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Weird APN / 3G issue

hi,
I'm on day 2 of trying to sort out my wife's new Captivate, so would appreciate any help at all. Phone is rooted, unlocked and has decent signal, but I cannot connect to 3g.
I'm on Optus network via TPG (Aussie network). I've tried many APN settings, and I'm at the point where I don't think this is the issue (yes, I know this is normally the issue).
I tried going into *#*#4696#*#* and doing WCDMA preferred, and WCDMA only, made sure AUS radio band was selected and did 'Enable data'.... also no help
I've also made sure data is enabled on the sim/account. If I insert the sim into another phone, it works with 3G. So it's something to do with the phone for sure.
Optus' 3g info says "2100MHz frequency band. Enabled with High Speed Packet Access technology (HSPA)". So WCDMA is the correct setting I think.
To be clear, I've never gotted the little 3G symbol at all (or an 'H' symbol that I've seen someone mention). I first tried emulating my own Vibrant's settings exactly, which didn't help.
Any ideas would be great.
thanks.

I'm completely out of options ... is there a chance this is an issue with bad contacts? I fixed my Vibrant's GPS by prying up one of the contacts...

All fixed. If anyone else has this trouble - flash back to stock, following this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=884364
Note - I already had stock, so no idea what the hell was going on, but whatever.

[Q] How to maintain connection

So I work in midtown Manhattan, and in my particular building, ATT's service is very spotty, specifically where I sit. You'd think the 28th floor near Times Square would get great reception, but I don't. Oftentimes my network connectivity will go completely blank w/ absolutely no service, then turn back on. I've called ATT, switched to a 4G sim card, they pushed updates, rebooted my phone, etc. all to no avail. I still get very spotty service.
EXCEPT I just figured out if I have an app w/ streaming data running (run once there is an initial connection of course), it actually maintains the connection (currently using the streaming music app "di.fm" and "sky.fm", Pandora would prob work as well). I'm assuming this is because the phone locks onto a specific tower and doesn't let go as long as the app is accessing the data continuously.
Is there a way for my phone to stay connected to a specific tower and not jump around without running a streaming app? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I hate to say this but it's your area during peak times. I work downtown near the Brooklyn Bridge and experience the same thing. Until AT&T finishes the backhaul this is what we're stuck with. Build props and other mods are shots in the dark but won't help much.
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.

Unless they give him a microcell.
Since they know you've been having issues, they might give you one for free.
Sent from my calculator

But why am I able to maintain connection when running a streaming app? If traffic was the reason why my connection was dropping, wouldn't it still do so?
I think the tech guy said something about how my phone would try to connect to a tower 20 miles away when there are half a dozen right around me. When my phone does have reception, it's probably because it's hooked up to one of the close local towers, and running a streaming app forces it to stay locked onto that one...

kpfury said:
But why am I able to maintain connection when running a streaming app? If traffic was the reason why my connection was dropping, wouldn't it still do so?
I think the tech guy said something about how my phone would try to connect to a tower 20 miles away when there are half a dozen right around me. When my phone does have reception, it's probably because it's hooked up to one of the close local towers, and running a streaming app forces it to stay locked onto that one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When idle it's easier to drop connections as the phone switches frequencies. Here's a couple of things to do if you haven't done so already.
Make sure you're running the stock radio, if you haven't flashed another radio you're running the stock one.
Change to usa bands only. Open the dialer, press: *#*#4636#*#* Go to phone information. Press menu then press select radio band. Then select USA only. Give it a few seconds while it reconnects.

OK I'll let you know if it maintains network connection any better.
Also, what about the preferred network type? The options I have are:
- WCDMA preferred
- GSM only
- WCDMA only
- GSM auto (PRL)
- CDMA auto (PRL)
- CDMA only
- GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)
- Unknown
It was previously on WCDMA preferred, but should it be GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)?

Foreign Carrier Data Connection Issues [Solved]

Hey guys, I recently unlocked and rooted my Infuse 4G from ATT
Im currently living in Panama and using CLARO, I got the correct APN settings,and everything, and the internet works.. "Sometimes" I have gone to the store to obtain help incase it was something on their network, but there is nothing wrong with the network, Next I tied Replacing my sim into my friend who just got the Galaxy S 2, And it worked fine.
The problem In my case seems to be That I cannot maintain a stable Data Connection, It keeps dropping and activating back randomly, if I reboot the phone it will bring data back to it 75% of the time.. but only for a short period.. maybe 5-10 mins at most, then it disappears again.
Im just wondering if anyone that is using the Infuse 4g in a foreign country has or is experiencing a similar issue, or if anyone can explain why this is happening and if there is a way to fix it.
Im waiting for Infused to come back up to put gingerbread on the phone and hopefully fix this issue.. but I fear it will require more.

