New to T-Mo, data question? - HTC Sensation

Is it normal for the phone to go straight from "4G" to "2G"? Should the phone ever show "3G" or anything of the like? I was in an area on the coverage map that said "3G" but the phone was hunting between "4G" and "2G" where "2G" will absolutely access NO DATA... Is it also normal for "2G" to be useless..

Dial *#*#4636#*#*
Then "phone settings"
Then change "wcdma preferred" to "wcdma only"
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

Just did that, seemed to show 0-1 bars of 4G and it was still enough to get data to load, so I guess that works.
Is there just no 3G that will ever display on this phone? I know there is a mix of HSDPA and HSPA+ in my area, but it's only ever said 4G.

chrisizzle492 said:
Dial #*#*4636*#*#
Then "phone settings"
Then change "wcdma preferred" to "wcdma only"
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-Go into the dialer and dial *#*#4636#*#*

Wait what? Doing that is going to make it so that you will only ever be able to use data if you are in a 4G/3G data area.
T-Mobile does not have a very big 3G coverage map, so doing this essentially makes it so that you have to stay within a known 3G area. 2G, IE EDGE will get you around 150kBps on T-Mobile which isn't really all that bad all things considered.
I would definately switch back to the Auto setting.

The problem is, even with 4 bars of 2g, the phone literally cannot browse the internet at all... almost as if I were connected to GPRS.

mbaran said:
Is it normal for the phone to go straight from "4G" to "2G"? Should the phone ever show "3G" or anything of the like? I was in an area on the coverage map that said "3G" but the phone was hunting between "4G" and "2G" where "2G" will absolutely access NO DATA... Is it also normal for "2G" to be useless..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. 4G (HSPA) doesn't really require better signal strength than 3G (UMTS) - so an area is either 3G or 4G capable depending on if T-Mobile has upgraded the tower or not.
2G (EDGE) can work on a much weaker signal so your phone will drop back to it from 4G.
Please correct me if I'm wrong

this is what i put in a similar thread:
I'm guessing the reason you won't see 3G is because Tmobile has upgraded most of their 3G network to HSPA+ so it'll show the 4G unless you actually go to a place that still has just 3G versus the HSPA+

Related

Data network modes - 3G or HSPA

My phone does something weird. When the data mode, shown beside the battery icon, is shown as 3G, no data transfer can be made until it is changed to 'H'. This gets very annoying.
The problem is that it stays at 3G until I want to do some data transfer, then it changes to 'H' which takes some time.
Anybody gets this as well? Is there anyway to prevent this?
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
H means hsdpa,which is High Speed Downlink Packet Access. It is 3.5G. And it is faster than 3G.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
I think, its metwork config...
I had this very same issue in UK (Virgin pay as you go)
Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk
Same issue with o2 Pay Monthly, although it generally switches to H quite quickly when data access is required.
CatcherInRye said:
H means hsdpa,which is High Speed Downlink Packet Access. It is 3.5G. And it is faster than 3G.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct me if I'm wrong. H means HSPA, which is 3.5G, and 3G is 3G in itself, and G is 2G? I thought 2G didn't allow data transmission? So isn't 'G', 3G?
I understand HSPA is supposed to be faster than 3G, but the problem is that 3G doesn't allow any data transmission.
ffforce said:
Correct me if I'm wrong. H means HSPA, which is 3.5G, and 3G is 3G in itself, and G is 2G? I thought 2G didn't allow data transmission? So isn't 'G', 3G?
I understand HSPA is supposed to be faster than 3G, but the problem is that 3G doesn't allow any data transmission.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"WCDMA"
H = HSPA = 3.5G
3G = 3G
"GSM"
E = EDGE = 2.5G
G = GPRS = 2G
All of them allow data access, or should do anyway.
ffforce said:
Correct me if I'm wrong. H means HSPA, which is 3.5G, and 3G is 3G in itself, and G is 2G? I thought 2G didn't allow data transmission? So isn't 'G', 3G?
I understand HSPA is supposed to be faster than 3G, but the problem is that 3G doesn't allow any data transmission.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WCDMA
H = HSPA = 3.5G
3G = 3G
GSM
E = EDGE = 2.5G
G = GPRS = 2G
Both 2G and 3G allow data access.
No, "G" is not "3G". "G" means GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and is an old standart to transfer data via GSM. It is, in fact, the slowest ond one of the oldest.
There are two networks, "2G" which is "G" or "E" (EDGE which is is a litlle bit faster than "GPRS" - and "3G" (now even "4G" ) which is a high spead network. "H" should mean "HSDPA" or "HSPA"
Oooops, to slow.
In addition: Via 3G you can do data connection and phone calls at the same time, this you can not do in 2G
ffforce said:
My phone does something weird. When the data mode, shown beside the battery icon, is shown as 3G, no data transfer can be made until it is changed to 'H'. This gets very annoying.
The problem is that it stays at 3G until I want to do some data transfer, then it changes to 'H' which takes some time.
Anybody gets this as well? Is there anyway to prevent this?
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your phone will check to see what the best connection available is before downloading. The wait is down to your network provider's service and availability. And possibly your radio. It's not that it wont download on 3G. It will. It's just that 99 times out of 100 if 3G is available, so is HSDPA so it'll go for that one over 3G every time. Unless you are on my network provider. Then you'd get better consistent data transfer over a piece of wet string.
You could go into your phone setting and choose 'WCDMA only' if you generally have good coverage and want to cut the wait out?
Dial *#*#4636#*#*, from the resulting menu select 'Phone Information' then scroll to the bottom and change the drop-down menu to 'WCDMA only'.
Does that help?
Tip:
You can also do this without dialing a code:
Got to settings/wireless & network/Mobile network/Network mode
So you don't have to remember the code if you want to change settings
wnp_79 said:
Your phone will check to see what the best connection available is before downloading. The wait is down to your network provider's service and availability. And possibly your radio. It's not that it wont download on 3G. It will. It's just that 99 times out of 100 if 3G is available, so is HSDPA so it'll go for that one over 3G every time. Unless you are on my network provider. Then you'd get better consistent data transfer over a piece of wet string.
You could go into your phone setting and choose 'WCDMA only' if you generally have good coverage and want to cut the wait out?
Dial *#*#4636#*#*, from the resulting menu select 'Phone Information' then scroll to the bottom and change the drop-down menu to 'WCDMA only'.
Does that help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this. For now it seems that it is stuck at HSPA now! Thanks! Am I right to assume that under WCDMA only mode, I either get HSPA data or no data at all? The phone will not go to 3G or 2G right? (there's no 2.5G here)
Thanks to the others who clarified the 2G,3G,3.5G terms. I understand it more clearly now!
ffforce said:
Am I right to assume that under WCDMA only mode, I either get HSPA data or no data at all? The phone will not go to 3G or 2G right? (there's no 2.5G here)
Thanks to the others who clarified the 2G,3G,3.5G terms. I understand it more clearly now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WCDMA only means you will only have HSPA and 3G connections. You will not have, as you wrote, 2G. 2.5G means EDGE which is still a 2G connection but a little bit faster than GPRS, and right, you will not have that.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
HSPA includes HSDPA and HSUPA. I really don't know the difference between them.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
HSPA is faster than HSDPA, and HSUPA is the standart for uploads. You should visit Wikipedia for detailed information.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App

