I just helped my son install the hybrid modem for his Nexus 4 and set up the T-mobile APN for it. I was about to tell him that he would have to go somewhere else to test it since I never get LTE at home, and then boom, the 4G icon shows up on his phone! I checked Network Signal Info and sure enough, it's got an LTE connection with about 6Mbps transfer rate. Sitting right next to him my N5 has only 3G with occasional switches up to HSPA and back, and a very low transfer rate. What gives? I am able to get LTE on the N5 in other areas of town and it works wonderfully, but around my home it is very weak and almost never runs in LTE mode.
Could it be that the N4 is connecting on a different LTE band? If so, why is the N5 not using that band as well? Is there something that can be done for the N5 to tweak it to improve its LTE reception or how it chooses how to connect to available LTE signals?
Both N4 and N5 have 1700 band so it should get perfect HSDPA.
It might be the towers in your area are busy or the signal is weak.
I use straight talk t-mobil and I get HSDPA around 15Mbps and my friend get a little more on LTE here in chicagoland.
Also for people on Straight talk if you want to get LTE att version you need to get a new simcard and change APN and for t-mobil
just get a new simcard and boom you get LTE.
Idk if I'd worry about it. In most places the HSDPA speeds for T-Mobile are the same or better than the LTE speeds you would get. I'm in the far north chicago suburbs and I get LTE and HSDPA downloads at 25mbps. The LTE coverage is still a bit spotty. Its probably only worth it if I you're in a developed urban area. However it is a bit strange that you guys have the same hardware, service and location but different connections. The only thing I can think of is that I've seen some people instruct to setup the apn as fast.tmobile.com. however mine only worked with fast.T-Mobile.com (with the dash). I would also check to confirm that your phone is set to lte preferred (LTE/gsm) and not gsm priority. Those are the only things I can think that I can think of. Hope it helps.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
gorilla p said:
Idk if I'd worry about it. In most places the HSDPA speeds for T-Mobile are the same or better than the LTE speeds you would get. I'm in the far north chicago suburbs and I get LTE and HSDPA downloads at 25mbps. The LTE coverage is still a bit spotty. Its probably only worth it if I you're in a developed urban area. However it is a bit strange that you guys have the same hardware, service and location but different connections. The only thing I can think of is that I've seen some people instruct to setup the apn as fast.tmobile.com. however mine only worked with fast.T-Mobile.com (with the dash). I would also check to confirm that your phone is set to lte preferred (LTE/gsm) and not gsm priority. Those are the only things I can think that I can think of. Hope it helps.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile 4G LTE will properly works on fast.t-mobile.com, fast.tmobile.com is not the proper APN (the - matters)
There are just way too many variables. Maybe his modem has better reception, newer sim card, etc.
RobinD42 said:
I just helped my son install the hybrid modem for his Nexus 4 and set up the T-mobile APN for it. I was about to tell him that he would have to go somewhere else to test it since I never get LTE at home, and then boom, the 4G icon shows up on his phone! I checked Network Signal Info and sure enough, it's got an LTE connection with about 6Mbps transfer rate. Sitting right next to him my N5 has only 3G with occasional switches up to HSPA and back, and a very low transfer rate. What gives? I am able to get LTE on the N5 in other areas of town and it works wonderfully, but around my home it is very weak and almost never runs in LTE mode.
Could it be that the N4 is connecting on a different LTE band? If so, why is the N5 not using that band as well? Is there something that can be done for the N5 to tweak it to improve its LTE reception or how it chooses how to connect to available LTE signals?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fwiw there are other threads where people have reported that the N4 picks up LTE in the same place that an N5 does not. So you are not alone. N4 may have a stronger radio. That would be unfortunate... Never good to see a step backwards on something as important as that.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Good news everyone! I too has having this problem. My Nexus 4 was an LTE champ and then it was a huge let down that my Nexus 5 was treating LTE like it had cooties, but now my Nexus 5 works the way it should. What I did was go to my nearest T-Mobile store and told the representative what was happening. He called tech support and they ended up doing some sort of reset to my account. I also had questions about my SIM card and felt that it could have been at fault. He offered to switch it out to the new ISIS SIM and as soon as my phone booted up, it was on LTE. Since then, it has behaved like my Nexus 4. I am even in my office where the Nexus 5 wasn't picking up LTE, but my Nexus 4 was, and it is on LTE at the moment.
