Hi,
I always have long and complicated questions to ask, so I usually don't get much help, probably cause I'm Canadian
I have Bell Sensation 4G. It operates on HSPA+ from what I understand. It's a "sort of" 4G.
Anyways, when I run ICS ARHD, I get H symbol. Yes, I've talked about this topic a lot, but in other aspects. Now I'm just curious about the other phones in US, and if I am actually connected to "4G" networks.
What I want to get to the bottom of is I see mentions a lot of the T-Mobile 4G sensation. Is this specifically because all other Sensations on other US carriers are not 4G capable? Or are every one of them exactly the same, and operate on the same network type (HSPA+)? Essentially making them all the exact same networks and speeds as my Bell unit?
The reason I ask is I'm pissing around with the H, H+, 4G, etc. png icon files in the "systemUI.apk". Just trying to learn what's going on behind the scenes.
I note in there that the files are named as such
"H" icons are named as files like "stat_sys_data_connected_h.png".
"H+" icons are named as files like "stat_sys_data_connected_hplus.png".
Being that on ARHD, "H+" is never used. I am now wondering if I am even connected to HSPA+. I mean, if US carriers other than TMO don't use HSPA+ then that would be reasonable that the standard US based ROM isn't setup to properly connect to the Canadian network? The icon files are there, but they are not being used, so is it because I am not on 4G, because other US phones dont get 4G? Flashing the TMO option gives me the same thing, so maybe because our networks are different?
I understand that there is a mod to switch the TMO version to "4G" icon. But is that simply switching the icon names? Yeah cool I can do that and give myself "H+" icons to make myself happy, but I'd really just like to know if I am even connected to the proper network speeds, and it all has something to do with the radio version and ROM. (afterall, I did fix my 350ms PING to Speedtest.net by flashing stock Bell RUU, so it further makes me think I am not on correct network speeds, rather than just an icon issue)
If you're asking if you're still getting 4g, yes you are.... That is if your phone is capable of 4g... I have tmo sensation 4g and have the H icon... The speed is the same.... No changes at all... I can flash the 4g icon but decided not to... H don't bother me at all since there are no changes in the speed... Sorry if I misunderstand your question in any way, it was just too long to read and I'm getting cross eyed
Some phones in the US don't have 4g capabilities... Usually the older once...
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio
I know it's too long to read but I don't know how else to explain it, and make it shorter. I just am wondering if T-Mobile 4G HSPA+ is exactly the same as Bell 4G HSPA+?
Put it this way...with ARHD 6.5.x ICS, am I getting the same 4G as I would be with the stock Bell Canada RUU? Everything seems centered around T-Mo 4G, nobody ever talks about Bell 4G!
In my opinion, it depends how strong hspa in your area... I don't think Rom or the phone matters, as long as it can accept hspa signals.... It might matter with the radio thoughh... Don't worry about the long explanation, it was just me thats the problem ...
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio
I have seen so many posts and threads here saying H icon is for 4g connection. I am from UK we don't have 4g yet its all 3g still my sensation shows me H icon. On my old Nokia n97 it was showing 3.5g ? It's really confusing.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
The connection that we call 4g ( atleast with tmo) is actually 3.5g. I'm not sure with the LTE technology though....
There's three different 4g types, fastest is LTE then hspa and last WiMAX.... So when you see H its considered 4g as for hspa
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4g with Beats Audio
T-Mo doesn't even have much of any hspa+ in the first place... if you look in network settings on the phone, it almost always says hsdpa and never hspa+... along with hspa+ not even being close to 4G.
I came across this when trying to make sure I am doing it right. When installing ARHD it asks if I have a tmobile sensation 4g - I have an unlocked Bell/Virgin Mobile one and have been hitting yes. It seems to work okay, but should I be saying yes to that, or no, because it is a Bell/Virgin one with different bands? Is it just to get the graphical band display? Does it have any impact on performance or the radio?
Related
Does anyone know for certain whether the US Sensation will operate at 3G internationally? I know it's got the 2100 frequency, but it appears that the phone may only connect in 4G or 2G mode. If I get a local SIM in France or Italy, for example, will it operate at 3G data speed, like my Vibrant does?
Has anyone actually verified this on the ground in Europe?
Thanks.
