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[REQ] Can I stop data when roaming?

Hi all,
I know this is probably a strange request and so I'll have to give a bit of background. Recently I changed my mobile provider to 3. 3 have their own telephone coverage in certain areas and if you are outside those areas you go on roaming with Telstra. The issue is 3 charges huge $$ when roaming on Telstras network for data (voice and SMS is fine).
My question is that my TP obviously knows when I'm roaming as it displays the service provider as 'Roaming'. Is there a program that will stop my data (and only data) use when I change over to the 'Roaming' service and activate again when I am in the 3 network?
Thanks for you help!
Trent

Hi, another aussie 3 user here...
I agree with the TS as this is one of the major problem we as 3mobile user face, is there any kind soul out there that could help us with this as my knowledge on PDA is limited.. Thanks for any1 who is willing to help in advance.

With the Sprint TP, I can go to
Settings>Phone>Services>Roaming
and set an option called "Data roam guard" that allows me to choose whether or not data connections will be allowed while roaming. I'm not sure if this option is available for you, but give it a try.

I myself would like to have an automated function for this. Until then I will have to manually switch to my dummy data connection.

Normally it doesn't connect on roaming.
and if it will, it asks first.
isn't this the case with you?

I have an app called NoData
Works really well and lets you enable/disable any data connections

raveenash said:
I have an app called NoData
Works really well and lets you enable/disable any data connections
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know about the NoData. However, you still have to enable/disable data connection manually. I'd like to have it automatically disabled when I am roaming.
For example my IM client (QIP) does not ask me whether it should connect or not. So it is very easy to have an "accident" with data connection :-(

I'm another Three user in Australia, looking for something like this as well. I often use my phone while on a tram and it might switch from 3G to Roaming while I'm browsing the web. I'd like for it to warn me so I don't download heaps while roaming (I think it's $1.65 per MB or something crazy like that).

Hi, another 3 Australia user here...and yes, I've been waiting on this sort of function for years now.
Part of the problem here is that 3's "roaming" is not actual roaming in the traditional sense. Normally, the phone detects a roaming signal when on a foreign network and displays a roaming indicator (looks like a little triangle) at the top of the screen. You'll find this is the case if you ever take your phone overseas and use International Roaming. Telstra's network does not give you this signal, and hence even the few roaming aware apps we have (e.g. pocket outlook) don't detect when you're on Telstra's network and turn off their automatic schedules.
The best way I could think of to do this automatically is with an app that detects either Telstra's network ID values (the phone detects these and translates them to the text "Roaming" at the top right of today, much as it translates the real value "3Telstra" to plain old "3" - 3 and Telstra share the 2100MHz network in a joint venture, much as Vodafone and Optus share theirs...you will see the real value if ever you use a non-3 rom) or the network connection type and then runs that NoData app (I haven't seen that before...credit to the guy who posted it).
I've often though some sort of even responder app would be useful. Something like Gyrator, except that read network status instead of physical hardware status. Anyone know of anything like this?
Then you could set up something like:
* On detect EDGE/GSM switch off data connections
* On detect HSDPA/3G switch on data connections
OR
* On detect network ID of Telstra's GSM network switch off data
* On detect network ID of 3's/Telstra's 2100MHz 3G network switch on data

Look at phoneAlarm.

caeci11ius said:
Part of the problem here is that 3's "roaming" is not actual roaming in the traditional sense. Normally, the phone detects a roaming signal when on a foreign network and displays a roaming indicator (looks like a little triangle) at the top of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My HTC TP says 'H' up the top when I'm in 3 coverage and 'E' when I'm roaming. Just near the top it says '3' when I'm in a Three area or 'Roaming' when I'm not...
Don't you have the same phone? What does yours say?