I am not sure if the reset that tech support did solved the problem or the new SIM, but I would definately give that a try--it didn't cost me anything and now I am happy with my Nexus 5. Good luck!
In my experience my N4 has slightly better signal pickup than my N5.
The real reason is probably differences in the radios' priority algorithms. Set your N5 to LTE-only and see what happens, I imagine you'll get LTE.
dijit4l said:
I am not sure if the reset that tech support did solved the problem or the new SIM, but I would definately give that a try--it didn't cost me anything and now I am happy with my Nexus 5. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you not get LTE at all, or really poor LTE signal/speed?
tcristy said:
Did you not get LTE at all, or really poor LTE signal/speed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would get LTE eventually only to lose it when it reached 2 bars or lower. It was really weird. I would be in areas where one would get 5 bars of LTE and the phone would sit on HSPA until I would show the phone it was on LTE by switching to LTE Only under the secret dialer menu and then back to GSM/LTE (if you use LTE only, you will lose voice). Then it would hold LTE until it reached 1-2 bars and then go back to HSPA.
I hope this helps.
I am seeing strange readings of signal strength. I see a 10+ db difference between what is reported in the phone status and an app like rootmetrics.
I don't know which one is misrepresenting the signal strength but it seems the roometrics is more accurate because my nexus 4 the signal strength is roughly the same on lte.
Can anyone else confirm?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Related
Is there anywway to do this? I am right on the edge of 3g and LTE service and it keeps bouncing back and forth. I dont think you can, but thought I would check with you guys as well.
whitelightnin3006 said:
Is there anywway to do this? I am right on the edge of 3g and LTE service and it keeps bouncing back and forth. I dont think you can, but thought I would check with you guys as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try dialing *#*#4636#*#* and click phone info and set mode to lte only
gsfesz said:
try dialing *#*#4636#*#* and click phone info and set mode to lte only
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does this code still work or did they switch to a new one with jellybean?
matt2k12 said:
does this code still work or did they switch to a new one with jellybean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The code should still work. Its a general testing code for most, if not all, android phones. The settings may vary.
zodiac12345 said:
The code should still work. Its a general testing code for most, if not all, android phones. The settings may vary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I verified that it works still... forcing LTE though, not so much.
matt2k12 said:
I verified that it works still... forcing LTE though, not so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your phone doesn't connect to LTE by simply cycling through Airplane mode, don't expect forcing LTE mode to connect either. All Force LTE does is disable every connection except LTE ones.
If you live in fringe LTE coverage, and your phone bounces back and forth, your best bet is to disable LTE for the time being.
Source: The office I work in was in the same situation a couple months ago. All of us with Sprint LTE phones learned the hard way that this is the solution.
FinntheViking said:
If you live in fringe LTE coverage, and your phone bounces back and forth, your best bet is to disable LTE for the time being.
Source: The office I work in was in the same situation a couple months ago. All of us with Sprint LTE phones learned the hard way that this is the solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could buy a signal booster? They work really well in doors. Sprints 1900mhz LTE has trouble penetrating buildings but it gets good area and distance coverage. In a few years when they roll out the 800mhz LTE they will get building penetration as well.
matt2k12 said:
You could buy a signal booster? They work really well in doors. Sprints 1900mhz LTE has trouble penetrating buildings but it gets good area and distance coverage. In a few years when they roll out the 800mhz LTE they will get building penetration as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not recommend buying a signal booster. The reason people are in the edge of an LTE signal is because a tower further away has been upgraded, whereas the closer 3G tower doesn't have upgrades. Hence, you connect to 1x Voice to the closer tower, but LTE on the one further away. I would just wait it out. eventually you will get LTE when your closest tower is upgraded.
FinntheViking said:
If you live in fringe LTE coverage, and your phone bounces back and forth, your best bet is to disable LTE for the time being.
