Database Users

gps when traveling

I have verizon wireless. My GPS works great at home (CT and NY) I have also traveled to Atlanta Georgia and had no issues. I was in Houston Texas this weekend and at no point could I get the GPS to work. I did not see any indicator telling me I was roaming or anything....
Anyone have any ideas on why my gps would not work in Texas?

Look at the last few pages of the following link if you are using agps for ip address changes.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=424387
If you are using standalone gps, what are your current settings because you should have no problems.

I live in Houston and believe me, I lose GPS all over the city. It is odd though. I live in the Clear Lake Area. If I pick up signal before I leave my house, it will not drop as long as Google Maps stays open. If I try to get GPS signal nearly anywhere, it doesn't work. I am using a custom 6.1 ROM, Verizon, built in GPS. I don't know the specifics on my ROM but I can get details. What area of Houston did you stay in out of curiosity ?

Woovie said:
What area of Houston did you stay in out of curiosity ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From George Bush airport to Reliant Stadium... and about a 20 mile radius of the stadium.

The suburbs I find I can get a much better signal. The inner city and rural areas it is hard to connect.

Well.. now GPS isn't working at all... I will need to look for that AGPS IP change.
Ever since the AGPS ip was discovered several months back, my GPS has been 100% fast and reliable... I used it from CT to Laguardia airport last Friday, got to Houston and .... nothing. As soon as I was back in NY (3 days later), I used it to get from the airport home.. no problem. After that, it will no longer work. Been trying for a few days now.

It's working now... at least at home.
An update for anyone who reads this....
My GPS is working again. 10 - 30 second locks.
I fixed it by using QPST and changing my Verizon AGPS IP to the Telus AGPS IP.
The post I used was located here:
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showpost.php?p=793028&postcount=43
Run the QPST fix and subsitute these settings:
PDE IP Address = 216.198.139.92
PDE Port Number = 8889
PDE Transport = IP
Position Calculation = PDE
Change/add these registry settings:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\SUPL AGPS]
"GPSMode"=4
"EnableAGPS"=1
"EnableGPSSmartMode"=1
My original IP and port were 66.174.95.132 Port 8888
Changing to 216.198.139.92 Port 8889 is working great.

I cant hold 4g for ****... Should I take it back?

Alright. I cant hold a 4g signal long at all. Funny thing is my dad has an evo and 4g, his holds forever. Should I de-root my phone and take it back or could this be normal. As in some phones can pull the signal better than others?

mroneeyedboh said:
Alright. I cant hold a 4g signal long at all. Funny thing is my dad has an evo and 4g, his holds forever. Should I de-root my phone and take it back or could this be normal. As in some phones can pull the signal better than others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a phone specific issue.
You could try updating your radio to the newest WiMax version.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715485
If that doesn't work then I would get a replacement.

It's not difficult to flash your radios and the chance of bricking your phone is so small. You really should update your radio/WiMax at least in my opinion. Then maybe the PRI/PRL. Just check Calk's thread and you'll be fine

I did both of them and nothing still.

alright this is whack. I de-root my phone and I get 4g back..

mroneeyedboh said:
alright this is whack. I de-root my phone and I get 4g back..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try a different Rom.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Alright. Will do. My dad is on warmtwopointwo and hes holding it. but like I said I flashed back to stock non root etc etc and and now im holding 4g fine... for around 15 minutes.

