Database Users

Reason for "SIM does not allow a connection to this network"

I remember people talking about this on the G1 forums and people were thinking this was a bug in the Android software. I do not know if anyone has provided the answer to this already, but I figured I would share what I have found. (I also posted this in the G1 section)
Turns out that tmobile and at&t have dropped their roaming agreement in several areas. The "not allowed on this network" message is due to the phone trying to connect to these towers. Even when selecting "select auto" or selecting a weak tmobile tower, because it fails connecting to the weak tower and then will try to connect to the stronger tower (att) but is not allowed.
This whole thing sucks though, because I have a metal roof that kills my tmobile signal, but I am able to get a weak att signal inside.

negatory
I believe you're wrong there about signal strength.
I've had two seperate g1's that displayed this error when inserting a TMO and/or ATT sim. The phones were both unlocked, and sitting with 2 feet of a TMO g1 with 4 bars of 3G signal.
After updating the radios to most current and calling TMO to question someone withe sense, I was upgraded through 2 levels of customer support. The last fella I talked to apparently knew things, but couldn't say much - you get the idea. He did reset my connection (or said he did) and I watched as service for all three phones on my account died (connectivity) and then gained signal again. All while on the phone with him.
Afterwards, he suggested I clear all caches, facotory reset, etc.
Low and behold, both phones worked with 3G (TMO) and EDGE (ATT) just fine afterwards. Now, was it something HE did exclusively, or a combination of his 'reset' (whatever it was) AND my factory wipe of the phones ? Got me.
I WILL BET YOU A COKE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH UPGRADING THE RADIO TO CURRENT -AND- WIPING. If i'm wrong, i'll paypal you coke money... but I think I'm right.
If a tmo person in the know, -not a speculator-, would like to grace us, that would be cool.
This has worked for a total of three "Your SIM card does not allow connection to this network" type error'd phones. All of which were unlocked, rooted, and running cyanogenmod latest.
2 cents.

I contacted Google support about this. Apparently if T-Mobile has property rights to the area where you're connecting you are only allowed to connect to T-Mobile's network no matter how poor or lack of signal there is.

Yeah, I tested this myself, tried to connect to the only tower available (an att) and was not allowed. I know you have the roaming issue is you ever see "emergency calling only" in the service bar. Means it has a signal but is not allowed to roam on that signal. I have a good signal outside and in parts of the house, just not where I am the most. There might be a bug where it gets stuck trying to connect to the wrong towers, but the source of the issue lies in the lack of access to att towers in many areas.

Signal in and out on my g2

I got my G2 a couple days ago and I must say this phone is amazing..coming from a g1 I had for 2 years its quite an improvement. The only minor problem I'm experiencing is with the radio signal..most notably in my house..on my G1 I always had signal and internet connection. Now with the G2 I constantly loose connection all through out the house and the only way to get it back is to switch the airplane mode on and off and it picks it up right away, only to go away a few minutes later..I don't seem to have the problem anywhere else.
Was wondering if any of you guys can shed some light on if there is a way for me to figure out why the signal is so random in my house and it was ok with the G1. And why airplane mode seem to fix it for a short while.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I have the same issue, I disable/enable wifi to get reception back on...I initially had really good reception but as the days went by my reception varies a lot at my house
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

JonathanFermin said:
I got my G2 a couple days ago and I must say this phone is amazing..coming from a g1 I had for 2 years its quite an improvement. The only minor problem I'm experiencing is with the radio signal..most notably in my house..on my G1 I always had signal and internet connection. Now with the G2 I constantly loose connection all through out the house and the only way to get it back is to switch the airplane mode on and off and it picks it up right away, only to go away a few minutes later..I don't seem to have the problem anywhere else.
Was wondering if any of you guys can shed some light on if there is a way for me to figure out why the signal is so random in my house and it was ok with the G1. And why airplane mode seem to fix it for a short while.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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did u activate the sim card that came with the phone or still using the old one?

I'm still using the "old" one still but considering I got it 2 months ago I wouldn't think its a big deal unless the sim that comes with the G2 is any different?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

JonathanFermin said:
I'm still using the "old" one still but considering I got it 2 months ago I wouldn't think its a big deal unless the sim that comes with the G2 is any different?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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I asked because i was told to activate the new sim card to avoid issues likes the ones u seem to be having.

