Database Users

Signal Strength with AT&T and Omnia 2

Does anyone know why my Omnia 2 gets weak signal strength on At&t. I rarely get the 3g network and, at most, get 1 bar. However, the internet works fine and I love the phone but don't know if I need to go to Verizon to get better reception.
Tried At&t support but, other than upgrading the sim card, they won"t do anything with a non-at&t device. And since it was bought before the phone was launched in the U.S. I can't get support from Samsung. Are there some settings on the phone that can be changed to improve reception? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated - thanks.
Here's the network specs for the phone: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/1900 MHz, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA5.76 Mbps

JohnHere999 said:
Does anyone know why my Omnia 2 gets weak signal strength on At&t. I rarely get the 3g network and, at most, get 1 bar. However, the internet works fine and I love the phone but don't know if I need to go to Verizon to get better reception.
Tried At&t support but, other than upgrading the sim card, they won"t do anything with a non-at&t device. And since it was bought before the phone was launched in the U.S. I can't get support from Samsung. Are there some settings on the phone that can be changed to improve reception? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated - thanks.
Here's the network specs for the phone: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/1900 MHz, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA5.76 Mbps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try changing your band settings to WCDMA then 850+1900. Works great for my Touch HD T8285.

almost there - thanks
Thanks for your reply. But, after surfing the net I still can't figure out how to change these settings on the Omnia 2, ok I don't know how to do it on any phone. Is this something easily done, and if so, how?

JohnHere999 said:
Thanks for your reply. But, after surfing the net I still can't figure out how to change these settings on the Omnia 2, ok I don't know how to do it on any phone. Is this something easily done, and if so, how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure on your phone but on mine go to settings, then phone, then band settings.

no band settings there either
Not that easy. I get phone, then settings, then the options are general, voice call, video call and message.
General sub folders are: call cost; caller id; own number; fixed dialing; auto answer; closed user group
Voice Call sub folders are: call barring, call forwarding, call waiting
Video Call - n/a
Message sub folders are call broadcast message, wap push message, voice mail, send text message options
I tried looking at the connections menu which yields:
My Internet - add a new modem; edit my proxy server; manage existing connections.
Manage existing allows you to change from media net or other connections and when you do that there are no options for changing band. Also if you try to create a new connection there is still no mention of band.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

I am not sure if your phone has 850mhz, as far as I Know the omnia 2 i8000 has 900/1900/2100 compatibility and maybe that is why you are getting so weak signal,

Only the Bell Canada Omnia2 has 850mhz + 1900mhz so unless you have this one it won't work well with at&t 3G.

rob3rtx said:
Only the Bell Canada Omnia2 has 850mhz + 1900mhz so unless you have this one it won't work well with at&t 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true, I have the GT I8000l version and the band settings are in the Omnia Settings/Network Settings/Band settings menu -- Mine is set to Automatic, though there are other choices including the WCDMA, GSM 900/1800 and GSM 850/1900. You must also enable HSPDA setting as well (same Network menu) and then reset your phone.
I get Great 3G+ / HSPDA speeds almost everywhere around Harrisburg, PA "EXCEPT" in my own HOME location (only Edge ) Just that I am behind a mountain so.....
Anyway, this lack of Home location 3G+ is causing me to place my Omnia 2 (Bell Canada version) up for sale as I was expecting 3G in my own home !!!! (probably going to Ebay this weekend. The phone is great though and the screen (OLED) is INCREDIBLE !!! I am running SPB mobile shell 3.0 (Lite rom installed) so phone is quite zippy without the widget mess though the original Bell rom can be reinstalled. ( I have on DVD ) Really ticked though about the lack of 3G* at home so I may be looking for HD2 or such --and settle for EDGE speed.
Thanks to XDA developers for considering and supporting some Non HTC phones such as OMNIA 2

Not true AT ALL!
rob3rtx said:
Only the Bell Canada Omnia2 has 850mhz + 1900mhz so unless you have this one it won't work well with at&t 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the original Omnia II with the 1900mhz band and have not had a single problem with excellent 3G speeds in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
I'm getting the exact same signal strengths I was getting when I had the ATT Fuze - which does have BOTH the 850 and the 1900 mhz bands.

technillion said:
I have the original Omnia II with the 1900mhz band and have not had a single problem with excellent 3G speeds in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
I'm getting the exact same signal strengths I was getting when I had the ATT Fuze - which does have BOTH the 850 and the 1900 mhz bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chicago might primarily be 1900mhz but Dallas (my home) and probably where the original poster is located is 850mhz so the i8000L from Bell would be a better choice and probably for everyone else so you could never be limited to 1900mhz.