It'll do 3G. Tmobile's 4G is actually 3G/HSPA+, but thanks to their wonderful marketing, they started using the 4G name to get ahead of AT&T.
xnifex said:
It'll do 3G. Tmobile's 4G is actually 3G/HSPA+, but thanks to their wonderful marketing, they started using the 4G name to get ahead of AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I understand the marketing overhype in the naming, but I've seen a bunch of posts that seem to indicate the phone is either operating in 4G or 2G mode. I happen to live in a weak 4G/3G location, and all I've seen on the phone display is 4G or 2G. Is the 4G icon being displayed when it's really connecting 3G? Has anyone seen a 3G icon on this phone?
I called both TMO and HTC tech support but neither one could answer this question with certainty.
I may be over worrying, but I really don't want to get to Italy later this year and be stuck with EDGE the whole trip.
It's got the 2100 frequency for WCDMA, so you should be fine in europe.
samnada said:
Yeah, I understand the marketing overhype in the naming, but I've seen a bunch of posts that seem to indicate the phone is either operating in 4G or 2G mode. I happen to live in a weak 4G/3G location, and all I've seen on the phone display is 4G or 2G. Is the 4G icon being displayed when it's really connecting 3G? Has anyone seen a 3G icon on this phone?
I called both TMO and HTC tech support but neither one could answer this question with certainty.
I may be over worrying, but I really don't want to get to Italy later this year and be stuck with EDGE the whole trip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of us are under the impression that Tmobile locked it to the 4G icon on the phone. They did the same with some other phones. When root is achieved & you are able to swap out the icons you'll probably see a difference.
Since purchasing my phone almost 2 weeks ago I have never gotten 3g. I have replaced my sim and also upgraded data. I have one day left to return and I'm wondering if you guys too are having this issue. Or perhaps is it a tower/radio issue?
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
It won't ever show 3g
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Yeah i saw the same thing. I think it's has a lot to do with TMO's 4G not actually being a different technology than it's 3G. So in most cases if you have 3G you also have 4G. Are there any areas where you know that TMO's HSPA+ network doesn't have coverage but the normal 3G coverage does? I'd be interested in that. I couldn't test in my area because the 3G coverage is the exact same as the 4G so the indicator would only change if I entered an edge only area.
The G2 only displays an H which can either be 3G or 4G but it's not differentiated on the phone. So I think it's just because of TMO's network not being a separate technology that requires a different radio. So the phone won't go from 4G to 3G to Edge. It goes straight to 2G because 3g and 4G is the same in technology. Only difference is speed and that that's with any network where you have different speeds in different places.
The 4G is a souped up version of their 3G so you won't see 3G ever AFAIK.
Thought i was the only one that noticed
As a t-mob tech rep I can confirm that this is true. The phone will either display 2 or 4. It was even in the brief training we received. No need to return it
Get Mobile Signal Widget if you want to see it go between 3G(UMTS) or H(HSPA+)
It will not show 3G/4G because it would flip between the two too much.
Yesterday I saw it just said "G". Phone was slow as ****. I love this thing.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
joeyklatzko said:
The 4G is a souped up version of their 3G so you won't see 3G ever AFAIK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same on the G2x that I had briefly.
good to know cause im in love with my phone and didnt wanna chance a exchange! its really not enough good about this phone on here but for any of you on the edge its a great phone coming from a hd2 which was also the SH!T !!
Just a little extra info on this. EVERY 3G cell site in T-Mobile's network is HSPA capable so whenever you are on a 3G site your have HSPA access BUT not every site is HSPA+ (4G speeds). With that said, your phone does not know the difference so even if we wanted an icon to show the difference we couldn't have it. There is one more mode and that is UMTS. This only shows when your phone is idle and not doing data (not very often). It does NOT mean your don't have HSPA access on that site, it just means your phone is not currently doing data. So, we could have a 3G icon for when your idle but your phone would be constantly switching from 3G icon to 4G or H (whichever you have) and that would be annoying. Hope this helps.
setzer715 said:
There is one more mode and that is UMTS. This only shows when your phone is idle and not doing data (not very often). It does NOT mean your don't have HSPA access on that site, it just means your phone is not currently doing data. So, we could have a 3G icon for when your idle but your phone would be constantly switching from 3G icon to 4G or H (whichever you have) and that would be annoying. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what it did for the HD2 & it let me know when I was actually pulling down data, just look for 3G or the H
xnifex said:
That's what it did for the HD2 & it let me know when I was actually pulling down data, just look for 3G or the H
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will still know with the data activity arrows.
setzer715 said:
You will still know with the data activity arrows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the Sensation yes, HD2 running WM though it was about the only way to know
Its a lie. It just says 4G instead of 3G. Never 3G. Its a ploy to make you believe they have 4G everywhere.
