Problem with data? - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989

Today i went to hilton head from savannah. In savannah i have fine 4g service. once i passed over bored of ga and sc i lost all service. i did not go into 3g nor edge. I also have a vibrant that i carry which kept a 3g service for most of the time. It went into edge for a few minutes but it krept back into 3g. My SGS II never came back into service until i was 5 minutes away from my house. I reset the phone a couple times throughout the day which did not help. has anyone experienced a loss in data with another phone that is on same service have data. This was unexpected and frankly pissed me off. NO GPS, NO INTERNET. all i could do was text. I even had gps on my vibrant (miui latest le) which if you came from vibrant you know its not the greatest gps.
My real question is....Do you think its a defect and should i try to get another one or something im going to have to deal with on the SGS II . I am always going back and forth between the two places.

Next time you take the drive try going to Settings -> Wireless & Network -> Mobile Networks and changing your network mode to GSM only.
You may be onto something because I experience the same thing when at the office. My 4G drops and it won't switch to edge, I just have no service.
If the auto mode isn't working for anyone that really is lame.
I have called CS on this and they didn't seem concerned and just told me to do what I wrote in the first paragraph.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

alright i will definitely try that. i appreciate your input. And i agree, very lame.

I'll try to remember to report back how my day at the office goes with GSM only tomorrow.
I'm just glad to see someone else having the problem, no offense or anything.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

well i would rather know if its a defect or just unable to switch services automatically before my grace period is up. So please do report back...

It definitely seems like there is an issue with switching between 4g & E. I can't fully confirm but I've been switching them manually today and it's working. If I leave it on auto it never switches to edge even when 4g is at zero bars. Weird. I don't know if this is normal or not cause this is my first real 4g device.
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Yeah this is my first time on 4g. I might just go to tmo store and talk to them about it.
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They dont know anything about this stuff

How do you switch manually? I have problems inside of buildings, not that I expect it to have a 4g inside, but edge would still be helpful for work email notifications.

Mileman3, look at the second post in this thread for instructions.
On the gs2 GSM is 3g/E(?) And WCDMA is 4g.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

Related

Phone will show no signal and not reconnect

Wife works in a low reception area and will sometimes lose signal. the only problem is it does not reconnect untill you reset. anyone else have this issue or have a fix?
Sorry if this has been adressed i dont know how to search on xda mobile.
sent from my mother flippin epic touch
Are you rooted?
P.S. Your wife works in a low reception area?
Looks like this is becoming an issue, there's two existing threads on it so far:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1269282
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1269890
I'm hoping there's a fix soon because I love the phone and don't want to return it.
Edit: Just happened to me again sitting here at my desk with good signal.
Nope not rooted.
well what did you expect with the signal the phone has the same radio as the nexus. Crappy
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
abrcrmdl23 said:
well what did you expect with the signal the phone has the same radio as the nexus. Crappy
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I need source to this statement.... I owned a nexus s 4g and this phone has better signal in and out.doors
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Photon?
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
abrcrmdl23 said:
well what did you expect with the signal the phone has the same radio as the nexus. Crappy
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the Nexus had a crappy radio but I never lost connection with it, especially at my home where I lost data/cellular connection twice so far
mainstang said:
Wife works in a low reception area and will sometimes lose signal. the only problem is it does not reconnect untill you reset. anyone else have this issue or have a fix?
Sorry if this has been adressed i dont know how to search on xda mobile.
sent from my mother flippin epic touch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I cannot say that I have experienced this, while I am at work I have my Wi-Fi on 100%, and whenever I step outside of the office to use the bathroom, or to go to the vending machine (Wi-Fi signal still barely reaches), There have been several times that it would drop the connection because the signal was too weak. However as soon as I got back within proper range It would reconnect immediately with no problems.
well I called sprint last night and the reprovisioned everything. They said this is the first that they have heard of it and are sending the info to sprint and samsung. I will report back later if this fixes her problem. I doubt it will though, because other post have shown that this is just like doing a profile and prl update.
I just tested my WiFi again at work. I am standing next to the WiFi Router, and cannot get a connection unless I reset the phone. I am frustrated. I cannot reset my phone everyday when I come to work just to get a signal.
I just jumped ship from AT&T's iPhone to this, and need to decide where to go next. Verizon Bionic?
I had same problem happen last night. Showed the international no symbol and didn't get a signal until I rebooted.

