Database Users

3G and H Icon

Up until yesterday i was nearly always getting then H (hsdpa) icon on my Hero. Now im getting the 3G icon. But when i use an app that required the data connection it changed to H. It's annoying because it takes around 5-10 seconds to change and while its changing the app doesnt seem to have any data connection.
Does anyone else experience this? And can anyone tell me why up until yesterday it was always H and now only goes to H when the data connection is needed? I haven't changed any settings or installed anything in the past few days.

It may just be your providers local cell tower that is having issues rather than the Hero. Drop them a call first to see if there are any reported problems.

According to my provider theirs no issues in my area.
I just dont understand how mine can change from always being a H to being 3G changing to H when i use data. It's really annoying because when i open browser it takes around 10 seconds for the 3G to change to H and in that time no pages load. Then if i stay on one page for a while and move to another the H has gone back to 3G so takes another 10 seconds to change.
Could anyone who gets the H symbol please do me a favour? When you wake your phone from sleep is the H symbol always showing or is it sometimes 3G changing to H when you use any app that requires data?
Thanks

I think my H icon works as it should here in Finland. H is shown only when some data is being transferred, hence it is not always being displayed when I wake the screen. Sometimes it is shown, but I think then some widget or FB integration or something like that is being updated / synchronized.
I really feel that this is correct behavior, HSPA would suck your battery dry quite fast if it would be always on.

disssko said:
I think my H icon works as it should here in Finland. H is shown only when some data is being transferred, hence it is not always being displayed when I wake the screen. Sometimes it is shown, but I think then some widget or FB integration or something like that is being updated / synchronized.
I really feel that this is correct behavior, HSPA would suck your battery dry quite fast if it would be always on.
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Click to collapse
I think your right with it being the correct behaviour. Even though it takes an extra few seconds to start the connection when browsing etc it does seem that my battery is lasting longer. Now if i could just find a way of getting it to display 3G instead of H when away from my house.

Now if i could just find a way of getting it to display 3G instead of H when away from my house.
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I think there's no way of crippling the HSPA functionality of the phone, phone makes the selection of using HSPA (or not) based on network's decision (decided on coverage & various measurements) and capability.

[Q] Network Status Symbol?

Hi guys, does anyone know where I can find explanations of the Epic 4G network status notifications? Sprint has inconveniently left out any explanations about the status notifications in their Basics Guide.
Specifically I'm confused about the 3G network status symbol. Sometimes it shows "3G" with up and down arrows underneath, sometime it shows the letter "D" underneath, and sometimes the symbol is missing entirely when the signal strength is 5 bars! When the symbol is absent, attempts to access the web are met with a "network error."
I assume that a missing 3G symbol means I have no EVDO coverage. However, shouldn't I at least have 1xRTT access? What does the symbol for that look like?
Thanks in advance!

I've noticed that when you are in 1x coverage it still shows as 3G. If the indicator is completely missing then you won't have data at all.
Sent from my Samsung Epic 4G

Malefickus said:
I've noticed that when you are in 1x coverage it still shows as 3G. If the indicator is completely missing then you won't have data at all.
Sent from my Samsung Epic 4G
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Click to collapse
I was wondering why I had 3g today while roaming.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Malefickus said:
I've noticed that when you are in 1x coverage it still shows as 3G. If the indicator is completely missing then you won't have data at all.
Sent from my Samsung Epic 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! It would have been nice for them to include a chart showing what each symbol means.

Wondering if anyone know what that D symbol is i get it constantly and its so annoying. Sometimes i have full bars then bars go away, then return only to show the D symbol.

I believe it means that the 3G radio has entered the Dormant state. This means that it's not actively transmitting or receiving data, which is a good thing most of the time! It's actually quite helpful, because this can help you diagnose whether or not the radio is being used more often than necessary. For instance, if the two arrows are simply white, which means no data through, your radio could still be running at power. Only when it shows 'D' does it mean it is now in power-saving mode.

APOLAUF said:
I believe it means that the 3G radio has entered the Dormant state. This means that it's not actively transmitting or receiving data, which is a good thing most of the time! It's actually quite helpful, because this can help you diagnose whether or not the radio is being used more often than necessary. For instance, if the two arrows are simply white, which means no data through, your radio could still be running at power. Only when it shows 'D' does it mean it is now in power-saving mode.
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Click to collapse
Hm interesting, seems like it is helpful but at times i cant log into Gtalk or for instance when i was downloading apk file it stopped mid-way for 2 min then resumed.

mykenyc said:
Hm interesting, seems like it is helpful but at times i cant log into Gtalk or for instance when i was downloading apk file it stopped mid-way for 2 min then resumed.
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That doesn't really have anything to do with the symbol being displayed. That just means that the connection to the server was dropped - which would happen regardless of whether or not the symbol is displayed. I've had the same issue you've described happen to me, but it's also happened on other phones. This just means that the TCP connection that you've got open to the other host was lost.
In this sense, displaying the 'D' makes it even more useful, because then you can cancel the transaction and start over. Most other phones would just simply display the blank bars. The radios go dormant on *any* phone, because otherwise, your battery would last about an hour or so at the most. The Epic is nice enough to tell you the radio's state in the status icon.