I was told to replace the sim card as well. After doing so there was no change in the reception of the unit. The downside is that the sim card does fine in my Vibrant but does not work at all in My Nexus One. Tried two different new sim cards and each time the Nexus One refuses tacknowledge it while the G2 and Vibrant do. I have found no difference in signal quality or strength with the new sim. The new sim card has a much smaller gold contact area and that area is a slightly different shape,

I went ahead and activated my new sim card to see if maybe it'll fix the problem..ill let you guys know how it goes
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Changing the simcards will not work. If I put my simcard in my iPhone 3G or my G1, I'll have 2 or 3 bard with 3G, but with the G2, It switches up all the time, from Edge to 3G or no data at all, with 1 or 2 bars. I also have five other family members that also have T-Mobile phones and their getting about 4-5 bars on their phones. So it's not the sim or a tower issue.
There's cleary a problem with these phones.
This mourning I woke up and found the phone with no service, no bars. I reset it and came back, this afternoon I left the phone on my bed, came back to it, and again no service, it seems the service keeps going out for no reason.
Another is, I live in a big building, when walking in and out the building, my data connection will drop, or sometimes I won't even have any service, and again the only remedy is to restart the phone to get service back, airplane mode won't even fix it.

Yea the new sim hasn't really fixed anything at all..
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

JonathanFermin said:
Yea the new sim hasn't really fixed anything at all..
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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damn i was about to try that... guess i'll keep waiting... maybe an OTA radio update will help this cause it's really getting annoying.

I don't have a problem with my G2 dropping signal completely, but I have noticed that my 3G is very spotty. It's probably because I was spoiled the the MyTouch Slide's 3G only option.

Yes, I've noticed that the signal isn't quite as good as my G1. It's seems to be about on par, if not slightly below my friend's Vibrant.
But remember, the G1's radio really sucked once upon a time. Radio updates. They will come. Every phone that has OTA updates always gets new radio, in my experience.

I'm on my 3rd G2, mostly for manipulating the purchase price, and have noticed on this 3rd one that the spring is looser than the first two, the phone resets itself and often, and I'll loose data even though it shows I'm connected. This will happen in edge or hspda. I'm taking the phone back tomorrow.
Crappy thing I just put the ZAGG complete invisi shield on it. WIll Zagg comp me another cover you think?

If only Tmobile would activate the UMA calling over wifi. This would be the perfect phone with perfect service.
I am going to call tmobile in the morning and see if I can get any word on the UMA release. If not, the phone may have to go back.

I'm having the same problem, not at my house but at a local ihop that happens to be walking distance from where I'm moving in a week. I tried a reboot, airplane mode, even pulled the sim card and nothing worked. I got signal back once I left, but since it's right by the new place I would like to not have to deal with this.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

well ive been searching around and i think ive found something that could help..
if you dial *#*#4636#*#* you will get a little screen of information about your phone, go to phone information, under phone information scroll down until you see select network type, the network should be automatically set to "WCDMA preferred" ive been playing around and i set mine to GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) and since then (about an hour roughly now) i havent lost my signal or connection in the same spot i was loosing it in my house every 10 minutes or so. not sure if this fixed anything but so far so good. definately will let you guys know if it continues to be good or if it doesnt stay consistent.
heres some information also in case you dont know which one would be best for you.
WCDMA preferred - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 3G is favored more.
GSM only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
WCDMA only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM auto (PRL) - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more. This one is a bit confusing to me since PRL is associated mostly with CDMA technology and not GSM technology.
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
CDMA only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
EvDo only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) - Some phones are equipped with both GSM and CDMA capabilities. This setting appears to just have the phone attempt to stay connected to the data communication type that works the best. (Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S will take advantage of this???)
Unknown - If none of the above fit or the phone is acting weird as far as connecting to the carrier, you will see your preferred network type is set to this
source- http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en

Having same issue with the signal. Swapped for a new sim but still the same. Sometimes service drops completely and I have to go through the settings menu to search for a signal in order to get some reception
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

phone came in wcdma preferred stock... I came by that option too but I would much rather suffer with spotty signal [HSPA] over Slow edge speeds...
that said I may turn on GSM only when I'm indoors with little coverage, should save a lot of battery.

is there a setting that forces the G2 to go for the G3 or H setting instead of the edge? I live in an area where my phone can get both and it always goes for the edge signal instead of a weak H signal and the edge is soooo slowww.

hipertec said:
is there a setting that forces the G2 to go for the G3 or H setting instead of the edge? I live in an area where my phone can get both and it always goes for the edge signal instead of a weak H signal and the edge is soooo slowww.
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Click to collapse
*#*#4636#*#* then phone information, then scroll down and change the drop down from auto to wcdma only. Only problem with that is if u go to an area with no 3g, u get no service and have to change it back or go under the settings and wireless to enable 2g connections
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Reception issue

I've placed my Omnia 7 next to my girlfriend's Focus in a place in my house that has traditionally been very poor in reception. She is able to get 1-2 bars on 3G compared to my NO SERVICE-zero bars on EDGE under the same network (ATT). Is anyone else getting fairly weak reception on their Omnia and is it all possible that my 4 year old SIM card is accounting for the difference in signal strength?
Next chance I get, I'll try swapping our SIMs....

