Database Users

Any way to lock onto 3g only and not hsdpa

I was wondering if there is a way to lock onto ONLY umts and not hsdpa? It can sometimes take forever to load web pages because it is constantly searching for hsdpa. I am also wondering if you might be able to get better battery life this way as well?

I don't think battery life is going to be different since it's still technically a 3G connection. But if it is really searching for HSDPA a lot then it -may- make a difference.
Are you on T-Mobile? It seems that I'm on HSDPA at all the times, pretty much.

switching between 3g and HSDPA is not the same as switching between EDGE and 3G
As the poster above says 3G and HSDPA are basically the same technology using the same frequencies so would not make much difference to battery life.
Dont forget that on the stock rom it always displays 3g anyway so you cant see if you are using HSDPA or not.
Also this phenomenon seems to vary as to what network you are on, mine mostly stays on H anyway.
From memory the early 3g handsets that did not support HSDPA topped out at about 300kbps, not sure if that translates to the 3g symbol not the n1 though. not sure if thats what you would want, as its not much faster than EDGE anyway? so you might as well force EDGE only and save battery life

changing bands 3g only
yes this is possible. Go to your phone dialer and enter the following: *#*#4636#*# .you will go to another screen, select phone, scroll down and there is a drop down box that shoud say wcdma preferred. Select wcdma only and that should give you 3g connectivity only. You can change back or select other settings from this screen. You can choose what works best for you in your area. It should slightly improve battery life, since it is no longer looking for other connections. If you have poor 3g service in your area, then you probably do not want to select wcdma only. I hope this helps. I have done this on my rooted n1 and a non rooted n1. As long as you only change this one one setting it shoud not harm your phone.

Gonz7711 said:
yes this is possible. Go to your phone dialer and enter the following: *#*#4636#*# .you will go to another screen, select phone, scroll down and there is a drop down box that shoud say wcdma preferred. Select wcdma only and that should give you 3g connectivity only. You can change back or select other settings from this screen. You can choose what works best for you in your area. It should slightly improve battery life, since it is no longer looking for other connections. If you have poor 3g service in your area, then you probably do not want to select wcdma only. I hope this helps. I have done this on my rooted n1 and a non rooted n1. As long as you only change this one one setting it shoud not harm your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good answer, but totally NOT what the OP was asking. He wants to know if there's a way to lock the phone to UMTS and not HSDPA... the answer to that is NO... because both are 3G, as someone else already alluded to.

[Q] Orange/t-mobile network sharing in the UK

Hi All,
Done a quick search on this and can't find anything relevent, but i apologise if a thread already exists.
Really a question for those in the UK on the t-mobile network. Have any of you attempted to sign up for the orange 2g roaming service yet? I signed up, recieved the confirmation text, replied to it, and received the final confirmation. However, I'm not sure it's working. The signal seems no stronger, and i still drop in my house.
Obviously i'm posting this in the android section because i'm running android myself and am wondering whether anyone in the same boat has managed to get roaming to work. Should the fact that we're on a non-official OS running off the sd card make a difference?
Oh and for completeness, i'm running shubcraft 1.5 rmnet.
Cheers fellas!

I'm quite happily flip flopping between Orange while at work and T-Mobile for everything else...
works like a charm for me though you do have to stick the phone into Airplane mode after selecting the different provider for the data to work ...

Jezwick said:
I'm quite happily flip flopping between Orange while at work and T-Mobile for everything else...
works like a charm for me though you do have to stick the phone into Airplane mode after selecting the different provider for the data to work ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for the reply Jezwick. So, just for clarity, you're manually selecting each provider as and when required? Because i can do that, i think. When i select orange though, whilst it registers with the network fine, i get a little "R" above the signal bar (any ideas what that means?) And the speed appears to be limited to Edge. Orange have a very strong signal round here, so i figure i should be getting GPRS really.
It's the auto-switching i'm not totally sure is working really. Is there any explicit indicator that it's flipping on it's own? Or do you just observe a generally better 2g signal, rather than say, a very weak 3g one? Round the house, my phone is still trying to make do with 1 or zero bars of 3g. I would have hoped it would flip over to orange more or less all the time under those circumstances. Nothing to stop me manually selecting it i guess though...

