[Q] HTC Desire's 3G signal is much weaker than 2G - Desire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

HTC Desire's 3G signal is much weaker than 2G.
I am at home, HTC Desire only has 1 to 2 levels of 3G signal, but full signal when turn to 2G. I use same SIM card on my Samsung i8000, 4-5 levels (5 is full) when in 3G.
How to fix the 3G weak signal of HTC Desire?

scott4 said:
HTC Desire's 3G signal is much weaker than 2G.
I am at home, HTC Desire only has 1 to 2 levels of 3G signal, but full signal when turn to 2G. I use same SIM card on my Samsung i8000, 4-5 levels (5 is full) when in 3G.
How to fix the 3G weak signal of HTC Desire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you rooted? If so, try flashing a different radio version as this can improve 3G speed and signal strength as well as Wi-Fi performance, and battery life.

MasDroid said:
Are you rooted? If so, try flashing a different radio version as this can improve 3G speed and signal strength as well as Wi-Fi performance, and battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have tried different versions of radio, no luck. which version of Radio is the best ?

2G has a greater range than 3g, I think.
When I'm in the middle of nowhere I always get a 2G signal even if I know there is a 3g tower closer than the 2G one I'm connected to.
I generally get better signal with 2G most of the time.

mercianary said:
2G has a greater range than 3g, I think.
When I'm in the middle of nowhere I always get a 2G signal even if I know there is a 3g tower closer than the 2G one I'm connected to.
I generally get better signal with 2G most of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey guy,
You didn't read my first post carefully.
---------------
HTC Desire's 3G signal is much weaker than 2G.
I am at home, HTC Desire only has 1 to 2 levels of 3G signal, but full signal when turn to 2G. I use same SIM card on my Samsung i8000, 4-5 levels (5 is full) when in 3G.
How to fix the 3G weak signal of HTC Desire?

sorry,
phones perform differently, also some phones give you a misleading scale on the signal level, there is no industry standard as to what signal level 4 bars is afaik. manufacturers have been known to fudge scales of all sorts on their devices to make it appear better than a rival product.
try to get both phones to report signal level in dBm to compare accurately.
I also get relatively poor 3g signal with my desire compared to some other phones i have had...looking at bars, have never compare dBm.

scott4 said:
Hey guy,
You didn't read my first post carefully.
---------------
HTC Desire's 3G signal is much weaker than 2G.
I am at home, HTC Desire only has 1 to 2 levels of 3G signal, but full signal when turn to 2G. I use same SIM card on my Samsung i8000, 4-5 levels (5 is full) when in 3G.
How to fix the 3G weak signal of HTC Desire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bars are no way to tell how strong the signal really is, since i flashed the latest radio i have a decent 3g connection without any bars.
If you already tried different radios there is no way to fix it, different devices will preform differently under the same conditions, nothing to do about that.

TheGhost1233 said:
Bars are no way to tell how strong the signal really is, since i flashed the latest radio i have a decent 3g connection without any bars.
If you already tried different radios there is no way to fix it, different devices will preform differently under the same conditions, nothing to do about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which radio you use regarded as decent?

32.49.00.32U_5.11.05.27, but please understand that that will mean nothing for your situation.

TheGhost1233 said:
32.49.00.32U_5.11.05.27, but please understand that that will mean nothing for your situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is what I am using. no good.
By the way, to all.
What I mean 3G signal is for voice. the reception is poor for phone call in 3G, it sucks when doing phone calls, but no problem in 2G. I place my SIM card into Samsung i8000, reception is strong and phone call has no suck at all.

Related

Three UK - Weak 3G reception

Hi,
I'm currently using radio version 1.09.23. I've tried 3 other radio, the default, 1.05.*. No matter which radio I'm using the 3G reception is very weak on Three UK network.
Does anyone has any suggestion which radio they use for Three UK? London area.
Thanks
3's signal is usually weak. It's not phone's fault i guess.
my sony ericsson has a far better signal that the HTC and the SE holds the signal
im currently thinking about binning the Touch diamond and using the SE all over again and just use the HTC for my golf gps system bit of a waste tho
The GSM reception is absolutely fine. It's the 3G that is really dissapointing.
Yes, I had the same problem.
So, I bought a E71 from three.
Most of the time on E71 is 3G, sometimes 3.5G(that's HSDPA signal)
HTC supports 3G, but on my HTC phone, I only got HSDPA signal.
I thought the phone receive different 3G frequency.
As Three has weak HSDPA signal, so HTC receive weak signal with three.
So I had a test, I insert a T-mobile sim card.
T-mobile do the HTC diamond, so I thought they should support it .
The signal is very good.
In conclusion, I can only think that's frequency problem.

