Database Users

Can I turn off HSPA to save battery in a low signal building? (Bell Mobility)

My phone is fighting to find reception all day, and it does a number on my battery. Is there a way i can force the phone to not go on hspa and just use 3g, or 2g or whatever? Dont need internet access at work, just calls. thanks

Settings>wireless n networks>mobile network>use only 2g networks
Thats what u need

Singhman said:
My phone is fighting to find reception all day, and it does a number on my battery. Is there a way i can force the phone to not go on hspa and just use 3g, or 2g or whatever? Dont need internet access at work, just calls. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone is only capable of 3g not HSPA+ however, we can go up to the threshold of 7.2. You can only turn off the 3g and will only get edge from the comment above.

98classic said:
Settings>wireless n networks>mobile network>use only 2g networks
Thats what u need
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone does not have that option. I think Bell is different

talltexan said:
This phone is only capable of 3g not HSPA+ however, we can go up to the threshold of 7.2. You can only turn off the 3g and will only get edge from the comment above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP's thread title says that he's in Canada and using Bell Mobility not T-Mobile.
http://www.simplymobile.com/wireless/data-device-details.asp?PhoneID=1230 says that it does indeed support HSPA.
And HSPA != HSPA+ (I believe.. would make sense since theres two difference names to it)
@Singhman: 98classic said it wrong. It's in Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Mobile Network -> Use Only 2G Networks

Singhman said:
My phone is fighting to find reception all day, and it does a number on my battery. Is there a way i can force the phone to not go on hspa and just use 3g, or 2g or whatever? Dont need internet access at work, just calls. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zephiK said:
The OP's thread title says that he's in Canada and using Bell Mobility not T-Mobile.
http://www.simplymobile.com/wireless/data-device-details.asp?PhoneID=1230 says that it does indeed support HSPA.
And HSPA != HSPA+ (I believe.. would make sense since theres two difference names to it)
@Singhman: 98classic said it wrong. It's in Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Mobile Network -> Use Only 2G Networks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im pretty sure i read his post correctly he only wants to use 2g and 3g.... however with most people confusing HSPA and HSPA+ i just guessed he was referring to HSPA+

bell mobility's network does not work on edge (2g). it is a 3g network only. the bell version of the phone shows the option to use 2g, but people using a bell sim can only use 3g.
i have the phone unlocked and on the rogers network and while my phone will switch to 2g when rf is very low, i cannot manually set it to lock to 2g with the stock rom. i have flashed to the jm6 rom and this one gives me the option to switch to 2g and lock it in, but i have issues trying to manually switch back to 3g when i do this.
if you are in an office with poor rf strength, try leaving wifi on so that your data connection will not have to work as hard to maintain a connection. thats what i do when i get home and i find it eats less battery.

hondaguy said:
bell mobility's network does not work on edge (2g). it is a 3g network only. the bell version of the phone shows the option to use 2g, but people using a bell sim can only use 3g.
i have the phone unlocked and on the rogers network and while my phone will switch to 2g when rf is very low, i cannot manually set it to lock to 2g with the stock rom. i have flashed to the jm6 rom and this one gives me the option to switch to 2g and lock it in, but i have issues trying to manually switch back to 3g when i do this.
if you are in an office with poor rf strength, try leaving wifi on so that your data connection will not have to work as hard to maintain a connection. thats what i do when i get home and i find it eats less battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. use the app "APNdroid" @ http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.google.code.apndroid
Leaving Wi-Fi on without actually being connected to a Wi-Fi network actually drains your battery since it scans for nearby WiFi networks especially ones that are public and alerts you.
@Talltexan: No you did not read it right
you said:
This phone is only capable of 3g not HSPA+ however, we can go up to the threshold of 7.2. You can only turn off the 3g and will only get edge from the comment above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the Vibrant, HSPA, HSDPA or whatever are still listed as 3G and not H. The OP said HSPA not HSPA+