_tangent said:
Many thanks for the reply Jezwick. So, just for clarity, you're manually selecting each provider as and when required? Because i can do that, i think. When i select orange though, whilst it registers with the network fine, i get a little "R" above the signal bar (any ideas what that means?) And the speed appears to be limited to Edge. Orange have a very strong signal round here, so i figure i should be getting GPRS really.
It's the auto-switching i'm not totally sure is working really. Is there any explicit indicator that it's flipping on it's own? Or do you just observe a generally better 2g signal, rather than say, a very weak 3g one? Round the house, my phone is still trying to make do with 1 or zero bars of 3g. I would have hoped it would flip over to orange more or less all the time under those circumstances. Nothing to stop me manually selecting it i guess though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The R is indeed for roaming that's the way it works if your not on your 'own' network.. The 'flipped' service will currently only work at GRPS speeds at the moment but should be 3G by the new year
I have noticed mine flipping automatically but only once or twice in the last few weeks but only when I get NO signal from the current service.

Jezwick said:
The R is indeed for roaming that's the way it works if your not on your 'own' network.. The 'flipped' service will currently only work at GRPS speeds at the moment but should be 3G by the new year
I have noticed mine flipping automatically but only once or twice in the last few weeks but only when I get NO signal from the current service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understood - thanks for the info Just done some reading and apparently EDGE is faster than basic GPRS. For some reason, i'd always assumed the reverse. Looks like the best option is just to have it always on orange whilst at home and use wifi for data (which i do anyway to compensate for the poor signal). Cheers!

[Q] Poor 3G to 2G handover

Hey there, I enjoy reading this forum but I had little to contribute with as I am an android noob. So unfortunately my first post is a question forced by the fact that something is wrong with my DHD Thank you in advance for your advices!
The problem is - when in areas with low 3G coverage the phone keeps on searching for 3G for too long instant of seamlessly switching to 2G, which often has full signal bars. This way the phone acts as if there was no signal and sends incoming calls to the voicemail even though all it has to do is to switch to 2G as soon as 3G gets too weak.
My previous phones had no problem with this. In my city the 3G quality varies from area to area but the 2G coverage is perfect almost everywhere. So I used to be sure that my phone never really disconnects from the network, it only might have dropped the 3G signal in favor of 2G while keeping the calls and everything.
I know I can disable the 3G and stick to 2G and EDGE but this way using full data capabilities of the phone turns into pain instead of pleasure.
Just to make sure and to show I did my homework, this is NOT:
- the death grip case
- a network related problem /I suppose.../
- a problem with data connection /I have never run into any problems with this/
My questions are:
- is anyone of you experiencing this?
- is there a way to force the phone to hand over the connection from 3G to 2G quicker without "blind spots"?
- does any custom ROM improve this? /I am running the latest stock HTC DHD android 2.2 with Sense/
- is there any hint that android 2.3 gingerbread should fix this issue?
Thank you, hope to find a piece of good advice here!

I`ve found this service menu and I switched the preffered network from WCDMA preferred to GSM AUTO PRL. will see if it helps.

I havent noticed any more problems since I did the switch. I think it helped. I cannot be 100% sure but I think it did the thing for me. I forgot to mention that I also switched networks mode from Auto to European but I think this has nothing to do with the issue.

fortuneman had my answer. To access the service menu on the soft phone keypad enter *#*#4636#*#* and its under Phone Information.

Switching from 2g to 3g works seamlessly. But the other way around doesn't work that well. Nothing to do with the phone. Just the net tech that has its flaws. If your in a call and switch to 2g, the call will most certainly be disconnected.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Battery Life Improvement Tips

this is by no means a definitive list, but here are a few links to articles i have read that have helped improve my battery life drastically. if you have any other useful information, please share.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
instead of thinking, 'i need to replace the battery because it doesn't last long enough', try thinking 'how can i use my phone in a manner which doesn't unnecessarily drain its battery'.
HowToGeek.com - Complete Guide to Maximizing Your Android Phones Battery Life
Lifehacker.com - Android Task Killers Explained; What They do and Why You Shouldn't Use Them
Reddit.com - I Stopped Using a Task Killer Last Week to See if There is a Difference; There is, and its Huge
Reddit.com - Further Discussion on the Proper Use of Task Killers
Lifehacker.com - JuiceDefender Simplifies Automated Android Battery Saving
Lifehacker.com - Watchdog Monitors Your Android for Runaway Processes

