I have a Sprint Tri-Band Galaxy S4. For the past two weeks, I have had no signal in my house.
I talked Sprint into sending me a Airave 2.5+ at no cost. After I set it up, still no bars.
I tried my wife's flip phone and it got 5 bars.
When troubleshooting my Galaxy S4, I first checked "Network Mode" in Settings, it was on "Automatic".
I switched to "CMDA" and got 5 bars, but no LTE Data, only 3G.
When I tried "LTE/CMDA" I got LTE back (Not from the Airave), but no voice.
Which brings us to my question -- Why no CMDA voice in "Automatic" ??
Then just to test, I turned the Airave off, I now had 3 bars in my house from the Sprint tower.
Switching to "Automatic" left me with 0 bars again.
I would think with no signal in "Automatic" mode, it would then seek other bands and find the signal.
I can only guess that "Automatic" seeks the 1900 Mhz band, and Airave is on 800 Mhz.
I can't be absolutely sure because Sprint won't tell me.
If I'm right, why won't my Tri-Band Galaxy S4 find the signal on 800 Mhz??
Just to answer your question about your gs4 and airave it took my gs4 about 3 weeks to be fully functional with it to where it would show the correct signal and be able to send texts.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
daniel4653 said:
Just to answer your question about your gs4 and airave it took my gs4 about 3 weeks to be fully functional with it to where it would show the correct signal and be able to send texts.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Daniel,
My S4 locked on to the Airave as soon as I put it in "CDMA" mode.
My question is: Why won't my GS4 see a CMDA signal when in "Automatic" mode?
jnichols2 said:
Daniel,
My S4 locked on to the Airave as soon as I put it in "CDMA" mode.
My question is: Why won't my GS4 see a CMDA signal when in "Automatic" mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you have your s4 on automatic? I have it on CDMA+LTE+EVDO.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
daniel4653 said:
Why do you have your s4 on automatic? I have it on CDMA+LTE+EVDO.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have it on automatic, I have it on CDMA in order to connect with my Airave.
My house doesn't get a strong enough voice signal, so I got the Airave.
But now I only can receive EVDO/3G data. No LTE.
I have different options than you: (I have no CMDA+LTE+EVDO mode)
LTE/CDMA receives LTE, but for some reason won't connect with the Airave.
AUTOMATIC also gets LTE, but won't connect with the Airave.
CDMA connects with the Airave. It receives EVDO from the Airave, or 3G when connecting to a Sprint tower.
AUTOMATIC should connect with the Airave with EVDO data inside my house, or a Sprint tower with LTE when near enough.
I had same thing happen while on a galaxy S 4. I decided to use my insurance and exchange the gs4 for a new one. I thought maybe mine was broken. Asurion sent me a triband Sprint Spark Galaxy S4. I was so excited to see the new speeds. Unfortunately, I still have no network connection while in Automatic mode. CDMA is the only network mode that has worked going on three weeks now. I will update when I can connect to the network on anything besides CDMA.
Sent from my SPH-L720T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
fl3tchju5TIN said:
I had same thing happen while on a galaxy S 4. I decided to use my insurance and exchange the gs4 for a new one. I thought maybe mine was broken. Asurion sent me a triband Sprint Spark Galaxy S4. I was so excited to see the new speeds. Unfortunately, I still have no network connection while in Automatic mode. CDMA is the only network mode that has worked going on three weeks now. I will update when I can connect to the network on anything besides CDMA.
Sent from my SPH-L720T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was time to take the dog for a walk, so I did an experiment.
1. Before leaving the house: CDMA mode has EVDO data and 5 voice bars from the Airave.
2. Switched to AUTOMATIC and rebooted. Had LTE data with no voice bars.
3. One block from house got 3 voice bars to go with the LTE, increased to 5 bars as I went.
4. On return, lost all voice bars near my house, still had LTE.
5. Inside I switched back to CDMA, again got 5 voice bars and EVDO data.
I made 10 trips to the Sprint Store and emailed Customer Care 5 times. If they had told me I could get a signal in CDMA, I wouldn't have the Airave now. All their "Help" info said they broadcast voice on 1900 MHz CMDA and very little else.