zephiK said:
No. use the app "APNdroid" @ http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.google.code.apndroid
Leaving Wi-Fi on without actually being connected to a Wi-Fi network actually drains your battery since it scans for nearby WiFi networks especially ones that are public and alerts you.
@Talltexan: No you did not read it right
you said:
On the Vibrant, HSPA, HSDPA or whatever are still listed as 3G and not H. The OP said HSPA not HSPA+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if the op does want to totally disable the apn then apndroid will work but i wont use that kind of stuff as i seem to have all kinds of issues after installing apps like this. i am sure it works well for some, but not for me.

zephiK said:
No. use the app "APNdroid" @ http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.google.code.apndroid
Leaving Wi-Fi on without actually being connected to a Wi-Fi network actually drains your battery since it scans for nearby WiFi networks especially ones that are public and alerts you.
@Talltexan: No you did not read it right
you said:
On the Vibrant, HSPA, HSDPA or whatever are still listed as 3G and not H. The OP said HSPA not HSPA+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wont continue this any further but he wanted to force it to stay on 3g or 2g and not hspa..... thanks have a great day! (see the part i highlighted in yellow in my previous app)
To answer the op's question maybe you can use Tasker to set up a task to turn off data at a specified time during the day, but its a paid app.

zephiK said:
No. use the app "APNdroid" @ http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.google.code.apndroid
Leaving Wi-Fi on without actually being connected to a Wi-Fi network actually drains your battery since it scans for nearby WiFi networks especially ones that are public and alerts you.
and i didnt say to leave wifi on without being connected to a network, i said if you are in an office all day to leave it on. i was implying that if someone is in an office all day they would be connected to a known wifi source. i do this every single day and it does not use more battery then leaving 3g on in a low rf area.
at the end of the day the op did ask for a way to turn off data completely so the apndroid app is one way to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

hondaguy said:
if the op does want to totally disable the apn then apndroid will work but i wont use that kind of stuff as i seem to have all kinds of issues after installing apps like this. i am sure it works well for some, but not for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah unfortunately i have a T mobile branded Vibrant so its hard to tell what has been changed between ours and the one for Bell.

[Q] Option to use only 3G NOT HSPDA

HI all!
Right now I am using [Build][10.12.2010][NexusHD2-FRG83D V1.8 PPP+RMNET][Kernel: hastarin r8.5.3_oldcam] and that is quite ok for me.
However I havent found anywhere on that build an option to disable HDSPA speed.
What I would like is accept 3G but disable HSPDA. Now I only have a change to disable 3G totally and only get 2G. Basicly area where I live is keeping me a situation that phone is very often trying to connect HSPDA but then changes is 3G speed. It causes me time&battery drain.
I have found a solution to force phone only use 3G but that is what I wanted. 2G and 3G are ok but I want to disable HSPDA.
Anybody could help me?

Up, Up... anybody have same kind of need?

i also need same help regarding this, reason is my data plan only use 3g (umts) and not 3.5g (hsdpa)... but my android always switch 3g to hsdpa back and forth and drain battery much faster
is there any tweak/program/widget/application that can enable 3g (umts) only?
windows doenst have this problem cause in winmo i can switch the option easily (enable/disable hspa)... but android dont have this kind of thing

I have the same problem. I don't even have HSPDA where I live, yet it tries to connect, fails, and then connects to 3G. It's a very time consuming processor to wait for the phone to do this when I am just trying to load a website.

Yes.. maybe it will not drain much memory but.. who wouldn't want a fast internet..

Afaik Hsdpa uses the same radio towers (or whatever the name is) as Umts... just different software. so there should be no battery drain caused by this.