CAL0613 said:
This is true, I have the GT I8000l version and the band settings are in the Omnia Settings/Network Settings/Band settings menu -- Mine is set to Automatic, though there are other choices including the WCDMA, GSM 900/1800 and GSM 850/1900. You must also enable HSPDA setting as well (same Network menu) and then reset your phone.
I get Great 3G+ / HSPDA speeds almost everywhere around Harrisburg, PA "EXCEPT" in my own HOME location (only Edge ) Just that I am behind a mountain so.....
Anyway, this lack of Home location 3G+ is causing me to place my Omnia 2 (Bell Canada version) up for sale as I was expecting 3G in my own home !!!! (probably going to Ebay this weekend. The phone is great though and the screen (OLED) is INCREDIBLE !!! I am running SPB mobile shell 3.0 (Lite rom installed) so phone is quite zippy without the widget mess though the original Bell rom can be reinstalled. ( I have on DVD ) Really ticked though about the lack of 3G* at home so I may be looking for HD2 or such --and settle for EDGE speed.
Thanks to XDA developers for considering and supporting some Non HTC phones such as OMNIA 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I loved the Omnia 2 but the lack of Roms and not having xda support (not such much anymore now i guess) made me sell it and go back to my Rogers Magic. I'll probably wait for the HTC Obsession or maybe the HTC Bravo as my next phone i definitely wanna check out Windows 7 when it comes out.

technillion said:
I have the original Omnia II with the 1900mhz band and have not had a single problem with excellent 3G speeds in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
I'm getting the exact same signal strengths I was getting when I had the ATT Fuze - which does have BOTH the 850 and the 1900 mhz bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you post your network settings?

I've had pretty good reception in the NYC area on 3G for the past 6 months... until today. Now my phone can get 3G and 3g+ reception but I can't get any data over 3G anymore. When I step down to EDGE, I can get data again. iPhone users seem to be fine. Anyone else having these problems in the NYC area?

Topaz does not work in US 3G network?

I got the Topaz from Europe, and I tried several ROMs but I just can't get it connected to the US 3G network. I heard the band is different, but is there any way that could possibly solve this problem?
Thanks so much in advance.

Also, is there a "2G" version of Topaz? If so, how can I tell if my phone is 3G or not?

No way to make it work, although if you are on att, you may get hsdpa in the few areas that actually have it. not sure what you mean by 2G, but it should connect to EDGE just fine

steamduck said:
Also, is there a "2G" version of Topaz? If so, how can I tell if my phone is 3G or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look a the band located in your phone's option section. 3G would work if UMTS is 850, 1900 coupled with WCDMA

T-mobile (USA) 3G

Hello, I am having trouble getting 3G working on my x10i. I have read through these forums and tried every apn settings I could find but still it only uses edge. T-mobile customer service tells me i have great 3g coverage in my area but that since its a non-tmobile phone it will not use 3G. Is this true or can anyone help? Right now im using epc.tmobile.com as my apn, data roaming on, and MMS & data turned on. Need more info just let me know.Thx for any help

check your sony ericsson xperia x10 box on the side, see if it said UMTS is saying "AWS1/AWS4/AWS8" if you are missing AWS4, then you will not be able to use T-mo USA 3G because T-mobile UMTS (3G) bandwidth frequency is 900 (AWS1) / 1700 (AWS4) / 2100 (AWS8)

i had a similar problem when my T-Mobile 3G constantly switched to Edge even when i had good coverage, i found this solution somewhere and it helped me, since then i was never dropped from 3G unless i had no bars... i would give this a try for your problem too.
1) enter in dialer the following: *#*#4636#*#*
2) select phone Information
3) press the menu button (left bottom hard key)
4) Select Radio Band
5) Select USA Band
6) Reboot Phone
This will narrow down your phone to USA 3G only, (if leaving the country you should switch back to automatic to get international 3G coverage), i found this also helpful for 3G speed and battery performance.

check your sony ericsson xperia x10 box on the side, see if it said UMTS is saying "AWS1/AWS4/AWS8" if you are missing AWS4, then you will not be able to use T-mo USA 3G because T-mobile UMTS (3G) bandwidth frequency is 900 (AWS1) / 1700 (AWS4) / 2100 (AWS8)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx for your replies , yes it says "UMTS/HSPA band 1/4/8" So should be possible.