What I now suspect is the Airave broadcasts CMDA/EVDO on 1900 MHz, Sprint also broadcasts it from their towers. Sprint is having LTE growing pains, and the signal is too weak at my house.
Unfortunately, the Spark GS4 does not seem switch from LTE to CDMA automatically, so it must be manually put in CMDA mode.
I have two towers near my home, each is about 1 mile away. I worked with microwave and radar transmitters until I retired. LTE at1900 MHz should be able to reach much more than a mile and penetrate a normal house -- unless the transmitted power is VERY low. AM radio, at 530 - 1700 MHz does it over far greated distances.
It also makes sense that my SG4 should be able to switch from LTE to CDMA while seeking, but it obviously can't.
jnichols2 said:
I don't have it on automatic, I have it on CDMA in order to connect with my Airave.
My house doesn't get a strong enough voice signal, so I got the Airave.
But now I only can receive EVDO/3G data. No LTE.
I have different options than you: (I have no CMDA+LTE+EVDO mode)
LTE/CDMA receives LTE, but for some reason won't connect with the Airave.
AUTOMATIC also gets LTE, but won't connect with the Airave.
CDMA connects with the Airave. It receives EVDO from the Airave, or 3G when connecting to a Sprint tower.
AUTOMATIC should connect with the Airave with EVDO data inside my house, or a Sprint tower with LTE when near enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry meant LTE+CDMA, when I'm that my phone connects to airave and I can send messages and have 3g connection. But while connected to airave you cannot connect to LTE. I have LTE outside of my house, but once I connect to the airave by walking in I lose LTE and connect to 3G. So if you want LTE in your home you would have to shut off airave which means not having the stomg signal indoors. Its a tradeoff.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
Jnichols2:
Let me help out on this one...
Bottom line, set it to automatic network selection, disable wi-fi "smart mode" and update your PRL (in the sydtem updates screen). Do this with the airave plugged in and connected, then do it again with the airave unplugged or away from the house. Once I did that, mine has never had an issue.
I got an airave about a year ago and took a peek "under the hood" with a spectrum analyzer. I have only ever seen the airave use the 1900 MHz PCS band, never the 800 MHz. And, yes, that means no LTE radio through the airave, only 3G.
My guess is that your device "thinks" it has a tri-band LTE signal, but the nearest tower is missing the 2.5 GHz band...
In that case, PRL update should grab the correct info.
If you are in a triband (Spark) area, then you can't do voice and data at the same time, but data is supposed to be pre-empted, not voice. One ithing to try- connect to a wifi network while on LTE and see if you can make a call.
Daniel,
I can't connect to the Airave in LTE/CDMA mode.
It may be that I have a strong LTE signal in my house. The voice signal is 1 bar or less.
Or, it may be that I have a tri-band device.
Bolo,
I tried what you wote, but it will only connect to the Airave in CDMA mode.
Both,
I guess I can live with the situation.
I have a very fast Wi-Fi signal, and I use very little data when out of the house.
I basically just check email and the weather outside.
If I want to watch a movie, I can switch back to automatic mode.
I have googled a lot on the issue, and kind of understand it's an issue with the TriBand S4 and Sprint towers.
It will lock on any LTE signal, no matter how weak.
It will only switch to CMDA if there is no signal at all, that happens in the CMDA only mode.
Sprint is promising to correct it.
jnichols2 said:
I have a Sprint Tri-Band Galaxy S4. For the past two weeks, I have had no signal in my house.
I talked Sprint into sending me a Airave 2.5+ at no cost. After I set it up, still no bars.
I tried my wife's flip phone and it got 5 bars.
When troubleshooting my Galaxy S4, I first checked "Network Mode" in Settings, it was on "Automatic".
I switched to "CMDA" and got 5 bars, but no LTE Data, only 3G.