I am not too sure of this but maybe the Omnia 7 isn't using its full potential on the US carrier since it is a EU device. (this shouldn't matter really but I am trying to say that it might be a software issue of how the phone switches connections)
By that I mean that some forum members (check the Focus Forum) have fiddled with the diagnostic codes to make their Focus phones have a more stable 3g or above connection.
Trying looking into that and posting there since the Omnia community is a little bit smaller it seems.
Or the phone is just not up to scratch ;D

Eriatarka said:
I've placed my Omnia 7 next to my girlfriend's Focus in a place in my house that has traditionally been very poor in reception. She is able to get 1-2 bars on 3G compared to my NO SERVICE-zero bars on EDGE under the same network (ATT). Is anyone else getting fairly weak reception on their Omnia and is it all possible that my 4 year old SIM card is accounting for the difference in signal strength?
Next chance I get, I'll try swapping our SIMs....
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It could be your SIM if its old and not a 3G sim. Do you get 3G elsewhere?
The reason i ask is that EDGE is a 2G tech.
I work in mobile tech support myself, and i have seen SIM cards cause some seemingly random issues. (1 in particular was a handset unable to read SIM contacts, but his prior phone was OK)
On the other hand, i have also noticed 1 bar less then was displayed by my prior HD2. I have dismissed this as you should not reply on the number or bars to determine signal strength. They are coded differently. There is no standard, and in fact, changes by the Carrier can effect 'bars' displayed on the phone. (Think of a little buzz box with a 20ltr tank reporting 1/2 full, while a 4x4 with a 40ltr tank reporting 1/4. Both have the same amount of fuel)

ive noticed i get a bar or two less than my girlfriends desire and my diamond2 all on the same network & with new sim cards. this generaly means when she has 3G or HSDPA im stuck with GPRS unless were in an area with 3 or 4 bars.

Not entirely sure, but I think the Omnia 7 doesn't support US 3G frequency bands, that's why it's limited to EDGE - and then it depends on where you live... I suppose it's entirely plausible AT&T has a strong 3G network in your area, but not an EDGE one

mine has a good reception ... as good as other devices ...

In my House I sometimes got 4 dots but when a call comes through the connection is lost between talk without walkin on the same spot.. First I thought ok bad reception (had not before with my xperia1) But yesterdaynight I got the same problem outside my home. So the conversation gets totally jammed.
And I live in the Netherlands and not in the county side but in the big city...

So I managed to switch the SIMs on my girlfriend's Focus and my Omnia and unfortunately the poor signal remained on the phone, ruling out the SIM card having any negative effect.
I will get 3G outside my home and sometimes 3G+ (I'm not sure what the difference is), but inside my house, side-by-side, the Focus gets better reception and is more often on 3G whereas my Omnia will get worse reception often on EDGE.
Lame!
I might have to drop some cash for ATT's Microcell... Damn you ATT.

I notice it as well.
When I used my HD, the reception was fine inside MRT tunnels. Now with my Omnia 7 (same SIM card, by the way), I can't get a clear signal inside MRT tunnels during my commute.
Shame.
I don't know what caused it, though.. Anyone can shed a light on the issue ?

Mine has just suddenly started to not have any signal ANYWHERE in the house... the other 2 Vodafone phones here have near-full signal.

Eriatarka said:
So I managed to switch the SIMs on my girlfriend's Focus and my Omnia and unfortunately the poor signal remained on the phone, ruling out the SIM card having any negative effect.
I will get 3G outside my home and sometimes 3G+ (I'm not sure what the difference is), but inside my house, side-by-side, the Focus gets better reception and is more often on 3G whereas my Omnia will get worse reception often on EDGE.
Lame!
I might have to drop some cash for ATT's Microcell... Damn you ATT.
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Hi I think I have found you a solution. Having been on the Focus forums I have noticed that people have enabled full "3g" through the root menu in diagnosis software.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=839154&page=8 ..... read this first please. Looks like it enabled full 3g but messed up his GPS settings (could be that he configured it wrong) Always make sure that you write down your original settings when using Diagnosis tool!!!!!!
If this doesn't help you then maybe flashing a different rom onto it would work.

I played around with some of the diagnostic settings but nothing really changed.
How exactly do I access the root menu to change the 3G settings you mention?

