Bit of an odd one. Basically at home with the phone on my home network T-Mobile I simply can't get a GPS fix. This problem has only happened in the last couple of weeks previously its been fine, a fix within seconds.
As some of you may know T-Mobile and Orange in the UK have now enabled roaming between the 2 networks. If I force the phone to roam onto Orange I get a GPS fix with-in a minute. Switch the network back to T-Mobile back to no fix.
If I'm in a different area, network on T-Mobile, fix within seconds. I thought maybe it's quick GPS wrongly loading the wrong area because of an issue in the cell db, I've set quick GPS to never update and now the GPS appears to cold start although quick GPS still says the data it has is valid for x number of days.
I've tried defaulting the phone but exactly the same with defaults and using GPS Test rather than TomTom.
Does anyone have any ideas? Is anyone else having the same issue?
I just tried another test. I roamed onto Orange and got a GPS fix in TomTom, I then set my network back to T-Mobile and the GPS fix was lost! As I switched networks I left TomTom running in the background.
A bit more testing. If I force the phone onto 3G T-Mobile the GPS works fine. My theory is what ever frequency the cell here operates on (some 5 miles away in the 1800MHz band) must be causing the some issue with the hardware
I'm thinking that most people wouldn't be able to experiment to see this, I'm just lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it that I'm in a position where I can switch networks therefore changing frequency within the 1800MHz band and I can stay in the same place to test it. I've had in the past where the GPS would loose its fix for no reason and then just come back while travelling on a motorway I wonder if this was the same thing. Also the chances of someone owning a HD2 using the GPS and being on a cell who's frequency causes a problem is pretty small, and if your travelling you're likely to just think it's dropped for some reason, and oh yes it's back again now so think no more of it.
You are getting confused between GPS and GPRS.
GPS is the satellite system that you use to pinpoint your location (as with TomTom). If your phone is indoors or has a restricted view of the sky, then it cannot receive a signal.
GPRS is a data connection between your phone and the telecoms company. It is basically 2.5G, which way a intermediate step before 3G became set up.
fred_up said:
You are getting confused between GPS and GPRS.
GPS is the satellite system that you use to pinpoint your location (as with TomTom). If your phone is indoors or has a restricted view of the sky, then it cannot receive a signal.
GPRS is a data connection between your phone and the telecoms company. It is basically 2.5G, which way a intermediate step before 3G became set up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, completely understand the difference between GPRS and GPS
I've proven with out a doubt that when using the t-mobile cell serving our house (2g) there is no GPS signal. Use another network still 1800 and there is GPS, use 3g, or move to another area on t-mobile there is GPS.
GPS was working at home while on t-mobile upto a couple of weeks ago, I can only think that the cell has had some work done and has changed frequency.
twerki78 said:
No, completely understand the difference between GPRS and GPS
I've proven with out a doubt that when using the t-mobile cell serving our house (2g) there is no GPS signal. Use another network still 1800 and there is GPS, use 3g, or move to another area on t-mobile there is GPS.
GPS was working at home while on t-mobile upto a couple of weeks ago, I can only think that the cell has had some work done and has changed frequency.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Silly question, but have you got AGPS activated? Because it can give you a rough location based upon the local cell transmitter info and any GPS satelite signals you may be recieving.
fred_up said:
Silly question, but have you got AGPS activated? Because it can give you a rough location based upon the local cell transmitter info and any GPS satellite signals you may be receiving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have AGPS disabled. I doubt my operator supports it. I have tried with QuickGPS disabled and enabled but makes no difference.
If I get a fix while on Orange, leave which ever GPS enabled application I have running, running in the background, force the phone back onto my home network (TMobile), go back to the GPS application there's no fix and no satellite signal being received not even a hint.
I've also tried with the SIM card removed and GPS performs perfectly!
Thank you, I thought I was going mad - my GPS has been working perfectly since I got the phone 6 months ago but in the last week has been dropping out or refusing to start at all.
I tried a hard reset, which fixed the problem until I started driving the next day - after a few minutes TomTom lost it's way. Using a bluetooth GPS proved the signal was good, so I was coming around to the idea that the phone was broken...
I have also now read other users that have had GPS problems when roaming, although usually when switching between countries.
Looking on the T-Mobile website about the orange roaming issue it say 'there might be a few quirky side-effects' but I haven't even signed up for the Orange roaming option, sounds like T-Mobile has changed something for everyone?
I have read that fixing the network choice to manual, not auto, can help with GPS issues while roaming - I've yet to test this.
boomboomer said:
Thank you, I thought I was going mad - my GPS has been working perfectly since I got the phone 6 months ago but in the last week has been dropping out or refusing to start at all.
I tried a hard reset, which fixed the problem until I started driving the next day - after a few minutes TomTom lost it's way. Using a bluetooth GPS proved the signal was good, so I was coming around to the idea that the phone was broken...
I have also now read other users that have had GPS problems when roaming, although usually when switching between countries.
Looking on the T-Mobile website about the orange roaming issue it say 'there might be a few quirky side-effects' but I haven't even signed up for the Orange roaming option, sounds like T-Mobile has changed something for everyone?
I have read that fixing the network choice to manual, not auto, can help with GPS issues while roaming - I've yet to test this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the issue for a couple of weeks I would say. Certainly last weekend I couldn't get a fix for ages when I set off and it wasn't until I was a way away from home that the GPS got a fix. This was before the roaming got switch on, of course it doesn't mean they were not doing something with the cell/network.
I too can get a perfect fix with external GPS or with a GPS nav system, or by changing networks! I've also tried another SIM card in the phone, again T-Mobile and get the same results.
I've attached some screen shots.
