Sprint's "network vision" and their excuse for terrible 3g - Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE

I have called Sprint on their BS and their horrible 3G.
Evo Shift = EVDO Rev A
Photon Q/iPhone5/newer phones = EVDO Rev B
Ping time on Photon Q = 800ms+ latency
Download speed = 0.02Mbps
Evo Shift = ~300ms latency
Download speed = .5Mbps
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/99267?start=360&tstart=0 <-- iPhone5 users having the same problem.
I switched back to my Evo Shift 4G. Apparently every tower is "down" in my area while they perform the upgrades. OVER IT.
Link above spells it out

VICODAN said:
I have called Sprint on their BS and their horrible 3G.
Evo Shift = EVDO Rev A
Photon Q/iPhone5/newer phones = EVDO Rev B
Ping time on Photon Q = 800ms+ latency
Download speed = 0.02Mbps
Evo Shift = ~300ms latency
Download speed = .5Mbps
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/99267?start=360&tstart=0 <-- iPhone5 users having the same problem.
I switched back to my Evo Shift 4G. Apparently every tower is "down" in my area while they perform the upgrades. OVER IT.
Link above spells it out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One, EVDO Rev B, last I checked, is not on the Photon Q or any LTE phone other than the iPhone 5. Two, EVDO Rev B IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE DEPLOYED BY SPRINT OR VERIZON. All phones connect to EVDO Rev A.
Those speeds and pings are highly varying, make SURE both phones are connected to 3G (EVDO). It seems the Photon Q is connected to 1xRTT rather than EVDO, while the Evo Shift is connected to EVDO.

Yea I've been contemplating returning my Photon Q as well (still have a few more days in the 14-day return period for Costco) or selling it outright. I wish I had made the decision before last Friday when I could have picked up a GS3 for $50...
I have my Evo Shift on craigslist for sale, and thus returned it to stock, but am thinking I may unlock it again, try out CM10 on it, and if it runs well, switch back too. LTE would be nice, and even though I'm in the Atlanta metro, and get LTE speeds driving around, it seems to have dead zones at my house, my buddy's house, my wife's school, and anywhere else I might have the opportunity to use it. I was hoping some of the development would help fix these issues, but I guess I'm too impatient to wait lol. One of the last straws was going to watch a video on collegehumor that wouldn't run on the Q, even with Flash 11.1 sideloaded, but runs fine on my original HTC EVO (which also runs CM10).
Dunno, its a hard choice... the keyboard is really nice, and I'm excited for the free vehicle dock, and the dual core 1.5 is pretty sweet, but there are just too many issues with the thing...

To me the downside of Sprint's network is that the connection seems to drop out often, resulting in the inability to load data at that instant, and probably battery drain... i would think anyway. Does anyone else notice the connection dropping and reconnecting a lot? I felt like i maintained a much more steady connection on T-Mobile's network. And yea, i find Sprint 3G to be pretty slow.
But in the few times i've had strong LTE, i've had the fastest speeds i have ever recorded anywhere!

zodiac12345 said:
One, EVDO Rev B, last I checked, is not on the Photon Q or any LTE phone other than the iPhone 5. Two, EVDO Rev B IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE DEPLOYED BY SPRINT OR VERIZON. All phones connect to EVDO Rev A.
Those speeds and pings are highly varying, make SURE both phones are connected to 3G (EVDO). It seems the Photon Q is connected to 1xRTT rather than EVDO, while the Evo Shift is connected to EVDO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Photon is NOT getting Evdo (whatever rev) even though it says it does. Both stock and post OTA.

yogi2010 said:
To me the downside of Sprint's network is that the connection seems to drop out often, resulting in the inability to load data at that instant, and probably battery drain... i would think anyway. Does anyone else notice the connection dropping and reconnecting a lot? I felt like i maintained a much more steady connection on T-Mobile's network. And yea, i find Sprint 3G to be pretty slow.
But in the few times i've had strong LTE, i've had the fastest speeds i have ever recorded anywhere!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed the exact same thing. When I'm on 3G, the data is fairly regularly just dropping for a second or two at a time, so anything that requires a constant connection (like IRC) will crap out. The few times I've been in 4G, mostly in silicon valley, I've gotten ridiculously fast speeds. Last time I ran a speed test it was like 36MBps down and 20MBps up. I never saw those speeds with Verizon (but that's likely because so many more people were actually using Verizon, too)

Jgard said:
I've noticed the exact same thing. When I'm on 3G, the data is fairly regularly just dropping for a second or two at a time, so anything that requires a constant connection (like IRC) will crap out. The few times I've been in 4G, mostly in silicon valley, I've gotten ridiculously fast speeds. Last time I ran a speed test it was like 36MBps down and 20MBps up. I never saw those speeds with Verizon (but that's likely because so many more people were actually using Verizon, too)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah the dropping connection is terrible, and happens even in a real strong 3G area. could it have anything to do with looking for LTE, or being on the edge of an LTE zone, or just the fact that the whole network is in flux? hopefully it's only temporary 'cuz it's pretty bad... seems real slow too, especially on downloads.
yeah, my record speedtest was 37 MBps down in LTE! i never got 20 up tho. yea, there can't be too many people using Sprint LTE yet, but i've been reading some forums on the site s4gru.com, and supposedly Verizon just raced to cover the nation with LTE, but didn't rebuild their entire network like Sprint is doing. who knows, but at least Sprint LTE seems promising.