This mite help you
1. Go to your dialer
2. Dial *#*#INFO#*#*
3. Click 'Phone information'
4. Scroll down to the first dropdown selection and set according to your preference below...
For simplicity, there are two main types of cell carriers, GSM and CDMA.
The following popular data communication technology is associated with each cell carrier type:
GSM = GPRS (2g), EDGE(2g), UMTS(3g), WCDMA(3g), HSDPA(3g) {Cell Carrier examples: AT&T and T-Mobile}
CDMA = CDMA*(2/3g) EV-DO(3g) WiMax(3/4g) {Cell Carrier examples: Verizon and Sprint}
Now that the general stuff is out of the way, here's my take on the Preferred Network types:
WCDMA preferred - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 3G is favored more.
GSM only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
WCDMA only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM auto (PRL) - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more. This one is a bit confusing to me since PRL is associated mostly with CDMA technology and not GSM technology.
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
CDMA only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
EvDo only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) - Some phones are equipped with both GSM and CDMA capabilities. This setting appears to just have the phone attempt to stay connected to the data communication type that works the best. (Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S will take advantage of this???)
Unknown - If none of the above fit or the phone is acting weird as far as connecting to the carrier, you will see your preferred network type is set to this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en

domenukk said:
Afaik Hsdpa uses the same radio towers (or whatever the name is) as Umts... just different software. so there should be no battery drain caused by this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uhh... maybe you dont catch what us mean....
when umts change to hspda (icon change from 3g to H) then it use battery power.. in my case i use 3g (umts and not 3.5g or hspda )data plan only... but android keep searching hspda signal and THIS is when battery used the most (the process) and EVEN when my area have 3.5g covered but because i use 3g only data plan... then the back and forth process (3g<->H) will kep coming and rdrain my battery fast
so... we look for any kind of workaround so our android keep stay in 3g (umts) and not drain any unnecessary battery power searching for hspda
btw sorry for my english

agarp said:
This mite help you
1. Go to your dialer
2. Dial *#*#INFO#*#*
3. Click 'Phone information'
4. Scroll down to the first dropdown selection and set according to your preference below...
Source http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use this thing before and no luck
i use "wcdma only" as the option and android still process 3g and 3.5 back and forth, maybe android "thinks" 3g/umts and 3.5/hspda as the same?? android categorize umts and hspda as one big fat 3G network
i wonder why newer os like android doesnt have this kind of feature in winmo there is an option :
disable hspa = so hspda disabled.. AKA 2G or UMTS only
enable hspa = enabled hspda, hspa, hsupa etc.. AKA 2G, UMTS and HSPDA

try this settings
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.

agarp said:
try this settings
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
isnt cdma auto (prl) used exclusively for cdma phones? (those phones with evdo and wimax thing) and not used for our hd2 (GSM)???

C'mon how this is impossible with newer phone software??
This feature has been in WinMo and Symbian in many years!!
It is really frustrating that almost every time my phone is trying to make HSPDA connect and then decide 3G is enough and possible. It causes some delay and sometimes also timed out errors.

agreed
my android keep going back and forth between umts 3G and hspda 3.5G like some clueless kid while 2 experienced guy (symbian & winmo) laugh at him

i know this is a old topic
i have still this issue
my phone is switching to hsdpa an back to 3g after a few seconds
when the phone is connected to my slow wifi connection everything works fine and i can use it for 3 day's
when it is connected to hsdpa my battery is empty after 15 hours and the voip connection is not working properly (i need to start a ping to some server first to keep the connection alive so i can call with voip)

I just came upon this thread, but I don't have this problem, so I can't really test it out this theory. But my thought was, what if you just went into the build.prop file and edited the ro.ril.hsxpa.category settting from ro.ril.hsxpa.category=2 to ro.ril.hsxpa.category=0. I just tested it out and it never jumped from 3g to H. My only concern is that you wouln't get the fastest speed you could be getting. Test it out and let me know though.

at this moment it is not posible to root my phone (SE Xperia pro with latest firmware)
so i am afraid we need to wait to test this
but thanks for the hint

Network dies when I turn off 2g

Anyone have this problem? It happens ever time
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Hmm.... seems like your phone might be in WCDMA mode only... It should be in WCDMA-Preferred since you plan on using 3G and 2G
Go to your phone dialer and dial *#*#4636#*#*
and Diagnostics Menu should come up..... Go to PHONE INFORMATION.... Scroll down and Set Network Type to: WCDMA Preferred
see if that helps...