4 steps to tweak your 4G connection
mroneeyedboh said:
Alright. I cant hold a 4g signal long at all. Funny thing is my dad has an evo and 4g, his holds forever. Should I de-root my phone and take it back or could this be normal. As in some phones can pull the signal better than others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TRY THIS (i picked this up off the DEV forums back in July and works perfectly for me and my buddies)
First call sprint and ask them for you MSL code (6 digits) they will give you the code no problem.
TURN OFF YOUR 4G *** MAKE SURE 4G IS OFF ***
1. Dial ##3282# hit edit enter the MSL code sprint gave you and click on Wimax.
2. Scroll down to WiMax_Entry_RX(RSSI)(dbm) - click on it and change the value from -89 to anything from -100 to -110 (this will allow your phone to connect to weaker 4G signals). Mine is set at -100.
3. Scroll down to WiMax_Exit_Delay(s) - change that value to 15 (which is 15 seconds) so you will stay connected to 4G longer when the signal drops and you wont get dumped right into 3G.
4. Then hit menu and commit modifications - you phone should reset - if those two dont help just PM me and i can walk through some of the other tweaks in that menu.
YMMV but i have done this to my EVO and 3 of my buddies and it works great as you can pick up a 4G signal where others cannot and you can stay on the 4G network longer than anyone else when the signal drops.

mikeinghilterra said:
TRY THIS (i picked this up off the DEV forums back in July and works perfectly for me and my buddies)
First call sprint and ask them for you MSL code (6 digits) they will give you the code no problem.
TURN OFF YOUR 4G *** MAKE SURE 4G IS OFF ***
1. Dial ##3282# hit edit enter the MSL code sprint gave you and click on Wimax.
2. Scroll down to WiMax_Entry_RX(RSSI)(dbm) - click on it and change the value from -89 to anything from -100 to -110 (this will allow your phone to connect to weaker 4G signals). Mine is set at -100.
3. Scroll down to WiMax_Exit_Delay(s) - change that value to 15 (which is 15 seconds) so you will stay connected to 4G longer when the signal drops and you wont get dumped right into 3G.
4. Then hit menu and commit modifications - you phone should reset - if those two dont help just PM me and i can walk through some of the other tweaks in that menu.
YMMV but i have done this to my EVO and 3 of my buddies and it works great as you can pick up a 4G signal where others cannot and you can stay on the 4G network longer than anyone else when the signal drops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't you get better transfer rate on a strong 3G signal than a very weak 4G signal?
what's the point of staying connected to 4G longer when the signal is gone? if there's no signal, there's no signal...why wait longer for it to connect to 3G so you can keep doing what you were doing?

mikeinghilterra said:
TRY THIS (i picked this up off the DEV forums back in July and works perfectly for me and my buddies)
First call sprint and ask them for you MSL code (6 digits) they will give you the code no problem.
TURN OFF YOUR 4G *** MAKE SURE 4G IS OFF ***
1. Dial ##3282# hit edit enter the MSL code sprint gave you and click on Wimax.
2. Scroll down to WiMax_Entry_RX(RSSI)(dbm) - click on it and change the value from -89 to anything from -100 to -110 (this will allow your phone to connect to weaker 4G signals). Mine is set at -100.
3. Scroll down to WiMax_Exit_Delay(s) - change that value to 15 (which is 15 seconds) so you will stay connected to 4G longer when the signal drops and you wont get dumped right into 3G.
4. Then hit menu and commit modifications - you phone should reset - if those two dont help just PM me and i can walk through some of the other tweaks in that menu.
YMMV but i have done this to my EVO and 3 of my buddies and it works great as you can pick up a 4G signal where others cannot and you can stay on the 4G network longer than anyone else when the signal drops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on this. Also check out the thread to connect to 4G sooner (I'll dig up the link here after lunch if no one else does)
I only get to use 4g while on the interstate, but there were huge patches of it where I would get disconnected. Now I can drive all the way to work, connected, without a drop.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=726877&highlight=##3282#

Since you're rooted you can just download msl reader from the market instead of having to call sprint and all that.

postwick said:
don't you get better transfer rate on a strong 3G signal than a very weak 4G signal?
what's the point of staying connected to 4G longer when the signal is gone? if there's no signal, there's no signal...why wait longer for it to connect to 3G so you can keep doing what you were doing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, you can download faster on a strong 3G signal; however, if you are downloading a large file (got ROMs?) if you are mobile and come across a dip in reception and your signal is dropped...so is your download. Now in my case on the interstate, I would drop out of 4G twice on the way to work for aboutfive miles each time. I set my minimum connection to -98 db and it never drops the connection and I never have less than one bar. If it has nothing it will only be for a couple seconds if that, but I never have an interrupted connection.