1) enter in dialer the following: *#*#4636#*#*
2) select phone Information
3) press the menu button (left bottom hard key)
4) Select Radio Band
5) Select USA Band
6) Reboot Phone
This will narrow down your phone to USA 3G only, (if leaving the country you should switch back to automatic to get international 3G coverage), i found this also helpful for 3G speed and battery performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx for your reply, I tried this and i still see the E for edge. Could it have something to do with the fact that where i live is actually using a different tower than tmobile?

thx for your reply, I tried this and i still see the E for edge. Could it have something to do with the fact that where i live is actually using a different tower than tmobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt cause tmobile told you that your coverage is okay, it might be that you have an old sim card with no support for 3G, or Would say your phone is defective…
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Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App

try go to setting --->wireless controls --->Mobile Networks ----> Network mode
and select WCDMA only
see if it go back to 3G signal. For my area sometimes i stay on edge due to signal blocked by building walls....
by the way, will you get 3G signal when you are outside of your house or in a wide open area?

When i choose WCDMA i lose my cell signal completely. I have tmobile service but In my area it is always using centennial wireless towers for my signal, centennial was bought out by AT&T which have not yet switched their new towers to 3G yet. Could this be the problem? Thx

devilleather said:
When i choose WCDMA i lose my cell signal completely. I have tmobile service but In my area it is always using centennial wireless towers for my signal, centennial was bought out by AT&T which have not yet switched their new towers to 3G yet. Could this be the problem? Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you found the issue. If WCDMA only shows no signal at all, it means you do not have T-Mobile 3G in your area (I suspect the 1700 spectrum).
It looks like there is a roaming agreement in which T-mobile can "borrow" the AT&T tower. So, all you get is the GSM signal. Don't bother to wait for AT&T to get the tower to 3G...because, you know, it won't be the same 3G signal as T-mobile. AT&T operates 3G on 850 and 1900.
If that is the issue, maybe you have to switch to a X10a.

When i choose US band it says its unsuccessful? any ideas why???

How to enbale 3g on t-mobile tab using att sim

TRY the secret code of *#*#2263#*#* ? This will work on tmobile’s samsung vibrant. This will allow you to check mark the 850mhz and 1900 mhz frequency for att 3g network. If you are on tmobile it will need 1700 AWS and 2100 MHZ for tmobile 3g. I would check all the frequencies so you won’t have to worry about this anymore. Let me know if that works for you. Thanks

this is questionable...seeing that you spelled enable wrong..

Instead of being sarcastic , why don't you just try it. I was trying to be helpful to the forum since i have received so much useful knowledge from all of you collectively . I stumbled on this by accident so i thought i would share it

Sorry, even though the menu choices are there, the hardware isn't. The vibrant does have the ability to use all the frequencies, but not the tab. I think samsung used one menu for every tab model.
Anyway the code is *#2263#. Keep trying -- we need a solution!

How one can dial *#2263# on T-Mobile tab, which doesn't have the dialer?

joedoe said:
How one can dial *#2263# on T-Mobile tab, which doesn't have the dialer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or does it?
Seriously, this is the Dev section. Of course it does, With the right ROM.

joedoe said:
How one can dial *#2263# on T-Mobile tab, which doesn't have the dialer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash any rom besides a stock rom and you will have the phone dialer.

Heres what I don't get.. Why can't I select the 1700mhz band. When I do it selects the 900mhz band.
I am using Simple Mobile, so theres no way for Tmobile to block the IMEI number....
If I use a stock rom, it works 3g no problems.