Thanks for the reply i am on tmobile and it is defaulted to GSM. Will changing it be any different than GSM?

my phone does that as well right now at home even though i have it on WCDMA preferred, t-mo has been having issues with their 4G towers and their DNS servers lately that has been affecting many people with newer phones/SIM cards and in 4G areas, t-mo has not released an ETA on a fix but i have been dealing with it for a month now at my home and i am about ready to switch carriers

tvdang7 said:
Thanks for the reply i am on tmobile and it is defaulted to GSM. Will changing it be any different than GSM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, it'll still be the same. WCDMA-Preferred means that then phone will Prioritize 3G/4G signal over an EDGE signal. So If you are in a decent 4G/3G coverage the phone will set itself into 3G/4G mode... and when you move into an area where you have a weaker 3G/4G signal...t han the phone will be in EDGE mode.

Keep in mind that if you're referring about using WCDMA Preferred in a 3G/4G coverage area - but only 2G works - then you have a network issue. This isn't so much a device issue as it is a MSISDN issue on the network or a potential tower issue.
If you get no signal on 3G/4G and signal is there on 2G - check your coverage first - then if coverage shows you should have 3G/4G, call TMO and let them know, they'll need to do a service request or trouble ticket based on the location and breadth of the issue you're having.

After 2 Weeks, I Am Throwing In The Towel

I received the Samsung Focus 2 weeks ago today. After I post this I will be heading over to Amazon Wireless to make return arrangements.
I come from a Windows Mobile (Tilt 2) and I don't think I am yet ready to transition to this type of phone. I depend too much on Pocket Informant and I couldn't find any app to replace that. Actually this is not really the reason I gave up. This is the reason that kept me on the fence.
At my work I have a very poor 3G signal indoors. The signal fluctuates between 2 bars to no signal indication and sometimes switching to Edge. With the Tilt 2 I turn off 3G and that keeps the phone happy. Several times I found the Focus showing no signal (small crossed out circle at the top left). Even after I went to an area with good 3G signal the Focus did not change from its no signal status. I had to actually turn it off and back on (soft reset, I guess) to get a strong 3G signal.
Searching on Google for means to turn 3G off in the Focus showed that only a few months ago there was such an option Settings | Cellular. Apparently now it is removed.
With 3G trying desperately to hang in there instead of just giving up and letting Edge take over, this phone is useless to me 8 to 12 hours a day. The Tilt 2 had a similar issue before I tweaked it to give me the band switch. However the Tilt 2 did not get stuck in the no signal state. I wish AT&T did not remove this from settings.
So long, Focus.

Um... there's totally still an option called Cellular in Settings. Whatever, though. If you don't enjoy the phone, there's no reason for you to keep it. However, there's equally no reason for you to share this information with us, since a large part of your issue is born of ignorance of the OS (not finding a setting that is clearly there) and your lack of enjoyment of the phone should have no effect on anyone who owns one.

FishFaceMcGee said:
Um... there's totally still an option called Cellular in Settings. Whatever, though. If you don't enjoy the phone, there's no reason for you to keep it. However, there's equally no reason for you to share this information with us, since a large part of your issue is born of ignorance of the OS (not finding a setting that is clearly there) and your lack of enjoyment of the phone should have no effect on anyone who owns one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Cellular option is still there, in Settings. However, unlike screen shots or pictures I saw during my search (see this sample), I do not have the option to turn off 3G.
If your phone has it, good for you. Mine does not. Hardly a reason to call me ignorant for this though.

