Please post here your opinions, and/or comprehensive reviews of 2.3.x ROMs for Captivate.
What I wanted to see is
- overall reception of voice calls, voice quality on both ends, number of bars, dropped calls
- 3G or HSPA data performance
- WiFi performance in terms of finding hotspot, holding the connection, connection speed
- GPS performance - time to lock, accuracy
- Quadrant score - cheated or not
If there was a comparison - I probably missed it.
bump
10char
Related
Looking for a line-by-line explanation of Fieldtrial.exe.
For example, some articles I've read say Rx Power is the tower strength, while others say RX Ec/Io say that's what I should be watching.
Any guides/FAQs?
Thanks
I'll give it a go...
- Rx Power is the actual power of the signal you are receiving, measured in dBm.
- Rx Ec/Io is essentially the signal to noise ratio (signal quality) of the signal you're receiving. It's a negative number in CDMA because the pilot carrier's signal strength is just a part of the total carrier energy received, so essentially the "noise" is stronger than the signal. I won't go into the gory details of how that all works, but it's pretty cool. Ec/Io is the more important factor to look at if you're wondering how your call will sound and if it will drop...a strong signal is useless if it's dirty. Ec/Io also maps to the "bars" on the phone. -3 dB is the maximum (best) value and -12 or -13 is about as low as you can go and carry a call.
- Rx FER is the received frame error rate. Basically it's how many errors (due to poor signal quality) were detected in the received signal.
- Tx Adj is how much the phone is powering itself back when transmitting back to the tower. Higher values mean you're closer to a tower. I'm not sure of the units here, but maybe just dB.
That's all the signal related stuff. The rest is Network ID, System ID, Channel, etc. The phone also shows the Active Set, which is the PNs (codes that distinguish one sector from another) of the sites you are connected to. This will be 1 site when you're idle, but can be multiple sites when you're on a call. Candidate set is the list of sites that are being considered for promotion into the active set. They are just being measured, you aren't connected to these. Neighbor set is the set of sites that are on the active site's neighbor list. These are nearby sites that your current site might want to hand your call off to if you move towards them. These PNs tell an engineer which site you're on, but unless you have a PN list it's hard to say what site goes with what PN. If you use Google Maps though, and don't use the GPS, it locates you at the cell tower you're currently on.
I hope that helps.
Wonderful! Thank you so much...
I had pretty much given up on getting either Verizon or HTC to answer this for me. "Not supported" was all I could ever get out of them.
After finding out that forcing LTE Mode on the SamChg (See here) always results in a Signal Disabled "circle-slash" display for the network signal strength - even when you have a solid 4G connection - I am suspecting that the signal strength bars in the notification bar only show CDMA signal strength, and never show 4G signal strength.
If so, the signal strength indicator lies to us (at least, when the 4G icon is on the notification bar).
Is there a widget / app / notification mod that will show both the 3G and 4G signal strength? A dB indication would be fine. That way, I can identify the real 4G signal vs. the real 3G signal vs. the signal bar display.
Cheers,
Yes, the signal strength meter lies and only indicates 1xRTT signal strength, not EVDO or LTE.
OpenSignal Maps will show the LTE signal strength but it's a mapping program.
Real Signal shows separate 1x and EV bars like how Verizon feature phones display it, however it doesn't yet support LTE. I've e-mailed the developer to find out if this was planned and/or if they'd like any help in implementing that feature and I've received no response thus far.
skuzz said:
Yes, the signal strength meter lies and only indicates 1xRTT signal strength, not EVDO or LTE.
OpenSignal Maps will show the LTE signal strength but it's a mapping program.
Real Signal shows separate 1x and EV bars like how Verizon feature phones display it, however it doesn't yet support LTE. I've e-mailed the developer to find out if this was planned and/or if they'd like any help in implementing that feature and I've received no response thus far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's no longer in the market. Do you have the APK by chance ?
Field test mode access seems to elude us on the Charge, but if we could find the code, there's got to be a signal strength indicator in there.
I'm going to query Samsung to see if they'll cough it up.
ram130 said:
It's no longer in the market. Do you have the APK by chance ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nvm..found it under another name. Also Samsung is not the only one with misleading bars, Motorola too. Just look at the thread I did on it here:
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/302492
distortedloop said:
Field test mode access seems to elude us on the Charge, but if we could find the code, there's got to be a signal strength indicator in there.
I'm going to query Samsung to see if they'll cough it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meanwhile, googling around I found some info on enabling hidden menus on the phone (basically same steps as for Fascinate), but once there, none of the known dialer codes work for me, despite others saying they do.
HOWEVER, check out the app called SGSTools in the Market. Install it, run it, select Service Mode. A black screen comes up, hit the menu button, then back and voila, you're in LTE Monitor screen. You might be able to navigate around from there and get your signal information.
Hope this helps.
distortedloop said:
Meanwhile, googling around I found some info on enabling hidden menus on the phone (basically same steps as for Fascinate), but once there, none of the known dialer codes work for me, despite others saying they do.
HOWEVER, check out the app called SGSTools in the Market. Install it, run it, select Service Mode. A black screen comes up, hit the menu button, then back and voila, you're in LTE Monitor screen. You might be able to navigate around from there and get your signal information.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should take a pic...I'm curious what that mode looks like. Don't have a charge to fool around with it.
Bumping this up because I just noticed that in Anandtech's review of the LG Revolution, there's a way at least for that phone to see the 4G signal strength: http://images.anandtech.com/doci/4450/DSC_0734.jpg
Given that the Revolution and Charge have different LTE chips, I'm not sure if this can be reproduced on the Charge.