[Q] Data speeds?

So I know all the issues with older 2g sims affecting speeds, I called tmobile, and they said that I was in fact registered with a 2g sim, so I had them activate the sim that came in the box, but I have no improvement in speed. I'm still getting nowhere above 2mbps, most of the time around 1. I know I have a 4g data plan, they added that when I got the phone for immediate activation, not next billing cycle. Even in areas where my old mytouch 3G slide got 4 mbps on the 3G HSPA network, I can't get much above 2 on the HSPA+ network. What gives? If the new 4g sim and data plan aren't working, what's the issue here? Anyone else having issues?
Are you sure that you're connected to HSPA+? And, even if you are connected with good reception to a HSPA+ tower, that doesn't mean that the tower has good bandwidth backhaul. If its a low traffic tower, T-Mobile might not want to pay for a large amount of bandwidth for it.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
I suppose I can't be positive, but the icon says 4G. Although I've never seen a 3G icon, only G, 2G, and 4G, meaning they probably just replaced the 3G icon with the 4G icon since the phone can't technically display a different icon for HSPA and HSPA+, can it? I've never seen a 3G icon so I might just be connected to 3G. But even in populous areas, like downtown, at night, I top out at 4, MAYBE 5 mbps. I've heard people getting 4 or 5 on a bad day, 7-8 average and 10-12 if they're lucky. I'm wondering where that's at, maybe it's a flaw in the stock rom and an AOSP or other custom rom would be better. I seem to remember having bad speeds on sense on my Slide too.
During data transfer, I went to the about phone>network menu, and mobile network type reads HSDPA and then reverts to UMTS after a period of inactivity. It does not specify HSDPA+ though, it just says HSDPA. I understand that the 3g and 4g networks on tmobile are technically one and the same, HSDPA+ is just an advancement of the 3G technology, but I'm wondering if something just isn't clicking and the phone isn't taking advantage of HSDPA+. I checked the coverage map, and the entire region I live in, minus a few rural areas, are supposed to be covered by 4G data.

Connection order: LTE, then 4G, then 3G, then plain GSM?