yogi2010 said:
yeah the dropping connection is terrible, and happens even in a real strong 3G area. could it have anything to do with looking for LTE, or being on the edge of an LTE zone, or just the fact that the whole network is in flux? hopefully it's only temporary 'cuz it's pretty bad... seems real slow too, especially on downloads.
yeah, my record speedtest was 37 MBps down in LTE! i never got 20 up tho. yea, there can't be too many people using Sprint LTE yet, but i've been reading some forums on the site s4gru.com, and supposedly Verizon just raced to cover the nation with LTE, but didn't rebuild their entire network like Sprint is doing. who knows, but at least Sprint LTE seems promising.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a bug in 77.8 (drop data when changing network mode)
workaround: turn on airplane mode, turn off, or reboot phone.

VICODAN said:
That is a bug in 77.8 (drop data when changing network mode)
workaround: turn on airplane mode, turn off, or reboot phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think these are actually 2 different things, i've been seeing the signal drop/reconnect ever since the original software version. after the update, the 3G icon will disappear(like after a phone call) and won't come back until you toggle airplane mode or it drops and reconnects on it's own(which seems to be often!). but if your 3G icon disappears and you have bars, try and you should see that you can still load data, so i believe that bug since the update is more of a cosmetic thing. at least that's how it is for me, and others have said the same on other forums.

Here's a screenshot where i have no 3G icon but have a perfect data connection!

yogi2010 said:
yeah the dropping connection is terrible, and happens even in a real strong 3G area. could it have anything to do with looking for LTE, or being on the edge of an LTE zone, or just the fact that the whole network is in flux? hopefully it's only temporary 'cuz it's pretty bad... seems real slow too, especially on downloads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, that issue actually does have a lot to do with the phone wanting to search for LTE, or trying to prefer LTE when the connection is very weak. The solution? Turn off LTE when you're not in LTE coverage. Not the most elegant or pleasing solution, but that fixes it.
Sent from my Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE (XT897-rooted) using xda-developers app.

FinntheViking said:
You're right, that issue actually does have a lot to do with the phone wanting to search for LTE, or trying to prefer LTE when the connection is very weak. The solution? Turn off LTE when you're not in LTE coverage. Not the most elegant or pleasing solution, but that fixes it.
Sent from my Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE (XT897-rooted) using xda-developers app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that could be it for me. I switched to CDMA-only a few hours ago and haven't seen the signal drop out once. I'll keep an eye on it tho to make sure. It seems like LTE is creeping in around where i live, so my phone may have been wanting to connect but was just out of range of it.

Related

HSUPA?