whoa thanks guys. long story short. I was going to take it back so S-off'ed it and derooted it. I said Hmm 4g is now on... So then I rerooted and from flashing the PC36IMG file to deroot my evo, it must have changed my boot loader to 2.10 from 2.02...
None the less Its all good now. I just finished the root and when I got into the rom ( sprint lovers, its inlcuded with the savior method ) I had 4g, I then nand'ed and Now It just rebooted and IM in 4g with 2 bars on the 4g icon.
My dad is rockin Myn's warm and he has 4g all day. Oringally on my first root I did Fresh and I think that crunked up my ****. Weird thing is that I held onto my RSAs and MACs all matched, just didnt want to fire up. I did try to update radios etc and nothing.
And the other thing is that where I live is a 4g in buildings area, so I know something was acting up. Im going to flash Myns and see what I get.
And is that 4G fix really worth it?

Yes
::10Char::

topdawgn8 said:
You're right, you can download faster on a strong 3G signal; however, if you are downloading a large file (got ROMs?) if you are mobile and come across a dip in reception and your signal is dropped...so is your download. Now in my case on the interstate, I would drop out of 4G twice on the way to work for aboutfive miles each time. I set my minimum connection to -98 db and it never drops the connection and I never have less than one bar. If it has nothing it will only be for a couple seconds if that, but I never have an interrupted connection.
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Click to collapse
cool, thanks for the explanation. makes sense that you don't want to drop your downloads...are there any download utilities out there that could help with this, like the ones for regular PCs? it could be very useful to have an app that will resume a download when the connection comes back.
anyway, thanks for posting those settings and how to get in there, could come in very handy in the future.

in theory that would make sense but i can still download at 2 mb/s on 1 bar or less using 4G in NYC where as if i was on 3G i would have full strength and would probably only hit 1 mb/s

postwick said:
cool, thanks for the explanation. makes sense that you don't want to drop your downloads...are there any download utilities out there that could help with this, like the ones for regular PCs? it could be very useful to have an app that will resume a download when the connection comes back.
anyway, thanks for posting those settings and how to get in there, could come in very handy in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only client-side apps that handle downloads for me are the torrent apps, but that's just inherent in how torrents work. I haven't come across a download manager like you describe. The download management in Android will wait for a connection if you lose signal using the same radio, preserving the integrity of the file, but it doesn't handle the switching from 3G to 4G well in my experience...it always drops the download.

[GUIDE] Noobs Guide to a Better 4G signal/speed for your Shift

Being a noob myself, I spent allot of time doing my research and figuring things out. I thought I would share. These mods are a reproduction of the original author(s) so all the credit goes to them for their original work.
Let's get to work!
Prerequisites:
A Rooted Sense Rom. Either Stock Rooted or MikShift Rom.
Download and install MSL Reader from Android Market ('M'aster 'S'ubsidy
'L'ock)
Download and install Speed Test from Android Market
NANDroid BACKUP! Because ya never know.
Turn off wireless radio.
Turn on 4g radio.
Now that we have that all done we can move on to the good stuff.
Run Speed Test a few times to get an average upload and download speed for your current settings. Do this for comparison purposes.
Run MSL Reader to get your MSL. Write it down.
Open Phone Dial pad and enter ##3282#
EPST Window will open, Select Edit Mode
Please Enter Password window will popup, Enter your MSL here.
Select WiMAX option.
In the WiMAX options, select WiMAX_Scan_Retry(s). Note your default value and write it down so that you can set it back if you have to.
Change WiMAX_Scan_Retry(s) to 15
Select WiMAX_Idle_Sleep(s). Write down default value.
Change WiMAX_Idle_Sleep(s) to 30
Select WiMAX_Entry_RX(RSSI)(dBm). Write down the default value.
Now this option (WiMAX_Entry_RX(RSSI)(dBm) can be adjusted between -89 to -110. I have mine set to -94. I changed this value a few times to find the best download and upload speeds. First finish the rest of this guide before testing different values.
Select WiMAX_Entry_Delay(s). Write down the default value.
Change WiMAX_Entry_Delay(s) to 1
press your [menu] button and select commit changes. This could take a minute or two. Once the settings are saved your device will reboot.
Test to confirm better signal strength and speeds.
Enjoy.