Source: The office I work in was in the same situation a couple months ago. All of us with Sprint LTE phones learned the hard way that this is the solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zodiac12345 said:
I would not recommend buying a signal booster. The reason people are in the edge of an LTE signal is because a tower further away has been upgraded, whereas the closer 3G tower doesn't have upgrades. Hence, you connect to 1x Voice to the closer tower, but LTE on the one further away. I would just wait it out. eventually you will get LTE when your closest tower is upgraded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you know what you're talking about. I have seen signal boosters used on log cabins deep in the mountains and gain full bars of 4g LTE service when there is no service whatsoever available outside of the booster zone. They work. Period. Just not the cheap models. Here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NQ2GSW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3SPLR0MSOYZ8O
matt2k12 said:
I don't think you know what you're talking about. I have seen signal boosters used on log cabins deep in the mountains and gain full bars of 4g LTE service when there is no service whatsoever available outside of the booster zone. They work. Period. Just not the cheap models. Here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NQ2GSW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3SPLR0MSOYZ8O
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never said that signal boosters don't work. But the cost of them is not worth it. Paying $350 for a booster, just why? I could see it being worth it in a rural area when Sprint doesn't have many towers and no intention to build more, but in an urban area it is pointless. I was to understand that the OP didn't have 4G service at his workplace, or did but it was pulling in 0 to 1 bars (over -100 dBm). But, at his workplace, he has perfect 3G signal because there is a tower closer that doesn't have 4G service yet. So why buy a booster, spending $350 on something that will fix itself in the coming months.
Point of the story, if you have great 3G signal where you are, DO NOT BUY A BOOSTER. You will get 4G eventually. If you do not have great 3G signal, don't expect to get great 4G signal either. If you don't have great 3G signal in a rural area, the booster will help.
Another thing to note, if you live in an area right between two towers, or at the edge of signal. It may be worth giving a call to Sprint and saying you don't have service in your home. They may send you an Airave. This thing works basically by using your home internet connection to create a router for Sprint phones. The phones will use the "router" for voice and texting, and data as well. It essentially gives you a small tower in your home. The catch on this is that prior to Softbank's purchase of Sprint, Sprint sent these things out to anyone. Calling and complaining to Sprint about poor coverage would yield them sending you an Airave. Now, you must pay $200 for this device of you have between 1 and 3 lines. If, however, you have 4 lines on the Sprint account, you may get it for free.
zodiac12345 said:
I never said that signal boosters don't work. But the cost of them is not worth it. Paying $350 for a booster, just why? I could see it being worth it in a rural area when Sprint doesn't have many towers and no intention to build more, but in an urban area it is pointless. I was to understand that the OP didn't have 4G service at his workplace, or did but it was pulling in 0 to 1 bars (over -100 dBm). But, at his workplace, he has perfect 3G signal because there is a tower closer that doesn't have 4G service yet. So why buy a booster, spending $350 on something that will fix itself in the coming months.
Point of the story, if you have great 3G signal where you are, DO NOT BUY A BOOSTER. You will get 4G eventually. If you do not have great 3G signal, don't expect to get great 4G signal either. If you don't have great 3G signal in a rural area, the booster will help.
Another thing to note, if you live in an area right between two towers, or at the edge of signal. It may be worth giving a call to Sprint and saying you don't have service in your home. They may send you an Airave. This thing works basically by using your home internet connection to create a router for Sprint phones. The phones will use the "router" for voice and texting, and data as well. It essentially gives you a small tower in your home. The catch on this is that prior to Softbank's purchase of Sprint, Sprint sent these things out to anyone. Calling and complaining to Sprint about poor coverage would yield them sending you an Airave. Now, you must pay $200 for this device of you have between 1 and 3 lines. If, however, you have 4 lines on the Sprint account, you may get it for free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heres the thing - Even with good coverage outside, 4G LTE on 1900 mhz spectrum has difficulty penetrating buildings. Doesnt matter the towers. 800 mhz spectrum is only in its infancy and 800 mhz will never be compatible with our current phone model of choice the MPQ with a slide out keyboard.
For less than the price of a new phone you can boost your signal to receive the 1900 mhz LTE indoors. I'm not getting a new phone unless it has a slide out keyboard and it looks like thats not happening any time soon. So for someone who wants LTE on the MPQ indoors, a signal booster is highly economical. Not to mention for consumers that cut the cable and internet bills and use mobile broadband hotspots for all their home entertainment needs. That one booster can save you the $150 month cable/internet bill for perpetuity. It pays for itself in 3 months.