That's strange. My Focus appears to have better reception than my Tilt 2.
Actually, the 3G only setting is under the diagnostic menu I believe. The should have a thread in this forum on it.
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.

Tempest790 said:
That's strange. My Focus appears to have better reception than my Tilt 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, side by side, the 2 phones had a similar reception. The Tilt 2 got an extra bar or 2 when I forced it to Edge. However, the Tilt 2 did not get stuck with the no signal indication.
Actually, the 3G only setting is under the diagnostic menu I believe. The should have a thread in this forum on it.
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While at this moment I do not have the phone with me, I just looked in the PDF I downloaded from that other thread (the PDF shows [2] Band Selection) and I remember that I was in that area and when I tried to make a change I got a message saying something about the selection or option being restricted. Sorry, but I do not remember the exact words. I guess I could try again later tonight after I get home. Thank you.

Tempest790 said:
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I select "[2] Band Selection" the exact message is:
"RAT Selection option is restricted".

Yeah, that's what I got. I also got my phone from freaking Amazon.com and didn't work right. Had do alittle talking around but they me exchange it at the Att Wireless Store. Have you actually tried any other Samsung Focus Phones to see if its just the phone itself?

I got mine from att store, I'm using the org diagnostic app version, I get same error message.

Seed 2.0 said:
I got mine from att store, I'm using the org diagnostic app version, I get same error message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would switch phones then. The phone has to be unlocked to switch bands, even turning off 3G. That's stupid, I know. I have a Dell Venue Pro sitting here that can switch bands but that phone is VERY buggy.

Fuzzy John said:
Yes, the Cellular option is still there, in Settings. However, unlike screen shots or pictures I saw during my search (see this sample), I do not have the option to turn off 3G.
If your phone has it, good for you. Mine does not. Hardly a reason to call me ignorant for this though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW: 3G = "Data Connection" on the Focus' settings menu. As far as I know, 3G has nothing to do with voice calls. I suspect that the name of that switch was changed with an eye toward future data options on cell phones. I hope that helps. (Even the person who posted that picture notes that they modified the label to be "Cellular Data". You can see that in the comments area of the image/post that you listed. )

GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.

ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might very well be correct, however on my Tilt 2 I have to turn off 3g in order to get full voice bars back in the location where my room is in my house. It doesn't seem to make any sense; why would the phone's 3g connection interfere w/ the 2g voice? Yet it seems like this is the case.

ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry. I may have used the wrong terms. After all I admit I am not really familiar with all the terminology. I am more like a user. Anyway, on my Tilt 2 phone I have a switch which turn off 3G. This puts the phone in Edge mode. Gives me a lot better reception in areas where the 3G signal is flaky. True, I cannot talk and do data at the same time. Also true that my data rate is slower. But I can receive and make calls while I am in that area.

ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Both voice and data work on 3G if it is available. You can tell this by the fact that once your phone is on 3G, you will not encounter the annoying speaker buzz from GSM phones.
The switch in the settings are for cell data connection. If you turn it off, it turns off the data connection, 2G or 3G. There is no separate setting to turn off 3G data only (a commonly requested feature but non-existent on all AT&T phones). You will always have to access the secret menu to select your band (WCDMA or GSM).
The bars are for signal strength, not just for vocie service.

EDIT: rjohnstone
foxbat121 said:
Nope. Both voice and data work on 3G if it is available. You can tell this by the fact that once your phone is on 3G, you will not encounter the annoying speaker buzz from GSM phones.
The switch in the settings are for cell data connection. If you turn it off, it turns off the data connection, 2G or 3G. There is no separate setting to turn off 3G data only (a commonly requested feature but non-existent on all AT&T phones). You will always have to access the secret menu to select your band (WCDMA or GSM).
The bars are for signal strength, not just for vocie service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G contains the following quote:
"The UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure"
<snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=2877
"Modes GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
WCDMA 850 / 1900 / 2100"
Those are the GSM and 3G bands that the Samsung Focus uses. <snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
I'm always willing to accept that I can be wrong (EDIT: and it seems that I was). I'm only human after all. If I'm the one who's somehow misunderstanding, then I would be open to having some information shared so that I can learn more about it. Would you have any links to back your claim up?