1st T-mobile no satellites, you'll notice that there isn't so much of hint of signal.
2nd Changing network.
3rd T-Mobile Orange and GPS fix.
All screen shots were taken with the phone in the same place.
Just come back from a drive just to test the GPS. Basically driven 30 miles away from home fixing the phone to T-Mobile and 2G and the only time I got a GPS fix was when the phone lost signal.
Parked in a layby and switched over to orange and got a fix with in a few seconds! Just can't figure out what the connection with being on T-mobile 2g is!
What Radio version is your phone using?
fred_up said:
What Radio version is your phone using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have the same issue with various official T-Mobile ROMs.
I had a play with updating my AGPS settings last night using the Google settings from this thread: http://ip208-100-42-21.static.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=544421 when working on Orange couldn't notice any difference, with T-Mobile still not GPS fix.
I left the GPS running over night on T-Mobile, admittedly indoors but somewhere I know I get a fix, there was still no fix 7 hours later.
I live in a rural village covered only by one cell mast. GPS starts and runs fine at home with or without the phone turned on. if I walk over the other side of the hill, different cell mast, the GPS drops out immediately - I can't test if 3G fixes the problem as it doesn't work here. Once the GPS has stopped I can't get it to start again, even switching the phone off to airplane mode doesn't help. Only a soft reset, with the phone still in airplane mode will allow the GPS to start.
Switching the phone back on and the GPS drops, however walking back over the hill to home - back to my original cell mast and the GPS starts again.
I'm pretty sure t-mobile have rolled out a change to their 2G system, but not to all masts? rural ones maybe last done hence why my home cell still works.
How to proceed from here? T-Mobile are kind of hard to talk to.....
One thing I did notice was in Memory Map the satellite view normally flicks across satellite numbers until it finds a signal, if the T-Mobile problem occurs this process stops and it would appear to have frozen the service?
I take back the hard to talk to part of my last post, I emailed support from the website and they phoned me back within 2 hours!
As to be expected they couldn't give any instant answers but I gave this thread as a reference and the problem is to be escalated.
The call centerthen phoned me back and asked if I was happy, also to offer me 30 minutes free calls for next 3 months - very nice thank you.
Good work boomboomer. Hopefully T-mobile will find something. I'd like to know what they find, still can't understand the connection between a GSM network and GPS though. I haven't tried a controlled test with flight mode but will try that later. Out of interest what part of the country are you in? maybe it's just a pocket of cells that are affective? I'm in the BA8 postcode area.
The problem certainly only affects 2G, 3G is fine.
I'm out of the country this week but fingers crossed T-Mobile will find the problem. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with a problem.
I'm quite a distance away, DT2 here.
I've been asked to test the GPS over the next few days and keep a log of when and where it doesn't work, they said their network people will ring me soon.
At least this fault is 'interesting' in the words of their technical support guy, he'd never heard of anything like it, so there's hope they will give it some time.
On the plus side they've also given me a free month of internet, so I can't fault their customer support focus.
Incidentally, do you have SPB shell installed? This was the only change I'd made on my phone at the time this problem started.
boomboomer said:
I'm quite a distance away, DT2 here.
I've been asked to test the GPS over the next few days and keep a log of when and where it doesn't work, they said their network people will ring me soon.
At least this fault is 'interesting' in the words of their technical support guy, he'd never heard of anything like it, so there's hope they will give it some time.
On the plus side they've also given me a free month of internet, so I can't fault their customer support focus.
Incidentally, do you have SPB shell installed? This was the only change I'd made on my phone at the time this problem started.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't get chance to do any testing today at Heathrow as ended up being a bit rushed. I wouldn't say your not a million miles away. 22miles ish, the Cell that covers our home is in Dorset which is pretty useless when you have to call 999 because you get connected to Dorset who then can't pass you to Somerset and you end up being in a situation where you have no way of contacting Somerset 999 not great in this day and age! But I'm not going to get started on that one on this topic.
It's quite possible its a regional problem.
No I haven't installed SPB shell, I have tried it with a defaulted phone but still had the same problem.
I'm out the country now until Friday, but will do some testing when I return on my return journey. I'll fix the phone to 2g T-mobile and keep an eye on where the GPS drops out.
Oh dear, just got a call from T-Mobile technical networks - they don't support GPS as part of their service and won't be spending any time on the problem, case closed. They did say the problem seems to be with HTC devices only, blackberrys are not effected so it sounds like they have heard of the issue eleswhere?
Looks like it's a network switch required to solve the problem, shame that as I've been with T-Mobile for over 7 years.
boomboomer said:
Oh dear, just got a call from T-Mobile technical networks - they don't support GPS as part of their service and won't be spending any time on the problem, case closed. They did say the problem seems to be with HTC devices only, blackberrys are not effected so it sounds like they have heard of the issue eleswhere?
Looks like it's a network switch required to solve the problem, shame that as I've been with T-Mobile for over 7 years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, T-Mobile sold me the phone for use on their network, the phone is sold with a GPS, that now doesn't work on their network surely they need to spend sometime working with HTC to resolve the problem.
I do have a case open with HTC under the ref 10gbc410001235 they were supposed to be taking it up with tier 2 but as yet I've not heard anything back. I'll have to follow it up when I'm back in the UK. It might be worth you also logging a fault with HTC quoting my ref. at least if 2 people call in with the same problem they may start to think it's not just one crazy with the issue!
My other half has a HTC Desire, I haven't checked the GPS on her phone. Not sure if they use the same chipset, of course one is WM the other android. I wonder if its a problem for all HTC phones or just the HD2?