To answer my own question I found a solution and testing a second
**Just want to add when I say toggle Softkey, I mean the button to the far left at the bottom**
Solution#1 to get Infuse 4G DATA working on Claro Network Panama:
Goto phone type *#*#197328640#*#*
Goto Debug-->PHONE CONTROL-->NETWORK CONTROL-->BAND SELECTION-->GSM BANDS-->GSM 1900-->Toggle Soft Key-->back-->toggle soft key-->END
This will give you a stable EDGE connection on the Infuse 4G
I will post a possible 3G fix after I have tested the setting for more than a day.

OK so Im pretty confident I got the 3G working now, if you experience this issue of losing Data on the network in other foreign countries to USA/CANADA this might help you out aswell.
**Just want to add when I say toggle Softkey, I mean the button to the far left at the bottom**
So again goto phone dial *#*#197328640#*#*
Goto DEBUG SCREEN-->PHONE CONTROL-->HSPA CAT CONTROL-->HSDPA DISABLE-->Toggle soft key-->Back-->toggle soft key-->END
If you followed my steps to gain access to EDGE you must do this also
DEBUG SCREEN--> PHONE CONTROL --> NETWORK CONTROL -->BAND SELECTION --> AUTOMATIC --> TOGGLE SOFT KEY --> BACK--> TOGGLE SOFT KEY --> END
so that you can access the other bands for 3G
Hope this helps people.
Also Would like to Add that Im using INFUSED v2.0.4 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1220088
and I switched to the ROGERS MODEM http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1173704
With these settings applied.

The other way around this is if you install the Infused ROM it'll give you the option to manually lock to the network. The AT&T ROM has ATT roaming partner preference built in... super annoying, but is what it is. I had issues where putting in a foreign SIM I could only attach to networks AT&T had roaming agreeements with even though it wasn't an ATT sim and the non-ATT stock ROM solved it for me.

I saw network locking also in the debug menu, is that what you are talking about?
I cannot find any network locking within the normal menus.. if there is could you guide me to it please.

well I tried the lock via the debug menu.. and did not work when I enabled HSDPA.. maybe the issue isnt a foreign carrier issue or combination of a foreign carrier or just the fact that its a carrier that offer 4G but only on contract.
I was speaking to a friend last night, and he said when he was in the US he was experiencing a similar problem with ATT and the people at ATT said the phone will experience these issues on networks that have the ability of 4G or the HSDPA+ higher speeds since we know that its not real 4G.. so the phone attempts to connect or do whatever it does to obtain those higher speeds of HSDPA+, but is being refused by the network because you need to be on contract or have it enabled.. which then in turn causes it to disconnect all together from the data network.
So it made sense to disable to the HSDPA in the scenario.. I might add that by doing this on CLARO you do not get the full 3G experience its slower from about 2Mbit down to .50 Mbit but its still better than edge. and the HSUPA works fine with a 2Mbit Upload.
Im going to obtain a contracted SIM today with 4G enabled.. and remove all the steps I listed above to confirm that this is actually case.
I will post my results when I get the chip.

[Q] I727 3g problem, good signal but no call and data (ask for help from germany)

Hi guys,
I have a i727 skyrocket use in Germany. (unlock phone)
The network provider is Vodafone.de.
The phone works fine if you only use it in 2G network both call and data. (stock rom by using *#2263# or *#*#4636#*#*, CM9 rom by select 2g only, or *#*#4636#*#*)
But when I turn it to 3g network, problem happened. (both in WCDMA only or WCDMA preferred)
It appears like, when you power on/restart the phone, at first you can see 4G (stock) or H+/H/3G (CM9) icon and the data arrows flash. At this period you can make calls or browse website. But after maybe 30 seconds or 1 minute, when 4G or H icon gets stable. Then you can’t make calls out and if you use another phone to call it, the voice tells you the number you called can not be connected. And also the data was stopped; the browse shows network problem/times out or the same kinds of notice.
Then I use “GSM Signal Monitoring”, try to find out some regular patterns. I found when the signal switch from one base station to another, at first the phone functions is ok, and later when the signal is stable, the phone dead, and maybe several minutes after, when the phone switch to another station, the phone function works again, then about 30 seconds later, dead again. But in all this periods the signal is quite good. (around -60~-80 dBm)
At first I think maybe is the problem about RADIO.
So I try to flash many different RADIOs (T989, T989D, I727R, I757M, I9210, I9210T, E120K, E120S both from stock 2.3 or 4.0 and both with or without RIP), but they all didn’t solve the problem.
And also I try different ROMs (stock 2.3, 4.0; I727R 2.3, 4.0; T989 4.0, CM9; CM10), and the combination with the radios above, but still didn’t work.
Then I noticed some threads about the fast dormancy, I have tried to turn the fast dormancy off or on. But still didn’t work.
Also I noticed about different 3G data forms (HSPA+, HSUPA, HSDPA, UTMS), then I used *#301279# on stock rom to fix the 3g data form in only one kind or only use UTMS, but still didn’t work.
And later I found it is not about the data connection, it is only about the 3G network no matter about the data is on or off, when you switched to WCDMA, then, when the signal stable, you can’t make calls out or receive calls in, and even the signal bar seems great from the begin to the end.Another thing is if you making a call at the first “alive” period, then before you hang up the phone, it all works. Also if you use some online radio software keep the data flow, and the phone will not “dead”, only when the phone is idle, and later after sometime, the signal “dead”.
And the SIM card works fine in other phones in 3G network.
I have tried this in my home and office. In the office the signal always switched to different stations, so it looks a little better. But at home, the signal always stays in one or two stations, so it much easier to see when signal stable, the phone dead.
This problem confused me already 1 month, I tried everything I found and everything I can image. But everything didn’t work. At this moment, I only can use it under 2G networks.:crying::crying::crying:
I am sorry about my English; I try to explain these clearly.
Really hope someone can help me.