Vanstra said:
Look at phoneAlarm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that perhaps paying 15+ pounds (around AU$40) just to switch off a data connection is a bit steep...any other suggestions around?

grandinferno said:
My HTC TP says 'H' up the top when I'm in 3 coverage and 'E' when I'm roaming. Just near the top it says '3' when I'm in a Three area or 'Roaming' when I'm not...
Don't you have the same phone? What does yours say?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My point exactly. You will not see the real roaming indicator in Australia as you never actually roam here. While three call it "roaming" when your phone is on Telstra, the way they have set it up prevents the phone from knowing this is the case so the few roaming aware programs will not be able to adjust for it.
The phone shows G/E when on Telstra as Telstra provide a GSM/EDGE network. It shows 3G/H when on Three's network as Three are providing a 3G/HSDPA network. Hence, you can work out if you're roaming by looking at this even though it's not actually a roaming indicator.
If you look at your home screen though you will see either a "3" in the top right corner of the clock or "Roaming". That's what I was talking about before. It's not a roaming indicator either; it simply shows the network name (with a translation applied from the actual network ID in this case).

thanks caeci11ius, I'm glad you could explain this is better detail then my original statement. I am presuming that this form of roaming and charge to customers is quite rare.

caeci11ius said:
I think that perhaps paying 15+ pounds (around AU$40) just to switch off a data connection is a bit steep...any other suggestions around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You wanted a program which can automatically switch band when roaming.
This is the only program I know which can do that.

Program to disable Data when E or G is shown on taskbar
caeci11ius said:
My point exactly. You will not see the real roaming indicator in Australia as you never actually roam here. While three call it "roaming" when your phone is on Telstra, the way they have set it up prevents the phone from knowing this is the case so the few roaming aware programs will not be able to adjust for it.
The phone shows G/E when on Telstra as Telstra provide a GSM/EDGE network. It shows 3G/H when on Three's network as Three are providing a 3G/HSDPA network. Hence, you can work out if you're roaming by looking at this even though it's not actually a roaming indicator.
If you look at your home screen though you will see either a "3" in the top right corner of the clock or "Roaming". That's what I was talking about before. It's not a roaming indicator either; it simply shows the network name (with a translation applied from the actual network ID in this case).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is Exactly What I need Also. I have looked everywhere? I Dont believe anyone else has come across this issue before and has written something to fix it.
Need a program to detect when the Phone is in 3 or H area (displayed at top) and disable DATA ONLY when G or E is displayed. My work around at the moment is to select HSDPA only connection but this makes the Voice Calls dropout whenever I cannot recieve Three's Network. Can anyone help. There is many people who would be in this same boat.
Wombat

Introducing WombatPhoneRoam
I just wrote a script to keep you connected to 3G or HSDPA networks only. Tryout
WombatPhoneRoam
I hope it is what your looking for
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=3076932&postcount=1
Wombat

[Q] Bars but Emergency Calls Only

First this only happens where I work in the basement where only certain providers (eg Verizon) have some signal in only part of the room. I did not get signal on AT&T or T-Mobile Pay as you Go down here.
I noticed especially after I flashed the new radio which gives me better service overall that I get phone signal down in the basement, but it is GPRS of Unknown Network and says emergency calls only. I get up to 3 bars. If I scan for available networks I get the name 31064.
Does anyone know what network that is or what is going on?

Anyone have any ideas? (I will take wild speculation as well)

i wouldn't be alarmed by it. I experience this at my office since I work in the basement...haha
It's possible your basement just won't read a signal like mine. install a window by your desk, maybe that'll help, but there shouldn't be anything wrong with your handset.

Sounds reasonable. I would agree with no problems with my handset. I do get better signal than my nokia e51, so maybe it's picking up a slight signal where the nokia could not.

From what I've noticed, my Nexus S acts this way whenever T-Mobile (my provider) does not have coverage wherever I am, but AT&T (not my provider) does. You can check this by going into "settings" -> "wireless & network settings" -> "mobile networks" -> "network operators" .....it will then search for & tell you what network has coverage where you are. Every time I've had bars & it says "emergency calls only" & I've checked the above, it's always been when I had coverage from AT&T but not T-Mobile.
Thus, it seems to me like an "enable roaming for emergency calls only" kinda thing.