Related
Recently my Vario II intermittenly loses network signals, it says No Network and I have to toggle phone off/on to make it search for signal again. This only happens when I'm at home (Charlton SE7 area).
Rom 1.21.110.3 (19/06/06)
Radio 1.05.05.00
Does anyone have the same problem?
toucam said:
Recently my Vario II intermittenly loses network signals, it says No Network and I have to toggle phone off/on to make it search for signal again. This only happens when I'm at home (Charlton SE7 area).
Rom 1.21.110.3 (19/06/06)
Radio 1.05.05.00
Does anyone have the same problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash HardSPL first, then upgrade your radio.
Ive linked to my guides incase your unfamiliar with the process.
The newer radio should possibly increase your GSM efficiency. Are you in a decent area for reception?
mrvanx said:
Flash HardSPL first, then upgrade your radio.
Ive linked to my guides incase your unfamiliar with the process.
The newer radio should possibly increase your GSM efficiency. Are you in a decent area for reception?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, many thanks for your detailed guides. I've upgraded Radio to 1.38.00.10 but the problem still persists. I'm in a very good coverage area, always get full bars 3G when it works. Soft-reset my phone and now it's searching in vain for network signal, I'm confused
What operator are you with ? Maybe the cell where you live is getting overloaded. We had a problem similiar to this last month when our local base station had a problem. Our work-around was to disable 3G but not using a Hermes . Apparently the handset tries to register using the 'best' data-bearer its configured for. So disabling 3G made it register with GPRS which worked fine. They then fixed the base station and we were able to re-enable 3G. I would
guess Charlton would have a lot of subscribers per cell. You would expect the coverage to be better in a built-up areas but who knows. Maybe an enquiry/ complaint to the operator would at least tell you if they know of a problem and if its temporary or longer term
Cheers for that. I'm with T-Mobile. What's bugging me is that this signal disappearance only happens sometimes. It's not that I don't have 3G (or signal for that matter) at all, I still get full 3G signals fine most of the time. But you probably were right, looks like it's a fault from the operator's cell in the area, I will give them a call next week to see if there's an explanation.
I've noticed this problem when I'm in the south London area (very general I know). People have got around the issue temporarily by forcing the phone to GPRS only
More problems! After upgrading to 1.38 and trying all sort of "good" radios like 1.17, 1.27, 1.34 I can't make/receive calls unless GSM is forced. There must be something wrong within my immediate area because with the same radios everything works flawless just 10 mins down the road. I just called TMob and there's no technical fault or anything from their side. I will just have to put up without 3G until the problem fixes itself
There are lots of people complaining about 3g on T mobile in UK. They seem to have serious issues with Hermes devices and the dropdown to GSM.
I had a problem six months ago with my hermes on orange at home in SW London. For a few weeks it was mucking about - I rang O who advised me that they were experiencing some local issues but would fix them within days. I switched to GSM for a few days. When I switched back its worked fine for last five months.
3G gone mad!
the same thing was happening to me. Full 3G reception in Leicester, tried to connect to get my e-mails and then the signal totally goes. The same thing happens when I make calls as well. Switched to GSM and everything worked. Now in York and everything is working on 3G.
Network is T-Mobile.
This sounds similar to the issues I am having.
Do you get the phone hanging as it attempts to start a call and then after a while a message stating that it was unable to connect?....sometimes resulting in a soft reset to bring the device back online? In my case toggling bluetooth will reset the connection.
I am with T-Mobile in Glasgow but get the same issues during the day in Edinburgh
No 3G
aidanbree said:
This sounds similar to the issues I am having.
Do you get the phone hanging as it attempts to start a call and then after a while a message stating that it was unable to connect?....sometimes resulting in a soft reset to bring the device back online? In my case toggling bluetooth will reset the connection.
I am with T-Mobile in Glasgow but get the same issues during the day in Edinburgh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No mine doesn't say anything, it sounds "ding ding" after a few secs like when you press the hang up button. I can use the Internet but anything to do with calls is just impossible. I've switch to GSM now and everything's back to normal. A bit annoying can't use 3G at home.
Hello!
I'm just back from a trip from london. I brought with me my P4000 thinking that I would be able to use it's great GPS abroad.
It never worked once.
I thought this thing had an aGPS chip, meaning it was a true GPS that could be assisted by cell towers to find a fix faster. So, my understanding was that it should have worked abroad, albeit slower to find a fix then here.
As soon as I got back home, it started working again.
Any ideas?
Mod Edit: Moved from Titan Upgrading
Thanks!
Hello!
I'm just back from a trip from london. I brought with me my P4000 thinking that I would be able to use it's great GPS abroad.
It never worked once.
I thought this thing had an aGPS chip, meaning it was a true GPS that could be assisted by cell towers to find a fix faster. So, my understanding was that it should have worked abroad, albeit slower to find a fix then here.
As soon as I got back home, it started working again.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were roaming overseas, then you won't be inside Verizon's firewall, therefore you won't have connectivity to the PDE server. The standalone GPS should have still worked, though it probably would take a lot longer to fix due to the fact you moved a great deal since the last fix. Did you try to use QuickGPS to download the ephemeris data? That probably would have sped up your fix a little.
I'm using tomtom, so, I don't need access to verizon. Anyway, I'm with Telus.
I've let it stand by the window for hours and it never got a lock. I didn't try QuickGPS.
Should I have switched something in the registry to have it work in standalone mode instead of assisted?
Well, i'm living in Republic Of Moldova. WE have no aGPS here at all, but i still can use GPS function on Titan. I have to wait about 1-3 minutes for lock.
I have installed DCD 3.2.6 rom and 3.42.50 Radio. Use SeaSGEE to download ephemeris data and Navitel Navigator. But Tom Tom and any other programs work fine too.
