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I have had a t-mobile vario 2 for the last 5 months. when I first got the phone I was excited to get the hsdpa activated and quickly phoned up tmobile and got through to a tech guy who activated it. I didnt really notice much speed improvement and tmobile only shows the 3g and not the h for hsdpa, but I was pretty happy with my speeds of around 70kbit/sec (tested through http://text.dslreports.com/myspeed?jisok=1). I downloaded fieldtest_157 which showed that I was connected to hsdpa but the values showed through hsdpa cqi status were very low.
after the activation I started getting the dreaded freeze that only a soft reset could fix and missed loads of calls. about 1 month ago I was suddenly unable to go online whenever my phone went into 3g mode, I was only able to when it switched to gsm. I phoned tmobile to get the freeze problem fixed. they said it was a known issue with the phone and made me permenantly switch my phone to the gsm network. I was basically told that my phone does not support 3g and hangs on switching from gsm to 3g for no apparent reason and that they were working on the problem. they must have done something on their side because when I switched to phone back on to auto network switching, I got gsm and 3g connectivity and downloads but not hsdpa (checked with fieldtest_157)
next day because I was unhappy with the download speed I phoned tmobile and asked for hsdpa reactivation. the first level ignorant pleb who answered made me hang on and reactivated hsdpa. same problem cant download except on gsm switch. rephoned tmobile and got through to another 2nd level tech guy and explained all my connection problems.he said that my phone had never been hsdpa connected and connected it for me. what do you know Im suddenly getting 950kbit/sec speeds and hsdpa cqi status shows all high teens or 20's. for some reason my battery is lasting allot longer and 5 months after getting the phone Im happy. my phoned hasnt hanged yet either.
moral of the story is to download fieldtest_157 from:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_Utils
and check hsdpa status because either lots of bull is being told to tmobile customers or there are some pretty stupid people working there.
While this may be good for you I'm not sure if it is the solution for everyone.
When I first got my Vario II in August I was getting 300Kbps downloads. 5 minutes after phoning them it was 1.3Mbps, even though the girl said she didn't know what the problem could be (she did speak to someone in technical though).
For the last two or so weeks HSDPA has been very intermittent. Most dns requests fail. And if I am lucky enough to get a stable connection, speedtests show around 150Kbps
Fieldtest shows
CQI...1 3
........2 1
.....3-8 0
........9 4
......10 1
After reading another post here, suggesting that a solution may be to disable HSDPA, I get almost perfect Internet access, allbeit with lower data speeds of on average 280Kbps.
Surely if HSDPA was not enabled on my SIM, then it would be how it originally was and I would just connect with UMTS at around 300Kbps, not connect with HSDPA and not be able to do anything.
But I'll phone them, again, and ask for a HSPDA reactivation anyway.
Actually, thinking about my scepticism.
I was recently in Singapore using a prepaid SIM which does not have 3G access. The phone kept connecting to the 3G signal and then reported 'no service'. Obviously after selecting GSM only everything was fine.
So perhaps there is a similar kind of problem here. Whether the fault is with the phone or network(s) I don't know. I did try radio 1.06, which I believe was the original shipped version but that was the same.
i'm so glad i read this!! just called up t-mobile, they activated my HSDPA (thought it was just on by default)!.
tests so far showing 1.3 mbit download speed, i'll try in my home area too later tonight.
I'm seeing the "H" icon, not the "3" icon. using the latest HTC ROM that came out in january, not the default t-mobile one.
craigsad77 said:
I have had a t-mobile vario 2 for the last 5 months. when I first got the phone I was excited to get the hsdpa activated and quickly phoned up tmobile and got through to a tech guy who activated it. I didnt really notice much speed improvement and tmobile only shows the 3g and not the h for hsdpa, but I was pretty happy with my speeds of around 70kbit/sec
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My hsdpa IS active. I get approx 90kbit/sec downloads on T-Mobile and I see a '3G' icon not a 'H'
kevino said:
While this may be good for you I'm not sure if it is the solution for everyone.
