Can anyone explain how the Arc (or is it generic to android) controls the switch between HSPDA / 3G / GSM etc?
I live right on the edge of a HSPDA / GSM reception area, so sitting in the same chair I'm often browsing using "H", and then slowed down to "G" - and vice-versa. Unfortunately, every time it switches it seems (to me) that there is a lag while it establishes a connection again.
Is their any way to configure the ARC to make it attempt to stay with "H" for a bit longer?
Go to Setting - Wireless & networks - Mobile Networks and change the Network Mode into WCDMA
Hope that help you!
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App
Changing from Edge(E) to Hspda(H) doesnt drop the connection but the from H to E does. Also if the H signal is weak, it will change automatically to E. If you are in a building , parking etc you will have à weak H signal since your phone is covered by the walls
Sent from my LT15i using XDA App
thank you both repliers.
It looks like there's no practical alternative to just letting the switch over happen as Sony have programmed it (or moving house).
You can try forcing to use GSM only or WCDMA only instead of GMS / WCDMA preferred.
The setting is under Wireless --> Mobile network settings --> Network Mode.
By forcing it to use WCDMA, the phone doesn't try to switch to GSM even when it has low signal. Good thing here is that, it doesn't try to switch between the two frequently hence battery might be saved and the bad thing about this is that, when you have a week signal, the phone tries to get better signal since it cannot switch to over to another frequency, hence the boosting uses more battery power.
Try it for yourself .
prathaban said:
You can try forcing to use GSM only or WCDMA only instead of GMS / WCDMA preferred.
The setting is under Wireless --> Mobile network settings --> Network Mode.
By forcing it to use WCDMA, the phone doesn't try to switch to GSM even when it has low signal. Good thing here is that, it doesn't try to switch between the two frequently hence battery might be saved and the bad thing about this is that, when you have a week signal, the phone tries to get better signal since it cannot switch to over to another frequency, hence the boosting uses more battery power.
Try it for yourself .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Double Post huh?
r_southampton said:
thank you both repliers.
It looks like there's no practical alternative to just letting the switch over happen as Sony have programmed it (or moving house).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not only happening as programming by Sony but more likely by your operator. The operator defines the parameters that decide when they wish your mobile to switch from one network to the other, how weak they will allow the signal to become etc.
You can contact you operator, maybe they will log a case on it and investigate if the radio planning could be changed in your area.
Related
On any of my phones including new Pro2 when I have auto set for band, it always connects to GSM instead of 3G band on my network. This seems to be network depended because when in roaming it always connects to 3G when available.
Simple fix would be to leave 3G band only and not auto, but where I live not whole area is covered with 3G signal so I would often be out of reach.
Is there a way to make 3G (where signal is available) preferred band regardless of network preference?
u should have play around with your device more often, or read a lot in the forum, its in the communication settings - phone - change band - choose WCDMA
gunggu said:
u should have play around with your device more often, or read a lot in the forum, its in the communication settings - phone - change band - choose WCDMA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you have read my question entirely
I know where to choose band, but I need it to be on AUTO since 3G signal doesn't cover all region where I live.
But at the same time i want it to connect to 3G first if there is 3G for my network. Currently when band is on AUTO and when I turn on the phone it connects to GSM by default rather than 3G.
In case of bad 3G coverage, The phone "Fall's" down in 2G mode by it self. We can't choose with one is prior to the other. It is an hadware (ie in the 3G ship) that is implemeted this choice, because 3G was promoted to respond to 2G saturation. In your case, this is due to a bad 3G covergage or bad 2G signal.
Hope it can help
Schmurtz1968 said:
In case of bad 3G coverage, The phone "Fall's" down in 2G mode by it self. We can't choose with one is prior to the other. It is an hadware (ie in the 3G ship) that is implemeted this choice, because 3G was promoted to respond to 2G saturation. In your case, this is due to a bad 3G covergage or bad 2G signal.
Hope it can help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was afraid of something like this
Although I'm not sure this is in phone hardware, rather that preference is set by network. For example on my own mobile network even when I'm very close to 3G base station and signal is excellent, when I turn off the phone and turn it on it will choose GSM signal if phone is set to auto. This happens with every phone, not just HTC. And it will never connect to 3G again unless I set it manually in settings.