PS Sorry for my English.
I recall having a similar discussion in an earlier thread.
See if any of this info helps:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2538917
If you do that right, i'm pretty sure it won't even attempt to connect to a PDE server (when u change GPSMode), so you should be able to get a *slightly* quicker lock, as it won't waste time looking for that server.
I do also suggest using some other tool like QuickGPS to retrieve the ephemeris data before trying to get a lock; it *should* speed it up, but I don't know how true that really holds.
Ok,
Thanks for all the infos. I'm going to Madrid next month, I'll try again there.
I was able to get GPS locks all over Europe no problem this past July.
I'm using tomtom, so, I don't need access to verizon. Anyway, I'm with Telus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it doesn't matter whether you have Verizon or Telus when it comes to aGPS. I was referring to aGPS. If you aren't inside your carriers internal network, then you won't access the PDE.
The GPS should still work regardless, just in standalone mode, which is why I asked if you tried QuickGPS to try and speed up the lock times.
I was under the impression that there is a registry setting for the global "zone" for our GPSr to look for and that it was set to US.
From the posts I reviewed few if any folks have been able to lock overseas unless they got locks while traveling
GC, have you found any settings in the registry for this?
In QuickGPS I think the setting is as follows:
[HKLM] - Software\HTC\QuickGPS\region
Its set for US for me here in TN and I think someone from Holland posted on PPCGeeks a long time ago NL worked for him to get a lock once he found and got it via trial and error...
I am sure you are onto something here
I think you guys are really onto something here. I have had the most frustrating time with my titan because of this very issue. I travel outside of the USA frequently and in all my travels have only managed to get a lock once! All through Australia and Thailand with no phone signal I was unable to get a lock with either flight mode on or phone mode on. Even in Taiwan where VZW has some modicum of representation (i.e the phone function worked but zero data) I go no lock.
gc was right about the agps thing. Outside of Verizon network you will not get assisted gps (although strangely when in "extended area" roaming inside USA it still seems to work).
in the end i tried a hundred things to get a lock including leaving the phone out in the full view of the sky for 6 hours. Nothing worked except the gps mode that scrawnyb talked about. I finally got a (very slow) lock after what seemed like hours.
I really believe that osteo's answer about the zone (i.e. "US" here in USA) is also part of the answer. I can only assume that the ephemeris data has to be relative to where you are on the earths surface, so the phone having some idea of where you are surely would help (especially without cell tower help from agps).
Targitai, if you visit this thread again can you please check the setting in your phone to see what zone setting you have that assists with locking. You need to look in [HKLM] - Software\HTC\QuickGPS\region and check that you are not set to "US" or similar.
I wont be traveling OS for a few months now, so I cannot confirm any of the above. I hope others who are traveling see this thread and can report back.
Thanks for the helpful info on this thread. This problem has been bugging me for months. Strange this is that my bluetooth gps never takes more than about 2-3 minutes to get a lock, even after crossing to the other side of the earth, over 9000 miles to Australia.
Well,
I'm here in Madrid now and it doesn'T work.
I tried changing the registry key of the GPS mode and it didn't help.
Any other things I can try?
stanelie said:
Well,
I'm here in Madrid now and it doesn'T work.
I tried changing the registry key of the GPS mode and it didn't help.
Any other things I can try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long did you wait, and do you have a clear view of the sky?
After traveling a long distance it can take some time to download the full catalog info on the satellites.
I waited a few hours in clear sight of the sky.
My old hp hw 6515 with a old stand-alone GPS chips can find a lock fine...
sorry, double post...
I have had my gps lock over the ocean in an airplane. I dont have navigation software installed other than google maps so I just used Visual GPS to verify I had lat/lon fix and a gps speedometer app to tell me I was going at the same speed the captain had said. No wireless data connection at all.
Hi, I have a similar problem, but when I'm in a no service area, the GPS locks in 2 minutes. When the phone gets a cell phone tower, never gets a lock unless I let him overnight catching sats. I'm from Venezuela, may be the cell phone towers or the network, I don't know, induce some kind of conflict in the position calculation of the GPS. In the flight mode the problem persist.
Hi guys,
I don't know how many of you are living in UK or if you experience this in other parts of the world. Basically there's one thing that really annoys me and I can't figure out WHAT'S causing it!
I am well satisfied with my Leo but as to web services I am not so enthusiastic. Firstly I've given up on "My location & weather" services exactly the same way as I did on Blackstone. I just don't bother setting them up after ROM update, so they don't show up on the homescreen and I turn the weather tab off instantly after flash. Reason being: THEY ONLY UPDATE IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS EVEN THOUGH I'VE GOT FULL HSDPA OR 3G SIGNAL COVERAGE ALMOST EVERYWHERE I GO!!!
No idea why this is happening. At home where I've got full 3G and GPRS signal coverage, it updates quickly and nicely. But when I go to work where there's full HSDPA, 3G and also GPRS it will not update whatever trick I try!!! It just pops out a message about not being able to connect... Same thing in town centre and other locations. It seems totally random to me where it works and where it doesn't. And folks: I just hate having 12 hours old location and weather report on my screeen before coming back home or wherever it decides to work!
Now secondly, similar thing happens with web browsers. Because of unsupported flash in Opera I have started using Skyfire in larger scale and recently also the uZARD, if anyone came across to that. They are both good browsers (in my opinion the uZard is nearing perfection!) but strangely a similar issue to the one above comes with them. Again they only seem to work in certain places and again there is quite a decent data coverage almost everywhere in my area.
