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Got my Evo today - what fun! Its my very first smartphone and so far I think its great. With 4 bars on 3G I get 2.0-2.4 mbps down. With 1 bar on 4G I get about the same speed. I'll need to hunt around and see how 4G signal strength varies with position. My neighbor 1 block away gets at least 4 mbps. I guess this variability is the nature of Sprint's WiMax network?
I've seen lots of posts with people reporting statistics on time spent on/off, awake/asleep, amount of data downloaded, what apps are using what resources, etc. What tool does one use to collect this information?
You can get some information through the about phone; up time, awake time, battery use etc etc.
As far as the 4G, I think it's more of it being such a new network. Was just out back taking a breather and I can get 1 bar of 4G. 2-4 Mb pretty consistently ... sometimes it drops, pulled in 5 on a couple speedtests. The 3G though, it's weird because I'm lucky if I can even get 2 Mb. Dunno though, gotta assume the stability of the 4G will only get better. Figure I'm right on the brink even though the coverage map appears to have it bleeding out past me. In time I suppose.
Baltimore is the oldest (and I assume most built-out) 4G market area that Sprint has in the US. I was able to connect to 4G on the first day I had the Evo. Then did the OTA update. I've been unable to connect to 4G ever since. I switch the 4G radio on and wait, the icon at the top of the screen always says 3G. Am I doing something wrong? Is there somewhere else where I need to enable 4G? Anyone else having trouble accessing 4G since the OTA update?
I have also been having some problems with my 4g. I had no problems with 4g until the update.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Curious, 4G still works with my phone after the OTA.
I see B-More has been up since 2008 or something? First city! Whoa. But strange none the less. Your buddy, whom you referenced in the original post, still able to connect?
I've had my EVO in Baltimore since Launch Day - have not done the OTA yet (rooted) and my 4G was working fine until this morning. Wonder if there is some sort of outage today.
All I get is Scanning -> Connecting to Sprint -> Obtaining IP -> Scanning.
This has happened in Baltimore and Annapolis.
Also, I have hit 5mbps download near the Beltway and I-95.
Dude!? Where in Bmore? I'm over in Ellicott City and I get maybe 600kbps on 3g or 1200 in Samsclub Catonsville and at BWI...
4000-5000 on 4g
Oddly though I've been getting "network connection lost" and google maps just stops and refuses to download any tiles. Pandora freezes too...
You started having these problems today?
I've searched the web and this seems to be the only place that 4G problems have been reported in Baltimore.
Also, are you pre or post OTA?
willfck4beer said:
Dude!? Where in Bmore? I'm over in Ellicott City and I get maybe 600kbps on 3g or 1200 in Samsclub Catonsville and at BWI...
4000-5000 on 4g
Oddly though I've been getting "network connection lost" and google maps just stops and refuses to download any tiles. Pandora freezes too...
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I'm downtown. This morning (7/2) I checked (outdoors) near Camden Yards and at the Inner Harbor. No 4G. Maybe its just coincidence that there's a network problem just after the OTA? I'll keep checking....
So, I called Sprint. As expected, they claimed maintenance in my "neighborhood". As I mentioned above, I've been in Baltimore and Annapolis today with no 4g. I have a hard time believing that they took out the whole area for maintenance. However, he did claim that it should be back up by 7pm.
I'm in Ellicott City and get about 4.5 on 4G and 600-1.0 on 3G.
I work right on the edge of the 4G coverage (Clarks Ace Hardware) so I'm usually at 1-2 bars. If I go 1 block east I get full reception, but if I go 100ft. west it completely drops 4G (route 144 & 40).
Checked for 4G connectivity this morning (inside my brick rowhouse, near the baseball stadium in Baltimore). I've got a weak 4G signal again - and measured 4 mbps bandwidth down. Good enough for me. I'll take some more measurements around town and see if there's any place with a stronger signal.
I spent the whole day yesterday at the harbor, 4G never connected once. Fail :/
Went to Sprint at Inner Harbor. They were getting 2 bars of 4G in the store, and I was getting none. The tech there noticed that I had turned off the "Location" switch (which allows GPS to update applications of phone's location). I did that because I didn't want GPS radio on all the time (save battery), and because I thought it would give me a bit more privacy. Tech said for 4G to work at its best - need to turn Location -ON. Reluctantly I turned it on, and now I'm consistently getting 1 or 2 bars of 4G around the Baltimore downtown area, with 3.8 - 4.5 mbps bandwidth down.