On other networks and when in roaming when I turn on the phone and have auto set it automatically connects to 3G, and when I loose 3G signal it connects to GSM but once 3G signal is available it automatically reconnects to 3G.
So I think this is actually set by network and not the phone.
I sometimes work at a place that has full edge signal, and 2 lines (stable and good reception) of 3g. All HTC phones always prefer EDGE, if band is set to auto.
frkser said:
I don't think you have read my question entirely
I know where to choose band, but I need it to be on AUTO since 3G signal doesn't cover all region where I live.
But at the same time i want it to connect to 3G first if there is 3G for my network. Currently when band is on AUTO and when I turn on the phone it connects to GSM by default rather than 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oops sorry, my bad...
even in my room here the 3G signal is weak (1 bar), but the phone still prefers 3G (HSPA) and not EDGE, it turns to EDGE when i go to the bathroom , but when i got out, in a couple of minutes it turns back to 3G.
Hey I just came from Galaxy S and there is a way to disable Hsdpa in there which improves battery life amazingly....
I was wondering if there is a way to do that in Desire? (for my city 3g speeds are faster than hspa for some reason)...
Also is there a way to select which band the phone is connecting by 850 vs 1900 ... or to see what it is using ?
any help would be appreciated
It's in the settings someone in network
There is also a widget to totally disable mobile internet which I use to save battery
Sent from my HTC Desire
Go to Settings > Wireless & Network Settings > Mobile Networks...
That's pretty much what you can do with the Desire as far as mobile networks are concerned. GSM phones normally switch to different frequency bands depending on where they are located and in the Desire I don't think you can select which one to go for (besides it's an unnecessary feature in my opinion)...it just does it on its own. Maybe there is an app around that let's you do this?...
As for viewing which band you are on....you can't do it on a standard ROM but there might be custom ROMs or an app that let's you do this.
Update: Some apps that might interest you => 4G, CDMA, GSM & Wifi Map Viewer from Sensorly.com
=> Open Signal Maps Beta from Staircase 3, Inc.
=> Antennas from mpoly
=> Quick Settings (maybe..)
mmm none of those do anything like it...
all those either just shut off data or turn it on... im not sure if anyone has used the galaxy s
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=837716
this is what im talking about... saves the phone a LOT of battery by just forcing it to use 3g instead of hspa ...
i think developers can prolly make more sense of it.. i mean if they have a way.. there has to be one in other devices ...no?
danial.aw said:
mmm none of those do anything like it...
all those either just shut off data or turn it on... im not sure if anyone has used the galaxy s
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=837716
this is what im talking about... saves the phone a LOT of battery by just forcing it to use 3g instead of hspa ...
i think developers can prolly make more sense of it.. i mean if they have a way.. there has to be one in other devices ...no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, so you have a Galaxy S.....unfortunately, this is a HTC Desire forum, so it would be better if you posted this in the Galaxy S forums. You may not find the answers you are looking for here as this forum mainly handles a different device to the Galaxy S.
What I said before is only applicable to the HTC DESIRE. I thought you switched to a Desire when you mentioned you came from a Galaxy S, but I was mistaken. The apps I mentioned as mainly for monitoring the 4G, 3.5G & 3G (i think 2G too) coverage. If you are looking to switch between them (i.e. turn HSDPA off and turn 2G on) I am sure there is a way to do so...on the Desire this can be done through the Mobile Networks settings...
And no, I'm not familiar with the Galaxy S....
no i had the galaxy s... (i posted that for reference as to how its done on that)...
and ya those apps just toggle just 2g vs 3g...
im looking for a umts vs hspa toggle... (3g vs 3.5g).... because umts takes way less battery than hspa does...
tried to mess around in the band setting screen but couldnt find anything
SOLUTION
what you need is to edit /system/build.prop file
here are my settings:
ro.ril.hsxpa=0
ro.ril.gprsclass=12
ro.ril.hsdpa.category=1
ro.ril.hsupa.category=1
after doing the and couple?... of restarts H icon changed to 3G and it really does save battery significantly and speed is pretty much enough for browsing or email
would have thought if battery life was vital then you'd disable data completely tbh
This is somewhat network dependent. Here in Sweden I know of one network that will have you at HSXPA (H) as soon as it is possible. My network on the other hand will set to 3G when WCDMA is detected and set to H only during data traffic.