So the question is: does it have something to do with data services of my network (UK Orange) or is it something radio related maybe? I have tried 2.06, 2.08 and 2.10 radios and there wasn't any significant difference.
Does it ring a bell? Did anyone experience this?
morningstar.fallen said:
Hi guys,
I don't know how many of you are living in UK or if you experience this in other parts of the world. Basically there's one thing that really annoys me and I can't figure out WHAT'S causing it!
I am well satisfied with my Leo but as to web services I am not so enthusiastic. Firstly I've given up on "My location & weather" services exactly the same way as I did on Blackstone. I just don't bother setting them up after ROM update, so they don't show up on the homescreen and I turn the weather tab off instantly after flash. Reason being: THEY ONLY UPDATE IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS EVEN THOUGH I'VE GOT FULL HSDPA OR 3G SIGNAL COVERAGE ALMOST EVERYWHERE I GO!!!
No idea why this is happening. At home where I've got full 3G and GPRS signal coverage, it updates quickly and nicely. But when I go to work where there's full HSDPA, 3G and also GPRS it will not update whatever trick I try!!! It just pops out a message about not being able to connect... Same thing in town centre and other locations. It seems totally random to me where it works and where it doesn't. And folks: I just hate having 12 hours old location and weather report on my screeen before coming back home or wherever it decides to work!
Now secondly, similar thing happens with web browsers. Because of unsupported flash in Opera I have started using Skyfire in larger scale and recently also the uZARD, if anyone came across to that. They are both good browsers (in my opinion the uZard is nearing perfection!) but strangely a similar issue to the one above comes with them. Again they only seem to work in certain places and again there is quite a decent data coverage almost everywhere in my area.
So the question is: does it have something to do with data services of my network (UK Orange) or is it something radio related maybe? I have tried 2.06, 2.08 and 2.10 radios and there wasn't any significant difference.
Does it ring a bell? Did anyone experience this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on o2 I'm and have found the new 2.10th radios to give an extra bar and speed improvements network wise. the latest is awesome but consumes more battery life for me so i went back to 2.10.50.08.2
hope this helps
Im on Virgin in the UK, where i live i have full signal where ever i i am in my town, my location doesn't work simple, i added my own city, my internet works fine, now i have been house sitting for my dad for 2 weeks in a little village, 2 weeks only just had 1 bar of signal and my location worked now wtf is that all about lol, oh my radio in my sig
Im on tmobile uk and when I'm at home I'm lucky if I get 1 bar of 3g coverage, if I dont I'll only get 2 bars of gprs, then again we are behind a ruddy great hill, most other urban areas give good 3g, however like the OP says sometimes theres an issue with speed and location not updating (or updating to the wrong location) despite full coverage
My gf is on vodafone and at home shes lucky if she gets one bar of gprs
But then thats what she deserves for having a iphone!
I've never tried another radio but I'm considering it
Update
Just to let you guys know, UK Orange was going through some major technical difficulties with their 3G network lately. So that has been the cause for trouble with browsers.
But the first problem I've mentioned is a fact that MY LOCATION and WEATHER still only updates on certain (random) places, regardless the signal coverage or radio version!!!
Works fine for me wherever I go on O2 as long as I have somes signal, just takes longer on GPRS.
In my experience of friends on Orange, they've never been good.
Try SPB weather and see if that works.
Alternatively, try updating in an Orange shop, if it fails, ask if you can use one of their handsets to try, and if that works, you'll know it's a problem with your phone so time to get it replaced, if it doesn't work, you'll know Orange are just poo.
Weather Locations has never worked for me. Just look for the cab named something like Dutty's disable current location and it will remove that my location entry in the weather so it will never bother you. Then just manually add your city and job done!
As for the web browsers not working, i had intermittent drops (its ok now tho). but what i did before, was disable HDSPA. the phone kept switching betweeen 3g and hdspa and cudnt make its mind up, and so it wouldnt connect to the net. But as you said Orange have been messing up so it should work soon.
morningstar.fallen said:
Just to let you guys know, UK Orange was going through some major technical difficulties with their 3G network lately. So that has been the cause for trouble with browsers.
But the first problem I've mentioned is a fact that MY LOCATION and WEATHER still only updates on certain (random) places, regardless the signal coverage or radio version!!!
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Click to collapse
I have to ask how often is it set to update? i have mine set to update every 3 hours and it does. The location accuracy can be a little off at times but i don't really rely on it and if i do notice i'll do a manual update which works first time 99% of the time.
Poor 3G/HSDPA signal (2 bars or less) will cause some crazy packet loss and will cause problems with internet connectivity in general. Most often the phone will fall back to EDGE and then GPRS in order to correct this (but for saking the speed). If the signal is still crap then there is no hope. I'm on O2 and my radio version is in my signature. I was using 2.07 (stock) and that wasn't brilliant and i have heard that the newer radios suck the battery and the wifi isn't so great.
If your signal is pants even with the new radio i would advise you lay your hands on an extended battery and leave the wifi chip turned on. Then if you configure to connect any unsecure networks first as soon as it finds one you'll have net access.
M3PH said:
I have to ask how often is it set to update? i have mine set to update every 3 hours and it does. The location accuracy can be a little off at times but i don't really rely on it and if i do notice i'll do a manual update which works first time 99% of the time.
Poor 3G/HSDPA signal (2 bars or less) will cause some crazy packet loss and will cause problems with internet connectivity in general. Most often the phone will fall back to EDGE and then GPRS in order to correct this (but for saking the speed). If the signal is still crap then there is no hope. I'm on O2 and my radio version is in my signature. I was using 2.07 (stock) and that wasn't brilliant and i have heard that the newer radios suck the battery and the wifi isn't so great.