The radio band is a limitation of the firmware on the device - the TMO devices are configured to only use the 1700/2100 AWS combination, while the AT&T variant is configured to use 850 or 1900. (Both also appear to work on the 2100 Euro frequency).
To change the available radio bands it appears that not only must we change the Android firmware & modem, but also we need to change the firmware for the RF amplifier chip which is sold by Infineon as being universal.
So far, nobody has figured out how to do this.
Hence we have the 2G limitation on the TMO tabs, and no way of switching between AT&T and TMO frequencies on the same tab.
The IMEI issue is a red herring that is only relevant if you are trying to use a regular TMO phone SIM from a normal TMO phone account in a Tab. They will not let you use a SIM from a standard phone account in your TAB because they want you to pay twice for the data - once for your phone, and again for the Tab. You can't simply drop your phone SIM into your tab whenever you want 3G data on your Tab. This is what they block by checking the IMEI number against your account type.
Sent from my SGH-T849 using XDA App

themachfive said:
Heres what I don't get.. Why can't I select the 1700mhz band. When I do it selects the 900mhz band.
I am using Simple Mobile, so theres no way for Tmobile to block the IMEI number....
If I use a stock rom, it works 3g no problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung uses the same service menu for all models of the tab, so all possible frequencies are on the menu. If there were no differences between carrier models we would ask have the same model number. Different models, carriers, hardware.

deleted...

rangercaptain said:
Samsung uses the same service menu for all models of the tab, so all possible frequencies are on the menu. If there were no differences between carrier models we would ask have the same model number. Different models, carriers, hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get that.. I come from the land of the HTC Leo. For a long time all we had was edge service, the RMNET 3g, then PPP 3g, then clockwork and finally true RMNET 3g. However, my thoughts are.. If the stock ROM comes with 3g service enabled, there has to be a way to suck out the guts that make it work. Also within our "phone" enabled roms there also has to be a way to split the data within the rom. Sorry if it makes sense to me but look at it like this.. Roto has a modem switcher, why couldn't we just code the rom while cooking to use one modem for data and the other for calls?
Just remember that no matter what device you are using, when on a phone call - Data does not work.
Please shed some light on the details I am missing..

themachfive said:
Heres what I don't get.. Why can't I select the 1700mhz band. When I do it selects the 900mhz band.
I am using Simple Mobile, so theres no way for Tmobile to block the IMEI number....
If I use a stock rom, it works 3g no problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait a minute... Did you flash a Euro ROM over a US TMO Tab?
if so, you should be able to use the Roto Modem switcher that will allow you to use the TMO U S modem if you need 3G, or switch to the Euro modem to do calls and EDGE...
otherwise, something here does not ad up...

themachfive said:
... If the stock ROM comes with 3g service enabled, there has to be a way to suck out the guts that make it work. Also ... Roto has a modem switcher, why couldn't we just code the rom while cooking to use one modem for data and the other for calls?
Please shed some light on the details I am missing..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Roto actually tried to hack together the data code from the stock TMO 3G modem with the voice bits from the Euro one, but was not able to get it to work. Others have tried to flash modems from the Samsung Vibrant (which is in theory the same device in phone clothes), but the Vibrant modems will not play nice with the Tab and will not support 3G even with the US firmware...
There is something under the hood that we are not able to access that is blocking full phone capability on the TMO tab.

rushstatus1 said:
TRY the secret code of *#*#2263#*#* ? This will work on tmobile’s samsung vibrant. This will allow you to check mark the 850mhz and 1900 mhz frequency for att 3g network. If you are on tmobile it will need 1700 AWS and 2100 MHZ for tmobile 3g. I would check all the frequencies so you won’t have to worry about this anymore. Let me know if that works for you. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it possible to use att tab with tmobile sim and get 3g+phone

themachfive said:
Roto has a modem switcher, why couldn't we just code the rom while cooking to use one modem for data and the other for calls?
Please shed some light on the details I am missing..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with your approach. The modem.bin files we use with the modem switch both do what we want, but are excluding some hardware options.
My idea would be for someone to open the two binary files side-by-side to compare and find the line that turns on/off the voice in the 2g and 3g modems.
To that end we have a bounty thread in the general section, to attract the talent and skill we need. Why not go make a pledge? The higher the sooner!

maxtcee said:
is it possible to use att tab with tmobile sim and get 3g+phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try that in a few and report back. Good idea.

---ATTENTION ALL--- hey guys the only dialer pads are from the euro roms which uses a diff freq then north america we would need to make an american rom with tmobile or att united states 3g freq's this is why u can either hav 3g data or cellular serves also for u guys that hav cellular in order to hav 3g data you would hav to trash ur imei and make a new one tmous has all galaxy tab imei's locked for data only.... hoped this helped u all and we are out here lookin and waitin... GoodDay

themachfive said:
Heres what I don't get.. Why can't I select the 1700mhz band. When I do it selects the 900mhz band.
I am using Simple Mobile, so theres no way for Tmobile to block the IMEI number....
If I use a stock rom, it works 3g no problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
according to roto, simple mobile uses tmobile infrastructure, so the speculation is that tmobile is still effectively blocking the imei.