Defective Radio

Sitting at my desk in central London, I get 4-5 bars of gprs signal only, no 3g whatsoever. If I set it to "WCDMA only" in settings then it will sit without a signal all day.
I put my SIM back in my old phone (HTC HD) and it gets 5 bars of HSDPA at around 3mbps in the exact same location. If the signal is so good why can't the desire even detect it?
Same story at my house, old HD gets 4-5 bars of H while the desire fluctuates between 1 bar of H and 5 bars of gprs.
Do I have a faulty unit or is just the limitations of the desire's radio hardware?
Does anyone on O2 in London get a decent signal comparable with their old phone?
dickson123 said:
Sitting at my desk in central London, I get 4-5 bars of gprs signal only, no 3g whatsoever. If I set it to "WCDMA only" in settings then it will sit without a signal all day.
I put my SIM back in my old phone (HTC HD) and it gets 5 bars of HSDPA at around 3mbps in the exact same location. If the signal is so good why can't the desire even detect it?
Same story at my house, old HD gets 4-5 bars of H while the desire fluctuates between 1 bar of H and 5 bars of gprs.
Do I have a faulty unit or is just the limitations of the desire's radio hardware?
Does anyone on O2 in London get a decent signal comparable with their old phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im on tmobile and im my expericence its the other way round, when i had my old hd, id struggle to get 1 bar hsdpa but on my desire i get 2 or 3 bars all the time, maybe u should try a new radio
AndroHero said:
im on tmobile and im my expericence its the other way round, when i had my old hd, id struggle to get 1 bar hsdpa but on my desire i get 2 or 3 bars all the time, maybe u should try a new radio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wasn't aware there was a newer radio, I've had the 1.21 OTA update which I thought contained a radio update as well. I used to flash different radios on the old HD but it never made such a drastic difference as either 5 bars of 'H' or not even detecting the 3g network at all.

[Q] Network mode problem

Guys,
recently I'm having problem with my network bars, as it shows only two bars. I discovered that when I select the options GSM only the bars come full and is ok. But when I select GSM/WCDMA auto it loose some bars.
I have reset the phone but again same thing.
I'm on Stock Rom-not rooted / 4.2.2
Any idea what may be the problem or how to resolve it?
Thanks
That is normal gsm only will normally get a better signal than wcdma in lower signal area's.
I live in a low signal area and have to have my phone on gsm only or i won't have signal or I'll get dropped calls.
Thanks a lot for info.
So there is no problem with phone, but signal. I live also in area that have low signal for sure.
Thanks a lot.
intel007 said:
That is normal gsm only will normally get a better signal than wcdma in lower signal area's.
I live in a low signal area and have to have my phone on gsm only or i won't have signal or I'll get dropped calls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes no problem with your phone mate, when your in a low signal area switch to gsm only, not only will you have better signal but it will save you some battery too.

Radio signal tweaks?

I've noticed lately my Zenfone appears to prefer a stronger 2g signal over a weaker 4g signal, and it's quite frustrating when I know the 4g is available and adequate even though it is weaker. Is there any way to tweak how the radio chooses which signal to use, and make it prefer a faster signal type (ie 4g, 2 bars) over a stronger one (ie 2g, 4 bars)?
I could very well be completely mistaken about how this works... Please don't hesitate to let me know if I'm just being an idiot about the whole thing, haha.

Weak antenna?