Emergency calls only
ha ha....lol... i also have the same issue on my brand new i747M S3. im confused.
i try the all methods for resetting phone.
i noticed when im on long way, i dont know my handset is goning emergency calls only. but when im restsart phone its fine.
i do everything but not fixed it. firmware update, downgrade, rom change,and unroot. but not fixed, and also try factory reset the rom by falllowing the samsung secret code *#197328640# > UMTS>COMMON>NV REBUILD and restart and do again CDMA>COMMON>NEXTPAGE>REBUILD and restart., thhis is the code of full factory reset the rom and EFS. but not solve........
i change the hand set to international i9305 brandnew one. i used it 2 sady without issue.... day after morning when i wakeup, i see the massege,,,,emergency calls only,,im confused becouse this is a brandnew one...after i called the friend he also got the i9305. i asked about this issue. he said me he didnt face to this type of issue.. im confused he said me try sim change.. i do it... problem solved....:victory:
problem is the SIM card......i changed it to new one... and used i week no emergency calls issue... when im going to low signals areas.. its show no network and automaticallly change to the network....im very happy for fixing this problem.....:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[Q] anyone getting sim card does not allow connection to this network?

I have gotten this message 3 times in the last 5 days. Each time I need to do a reboot to restore cellular/sms service (toggling airplane, wifi, bluetooth, sync, and 4g do not restore cellular/sms). The phone has the same AT&T sim card since day 1 and I have never removed it.
Is this a faulty phone, sim card or both?

gtabfish said:
I have gotten this message 3 times in the last 5 days. Each time I need to do a reboot to restore cellular/sms service (toggling airplane, wifi, bluetooth, sync, and 4g do not restore cellular/sms). The phone has the same AT&T sim card since day 1 and I have never removed it.
Is this a faulty phone, sim card or both?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the sim come with the phone? ATRIX 2 needs newest of sim cards to function properly. If that's not the problem then I'm not to sure.
Sent from my MB865 using XDA App

Yes, same sim card that came with phone.

Could be a faulty Sim, i've had that happen before with other phones, just go to at &t and show them the problem, they should replace it for you!
Sent from my MZ617 using Tapatalk

(Hope you understand my english)
I wasn't able to solve this problem about an year. But did. And totally sure that it is Device's defect (in some cases it is a ROM deffect as in my case, in other - hardware. Smth like stack overflow issues at GSM controller or so). A year ago when I had face this "sim card does not allow connection... " problem, there are no google serch results on this keywords request. Any. To remove this message I was ought to reboot my device every time it appears. And I was thinking that it is normal behaviour for my device. But now there are lot of complainings at the web ( minimum 5 of Galaxy Tabs P1000, thousands of HTC Disire, few motorolla Deffy, 10 Galaxy Ace, few of Nexus S and so on), so I understand that I'm not alone, and problem is known. So I went to Samsungs Service and they confirmed that it is famous problem, have flashed my phone with some magic ROM (magic because it is official but does not available anywhere in the web, XDA or samsung sites! ) and now my phone works fine. Any other solutions like battery removing, *#*#4636#*#* sirvice menu, new sim-card, flashing variety of modems and roms, didn't helps me. This is not faulty sim. This is serious device's defect. Bring your phone to manufacturer and let them repair it or give your money back. This is their problem not your.

using old 3g prior sim card
With ATT---If you took your old 3g sim card out of old phone and used it. You will get this message. You need to activate the 4g card that came with phone

537magspc said:
With ATT---If you took your old 3g sim card out of old phone and used it. You will get this message. You need to activate the 4g card that came with phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true.I'm using my old 3g sim with zero issues.
Sent from my MB865 using XDA