*#197328640# - Root Menu
Things you can do with this code
Speed up your internet by enabling hspda/hsupa
*#197328640#
1,8,3,5,2,3,[END]
Just be careful with this stuff. And always remember to back up your previous settings by writing them down somewhere so that you can restore it.
The link I gave you above leads to these codes.
BTW .. samsung updated the diagnosis tool .. if you have 0.9 something you might be fine! But if it updated then you will not be able to get into the root menu.

quantum reception??

hello everybody...just received my quantum 2 days ago (i live in italy)...it was locked to at&t so i unlocked it with a code...but the reception is very bad, so i wonder...if i debrand the phone from at&t perhaps it will get better reception...what u think? because the signal only shows g/3g and no 3g+ or H....i'm a bit worried about that...help please! =)

Beggy90 said:
hello everybody...just received my quantum 2 days ago (i live in italy)...it was locked to at&t so i unlocked it with a code...but the reception is very bad, so i wonder...if i debrand the phone from at&t perhaps it will get better reception...what u think? because the signal only shows g/3g and no 3g+ or H....i'm a bit worried about that...help please! =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone is showing 3G at any time, then you are set up for the appropriate bands to get high(er) speed data transfer and 3G voice. If you only see E, then your carrier is using the other bands and unfortunately, there is no way to reconfigure the phone via firmware.
As far as general reception capabilities of the Quantum, I find it to be superior to the S-E X10 I used to use (I still have it), so I don't think there is anything wrong with the design. What phone were you using before?

drtolson said:
If the phone is showing 3G at any time, then you are set up for the appropriate bands to get high(er) speed data transfer and 3G voice. If you only see E, then your carrier is using the other bands and unfortunately, there is no way to reconfigure the phone via firmware.
As far as general reception capabilities of the Quantum, I find it to be superior to the S-E X10 I used to use (I still have it), so I don't think there is anything wrong with the design. What phone were you using before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had an omnia 7...but it's the first time i use a phone that comes from the US...dunno, it's weird, because when the omnia was under hspa, tha phone showed me always 3g+...and with tha quantum it shows me always 3g, and very poor reception (only 1 bar)....but the most of time the signal is under gprs only....it's pissing me off =(

You are correct. This phone has really bad wifi and wireless reception. I had flip phone before this and in places where I had 1 or 2 bars before with LG I have nothing, no signal. Yesterday I had to leave Ikea building and turn phone off/on just to get reception because if after spending 2 minutes outside he couldn't lock the signal.
Regarding wifi, at home I have hi-gain antenna on my router. I can take my laptop outside on the parking lot, sit in my car and still browser on the internet. This is around 30m distance through 1 thick concrete wall. This phone is struggling to get signal on the opposite side of the home, behind 2-3 drywall walls.
I constantly have signal changing between 3G and H. Were unhappy with reception.

AT&T phones don't show H+ (3G+), it just reports it as 3G. Signal wise I live out in the middle of nowhere and I got pretty decent signal with it. You can change your primary band settings under the MFG app though (because its AT&T if 2100 is available it automatically swaps to it, although where youre at 2100 may not be a primary band).

Verizon network question

I use MVNOs because I am on a tight budget. With MintSim and MetroPCS which use T-mobile I had a below average signal on this phone and with Boost which uses Sprint I had a dreadful signal. Currently I'm using a Verizon MVNO which has an excellent signal except for one issue. The signal will be great for a day then it will become poor. The signal strength will not return to previous strength unless I power the phone down for a minute and then turn it back on. Then the signal will be great for about a day again until it goes bad and I have to turn the phone off and on again.
I tried a factory reset which didn't help. Toggling airplane mode on and off doesn't help. Rebooting the phone instead of powering off doesn't help. Changing the preferred network type in settings doesn't help.
If I type *#*#4636#*#* and change the network from LTE/CDMD/UMTS (Auto PRL) to one where LTE is replaced by a different network and then switch back to LTE/CDMA/UMTS that restores the strong LTE signal but powering the phone on and off is faster.
I could change the APN settings with T-Mobile but with Verizon the APN settings are greyed out and there is no way to edit the current APN or add a new one.
Mobile Data Always Active is already enabled in developer options.
Does anybody know what I could do so the Verizon network strength doesn't eventually drop requiring shutting the phone off and turning it back on to refresh the network connection?
I have owned a lot of phones over the years but never one with signal issues like the PH-1. Essential support won't help because they escalated my ticket to RMA when I was still on T-Mobile. Since an RMA would provide me with a refurbished phone that somebody else probably returned due to the signal strength issues I would rather figure out how to get my current phone to work right with Verizon if that's possible.

When I went out I had no data despite the signal meter showing a strong signal. It turned out my phone had the wrong APN (Verizon instead of Trac Wireless) but unlike GSM carriers the APN settings are locked so TotalWireless (which is owned by Trac Phone) had to send my phone the correct APN. My data actually works now and so far the signal has been very strong but it's too early to say if the same signal problem I wrote about will pop up again since the APN was only corrected a few hours ago.
If nobody else has experienced a similar issue with the quality of the Verizon signal losing strength after the phone has been asleep for an extended period of time then maybe my phone is defective after all. I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed that the signal still looks good when I wake up tomorrow.