When I tried "LTE/CMDA" I got LTE back (Not from the Airave), but no voice.
Which brings us to my question -- Why no CMDA voice in "Automatic" ??
Then just to test, I turned the Airave off, I now had 3 bars in my house from the Sprint tower.
Switching to "Automatic" left me with 0 bars again.
I would think with no signal in "Automatic" mode, it would then seek other bands and find the signal.
I can only guess that "Automatic" seeks the 1900 Mhz band, and Airave is on 800 Mhz.
I can't be absolutely sure because Sprint won't tell me.
If I'm right, why won't my Tri-Band Galaxy S4 find the signal on 800 Mhz??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer some of your questions:
The tri-band Galaxy S4 is tri band because it operates on three different kinds of signals: CDMA, LTE, and GSM. The latter is only used if it is unlocked for a GSM carrier (T-Mobile, AT&T, etc) or if it is being used internationally in a GSM tower. CDMA is what the voice and 3G/2G(1XRTT) operates off of, LTE is your 4G data services. Those are the two primary antennas used. If you have it set to CDMA only, it will only use voice and 3G services. If you have it set for CDMA/LTE it will use voice, 3G, and 4G (if available), but will not look for GSM towers. Automatic will look to connect to any of those, but will not connect to GSM unless unlocked to do so.
Now, as far as why it isn't working on your airave, if could be a couple things. The most likely is that it isn't compatible with your airave. It has nothing to do with the frequency the airave is using. There are several new phones that the airaves aren't yet compatible with. Assuming that's not the case, you could have a defective phone.
Another fun thing in the mix is the fact that the tri-band S4 is Sprint Spark capable, and for some reason Spark has been causing a ton of issues on phones (i.e. not calling, not texting, no data, freezing the phone up, etc), even in areas that don't have Spark up and running yet. So it's also very possible that these issues lie in the fact that the phone is Spark capable, which may persist even if you get the phone replaced.
There is a good possibility that you may be having Spark issues because right now the work around for phones experiencing issues with Spark phones is to put the network on CDMA only, which you said has given you some relief from your problems. The downside of that is that your 4G won't work with it on CDMA only.
Of course this isn't very good news, but hopefully that sheds some light on your situation.
wizholt7 said:
To answer some of your questions:
The tri-band Galaxy S4 is tri band because it operates on three different kinds of signals: CDMA, LTE, and GSM. The latter is only used if it is unlocked for a GSM carrier (T-Mobile, AT&T, etc) or if it is being used internationally in a GSM tower. CDMA is what the voice and 3G/2G(1XRTT) operates off of, LTE is your 4G data services. Those are the two primary antennas used. If you have it set to CDMA only, it will only use voice and 3G services. If you have it set for CDMA/LTE it will use voice, 3G, and 4G (if available), but will not look for GSM towers. Automatic will look to connect to any of those, but will not connect to GSM unless unlocked to do so.
Now, as far as why it isn't working on your airave, if could be a couple things. The most likely is that it isn't compatible with your airave. It has nothing to do with the frequency the airave is using. There are several new phones that the airaves aren't yet compatible with. Assuming that's not the case, you could have a defective phone.
Another fun thing in the mix is the fact that the tri-band S4 is Sprint Spark capable, and for some reason Spark has been causing a ton of issues on phones (i.e. not calling, not texting, no data, freezing the phone up, etc), even in areas that don't have Spark up and running yet. So it's also very possible that these issues lie in the fact that the phone is Spark capable, which may persist even if you get the phone replaced.
There is a good possibility that you may be having Spark issues because right now the work around for phones experiencing issues with Spark phones is to put the network on CDMA only, which you said has given you some relief from your problems. The downside of that is that your 4G won't work with it on CDMA only.
Of course this isn't very good news, but hopefully that sheds some light on your situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wiz,
I've already googled enough to figure most of this out. It seems the S4 Spark has problems switching from LTE to CDMA.
It's not a huge problem leaving it in CDMA. The Airave 3G is pretty slow, but I have a fast Wi-Fi at home. On my walk this morning, I was able to get 950 KBs on the Sprint 3G. If I need more, I can just switch to LTE.