I did this a few days ago and noticed I get much better 4g reception in areas that I didn't used to get it. I set my WiMAX_Entry_RX to -89 which is the strongest.

I think most people will probably use that value and where I am that
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

Im assuming that these changes will stick if i NANDroid back to my CM7?

Yes
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

I'm an epic user, perhaps soon to be speedy user, who has done this mod. All the entry rx seting does is adjust the signal strength required to connect. For example, if you set the entryRx value to -89dbm the weakest signal wimax will connect to is -89dbm. Speed should not be affected by this mod but coverage definitely is. I recommend everyone set their entryRx to -110dbm.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

lynyrd65 said:
I recommend everyone set their entryRx to -110dbm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a reason you're suggesting this??? I'd rather have a little bit weaker signal than no signal at all. To be honest I have noticed a pretty significant increase in speed. Before I used to only get 4-5Mbps now i'm seeing more 6-7Mbps on my -89 setting.

Chrscott22 said:
Is there a reason you're suggesting this??? I'd rather have a little bit weaker signal than no signal at all. To be honest I have noticed a pretty significant increase in speed. Before I used to only get 4-5Mbps now i'm seeing more 6-7Mbps on my -89 setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you raise the setting to -89dbM you make it so the signal has to be greater than or equal to -89dbM so networks with a rating of -91 to -110 dbm will be dismissed by the radio as too weak and it will not connect to them.
If your speeds have gone up with the higher signal strength requirement then try both settings a few times in the same location and if your theory still holds to be true then you have discovered something interesting,
TL DR : -89dbm is stronger than -110dbm

what im starting to notice with -110 set, sure itll connect in places it wouldnt for me but itll constantly hang and dis/reconnect when I try to use it....
i can't connect at -89 at all at my home but with -110 i have spots in my house and yard that i can get a bar but with probs stated above....
I have had mik, stock, cm7 all with the same results....
My townhome is literally 25 feet out of good to perfect 4g coverage
i'm in the middle of 3 towers and can connect to two of them from my home.....
I'm thinking sprint set it at -89dbm since any connection above that was possibly deemed unstable....

minlo said:
what im starting to notice with -110 set, sure itll connect in places it wouldnt for me but itll constantly hang and dis/reconnect when I try to use it....
i can't connect at -89 at all at my home but with -110 i have spots in my house and yard that i can get a bar but with probs stated above....
I'm thinking sprint set it at -89dbm since any connection above that was possibly deemed unstable....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course you're seeing this at 110. You told your phone to pick up the most distant, unclear signal it can possibly see. Which, in most cases is NOT ENOUGH for stable communications.
Sprint set it to the value they did for 100% reliable, every time, but due to the nature of the 4G and it's low penetration power, eh, not saying much. LOL

Compusmurf said:
Of course you're seeing this at 110. You told your phone to pick up the most distant, unclear signal it can possibly see. Which, in most cases is NOT ENOUGH for stable communications.
Sprint set it to the value they did for 100% reliable, every time, but due to the nature of the 4G and it's low penetration power, eh, not saying much. LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So would you say this is sorta a pointless change?
Yeah I wish wimax was on nextels 800mhz bandwith lot....

Since the New Update, I haven't had the 4G handoff issue.