In short- 4G LTE is here but its building penetration is disappointing and to get on the 800mhz band you need to buy new hardware (phone) anyways at an undetermined future date.
Sprint Sucks!!!
Just saying.
Sent from my XT897 using xda premium
matt2k12 said:
does this code still work or did they switch to a new one with jellybean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still works on my nexus 5
I had trouble activating my SIM earlier. It did not want to activate when i did initial set up on the device. So I skipped thinking that i can activate it after set up. So for about an hour it would not connect to T-Mobiles network, then it finally did, with bad signal. All i am able to get is mainly 3G and H data signal, no LTE/4G like i am paying for.
has anyone had a similar problem before? Do you think this can be a bad SIM? Any help is appreciated.
Sorry to hear about your problem my phone isn't here yet so I can not give insights yet but will let you know if anything arises
Getting the same problem here, not getting LTE only H... this is my first time with a LTE phone so maybe my area doesn't have LTE, going to Uni tmrw and see if i get LTE there (which is should)
I like in Central Jersey so don't know if they have LTE there, i am pretty sure they have it in Northern Jersey, specially the Newark, Jersey City, NYC area's
U have lte in your area?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Try setting your APN to fast.t-mobile.com instead of epc.t-mobile.com
Yes. You can do a zip code search on there coverage. My zip is 37075 its got great coverage. I feel its a SIM problem.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
T-Mobile does NOT have nationwide LTE so theres no guarantee that you actually have LTE where you are. Best to make sure of that before you do anything else.
And just so you know, their coverage site does not distinguish between LTE and HSPA+ since they consider both 4G.
No LTE here on a new T-Mobile account. My roommate has it on his S4. I'm hoping it just takes time to provision. Using fast.t-mobile.com
i get lte anywhere i go..im in miami
LTE is not a huge deal as long as I get HSPA+ its fast where I am. It shows Excellent coverage in my area, so yes I may not get Real LTE, but i should get good HSPA+ and cell service. Right?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Try setting the preferred network to LTE. No clue if this will work on a Nexus 5, but it works on a Nexus 4. Even with the appropriate hacks, I only get LTE in my area when I do the following.
1. Enter *#*#4636#*#* in the dialer
2. Go to "Phone information"
3. Change the "Set preferred network type:" dropdown to "LTE only".
LTE started working after about 4 hours after setting up my new T-Mobile account.
Farva0412 said:
I had trouble activating my SIM earlier. It did not want to activate when i did initial set up on the device. So I skipped thinking that i can activate it after set up. So for about an hour it would not connect to T-Mobiles network, then it finally did, with bad signal. All i am able to get is mainly 3G and H data signal, no LTE/4G like i am paying for.
has anyone had a similar problem before? Do you think this can be a bad SIM? Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What apn do you have? Fast.t-mobile.com
Mines been working great all day.
Azmuh said:
Getting the same problem here, not getting LTE only H... this is my first time with a LTE phone so maybe my area doesn't have LTE, going to Uni tmrw and see if i get LTE there (which is should)
I like in Central Jersey so don't know if they have LTE there, i am pretty sure they have it in Northern Jersey, specially the Newark, Jersey City, NYC area's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in Sayreville as well, same issue. No LTE. I'm assuming it's just the coverage. I'll find out on my commute to work tomorrow.
chakra said:
What apn do you have? Fast.t-mobile.com
Mines been working great all day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Fast.t-mobile.com APN. I live in Nashville. It just may be my house. I am going out tomorrow will do more testing.
jimgreco said:
I live in Sayreville as well, same issue. No LTE. I'm assuming it's just the coverage. I'll find out on my commute to work tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in Nashville, well the outskirts. I may not have LTE but the HSPA+ should be decent. Like I said above it may be my house. I get crap wifi reception in here so thats probably the reason.
maramos said:
LTE started working after about 4 hours after setting up my new T-Mobile account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What city are you in?