If your signal is pants even with the new radio i would advise you lay your hands on an extended battery and leave the wifi chip turned on. Then if you configure to connect any unsecure networks first as soon as it finds one you'll have net access.
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Hi,
It was set to update every 1 hour and as I said before, there's quite decent signal coverage in my area. I usually have full HSDPA and 3G signal at work and about half of 3G and full GPRS at home. The only time I can think of when I have poor or no connection is on the train (when passing through places with funny welsh names like Llanharran or Pontyclun... ). Still MY LOCATION won't update at work, or central train station or city centre. As a paradox, it updates nicely at home...
Anyway, for sake of having the weather animation on and updating, I have used Dutty's "Disable current location" cab mentioned above. Now the weather service updates fine on manually chosen locations. So bye bye MY LOCATION...
I'm on O2 (UK) and have noticed that all but my local transmitter actually allows weather/location updates.
I did a pretty big test - I drove from the south coast to Edinburgh the other week, and had it updating every 15 mins.
It updated every step of the way.
I'm sitting at home, and it doesn't update.
I've already got hold of my local O2 engineer and he is looking into it as he thinks he knows what the problem is.
The Problem is Orange.....
morningstar.fallen said:
Hi guys,
I don't know how many of you are living in UK or if you experience this in other parts of the world. Basically there's one thing that really annoys me and I can't figure out WHAT'S causing it!
I am well satisfied with my Leo but as to web services I am not so enthusiastic. Firstly I've given up on "My location & weather" services exactly the same way as I did on Blackstone. I just don't bother setting them up after ROM update, so they don't show up on the homescreen and I turn the weather tab off instantly after flash. Reason being: THEY ONLY UPDATE IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS EVEN THOUGH I'VE GOT FULL HSDPA OR 3G SIGNAL COVERAGE ALMOST EVERYWHERE I GO!!!
No idea why this is happening. At home where I've got full 3G and GPRS signal coverage, it updates quickly and nicely. But when I go to work where there's full HSDPA, 3G and also GPRS it will not update whatever trick I try!!! It just pops out a message about not being able to connect... Same thing in town centre and other locations. It seems totally random to me where it works and where it doesn't. And folks: I just hate having 12 hours old location and weather report on my screeen before coming back home or wherever it decides to work!
Now secondly, similar thing happens with web browsers. Because of unsupported flash in Opera I have started using Skyfire in larger scale and recently also the uZARD, if anyone came across to that. They are both good browsers (in my opinion the uZard is nearing perfection!) but strangely a similar issue to the one above comes with them. Again they only seem to work in certain places and again there is quite a decent data coverage almost everywhere in my area.
So the question is: does it have something to do with data services of my network (UK Orange) or is it something radio related maybe? I have tried 2.06, 2.08 and 2.10 radios and there wasn't any significant difference.
Does it ring a bell? Did anyone experience this?
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I had the same problem in East Anglia with Orange
Switch of 3g and the weather will update
GPRS data works fine, but 3g/hsdpa data was not working i complained to orange and looked on the net loads of other people in this area were having the same trouble....(voice was fine though)
About 2 weeks ago it started working fine except when im surfing i get 'orange safeguard' blocking sites ...it even blocks this site!
its not because ive got safeguard enabled. it's because orange cant establish my identity!
I bet if streamed loads of TV they would identify me for sure...
on orange in cardiff aswel, i find that even though i have a strong 3g signal some times the internet just doesn't work,which gets really annoying, as normally have to terminate the 3g connection then restart it to work.
been reading this thread if any intrest
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=614119&page=45
it says about people using the chucky tabtastic ROM, and the problem is gone. but I'm happy with the ROM I'm using, so really wish i knew a fix for this!
On O2 in Nottingham and just recently it's been awful.
I've gone through a multitude of radios and none work with data properly. Weather services always show "My Location" or cannot update. Google maps takes about 10mins to load one square of the map (so GPS navigation is out of the question as the marker moves to a region of the map that isn't updated and takes forever to load).
Opera can now take anywhere between 15 seconds and 5 minutes just to load the Google homepage.
Thing is, about 2 months ago it was perfect, speedy as anything, running fine. Like I said i've gone through various radio roms and have settled on 2.10.50.08_2 at the mo as it gives the best battery life for me, but even with full 3g/hsdpa signals i get rubbish data performance.
I know that stopping and starting the data connection sometimes fixes it, but I'm not prepared to continually stop and start connections just to be able to browse the web.
I've tried switching from 3G to 2G mode at work so the device started using GPRS signal instead of HSDPA but there was no joy either. Initially I would incline to idea that this would be a problem of Orange UK only but it seems now that people using other networks are experiencing the same. I wish I could only guess how much of this is caused by the technical breakdown Orange UK (and maybe other networks?) were recently going through. I think the actual efficiency of MY LOCATION service in UK was never great...
I'm on Vodafone, Kingston upon Thames,
Radio: 2.10.50.26 (Leon Rom)
Had the same problems ( almost all stated in here ) with the new radio i have full bars 70% of the time on almost all connections at home, and before, i used to have 1 max 2 (the house is in a "bad"/"blind" vodafone coverage area), so this radio seems to work for me.
Still:
the weather i won't mention that it never worked regardless of signal or not, regardless of the connection or radio... then i found something into the menu under the GPS folder... called Quick GPS . I realized that is not a data download problem (as any manually set out location works), it was just a simple "i will tell you the local weather info as soon as i bloody find out where the heck we are" phone problem.