I have an unbranded Asian Sensation and it shows 3G once and a while. There is this one area I notice it switches from the H(4G) to 3G. I know TMO changed the H icon with a 4G one so maybe they removed the 3G one show it always shows 4G even if on 3G??
Ive seen it switch to 3g and its like not having internet. Speeds around 50-100 kbps . A friend with mt4g confirmed.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
~~Tito~~ said:
Its a lie. It just says 4G instead of 3G. Never 3G. Its a ploy to make you believe they have 4G everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tito, long time no see!
LOL, true that t-Mob is trying to brainwash the XDA gang
DeezNotes said:
Yesterday I saw it just said "G". Phone was slow as ****. I love this thing.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You were on a regular GSM connection, those are old and slow. Not your phones fault, it was basically trying to use data over a rotary phone.
Is your device from tmobile?
So i just purchased my Sensation 4G about two weeks ago.. I live in an area where 4g i guess is somewhat new (Rancho Cucamonga, CA).. Well i get 4g not very fast but i get it.. although it seems to switch to 4G to 2G a lot in an area where 4G is strong. I went back and got a new sim card and that seemed to help a bit but my question is... Why am i not getting 3G? 2G is old news... on the coverage map i dont even see any 2G... If im in an area where i dont get 4G why cant i get 3G?
+1
in Raleigh/Durham, NC
Because 4G is really only faster 3G.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App
The sensation 4g doesn't show the difference between 4g and 3g. Even when you have 3g, it will always say 4g. I don't know why HTC did that, I would like to know when I'm not in a 4g area, but that's how they did it. When you drop down to edge, it will say 2g, but UTMS/HSPA and HSPA+ is shown as 4g.
T-Mobile's so called 4G is just 3.5G. Basically a better version of 3G but just set at a higher frequency meaning that you won't be likely to get "4G" if your in a very crowded area. I used to have 4G all the time with my MyTouch 4G but I guess it probably has something to do with the phone.
Thats really weird. I guess T-Mobile doesn't really have the greatest 4G now do they?
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App
HSPA+ is technically 4G, but there's no more 3g to fall back to.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App
frostyroot said:
T-Mobile's so called 4G is just 3.5G. Basically a better version of 3G but just set at a higher frequency meaning that you won't be likely to get "4G" if your in a very crowded area. I used to have 4G all the time with my MyTouch 4G but I guess it probably has something to do with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is every other carriers 4G. True 4G is faster than your local area networks are right now! So it's all a joke.
but HSPA+ can do 50Mbs and the Sensation can do 14Mbs according to T-Mobile.
LTE can do 50Mbs but in real world delivers about 12Mbs that I've tested. HSPA+ does about 5 to 6Mbps. So it's all a sham and depends on factors like tower saturation, proximity to the tower, etc. Really it's luck of the draw with HSPA+...
The difference is that LTE uses the 3g radio so LTE devices fall back to that and display 3g. With the Sensation it just knows it's running on HSPA/HSPA+ and throws it all in the 4g category. I wish they would come up with a way to detect regular HSPA/3g and display it, but they probably won't.
And since the 3G's radio is easier to get, real 4G LTE is way more common than HSPA+.
Just want to ask, what is the difference between H and H+ on Inspire 4G..
H = 3G?
H+ = 4G??
cheers
Yes. The ITU classifies HSPA+ as a 4G technology even though it will never hit their own definition of 4G speed. Wikipedia has a great article about the different 4G technologies. Would post a link if I weren't mobile.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using the power of the dark side.
limx said:
Just want to ask, what is the difference between H and H+ on Inspire 4G..
H = 3G?
H+ = 4G??
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is no difference for this phone. In other countries they don't have this magical H+ that AT&T thinks they need to fool their customers with and call it 4g
H and H+ are essentially the same thing when it comes to this phone and Roms. Roms that originate from desire hd land will indicate your 'H+' connection with a simple 'H'
limx said:
Just want to ask, what is the difference between H and H+ on Inspire 4G..
H = 3G?
H+ = 4G??