When I first got my Vario II in August I was getting 300Kbps downloads. 5 minutes after phoning them it was 1.3Mbps, even though the girl said she didn't know what the problem could be (she did speak to someone in technical though).
For the last two or so weeks HSDPA has been very intermittent. Most dns requests fail. And if I am lucky enough to get a stable connection, speedtests show around 150Kbps
Fieldtest shows
CQI...1 3
........2 1
.....3-8 0
........9 4
......10 1
After reading another post here, suggesting that a solution may be to disable HSDPA, I get almost perfect Internet access, allbeit with lower data speeds of on average 280Kbps.
Surely if HSDPA was not enabled on my SIM, then it would be how it originally was and I would just connect with UMTS at around 300Kbps, not connect with HSDPA and not be able to do anything.
But I'll phone them, again, and ask for a HSPDA reactivation anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was getting intermittent hsdpa also and dns failures (except in gsm) and getting really fraustrated. I was going to ask for deactivation. Luckily the technician I spoke to (about the tenth person in 3 days) that eventually got me connected, new his stuff. He tried to trick me into admitting that I was using my phone as a modem for my computer and only connected me after I denied it. It might sound like conspiracy theory but I got the feeling that he only connected me when it sounded like I knew slightly more than the average Joe. My hsdpa connection has been faultless ever since. Getting consistently high speeds even with 1 bar. high speeds is not 90kbit/sec smads!! and even worse dns failure.
I had similar fieldtest numbers before my proper activation. now all much higher.
just ran a few more tests on this...
i manually set the phone to 3G instead of HSDPA (tool is somewhere in this forum). speed was about 280kbit.
HSDPA on and i get between 700 and 1200kbit. not as fast as the original 1300 i benchmarked earlier, but still great
I searched all the threads and found nothing on this as far as I can see. I have been having this since day one with my G1. Every time I receive a call on my G1 or during the call it drops from 3G to GSM. I had stock T-Mo roms on my G1 (Pre/Post Cupcake) then JF 1.51 and now cyanogen 4.0.2 and this problem persists. I called T-Mo a few times on this and they exchanged my G1 3 times and gave me a new battery and charger free of charge. Does anyone else have this issue or know of a work around? This happens when I am at home and work. I travel for work to different locations and it still happens. When my phone rings it automatically drops 3G and goes to GSM (no icon next to the radio icon in the status bar). While making calls it stays on 3G for about a few seconds before it craps out and drops to GSM. It totally skips EDGE and GPRS. T-Mo said they sent out radio antenna tech's to the antennas near my home and they said all is fine and dandy. I live In Queens NY and work in the Bronx. When I travel to Brooklyn its the same as well as driving though Manhattan. I hope someone can help me with this.
PeterC18st said:
I searched all the threads and found nothing on this as far as I can see. I have been having this since day one with my G1. Every time I receive a call on my G1 or during the call it drops from 3G to GSM. I had stock T-Mo roms on my G1 (Pre/Post Cupcake) then JF 1.51 and now cyanogen 4.0.2 and this problem persists. I called T-Mo a few times on this and they exchanged my G1 3 times and gave me a new battery and charger free of charge. Does anyone else have this issue or know of a work around? This happens when I am at home and work. I travel for work to different locations and it still happens. When my phone rings it automatically drops 3G and goes to GSM (no icon next to the radio icon in the status bar). While making calls it stays on 3G for about a few seconds before it craps out and drops to GSM. It totally skips EDGE and GPRS. T-Mo said they sent out radio antenna tech's to the antennas near my home and they said all is fine and dandy. I live In Queens NY and work in the Bronx. When I travel to Brooklyn its the same as well as driving though Manhattan. I hope someone can help me with this.
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Click to collapse
ive always had this as well .. just never considered it a bug lol ... but i could see why someone would wanna keep their 3g while on a call .. reminds me of how sidekicks would lose data connectivity due to a call
xidominicanoix said:
but i could see why someone would wanna keep their 3g while on a call .. reminds me of how sidekicks would lose data connectivity due to a call
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Click to collapse
Could you elaborate?