Same issue in Mumbai India
CS4 said:
(Hope you understand my english)
I wasn't able to solve this problem about an year. But did. And totally sure that it is Device's defect (in some cases it is a ROM deffect as in my case, in other - hardware. Smth like stack overflow issues at GSM controller or so). A year ago when I had face this "sim card does not allow connection... " problem, there are no google serch results on this keywords request. Any. To remove this message I was ought to reboot my device every time it appears. And I was thinking that it is normal behaviour for my device. But now there are lot of complainings at the web ( minimum 5 of Galaxy Tabs P1000, thousands of HTC Disire, few motorolla Deffy, 10 Galaxy Ace, few of Nexus S and so on), so I understand that I'm not alone, and problem is known. So I went to Samsungs Service and they confirmed that it is famous problem, have flashed my phone with some magic ROM (magic because it is official but does not available anywhere in the web, XDA or samsung sites! ) and now my phone works fine. Any other solutions like battery removing, *#*#4636#*#* sirvice menu, new sim-card, flashing variety of modems and roms, didn't helps me. This is not faulty sim. This is serious device's defect. Bring your phone to manufacturer and let them repair it or give your money back. This is their problem not your.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have exactly the same issue randomly at times when I try to register on network manually (MTNL Dolphin 3G - Mumbai). Unrooted MB865 ver 2.3.6 & updated on 18th May 2012 to System Ver 55.28.37.MB865.AsiaRetail.en03. If I keep the setting as Automatic in Type of Network & Operator it functions fine fluctuating between Dolphin for local access & CellOne on roaming access in the same area based on cell tower connection the phone registers on alternating between "E" & "H" automatically based on cell mast direction proximity, however if I select 3G only and uncheck automatic for operator then the phone searches for signal for a very long time and fails to show any operator saying "no connection available" & sometimes when "Dolphin" network does appear and try to select manually get the error as "this sim card does not allow connection to this network". I did complain with the service provider and they were supposed to get back to me after checking in their switchboard exchange where I also provided them my SIM number in addition to my cellphone number(no response). Also as is case with poor service of all Indian cell network providers even in urban cities, also face random peculiar issue of call not being received inspite of signal available on the phone & network asking me to recheck the number I have dialled while placing outgoing calls though it is ok and signal is sufficient. Also "Network Speed Booster" app looks like a lot of bull (any other good apps??)
I needed to know using the secret Menu *#*#4636#*#* for 3G GSM service which kind of network I should ideally select for best results & does this setting override the regular menu network settings??
I get "G", "E", "H" randomly based on my locations but no "3G" or "H+" and further at times these icons are grey and sometimes blue and in either cases randomly at different locations sometimes data throughput is not there as only one of the arrow shows active blinking. Any advise on the status based on colors and the blinking of the arrows?? Thanks!

Emergency calls only and other related network issues on new android device

I've had this samsung galaxy ace s5830i (my first android) for 4 of the most frustrating months now.
The problem first started with the phone being stuck on EDGE regardless of signal strength. I tried flashing it with new roms but had zero success. I tried manipulating the menu under *#197328640# but that led to a dead end as well. Every time I tried to select WCDMA only, the network bar changes to a "circle and cross" type of thing. I tried to dial *#7465625# to check for network locks but everything reads off i.e. no locks of any kind. Finally, I tried to select a new radio band by dialing *#4636# but that operation crashes a "com.android.phone" everytime.
So in summation, service mode changes don't help and flashing the rom doesn't help.
Recently, I to switched one of the strongest networks available (other than the one I'm on) but the phone is stuck on "emergency calls only" mode. When I try a manual network search and select the network to which the SIM card belongs, I get and error telling me that the SIM card can't register onto the network.
I have used these SIM cards on nokia phones and other samsung galaxy ace devices and have experienced none of the problems listed above, even in remote areas. The support guys of my network say nothing is wrong with my account.
So there you have it. Is there anything left that I can try?