1700 and 2100 wcdma on N7100 intational

So I was playing around with my unlocked note nd I found a selection of bands nd I can select them but not sure yet if it does unable 1700 nd 2100 bands to work on wind mobile or tmobile any ideas ive the pictures

What code did you enter to find those options?

Note 1 had the same menu options.
It doesn't mean anything without actual support in the phone.
I assume, like the Note 1, if you turn those on your phone is going to reject your sim card.
- Frank

Hi just peeked into this and was able to select 1700 band, go to comi bands and select 1700 wcdma and any other missing band and it will be selected. If it makes any difference i dont know since im in a good refarm area for tmobile.

ronj1986 said:
What code did you enter to find those options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*#197328640# nd Debug screen band selection youll find everything

ChodTheWacko said:
Note 1 had the same menu options.
It doesn't mean anything without actual support in the phone.
I assume, like the Note 1, if you turn those on your phone is going to reject your sim card.
- Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you right I used to own a note 1 but never tried it only if one can try nd see what happens because my sim is not getting rejected but I dont have a wind or tmobile to test with

5800xm_user said:
Hi just peeked into this and was able to select 1700 band, go to comi bands and select 1700 wcdma and any other missing band and it will be selected. If it makes any difference i dont know since im in a good refarm area for tmobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By the sound of it our hardware just don't have the bands but yet we can select them kinda strange but if you could try using tmobile sim let use know what happens

I was able to do this also, with the leaked XXDLJ2 FW (4.1.2) - I tried with earlier FW before and couldn';t get into the menu - could be total noob error though...
Remove SIM card first.
Then power up Phone, dial #*197328640*
Select: DEBUG/PHONE CONTROL/NETWORK CONTROL/SELECT WCDMA BANDS
from there, it seems you can select ALL, or add the bands you want. (I'm on TMO USA so I selected 1700/1900/2100)
Now, what I don't know is...once you re-insert the SIM ( and you have to power cycle to do that) does the TMO SIM override the changes I just made? I have very weak 4G near my house so I cannot check if 4G is working or not.
CORRECTION: Forget what I said about removing SIM card !!! I was able to access the menu with the SIM inserted, and it looks like my settings are holding ( there's an asterisk next to the WCDMA bands I chose). This is promising!

I did this on a stock rom and after rebooting settings stay the same. Cant tell if itll make any difference since im at work and dont get good coverage. Will report as soon as i can and im on tmobile california

Sadly, it appears that any other setting than Automatic will disable WCDMA altogether - I sat in my car for 20 minutes right under a cell tower tryin to make it work, but was stuck on Edge...as soon as I selected AUTO, my phone jumped to H+ ...and it was on the 1900 Band since the 1700 band is automatically unchecked when switching to Auto. Oh well...gotta wait for the damn TMo refarm then.

The TMUS reframe is killin' me. Neither my house or work are in a reframed area. However, there are several points on my commute that are reframed, and I did have a chance to eat dinner in one. Holy moly is HSPA+ fast! EDGE is virtually useless with these devices.

McNoob said:
Sadly, it appears that any other setting than Automatic will disable WCDMA altogether - I sat in my car for 20 minutes right under a cell tower tryin to make it work, but was stuck on Edge...as soon as I selected AUTO, my phone jumped to H+ ...and it was on the 1900 Band since the 1700 band is automatically unchecked when switching to Auto. Oh well...gotta wait for the damn TMo refarm then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can select mulit bands that way you dont have to use auto as it does turn em off ,i used the last selection it lets you select what you want

Sorry to check in late but with these changes I notice that my signal sticks to 2g and barely wants to switch to H or H+. Maybe when Im off work Im gonna try to select all wcdma band and switch to wcdma only in network mode. when selecting network mode i notice it changes all the settings in the service menu.

leeroy1034 said:
you can select mulit bands that way you dont have to use auto as it does turn em off ,i used the last selection it lets you select what you want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what I've been doing - COMBI BANDS, and add GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 1700/1900/2100.
But it didn't work for me, phone remains stuck on EDGE -

I dont think this does much only put me in Edge mode or no data at all. Its weird that theres an option for it. So ya no luck here...