SO - in order to use that battery hogging 4G radio, one needs to turn on yet another battery sucking radio? Wow - are others in 4G markets finding that 4G works better with GPS on and Location on? Or was that tech just grasping for straws...?
i've always had the gps on. no luck
interesting! Don't know if any of you have tried sensorly map... kinda sweet... it signal strength maps 4G and 3g and 1xrtt via crowdsourcing... and lets you compare coverage btw sprint/att/vzw/tmob...
But I'm worried how accurate it is due to several issues:
...
1) I contributed data and never saw the map update
2) data will be skewed as GPS needs to be ON for map to work - so it should report better 4g coverage than actually exists AND
3) Most people who contributed seemed to be wardriving (or just leaving it on while driving)... and from what I've read wimax isn't that good at mobile or handoffs...
If it is accurate... this is not going to be a fun 2 years... SPRINT coverage looks like ****! even compared to tmob...
Any input from anyone smarter?
btw - I'm moving to a boat down in inner harbor... anyone have any results from the water?
I'm wondering how accurate it is too. Wasn't there some kind of radio problem with 4g not connecting? Wouldn't that skew the results?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
so im in downtown baltimore (otterbein area, right off the inner harbor), and both my wife and i just got evo's on friday. neither of us can get a 4g signal anywhere, unless we're standing literally across the street from the sprint store in the inner harbor. is this usual? is there some kind of outage right now? sprint was entirely useless when i called tech support, and i got transferred around about 11 times before being told they'll look into it and call me back tomorrow.
pjh410 said:
so im in downtown baltimore (otterbein area, right off the inner harbor), and both my wife and i just got evo's on friday. neither of us can get a 4g signal anywhere, unless we're standing literally across the street from the sprint store in the inner harbor. is this usual? is there some kind of outage right now? sprint was entirely useless when i called tech support, and i got transferred around about 11 times before being told they'll look into it and call me back tomorrow.
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Make an appointment to speak with a tech at the Inner Harbor store - sounds like there's something wrong with your phone or settings. Coverage in downtown Baltimore can vary a lot with location. I'm in Ridgely's Delight (less than a mile from you) - and I've been getting between 3.5 and 5.0 mbps down.
Hi guys,
I can't seem to get a stable 4G connection on my Epic 4G for some reason. When I toggle the "4G" to "ON", it would connect for a split second and immediately Disconnects and tries to connect again and again. My friend tested his phone (Nexus S 4G) and he connects just fine with data speed of 3,000kbps on Speedtest compared to my miserable 600-700kbps. I've also tried testing this in several different areas including major cities that supposedly cover "4G" and it does the same
I'm currently running SRF 1.2 ROM on Genocide 2.0 Kernel but I believe this issue was present even before rooting my phone. I also tried using different modems (EB13, EC05, EE03, EF02, EG22, EH17) but it made almost no difference to my 4G connection.
Does anyone have any suggestion on this??? I would really like to experience my 4G connection on my supposed 4G phone.
I have the same set up as you, and the same spotty 4g. Sometimes it's very hard to keep a stable 4g connection even in areas where I know 4g has been strong. It disconnects, or it pretends that it is connected but data really isn't going through.
Though, 4g is kinda new to my area and there are rumors that it's still in testing phases. Also, I don't have any input from other 4g users here. So in the end I'm not sure if its just my epic, or if there are wider issues.
Sent from a secret underground bunker
Strong 4g signal
I am also running SFR 1.2 and I get very strong/stable 4g speeds. I live in Chicago (Sprint 4g has been here for a while), and I get 3-4Mbps in my apartment on 4g. This is enough to do things like play Xbox Live or Skype using my 4g. I have noticed that while traveling on trains in the area the connection tends to go on and off, but I would say that overall, I usually have a great connection.
This may just be in your area, where are you located?
mjben said:
I have the same set up as you, and the same spotty 4g. Sometimes it's very hard to keep a stable 4g connection even in areas where I know 4g has been strong. It disconnects, or it pretends that it is connected but data really isn't going through.
Though, 4g is kinda new to my area and there are rumors that it's still in testing phases. Also, I don't have any input from other 4g users here. So in the end I'm not sure if its just my epic, or if there are wider issues.
Sent from a secret underground bunker
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I have the same issues, even though the Sprint coverage map shows I should be able to get 4G inside my house.