If you've had 3 G1's and a tech says there's nothing wrong with the network then it's clearly an issues with cupcake, be it a feature or a bug...
I don't really see why you would want to keep data conectivity while in a call, (unless you're downloading something in the background..?) so it sounds like a way to save battery..
AdrianK said:
Could you elaborate?
If you've had 3 G1's and a tech says there's nothing wrong with the network then it's clearly an issues with cupcake, be it a feature or a bug...
I don't really see why you would want to keep data conectivity while in a call, (unless you're downloading something in the background..?) so it sounds like a way to save battery..
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Click to collapse
Here's a perfect example where 3G would rule when working properly.
I'm talking to my wife on my BT headset while driving home from work. I have my G1 on my dash with google maps running with traffic patterns showing. While talking I am able to talk clearly on 3G and still see where traffic is building so I can avoid it. Being stuck in rush hour in NYC sux homeless man [email protected] Whenever I do this and my 3G connection drops my call quality drops and we both hear it while we're talking and then it cuts in and out and the call drops then I dont get updates. It's a feature I would really like to have. Even when Im working and talking and downloading a new update of an app. This happens when I am at a static location as well. I know driving from cell tower to cell tower can have bad effects but it does the same when I'm just at home or any of my work locations. When 3G works properly which is rare its amazing. Its helped me get un lost and find my way many of times.
Point being when T-Mo released the 3G statement they said all users with 3G phones will expierence higher call quality from the extra bandwidth. Why would they cap or or disable it when they are promoting it? I see the the point of saving battery life but it still shouldnt be happening. 3G is made for that feature to work voice + data being accessed together.
It might just be there 3g network, imo tmobile reception is horrible. Like at my house it is so f'ed up, I can sit in my chair and have 3 bars then walk 2 feet and lose service. It does this all through my house and at my work. They said it must be something in the buildings I am in, bull**** I say because ATT never does that nor did vzw when I used them.
same thing happens with me and 3g and calls..also about the house thing, hows this one for u ill be sitting in the same spot and have good 3g reception and all of a sudden it drops to edge. I know a way around this is to set phone to 3G only but then in areas where theres non im screwed
I don't get it. My wife who had the original iPhone and then 3g and now 3gs never had this issue. She would stay on Edge and 3g depending if she waned to save batery life. My old BB 8700g would always stay on Edge never drop to GSM in my apartment. My 3G doesnt even fall to Edge it goes right to GSM. This is really annoying.
every t-mobile phone I have does this
I'm pretty sure its normal
No one knows if this is a hardware, software, or network problem. Except maybe HTC/T-Mobile/Google.
If your phone stays connected to 3G, it's all good. If it drops down to EDGE, even if for half a second, it will NOT reconnect to 3G until you hang up.
c2tmdsn said:
every t-mobile phone I have does this
I'm pretty sure its normal
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Click to collapse
My coworkers Samsung t819 doesn't. That's regular cell phone not a smart phone.
Gary13579 said:
No one knows if this is a hardware, software, or network problem. Except maybe HTC/T-Mobile/Google.
If your phone stays connected to 3G, it's all good. If it drops down to EDGE, even if for half a second, it will NOT reconnect to 3G until you hang up.
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Click to collapse
If any of those 3 know they should fix it or at the very least advertise that the calls you make are dropped to the lower bandwidth of the GSM network.
T-Mo finally got 3G for the last year don't dumb it down guys. Fix this.
Yes it is true once your phone drops beneath 3G it will not go to 3G until you hang up the call.
try running 3g only or wdma only by creating phone info shortcut on anycut .. im going to try that out and see if it ever drops .. should be a temporary fix for you atleast with the whole maps thing and such but if you ever in an edge only are your screwed
turboyo said:
try running 3g only or wdma only by creating phone info shortcut on anycut .. im going to try that out and see if it ever drops .. should be a temporary fix for you atleast with the whole maps thing and such but if you ever in an edge only are your screwed
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Click to collapse
I changed it to wcdma only in phone info. Hopefully this works. Everywhere I travel to throughout NYC has 3G. Hopefully this works. Also I have noticed that when downloading anything from 3G be it the market or browser it would drop from 3G to Edge as well.