(Q) What's Going On

Ok so if you guys remember me with the weird SD mount issues, I took the phone to sprint & blamed it on gingerbread. They gave me brand new phone free. Anyways, not my internet is very spotty. At times I get good connections but like 75% of the day horrible. My 3g thing even drops completely sometimes. I updated to recent prl & profile & I'm still stock. Any insights people?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
If your !00% stock, not rooted. Do a battery pull which is same as soft reset, call sprint and ask them to refresh your connection on the network, ask if any issues in your area. If that doesn't work, take phone to sprint store and have them look at it. Either the phone or the network.
Thanks bro I will do that tonight! Can you send MD the sprint number lol
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(T-Mobile) Randomly Losing Signal

My gsiii for some odd reason loses 4G and sometimes even service. Last night when i was on a call, it dropped and the signal reflected that i was running on edge then it switched to someting that said "G." I looked at my brother's siii and he was also on edge. So i tried putting it on airplane mode however it would not go through. It's as if i never pressed anything. So i had to restart the phone and it was on airplane mode, so i took it off then about a minute and a half later i got 4G back. Today when i was browsing the web, i randomly lost 4G again but this time i continued to have signal just no data. About a minute later I got it back. About a minute later i lost it again and regained it about a minute later. I havent noticed anything else about the phone and ive had it for about a week and last night was the first time that i restarted it. Any ideas? Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks!
I'm also having the same problem it just happened to me today also and happened the other day when I restarted phone it did nothing then I did airplane mode that didn't do anything so I clicked the enable packet data off then on an item came back in hoping it's not going to be a hardware problem cause I've dropped calls for no reason and had no service or bars were showing but had no edge 4G etc
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ballenone said:
I'm also having the same problem it just happened to me today also and happened the other day when I restarted phone it did nothing then I did airplane mode that didn't do anything so I clicked the enable packet data off then on an item came back in hoping it's not going to be a hardware problem cause I've dropped calls for no reason and had no service or bars were showing but had no edge 4G etc
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's really weird, when I was using mt4g, it would do that randomly as well, I'm not sure if it's a phone or a network issue. Anyone else experiencing this random drop in data?
Same here I think it's a common issue with tmobile devices.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
I think is just the network it had happened to me but while driving some place and Idk if is the coverage but other then that I do see going from h+ and 3g, I have a custom theme install
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
I just moved from Sprint to Tmo and I'm getting the same on my S3. It would look like i have good 4g coverage with 3 bars then all of a sudden it goes to Edge. So I have to wait for it to go back to 4g to start surfing. Edge is like 15kbps for me which is not even modem speed which is 56k. If I accidentally start surfing on Edge it seems to wanna stick to Edge until I close whats using data then it will eventually go to 4g. But when I get 4g its awesome and I get over between 6meg to 12 but only 40% of the time. I called Tmo and they said I have great 4g coverage where I'm at....ya sure.
aznmode said:
I just moved from Sprint to Tmo and I'm getting the same on my S3. It would look like i have good 4g coverage with 3 bars then all of a sudden it goes to Edge. So I have to wait for it to go back to 4g to start surfing. Edge is like 15kbps for me which is not even modem speed which is 56k. If I accidentally start surfing on Edge it seems to wanna stick to Edge until I close whats using data then it will eventually go to 4g. But when I get 4g its awesome and I get over between 6meg to 12 but only 40% of the time. I called Tmo and they said I have great 4g coverage where I'm at....ya sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha ha tell them to give you credit Lmao
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
It's them rebooting equipment due to all the upgrades they're adding.
Sent from my MyTouch 4g
hedjemunkee said:
It's them rebooting equipment due to all the upgrades they're adding.
Sent from my MyTouch 4g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is very good for a lot of reasons!! Can't wait.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
I just checked settings... battery... cell standby... 45 percent without signal.... anyone else check those stats? I got people telling me they called but no record on my phone
cwalker0906 said:
I just checked settings... battery... cell standby... 45 percent without signal.... anyone else check those stats? I got people telling me they called but no record on my phone
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Click to collapse
I've only experienced outright loss of signal once, which was last night. So far nothing else has happened really. It was just odd that my phone won't even go into airplane mode until I rebooted the device.
Same thing happened to me. I was actually quite worried and about to send my phone back. Everything seems to be working okay now. No issues.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