And then G if only GSM is detected.
I disable data via widget if I want to save power even further. Not that it has that much impact. There is a setting under wireless and network > mobile network at the bottom : ativate mobile data (this is translated). This setting will force the data connection to be active even if unused. You have to experiment here what setting is best for your network. On my network, if I remove the tick here (data connection will let go if not used and reconnect when needed) my battery will drain quicker. Providers with other policies might give different result.
found something good http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=909458
apparently xda is very strict on my posting etc. my fourth try trying to post something to help out..
liquidribs said:
found something good http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=909458
apparently xda is very strict on my posting etc. my fourth try trying to post something to help out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! thank you! thank you! For bringing thing thread back from the grave.
heyjoe66 said:
SOLUTION
what you need is to edit /system/build.prop file
here are my settings:
ro.ril.hsxpa=0
ro.ril.gprsclass=12
ro.ril.hsdpa.category=1
ro.ril.hsupa.category=1
after doing the and couple?... of restarts H icon changed to 3G and it really does save battery significantly and speed is pretty much enough for browsing or email
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Very useful! For me it was only necessary to change the "ro.ril.hsxpa=0" line, then do a couple of restarts (to make it clear, a single restart wasn't enough, HSDPA was disabled only after the second restart for me).
How can you set the Defy to WCDMA Preferred? It constantly reverts off of it.
Bump
Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk
You mean in the INFO menu? I don't believe you can. At least not with the stock ROM. I believe the choice is controlled by the firmware which varies from market to market, I presume.
That's the same as 3G only? Mine has the option under the mobile network settings. I get three choices (this is exactly how it reads): 2G only saves battery, 3G only better performance, and Automatic Default. Hm you should have the same thing.
In my handset, if you go into Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile networks, there is an option/drop-down box for Select network.
It gives you a choice between 2G only, 3G only and Automatic which is the default option and the only sensible one IMO.
edit: same as bobbyphoenix it seems.
Selecting 3G only means the phone will not use the 2G network ever, so if you were to end up in an area without 3G signal, you'd be disconnected.
Automatic means the phone will use 3G when available and 2G when it's not. As I said before, it's the only sensible choice.
Step666 said:
In my handset, if you go into Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile networks, there is an option/drop-down box for Select network.
It gives you a choice between 2G only, 3G only and Automatic which is the default option and the only sensible one IMO.
edit: same as bobbyphoenix it seems.
Selecting 3G only means the phone will not use the 2G network ever, so if you were to end up in an area without 3G signal, you'd be disconnected.
Automatic means the phone will use 3G when available and 2G when it's not. As I said before, it's the only sensible choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't answer the question. There are two settings within the testing menu: wcdma preferred and gsm auto prl. The former tries to hang onto 3G whenever possible, where the latter uses an internal list of networks and it decides when to switch.
hah2110 said:
That doesn't answer the question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does.
Automatic means the handset will use 3G whenever possible - ie 3G preferred.
No - they are two different things, as I explained. The Defy is using GSM PRL, NOT WCDMA Preferred.
hah2110 said:
No - they are two different things, as I explained. The Defy is using GSM PRL, NOT WCDMA Preferred.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When my phone uses wifi calling with wifi preferred (in the wifi calling menu) the INFO (testing) menu shows "GSM only". This choice will not allow 3G connection (2G, yes). When I turn off wifi, the phone switches to "GSM auto (prl)" and I get 3G. I read on one forum where someone claims they switched to "WCDMA preferred" then did a battery pull and it stuck. Also read that the WCDMA selection depletes battery faster. Hey, don't always believe what you read.
Hey, guys.
I have my phone now for 4 month and I've checked following thing: the battery drain is incredible on bad mobile coverage. In my apartment I have really pur reception, all phones loose the reception permanently (in this way one x is much better than my wife's Iphone 4).
It is normal, that the phone consumes much energy, but one x consumes just to much. For example, if I'm at home, the drain is like 2 or even 3 procent in hour even on sense roms, and if I'm in place with good reception, it's like 1 procent in 2 and more hours, so the overall batter life is waaaay much better...