PeterC18st said:
I changed it to wcdma only in phone info. Hopefully this works. Everywhere I travel to throughout NYC has 3G. Hopefully this works. Also I have noticed that when downloading anything from 3G be it the market or browser it would drop from 3G to Edge as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*UPDATE*
While at home downloading apps from Android Market on 3G with wcdma only selected the radio dropped with no netowkr connection. Bust.
PeterC18st said:
I don't get it. My wife who had the original iPhone and then 3g and now 3gs never had this issue. She would stay on Edge and 3g depending if she waned to save batery life. My old BB 8700g would always stay on Edge never drop to GSM in my apartment. My 3G doesnt even fall to Edge it goes right to GSM. This is really annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did she use att or tmobile with the iphone? Because att has a much stronger 3g network then tmobile which could be why. I am pretty sure it is something to do with tmobiles network and not your phone, perhaps your area has to many users for it to stay on 3G. I have read about how the cell towers work and they have only so many bands for each user to access at any given time so if tmobile doesn't have enough towers or those things mounted on the towers it may be set up so you only get 3G for data usage and not calls since they don't technically require it to work.
crpercodani said:
Did she use att or tmobile with the iphone? Because att has a much stronger 3g network then tmobile which could be why. I am pretty sure it is something to do with tmobiles network and not your phone, perhaps your area has to many users for it to stay on 3G. I have read about how the cell towers work and they have only so many bands for each user to access at any given time so if tmobile doesn't have enough towers or those things mounted on the towers it may be set up so you only get 3G for data usage and not calls since they don't technically require it to work.
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Click to collapse
My wife is on ATT. Isn't lower frequency better at penetrating through walls and such? (T-Mo 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz compared to ATT 1800 MHz) They haven't booted their 850 MHz antennas yet so I hear.
If that is true then why not boot me down to Edge or gprs why all the way down to gsm? I been living in the same area for 26 years. I have been with T-Mo before they even had antennas in my area and walking outside was the only way to get a signal with my phone. Now I get full reception in and out of my apartment and 3G connectivity in my apartment with a signal strength of -93dBm through out my apartment on 3G and -79 dBm on Edge.
T-Mo stated that this should not be happening. Hence the 3 phones new battery and charger and techs to the antennas. I'm starting to think its a HTC Android problem and not a T-Mo problem. Hopefully a new radio update can fix it.
I didn't even know GSM was still used in that way, I thought GPRS would be the bare minimum. How can you tell the difference? I use to only get a G icon and I looked it up and for the g1 it said that meant GPRS, what does it show for GSM? Not like any of this matters though.
I really have no idea why all this is happening to your G1 but I hope it gets resolved, good luck.
edit: on the tmobile coverage map it says edge/gprs and 3g, no gsm. does that make any difference? I checked for NYC overall not any specific boroughs.
crpercodani said:
I didn't even know GSM was still used in that way, I thought GPRS would be the bare minimum. How can you tell the difference? I use to only get a G icon and I looked it up and for the g1 it said that meant GPRS, what does it show for GSM? Not like any of this matters though.
I really have no idea why all this is happening to your G1 but I hope it gets resolved, good luck.
edit: on the tmobile coverage map it says edge/gprs and 3g, no gsm. does that make any difference? I checked for NYC overall not any specific boroughs.
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Click to collapse
GSM is what Edge Gprs and 3G run off of. Think of it as a progression. GSM>GPRS>EDGE>3G.
The way I know it is on GSM is to the left of the Radio icon on the home screen there is another icon that shows the network your on. 3G=3G E=EDGE G=GPRS and no icon means GSM. GSM is still being used. Most SMS and MMS messages get sent to your from through GSM while you are on a call.