Seeing 4 bars of LTE signal strength on my phone is like seeing a unicorn.
I live in Upstate NY and I have the A705MN phone.
I have tried three different sim cards, all of them of course GSM compatible. The result is exactly the same among all three. I typically get 1 or 2 bars LTE.
My previous phones under the same carrier and same sim card were typically 4-5 bars. (The Wifi strength, BTW, is equal to what I've seen from my other phones.)
What can I do to improve the signal strength?
I've seen posts by those with S10's where they do something to disable specific bands. But I'm not sure how to do that on the A70 phone. I've tried the specific codes that were mentioned in threads for the S10, but those codes do not work on the A70.
Please help. As much as I like the Samsung otherwise, this factor might be the reason I return the phone.
Yes same problem here
106IFA said:
Seeing 4 or 5 bars of LTE signal strength on my phone is like seeing a unicorn.
I live in Upstate NY and I have the A705MN phone.
I have tried three different sim cards, all of them of course GSM compatible. The result is exactly the same among all three. I typically get 1-3 bars LTE.
My previous phones under the same carrier and same sim card were typically 4-5 bars. (The Wifi strength, BTW, is equal to what I've seen from my other phones.)
What can I do to improve the signal strength?
I've seen posts by those with S10's where they do something to disable specific bands. But I'm not sure how to do that on the A70 phone. I've tried the specific codes that were mentioned in threads for the S10, but those codes do not work on the A70.
Please help. As much as I like the Samsung otherwise, this factor might be the reason I return the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try LTE only settings in settings>connections.
senseijtitus said:
Try LTE only settings in settings>connections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the screenshots.
I edited the access point that I'm using and changed it to LTE. But then when I go to select network mode, I cannot chose LTE Only. That option does not show up. I have tried rebooting after editing and selecting the Access Point, and I still do not see that option.
I have tried using apps such as 4g Network Only and have switched to LTE only, but that change does not seem to make a difference or the network goes down altogether.
Any suggestions?
senseijtitus said:
Try LTE only settings in set5ings>connections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a post in the forum for using settings editor app to enable LTE only option. It will enable this option for both sims.
senseijtitus said:
There was a post in the forum for using settings editor app to enable LTE only option. It will enable this option for both sims.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't been able to do this or find what it is you're referring to. I've tried adding a few values through Settings editor apps. Values such as "hw_networkmode_preference" etc.
Doesn't work.
But besides, why would setting the connection to LTE only fix this problem? I don't see how this is not a herring.
Most of the times I am see 2 bars of strength. Every now and then I get 3 bars, and more frequently than that I get only 1 bar. 4 bars is quite rare.
The real problem with this antenna is that if I step inside a supermarket or bathroom then my connection is gone. If I'm traveling around the state of NY, in more remote areas, I'm sure I will not have a chance of any connection.
I would LOVE this phone if it had a better antenna. I can deal with the subpar fingerprint reader. Just give me a strong antenna like all of my previous phones and then I'd be a happy camper!
I decided not to return the phone so I am stuck with this phone.
106IFA said:
I haven't been able to do this or find what it is you're referring to. I've tried adding a few values through Settings editor apps. Values such as "hw_networkmode_preference" etc.
Doesn't work.
But besides, why would setting the connection to LTE only fix this problem? I don't see how this is not a herring.
Most of the times I am see 2 bars of strength. Every now and then I get 3 bars, and more frequently than that I get only 1 bar. 4 bars is quite rare.
The real problem with this antenna is that if I step inside a supermarket or bathroom then my connection is gone. If I'm traveling around the state of NY, in more remote areas, I'm sure I will not have a chance of any connection.
I would LOVE this phone if it had a better antenna. I can deal with the subpar fingerprint reader. Just give me a strong antenna like all of my previous phones and then I'd be a happy camper!
I decided not to return the phone so I am stuck with this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Setting the band to lte only would help in better reception even at low signal strength. One thing I had noticed in lte band is its consistency in connection speeds and call quality even with low signal. I think this is because of the high bandwidth of the lte signals. But I'm not an expert in it. Try changing the band to lte only. It should work better.
senseijtitus said:
Try LTE only settings in settings>connections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did get this theme and icons in screen shots ?
Maystro said:
Where did get this theme and icons in screen shots ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bodhosativa theme from xda apps section.
senseijtitus said:
Setting the band to lte only would help in better reception even at low signal strength. One thing I had noticed in lte band is its consistency in connection speeds and call quality even with low signal. I think this is because of the high bandwidth of the lte signals. But I'm not an expert in it. Try changing the band to lte only. It should work better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I'm trying to get better signal, rather than better reception with low signal.
There's got to be something wrong with my phone. It blacks out if I step inside a bathroom in a building and such and it's very rarely at 4 bars.
A thing I noticed. If I go and select 2g/3g only (switch off 4g lte) my signal reception instantly switches to full (4 bars) Usually I get around 2 bars with LTE active.
The strange part is that even with lte off I can still receive an lte 4g signal when outside..this is perfect for me as it means i have a really strong signal (reception) indoors but still have the benefit of 4G outside. I don't quite understand it tbh. I mean i have switched to "2g/3g only" yet i still see 4G pop up in the status bar on my commute, and it definitely receiving 4G speeds. I'm not sure if it's a bug or not but I kinda like it.
Con500 said:
A thing I noticed. If I go and select 2g/3g only (switch off 4g lte) my signal reception instantly switches to full (4 bars) Usually I get around 2 bars with LTE active.
The strange part is that even with lte off I can still receive an lte 4g signal when outside..this is perfect for me as it means i have a really strong signal (reception) indoors but still have the benefit of 4G outside. I don't quite understand it tbh. I mean i have switched to "2g/3g only" yet i still see 4G pop up in the status bar on my commute, and it definitely receiving 4G speeds. I'm not sure if it's a bug or not but I kinda like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a terrific idea. Thank you for bringing that up.
I am implementing your suggesteion and it's nice to see 3-4 bars of strength again.
I don't need the fastest data connection. I just need a strong or secure basic data connection, since most of the time I'm not doing anything data intensive with my phone anyway when I"m away from a wifi connection.
But I'm not sure if my phone hops up to LTE at anytime.. I wish had the same "bug" that you do. I just started testing with your settings so I'll see if I can get it so that 3g is the preferred and basic network and 4g is the optional...
After another day, I'm back to LTE/3g/2g auto.
The general reception even for 3g or 2g is lower overall than what I saw from every other phone I have used. So in areas where I can expect to have a relatively low signal I get a particularly low signal for all bands, 4g, 3g, and 2g. That being the case, there's no practical difference if I cap my connection or not.
Samsung better warranty this phone. Does anyone know who I should call?
Since I bought my phone through an Ebay seller and the phone is West Carribean stock, not USA stock, which is where I am, I have no warranty on this phone.

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