[Q] Blocking connecting to specific Cell Tower? - G2 and Desire Z Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Is it possible to block a connection to a specific cell tower?
For the past few months I've had trouble with my 3G data connection when I'm connected to a specific cell tower in the area where I work. I've called T-Mobile countless times and they keep assuring me the issue has been identified and they are "hard at work to resolve the problem". Well I'm tired of waiting as its been a problem for months now.
I've search the market for an app that would allow me to disable connections to specific towers but none seem to exist. Would it even be possible to develop an app that could do this?
I've been able to narrow the issue down to a specific Cell Tower ID using some of the tower data apps available. If I switch my G2 over to only use 2G data networks I don't have any issues, but then my connection is unreasonable slow obviously. There are two 3G towers my phone connects to while I'm at work, and the other one works fine, so if I could lock my phone to stay connected to THAT tower it would be great.

Lock onto cell tower
You ever figure out how to do this? Looking into this myself for the E4gT forum with no luck.

Related

[Q] 4G Connects but "Service Not Available" ??

My home is well within the Sprint 4G coverage area shown on the coverage maps. When I turn on 4G (from the Settings screen) it connects to the "Sprint Network" and obtains an IP address (Signal strength = Good).
BUT:
None of the applications which require network access (browser, Market, email, YouTube, etc) can connect. They'll open up, but they can't access the network. If I uncheck Mobile networks in Settings > Wireless & Networks and then re-check it again, it reports "Service unavailable" despite the fact that the 4G Settings screen still reports Connected to Spring with "Good" signal strength and I still have an IP Address.
I should add that the phone has been doing this since I got the phone in November, but I figured it was due to the "unofficial/testing" status of the 4G coverage. I also installed the new 3.70.651.1 update hoping that it would fix the problem, but it had no effect.
After telephone support ran out of things to try they issued a Ticket # and sent me to a Sprint repair location this morning. That location couldn't test the phone on 4G because the store isn't in a 4G coverage area so they just replaced it with a brand new one (not a referb). So I get it home and try it on 4G before I make a single configuration change and the new phone does exactly the same thing as the old one: Good 4G connection but no service.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? Did you find an answer for it?
Thanks!
Pete
Note: All apps seem to work fine when I'm connected to 3G.
Additional info:
For the record, switching back to 3G after trying 4G results in the battery dropping like a stone. aLogcat reveals a flood of those damned <DC Connect> failures going on in the background. Thankfully, powering the phone off and on clears the problem until I try 4G again.
Two things of note:
It doesn't matter whether I use the 4G widget or the Wireless & networks screen.
Removing the 4G widget has no effect.
Pete

[Q] 4G keeps changing IP addresses

I have had several instances where I get dropped because my IP changed. I thought it could be a signal problem so used open signal maps to find my tower but also noticed that there may be a more powerful antenna behind the one that I normally use. This signal took over until I made it home.
So I am thinking that if I could keep only 1 tower or install a proxy that I might be able to fix this problem. I still need more testing and/or other ideas to make this testing more conclusive. I can say that everytime I have a problem the network connection and speeds look good.
Anybody else or ideas?

Data drop after changing data source

After having my Galaxy Nexus for a few weeks I'd like to share my experiences with 'possible' data connectivity issues.
Firstly,
Upon first activating my phone at an official Verizon store I noticed that I lost data and voice services for almost 20 minutes after the phone was first activated. Toggling of 3G/4G, Airplane mode, and even rebooting (battery pull) would not fix the problem... It eventually just started working and has been fairly reliable ever since.
On the second day of owning the phone I unlocked / rooted... Still using the stock rom, antenna, and kernel though.
Secondly,
I've started to notice that every time I switch data sources.... For instance
*Turning off Wifi when connected to an AP
*Turning off 4G services
I'll completely lose data connectivity for a period of seconds; no longer than a minute (all gray reception bars). However, I can still make calls and send texts. My question is, is this behavior normal for the device? I've never owned a 4G device before so I'm ignorant to the matter. I'm simply inquiring as if this is a sign of a faulty antenna VZW is going to owe me a brand new device (not some refurbished crap either...). If this is typical, then I suppose it's just the nature of the beast. Either way, I've love to hear from others regarding their experiences.... Thanks!
Regards,
-Doug
When I had the thunderbolt data would drop in and out when switching from 3/4G and from wifi.
when you are switching from wifi to 4g/3g, it has to change your IP address, as its a different network. 4g to 3g viceversa it has to switch what frequency it is talking on, and reestablish communication with your carrier. switching data source will always drop data during the switch.
some later software upgrades have, and will reduce the time between switches, but there will always be some form of drop