So, will the captivate have HSUPA?? It says on the main page here on XDA, in the specs breakdown, next to HSUPA it says, NOT IN US.
I could have swore i read that it WILL have it?
I have an iphone 4, and have become accustomed to the crazy fast upload now, but i wanted to pick up the captivate to tinker with an android phone.
Everything I have read so far has said it is supported, but now that you mention it, what would be the difference, a certain frequency band I guess? Nothing I have read over thus far has said anything about a difference between countries (i.e. US and rest of world)...
aphexacid said:
So, will the captivate have HSUPA?? It says on the main page here on XDA, in the specs breakdown, next to HSUPA it says, NOT IN US.
I could have swore i read that it WILL have it?
I have an iphone 4, and have become accustomed to the crazy fast upload now, but i wanted to pick up the captivate to tinker with an android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if this is fast enough for you but unless AT&T massacred the radio in the Captivate you should experience speeds like.... http://twitpic.com/24a5ri
That's my Galaxy S in Orlando running solely off 1900MHz 3G.
FWIW, this indicates HSUPA is supported, but I'd consider this a preliminary spec that needs to be confirmed after the Captivate is released and tested.
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=2430&view=1&c=samsung_sgh-i897_galaxy_s_captivate_
Sweet, very nice.
Seriously, once you have HSUPA, you cant go back. Its like going back to edge.
I still think i'm going to hold out about a week or so after the device launches just to make sure of a few things that i need to have.
thanks fellas!
Can we bring this back for discussion again?
From what I understand, when you are on HSUPA you will get an H in the status bar instead of 3G. Is anyone seeing this? So far I haven't seen this and speedtests have agreed that I haven't had HSUPA. I had an iphone 4 before and I know it was on HSUPA in the same area.
AJerman said:
Can we bring this back for discussion again?
From what I understand, when you are on HSUPA you will get an H in the status bar instead of 3G. Is anyone seeing this? So far I haven't seen this and speedtests have agreed that I haven't had HSUPA. I had an iphone 4 before and I know it was on HSUPA in the same area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. If you look at my picture posted here http://twitpic.com/24a5ri you will see the 'H' you are asking about in the statusbar.
My phone says I'm on HSDPA but I only have the 3G icon on my screen. Do you only get the "H" when you have the high-speed upload? Seems a bit counter intuitive to me.
mesasone said:
My phone says I'm on HSDPA but I only have the 3G icon on my screen. Do you only get the "H" when you have the high-speed upload? Seems a bit counter intuitive to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read somewhere awhile back that it fluctuates from showing 3G to HSDPA when it's active on data transfer and hits/detects the higher speed...don't hold me to that though. Maybe someone else can offer more insight into it but i've actively seen the icon switch from 3G to H with not interaction by me (background data i assume)
Well that's weird. I'll have to play with it more tomorrow and see if I can figure out why mine won't jump on HSUPA.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Okay, so at my house, where I know I got HSUPA on the iPhone 4, I'm definitely not getting it now on the Captivate. I have a signal strength of -51 dB, so I know I have enough signal. I couldn't get much higher signal if I sat under the tower. I'm wondering if I have a problem on my phone since trinikartel got HSUPA just fine.
I'm new to Android, anyone know something to check for this?
AJerman said:
Okay, so at my house, where I know I got HSUPA on the iPhone 4, I'm definitely not getting it now on the Captivate. I have a signal strength of -51 dB, so I know I have enough signal. I couldn't get much higher signal if I sat under the tower. I'm wondering if I have a problem on my phone since trinikartel got HSUPA just fine.
I'm new to Android, anyone know something to check for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well trinikartel said he was on a Galaxy S, not a Captivate. I'm thinking the US versions dont have HSUPA. I have another thread on here stating that I got 2457 down and only 174 up this morning. Also, I've never seen my 3G turn to an H.
Also, I dont know if it matters but on my 3G icon the down arrow is orange and the up arrow is green.
I think you guys don't realize that AT&T's HSUPA is still broken. Don't you remember that whole upload fiasco? It affects the Captivate as it does the iPhone 4 and it hasn't been fixed in those markets (apparently most) where they use the Lucent equipment.
I used to get great HSUPA upload speeds on my AT&T banded N1 and the upload has not been fixed as uploads are still stuck at regular 3G < 300kbit speeds.
The Captivate undoubtedly supports HSUPA, but AT&T's network is still borked and as far as I can tell they have not rolled out any fix.
I have both the N1 and the Captivate.
The only other thing I can think of is if AT&T is turning off the HSUPA based on the phones IMEI or model number.
Just checked with an iPhone 4 friend, can not get over 200k -300l, so there is still a system wide HSUPA failure as far as my limited testing in my market is concerned.
Used to be 1.6mbit up quite regularly on the N1 or the iPhone4.
-James
derek4484 said:
Well trinikartel said he was on a Galaxy S, not a Captivate. I'm thinking the US versions dont have HSUPA. I have another thread on here stating that I got 2457 down and only 174 up this morning. Also, I've never seen my 3G turn to an H.
Also, I dont know if it matters but on my 3G icon the down arrow is orange and the up arrow is green.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I didn't see him say that. That sucks. I really hope the Captivate didn't get crippled, but right now, there's no other explanation than that. I SHOULD have HSUPA right now, and I don't.
jmacdonald801 said:
I think you guys don't realize that AT&T's HSUPA is still broken. Don't you remember that whole upload fiasco? It affects the Captivate as it does the iPhone 4 and it hasn't been fixed in those markets (apparently most) where they use the Lucent equipment.
I used to get great HSUPA upload speeds on my AT&T banded N1 and the upload has not been fixed as uploads are still stuck at regular 3G < 300kbit speeds.
The Captivate undoubtedly supports HSUPA, but AT&T's network is still borked and as far as I can tell they have not rolled out any fix.
I have both the N1 and the Captivate.
The only other thing I can think of is if AT&T is turning off the HSUPA based on the phones IMEI or model number.
Just checked with an iPhone 4 friend, can not get over 200k -300l, so there is still a system wide HSUPA failure as far as my limited testing in my market is concerned.
Used to be 1.6mbit up quite regularly on the N1 or the iPhone4.
-James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never had an issue where I live. While everyone else was going slow, I was still doing 1200-1300 Kbps.
Edit: Looks like there's a good chance the Captivate WAS crippled. There's absolutely no mention of HSUPA in the manual at all. This REALLY sucks. I may consider returning the phone because of this and leaving AT&T.
Its all 3g hsdpa/umts
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
trinikartel said:
I've read somewhere awhile back that it fluctuates from showing 3G to HSDPA when it's active on data transfer and hits/detects the higher speed...don't hold me to that though. Maybe someone else can offer more insight into it but i've actively seen the icon switch from 3G to H with not interaction by me (background data i assume)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T devices do not show the H like the International versions, they use 3G icon only to avoid confusion apparently.
Well on AT&T's site it says the iphone 4 has umts/hsdpa. I'm pretty positive that it has hsupa. So I don't believe AT&T's site is an accurate source of information for their own products.
I just put my sim card back in my ATT Tilt2. It DOES show H in Dallas, TX. As it has since I bought it. Captivate shows 3g. There IS a speed difference.
I live in NYC and just ran a speed test. I'm getting 1.52 - 2mpbs down and .19mbps up. While my friend on his iphone 4 sitting right next to me is getting 3 mbps down and 1.8mbps up. This phone definitely slower. And when I tether the speeds go even slower. Is phone really crippled?
jojorios said:
I live in NYC and just ran a speed test. I'm getting 1.52 - 2mpbs down and .19mbps up. While my friend on his iphone 4 sitting right next to me is getting 3 mbps down and 1.8mbps up. This phone definitely slower. And when I tether the speeds go even slower. Is phone really crippled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting about the same right now (at night I can get 4M down). The thing is that I'm getting the same crappy upstream speeds with my Nexus One. Before the whole AT&T equipment ****-up in early July, I was getting ~1.5M up with my Nexus. Now I'm wondering if they crippled it for non-Apple devices.