If you already posted this in the Q&A section then why post in general?

ROMs for Global/GSM roaming

Hi everyone,
I have a d2vzw running Carbon ROM Kitkat. I spent the weekend back in the UK and enabled global mode, which connected to Vodafone's GSM/HSDPA network using the original Verizon SIM. So I had phone and SMS service - no problems at all.
However, I couldn't get a data connection. It was connected to the HSDPA network (enhanced 3G). Under Settings-->More...-->Mobile networks there is the option ("Access Point Names") to choose an APN. However, none showed up. I tried to add an APN manually, but as soon as I set Vodafone's MCC and MNC, it refused to save the APN info.
Oddly enough, the correct APN settings are all on the phone in Carbon ROMs "apns-conf.xml" file, they're just not showing up.
I tried everything to remedy this, but no luck.
So, here are two questions to harvest your collective wisdom:
First, is there a solution to this? I like Carbon ROM, but I have to have global data access for my work. If I can get my d2vzw running Carbon connected to international GSM networks and APN for internet, then I'd really like to.
Second, does anyone know of a KitKat ROM that DOES do this properly on the d2vzw?
Thank you so much,
M

I haven't checked in on AOSP ROMs in a while, but last time I did, none of them could do this, you need to run a Touchwiz-based ROM. AOSP ROMs like Carbon use a reverse-engineered radio interface which is not quite as good as the Samsung one which is included with TW ROMs, and this is one problem with it.
The bottom line is that if you want all the hardware features of your phone to work, you have to use a TW-based ROM, because Samsung hasn't opened up the hardware.

Jacquestrapp said:
I haven't checked in on AOSP ROMs in a while, but last time I did, none of them could do this, you need to run a Touchwiz-based ROM. AOSP ROMs like Carbon use a reverse-engineered radio interface which is not quite as good as the Samsung one which is included with TW ROMs, and this is one problem with it.
The bottom line is that if you want all the hardware features of your phone to work, you have to use a TW-based ROM, because Samsung hasn't opened up the hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, Jacquestrapp. That's helpful. Perhaps I will flash a TW-based ROM and then keep it as a nandroid backup for when I go travelling.

I have been using my Verizon S3 in the Philippines as an international phone for months with excellent service. I am able to connect to the GSM network and transmit data at H+ speeds. I am on CM 10.1.3 official on Baseband MF1 and have been able to successfully switch to GSM using the PhoneInfo app. To assign proper APNs, I use the HiAPN app. Be very careful with Phone info: I once broke my connectivity messing with the settings too much ("Select radio band") and had to revert to Twiz and turn on the GSM bands using the "secret menu" to turn those back on. If you have a Twiz backup, try dialing *#2263# to choose the bands your phone has access to (seems impossible on other ROMs) if you keep having problems.
The thread here (see post 106) is enormously helpful.
The info about Twiz and reverse engineering is useful -- I haven't been able to get reliable service beyond CM 10.1.3 (very low signal, inability to send SMS, but somehow can receive SMS and voice calls), so I have been sticking to 10.1.3, unfortunately. I want to upgrade to 4.4, but haven't been able to do it without breaking GSM functionality. Has anyone gotten GSM and data to work on a 4.4 ROM?

greks224 said:
I have been using my Verizon S3 in the Philippines as an international phone for months with excellent service. I am able to connect to the GSM network and transmit data at H+ speeds. I am on CM 10.1.3 official on Baseband MF1 and have been able to successfully switch to GSM using the PhoneInfo app. To assign proper APNs, I use the HiAPN app. Be very careful with Phone info: I once broke my connectivity messing with the settings too much ("Select radio band") and had to revert to Twiz and turn on the GSM bands using the "secret menu" to turn those back on. If you have a Twiz backup, try dialing *#2263# to choose the bands your phone has access to (seems impossible on other ROMs) if you keep having problems.
The thread here (see post 106) is enormously helpful.
The info about Twiz and reverse engineering is useful -- I haven't been able to get reliable service beyond CM 10.1.3 (very low signal, inability to send SMS, but somehow can receive SMS and voice calls), so I have been sticking to 10.1.3, unfortunately. I want to upgrade to 4.4, but haven't been able to do it without breaking GSM functionality. Has anyone gotten GSM and data to work on a 4.4 ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do i. I can't connect to data. I'm come from Vietnam