[Not-Fixed] How to install new Z3 D6603 LTE on AT&T network

[Not Fixed] see bottom of this post.
It is fairly easy to install a new D6603 to work completly on the AT&T network. It is not so easy to find the answer of how to do it in the threads and posts. I tried many suggestions and wasted a lot of time. Hopefully this will save you from that fate.
First you must know that you can't use the IMEI number of your new phone if you want it to work completly as it should. If you use the Z3 IMEI you will have trouble with data of various sorts and the phone will go off line when on LTE after 20 or 30 minutes and you will not receive calls or SMS messages. I do not know why but it has been suggested that the AT&T network does not recognise this phone so it causes trouble.
If you have an AT&T nano-sim from your old phone then just put it in the phone. (Cut downs work but can cause other problems some say.) When the SIM is inserted for the first time into a new phone there is a prompt that asks if you want to download the APN. Hit 'yes' and the phone downloads the APN itself.
If it does not ask then go to Settings>More>Mobile Networks>Prefered Network Type and be sure LTE (Preferred) is selected. Then connect your phone to the internet and then go to Settings>More>Internet Settings and select AT&T. You should be good to go.
If you need to get a nano-sim then go to the AT&T store or call and they will give you one or send you one for free. You will need to use the IMEI number from a LTE phone that is already on the AT&T system. You can use your old phone or borrow the number from someone. If the rep installs the sim in the Z3 with the 6603 IMEI don't worry. Just call support later and tell them you sent your new phone back and want to go back to your old IMEI or have a new IMEI (from an existing AT&T phone). They will enter it and off you go. The phone from the IMEI will show in the picture on your account page. Big deal!
Update: This worked for hours last night but this morning it is back to not receiving calls. Simply turning wifi off and it began to receive calls as GPRS was switched back on. My wifi was on which has been said to cause problems. I will test with wifi off and report back. Had "no service" instead of AT&T on upper left of lock screen. A full shut down for several minutes than re-boot solved that.

YMMV. I've been on ATT with a Z3 purchased from Sony store for several months and it was registered in an ATT store by scanning the IMEI off the box followed by updating Internet settings in Setup. ATT online shows unknown model but everything works including LTE and MMS. There is something else involved when problems like this occur probably some setting not getting reset. I registered the Z3 on a new line with a new Sim card because I wanted to take my time moving stuff off my old phone--this may have avoided the problems.

JudH said:
YMMV. I've been on ATT with a Z3 purchased from Sony store for several months and it was registered in an ATT store by scanning the IMEI off the box followed by updating Internet settings in Setup. ATT online shows unknown model but everything works including LTE and MMS. There is something else involved when problems like this occur probably some setting not getting reset. I registered the Z3 on a new line with a new Sim card because I wanted to take my time moving stuff off my old phone--this may have avoided the problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also had no problems with my Z3 on AT&T. Works great, receives sms/mms immediately, etc..

esheesle said:
I've also had no problems with my Z3 on AT&T. Works great, receives sms/mms immediately, etc..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T's system sometimes takes a while to get updated with new IMEIs that trigger LTE provisioning for a users' account.
Once your account is provisioned for LTE you never have to worry about it again, but sometimes if you have a phone the system doesn't recognize, it is a pain to get AT&T to properly provision your account. Supposedly properly trained in-store reps can do it - the key being "properly trained" - Never try to do anything "unusual" by calling AT&T customer service, and NEVER use a franchise/kiosk in-person for service - make sure you're at a corporate-owned store! Even then, some stores might have incompetent staff. I've been lucky that all of my local corporate stores are pretty well staffed.

So you are saying that your Z3's with wifi and LTE on with AT&T are working as they should?
With LTE off my phone responds normally with wifi on. With LTE and wifi on it will not respond to calls after a 30 minute sleep. It does not show missed calls. Calls go straight to voice mail after 2 rings. Could you tell me what level your LTE dBm's are? Thanks!

I was told not to give them my imie# but, after recvng the minisim I had to call them in order to 'provision' it to work at all and they needed that #. I have never had any problems personally and am assuming this may be because you gave them the wrong #. Again I am only guessing. Oth, if I had had a different imie to give, I would have done so myself.