4G not implimented yet!!?? plus more

ok i havent seen a post for this so here we go..
if you use adw launcher and custom make an icon attached to the hidden menu apk you can access the test and servicing menus like other phones BUT... if you go into test settings for phone (play around its in there) there is a menu the shows hspda (3g, hspda+ being 4g) and many other functions that are advertised on the phone that are all listed as NOT IMPLIMENTED YET!!
so as far as i can tell 4g is NOT active on tmobile at all yet. not until the software is upgraded (gingerbread i am assuming). so it would make sense why the signal on the phone is screwed up and dropping (confused phone maybe?) and why im still getting 3g speeds (slightly faster maybe from better signal reception due to upgraded hardware from my previous Vibrant).
go take a look for yourself and let me know what you think. im sure you can use desktop visualizer to get to the menu to. DONT MESS WITH ANYTHING THOUGH. i had to reset my phone and not with a hard reset, but a recovery i found on a nvflash website. almost bricked it. so just look but don't touch anything important unless you know what your doing.
im looking forward to hearing what everything thinks of this and the giant list of other features also saying this in the same menu. because i feel mislead just a little bit.....
I think it's just that the functions in the hidden menu aren't implemented yet.
Hmmm, interesting find! Maybe this explains the problems I'm having maintaining a stable 2g only connection as well
Dolphinwigs said:
ok i havent seen a post for this so here we go..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a reason for that...
so as far as i can tell 4g is NOT active on tmobile at all yet. not until the software is upgraded (gingerbread i am assuming)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got a hot 4g connection where I am (west Texas), you don't get 4.9-5.6mb (Speedtest) download on 3g. Did you check the T-Mobile coverage map to see if you have it in your area yet?
Edit: you also may need a new sim card. Depending on the age of the card, you might not be able to get a stable lock on to 4g (age as in what generation it was produced.. not how long you've had it)
thats possible, but im getting 3g speeds still as far as i can tell and i don't see why it wouldnt be included in the "hidden menu" if it is working since we aren't "really" supposed to know about the hidden menu. anyways just something i noticed.
menu is Hidden Menu->modem settings is where the menu is at.
and i got a new sim card (tired 2 new ones both the same) and yes i am in salt lake city and it is a 4g area for tmobile. but seems like everyone (mostly) is getting signal drops all over the place. my 2g isn't working as consistantly as it did before on my vibrant either. im sure gingerbread will fix all of this though.
I'm getting 4-8mps down in Metro Atlanta. I say 4G speed is on.
jdkackley said:
Hmmm, interesting find! Maybe this explains the problems I'm having maintaining a stable 2g only connection as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem, and I've even got a 2G booster in my house. My 2G connection drops all the time on my G2X but not my Vibrant. When I look at the signal strength when it's up it's not much different than the Vibrant, -104dBm on the G2X vs -100 dBm on the Vibrant
Im at a consistent 6-9mb dl at my house with a 1mb+ ul. Im calling it 4g and have you tried your conn outside of your city to see if its just congestion on the network?
I'm also getting 4-8mbps speeds in Atlanta, 4g is definitely working.
I'm in vegas, every hour, I get only 10 or 20mn of 4g at 6Mb download speed, the rest of the time I'm on 2g. At night time,i get 4g most of the time. So I guess in the day time, they kick me back to 2g to save their bandwitch, I'm returning my phone to let them know this is not acceptable
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
My phone SAYS 4G all the time in Charlotte NC but I have only been getting 1mb DL and about 1.5 upload. The weird thing is that browsing the web is lightening fast compared to the vibrant. I would say it loads pages twice as fast.
jrharvey said:
My phone SAYS 4G all the time in Charlotte NC but I have only been getting 1mb DL and about 1.5 upload. The weird thing is that browsing the web is lightening fast compared to the vibrant. I would say it loads pages twice as fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure but this may have as much to do with the processor and RAM speed as the connection speed.
I get crap speeds compared to the Nexus S, and that phone doesn't support full hspa+
jlevy73 said:
I get crap speeds compared to the Nexus S, and that phone doesn't support full hspa+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not complaining about my speeds which are plenty good IMO, averaging around 3-3.5 mbps. However, I have been surprised that they are no better than my Nexus One was that also didn't support HSPA+.
A few things, before we get too heavy handed on the FUD:
The phone is technically '4G' compatible, and it supports it out of the box.
Most of T-Mo's towers have been upgraded to support their 4G (HSPA+)
Regular HSPA caps out at about 3.5Mbps down. I've gotten as much as 7Mbps down on my G2x
Personally, I haven't had many issues with signal, but I live in Houston, so that may have something to do with it.
4g is on in Huntington Beach, and irvine.
I did notice its not a huge difference speed wise though. I had the moto cliq 3g and i would get 1mbs ish to 5mbs DL, and with the G2x im averaging about 3mbs to 7mbs. not a huge difference but the big change is Latency. I used to rock 700ms to 1000ms on 3g with my cliq, im getting around 55ms to 150ms on my G2x.
Latency is key for me though, i would prefer lower latency than higher download speeds. Due to the fact I need to vpn and voip with company network.
I found that t mobiles 3g network is still very capable in speed. the main issue i had was my cliq was underpowered to handle the t mobiles network. when i would tether my rooted nook color it would perform like a champ.
jimbo831 said:
I am not complaining about my speeds which are plenty good IMO, averaging around 3-3.5 mbps. However, I have been surprised that they are no better than my Nexus One was that also didn't support HSPA+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do you live? Is it possible T-Mo may not support HSPA+ in your area?
It's also important to note that even if the towers you're connected to support HSPA+, that's only one part of the process. They also have to upgrade the data connection to the tower itself (backhaul) to ensure it can handle the speeds. If you're connected to an HSPA+ tower that doesn't have the upgraded backhaul, that could explain slow speeds.
No.
HSPA+ ("4G") is on and working. You're just not in an HSPA+ area it seems.
We're all getting faster than HSPA speeds, so we are certainly on HSPA+. Speedtests are the best way for you to verify if you are on EDGE (2G), HSPA (3G), or HSPA+ (4G).
I would like a 3g icon just top know what type of tower I'm on, I think the baseband is wack, I bet when gingerbread comes out we will get the separate icons... Also my vibrant would get steady 5-6mb down 2mb up, but with this phone its anything but steady, I can get up to 8mb down but its crazy random, regular use is sometimes slow initializing, and someones websites timeout.... I think a baseband upgrade will fix all this stuff tho, or software upgrades.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
pychobj2001 said:
I would like a 3g icon just top know what type of tower I'm on, I think the baseband is wack, I bet when gingerbread comes out we will get the separate icons... Also my vibrant would get steady 5-6mb down 2mb up, but with this phone its anything but steady, I can get up to 8mb down but its crazy random, regular use is sometimes slow initializing, and someones websites timeout.... I think a baseband upgrade will fix all this stuff tho, or software upgrades.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the thing though. The way T-Mo has their network setup, if you can get 3G from a tower, you should be able to get 4G. Period. You may not get 4G speeds, but you're technically connected to an HSPA+ tower, and thus the 4G icon. It'd be weird to connect a tower that supports HSPA at this point, but not HSPA+ (though I'm sure there are some out there)