Data Issues??

Occasionally I get no data connection & I have to restart the phone, does any body else have that issue?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Haven't had that issue myself.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

try putting it in airplane mode then turn airplane mode off

imblacklife said:
try putting it in airplane mode then turn airplane mode off
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Click to collapse
That works I wonder if its an issue, if anyone else has the prob let me know
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I have that issue as well, idk why it happens but I'll add it to the list of problems for when I call to get a replacement.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

That just happened to me today also. It switched from "H" to "E", then when I opened USA Today it FC-ed and the icon turned into a generic Android one like the app was on the SD card and unavailable (even though it's installed to phone) and then 5 more background apps that I didn't even know were running FC-ed (Amazon MP3, Finance, QuickOffice, something and then Facebook three times?) and the phone locked up. I was able to power off then back on, but data never came back even after waiting about 10 minutes until I powered off and on again. Quite odd.

I get the same issue where am connected to wifi and as soon as i walk away from it it doesnt connect back to the data network. I got a replacement phone coming so hopefully i dont have the same issue. Another thing is the random reboot and i get black screen a lot especially after rebooting
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I've had the issue, but each time it appears to be related to JuiceDefender not properly enabling the radio. If I shut JuiceDefender off, the connection comes back, although sometimes its just easier to airplane mode it and be done with it.

I called T-Mo about it, they said call about a week after the inital release date and see if they have a fix by then, there isnt enough information kept since it hasnt been officially released yet.

I'm having the same trouble. Are you guys on the new sim card? I popped in the new sim card and the tech told me to not use it and just save it. I noticed when I put the new sim card a notification of a new voicemail came on. I didn't have any voicemail.
Edit: I'm starting to have some serious data issues. I'll get cut off, but my phone will still show full bars and "H". I try the whole airplane thing and it still does nothing. I constantly get the "check network setting, try again or cancel". My market wont load, browser says "unable to connect." This is getting stupid. When I call T Mobile it always start working and then cuts off shorty after hanging up. I've never had this isssue before. I live in the middle of the city. Only 3G around here. Its getting annoying.

Guys I'm afraid that it might problem with the antenna placement. Holding the phone on the bottom half will drop me from 3 bars of "H" to 4 bars of "G", then it will bounce back up to 4 bars of "E". If left on a desk then it will remain at 3-4 bars of "H". I notice this especially at a place where I have low-mid signal, such as my school (reinforced concrete FTL). When I have a strong 4 bar signal, it usually won't drop all the way down to edge but I do loose a few bars. I hope a simple software issue is enough to reduce this effect. I might be being crazy paranoid but I'm definitely noticing a lower signal than on my G1.
Try holding the phone by the edges, then hold it in a normal grip and see if the signal strenght changes (Menu->settings->status->signal strength)

I just got off the phone with tmo and was told its a known issue with the network affecting about 10% of users. The issue started for me yesterday on my hd2. He also said they have people working on it. I asked if I could get my buyers remorse set back 14 more days to ensure the issue is not permanment but he said that they are no longer doing extentions. I'm sure if I get tranfered to retentions the answer would change. I hope.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

djdant said:
That works I wonder if its an issue, if anyone else has the prob let me know
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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I'm also having the same issue. I just rebooted my phone, so I haven't had the chance of switching airplane mode on/off yet. I'll let you guys know if that works for me, either way, I'm hoping there's a fix from T-Mo.

mejorguille said:
Guys I'm afraid that it might problem with the antenna placement. Holding the phone on the bottom half will drop me from 3 bars of "H" to 4 bars of "G", then it will bounce back up to 4 bars of "E". If left on a desk then it will remain at 3-4 bars of "H". I notice this especially at a place where I have low-mid signal, such as my school (reinforced concrete FTL). When I have a strong 4 bar signal, it usually won't drop all the way down to edge but I do loose a few bars. I hope a simple software issue is enough to reduce this effect. I might be being crazy paranoid but I'm definitely noticing a lower signal than on my G1.
Try holding the phone by the edges, then hold it in a normal grip and see if the signal strenght changes (Menu->settings->status->signal strength)
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Click to collapse
youre not paranoid, im noticing this too