Well all you have to do, is set up the satellites to download automatically and/or update manually when you travel extreme distances... it will definitely improve location tracking as it sets the "default" satellites settings in your area, and to be honest with you, since i set that up, i NEVER had weather/location problems at home or anywhere else. Is just a small tweak witch you won't realize is linked directly to the location service until you open the Quick GPS thing.
For the radio, at least for vodafone users, i recommend the above one. just give it a try as it has decent battery life and a better connection, also everywhere i go i seem to have a working stable connection for data (at least for me it worked, and i do travel alot, needles to say that my laptop gets it's internet from my phone during travels, so bye bye dongle ).
Give it a try, it may really work out.
Initially I would incline to idea that this would be a problem of Orange UK only but it seems now that people using other networks are experiencing the same.
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hmm... i think is not related to networks more than it needs the network connection to download data (especially that you said the connections are working fine most of the times), location is definitely related to the GPS receiver and the GPS settings (Global Positioning System remember? witch in my book is Location ...), witch apparently on the Leos around UK are not set properly by default.
This is probably why mine works flawlessly. I set WM to use the inbuilt GPS all the time so i don't have to mess about with turning it on in google maps. I don't use QuickGPS because that is about as accurate as as dropping a brick out of a plane at 35,000ft with your eyes closed. Atleast with proper GPS it's accurate to within 20 metres.
when i had the tmobile g1, weather plugin worked almost flawlessly with only odd times it didnt update correctly. but with the hd2 ive been having the same problem recently on tmobile (was on tmobile wiwith the g1 aswell).
Im using the eu rom that allows 576mb ram .
Ive just flashed a new rom and it seems to have detected my location just fine at home. I will know tomorrow when i go to work if it upodates correctly.
DikoMike said:
I'm on Vodafone, Kingston upon Thames,
Radio: 2.10.50.26 (Leon Rom)
Had the same problems ( almost all stated in here ) with the new radio i have full bars 70% of the time on almost all connections at home, and before, i used to have 1 max 2 (the house is in a "bad"/"blind" vodafone coverage area), so this radio seems to work for me.
Still:
the weather i won't mention that it never worked regardless of signal or not, regardless of the connection or radio... then i found something into the menu under the GPS folder... called Quick GPS . I realized that is not a data download problem (as any manually set out location works), it was just a simple "i will tell you the local weather info as soon as i bloody find out where the heck we are" phone problem.
Well all you have to do, is set up the satellites to download automatically and/or update manually when you travel extreme distances... it will definitely improve location tracking as it sets the "default" satellites settings in your area, and to be honest with you, since i set that up, i NEVER had weather/location problems at home or anywhere else. Is just a small tweak witch you won't realize is linked directly to the location service until you open the Quick GPS thing.
For the radio, at least for vodafone users, i recommend the above one. just give it a try as it has decent battery life and a better connection, also everywhere i go i seem to have a working stable connection for data (at least for me it worked, and i do travel alot, needles to say that my laptop gets it's internet from my phone during travels, so bye bye dongle ).
Give it a try, it may really work out.
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Thanks for the post man Ive been trying many different Radios to get a stable connection with VF I also live in an iffy area so i'll give this one a try and see if it works for me!
I'm also now using a 2.13 rom so it seems that the radio will match
M3PH said:
This is probably why mine works flawlessly. I set WM to use the inbuilt GPS all the time so i don't have to mess about with turning it on in google maps. I don't use QuickGPS because that is about as accurate as as dropping a brick out of a plane at 35,000ft with your eyes closed. Atleast with proper GPS it's accurate to within 20 metres.
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So how exactly did you set your GPS to work all the time?
morningstar.fallen said:
So how exactly did you set your GPS to work all the time?
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easy! go into settings in sense, hit menu, all settings. Then go to the system folder and external GPS and set a com port (mine is set to com4)
Job done. Sense will pick it up automatically and then all you need to do is tell google maps it's configued by windows.
Finally disable quickgps by hitting start, tools quickgps and then menu options and uncheck "download quickgps automatically" and "download quickgps when roaming" this will stop it updating when not connected to the pc and save on your data plan if it's limited but allows for a backup to the true gps if for some reason all the satellites get taken out.
**edit** i picked up this tip from a collegue that had a touch pro (well we all did but i left before they got the n900 upgrades) and a tomtom external bluetooth receiver and it appears to work with the internal reveiver on newer devices
Hi all,
I flashed my phone, and thought I’d go with Darky's Raw Steel Edition (4.1), which is awesome btw. I installed it correctly, installing I9000XWJM8 first (the MODEM and PDA, not CSC as none seemed to come in the package).
Everything was working smoothly until I realise 3G/Data Network is no longer working (it did previously). Not only that but it seems it won’t connect to my service provider (Three) at all (emergency calls only), and I’ve also now noticed GPS doesn’t seem to work at all, I can’t even get into GPS test mode. Wireless does however work though it being off, or on, has no impact.
I’ve tried:
Flashing different firmware - Stock JM8 and Doc Froyo’s latest JPO.
Hard Reset
Deleting and re-entering APN settings, though they were correct and already on the phone anyway.
Testing my SIM on another phone – signal is strong, inc. 3G on that.
I’m really at a loss here. Any ideas anyone?
Thanks
UPDATE: So, I won't bump this myself, but incase anyone finds this thread in the future: the gprs, gps, 3g, etc all work - just not in my house, on the SGS, anymore. I have no idea why - my other phone, it's fine.. and it used to be fine with this phone too. I'll update again if I figure it out.
the other phone works fine with the same sim you are using in the SGS?
Yep, the same SIM works in my old Nokia 6600 fold, people in my house also with Three are getting solid reception right now. 4-5 bars with 3g established.
It worked beautifully all the way home from work on the bus, just not in/around my house.