GrayWolf said:
I'm sorry to say that you've misunderstood how AT&T's network is set up. 3G + GSM = Data + Voice. Not 3G = Voice & Data.
contains the following quote:
"The UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure"
To further back the position that our phones do not use 3G to carry voice data:
"Modes GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
WCDMA 850 / 1900 / 2100"
Those are the GSM and 3G bands that the Samsung Focus uses. GSM for voice traffic, WCDMA (3G) for data.
I'm always willing to accept that I can be wrong. I'm only human after all. If I'm the one who's somehow misunderstanding, then I would be open to having some information shared so that I can learn more about it. Would you have any links to back your claim up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T sends both voice and data traffic over the 3G connection when in a 3G area.
The GSM radio only comes into play when the data connection falls back to EDGE (i.e., 3G signal is too weak or not present).
This is why your call drops when you switch from a 3G area to a GSM/EDGE area.
It's a hard hand off to the next tower.

rjohnstone said:
AT&T sends both voice and data traffic over the 3G connection when in a 3G area.
The GSM radio only comes into play when the data connection falls back to EDGE (i.e., 3G signal is too weak or not present).
This is why your call drops when you switch from a 3G area to a GSM/EDGE area.
It's a hard hand off to the next tower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - would you happen to have any links that explains this in any detail?
I looked around after you mentioned it and found that I should have ran a few more keyword searches before posting. So far, the best explanation that I've found seems to be here:
"3G or Non 3G-that is the question"
http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/G...at-is-the-question/m-p/1544262/highlight/true
The specific/relevant portion that I'm referring to is:
Yea 3G is amazing. It's the replacement for GSM. It's a completely seperate network. When in 3G at present signal in some area's might seem a bit more week than GSM because in some area's it runs on the 1900mhz frequency which has less penetration. But AT&T has plans of phasing out GSM in the future for 3G on the GSM frequency.
But 3G on the W-CDMA side handles call's and data, GSM also does handle voice and data. But the two networks are seperate. For example. If your phone is in 3G then the 3G network is handling the call and not transmitting anything to do with GSM at all. But if you travel to a non 3G area while in the call then your phone will hand off to the GSM network to continue the voice call and the call quality will get that crackly raspy phenomenom. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that's another person's statement on a forum and, like rjohnstone's post, makes logical sense. I'd love to read a bit more about this, if there are any useful links out there?

GrayWolf said:
Thanks - would you happen to have any links that explains this in any detail?
I looked around after you mentioned it and found that I should have ran a few more keyword searches before posting. So far, the best explanation that I've found seems to be here:
"3G or Non 3G-that is the question"
The specific/relevant portion that I'm referring to is:
Now that's another person's statement on a forum and, like rjohnstone's post, makes logical sense. I'd love to read a bit more about this, if there are any useful links out there?
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Graywolf,
My friend is a tower manager for T-Mobile.
He helped setup the initial GSM/EDGE network for Cingular back when they leased tower time from T-Mobile while they were making the transition from TDMA devices from the old AT&T network.
He explained how the call handlers worked and how the air interface works when handing off from UMTS/HSPA over to the GSM/EDGE network.
All of AT&T's handsets are programmed to use either GSM/EDGE or UMTS/HSPA, not both at the same time.
The point is, a handset can't have a GSM voice call and an HSPA data session occurring at the same time. The radios are not configured to allow it.
Many towers run both GSM/EDGE radios and UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ radios.
Mainly to support legacy devices.
You will also notice that the old network is still there when you turn of the 3G radio in an iPhone or any other handset that permits it.
Yes, AT&T is working to decommission the older GSM/EDGE towers all together to recover the 850Mhz frequencies for use with HSPA+. This will give them better building penetration in large metropolitan areas.
Right now, AT&T does use the 1900MHz band for HSPA, and as the residence of NY will tell you, it sucks at going through walls.
You will have to do some digging for old AT&T press releases, but the info is out there.