Hey - so, I searched for an answer to this, but couldn't find one.
Is there a way to determine whether you're on HSDPA or UMTS on the Nexus One? T-Mobile USA is supposedly all 7.2Mbps HSDPA, right? I'm getting download speeds of max 700kbps in Minneapolis, MN.
Most 3G towers havent had their backhaul upgraded to support faster speeds I only geet 700-1000kbps down at my house, but in downtown DC i was getting 3mbps+
Just go to settings, about phone, status and it says UMTS or HSDPA.
In CM-5.0 beta it shows H for HSDPA and 3G for UMTS.
Ah, thanks for explaining that. I can see that I'm getting HSDPA if I'm in the middle or just after a big download - seems to switch to it temporarily as needed. Or maybe I'm imagining it.
If you go to Settings>About Phone>Status, it will either say Edge, UMTS, or HSDPA, depending on what you're connected to. I usually get UMTS when I get 3G, although I've seen HSDPA a couple times as well.
After posting in the wrong thread...sorry mods, wasn't thinking...thought I'd try this here.
I recently purchased an un-sub N1 for T-Mobile in the Melbourne, FL area. It has been painful moving from AT&T because the speeds that I've been getting on HSPA SpeedTest.net have been 700kbps down and 300kbps up consistently. As to my issue now, I noticed that my phone never switches from UMTS(3g indicated in the notification area) to HSPA any more. It used to stay in UMTS until data was used and then switch to HSPA. All over the area over multiple towers this has happened.
My wife has a stock N1 so I'll check her phone and see if it uses HSPA at all although with the stock radio she stays on EDGE most of the time while my phone, in the same car is on 3g but that's another problem.
Also, I do have the phone set to WCDMA only.
Can anyone think of a reason on my end that this could happen?
Rick
I think t-mobile is doing something on their end. I lost WCDMA usage after 6pm last night until about 11 pm.
(I'm in south florida)
I was having a similar issue in Orlando a few days ago. I agree with JCopernicus and believe its on Tmobile's end because I'm in Phoenix right now and its working fine.
I've been leaving my connection type on GSM auto (PRL) and I'm still connected to 3G/H 90% of the time but I have noticed a significant battery improvement. Check it out when tmo gets their 3g working right in your area.
Are there benefits to GSM prl over WCDMA preferred or always besides the obvious scenario when 3g is unavailable?
I am in the north Houston Tx are and I have been seeing some really odd stuff. At home I am full bars 3g and get 600-700 down, then drive over to a mall by me and get the H up top and no internet at all, it simply will not work, but it is HSPDA(two weeks ago) now in the same area it shows 3g with 1400 down. My house is always 600-700 but the mall area is acting really strange.
Ok, first off my Vibrant has flat out awful reception.. fluctuates randomly between 4 bars and 0 bars on 3g and sometimes cant get more than 1 bar 3g in the middle of an HSPA+ city(Memphis). Its not a bar display problem, sometimes my speedtest shows download speeds as low as 150kbps. If that wasnt bad enough it takes forever to switch between 3g and edge, by forever I mean sometimes a full 60 seconds+ and if Im running a data using program (Pandora for instance) it sometimes refuses to switch at all... Is this a known issue or is it just my phone?? I know my G1 did not have these issues.
Try doing a master reset on your device.
If the master reset dosen't work, you might reflash the full stock rom from the android dev section. There's alot of people that have been reporting substantial increases in their reception and connection speeds.
And if you think it takes a long time to switch b/t 3g and edge, you ought to try owning an evo for a month. It takes FOREVA to switch the 4g radio on and off, at least 3 min for me, takes about that long to turn it on after a reset too.
Just because you're in a HSPA+ city doesn't mean you're on the HSPA+ network.
If you're having problems with it aquiring the 3G network try a new sim.
The G1 has mediocre reception but it is aided by the fact that the antenna is at the top and not the bottom like all other phones.