It's as if the local cell towers near my house have blocked my SGS specifically (can't receive calls or texts either). I did turn the wireless on and off in short succession (which would cause the gprs/3g to try to re-establish each time).. maybe I flooded them and they blocked my IMEI? Or is that just a ridiculous idea?
The real odd thing is GPS not working either (again, just around my house/street); surely it doesn't need a cell site for that?
It does seem as if I can't download apps from The Market anymore either, and have tried various cache clearing solutions to fix it (problem occurred roughly when I noticed my reception was nill).
You might have a problem with the band selection thing of your phone.. have you tried downloading/speed test when you /do/ get a connection? If it seems capped at 40kbps, you might have the same problem I experienced before, of being stuck on 2g. (Despite settings saying otherwise).
I fixed it by doing the solution to having a missing 850 band, the thread of which is found somewhere in this forum.
Thanks. That sort of worked earlier.
It made a slow data connection, and some texts came through.
I then went out to a location a few miles away, had a look and it was still on a slow connection type for a few mins, then all of a sudden it went to HSPDA (with the occasional 3G flicker) and was blistering fast.
Now that I'm back home, I've lost all reception again and can't make/take calls
[EDIT] Clicking around my phone in the hopes of finding something: checked product code in my nv_data.bin file with SGS Toolbox, and it's showing I9000HKDKOR; whilst the backup is showing I9000HKDH3G - could I be on to something? I backed up my efs folder after rooting before doing anything else - so, going to try restoring that.
I have a hunch based on a 2 year old post (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=445913).
From what I understand, Three UK piggy back on Orange's network when Three's 3G cell towers are out of reach. Orange don't provide Three users with the full service though, just 2G and I'm guessing they prioritise Orange customer traffic.
I think when I flashed my phone, I removed code commanding the phone to prefer Three cell towers. Without that code, the phone simply goes to the strongest/first signal it detects. I'm guessing in the area near where I live, it's Orange (or maybe any old network which is why I'm often getting Emergency Calls only).
This is all guesswork. I'm hopeful, seeing as if I quickly switch the SIM to my two+ year old phone, then I quickly get 5 bars and 3G.. unless the SGS's signal issues really are *that* bad.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=831022
Try see if you have the symptom of a missing band?
Hi Nwsk, I tried that before and assumed it didn't work, but actually the change isn't sticking. Which seems to be the case for a couple of others! Thanks for pointing me back to it!
[Edit]
Ohhhh dear. Now I have another theory (I really hope I'm wrong).
I've just read on a thread that some phones don't have the 850 Band, it's down to a lack of hardware support. I'd wager every Three UK branded phone sold will have the correct hardware as stock. I sent my phone back to Samsung for repair, they said they replaced the motherboard.. inference: they replaced it with one without the WCDMA 850 support.
Hmm, I'm definitely no authority on this, since I'm just guessing.. but I figure if that if was a true hardware defect, you wouldn't even be able to get it temporarily?
Are you using any 'battery-saving' type apps? Something might be messing up and keep reverting the settings. I had this occur to me a second time when I was trying out the superpower app here, I think it conflicted with another app I was using, and it borked out my network connectivity. Somehow fixed that after a few reboots, and lots of messing around in the phone debug menu with the 3g/2g thing, it suddenly worked again.
I've not seen it manage to get onto 850MHz WCDMA in my house for a while, not since the mobo got replaced (I should qualify that with a statement on my bad memory ). It will occasionally latch onto something if I walk around the house, giving me a slow data connection with the G symbol showing - it will drop pretty quickly.
Messing around while I write this, I've just realised if I set my phone to GSM(2G) with roaming [Three UK phones need this on so they can connect to Orange towers], then it does establish a data connection at 1800mhz. If I force WCDMA only, I get NOTHING. Setting both/auto leads to it being dodgy/instable, as I've discribed above.
My Nokia 6600 supports 850mhz UMTS, which would explain why it's working well inside my house.
I don't think it's an app. I've flashed a few different firmwares in an effort to get this fixed, it's currently on official Froyo JPO (not even rooted!) with Multi-CSC and a few completely harmless apps. I'd try the stock Three firmware if it was available somewhere.
I'm hoping it's software like you suggest! I will tinker away for now!
Thanks for all the help, at least now I'm fairly sure I'm on the right track!
I have unlocked vibrant....and i'm with ATT....yesterday my GPS died on me after working for couple of months. I mean its dead...couldn't even lock any sats. today my sister who is with t-mobile used her sim becoz her phone wasn't working and i realized that my GPS started working.
I couldn't believe that so i tried my ATT sim again and GPS was gone...!!!
i don't understand this.....how can i fix my phone to work with ATT. now i know my gps was fine its just network....giving problem....OR NOT!!! some suggestions would be very helpful....thanks
Look at Kwkslvr's fix Basically it sounds like the spring tab is not connecting with the 2nd part of the antenna
oka1 said:
Look at Kwkslvr's fix Basically it sounds like the spring tab is not connecting with the 2nd part of the antenna
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I understand that but why it works on t-mobile sim though....
If it comforts you at all, two days ago my GPS died as well, it comes back to life whenever it wants, 90 % of times it won't lock at all. Oh and I have done the gps hardware fix, I have put a piece of credit card, still the gps wont work. Tried with heathens gps fix, Bionix etc...
In last week or so, I have noticed that in the Chicago area the network location stopped working for me. My guess is that AT&T is upgrading towers (4G) and Google needs to catch-up with tower location ids.
You can test by using Maps with GPS turned off. You should get the large circle for the network location. If not, you are having the same problem as I do. Network location is very important while using A-GPS.