Gotta give credit where it's due. I appreciate the technical detail combined with layman phrasing. I'll do more digging later but you've given me a nice high-level view of things. I did have a suspicion that my understanding was flawed somehow. Thanks for taking the time to share, rjohnstone!

Yep your right I typed it wrong.. voice and data both work on 2G and 3G, but I know I'm in a 3G area only and when I turn data off 3G goes out. Now that doesn't mean I'm only making or recieving calls on the 2G band. It just mean 3G data is off. So if you want to turn off 3G all together, I don't see it on these phones yet. When I turn the celluar data back on, the 3G symbol comes back on, because it would be pretty dumb for the 3G to be controlled by turning data on and off.

Can't get HSDPA on T-Mobile UK

As the title says, I'm not getting HSDPA in areas where I was getting it before with my Galaxy S. I only ever get 3G and it is driving me nuts!
Is there anyway to change it to allow HSDPA on the phone? It is noticably slower, particularly streaming videos.
I'm on T-Mobile UK with the web & walk+ tariff.

Are you running the stock rom?
If so - afaik you get 3G for both 3G and HSDPA. Check your connection type in "About Phone" in settings - should be under "status".

Highland3r is correct. HSDPA is a 3G technology, and the stock ROM on the Nexus S does not differentiate it in the connection type display. You are most likely connected to your provider's HSPA network, your phone simply doesn't advertise that fact.

T mobile UK, uses a different band
it uses the same frequency as the 3G from ATT in USA
Nexus S is an AWS band phone

I'm having a similar issue with my Nexus S on Orange UK. I have to manually force it to use HSDPA in the engineer's menu but after a certain amount of time it defaults to UMTS.
My brother-in-law's Galaxy S has a constant HSDPA connection.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I'm on vodafone in the uk and I get HSPA mostly all of the time, u guys are right, it says 3g in the bar at the top of the screen but looking deeper it is in actual fact HSPA.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

it's been like this since Android 2.3. They only display 3G whether your using 3G or HSDPA... they are essentially the same.
Therefore they just show 3G...
I prefer it to show me 3G or H or UMTS ( sometimes on UMTS aswell and still shows as 3G )

I am currently on CM7 and it does display H most of the time as the coverage is pretty good where I am. This has been the case even before I rooted the phone.

Thanks for the info guys, like Highlan3r suggested it has HSDPA in the status menu but 3G in the notification bar! It is the stock ROM also, just found it a bit unusual since changing from the Galaxy S only a week ago but now I know.
Thanks again!

Just to clarify, my Nexus S shows UMTS under status, even when a data connection is active. If I force it onto HSDPA by selecting WCDMA only in the engineer's menu, it again reverts to UMTS after a certain length of time.
My brother-in-law's Galaxy S has constant HSDPA connection on the same network. We are both using stock roms.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

you will only see HSDPA when there is network traffic. If the connection's idle, it goes back to display UMTS (to save battery and network resources)

Nexus-S said:
Just to clarify, my Nexus S shows UMTS under status, even when a data connection is active. If I force it onto HSDPA by selecting WCDMA only in the engineer's menu, it again reverts to UMTS after a certain length of time.
My brother-in-law's Galaxy S has constant HSDPA connection on the same network. We are both using stock roms.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Are you using a custom ROM of any kind? It _could_ be an issue with the APN's setup - CM7 for example doesn't set a default APN on my phone which seems to cause mobile data connectivity problems until a default is set/the extra crap is removed.
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You're probably best starting a new thread for this btw as it's likely to be a different issue to the ops
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And now after the 2.3.3 update it switches to HSDPA perfectly.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App