Bump,
I am actually having this problem too, I have tried a factory reset, I also tried reflashing the T-Mobile stock fimware, but it has not helped. I have good 3g and edge reception where I live.
Oh yeah, I am using ATT on the vibrant.
When this happens (ie. not switching between network or slow switch time), you can trigger airplane mode and then undo it and the phone will pick up the right network or switch network faster. For example, if use 2g network is checked, it will enter Edge, etc.
I see exactly what you guys are talking about, locking it on 3G will fix this right up. I was driving down the freeway and I KNOW I was passing 3G towers, but the Vibrant stayed on EDGE for way too long. I locked it on 3G and I never lost the signal and it was 4 bars for nearly all of the trip so I know 3G was there, it just wasn't switching back fast enough.
Looking under the Samsung debug mode, the Vibrant will hold onto 3G until -115 Recieve power, which is basically -115dBm under the Android network menu. Of course over -101 RSCP, it will show 0 bars so it's hard to know when reception is acutally really bad.
It should show -0 bars at -113dBm, 1 bar until -101dBm, 2 bars until -89dBm, 3 bars until -79dBm, and 4 bars until -51dBm.
just disable the extra frequencies from service menu and it will be super quick.
I'll try that, at any rate it should be remedied by Samsung.
mohitmoudgil said:
just disable the extra frequencies from service menu and it will be super quick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about locking it to 3g or something else?
ttabbal said:
Are you talking about locking it to 3g or something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure hes talking about only having it on 1900/1700 (combi bands)
pyun said:
If the master reset dosen't work, you might reflash the full stock rom from the android dev section. There's alot of people that have been reporting substantial increases in their reception and connection speeds.
And if you think it takes a long time to switch b/t 3g and edge, you ought to try owning an evo for a month. It takes FOREVA to switch the 4g radio on and off, at least 3 min for me, takes about that long to turn it on after a reset too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it matter if you flash from nandroid backup or oden?
heygrl said:
I'm pretty sure hes talking about only having it on 1900/1700 (combi bands)
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Click to collapse
That's an unintuitive user interface. sheesh.
Looking at Wikipedia, it looks like TMO uses 1700/2100 WCDMA and 850/1900 GSM (2G/EDGE). There's also a WCDMA 1900, but according to what I'm reading, TMO doesn't use WCDMA signaling on 1900, just GSM/EDGE.
To try it, go to the service menu using the steps for 3G locking and select 1700 only instead of WCDMA ALL. Then go back using menu/back (not the back button) twice and go to Combi Bands and select WCDMA 2100. That should enable just 1700/2100 WCDMA 3G service. Turning on PCS 1900 does seem to get me an EDGE connection. Enabling GSM 850 ONLY gives me emergency calls only, so it might be worth keeping on for 911 calls. 850 goes further so it might have service when the others don't.
I don't get 3G service in my basement, for example, so I would like to keep EDGE enabled. Hopefully enabling just the bands that I would use will help keep the search times down.
JasonCook said:
Does it matter if you flash from nandroid backup or oden?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To really get a full re-flash, you need Odin right now. It should be possible to do it without Odin now, but I don't know if anyone has put together a stock ROM that way yet.
I didn't see any difference in speed/stability with the stock Odin flash, but others might have. It seems to depend on the network more than the local stuff.
Band IV 1700 includes 2100Mhz so you don't have to enable it. From what I can tell, no.. combi-bands doesn't do much for the slow 3G requisition. I'm just going to lock it on 3G when I'm not at home.
PaiPiePia said:
When this happens (ie. not switching between network or slow switch time), you can trigger airplane mode and then undo it and the phone will pick up the right network or switch network faster. For example, if use 2g network is checked, it will enter Edge, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This didn't work for me. I would do this, and it would only work changing from 3G to EDGE. But, from when I would put it on use 3g, it would first change from airplane mode to EDGE, then take around 1 min to change to 3G.
mohitmoudgil said:
just disable the extra frequencies from service menu and it will be super quick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I disable the frequencies? I can only seem to enable them.