I understand the S5 and Spark EVO are having the same issue. No doubt, Sprint and Samsung will work out a patch.
jnichols2 said:
Wiz,
I've already googled enough to figure most of this out. It seems the S4 Spark has problems switching from LTE to CDMA.
It's not a huge problem leaving it in CDMA. The Airave 3G is pretty slow, but I have a fast Wi-Fi at home. On my walk this morning, I was able to get 950 KBs on the Sprint 3G. If I need more, I can just switch to LTE.
I understand the S5 and Spark EVO are having the same issue. No doubt, Sprint and Samsung will work out a patch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully so! Right now network speeds are HORRIBLE where I'm at (Elizabethtown, KY), 3g is about 100kbps on a good day and 4g is anywhere from 200kbps to 1.5 mbps
i had this same problem
i did ##72786# after talking to customer care.... and it worked.. i'm not sure if they changed something or refreshed something on my account to reset it..
seek2222 said:
i did ##72786# after talking to customer care.... and it worked.. i'm not sure if they changed something or refreshed something on my account to reset it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you elaborate a little? What does ##72786# do?
Right now, I just leave the mode in CMDA instead of Automatic.
jnichols2 said:
Can you elaborate a little? What does ##72786# do?
Right now, I just leave the mode in CMDA instead of Automatic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reactivates your phone. It will reboot twice. No harm is done with this. (Unless you're using the phone overseas)
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
put your phone in normal mode..
settings > connections > more networks > mobile networks > network mode > cdma/lte/evdo AND:
settings > connections > more networks > mobile networks > roaming > roaming network > automatic
then, restart, then
settings> more> system update> update profile.... then restart then
go to the dailer and dial ##72786# .. this should activate the hands free activation...
then call customer care from another phone and get someone smart to do trouble shooting with you if your lte is still not working...
You will be UNABLE TO CONNECT TO THE AIRAVE unless your are in "CDMA ONLY".
Go to
settings/network connections/more networks/mobile networks
and change to CDMA .
( Do NOT select CDMA/LTE until you LEAVE the Airave vicinity)
If you are indeed connected to the Airave, you will hear a recording telling you that you are if you call *99.
You will have to re-enable the CDMA/LTE everytime you leave the vicinity of the Airave to get LTE service.
Sprint Tier II Tech informed be of the above, and I have verified it all by personally testing the above.
Now, here is the real question:
What are the EXACT DIFFERENCES between using the "Wi-Fi Calling Feature" with NO Airave - AND- using the Airave WITHOUT using W-Fi Calling.????
tt c6 said:
You will be UNABLE TO CONNECT TO THE AIRAVE unless your are in "CDMA ONLY".
Go to
settings/network connections/more networks/mobile networks
and change to CDMA .
( Do NOT select CDMA/LTE until you LEAVE the Airave vicinity)
If you are indeed connected to the Airave, you will hear a recording telling you that you are if you call *99.
You will have to re-enable the CDMA/LTE everytime you leave the vicinity of the Airave to get LTE service.
Sprint Tier II Tech informed be of the above, and I have verified it all by personally testing the above.
Now, here is the real question:
What are the EXACT DIFFERENCES between using the "Wi-Fi Calling Feature" with NO Airave - AND- using the Airave WITHOUT using W-Fi Calling.????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much nothing, the same crappy VoIP calls either way.
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bilgerryan said:
Pretty much nothing, the same crappy VoIP calls either way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do both WiFI calling and Airave deliver texts to the phone in the identical way?
On WiFi Calling, I was missing MANY texts at home. Then, when I would leave the house, all those missed texts come through to my phone, all at the same time.
Will the new Airave 2.5+ I just received from Sprint solve this problem, or is it going to be IDENTICAL to WiFi calling?
Thanks.
Related
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.