Credit: Page 10 of the LG Revolution review by Anandtech
---------- Post added 10th November 2011 at 12:36 AM ---------- Previous post was 9th November 2011 at 11:55 PM ----------
I just looked around the LTE Monitor menu as distortedloop posted above (thanks!) and it does seem there are some values that may give a better idea of the LTE signal.
One interesting thing I noticed was some sort of MPSR timer that counts down; what it seemed like it was doing was counting down to the next time it would attempt to connect to the LTE network (I was on 1X at the time). Other values that I believe pertain more to the LTE signal strength include: RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) and CINR (Carrier-to-Interference-and-Noise Ratio). I correlated faster LTE speeds with lower RSRP values (that is, LESS negative).
Hi guys,
Is this the right Thread? Please excuse, but I couldn't find a "looking for XX App"-thread.
I do want to proof to my operator that their 3G bandwidth very often is almost 0 even though the 3G coverage / reception is very well.
So I would need an app that regularly probes the transmission speed and logs that, best with geolocation and signal strength.
Most of the Apps around only log 3G signal strength, which is _not_ what I want: in my case the signal is fine, there's just almost no throughput.
Then there are the speedtest-Apss that take a one-time-only speedtest... That's fine but I would have to trigger it everytime: impractical.
I tried "traffic monitor", but often enough the speed tester wouldn't even start because the 3G speed is too slow for it's calibration/download/upload cycle.
Also, as with my operator, there's often only _very_ small bandwidth / nearly 0 avilable the app shouldn't send too big amounts of data for it's probings or it might timeout / at least it should log that correctly.
in the end there sholud be a way to export the data so I can proof the network's disfunctionality.
Unfortunately all my market searches have been in vain yet. Has one of you guys seen an app like that before?
I would be very glad about any hints and tips.
Thanks in advance!
southy
Disclaimer:
Yes, I realise that such a behaviour will drain battery.
RantCell application is a true network benchmark tool to measure the key performance indicators (KPI) such as data speed, voice calls, ping (latency) ,dropped calls of 2G,3G ,4G ,Wi-Fi and CDMA phone network by performing repetitive speedtest ,ping (latency) and voice calls.
Features
• Only android app in the world to transform your smart phone into network test tool.
• Perform outdoor drive tests and indoor tests with RantCell app
• Perform long repetitive speedtest to get average values on of 2G,3G ,4G ,Wi-Fi and CDMA
• FTP download and upload for speedtest
• Everything about your network coverage, performance ,signal quality and data speeds.
• Tests download speed (downlink), upload speed (uplink), packet drops, round-trip delay time(RTT) values and latency
• Two data units in kbps, Mbps
• Performs voice calls to get the call setup success rates % (Dropped call) and setup time.
• Perform long repetitive ping test and voice call test
• Vital information about the test IP address, operator name, connection type, signal strength (RSSI), MNC, MCC, Cell ID (CID), LAC and PSC
• Information about signal strength RSRP, RSRQ and Physical cell ID (PCI) for 4G
• Finds location of the device (Latitude, Longitude) and also can find where you did tests.
• Ability to customize time interval between tests, the number of FTP connections and number of iterations.
• Detailed information about the tests (measured value of download/upload/ping, connection type and call status)
• Logs maps information while running tests
• Test results shown on graphical UI
• Maintains history of test results data.
• Perform post analysis by export of test result and share results in csv format (Requires In app purchase)
• Identify areas with coverage issues and dropped calls.
• Perfect android app for test automation of speedtest, latency and call test.
• Percentage of call setup success and average data speed can be measured.
• Capable of identifying dropped calls through test automation.
• All vital information such as signal strength, coverage, Cell ID and operator name is captured in the background while tests are progressing on the RantCell app.
Use Cases:
• As a field test tool for speed test and benchmark cellular net.
• Identify ping (latency) on GSM, UMTS, LTE, Wi-Fi and CDMA
• App can be installed on multiple devices and use it as a load generator.
• Identify phone congestion issues by running long iterations test campaign (Load Generator)
• Comparison of performance (KPI) with other operators for example Vodafone, EE, 02 (With multiple devices)
• Validation of services on cellular net.
• To get phone coverage information
• Configure your own FTP server to get more accurate measurements.
Download our android app from google play store, test your network, and if you like it please share our app.
Like many others, I had a very inconsistent signal on Tmobile with my PH1. Issues included bouncing between LTE and LTE+ (especially after disconnecting from WiFi), and random drops to no signal (ie, LTE then nothing). After reading through many posts on XDA and Reddit, I believe I found a combination of settings that stabilizes the phone's handling of signal. Since implementing these changes, my signal has remained mostly on LTE+, and occasionally LTE - results were consistent with my OnePlus 3T.
*Note* These changes stabilized my signal. They have NOT improved my reception. Signal strength is still weaker than my 3T by approximately 5-10dBm. Download speeds on LTE and LTE+ are consistently slower than the 3T. However, I have not dropped any calls, buffered streaming audio or video, or been unable to browse/use data within apps.
Here is what I did:
1. Dial *#*#4636#*#* This will bring up the Testing menu. Select Phone Information and under Set Preferred Network Type select LTE only from the dropdown.
2. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Mobile Network > Advanced. Toggle Enhanced 4G LTE Mode off then on. Set Preferred network type to LTE.
3. While still in the Mobile Network menu, Select Access Point Names at the bottom of the menu and create a new APN using the Android APN settings from here: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-2090
That's it. I don't know if any one of these changes made the difference, or if it's the combination of all three, but my signal stability and usability have improved dramatically. I believe this is the best this phone is going to get - I doubt any software patches will fix what is probably an issue with the antenna. Hope this helps everyone on TMo with the PH1.
You're pretty much disabling LTE+ so you stop the device from bouncing between the 2 LTE types which then stabilizes the signal. This would also explain the slower speeds.