http://db.tt/V0IaSyjO
Close to 20Mbps!

Haha, I, as well as many others in this forum have been getting 20-25 off HSPA 42. There is an internal setting in the Nexus 4 to enable LTE, and if you connect to LTE, it shows the appropriate symbol, too. Currently, the flavor of LTE that the Nexus likes is only available in Canada (and maybe other places, but not US yet as far as I know), but it's starting to get deployed in the US via T-Mobile. It started off in Las Vegas and Kansas, or will be starting off, so if you're not in either of those places, you probably don't have LTE.

AW: Are these speeds LTE level?
Look under Settings-About the phone- status, there you can see the type of connection
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Its always gonna say h. There are ROMS that replace the icon with a 4g icon but most of them leave them as is. That doesnt mean your not getting 4g , plus those speeds look very good to me
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

Those speeds are excellent for 4g, but with lte you're going to see upload speeds as fast as your download speeds.

yahoowizard said:
Haha, I, as well as many others in this forum have been getting 20-25 off HSPA 42. There is an internal setting in the Nexus 4 to enable LTE, and if you connect to LTE, it shows the appropriate symbol, too. Currently, the flavor of LTE that the Nexus likes is only available in Canada (and maybe other places, but not US yet as far as I know), but it's starting to get deployed in the US via T-Mobile. It started off in Las Vegas and Kansas, or will be starting off, so if you're not in either of those places, you probably don't have LTE.
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All good to know.
I'm in Seattle regularly, which was one if the first places T-Mobile rolled out their 1900mhz LTE service, do how do I turn on this internal setting you mentioned?
Thanks.

Globespy said:
All good to know.
I'm in Seattle regularly, which was one if the first places T-Mobile rolled out their 1900mhz LTE service, do how do I turn on this internal setting you mentioned?
Thanks.
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T-Mobile isn't rolling out LTE on 1900mhz. That's just 3G.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

joshnichols189 said:
T-Mobile isn't rolling out LTE on 1900mhz. That's just 3G.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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Interesting, I've received different information. I've spoken with level 3 tech support numerous times about the roll out of their 1900mhz band during 2013 across the US, and they confirmed that their version of LTE will use the 1900mhz frequency (which, incidentally is the most highly used global frequency for high speed data - I'm a British and Australian Citizen as well as US Citizen and use my phones worldwide). The 700mhz frequency is for Verizon LTE phones, so T-Mobiles decision to run 1900mhz will mean that AT&T customers can move to T-Mobile with their existing phones
Their current 3G and 4G runs on 1700mhz - of course your phone will only get 4G if it's hardware capable of 4G.
Here's an article that will explain it all for you:
http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/4GNetworkEvolutionVendorsSelected

Uhh
Globespy said:
Interesting, I've received different information. I've spoken with level 3 tech support numerous times about the roll out of their 1900mhz band during 2013 across the US, and they confirmed that their version of LTE will use the 1900mhz frequency (which, incidentally is the most highly used global frequency for high speed data - I'm a British and Australian Citizen as well as US Citizen and use my phones worldwide). The 700mhz frequency is for Verizon LTE phones, so T-Mobiles decision to run 1900mhz will mean that AT&T customers can move to T-Mobile with their existing phones
Their current 3G and 4G runs on 1700mhz - of course your phone will only get 4G if it's hardware capable of 4G.
Here's an article that will explain it all for you:
http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/4GNetworkEvolutionVendorsSelected
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Click to collapse
I don't need an article.. T-Mobile is deploying band 4 LTE over 1700/2100mhz frequencies. The 1900mhz band is being refarmed to HSPAP which will allow AT&T users to use HSPAP on T-Mobile. This also allows T-Mobile to stop using 1700/2100 for HSPAP since they will be using it for LTE.
If you are calling T-Mobile and expecting their "level 3 tech support" to know anything, you're doing it wrong.
Also the article you posted even proves my point.. "Refarming 1900mhz for '4G HSPAP'"
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

joshnichols189 said:
Uhh
I don't need an article.. T-Mobile is deploying band 4 LTE over 1700/2100mhz frequencies. The 1900mhz band is being refarmed to HSPAP which will allow AT&T users to use HSPAP on T-Mobile. This also allows T-Mobile to stop using 1700/2100 for HSPAP since they will be using it for LTE.
If you are calling T-Mobile and expecting their "level 3 tech support" to know anything, you're doing it wrong.
Also the article you posted even proves my point.. "Refarming 1900mhz for '4G HSPAP'"
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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Thanks for your clarification. Good to know that we will get LTE regardless as the phone supports all those bands.
And, yes their tech support had been I'll informed before.... I was hoping that since several different people had said the same thing that there was consistency... Seems consistently crap information. However, 1700mhz currently is 4G, so moving it to 1900mhz is to improve signal strength through buildings etc right?
I've since looked at comparisons between HSPA+ and LTE... seems that LTE has a significant edge uploading, not that great of a difference download (especially as download speeds are often limited by the site you visit, regardless of how fast your carrier speed).
I'm sure I'll be happy with HSPS+ as I rarely upload much more than photos I take on my phone camera, and current 4G is plenty sufficient as it is..

Nexus users with T mobile

I am thinking I'd switching to T-Mobile and I am wondering is the nexus able to pick up both 1900 pcs and aws. I remember reading that you could only change the profile to one or the other. Has that changed or is there a profile for all three. I kno the pcs spectrum would probably help allot with my coverage but I don't want to have to constantly change profiles if that's the only way to use it
Thanks

asqwrd said:
I am thinking I'd switching to T-Mobile and I am wondering is the nexus able to pick up both 1900 pcs and aws. I remember reading that you could only change the profile to one or the other. Has that changed or is there a profile for all three. I kno the pcs spectrum would probably help allot with my coverage but I don't want to have to constantly change profiles if that's the only way to use it
Thanks
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The option to force one band over the other is broken in stock ROM for now. It doesn't matter though, by default it will work on both AWS and PCS. T-Mobile has no 850 MHz HSPA service, only some 850 MHz GSM roaming agreements. I think it prefers AWS over PCS, as I am in a refarmed market and based on speed tests, only HSPA+42 (DC) could achieve my results. Check the TMO coverage maps first and be sure you are in an Excellent coverage area, otherwise service indoors may be an issue. Contrary to the belief that PCS vs AWS is better or worse at penetrating buildings, they are basically the same (1700/2100 vs 1800/1900). Tower distance and configuration are the main issues.

Isn't 3G coverage on 1900 still incredibly limited anyways?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

asqwrd said:
I am thinking I'd switching to T-Mobile and I am wondering is the nexus able to pick up both 1900 pcs and aws. I remember reading that you could only change the profile to one or the other. Has that changed or is there a profile for all three. I kno the pcs spectrum would probably help allot with my coverage but I don't want to have to constantly change profiles if that's the only way to use it
Thanks
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Since the switcher is broken you wont be able to connect with 1900 with a T-Mobile sim. An att sim with be 1900 by default.
joshnichols189 said:
Isn't 3G coverage on 1900 still incredibly limited anyways?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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Yeah its limited and its also not DC-hspa yet. 21mbps max.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

So tmobile sim cards do look for pcs if aws is not available? I am in a refarm area as well just wondering whether people have seen any improvments recently

.
I live in balitmore city so i get 4G LTE and the t-mobile coverage is good on my nexus 4 so it will depend where you live.