Anyone having issues with signal constantly dropping to 2G?

My wife just upgraded from the MyTouch Slide 3G to the Slide 4G. The 4G is constantly dropping to 2G so obviously the data speeds are terrible. Her Slide 3G usually always stayed in 3G in the same areas the 4G is now dropping. Anyone else experiencing this?
Did experience something like this at a friend's house.
Sounds like the problem that the one of the reviewers of the Sidekick 4G was having (ping-ponging between 4G and 2G). Not everyone was having that problem in the wild, though. Could be a coincidence that two recent physical keyboard-based 4G phones are having trouble holding their T-Mobile HSPA+ connections and skipping the 3G alternative, though it could be a bug with T-Mobile's HSPA+ at the tower or phone level. I don't know know the protocol rules on the handoff between 3G and HSPA+. Some reviewers have reported lower data rates than expected with the Slide. The Sensation supposedly has a death grip issue, so maybe there's a variation of that with the Slide (due to a different landscape hand position using the physical keyboard) resulting in 2G connections. Could be temporary capacity issues with your wife's local 3G/4G towers. Is this a constant problem or worse at different times of the day? I remember a few years back reading a report on 3G mobile streaming usage experiments in Europe that it only took like 8 people streaming on the same tower to saturate the tower's 3G capacity. Of course, the number should be higher with HSPA+, but just wanted to point out it is possible for a tower to get overloaded. Keep us posted. This is the kind of stuff that will determine whether I get the Slide and stay with T-Mobile.
I'm in MD and I'm constantly having this issue in my apartment. One minute I have 4g and the next I have 2g and it wont switch back until I restart the phone. I wont even be holding it and i see the issue. Dunno, at least I have 14 days to bring it back.
Had same issue with my sensation. Try going into settings and switching to just wcdma as opposed to it picking between gsm/wcdma. It is under wireless and mobile settings. That is assuming you are in a good 4g area. It will not show 3g
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App
Well i saw this happening on the 1st floor of my house. But it was in a hallway away from the windows. but when i moved it came back to 4g and stays there. I think it has do more with the tower and whats available in your area.
Should I ever see 3G on the phone? Currently it is only ever in 4G or 2G. I notice the manual mentions 3G also though. I was assuming it always said 4G even if it was really 3G, but now I'm not sure. Has anyone seen 3G at all for their signal? I'm wondering if there is a setting wrong on the phone.
For those of you that don't have the network settings, go to the market and download an app called Network, it's free. Scroll down to set preferred network type and chose WCDMA only.
Randomocity812 said:
I'm in MD and I'm constantly having this issue in my apartment. One minute I have 4g and the next I have 2g and it wont switch back until I restart the phone. I wont even be holding it and i see the issue. Dunno, at least I have 14 days to bring it back.
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Click to collapse
This issue is the phone itself. This is a verry buggy phone. Coming from a family g1 plan and were very excited but these phones have issues. Cant wait for root. Neways i know the 2g issue is that it gets stuck and u have to reboot. For ex. I tested in cordelane ID in near costco. Full 4g bars. Had 2 mt4gs's. One phone was in 4g and the other was stuck. I tried the old g1 trick they had in the beginning switching in and out of airplane mode. Did not work. Rebooted and it worked fine. Many other issues like all the time on both phones the widgets get stuck. U must slide to next screen than go back and widget works. Like i said i have 2 phones so i can troubleshoot and feel confident its not a glitch with a particular phone, etc. These phones suck.