Is there an order to the way Skyrocket works:
If LTE is available it would connect to LTE
If LTE is not available it would try to find 4G and connect to it
If 4G is not available it would search for 3G and connect to it
If 3G is not available, it would connect to "normal GSM"
Skyrocket is a LTE/4G phone, so does it mean that whenever I make phone calls I should be connected to LTE or 4G?
I had 4G showing in the top bar for 3 days but I haven't seen 4G all day today.
And I do not see LTE or 3G there either (I am not sure if there is LTE in New York).
There is just WiFi and those signal strength bars.
If it says 4g and LTE under your are in a LTE area. If it says 4g you are in a hspa+ area. If it says E you are on edge.
Sent from my HTC Flyer P510e using XDA App
Oh and when you make a call it will say 4g you can't make calls with lte only 4g.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App
The indicators in the info bar can be misleading. If you want to know which network you are connected to, go to "settings", "about phone", "status", and look under "mobile network type".
And for people that have data connection issues from time to time, I am willing to bet that if you look under "mobile network type" while you are having the data connection problems you will see the network type changing every few seconds or so. The phone is generally in an area where there are weak data connections in all areas and it can't decide which network to grab hold of, therefore, none of them work. I think this isn't a problem with the phone, but a problem with how AT&T's towers handle connections in weak areas.
justcalled said:
Is
I had 4G showing in the top bar for 3 days but I haven't seen 4G all day today.
And I do not see LTE or 3G there either (I am not sure if there is LTE in New York).
There is just WiFi and those signal strength bars.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because you're connected to wifi. When using wifi, the network icon goes away. If you turn wifi off, you will see it again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App
Scott1479,
So I still don't see 4G. However under "Mobile Network Type" it alternates between HSPA and UMTS - I understand these are 3G networks. Very interesting
There isn't voice over LTE on AT&T (or anywhere else as far as I know).

HTC one S EDGE speeds

Herro! first time poster, long time lurker! i searched around, and couldn't really find a similar problem.
I got an HTC one S from Fido, unlocked it, and i've been trying to use it on Bell. I tried several different APN's until one finally worked...but only EDGE speeds! It's also draining my battery extremely quickly. also, when i put my bell sim card inside, preferred network mode changes to WCDMA instead of HSPA (like on the fido sim).
why is this happening? i was told a fido phone would work on bell with no problem. why no 4g speeds?
thank you and i appreciate the responses in advance
HSPA uses WCDMA, so that makes no sense... Under preferred network you should have WCDMA only, 2G only, or WCDMA preferred if I recall correctly as I'm not on stock HTC rom atm so can't check. Are you getting an "E" signal indicator or are you just getting a slow connection? What does it say under About phone>Status>Mobile Network Type?
Set it to Auto mode in the network settings.
frdd said:
HSPA uses WCDMA, so that makes no sense... Under preferred network you should have WCDMA only, 2G only, or WCDMA preferred if I recall correctly as I'm not on stock HTC rom atm so can't check. Are you getting an "E" signal indicator or are you just getting a slow connection? What does it say under About phone>Status>Mobile Network Type?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, all the tech support i've talked to said it makes no sense either . i get the same outcome whether i put it on WCDMA only or GSM/WCDMA auto. when i do the speed test, it always comes out under 1 mb/s. it actually has the 4G symbol up, but the speed isn't there.
mhmm, it switches between UMTS and HSDPA.
If you have UMTS and HSPDA under status its working, and those are also what connection you're really on. If you always have a 4g icon on status bar it seems like your carrier has modded the software like T-Mobile USA does so it always shows 4g no matter what's up in the real world.
Maybe you're not in a good location and that's why you get slow data. Also I have no idea how Canadian carriers work but I'd guess if you're connected to a 850 MHz cell you'll get worse speeds than on a 1700/1900 one. Don't you guys have insane data caps everywhere, perhaps you hit yours when speedtesting?
did you try a new sim from bell

[Q] Nexus 5 Simple Mobile 4G + Mobile Network Indicator

So I broke my N4 and got myself a N5. I thought to myself, "now I can finally take advantage of those 4G LTE speeds that I've been paying for!"
However, I only see the "H" indicator over my mobile networks though Simple mobile insists that they support 4G in my area. Am I missing something? Should I switch to another carrier? I'm I wrong for expecting to see a "4G" or "LTE" indicator in my mobile network strength indicator?
:-/
MkJackson said:
So I broke my N4 and got myself a N5. I thought to myself, "now I can finally take advantage of those 4G LTE speeds that I've been paying for!"
However, I only see the "H" indicator over my mobile networks though Simple mobile insists that they support 4G in my area. Am I missing something? Should I switch to another carrier? I'm I wrong for expecting to see a "4G" or "LTE" indicator in my mobile network strength indicator?
:-/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check your setting to make sure that LTE is the preferred network type.
Go Settings>Wireless & networks>Mobile networks>Preferred network type and make sure it says 'LTE (recommended)'.
If it does, then if you have no LTE, I'd blame the carrier.
Either they have LTE coverage but it's weak where you're at and you're falling back to HSPA+, or they don't and are calling HSPA+ (the H icon) '4G'
Did they say 4G or 4G LTE?
Simple Mobile uses T-Mobile's network and T-Mob defines HSPA+ as '4G'
If they didn't specify LTE, they only have HSPA+ in your area, hence the H icon.
If they insist LTE is available, try another carrier.

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