After researching, what I have found is you must find the nearest Sprint tower that has 4G, hold your left hand directly on the control board of the tower, and while placing your right big toe directly on the battery of your phone (must be the right big toe, the left big toe will not carry current correctly), you must complete the following key sequence on the dialer (###WTF***4G###***). Only then will you receive a 4G signal. Now be aware this will only enable the signal to last for 15 seconds. If you need more time that that, you must repeat the process. Oh...and By the way...This will only get you 1 bar of 4G service. I will be working on a detailed guide for 2 bars. There is no known method to actually get 3 bars of 4G service!!
Sorry, but this is a good of an explanation as anyone from Sprint has given me.
You may now return to your normally weak 3G Sprint signal.
Goodroid said:
Hi guys,
I can't seem to get a stable 4G connection on my Epic 4G for some reason. When I toggle the "4G" to "ON", it would connect for a split second and immediately Disconnects and tries to connect again and again. My friend tested his phone (Nexus S 4G) and he connects just fine with data speed of 3,000kbps on Speedtest compared to my miserable 600-700kbps. I've also tried testing this in several different areas including major cities that supposedly cover "4G" and it does the same
I'm currently running SRF 1.2 ROM on Genocide 2.0 Kernel but I believe this issue was present even before rooting my phone. I also tried using different modems (EB13, EC05, EE03, EF02, EG22, EH17) but it made almost no difference to my 4G connection.
Does anyone have any suggestion on this??? I would really like to experience my 4G connection on my supposed 4G phone.
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Click to collapse
Whts your location cause I am having the sam exact problems with my epic and evo!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Hey everyone!
I was wondering if anyone else is having the problem where if you toggled your 4g to turn it off, you would lose all data entirely? I currently running winner's kang-cm9 and when I try to turn off 4g through the toggle or through the settings, I only get gray signal bars. I'm assuming I should still have 3g after turning off 4g. Is this someone that everyone is experience or is it my phone?
I'm having a similar issue (stock ROM). I notice it every morning when I leave for work. I leave my place and wifi disconnects (lack of signal). Since I don't have LTE outside, it seems like it try's over and over to obtain LTE signal. LTE is spotty in my area, so it will go in and out. However, 3G sometimes fails to connect and I sit there without any signal. It's incredibly frustrating...
Last night I just flashed to Apex ROM/Kernel. This morning I waited for my car to warm up a little bit and by the time i plugged in my phone, it had a 3g connection. I will be continuing to look out for this, but I have been able to replicate the issue in my first paragraph over and over again... something is definitely wrong with the radio on our phone (CDMA).
Oh that happens to me a lot too because I get bad 4g in my area so a lot of times when its switching back and forth I lose data for a while.
The problem I'm having is that I would try to disable LTE/4g to save battery but would end up losing all data (Only calls and text work). On my friends thunderbolt he was able to disable 4g and retain his 3g data. As for me, I lose all data and I have to restart to regain data again when I try to disable 4g data
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Shooshi said:
Oh that happens to me a lot too because I get bad 4g in my area so a lot of times when its switching back and forth I lose data for a while.
The problem I'm having is that I would try to disable LTE/4g to save battery but would end up losing all data (Only calls and text work). On my friends thunderbolt he was able to disable 4g and retain his 3g data. As for me, I lose all data and I have to restart to regain data again when I try to disable 4g data
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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That's an interesting point. I was wondering how the other LTE VZ phones handled this situation... I think VZ/Google needs to address this in a fix ASAP.
I work in a largish company in Seattle area. We have ~5000 engineers working in the area and I posted the same question since my Verizon GNexus would completely lose all mobile data for hours at a time every 3-4 days. From what the results I got, they said that in our area they are all seeing those problems and they had different devices. I got responses from OG Droid, Droid Charge, GNexus, DroidX2, Thunderbolt.
I've been seriously considering returning my phone since this is clearly a verizon data network issue which is not limited to LTE as their press releases would have you believe.
caslca said:
I work in a largish company in Seattle area. We have ~5000 engineers working in the area and I posted the same question since my Verizon GNexus would completely lose all mobile data for hours at a time every 3-4 days. From what the results I got, they said that in our area they are all seeing those problems and they had different devices. I got responses from OG Droid, Droid Charge, GNexus, DroidX2, Thunderbolt.
I've been seriously considering returning my phone since this is clearly a verizon data network issue which is not limited to LTE as their press releases would have you believe.
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Click to collapse
Well see, i can get data if i toggle airplane mode or cdma to cdma/LTE. it takes me forcing the phone to start looking for 3g instead of LTE.