Radio UMTS/HSPA switching bug (3g/4g)

OK, so as I'm sure some of you are seeing, there's an issue with the HSPA/UMTS switching. Like a LOT. I've tried to do Speed Tests, but simply am not able to, because the connection wants to switch from 3g to 4g and back over and over again.
I wanna see how many of you are aware of this and are fed up with it. It's kind of silly. C'mon HTC.
I too have noticed this issue. I'm sure it will be fixed quickly. Such is the penalty to being an early adapter.
Doesn't affect my calling in no way whatsoever. Does mess with my browsing a bit, and after connecting to my home wifi i can say that the switching is definitely the cause.
Hope it gets a quick and tidy fix soon.
yep I see it all the time, doesnt bother me though
I think this is a bug in all HOS
Enviado desde mi HTC One S usando Tapatalk 2
The Galaxy Nexus does this. It switches between 3G and H based on what is being done. If you're not browsing it is on 3G, and if you're browsing and actively using the connection it switches to H. My One S doesn't do this at all unless I'm in a fringe area.
Agreed with the OP, this is annoying, because while the device is in this period of switching there is no data transfer possible, it can stay like this for a long time, sya a few minutes not just a few seconds.
joshnichols189 said:
The Galaxy Nexus does this. It switches between H and H+ based on what is being done. If you're not browsing it is on H, and if you're browsing and actively using the connection it switches to H+. My One S doesn't do this at all unless I'm in a fringe area.
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No, it's nothing like that at all. I came from a Nexus S, which had HSPA (not +), and it would switch from 3g to H, and it was never a problem. The issue here is that once it gets to H, it suddenly dies out, switches back to 3g, goes for a sec, dies, switches to 4g, and over and over again. It's nothing like what you're describing, because I'm very familiar with your situation.
In your situation, as you described, it switches based on usage. So, if you're using data a bunch, it'll switch to HSPA+ and stay there until activity dies down. On the One S, it switches back right in the middle of doing data-intensive work. And it ruins the connection.
Let's put it this way: I cant even perform the Speed Test app half the time because the connection gets interrupted and dropped. I've had less than 50% success rate with finishing that test, and I usually only succeed by timing it based on the switching.
nickmv said:
No, it's nothing like that at all. I came from a Nexus S, which had HSPA (not +), and it would switch from 3g to H, and it was never a problem. The issue here is that once it gets to H, it suddenly dies out, switches back to 3g, goes for a sec, dies, switches to 4g, and over and over again. It's nothing like what you're describing, because I'm very familiar with your situation.
In your situation, as you described, it switches based on usage. So, if you're using data a bunch, it'll switch to HSPA+ and stay there until activity dies down. On the One S, it switches back right in the middle of doing data-intensive work. And it ruins the connection.
Let's put it this way: I cant even perform the Speed Test app half the time because the connection gets interrupted and dropped. I've had less than 50% success rate with finishing that test, and I usually only succeed by timing it based on the switching.
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I understand haha and I haven't had a single problem except one place where I frequent is a fringe area and it will go from one bar or "4G" down to 2G but that's about it.
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda premium
You sir... are wrong or lying.
nickmv said:
No, it's nothing like that at all. I came from a Nexus S, which had HSPA (not +), and it would switch from 3g to H, and it was never a problem. The issue here is that once it gets to H, it suddenly dies out, switches back to 3g, goes for a sec, dies, switches to 4g, and over and over again. It's nothing like what you're describing, because I'm very familiar with your situation.
In your situation, as you described, it switches based on usage. So, if you're using data a bunch, it'll switch to HSPA+ and stay there until activity dies down. On the One S, it switches back right in the middle of doing data-intensive work. And it ruins the connection.
Let's put it this way: I cant even perform the Speed Test app half the time because the connection gets interrupted and dropped. I've had less than 50% success rate with finishing that test, and I usually only succeed by timing it based on the switching.
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Click to collapse
Lets see... HSPA and 3g = the same thing. You claiming your Nexus S switches between H and 3g is total utter BS. The H moniker in the notification bar is ONLY a reference to HSPA+ otherwise known by carriers as 4G.
Nexus S does not, never did, never will, switch between H and 3g. It just doesn't have the hardware. Since you are obviously a liar or just wrong, I discount the rest of your post as well.
yech22 said:
Lets see... HSPA and 3g = the same thing. You claiming your Nexus S switches between H and 3g is total utter BS. The H moniker in the notification bar is ONLY a reference to HSPA+ otherwise known by carriers as 4G.
Nexus S does not, never did, never will, switch between H and 3g. It just doesn't have the hardware. Since you are obviously a liar or just wrong, I discount the rest of your post as well.
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The Nexus S shows H when using the connection and 3G when not.
AOSP sees UMTS as 3G and HSDPA/HSPA/HSPA+ as H. It will sit on UMTS until you are using mobile data, then it will switch to H.