Now the question is, if I could do something to make my phone to be not so aggressive on searching for the network? I know, it can bring worse network, but it is not really a problem for me.
P. S.:switching to flight mode is not an answer for me
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
flight mode is the first thing i would have said, but not an option, so the next thing i would look at is something like vodafone suresignal - check with your network provider, they might offer a service similar, basically you get a little box from them, plug into your internet connection, and it will give your phone signal.
can't really think of something apart from a kernel tweak of some sort that would stop the phone scanning so much for cell towers, but i'm not sure where that would be, or even if it is possible..
its normal when signal drops out the phone turns the phones radio on full to scan for a network.
i would try going to settings > mobile network ( click the word not the switch) > network mode
and set it to GSM only, this will force the phone to only use 2g signal, means you don't get 3g internet so it will be very slow for internet, but 2g uses less power than 3g.
i do this alot as where i live there is low/2g signal only so i force it on to the 2g to stop it looking for a 3g network
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
treebill said:
its normal when signal drops out the phone turns the phones radio on full to scan for a network.
i would try going to settings > mobile network ( click the word not the switch) > network mode
and set it to GSM only, this will force the phone to only use 2g signal, means you don't get 3g internet so it will be very slow for internet, but 2g uses less power than 3g.
i do this alot as where i live there is low/2g signal only so i force it on to the 2g to stop it looking for a 3g network
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use this option a lot, this is not directly what I asked for. I just want my gsm radio to be not so aggressive. Just like changing cpu governors values
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Hi
Zlotin said:
I use this option a lot, this is not directly what I asked for. I just want my gsm radio to be not so aggressive. Just like changing cpu governors values
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there is no reception at all the phone radio shouldn't use much power, this is because it is just listening for a signal and will not be transmitting anything. If the radio is consuming more power, it is likely because it can hear the transmitter (they obviously transmit with much more power) and so the phone on hearing the mother ship is trying to reply at full transmit power available to it, but this isn't enough to be heard which drains more power. It doesn't taking many attempts at transmitting at full power to have a battery draining faster than usual.
Some applications on having no data connection might start waking the device a lot in a panic and don't back off trying, so every few seconds they will be waking the phone trying to connect to a remote server somewhere. Do you have Wi-Fi on to keep applications happy if they want to keep phoning home?
You have few options really,
1) is to just the mobile phone part off and leave Wi-Fi running which should help. You can do this by switching to flight mode then enabling just the Wi-Fi, or there will be widgets available I'm sure to just turn off the mobile phone part.
2) Turn off syncing to see if it is an application getting panicky, again you will have widgets you can add to your home page to easily switch this setting
3) You can use a Phone Schedule type application and have your phone go to flight mode automatically timed for when you are usually at home and overnight to save battery drain, free ones at the Play store.
4) If you have internet access at your apartment and depending on your mobile phone operator you might be able to get a femtocell, this will give you a full signal and service at home.
Regards
Phil
Its not just the HOX that does this, its all phones and it is bloody annoying.
My wifes parents live in the middle of nowhere and if we didnt' change our phones (inc, hox, s2,n900,iphone3...) to flightmode when there over night they would be flat.
treebill said:
its normal when signal drops out the phone turns the phones radio on full to scan for a network.
i would try going to settings > mobile network ( click the word not the switch) > network mode
and set it to GSM only, this will force the phone to only use 2g signal, means you don't get 3g internet so it will be very slow for internet, but 2g uses less power than 3g.
i do this alot as where i live there is low/2g signal only so i force it on to the 2g to stop it looking for a 3g network
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have that option. What's up with that? Does AT&T lock that option on their phones?
Tcndeb said:
I don't have that option. What's up with that? Does AT&T lock that option on their phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dial *#*#4636#*#* and goto phone information, scroll down, and you'll have all different modes there.
sometimes this doesn't stick though
that option would probably be there on a normal custom rom (unless this isn't actually possible on at&t??)
i could be misinformed, im from uk, so a little un educated on how the networks work over there..
I was wondering if there is a way to make my tMob SGS3 do better at seeking and maintaining a WCDMA connection?
I know I can change the Mobile Network Mode to WCDMA only, and I do sometimes.