Very serious issue. Slow reconnects on a toggle that should be unobtrusive between 4g-3g. I suffer from the same issue.
What's worse. The reception in general is terrible. And dropping from 4g to 3g ..the phone either never reestablishes 4g or take.....a. VERY long time. Like, 10-15 minutes. Unbelievable
I'm trying desperately to get google to be aware of this and I'm PRAYYYIINNGG this is a software issue.
P.s this is my third nexus... so I believe this is everyone
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Yep... I have two other friends with this issue as well. I just got off the phone with Verizon, and they acknowledged the data connectivity issues... they said an update is in the works and is tentatively sometime Jan/February.... for the record, i'm on 4.0.3 (axi0m rom); not that it should matter ...
What I'm seeing is similar but sounds like it might be slightly different. I have a thread on it here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21352288
I'm not sure if what I'm describing there is "normal" and the thing they are working on an update to address or if I have a bad radio/phone. Any thoughts?
In my case, it will go: 4G->no_data->4G in the span of about 30 seconds or so. The 4G indicator will still show for a few seconds but I'll get "no connection" kind of messages. Then I get just a solid gray triangle. About 30 seconds later, I see the bars, then the 4G indicator, then the bars turn blue.
Anyone else seeing this? This happened to the phone before this which I swapped due to this problem. What are the chances I got 2 bad ones in a row? Or is it just a similar issue to what you all are describing?
Hello,
I have a Verizon edition of the Galaxy Nexus, and both my initial phone and my warranty replacement have had the same issue: specifically, they both will occasionally drop all data, be it 3G, 4G, or EDGE. Occasionally they will even drop voice signal altogether. (I've also had the second phone reboot randomly - not often, but it did when I tried to use Wifi Tether, for instance).
This does not happen everywhere, but since my job takes me all over town it happens a reasonable amount, (and notably, not with the Sprint EVO 4G work phone I have). I am based in Sacramento, CA.
My phone is rooted. I have heard that the phone may have issues with switching towers? It is able to reclaim a signal reasonably quickly once it drops, (10-15 seconds) although sometimes I have to do nonsense like switch in and out of airplane mode to force it to grab a 4G signal.
I'm coming up on my return and refund period within a day or so and would like to know if I should dump this phone for an HTC Rezound, or if this is something I can fix by installing the 4.0.3 leaked software.
Thanks in advance for your help.
I know that there is a newer base band you could try flashing, and 4.03 might also fix some of your issues, but be aware that you are pretty much beta testing new technology.
I've never had voice drop on my GNex, but I will occasionally have a drop of data. I believe in my case it is because I am on the cusp of 4g coverage at home, so sometimes it will (barely) connect to the 4g tower, and then disconnect and go back on 3g. When I'm at work and I have solid 4g coverage this issue doesn't present itself.
To remedy the situation temporarily I just switch to CDMA when I'm at home, and if I am in an area where there is 4g and I want faster connection speed I'll re-enable LTE. I know this sounds like a ridiculous solution, but I love my GN too much to return it...again, we are early adopters of new technology.
Only 0.6% of android users are even on ICS - all of this technology is very new.
I believe as Verizon rolls out 4g to more areas that currently only have 3g coverage we will see less and less drops in data (greyed out bars). Hopefully Google/Verizon/Samsung will improve on the radios, etc and make things more smooth for us.
As far as wifi tether goes, I know they JUST got it working on Galaxy Nexus recently, and it is still in beta phase, so I wouldn't count on it being bug free...I had a reboot once when using the beta 10 version, so I don't think what you are experiencing is all that uncommon.
I had a similar issue but only when I was in 4G coverage. I would randomly completely lose signal for about 30 seconds and then it would come back. Usually happened quite often..about 4-5 times an hour. I ended up taking it back for a new one and a new SIM card and haven't had that issue since.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I've noticed a network behavior I did not have on my EVO 4G. The Note 2 can't switch to 4G when it's busy using 3G. You could be standing under a 4G tower and the phone won't switch if, for instance, you're downloading a file. My EVO 4G would switch between 3G and Wimax no problem.
Is this a hardware limitation? Software problem?