They can't hear me - wifi calls

Been having some issues with callers not hearing me. I tried swapping out the modems (can't remember exactly which ones but can figure it out if necessary), tried different kernels (while I was on TeamSonic rom), and switched from Sonic to FrostyJB and still happening.
I am on wifi calling at my home (crappy signal). It happened on all calls this morning. I made all the above saps and changes this morning as well. I tried a call when I left and was outside of wifi and call worked fine.
This sound like a defect or setting thing? Don't see a lot of settings in the Wifi Calling menu.
Thanks!
There are a few things that could be the problem. You need to determine if it is the phone or the wifi.
What kind of signal are you getting? Are you able to test your wifi for internet? Is this all of a sudden, meaning were you able to use wifi calling without problems prior to this recent problem?
I always had problems with wifi calling so I never use it on my HTC one s and this one too
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
pytyper483 said:
There are a few things that could be the problem. You need to determine if it is the phone or the wifi.
What kind of signal are you getting? Are you able to test your wifi for internet? Is this all of a sudden, meaning were you able to use wifi calling without problems prior to this recent problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has been happening more frequently lately but I am not really sure on a time frame. I don't make gobs of calls. I have had the phone for about a month or so and didn't have any problems early on. I have tried a few different ROMs but I wouldn't call myself a flashaholic.
My wifi signal at home is pretty decent. My speeds are usually around the 18 - 19 range. No problems with internet. The calls connect pretty quickly.
I do have a cell-fi (sp?) unit on the way from t-mobile which my help but I would just like to try and figure out if something is off with the device.
Thanks!
Information update:
I just made a call from my office (same no cell signal and decent wifi) and call worked fine. Wifi speeds here are a bit slower, usually around 8-9.
Haven't changed router or modem at home. Time Warner Cable is the provider.
Will check my son's phone tonight. He also has the S3 but being a teenager, I am not entirely sure he knows how to make an actual phone call...
Does the problem seem to happen at the same times of day? Depending on how your isp is set up, heavy network traffic can cause the issue. Also remember that your voice going out is like uploading a file on that upstream data is going to be slower than downstream.
Is your cable modem or router kind of outdated? Last year I upgraded my modem and saw a huge improvement. The DOCSYS 3.0 tech is a lot faster than a DOCSYS 1.0 rated modem can handle.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
DocHoliday77 said:
Does the problem seem to happen at the same times of day? Depending on how your isp is set up, heavy network traffic can cause the issue. Also remember that your voice going out is like uploading a file on that upstream data is going to be slower than downstream.
Is your cable modem or router kind of outdated? Last year I upgraded my modem and saw a huge improvement. The DOCSYS 3.0 tech is a lot faster than a DOCSYS 1.0 rated modem can handle.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Today it happened around 8:00 am (EST) and again around noon. I'll check the upload speeds as well.
I swapped out the modem about 4-5 months ago. Not sure of the make. It is the one Time Warner provides. Haven't noticed any major problems with our PC though.
Router does have a few years on it.
I suspect that you're getting one way voice translation... the router is forwarding the incoming voice traffic to your phone but failing to do the same for your outbound traffic. I have a Cisco enterprise class router at my house (I'm an IT geek so I *play* with it) and until I opened up a bunch of ports to a bunch of sites I saw being blocked in the router logs I was having the same issue.
I asked T-Mobile for a list of voice gateway IP addresses at their end but none of the tier 1/2 techs were ever able to give me any useful info regarding IP addresses or ports... The phone keeps finding new IP addresses it wants to connect to so in the end I gave up on getting wifi calling working reliably and have mine set to prefer cellular.
A SOHO or Home router ought to automatically open up the necessary ports but I would suggest looking at the manufacturers web page to see if there's a firmware update for your router. If there is, apply it and see if that fixes the problem. Else buy another one and see if that resolves it. If it doesn't then you can always take it back.
Hope this helps
I thought it was just me that had a wifi problem
One thing to keep in mind is you HAVE to have a cell connection to use wifi calling. It's possible the signal is so weak it's dropping once you have the phone up to your face and it's moving around and stuff. Try using speakerphone with the phone on the desk or wherever you have some signal. You should also try to get a signal booster from tmo.
Definately check to see if there's any firmware updates for your router like ronin said.
Is it a G or N router? If it is N, check your other devices that connect to it as well. If anything connects to it at 802.11G then all connections with the router can be throttled down to G speeds. If so disconnect the G device, reconnect your S3 and try it again.
Also have you restarted the modem and router recently? Unplug them both from power for about 15-30 seconds. Then plug back in and give it a minute or two for everything to reconnect.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I've been having the same problem all day today. I couldn't quite determine if it's my service or wi-fi, until then, I have it off for now.
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psykhotic said:
One thing to keep in mind is you HAVE to have a cell connection to use wifi calling. It's possible the signal is so weak it's dropping once you have the phone up to your face and it's moving around and stuff. Try using speakerphone with the phone on the desk or wherever you have some signal. You should also try to get a signal booster from tmo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't have to do all of this with V2
psykhotic said:
One thing to keep in mind is you HAVE to have a cell connection to use wifi calling. It's possible the signal is so weak it's dropping once you have the phone up to your face and it's moving around and stuff. Try using speakerphone with the phone on the desk or wherever you have some signal. You should also try to get a signal booster from tmo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know about the cell connection requirement. The cell signal at my house is far north of crappy but the signal in my office is bad as well and no issues. I do have the tmo booster (cell-fi?) on the way. Hopefully that will fix it.
Thanks!
J_Bone said:
I didn't know about the cell connection requirement. The cell signal at my house is far north of crappy but the signal in my office is bad as well and no issues. I do have the tmo booster (cell-fi?) on the way. Hopefully that will fix it.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone told me once they'll send you one for free if you have lousy coverage at your home. Is that true?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
J_Bone said:
I didn't know about the cell connection requirement. The cell signal at my house is far north of crappy but the signal in my office is bad as well and no issues. I do have the tmo booster (cell-fi?) on the way. Hopefully that will fix it.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woah.. holding my phone landscape killed my WiFi calling. WiFi went from 3 bars to 1 and WiFi calling disappeared. Holding the phone the other way fixed it.....I just had an iPhone 4 problem
DocHoliday77 said:
Someone told me once they'll send you one for free if you have lousy coverage at your home. Is that true?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you had good credit they will and you have to have SOME service. Like 1 bar or w.e.
ronin4740 said:
I suspect that you're getting one way voice translation... the router is forwarding the incoming voice traffic to your phone but failing to do the same for your outbound traffic. I have a Cisco enterprise class router at my house (I'm an IT geek so I *play* with it) and until I opened up a bunch of ports to a bunch of sites I saw being blocked in the router logs I was having the same issue.
I asked T-Mobile for a list of voice gateway IP addresses at their end but none of the tier 1/2 techs were ever able to give me any useful info regarding IP addresses or ports... The phone keeps finding new IP addresses it wants to connect to so in the end I gave up on getting wifi calling working reliably and have mine set to prefer cellular.
A SOHO or Home router ought to automatically open up the necessary ports but I would suggest looking at the manufacturers web page to see if there's a firmware update for your router. If there is, apply it and see if that fixes the problem. Else buy another one and see if that resolves it. If it doesn't then you can always take it back.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you are right on. I could not get my Wifi Calling to function properly at work. Text works great, sending and receiving. My phone rings when I receive a call, but I cannot hear anything, neither does the caller. Similarly, when I dial a number, the other phone rings, but no audio is heard on either end. I called TMobile Tech Support and they read me a memo from Samsung that this is a "Known Issue" with "one-way audio" on wifi calling. A salesperson in the store read to me the same memo. Interesting thing is when I got home, everything works, both voice and text. I tried it at another wifi location and everything works also. But not at work. I am convinced it is a problem with the network at work. Puzzle is that Wifi Calling works great on my HD2 with Custom Rom at work using the same enterprise network. But I would hate to keep swapping the micro sim from the S3 into a sim adapter into the HD2 just to get reception at work. I was hoping the upcoming JB upgrade will solve the problem, but reading the above explanation makes me worried now. Anybody out there with any work around?
isaywedoit said:
I believe you are right on. I could not get my Wifi Calling to function properly at work. Text works great, sending and receiving. My phone rings when I receive a call, but I cannot hear anything, neither does the caller. Similarly, when I dial a number, the other phone rings, but no audio is heard on either end. I called TMobile Tech Support and they read me a memo from Samsung that this is a "Known Issue" with "one-way audio" on wifi calling. A salesperson in the store read to me the same memo. Interesting thing is when I got home, everything works, both voice and text. I tried it at another wifi location and everything works also. But not at work. I am convinced it is a problem with the network at work. Puzzle is that Wifi Calling works great on my HD2 with Custom Rom at work using the same enterprise network. But I would hate to keep swapping the micro sim from the S3 into a sim adapter into the HD2 just to get reception at work. I was hoping the upcoming JB upgrade will solve the problem, but reading the above explanation makes me worried now. Anybody out there with any work around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd have to have access to the networking equipment at your work to really know the answer why... Short version is that Home routers/firewalls reflexively open ports when a device inside the network tries to access an IP address. UPnP is an example of this... Enterprise class routers/firewalls don't do this as it's considered insecure. So, you have to know what ports the traffic is coming from/going to and allow traffic on those ports. You also want to know what outside IP address it's destined for so you can lock down that traffic to just certain destinations, not the whole internet...
So, if it doesn't work at your office then there's likely very little you can do to fix it unless you're in the IT department or have a really good relationship with the Network Administrator of your IT department.
psykhotic said:
One thing to keep in mind is you HAVE to have a cell connection to use wifi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, really? Show me evidence of this.
What would be the point of Wifi calling if you have a cell connection? I've used Wifi calling since my MT4G and that's a total crock of BS
There would be NO POINT to Wifi calling if you have a cell signal.. common sense...