So yes, the phone can switch between 3G and H while being used. HSPA and variants ARE 3G, but are seen as 4G, thus H. It doesn't even sound like you had a Nexus S so how would you even know what the status bar does?
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda premium
yech22 said:
Lets see... HSPA and 3g = the same thing. You claiming your Nexus S switches between H and 3g is total utter BS. The H moniker in the notification bar is ONLY a reference to HSPA+ otherwise known by carriers as 4G.
Nexus S does not, never did, never will, switch between H and 3g. It just doesn't have the hardware. Since you are obviously a liar or just wrong, I discount the rest of your post as well.
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LOL, with all due respect, you just made yourself look like a fool. If you actually owned a Nexus S or looked up its specifications, it is capable of 7.2mbps HSDPA (H, or sometimes described as 3.5G), whereas UMTS is described at traditional 3G. HSDPA was and has never been considered 3G. It's definitely a step up.
Traditional 3G has never been capable of 7.2mbps downstream. I invite you to do some research here regarding the differences. I'll assume since you had time to time to craft a clever little response, that you can take time to read up on it.
Again, had you actually owned a Nexus S or researched it, you would have found that it typically stays on regular 3G (UMTS...NOT HSPA) when not very active, and switches to H (HSDPA).
Again, had you actually owned a Nexus S or researched it, you would have found that in the System Settings, that network mode is easily found, and either displays HSPA (H/3.5G) or UMTS(3G).
Another links for explanations....scroll to the bottom for this statement
"Three has now backed down and agreed that HSPA+ is not 4G"
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/story/20...rk-with-42mbps-capable-evolved-hspa-tech.html
SFP said:
Another links for explanations....scroll to the bottom for this statement
"Three has now backed down and agreed that HSPA+ is not 4G"
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/story/20...rk-with-42mbps-capable-evolved-hspa-tech.html
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I don't think that's ever been up for debate. However, the stock ROM displays HSPA and HSPA+ connections as "4G", and so do some of the modded ROMs. I'm not here for a debate on what's true 4g. This thread has somehow transformed....
Apologies, I wasn't challenging what you'd written, think I'm confused too :rolleyes
Sent from my HTC One S using XDA
nickmv said:
I don't think that's ever been up for debate. However, the stock ROM displays HSPA and HSPA+ connections as "4G", and so do some of the modded ROMs. I'm not here for a debate on what's true 4g. This thread has somehow transformed....
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I'm only here because of the know it all on the first page
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda premium
I have this problem with my phone as well. I just want to throw something else out there also.
On my Nexus one when I had CM7 depending on what I was doing it could display 3g change to H. The thing is though that when 3g was displayed you actually had no data connection.
It seems something similar is going on here because the behavior isn't a slow down in the connection speed rather it's an actual break in the connection (downloads stop, speedtest does nothing, etc.)
We might not have a problem with the phone switching back and forth between 3g and 4g. Rather the phone could be switching from 4g to nothing to 4g. Only it's so fast the icons don't display the whole story (this is my personal belief)
You can see the same type of behavior when switching from WCDMA only to GSM Only
It starts at H
Then briefly 3G
Then no letter
Then E
I've tried to find a way to get the phone locked on 3g but I can only get 2g or 4g.
nickmv said:
OK, so as I'm sure some of you are seeing, there's an issue with the HSPA/UMTS switching. Like a LOT. I've tried to do Speed Tests, but simply am not able to, because the connection wants to switch from 3g to 4g and back over and over again.
I wanna see how many of you are aware of this and are fed up with it. It's kind of silly. C'mon HTC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't remember whether you've mentioned this somewhere else, but what radio are you using? I'm curious as to whether you received a phone that didn't get an updated to release radio? I haven't had any problems.
I'm on 0.16.31501S.02
Also, I NEVER see 3G on my phone. I wonder if that actually helps my situation. I'm mostly always at full 4G, but will sometimes drop to 2G, or even G, depending on whether I'm in a shielded area or passing through a dead zone. I wonder if this could actually be working for me/against you?
majalo said:
I can't remember whether you've mentioned this somewhere else, but what radio are you using? I'm curious as to whether you received a phone that didn't get an updated to release radio? I haven't had any problems.
I'm on 0.16.31501S.02
Also, I NEVER see 3G on my phone. I wonder if that actually helps my situation. I'm mostly always at full 4G, but will sometimes drop to 2G, or even G, depending on whether I'm in a shielded area or passing through a dead zone. I wonder if this could actually be working for me/against you?
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Click to collapse
I only go between 4G and 2G when in fringe areas as well. Haven't seen 3G once.
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda premium
Solved my problem
I had the same problem of my Galaxy SII switching back and forth between data types. I had tried putting my iPhone 4 SIM into my Android (with an adapter). Turns out that my problem was with the SIM. I needed a different SIM for this type of phone.
Just positing this in case it helps anyone. Try visiting your carrier and ask for a different SIM.
Flash my T-Mobile ROM and it'll fix the issue.