However, when it is in Auto mode, it switches back and forth constantly between GSM and WCDMA. In my home when I force WCDMA mode it has 2-3 bars of WCDMA and it does not drop the connection. When I put it on auto, it switches back and forth every minute or 2. I flashed and tried every modem possible but the results are the same.
Is there any way, besides WCDMA only mode, that I can make my phone more aggressively seek and keep WCDMA when it is available?
Thanks!
colorado_al said:
I was wondering if there is a way to make my tMob SGS3 do better at seeking and maintaining a WCDMA connection?
I know I can change the Mobile Network Mode to WCDMA only, and I do sometimes.
However, when it is in Auto mode, it switches back and forth constantly between GSM and WCDMA. In my home when I force WCDMA mode it has 2-3 bars of WCDMA and it does not drop the connection. When I put it on auto, it switches back and forth every minute or 2. I flashed and tried every modem possible but the results are the same.
Is there any way, besides WCDMA only mode, that I can make my phone more aggressively seek and keep WCDMA when it is available?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude I feel ya. I seriously think it all started once they switched to the 1900 band for 3g. Cause when I had my HTC HD2 it was mostly 3g in my house. Now it hardly ever switches to 3g unless I force it.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
It works great when I switch it to WCDMA only, however I keep forgetting to switch it to GSM/WCDMA when I leave the house or work. I'm thinking of getting some TecTile NFC stickers to cause my phone to remind me to switch or maybe try to find a way to automate it with them or something.
If it sits at G or E until you start a data transfer and then jumps to 4G this is how it was originally set up to operate. The intent was to save both battery and banwidth. It was like this for me until I updated and it stopped. It was annoying so I'm glad it was changed. But if you are on either build UVALEM or UVALG1 try updating to the latest official build UVALH2.
Otherwise it may just be the tower you're connected to is under heavy load and is trying to conserve bandwidth, or it may just not be functioning correctly.
One other thing it could also be is if your area hasn't been refarmed yet. (It may be that this is what changed it for me but its been a while and I know I had updated about the same time I noticed it, so I attributed to that) the more I think about it now, if updating doesn't change its behavior, this is probably what's going on.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
colorado_al said:
i was wondering if there is a way to make my tmob sgs3 do better at seeking and maintaining a wcdma connection?
I know i can change the mobile network mode to wcdma only, and i do sometimes.
However, when it is in auto mode, it switches back and forth constantly between gsm and wcdma. In my home when i force wcdma mode it has 2-3 bars of wcdma and it does not drop the connection. When i put it on auto, it switches back and forth every minute or 2. I flashed and tried every modem possible but the results are the same.
Is there any way, besides wcdma only mode, that i can make my phone more aggressively seek and keep wcdma when it is available?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wcdma only.
DocHoliday77 said:
If it sits at G or E until you start a data transfer and then jumps to 4G this is how it was originally set up to operate. The intent was to save both battery and banwidth. It was like this for me until I updated and it stopped. It was annoying so I'm glad it was changed. But if you are on either build UVALEM or UVALG1 try updating to the latest official build UVALH2.
Otherwise it may just be the tower you're connected to is under heavy load and is trying to conserve bandwidth, or it may just not be functioning correctly.
One other thing it could also be is if your area hasn't been refarmed yet. (It may be that this is what changed it for me but its been a while and I know I had updated about the same time I noticed it, so I attributed to that) the more I think about it now, if updating doesn't change its behavior, this is probably what's going on.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I am on UVALH2. I think the way it is supposed to be setup is to sit on UMTS while conserving bat/data and switch to HSPAP when moving data (Both WCDMA protocols). It actually has been much better today. Don;t know if the tower in my area was having issues the last few days.
I checked for NFC programs that would allow me to change my networks based on location and none have that fine level of settings.
It isn't really a problem if I switch it to WCDMA only, it's just that I forget to switch it back to both when I'm on the road and I end up missing calls.
Well, I guess that answers whether it was the update that did it for me! I'm guessing it must be due to the network refarming then. Like I said, it did the same for me for a while, but I haven't had it hapoen at all for some time now.
You could look for an app that lets you create location based profiles. You can set it to be one way at home and when you leave it'll automatically change to your other settings.
I would imagine Tasker could handle this as well, but I've never used it.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app