Farva0412 said:
What city are you in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brooklyn
maramos said:
LTE started working after about 4 hours after setting up my new T-Mobile account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maramos said:
Brooklyn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Thats why you got LTE. Still Rolling out in my area. I am actually not upset about it. The HSPA+ is pretty dang good.
I've been in LTE since I turned on my phone. I'm in Connecticut
Sent from my NEXUS 5
My N5 flips between HSPA+ and LTE pretty much without rhyme or reason. Interestingly, HSPA+ is about as fast down most of the time, but of course LTE is faster uploading.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4
This is my first time with LTE phone and it seems like at times I have to go into mobile networks and select 3g then select LTE again for the LTE symbol to pop up? I'm on straight talk and just didn't know if this was normal or if the phone will select hspa signal if its better than the LTE signal ?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
i think by default it will when idle fall back to the strongest network cause it saves battery.
but when you need data it will attempt to switch to the fastest available.
cant say for sure but this is what appears to happen on all my phones falls back to 3g and when data is needed it shifts to HSPA+
newtonfb said:
This is my first time with LTE phone and it seems like at times I have to go into mobile networks and select 3g then select LTE again for the LTE symbol to pop up? I'm on straight talk and just didn't know if this was normal or if the phone will select hspa signal if its better than the LTE signal ?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting the same behavior on T-Mobile. My Nexus 4, which was never intended to have its LTE radio used, would stay on LTE, come hell or high water, while I'm in the city and fight to keep it as I left. The Nexus 5 seems picky about it's LTE and only uses it if it deems it good enough. If LTE gets 2 bars or lower, it goes back to HSPA. If you force "LTE only" under the secret dialer menu, it will use its LTE, but when you switch it back to LTE/GSM (PRL), it drops LTE and uses HSPA+. I'm like, "The hell is your problem, your highness?"
I had high hopes driving into work today. I was expecting it to get on LTE much sooner, but it didn't switch until I was deep within the city until I entered the parking structure (which my N4 would still have LTE). While I sit here at work, it refuses to switch to LTE while in the building where my N4, in the same spot, would be happily on LTE.
I just don't get it. I thought LTE would be much better on this device, instead it is worse. I feel like this is a bug of some sort. We are in an age where carriers will begin shutting down their legacy networks (of course, T-Mo is nowhere near as ready), and this phone treats LTE like Sprint WiMax!
Not sure about straight talk but I'm in lte with att if I'm in a lte area.
Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!
Just took mine right out the box and as it booted it went right into LTE.
On tmboile.
---------- Post added at 07:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 PM ----------
Just took mine right out the box and as it booted it went right into LTE.
On tmboile.
AndroidKills said:
Just took mine right out the box and as it booted it went right into LTE.
On tmboile.
---------- Post added at 07:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 PM ----------
Just took mine right out the box and as it booted it went right into LTE.
On tmboile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose I should re-flash my phone then. It's just silly how my phone keeps preferring HSPA+ over LTE. When I had LTE enabled on my Nexus 4, my battery life really didn't change. I suppose it had, but it wasn't perceptible to me.
I've had really good luck with it connecting to an LTE network when inside of a LTE area.
However this morning I was streaming from soundcloud while driving and I was 10 minutes into the city with LTE coverage and it would switch. As soon as I ran speedtest it switched. So I believe what was said up above to be true. It needs a good reason probably too switch if your current network mode is doing fine for your current data needs/battery.
I did read this phone is using Qualcomm s news LTE chip which saves power. That could probably play a role.
Either way I'm totally fine with it because it responded to my need of a lot of data instantly by switching to LTE when I ran speed test.
So hey if it saves me battery and h+ is enough for streaming from soundcloud I'm not going to argue with it.
Hold this helps.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Couple of things to keep in mind.
One, your phone will say 3g when not using LTE or HSPA+. This is to save battery, it only shows LTE or H when you are downloading something, or loading a webpage.
Secondly, I have noticed my phone will choose a strong HSPA+ signal over a weak LTE signal. At home, I have a solid LTE connection, so it always says LTE, but at work it switches back and forth from 1 bar of LTE to full bars of HSPA+. Speed wise, they are still comparable, at around 5-6mb/s. At home though, my LTE is around 40mb/s.