Mobile Data stops working

Hello,
I live in an area (like many of us) there T-mobile service isn't that great. I daily drive through areas with zero service and I have almost no service at my house so we utilize WIFI Calling.
I have been finding for the past few months that when I return to an area of good service (phone showing full bars of 4G or 4G LTE) that I cannot move any cellular data. If I reboot the phone then everything works again for a while. I have tried to toggle into airplane mode and back but this does not help, only a full reboot helps.
Does anyone else get this? Its very annoying to have to reboot the phone when I need to use cellular data. Appreciate some input. Phone is NOT rooted and running the latest available software from T-mobile
M
madas said:
Hello,
I live in an area (like many of us) there T-mobile service isn't that great. I daily drive through areas with zero service and I have almost no service at my house so we utilize WIFI Calling.
I have been finding for the past few months that when I return to an area of good service (phone showing full bars of 4G or 4G LTE) that I cannot move any cellular data. If I reboot the phone then everything works again for a while. I have tried to toggle into airplane mode and back but this does not help, only a full reboot helps.
Does anyone else get this? Its very annoying to have to reboot the phone when I need to use cellular data. Appreciate some input. Phone is NOT rooted and running the latest available software from T-mobile
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It happens all the time for me. I've not been able to figure out why it happens, but I've seen some speculation in other threads where people think it can break when switching between H+, 4G, LTE, etc. Some people have reported that switching to airplane mode and back fixes it, but it doesn't work for me. Only a reboot will fix it for me.
Here is another thread with some discussion on it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6-edge/help/mobile-network-data-connection-drops-t3097605
Thanks for the response. I'm not happy to hear it appears to be happening to everyone. I wonder if any of the carriers have reported this to Samsung?
I cleared the cache partition on my phone 2 days ago and I've been good since...that doesn't mean it fixed it but its been a while since I had 2 good days!
THIS HAPPENS TO ME OMG!!! I thought I was going crazy... it happens quite often in NYC where we travel by subway underground... Switching to Airplane mode then back indeed fix it majority of the time, but it doesn't work sometimes...
Also, this happens when i am on Wifi for extended period of time, and then leave WiFi, the phone will show 4G LTE but wont' push any data.
Going into Phone status will show that you have no IP Address...
edit: btw, i've done an exchange with Tmobile, and still happens on the phone, Swapped SIM card as well, doesn't solve the problem. T-Mobile ran diagnosis, and found nothing wrong. I suspect it might be T-Mobile's network configuration...
Also, I can almost 100% reproduce this when I am playing a game that requires periodic connection (like loading acount info), and then playing in the subway while doing data connection between subway station (we have internet at the station, but not in the tunnel) will break my 4G LTE data connection...

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