I've been using MikG but I assume the new update may have this same fix.
Riding on I-95N in the car, I was able to hold the connection from Aston, PA all the way into Center City Philadelphia, without 4G going in & out en-route.
My 4G speeds are also better at the office, same # of bars though.
I just wanted to confirm if other people elsewhere had a similar experience, especially in my area.
I'll check & see if I get the same result on the way back home on the NE-Corridor.

20-50kbps on T-Mobile

I'm getting some ridiculously slow download speeds on T-Mobile where I live. Just done a SpeedTest, er, test, and had 21kbps download speed with 800ms ping but oddly a 800kbps upload speed.
I've often been in our local Tesco with great reception but unable to check something because the internet is sooo slow and did a test there a while ago and had single digit speeds :S Occasionally in the front of my house I can get a H+ instead of just H and it'll sometimes go up to 800kbps download. Been out tonight somewhere where I had over 3Mbps so something not right.
Sometimes I'm sure I also have a problem when the phone doesn't know whether to use Orange or T-Mobile masts. Before I could tell which it was connected to but now it just says EE.
Any ideas? Should I contact T-Mobile and tell them about the problem?

Chrissssssss said:
I'm getting some ridiculously slow download speeds on T-Mobile where I live. Just done a SpeedTest, er, test, and had 21kbps download speed with 800ms ping but oddly a 800kbps upload speed.
I've often been in our local Tesco with great reception but unable to check something because the internet is sooo slow and did a test there a while ago and had single digit speeds :S Occasionally in the front of my house I can get a H+ instead of just H and it'll sometimes go up to 800kbps download. Been out tonight somewhere where I had over 3Mbps so something not right.
Sometimes I'm sure I also have a problem when the phone doesn't know whether to use Orange or T-Mobile masts. Before I could tell which it was connected to but now it just says EE.
Any ideas? Should I contact T-Mobile and tell them about the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many variables impact your connection speed, distance from mast, how you hold the device, power saving on the device, other EM fields, big buildings, 30 other people all trying to hit the same time as you.
To me it dosent sound like you have a problem just the normal experiences of anyone moving between cells and seeing different results.

You're probably right, I just find it really annoying when it will hardly work at all, even for basic mobile sites. I've left my phone in the window sill in the back room, no idea where the nearest mast is, just done a couple of tests and had anywhere from 17-300kbps. The uploads are always really quick though.
Hmm, just now connected to H+ without moving/touching the phone (apart from the screen) and jumped up to 1479kbps but oddly only a 97kbps upload!

Many areas are currently being upgraded or serviced for hspa+ speeds. During this work you're speeds will be horrendous at times. Check with your local corporate store to see if they've been advised about it.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

Interesting. I just switched my network mode to WCDMA only, searched for mobile networks and tried both the EEs listed. The second one I am guessing is T-Mobile which I think I have forced my phone to connect to.
It's now showing 3G when no network being used then switched to H+ and so far I'm getting 300-1.5Mbps. This could be good <fingers crossed>

I shall leave it connected to this I think, at least until I am somewhere with bad reception. I shall try the test in work tomorrow because I was having the same problem in work today too. It may just be that the Orange signal is sllooowwww. Actually be interesting to try the same on my wife's mobile as she is on Orange.

OMG. This is soooo much better. No more waiting for my phone to decide which network it wants to connect to, or changing its mind while starting to load a website then stopping. It's just working as I would expect it to now!
Apart from the fact that it resets after a reboot

Going by the MNC it's actually Orange that is quicker where I live even though the phone thinks the signal is worse. Where I'm working it's the opposite, rubbish signal connected to T-Mobile but quicker download speeds. Orange was fast at 9am this morning but dropped right down now, I assume other people using it.
Also when moving between masts the network goes back to auto so I can't permanently select one network. I wonder if it's the better signal getting to many phones connected to it during the day and becoming too slow. I will have to investigate and try different times of day.