Weak Radio?

am I the only one experiencing a weaker radio in this phone? I've had a bunch and with this phone in my basement I only get 3G (4G with every other phone) I'm also getting alot of dropped calls in my area. I know it's not just the phone as I've tried 3 and they all do the same thing. Is there a new Radio to flash for better service?
Also is there a way to remove the cover? The camera seems to have a haze behind the cover, it's never been dropped/spilled/etc.
I wouldn't say the radio is the worst reception wise but IT SUCKS with the 3g/1x/4g sometimes when I'm traveling I'll enter a 3g or even 1x area and when I get to a 4g area it's still stuck in 3g or 1x until I cycle airplane mode off then on again, drives me nuts sometimes. As far as signal strength it's on par with my galaxy s4 but not good as my old Droid or note 2 I'd say the radio is average but the 3g handoff thing is very annoying
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app
We're working on that all over the nation. Cdma or 1x will be totally phased out over the next year but how many of us are going to have m8's in a year? Every Ericsson and Verizon approved contractor is out there killing it right now trying to fine tune the network.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app
When I first got the M8 on stock..I thought the radio was quite good. Once I rooted/S-Off and went to Viper ROM...still was quite good. THe last few eeks to a month..I've noticed the radio acting very oddly. In normaly strong 4G areas...it will just drop data and wont reconnect until I switch the mode (I use the old T Bolt LTE On/Off app) from CDMA + LTE/EvDO Auto to LTE, CDMA or just LTE ONLY to force a reconnect...but even then it will get stuck on 1xx in a strong 4g signal area. At that point only a radio off/on gets the 4G back.
Radio seems to be very "sticky" and stubborn once it gets off the 4G LTE these days. (I am in NJ....so the whole state is bathed in LTE)
Not sure what to do...it isn't per se terrible...but it is getting annoying.
Not as good as my iPhone 5 but much much better then my galaxy nexus.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
Before the M8, I had the thunderbolt, rezound and M7. The M8 is on par with all of those phones. I haven't noticed any signal difference. I'm in a pretty good 4g coverage area though. So I'm sure that helps.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
bakemcbride21 said:
When I first got the M8 on stock..I thought the radio was quite good. Once I rooted/S-Off and went to Viper ROM...still was quite good. THe last few eeks to a month..I've noticed the radio acting very oddly. In normaly strong 4G areas...it will just drop data and wont reconnect until I switch the mode (I use the old T Bolt LTE On/Off app) from CDMA + LTE/EvDO Auto to LTE, CDMA or just LTE ONLY to force a reconnect...but even then it will get stuck on 1xx in a strong 4g signal area. At that point only a radio off/on gets the 4G back.
Radio seems to be very "sticky" and stubborn once it gets off the 4G LTE these days. (I am in NJ....so the whole state is bathed in LTE)
Not sure what to do...it isn't per se terrible...but it is getting annoying.
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I am having very similar issues but I am in California and very slow 4g speeds at times in areas that have always been pretty good (10-30mbps+). Now I'm lucky if I get 5 and sometimes it's so slow, speedtest fails with communication issues. Xlte areas don't seem to be having issues though as I consistently pull well over 70 down sometimes passing 100+. Seems like only the band 13 lte is the problem in my area. It is quite annoying and if they don't fix it soon, they better plan on crediting some of my bill because I can't even use my phone at work anymore.
Evocm7 said:
I am having very similar issues but I am in California and very slow 4g speeds at times in areas that have always been pretty good (10-30mbps+). Now I'm lucky if I get 5 and sometimes it's so slow, speedtest fails with communication issues. Xlte areas don't seem to be having issues though as I consistently pull well over 70 down sometimes passing 100+. Seems like only the band 13 lte is the problem in my area. It is quite annoying and if they don't fix it soon, they better plan on crediting some of my bill because I can't even use my phone at work anymore.
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Yup..exactly what I'm experiencing. Maybe with the XLTE implementation they're having handoff/communication issues with the older 3G/4G network.

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