this has driven me mad for the past few days. recently I upgraded to a S3 and my dad got a S 4G (which was released 2 years ago). while we were in Costco, my S3 randomly switched to Edge while the S 4G has 4G all the time. ALso we were on vacation to San Francisco so I could experience "Tmo largest 4G network." While we were in a hotel in Fremont, my S3 again switched to Edge and back to 4G randomly while the S 4G had 4G. also the signal is not stable at all. sometimes(1 or 2 times) it even dropped to zero bar. SOMETHING wrong with samsung phones. I read somewhere someone had this issue with the S2 also. I can live with the HSPA+ for 2 years, but hey dont give me random Edge like that
I plan to go exchange for a new phone at Costco... probably a new S3 to see if the issue still exists...
K12123 said:
My gsiii for some odd reason loses 4G and sometimes even service. Last night when i was on a call, it dropped and the signal reflected that i was running on edge then it switched to someting that said "G." I looked at my brother's siii and he was also on edge. So i tried putting it on airplane mode however it would not go through. It's as if i never pressed anything. So i had to restart the phone and it was on airplane mode, so i took it off then about a minute and a half later i got 4G back. Today when i was browsing the web, i randomly lost 4G again but this time i continued to have signal just no data. About a minute later I got it back. About a minute later i lost it again and regained it about a minute later. I havent noticed anything else about the phone and ive had it for about a week and last night was the first time that i restarted it. Any ideas? Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile's 4G network works in a interesting way (do all HSPA+ networks work this way?). They idle in UMTS mode (3G) until there is network activity, and then switch to HSPA+ (4G) mode. The network changing is an automatic thing does to save battery life ("Cellular standby" is often the largest battery drains).
Ever use an AOSP-based ROM (i.e. Cyanogenmod)? You'll sometimes see the network indicator in the status bar switch between 3G to H+ to 4G, etc as you use it. Stock T-Mobile ROMs are hard-coded to always say "4G", but if you go to Settings → About phone → Status, you can watch the network type there change as well as the phone does anything over the cellular network.
You should never be dropping to GPRS or EDGE. Perhaps the mechanism described is defective on your phone?
Happened again today. Had signal but no 4G, not even Edge, just bars. i think it happens whenever the signals low. Thoughts?
I'm having the same issue at my work place. I'm getting Edge (50-80%) more often at my desk, when previously with my SGS2 it stayed at 4G all the time. Checking Cellstandby I am getting 31% time without signal.
Is there a setting to force 4g connection?
My office is in Cupertino, CA and reception is not bad in general, but there are a few locations with 4G dead spots.
I'll check my reception again at home (Santa Clara, CA). I can do a side by side comparison with my SGS2 (now belongs to my wife).
On call with TMO right now, they are going to do a reset of the phone in their system, then I will need to do a reboot. Fingers X'd that things will improve.
BTW, what options do I have to get a replacement phone if I bought mine from Walmart? Do I need to send it in or can I do an instore exchange? Just got it on Sunday. Will I incur any fees if I returned the phone?
---
Reset didn't work. Passed on to level 2, there submitting a service request to check reception in the area. Need to follow-up on Friday if the reception is still bad. Since I'm in Cali I do have 30 days to return the phone.
I have similar reception issue but I dont lose signal completely. I will go from 4g(hspa+) to 3g to edge then it will switch back to 4g after 30secs-60secs. Quite annoying since I will be stationary and it will happen and it happens more when Im in a car. Never had this problem when I had the Nexus One.
sfsilicon said:
I'm having the same issue at my work place. I'm getting Edge (50-80%) more often at my desk, when previously with my SGS2 it stayed at 4G all the time. Checking Cellstandby I am getting 31% time without signal.
Is there a setting to force 4g connection?
My office is in Cupertino, CA and reception is not bad in general, but there are a few locations with 4G dead spots.
I'll check my reception again at home (Santa Clara, CA). I can do a side by side comparison with my SGS2 (now belongs to my wife).
On call with TMO right now, they are going to do a reset of the phone in their system, then I will need to do a reboot. Fingers X'd that things will improve.
BTW, what options do I have to get a replacement phone if I bought mine from Walmart? Do I need to send it in or can I do an instore exchange? Just got it on Sunday. Will I incur any fees if I returned the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question. With your s2 what happens if you're in an area without 4g? Do you get edge?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
I am having the same issue. I had perfect 4g coverage all over my town, (I live in south texas). The problems started 2 days ago, when I lost all 4g coverage. I took out my sim card and placed it back in and the 4g logo came back on. But now I have been noticing that my cell signal will completely drop and then slowly come back up. This has happened several times. I also went to tmobile and changed my micro sim card and the issue remains. AND NOW I AM ON EDGE!!!!!
Has anyone been able to get a replacement and did it fix the problem?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Am i the only one with 4G problems?