Thanks for this -

Good tips. Thank you for posting.
I found a tip about reconfiguring the radio settings here:
community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/96/p/7495/34268.aspx
"I have an HTC Aria, I found out that the radio is setup completely wrong (power hungry) by default. I can now get over 48 hours of moderate use out of a phone that was barely able to make it to 12 hours before.
First of all, on AT&T, GSM (which is the 2.5G EDGE network) is much more power efficient than CDMA (which is 3G).
The default settings for 2-3G, have the phone constantly trying to find the strongest CDMA tower-signal it can find for 3G. If it can't find any 3G, it switches to 2.5G (EDGE). This eats your battery and is why your fancy new smart phone has a usable life of only 8-12 hours.
Now, the reason that your phone is always searching for the best signal is that, in area with only average coverage, the phone will always be trying to get you the best connection. This makes AT&T's 3G feel fastest and you will always get the most 'bars' available - at least while your phone's battery holds out.
Luckily, some engineer over a decade ago came up with a solution. Instead of scanning, have the phone ask the current tower for a list of nearby towers. This is called a PRL.
The way the PRL works, the phone contacts the tower to which it is connected and asks the tower for a list of nearby towers and their power outputs. Then the phone will base its decisions to switch towers based on that list.
Where I live, 3G is everywhere and making the phone constantly search for a better tower is a waste of time and energy. So instead, I switched my phone to prefer GSM (ie. EDGE) over CDMA unless there is a poor signal, then it switches to scanning for 3G (which supposedly has more range and less interference) just like it used to.
The settings to do this are normally hidden by the carrier. For AT&T on the Aria, I had to enter a USSD code:
*#*#4636#*#*
Then select Phone Information from the menu. The drop down you want is called Set preferred network type: and the option I selected was GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) and my battery life has been fantastic."
Has anyone tried this? How did it go?
Thanks.
--fnds

fnds said:
Good tips. Thank you for posting.
I found a tip about reconfiguring the radio settings here:
community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/96/p/7495/34268.aspx
"I have an HTC Aria, I found out that the radio is setup completely wrong (power hungry) by default. I can now get over 48 hours of moderate use out of a phone that was barely able to make it to 12 hours before.
First of all, on AT&T, GSM (which is the 2.5G EDGE network) is much more power efficient than CDMA (which is 3G).
The default settings for 2-3G, have the phone constantly trying to find the strongest CDMA tower-signal it can find for 3G. If it can't find any 3G, it switches to 2.5G (EDGE). This eats your battery and is why your fancy new smart phone has a usable life of only 8-12 hours.
Now, the reason that your phone is always searching for the best signal is that, in area with only average coverage, the phone will always be trying to get you the best connection. This makes AT&T's 3G feel fastest and you will always get the most 'bars' available - at least while your phone's battery holds out.
Luckily, some engineer over a decade ago came up with a solution. Instead of scanning, have the phone ask the current tower for a list of nearby towers. This is called a PRL.
The way the PRL works, the phone contacts the tower to which it is connected and asks the tower for a list of nearby towers and their power outputs. Then the phone will base its decisions to switch towers based on that list.
Where I live, 3G is everywhere and making the phone constantly search for a better tower is a waste of time and energy. So instead, I switched my phone to prefer GSM (ie. EDGE) over CDMA unless there is a poor signal, then it switches to scanning for 3G (which supposedly has more range and less interference) just like it used to.
The settings to do this are normally hidden by the carrier. For AT&T on the Aria, I had to enter a USSD code:
*#*#4636#*#*
Then select Phone Information from the menu. The drop down you want is called Set preferred network type: and the option I selected was GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) and my battery life has been fantastic."
Has anyone tried this? How did it go?
Thanks.
--fnds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure about the stock rom, but on cm roms there is the option to add this option into the power widget bar and makes switching between modes a one click affair. I keep my phone on 2g (gsm) unless I'm trying to watch a video. It definitely helps.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