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
I started out with USCC on this device. But last week I switched ourn lines over to big red. I noticed that big red forces you to use LTE, with no options under "cellular networks" to select CDMA. Here in Maine, LTE drains your battery 50% faster than CDMA, and data is wonky. It tends to be slower than CDMA, or at least feels slower because it is constantly switching between the 2 or hanging in limbo.
My phone was set to CDMA on USCC, and even after switching to Verizon, I'm still on CDMA. My question is, if I return to stock LP will it force me into LTE -with no choice of switching back to CDMA? So far, Marshmallow has been a huge disappointment on my phone.
HikingMoose said:
I started out with USCC on this device. But last week I switched ourn lines over to big red. I noticed that big red forces you to use LTE, with no options under "cellular networks" to select CDMA. Here in Maine, LTE drains your battery 50% faster than CDMA, and data is wonky. It tends to be slower than CDMA, or at least feels slower because it is constantly switching between the 2 or hanging in limbo.
My phone was set to CDMA on USCC, and even after switching to Verizon, I'm still on CDMA. My question is, if I return to stock LP will it force me into LTE -with no choice of switching back to CDMA? So far, Marshmallow has been a huge disappointment on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just go into hidden menu via dialer and force your phone into CDMA or LTE or whatever you want. It's simple really and will give you what you want.
Well, is there a "new to Verizon" guide somewhere? Verizon didn't tell me about the secret codes. I don't even know how to do an advanced prl update.
I should have clarified that I've only ever been on USCC. I've never used Verizon. But I do vaguely remember reading about a hidden dialer code now that you mention it. I'll look into that.
HikingMoose said:
Well, is there a "new to Verizon" guide somewhere? Verizon didn't tell me about the secret codes. I don't even know how to do an advanced prl update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is android secret code not Verizon.
*#*#4636#*#*
Thanks. Never needed it because us cellular already offers that.
HikingMoose said:
Thanks. Never needed it because us cellular already offers that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a that they don't offer that 99% of the time you are better off on LTE so its good that phones prefer LTE. Most likely your other phone simply had that option not hidden unlike on Moto. So that wasn't a ussc feature
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Agree to disagree. The data speeds are about the same here, but with the constant handoffs, LTE actually becomes slower and pages won't load because it's switching to 3G and back to LTE over, and over, and over. Plus the added battery drain off having 15-20dBm weaker signal, it's a no brainer. But maybe that's just in our less developed state.
The Samsung phone that I bought for my wife has no CDMA provisions, so it's not a Moto thing, it's a Verizon thing.
You can also download the thunder bolt lte on/off app and you have choices like CDMA auto prl. I use it to force CDMA only on my range extender at home.
Use shortcut creator to link to the hidden menu and your all set
HikingMoose said:
Agree to disagree. The data speeds are about the same here, but with the constant handoffs, LTE actually becomes slower and pages won't load because it's switching to 3G and back to LTE over, and over, and over. Plus the added battery drain off having 15-20dBm weaker signal, it's a no brainer. But maybe that's just in our less developed state.
The Samsung phone that I bought for my wife has no CDMA provisions, so it's not a Moto thing, it's a Verizon thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This device doesn't run Verizon branded firmware at all. It's how Motorola provisioned the device to work. Like patt2k said you can change that via the hidden menu and you should be good to go, it won't look for LTE after that.
Oaklands said:
You can also download the thunder bolt lte on/off app and you have choices like CDMA auto prl. I use it to force CDMA only on my range extender at home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There seem to be many LTE on/off utilities in the App store. How did you pick this one?
I also have a Verizon Network Extender at home. I have trouble getting connected to it. I often have to reboot or turn the radio on/off to get my phone to connect to the Extender. I would appreciate any advice on how to get my phone to connect to the Extender more reliably.
It would also be nice if the phone would show via an Icon or screen that it is connected to the Extender. Right now the only way to know is to dial #48
EDIT: When I go into the Hidden Menu and select CDMA only, the phone temporary drops the LTE signal. However, LTE seems to quickly come back. Any suggestions on how to turn off LTE when I am home so that I force a connection to the Network Extender?