ddgarcia05 said:
I'm having the same trouble. Are you guys on the new sim card? I popped in the new sim card and the tech told me to not use it and just save it. I noticed when I put the new sim card a notification of a new voicemail came on. I didn't have any voicemail.
Edit: I'm starting to have some serious data issues. I'll get cut off, but my phone will still show full bars and "H". I try the whole airplane thing and it still does nothing. I constantly get the "check network setting, try again or cancel". My market wont load, browser says "unable to connect." This is getting stupid. When I call T Mobile it always start working and then cuts off shorty after hanging up. I've never had this isssue before. I live in the middle of the city. Only 3G around here. Its getting annoying.
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Click to collapse
Wow that's funny, my MYTOUCH does the same thing with airplane mode off/on. I also remember that the store demo g2 I played with last night had the voicemail icon in the notification bar, but when you pull the bar down, there's no option to connect and retrieve the voicemail. I found that even weirder since the phone comes preloaded with google voice.

Also experiencing the same issue here in Phoenix. Been having it since I got the phone on Monday.
I have been in an ongoing round of tech calls and will be having a follow-up with the tech who I spoke with last night... I've tried everything from APN resetting to swapping the SIM card to a total factory wipe -- nothing is changing this for me.
I *know* my neighborhood has full 3G access, but I am maxed out at 1 Mbps. (Before the factory wipe I was getting 0.35 Mbps.) If this doesn't change I may just return the phone and switch to Sprint to get the Epic 4G. I mean, I'm not getting HSPA+ coverage either way, and at least with the Samsung Galaxy S Pro I'd have a full 5-row qwerty...
>_<

Wow, this is really too bad. I was SO excited about this phone...

ddgarcia05 said:
I just got off the phone with tmo and was told its a known issue with the network affecting about 10% of users. The issue started for me yesterday on my hd2. He also said they have people working on it. I asked if I could get my buyers remorse set back 14 more days to ensure the issue is not permanment but he said that they are no longer doing extentions. I'm sure if I get tranfered to retentions the answer would change. I hope.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
called as well tech told me to turn off phone and she would refresh my signal and when it was turned back on i had all 4 bars and data returned and and its been on ever since without any drops in data....hope it stays that way .
ps...both G2`s had that problem and both cleared up as of now

kgood63 said:
called as well tech told me to turn off phone and she would refresh my signal and when it was turned back on i had all 4 bars and data returned and and its been on ever since without any drops in data....hope it stays that way .
ps...both G2`s had that problem and both cleared up as of now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this happens, try going to settings->wireless->mobile network->network operators and see if you get an "Error while searching for networks" error as I did.
Reset fixed for me too. But it makes me worry.

I'm on a brand new sim card (switched to TM from ATT). I'm having some data issues too. I talked to TM tech support and they reset my connection but that did nothing. Now they're going to their android techs to see whats up.

Data dissappears during phone calls? Realization time

Has it always been like this? Flashed a few roms and radios. But I think I never really thought about it or noticed it until now and it's really bugging me. I've read a few topics about 3g and 4g being "parallel" to our voice calls so we can't have both? I don't quite understand any of it.
Can someone tell me it's just my phone so I can try to solve the problem, or reassure me that we can't have both at the same time so I can sleep better tonight? lol
Thanks for any and all help!
Edit: Sorry meant to post this in the question thread.

Balut20 said:
Has it always been like this? Flashed a few roms and radios. But I think I never really thought about it or noticed it until now and it's really bugging me. I've read a few topics about 3g and 4g being "parallel" to our voice calls so we can't have both? I don't quite understand any of it.
Can someone tell me it's just my phone so I can try to solve the problem, or reassure me that we can't have both at the same time so I can sleep better tonight? lol
Thanks for any and all help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ALL GSM phones that are connected to HSPA or greater should be able to talk and surf at the same time. I do it frequently personally. Do you know if you drop to EDGE/GRPS when you get on a phone call?

I am also having this issue but its strange that the guy posting above me does not face this issue - may be it is a hardware issue like screen and emmc since I already tried different roms and radios?. As soon as I am in a call I am disconnected from network data. I noticed only recently when I was in a hotel room working on my laptop (tethered phone to provide internet) and just when I joined a conference call, I lost internet. It was so embarrassing I couldnt curse tmobile and htc enough. The iphone ad about talking and surfing at the same time never made sense to me before this incidence.

my phone does this too, but its on and off. Sometimes it does, others it doesnt. I really have no idea what could cause it.