Hope this helps.
ArkAngel06 said:
Couple of things to keep in mind.
One, your phone will say 3g when not using LTE or HSPA+. This is to save battery, it only shows LTE or H when you are downloading something, or loading a webpage.
Secondly, I have noticed my phone will choose a strong HSPA+ signal over a weak LTE signal. At home, I have a solid LTE connection, so it always says LTE, but at work it switches back and forth from 1 bar of LTE to full bars of HSPA+. Speed wise, they are still comparable, at around 5-6mb/s. At home though, my LTE is around 40mb/s.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, my Nexus 4 keeping its LTE active all the time except for when making/receiving calls was a "bug" of the hacked radio then? I'm not being sarcastic, I just never owned a true LTE phone before, but my friend who has a Nexus 5 says his LTE has been staying on. It really doesn't make sense for LTE to behave this way as it will replace the legacy networks at some point in the future in which you won't have anything else to fall back to.
Oddly, I haven't noticed this at all. I'm on t-mobile, and my nexus 5 defaults to LTE when I have LTE selected as preferred connection. It doesn't switch to 3g during dormancy as far as I can tell (when I turn the screen back on, its already on LTE).
dijit4l said:
I'm getting the same behavior on T-Mobile. My Nexus 4, which was never intended to have its LTE radio used, would stay on LTE, come hell or high water, while I'm in the city and fight to keep it as I left. The Nexus 5 seems picky about it's LTE and only uses it if it deems it good enough. If LTE gets 2 bars or lower, it goes back to HSPA. If you force "LTE only" under the secret dialer menu, it will use its LTE, but when you switch it back to LTE/GSM (PRL), it drops LTE and uses HSPA+. I'm like, "The hell is your problem, your highness?"
I had high hopes driving into work today. I was expecting it to get on LTE much sooner, but it didn't switch until I was deep within the city until I entered the parking structure (which my N4 would still have LTE). While I sit here at work, it refuses to switch to LTE while in the building where my N4, in the same spot, would be happily on LTE.
I just don't get it. I thought LTE would be much better on this device, instead it is worse. I feel like this is a bug of some sort. We are in an age where carriers will begin shutting down their legacy networks (of course, T-Mo is nowhere near as ready), and this phone treats LTE like Sprint WiMax!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind, would you share how to force LTE only under the secret dialer menu?
Thanks.
[EDIT]
I think I found it with the code *#*#4636*#*# -> phone information -> set preferred network type: LTE only
When I do this and reboot, my bars just disappear, and my APN in my mobile network settings disappears too. I'm using net10.
Anybody know a fix to this?
Megiddo2000 said:
If you don't mind, would you share how to force LTE only under the secret dialer menu?
Thanks.
[EDIT]
I think I found it with the code *#*#4636*#*# -> phone information -> set preferred network type: LTE only
When I do this and reboot, my bars just disappear, and my APN in my mobile network settings disappears too. I'm using net10.
Anybody know a fix to this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have to reboot, myself. When I force LTE only, the phone drops HSPA and goes to LTE.
I'd say put it back to GSM/LTE Only (PRL) and then reset your APN settings.
dijit4l said:
I don't have to reboot, myself. When I force LTE only, the phone drops HSPA and goes to LTE.
I'd say put it back to GSM/LTE Only (PRL) and then reset your APN settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i try dialing that number it says "Connection problem or invalid MMI code."
What's wrong?
_untitled_ said:
when i try dialing that number it says "Connection problem or invalid MMI code."
What's wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
woops, my bad. the code is:
*#*#4636#*#*
(forgot to flip the hashtag asterik in the back)
My N5 is not great at picking up LTE service. My AT&T signal is weak at my house and I don't get LTE, although my Galaxy S2 used to connect that way. Not sure if the phone really doesn't see it or if it thinks it's too weak and HSPA would work better.
(Sending from a moving bus so please bear with me)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
rochrunner said:
My N5 is not great at picking up LTE service. My AT&T signal is weak at my house and I don't get LTE, although my Galaxy S2 used to connect that way. Not sure if the phone really doesn't see it or if it thinks it's too weak and HSPA would work better.