I can't get the hidden menu to switch from CDMA to LTE. It will switch temporarily, then drop the radio altogether forcing me to restart. Upon restart it's in CDMA only again. Personally, I'm fine without LTE. But I'm not sure why I can't get it enabled at all. I'd like to know I COULD have LTE if I wanted it. So I'm confused why it's stuck in CDMA
swieder711 said:
There seem to be many LTE on/off utilities in the App store. How did you pick this one?
I also have a Verizon Network Extender at home. I have trouble getting connected to it. I often have to reboot or turn the radio on/off to get my phone to connect to the Extender. I would appreciate any advice on how to get my phone to connect to the Extender more reliably.
It would also be nice if the phone would show via an Icon or screen that it is connected to the Extender. Right now the only way to know is to dial #48
EDIT: When I go into the Hidden Menu and select CDMA only, the phone temporary drops the LTE signal. However, LTE seems to quickly come back. Any suggestions on how to turn off LTE when I am home so that I force a connection to the Network Extender?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked with other Motorola devices in the past. CDMA only will fix your network extender issues.
You will have to set it back when you leave the house. Also it will go back to the default settings if you reboot. Works great for me.
Hello, i live in a relatively small town where my service provider has very poor 4G signal. but pretty good 3G signal. With the Axon 7 i have a lot of signal problems that i didnt have with any of my previous phones, where outdoor signal is pretty bad and indoor signal is almost unusable. It also connects almost exclusively to 4G, and in contrast all of my previous phones connected almost exclusively to 3G. Over the last weekend i traveled to a major city where my service provider has very strong 4G signal, and the signal problem was almost non existant. I even had signal in places where other people with the same service provider did not. So my theory is the following, assuming that the hardware (antenna) used for 4G and 3G is the same, it may not be a hardware problem, but a problem with the software having a hard time knowing which band/signal it should connect to. It seems that in my case it prioritizes 4G signal and the cost of a VERY unstable cellphone service. This is also assosiated with the fact that when it connects to 3G (incredibly rare), the phone goes inmediately from 1/2 bars to 4/5 bars. I also changed the SIM configuration to leave LTE out, but either for a visual bug or a software bug, it keeps connecting only to 4G. So could this be the problem that me and a lot of people in low 4G signal zones are having? Is there anyway i can force the phone to connect exclusivly to the 3G signal to test if that is indeed the problem?
Regards!
Nehuen said:
Hello, i live in a relatively small town where my service provider has very poor 4G signal. but pretty good 3G signal. With the Axon 7 i have a lot of signal problems that i didnt have with any of my previous phones, where outdoor signal is pretty bad and indoor signal is almost unusable. It also connects almost exclusively to 4G, and in contrast all of my previous phones connected almost exclusively to 3G. Over the last weekend i traveled to a major city where my service provider has very strong 4G signal, and the signal problem was almost non existant. I even had signal in places where other people with the same service provider did not. So my theory is the following, assuming that the hardware (antenna) used for 4G and 3G is the same, it may not be a hardware problem, but a problem with the software having a hard time knowing which band/signal it should connect to. It seems that in my case it prioritizes 4G signal and the cost of a VERY unstable cellphone service. This is also assosiated with the fact that when it connects to 3G (incredibly rare), the phone goes inmediately from 1/2 bars to 4/5 bars. I also changed the SIM configuration to leave LTE out, but either for a visual bug or a software bug, it keeps connecting only to 4G. So could this be the problem that me and a lot of people in low 4G signal zones are having? Is there anyway i can force the phone to connect exclusivly to the 3G signal to test if that is indeed the problem?
Regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without knowing which model Axon 7 you are using, where you are using it, and who your provider is, there is little anyone can do to help you. All I can say is that it helped me A LOT to go into settings and turn off
VoLTE.
tabletalker7 said:
Without knowing which model Axon 7 you are using, where you are using it, and who your provider is, there is little anyone can do to help you. All I can say is that it helped me A LOT to go into settings and turn off
VoLTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U model last update, using it from Argentina, and the provider is Claro. I have LTE disabled in SIM confg as i already said and VoLTE turn of as well but the phone keeps connecting to 4G no matter what i do, even if i configure it to only GSM
I don't think its a matter of position or provider (version could be if different software is provided), but a general issue with the phone and band/signal interpretation coupled with the apparent innability to go off 4G
Refards!
Nehuen said:
U model last update, using it from Argentina, and the provider is Claro. I have LTE disabled in SIM confg as i already said and VoLTE turn of as well but the phone keeps connecting to 4G no matter what i do, even if i configure it to only GSM
I don't think its a matter of position or provider (version could be if different software is provided), but a general issue with the phone and band/signal interpretation coupled with the apparent innability to go off 4G
Refards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok when it connects to LTE it says "4G LTE". The 4G that you are getting is probably HSPA or something. And we had someone on here a few months back using Claro in Argentina and they had to seek answers from their Claro
tabletalker7 said:
ok when it connects to LTE it says "4G LTE". The 4G that you are getting is probably HSPA or something. And we had someone on here a few months back using Claro in Argentina and they had to seek answers from their Claro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If "4G LTE" is 4G and "4G" is HSPA, when only a "G" appears, what band am i connecting too? Its still pretty weird that im having major signal issues in my town, but when i go to a big city my signal is even better than other phones, it seems inconsistent with the whole "bad hardware" theory. I talked to Claro and it seemed like from their end it was a non issue, can you point me to the thread to see if he got it fixed somehow?
Regards!
Nehuen said:
If "4G LTE" is 4G and "4G" is HSPA, when only a "G" appears, what band am i connecting too? Its still pretty weird that im having major signal issues in my town, but when i go to a big city my signal is even better than other phones, it seems inconsistent with the whole "bad hardware" theory. I talked to Claro and it seemed like from their end it was a non issue, can you point me to the thread to see if he got it fixed somehow?
Regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/Trolling a bit/
I'm always LMAO when I hear US people talking about that 4G scam (which is H+ for real btw)
G is for 2G
E is for 2G+
3G is 3G
H is 3G+
H+ is 3G++ (an intermediary protocol up to 42MBps)
4G is LTE (up to 150Mbps in the EU most of the time)
4G+ is LTE-A (which is available in most of the EU, SK & JP) - up to 600Mbps, 200MBps in most tests
I've not heard of an app that could modify the way the phone "clings" to 4G LTE, since that might likely be the modem firmware doing it on its own.
RedWave31 said:
/Trolling a bit/
I'm always LMAO when I hear US people talking about that 4G scam (which is H+ for real btw)
G is for 2G
E is for 2G+
3G is 3G
H is 3G+
H+ is 3G++ (an intermediary protocol up to 42MBps)
4G is LTE (up to 150Mbps in the EU most of the time)
4G+ is LTE-A (which is available in most of the EU, SK & JP) - up to 600Mbps, 200MBps in most tests
I've not heard of an app that could modify the way the phone "clings" to 4G LTE, since that might likely be the modem firmware doing it on its own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then this is even weirder, because is G is not 3G, but 2G it means that the phone NEVER connects to the major band that all of my previous phones and Claro users connect to. Is there anyway to force to only connect to 3G?
Regards!
i have the G european model, in my town i have bad lte signal 1/2bar, when with my previously xiaomi mi4c was got 4/5 bars (maximum). In the big town i have got in the most of cases 4/5 bars. I think the "signal problems" are relatives of a lack of somehow software. i told this because i've read with the china model with the last updates an improvement of the signal reception of the phone.
Nehuen said:
Then this is even weirder, because is G is not 3G, but 2G it means that the phone NEVER connects to the major band that all of my previous phones and Claro users connect to. Is there anyway to force to only connect to 3G?
Regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can however force a specific protocol indeed, but you will lack the ability to autoswitch networks. Just download 4G LTE Switch (here) which is a glorified secret code dialer. Just click on prefered network and change at your convenience (4G LTE only, WCDMA only - H+ - and so on). Remember that if you force 4G LTE in an area in which you have no coverage, you won't have internet, and no 2G/3G fallback (so no texts, no calls)
I don't know if this is the same problem, but my wife has an iPhone 6+ and I have an A2017U on B29 stock root. We both use the same network (Movistar Mexico) and while her iPhone often registers LTE, my A7 often registers 4G or even E in the same place. The A7 is receiving the same bands but appears to be "choosing" or locking into the slower protocols more often.
EDIT: NEVER MIND… an xposed module was messing with my network settings. Fixed it. Now I get LTE right away.
nuserame said:
EDIT: NEVER MIND… an xposed module was messing with my network settings. Fixed it. Now I get LTE right away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which module?
What if flash any Custom OS?Would it give better signal ?
First you need to make sure your APN settings are correct.
With my service I had to change that APN to tracphone.vzwentp and that got my 3G service.
After that Dial *#*#4636#*#* for phone testing
Go into * Phone information *
Then down to * Set preferred network type * and set it to * LTE/CDMA auto (PRL) *
This helped give me 4G LTE
And or you need to change the preferred network under cellular network settings to LTE/CDMA
First post so let me know if I need to change anything thanks
So apparently when I changed the band over to USA Band it gave me LTE. The calling worked for around two days and then just stopped working but I still had LTE.
Once I changed the Band back over to Cellular it gave me calling and txt back. I can switch it back and forth to get either 3G or 4G.
I'm hoping that with the new Nougat update it will fix this issue but for now if your calling and LTE work for you on USA Band more power too you.
If the Nougat update doesn't fix this issue I'm going back to Straight Talk AT&T where I had 4G LTE, Talk, and TXT
Motorola Moto G4 XT1625
Total Wireless (Verizon Network)
Android 6.0.1
What 4g speeds are you getting? Hear Verizon mvno are capped at 5mbps
brownd7380 said:
What 4g speeds are you getting? Hear Verizon mvno are capped at 5mbps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only get 5.4mbps down and 2.3mbps up so far.
I'm headed to California in two weeks where I wanted to test it.
Before when I was a Verizon customer I got 65mbps down so I'll see if it's different there too.
It's possible it is throttled. I have Net10 and using the CDMA option because Verizon has awesome signal where I live compared to att. Att did have higher speed rates on LTE but 5mpbs is more than enough for what I need and what anyone should need.
All Verizon MVNOs are throttled to ~5Mbps down, ~2Mbps up. Only Verizon Prepaid proper and Verizon Postpaid are unthrottled.
Hi there, your guide helped me get on LTE. Thank you!
United States band option is located in the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner.
So why in the world is it that these MVNOs recognize this phone straight away using the verizon network, but through VZW I can only get 3G? This is infuriating! I set up several of these for friends on prepaid networks and they all worked straight away with 4G. Finally added our son to our VZW plan so he could use his phone as an actual phone and it's stuck in 3G hell.
I'm on an MNVO using Verizon's network and it defaulted to 3G. I had to do this to get on 4G. I've lost the ability to make phone calls though, so I'm using hangouts for that function.
I can confirm that regular calling does not function on 4G LTE so like the OP, I am having to switch back and forth on Automatic and United States which is aggrivating.
I hope this helps someone:
I have LineageOS 14 nightly installed on this phone. I was going to return it because I was tired of dealing with the switch to make calls.
I figured out that my baseband wasn't the latest, so I figured one final nuclear option of flashing the stock back on to the device would potentially help this.
After a long bout with a soft bricked phone, I managed to get the phone to flash back to stock Amazon adz and then take an OTA. My baseband changed from x45R to x62R.
I then reflashed TWRP and LineageOS 14. It still didn't work but I played around with the settings and managed to get it working. You have to set the Radio Band to Automatic and then you'll get LTE data and CDMA voice. Preferred network type in Mobile network settings is LTE / CDMA. FYI The settings may reset after a reboot.