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea if you're talking about the icon, you can't really rely on that. Currently ATT has a 3G network which is UMTS. They improved this network a few years ago and were able to push faster speeds and deemed this their HSDPA network, widely referred to as 3.5G. They've just started rolling out their new network, HSPA+, which, like biglittlegato said, is technically a 4G technology. Now they're about to start rolling out LTE, which is also a 4G technology, but capable of faster speeds then HSPA+
But again, different chefs use different network indicators, as do different bases that ROMs are built off of, for the different networks. If you want to know what network you're actually connected to -
Settings - About Phone - Network and look at Mobile Network Type
Pirateghost said:
there is no difference for this phone. In other countries they don't have this magical H+ that AT&T thinks they need to fool their customers with and call it 4g
H and H+ are essentially the same thing when it comes to this phone and Roms. Roms that originate from desire hd land will indicate your 'H+' connection with a simple 'H'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on using it to fool customers ...but I do have to admit, I get that warm fuzzy feeling when I see the H+ hahaha.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
cwhitney24 said:
+1 on using it to fool customers ...but I do have to admit, I get that warm fuzzy feeling when I see the H+ hahaha.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, its a long story, but for a while I didn't have a data plan activated on my work phone (the Inspire) all of the sudden it is on, I now get the "H" with CM7 Nightly #179.
So I ran speed test on the Inspire and my OG Droid (VZW 3G), here's some interesting results
So the Inspire (H) got 264ms Ping, 3584kbps d/l, 1679kbps u/l
OG D1 (3G) 228ms, 0.10Mbps d/l, 0.33Mbps u/l
I haven't traveled much since I just got data, but two questions, does anyone know if CM7 shows H+? 2nd, if not, what ROM's may actually goto 4G?
Ronin3178 said:
I haven't traveled much since I just got data, but two questions, does anyone know if CM7 shows H+? 2nd, if not, what ROM's may actually goto 4G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no CM7 does not show H+
and i dont understand why its so hard to comprehend. the symbol means literally nothing. there is no secret 4G network that only the inspire can access. its the same network its been for years. its an icon. it means literally nothing. they all get "4G"
im going to say it again, because this question comes up all the damn time.
THE H/H+ ICON MEANS NOTHING
Pirateghost said:
THE H/H+ ICON MEANS NOTHING
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 Well stated..!
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Pirateghost said:
no CM7 does not show H+
and i dont understand why its so hard to comprehend. the symbol means literally nothing. there is no secret 4G network that only the inspire can access. its the same network its been for years. its an icon. it means literally nothing. they all get "4G"
im going to say it again, because this question comes up all the damn time.
THE H/H+ ICON MEANS NOTHING
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed it really doesnt and I have started a thread to maybe put this to rest once and for all. HERE
Pirateghost said:
no CM7 does not show H+
and i dont understand why its so hard to comprehend. the symbol means literally nothing. there is no secret 4G network that only the inspire can access. its the same network its been for years. its an icon. it means literally nothing. they all get "4G"
im going to say it again, because this question comes up all the damn time.
THE H/H+ ICON MEANS NOTHING
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, part of my confusion may have been b/c because my D1 showed in Mbps, while the Inspire showed in kbps. Call it a brain fart, even though the speedometer showed properly during the test how much faster the inspire was, it threw me for a loop.
Since I never had data service with the stock I only had the user's manual to go off of, it shows H+ but no H.
That may be the cause the confusion for most too.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
OP: I see you are running Android Revolution. I've noticed that it doesn't display H+ whereas the stock rom does show H+. I just rooted and installed ARHD and was thrown off by the plain "H".
They don't have 4g network here in the uk yet yet there's folks selling 4g sensation's on ebay
Question: so they work on 3g network now and when 4g becomes available next next year you will update via firmware to enable 4g?
Well, keep in mind that the Sensation "4G" isn't really 4G at all, but merely HSPA+. It's more like 3.5G: an enhancement on 3G networks that let you get up to ~21Mbit/s connections. It looks like there are a couple of networks running HSPA+ networks in the UK; in fact, Three UK looks to be aggressively expanding theirs (I'd post a link, but I'm new and the forums don't let me).
AFAIK the 4G that TMous in the USA are referring to is the same as the 3.5G we have here in the UK and which shows up as "H" on your phone, which is short for HSDPA. I am sure somebody will correct me if I have that wrong.
Other posts in this and other forums have said that the TMous Sensation 4G is identical to the Sensation we get in the UK.