Could be a difference between Wimax and LTE connections. I have never noticed this issue, but I also only saw a Wimax signal a couple of times. I had the OG Evo and then the Evo 3D, but rarely ever saw a Wimax signal. With my Evo LTE, my entire area is blanketed with LTE, so I'm never switching between 3G and LTE in the middle of a download. I'll try to test out this scenario within the next few days with both my Note 2 and my Evo LTE. If I do have any weird findings with either, I'll call Sprint and activate my black Evo LTE and see how it handles the data connection transition. That way I will have tested the specific data transition with 3 different devices, and should be able to come up with a some what conclusive decision with what's going on. If someone else has a Wimax device and is in a Wimax area, it would be nice if they could compare that side by side with their LTE device! I still have my Evo 3D, but like I said earlier, I'm not near a Wimax area for testing...
Sent from my White Note 2 using XDA Premium
Hmmmm. Interesting. I never noticed that behaviour on my NII or EvoLTE. I still have my E4GT laying around so maybe I'll activate it and see what happens. I've been lucky in my area seeing as we had WiMax coverage even before the release of the OG Evo and are pretty well covered with LTE.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
I've noticed OPs issue. The same kinda thing will happen when I am driving away from my home and my phone tries to hang on to my signal booster. Once I actually loose the connection my phone will jump onto 3G and usually by that point I have Pandora opened and trying to play. It wont switch to LTE until either the song is fully buffered (witch in this case doesn't happen because the 3G at this point sucks (connected to tower)) or I go to Airplane Mode and shut off all radios and then turn off Airplane Mode. The LTE will come right up and I have no data issues.
If I'm not near my signal booster, like at work, and I am at my desk getting LTE, when I put my phone in my pocket and walk around it will drop to 3G. When I come back to my desk and try to start using an app that requires data, it wont jump back to LTE until I either close the app that is pulling the data, or do another Airplane Mode toggle.
I think all it is, is just the scan times between searching for an LTE signal (I think like 30 seconds and not every 1 second) to save battery. I could be wrong though. It is annoying to have to go through this routine every day though.
I've never payed attention to it before but now I do see what the op is talking about. Mine won't switch either
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
I think it's a bit random in my experience. It's it currently downloading something, it'll stay. But I've seen it switch it though while streaming a movie/show/event. I've had the GN2 get suck where it switch towers, but wasn't really connecting, which required the airplaine mode on/off trick.
spotopolis,
You hit right on the kind of scenario I am experiencing. I'm in the car listening to a streaming podcast or streaming music. And because the car is moving, the phone sometimes switches to 3G and will not get back on to LTE unless I kill all network access. It's like the phone needs a moment to breath before attempting to connect LTE.
This would not bug me so much if 3G had a data rate better than 50kbps. When I'm stuck in 3G, forget streaming or downloading anything. Very frustrating.
Trying to figure out if this is a limit of Note 2, LTE, Sprint's LTE or a bug.
It's an LTE issue. I've experienced the same behavior with 4G when I was in NY last weekend. Soon as I stopped Pandora and 3G went idle 4G came on. And no that is not an issue with Wimax devices. Coming from an E4GT and Evo 3D covered in Wimax coverage here in Hartford CT 4G automatically connects and overrides 3G even if 3G is active. However that's an issue too because the 3G to Wimax handoff sucks which leaves your data hanging for a sec. I usually have to stop my downloads and restart them while on the new 4G connection lol
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
RayTrue04 said:
It's an LTE issue.
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I thought this was advanced technology. Seems to be a huge detail to miss.
However that's an issue too because the 3G to Wimax handoff sucks which leaves your data hanging for a sec. I usually have to stop my downloads and restart them while on the new 4G connection
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That would be a software issue, not Wimax problem. I had some apps that handled network switches very well. That includes going from cell networks (3G/4G) to WIFI. Perfect example is what I noticed using streaming music on my EVO 4G. (The follow is true for these apps many versions ago.)
1. Slacker, terrible making switch. 99% would stop playback.
2. Pandora, better than Slacker. Could pause during playback but would pickup if network regained soon.
3. Google Music, best of the bunch. Can handle network jumps very well. I think partly due to caching the next song while playing current song.
I thought i was the only one having this issue.... good to know.
I've never had this problem. My n2 has no problem switching from 3g to 4g. When I'm driving while listening to Pandora, I hit areas that only 3g and phone shows 3g. Then afterwards it goes back to 4g with no problem. It does it effortlessly and on a daily. I live in Chicago and we are lte for the most part but I know certain suburbs do not have 4g and my n2 switches without a problem. Guess I'm lucky.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Interesting thread. I'm seeking an answer too. FWIW I don't own a Note 2 but also noticed this behaviour, with my SGS3. I created a thread some time ago (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1989176) but there was little interest, which surprised me, considering how annoying it can be.