It is very strange and I am feeling it is more signal strength related than how you provision your phone. (Once it is provisioned correctly.) It seems that more people have less problems when they already have a nano-sim and just plunk it in the new phone. This might indicate that they already had a strong signal from the get go. My old HTC One + get's a better signal than the Sony in the same locations with the same (new) SIM. With the Devilcase bumper on it gets 5% less. My very limited tests yesterday seemed to indicate that it was signal strength related. I am not enough of a conspiracy theorist to imagine that AT&T would program their system to not function correctly with sims that are provisioned with these Sony phones which they are obviously ignoring for some reason. Or am I?

I had all kinds of problems with the Z3 on AT&T. The IMEI caused an issue since AT&T linked it to a flip phone and therefore couldn't provision LTE. I changed it to an old AT&T LTE device and then I was able to get LTE but was having the same issue with calls going directly to voicemail and texts showing up hours later in bunches. I found the solution was to switch off LTE in the quick settings menu. All calls and texts came through and on time while LTE was off. If I needed a data boost to stream, I turned it back on until I was finished streaming. This was while on KitKat. After upgrading to Lollipop, I was able to keep LTE turned on and calls and texts still arrived on time.

I use data rarely. Mostly wifi. If I don't leave LTE on, my phone reverts to wcdma preferred. And why can't LTE just work without me having to constantly turn it back on? What bugs me is having the APN settings greyed out. I want to be able to turn it off. If anything it seems the phone itself is preventing me from accessing the sim. It feels like I'm borrowing something which contains lots of MY private data. I know my phonebook is stored locally but I also noticed there is no option of specifying the sim or not. Anybody know how to switch APN on and off? In fact, overall even rooted, I still feel like I have almost no power over it. I can't even disable the cellular connection without going full on airplane mode and I do not trust that. I don't even fly so that needs work for sure. Dumb question but could I buy a working nanosim from say 7-eleven that my apn switch will work with?

"Anybody know how to switch APN on and off?"
On my Z3 on OTA stock Lollypop I have an icon in quick settings to turn LTE on and off. Drag two fingers down from the top of the screen. If no LTE icon then select the pencil icon at the top and select the LTE icon. There is also a mobile data icon switch there.
To turn off your radio completly you can get the Advanced Signal Status app and select additional info at the bottom and click phone information and turn off radio. Probably a number of ways to do it but that is one.
Sim contact storage was a way to move information from phone to phone. You can still do it but not really necessary with cloud backup and storage. Google does it for me without me having to do anything which I like. I still save contacts to the sim just because I can. Export and import in your contacts app menu.

johnboatcat said:
So you are saying that your Z3's with wifi and LTE on with AT&T are working as they should?
With LTE off my phone responds normally with wifi on. With LTE and wifi on it will not respond to calls after a 30 minute sleep. It does not show missed calls. Calls go straight to voice mail after 2 rings. Could you tell me what level your LTE dBm's are? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works fine here. I don't pay attention to the dBm estimates since these aren't measured with calibrated test equipment and vary widely. Those numbers are basically worthless.
The only valid comparison is data performance in a given environment (ideally a difficult weak-signal one) - and at my desk with very weak signal, every phone I've ever used performs similarly to the Z3.

"Those numbers are basically worthless."
True, but we have narrowed this down to the possibility that it might be signal related so it is worth a shot. If people whose phones are working fine would measure the LTE dBm on Advanced Signal Status at the location where their phone sits and works well the most we might possibly see some measure of difference in the phones that are not working. Most of the non-working phones seem to work sometimes so signal strength is the next best parameter to rule out. Thanks!
Here are the screen shots of my phone with LTE on, LTE and wi-fi and LTE off and wi-fi.
How do the working phones compare? Does your CDMA (voice) also go to 0% when LTE is on and GSM = n/a?

Thanks. I think adv sig nfo actually works. I'm amazed actually. I can't find the phone's native greyed out apn switch anyways which really makes no sense.