fnds said:
Good tips. Thank you for posting.
I found a tip about reconfiguring the radio settings here:
community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/96/p/7495/34268.aspx
"I have an HTC Aria, I found out that the radio is setup completely wrong (power hungry) by default. I can now get over 48 hours of moderate use out of a phone that was barely able to make it to 12 hours before.
First of all, on AT&T, GSM (which is the 2.5G EDGE network) is much more power efficient than CDMA (which is 3G).
The default settings for 2-3G, have the phone constantly trying to find the strongest CDMA tower-signal it can find for 3G. If it can't find any 3G, it switches to 2.5G (EDGE). This eats your battery and is why your fancy new smart phone has a usable life of only 8-12 hours.
Now, the reason that your phone is always searching for the best signal is that, in area with only average coverage, the phone will always be trying to get you the best connection. This makes AT&T's 3G feel fastest and you will always get the most 'bars' available - at least while your phone's battery holds out.
Luckily, some engineer over a decade ago came up with a solution. Instead of scanning, have the phone ask the current tower for a list of nearby towers. This is called a PRL.
The way the PRL works, the phone contacts the tower to which it is connected and asks the tower for a list of nearby towers and their power outputs. Then the phone will base its decisions to switch towers based on that list.
Where I live, 3G is everywhere and making the phone constantly search for a better tower is a waste of time and energy. So instead, I switched my phone to prefer GSM (ie. EDGE) over CDMA unless there is a poor signal, then it switches to scanning for 3G (which supposedly has more range and less interference) just like it used to.
The settings to do this are normally hidden by the carrier. For AT&T on the Aria, I had to enter a USSD code:
*#*#4636#*#*
Then select Phone Information from the menu. The drop down you want is called Set preferred network type: and the option I selected was GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) and my battery life has been fantastic."
Has anyone tried this? How did it go?
Thanks.
--fnds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying that out and using GSM (PRL), it seems to do very well, and automatically switches between HSDPA and EDGE

Just switched mine from WCDMA preferred to the CDMA/GSM Auto (PRL)
I'll see how it goes.

that battery has lasted longer than usual, even with the extreme cold of the midwest, since I was shoveling for 3 hours. 8 hours off of charger, moderate use, still at 80% with GSM (PRL) on

tried the GSM(PRL) thing, works great! thanks for this thread

Been noticing the drain, too. I've switched to CDMA/GSM Auto (PRL), but it still shows the "H" at the top? I think that's correct, but wanted to ask.

So how often is it kicking you guys to EDGE? It may give you better battery life, but your data will be slow as hell if you aren't on 3G no? Or do you guys not care?

gtg465x said:
So how often is it kicking you guys to EDGE? It may give you better battery life, but your data will be slow as hell if you aren't on 3G no? Or do you guys not care?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I switched to cdma/gsm auto (prl) about a week ago and mine hasn't switched over to Edge at all.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

fnds said:
Good tips. Thank you for posting.
I found a tip about reconfiguring the radio settings here:
community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/96/p/7495/34268.aspx
"I have an HTC Aria, I found out that the radio is setup completely wrong (power hungry) by default. I can now get over 48 hours of moderate use out of a phone that was barely able to make it to 12 hours before.
First of all, on AT&T, GSM (which is the 2.5G EDGE network) is much more power efficient than CDMA (which is 3G).
The default settings for 2-3G, have the phone constantly trying to find the strongest CDMA tower-signal it can find for 3G. If it can't find any 3G, it switches to 2.5G (EDGE). This eats your battery and is why your fancy new smart phone has a usable life of only 8-12 hours.
Now, the reason that your phone is always searching for the best signal is that, in area with only average coverage, the phone will always be trying to get you the best connection. This makes AT&T's 3G feel fastest and you will always get the most 'bars' available - at least while your phone's battery holds out.
Luckily, some engineer over a decade ago came up with a solution. Instead of scanning, have the phone ask the current tower for a list of nearby towers. This is called a PRL.
The way the PRL works, the phone contacts the tower to which it is connected and asks the tower for a list of nearby towers and their power outputs. Then the phone will base its decisions to switch towers based on that list.
Where I live, 3G is everywhere and making the phone constantly search for a better tower is a waste of time and energy. So instead, I switched my phone to prefer GSM (ie. EDGE) over CDMA unless there is a poor signal, then it switches to scanning for 3G (which supposedly has more range and less interference) just like it used to.
The settings to do this are normally hidden by the carrier. For AT&T on the Aria, I had to enter a USSD code:
*#*#4636#*#*
Then select Phone Information from the menu. The drop down you want is called Set preferred network type: and the option I selected was GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) and my battery life has been fantastic."
Has anyone tried this? How did it go?
Thanks.
--fnds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC Liberty using XDA App