(Sending from a moving bus so please bear with me)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue on T-Mobile. My phone sucks about picking up and using LTE whereas my Nexus 4, a phone that required hacking to get LTE enabled, was a champ. My N4 would remain on LTE all day while in the city regardless of signal strength with no real observable detriment to my battery.
With the Nexus 5, I'm lucky to have it switch to LTE in high signal areas. My Nexus 5 will stay on LTE if I force it to connect using LTE Only (you lose voice with this setting) under the secret dialer menu (*#*#4636#*#*), but if I let the phone decide, it sticks with 3G/HSPA+.
I'm paying for LTE and I want to use it, damn it! LTE at half signal strength is still faster than HSPA+ at full strength for me on T-Mobile.
Actually as I travel along the Ohio Turnpike it is not doing too badly, picking up LTE as we pass near metro areas (Toledo, Cleveland). It is also working great tethering my tablet with Wi-Fi as well.
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I'm having the exact same issue here I'm in the Los Angeles area and I have experienced good speeds on LTE up to 23 down and 12 up but one thing I have noticed is my LTE drops a lot in to H. I'm coming from Verizon which always stayed on LTE locked in so I guess I was spoiled. I left verizon because I got sick of them hating on Nexus Phones but man right now I'm hating these LTE drops on AT&T. But I know for a fact that it's a phone problem because when the phones goes from LTE to H I can manually restore the LTE but I can't get it to stay locked. I called them and they're response was it's just the phone switching from tower to tower.
My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
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Eckono said:
My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
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I've noticed the same thing.... my girlfriend has the Galaxy S3 and has better signal then me all the time... WTF?!?!?!?!?!
I'm tempted to go to the Note 3. I can deal with alot of things, but signal issues isn't 1 of them.
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s13silviaguy said:
I've noticed the same thing.... my girlfriend has the Galaxy S3 and has better signal then me all the time... WTF?!?!?!?!?!
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Your phone is showing data signal hers is showing cdma 1x voice. .. please download signal check app and you will see true db of 1x 3g lte signal. .. so you can compare
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Eckono said:
My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
Sent from my SM-G900P using xda app-developers app
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Signal bars lie. Do this on both of your samsung phones:
Go in to your phone app, and dial ##DEBUG#
Enter 777468 for your lock code
Select LTE Engineering
Go down to RSRP. The number next to RSRP shown in dBm is your LTE signal strength.
Compare numbers.
I did this vs my wife's iPhone 5 and found that although her signal indicator was showing 3-4 more bars than my s5 we both actually had the same signal strength.
Thanks I'll do that asap. The only reason I'm thinking something is wrong is because in areas I had 4G all the time on my Note 3 and S4 I'm barely get 4G or I'll drop to 3G. Then when I'm watching YouTube, if I stop a video , fast forward, or rewind, if I'm on cellular I can never get the video to play back. I get the error tap to retry. But when on WiFi I can I can.
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Eckono said:
Thanks I'll do that asap. The only reason I'm thinking something is wrong is because in areas I had 4G all the time on my Note 3 and S4 I'm barely get 4G or I'll drop to 3G. Then when I'm watching YouTube, if I stop a video , fast forward, or rewind, if I'm on cellular I can never get the video to play back. I get the error tap to retry. But when on WiFi I can I can.
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You also have to read about cfbs and triband phones ... which can cause the data issues
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well if i dont remember note 3 and s3 dont use the spark network and the s5 does soo,.,.its prob a bad spark connection they are still upgrading the towers ..
The s5 signal bar shows data strength instead of voice strength
When you make a phone call, it switches to the voice signal strength, which is why it seems to get higher all of a sudden
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Eckono said:
My GS5 seems to have a very weak LTE signal. I disabled all bands except for band 25 because the phone was trying to signal hop killing the battery. My girlfriend has the Note 3 which can only pick up band 25. When my phone is right next to hers, she can have a very strong LTE signal and my GS5 will either have a very weak signal or drop down to 3G. The only LTE band in my area that's currently pretty strong is the 1900mhz band. I can barely connect to that. Anyone else having weak signal or connection issues?