Let me shed some light on this....if you are on H will less then 2 bars and theres an E with 3 bars or more and u get a call the phone will switch to E but once you hang up then its back on H. But if H has 3 bars or more when a call is received then I will stay on the H network and allow talk and data at the same time. Theres no hard ware issues trust me. Hspa is preferred but if there is a stronger signal then the phone switches. I hope that makes sense. You can not do data and talk together on E but you can on H.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Or, to put it in other words: when the phone is in a call, it'll hop to the "best sounding" base station, and if it would happen to be the old GSM/GPRS/EDGE base station - the data will drop. The missing bit is: once it drops - it isn't re-negotiated during the call, only after it. Thus, if the phone hops to EDGE base station even for a second during the call - you won't have data from this point and till the end of the call.
Perfectly normal behavior.

PureH2O said:
Let me shed some light on this....if you are on H will less then 2 bars and theres an E with 3 bars or more and u get a call the phone will switch to E but once you hang up then its back on H. But if H has 3 bars or more when a call is received then I will stay on the H network and allow talk and data at the same time. Theres no hard ware issues trust me. Hspa is preferred but if there is a stronger signal then the phone switches. I hope that makes sense. You can not do data and talk together on E but you can on H.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
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This is definitely not the case. I have tried multiple times with different signal strengths but it drops completely every time. I just did another test, I was on H at 3.47mbps with all full bars and as soon as i placed a call to my friend, the data dropped completely.

chem.manish said:
This is definitely not the case. I have tried multiple times with different signal strengths but it drops completely every time. I just did another test, I was on H at 3.47mbps with all full bars and as soon as i placed a call to my friend, the data dropped completely.
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Click to collapse
It's not about the bars you see, but the signal strength (and not only) your phone sees - which is way more complicated than just bars. Read my post above.
And it's not an opinion either, it's a fact. This is how cellular handoff/handover works. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_handover

Thanks for the replies and insight everyone. Now I know a little bit more about how that handover works heh.
In my case, most calls were made from my office building. Yesterday, when I posted, I had the newest radio and data would drop immediately as soon as the person answers my call (not a steady drop from 4g-3g-Edge, icon just disappears completely). At best, I was able to download a few apps during a call (which was downloading before the call was made) but as soon my screen locked and turned off - the data was gone on wake and wouldn't turn back on until after the call was finished.
Went through 4 different ROMS yesterday with about the same results but I have recently reflashed RoyalGinger again along with the stock radio thereafter and it seems to be holding during calls, even on my ride to work this morning. I know this is against what most people have said in this thread but maybe I just messed something up on my phone with the new radio? Guess I'll stick to this radio for now. Thanks again everybody.

Radio is the one responsible for determining the best possible connection, and flashing new radio might change things.
I'm in a good 3G/H coverage zone, with new radio, and just tested - the data remained on during the call in any conditions, screen off, screen on, wifi toggling - still worked.

Jack_R1 said:
Radio is the one responsible for determining the best possible connection, and flashing new radio might change things.
I'm in a good 3G/H coverage zone, with new radio, and just tested - the data remained on during the call in any conditions, screen off, screen on, wifi toggling - still worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I'm on 4g and turn the screen off the data turns off, normally after an extended period, which its good for battery.
Sent from my HTC Glacier

This has happened to me since I had my blackberry 9700. My experience has been that it loses all data (H/3G/E), even in good H/3G signal area and won't reconnect until I end the call. However the data loss only occurs while on a call. While not on a call, just surfing the net or using data any other way does not cause lost data connection nor a drop from H/3G to Edge. I saw somewhere on these forums that switching to H/3G only will prevent this from happening. I've tried this and it seemed to help, but I haven't been checking on every call.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

[Q] Data doesn't work in 3G mode

I've had my phone for over a year now, and I love it except one strange quirk. I'm with T-Mobile in the midwest, and whenever my phone says 3G, no data works. Everything is fine when it says 'H'. When I'm browsing the internet, I see the status shifting from H to 3G every 30 seconds or so for a duration of about a couple seconds. When the phone is on 3G, the website stops loading, and no data works (even syncing with mail stops). The second it switches back to H, everything works 100% again. Anyone know what's going on with 3G?
Another example is Youtube buffering. When the phone is on H, I see the buffer bar fill up. When it switches to 3G, the bar stops. When it switches back to H, the bar moves again.
I love the HSPA speed, but having it cut out completely fairly often has become a huge annoyance.

Found another thread that had the same issue:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1069844&highlight=3g+hspa
But the people there weren't noticing any lag at all while on my phone, there is clearly no data transfer occurring when the phone displays 3G. Also, if this is indeed some sort of power save feature, shouldn't there be no flopping if you're actively browsing? I see it switching fairly regularly while browsing/downloading, and data completely stops when the phone switches to 3G.

Found a few other threads suggesting to set hsxpa=0 in the build.prop.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=911728
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=963780
However, once I did this, I still get the H/3G flipping which is odd since I thought the hsxpa=0 would disable H? What's going on here?

Played around with the numbers, and setting it to 1 forces 3G mode only. Hope this helps anyone else!