I have know idea how to do this. I dial *#*#4636#*#* and it calls it and says blah blah wrong number. Can somebody explain please. I'm a noober on this one.
"the only good bug is a dead bug"

Figured it out. I use dialer 2 app for my default phone. Apparently you have to use the stock dialer to enter ussd code.
"the only good bug is a dead bug"

Switch Network Modes!

Sorry, I'm a little new to the AT&T Note 3 as I was used to T-Mobile and their phones (still use their network by the way)...So, I was looking around to see if I could switch my network modes (e.g. GSM,WCDMA,LTE, or combinations of both). Its pretty helpful if you need to switch to WCDMA,GSM, or other modes. Some of you may know it, but I am new to this stuff and hopefully I help others who don't know much about this either. On your dialer, enter *#*#4636#*#* then press device information and you'll be able to switch network modes! Just found that out and wanted to enlighten others. Press that thumbs up if this was somewhat helpful!

we already know this but thanks. And to get 4G on an att note 3 is pretty much useless without enabling the AWS bands.

YoungDev said:
Sorry, I'm a little new to the AT&T Note 3 as I was used to T-Mobile and their phones (still use their network by the way)...So, I was looking around to see if I could switch my network modes (e.g. GSM,WCDMA,LTE, or combinations of both). Its pretty helpful if you need to switch to WCDMA,GSM, or other modes. Some of you may know it, but I am new to this stuff and hopefully I help others who don't know much about this either. On your dialer, enter *#*#4636#*#* then press device information and you'll be able to switch network modes! Just found that out and wanted to enlighten others. Press that thumbs up if this was somewhat helpful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On all of my past AT&T Phones, I never had this stick for me. The phone would always switch back to LTE after a short time. I am using Intelli3G with Xposed and I can now successfully turn off LTE when I need to with a toggle.

PeteSeiler2010 said:
On all of my past AT&T Phones, I never had this stick for me. The phone would always switch back to LTE after a short time. I am using Intelli3G with Xposed and I can now successfully turn off LTE when I need to with a toggle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you switch to 3G, is 4G in your area spotty?

Netrunner157 said:
Why do you switch to 3G, is 4G in your area spotty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The building that i work in seems to almost block the LTE signal for all AT&T phones. There are a few of us in my department that have issues with this. The phone will constantly switch between 4G and LTE, this also causes the phone battery to die faster. Since we can't flash an unlocked radio the Note 3, the Xposed module was my best bet. As soon as i switch over to the just 4G by making my phone use WCDM only, I have no issues with signal. Using the hidden menu, (*#*#4636#*#*), and switching it to WCDMA Only doesn't stick permanently. I had this issue once before with my Skyrocket, but with that phone you were able to flash a RAT Unlocked radio or a non-LTE radio on the phone and that would disable LTE as well. As soon as i step outside of my building, my LTE signal is strong and I have no issues at all.

In my jobs basement only people who get any sort of signal are people who have tmobile. Would this help me get signal as well?

It's worth a shot, it works flawlessly for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I have to wonder if changing your network mode after a throttling would still allow good download speeds???????????????

Update: sadly changing to a different network mode does not work to remove a throttle. Neither does flashing a different modem. If only the bootloader was unlocked.... Crossing fingers and remaining hopeful with my blazing edge network speeds.: (

Can anyone tell me what the default mode is?