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How do you disable certain bands? I want to try it as well as something seems to be killing my battery. Thanks
Yea, in the last year I have had an iphone 5, Note2, and Note3. New Orleans is newly upgraded to LTE (not yet Spark), and coverage was great on those three phones. This S5, however, constantly switches from LTE to 3G in areas where the other three phones stayed on LTE. It also drops to no data at all way too often in areas where data is fine. (I play Ingress, so I am VERY familiar with the signal capabilities all over town)
Is there any hope of this phone's signal strength being improved with software updates? Will Spark make a difference when it hits New Orleans?
This piece of garbage is pretty pathetic signal-wise compared to my other devices I've recently used. I've got Sprint to agree to a phone swap, but if that's not going to make a difference, perhaps I should just go back to my Note3.
I have this phone it does drop lte alot plus I have spark. But I have an offer to trade for a note 3 idk if I want ..I like yhe fingerprint scanner but this signal is boo boo ....
gregg37 said:
Yea, in the last year I have had an iphone 5, Note2, and Note3. New Orleans is newly upgraded to LTE (not yet Spark), and coverage was great on those three phones. This S5, however, constantly switches from LTE to 3G in areas where the other three phones stayed on LTE. It also drops to no data at all way too often in areas where data is fine. (I play Ingress, so I am VERY familiar with the signal capabilities all over town)
Is there any hope of this phone's signal strength being improved with software updates? Will Spark make a difference when it hits New Orleans?
This piece of garbage is pretty pathetic signal-wise compared to my other devices I've recently used. I've got Sprint to agree to a phone swap, but if that's not going to make a difference, perhaps I should just go back to my Note3.
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I wouldnt worry about the phone swap. I skeptically did it to see if it would work and ended up wasting an hour in ths store. between my friends and family we have 4 GS5s that all have the same issues.
None of your previous phones were triband. They only could connect to 1900mhz LTE. The GS5 is a triband phone, aka spark, that can connect to 800/1900/2600mhz LTE. Unfortunately there are issues with the software on the towers (search eCSFB) that changes you between bands. I have turned off band 41 and it has helped a lot even tho my area is a "spark" area. I turn it back on once in a while to see if things are fixed.
There have been complaints that the GS5 has worse connectivity because of the water resistant design compared to phones such as the GS4. its really only a couple dbm from what i have seen when looking at actual signal values from engineering screens and when comparing the same band of LTE.
As far as shutting off bands, you will need your MSL code. you can either get it from a sprint rep (all i did was ask) or you can use the MSL reader here
tools.flashingtools.com
use dialer code ##3282# and go to edit. enter your MSL code and go to LTE. turn off B41 and restart your phone.
Shiftlock said:
As far as shutting off bands, you will need your MSL code. you can either get it from a sprint rep (all i did was ask) or you can use the MSL reader here
tools.flashingtools.com
use dialer code ##3282# and go to edit. enter your MSL code and go to LTE. turn off B41 and restart your phone.
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Thank you, Shiftlock! This is the kind of help I was hoping for. I'll give that a try!
:good:
Shiftlock said:
use dialer code ##3282# and go to edit. enter your MSL code and go to LTE. turn off B41 and restart your phone.
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Ok I've got this turned off. Will it persist through resets and restarts? Or will I have to keep turning it off?
(have to remember to bookmark this so I remember how to turn it back on when Spark hits New Orleans, which I think is somewhat soon)
gregg37 said:
Ok I've got this turned off. Will it persist through resets and restarts? Or will I have to keep turning it off?
(have to remember to bookmark this so I remember how to turn it back on when Spark hits New Orleans, which I think is somewhat soon)
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Yes this will stay until you either change it back or do a system update. I noticed that nd2 changed it back. You may want to check it after clearing data/cache if you flash any mods or roms. Luckily the msl won't change so it's easy enough to fix if needed
I'm getting LTE coverage in places I wouldn't with my s4. The data is definitely better
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eyecon82 said:
I'm getting LTE coverage in places I wouldn't with my s4. The data is definitely better
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Better because of turning off band 41 or just comparing the S5 to the S4?
CCallahan said:
Better because of turning off band 41 or just comparing the S5 to the S4?
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Guess we'll never know....
(mine still sucks after trying that, btw)