Looked in General and Q&A and can't find anyone complaining about 4G reception. This stupid phone doesn't hold 4G indoors ANYWHERE I go. My Galaxy S2 never had problems like this. This phone is always switching to EDGE. ALWAYS!!! Really causing me to regret my purchase. Also, my "4G" speed test has never gone faster than 3.5-4Mbps down, where my GS2 averaged 9-15Mbps. Only flaw I have had with this phone. I read Verizon users are having the same issues with their GS3. This damn phone annoys the hell outta me and hope the Galaxy Note doesn't have the same radio as this because I can't wait to replace this phone. I love it and how fluid the ui is, but I pay for the 10GB data plan, but this idiotic phone doesn't allow me to use it. And I've had it replaced twice. Gonna replace the SIM later today and see if that helps. So, am I the only one? And I live in an excellent 4G area according to T-Mobile.
This may not help, but could be worth a try.
Open the dialer and enter *#*#4636#*#*
Once u hit the last * it should open up a menu. Select Device Information, scroll down a little and there should be a box to click on. Choose WCDMA Only and see if you can get onto 4G now. If you can get 4G, you can go back and choose WCDMA preffered and see if it acts ok on this setting.
Worth a try at least. Good luck!
And have you called tmobile to see if they are having problems with any towers in your area?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
You don't have to insult the phone, just state your problem. Sheesh
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
IRIE4IPIER said:
Looked in General and Q&A and can't find anyone complaining about 4G reception. This stupid phone doesn't hold 4G indoors ANYWHERE I go. My Galaxy S2 never had problems like this. This phone is always switching to EDGE. ALWAYS!!! Really causing me to regret my purchase. Also, my "4G" speed test has never gone faster than 3.5-4Mbps down, where my GS2 averaged 9-15Mbps. Only flaw I have had with this phone. I read Verizon users are having the same issues with their GS3. This damn phone annoys the hell outta me and hope the Galaxy Note doesn't have the same radio as this because I can't wait to replace this phone. I love it and how fluid the ui is, but I pay for the 10GB data plan, but this idiotic phone doesn't allow me to use it. And I've had it replaced twice. Gonna replace the SIM later today and see if that helps. So, am I the only one? And I live in an excellent 4G area according to T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having some similar issues. I can get 4g indoors, but seems to switch around without even moving the phone. I'm wondering if it's a "feature" of the SGS3. Uses less battery to hold EDGE/3g and then when it detects data transfer, switches to 4g... I dunno.
That being said, you can try installing the new OTA which has a new radio. Or if your rooted etc, flash the radio zip Wild put up. I've noticed some improvements with signal strength, but it still seems to swap based on what I'm doing.
Anybody more knowledgeable have any info on this "smart data management"?
The phone will only stay at 4G during data transfers, while idle it'll drop back to 3G. I don't think it should be dropping to edge/2G though.
Did you try the method I mentioned in my other post?
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DocHoliday77 said:
The phone will only stay at 4G during data transfers, while idle it'll drop back to 3G. I don't think it should be dropping to edge/2G though.
Did you try the method I mentioned in my other post?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Yes I did and thank you for bringing that to attention , I don't know how I let that slip my mind, I used that setting to fix my last two Samsung phones, Nexus S and GS2. They both would do this just not as bad as the GS3, now the phone holds its 4G/3G much better with WCDMA only turned on. Now I have zero gripes about this phone.
Anyone know what the difference is between HSPA:10 and HSPA+15? Is the latter the HSPA42 T-Mobile advertises?
hold the phone upside down. works wonders i swear lol. especially when you're trying to download something.

Werid 4g speeds, need help ruling out phone or network

I bought a Tmobile Galaxy S3 on new years from staples, and since ive got the phone ive been experiencing strange 4g speeds. While im in my house, I always have full signal strength, and it always says 4G. I live in the Bronx in New York City, and when the 4g is working properly, I get upwards of 20 megabits down, and 1-2 up. Now I could literally be sitting in the exact same spot, and later ill test the phone and it says 0.2 - 0.3 megabits, and like over 1000 ping and the up is so slow it doesnt even measure it. It usually comes back after waiting, turning airplane mode off and on multiple times or doing a battery pull. I find it strange that I can get either 21 mbps or 0.3 in the same house, while always having full bars. In the phone status sometimes it would say UTMS or HSPA, so it does switch from 3g to 4g sometimes. The thing is my previous phone was Nexus S with 3g and im pretty sure I never had a problem loading a simple image in my house because the internet was so slow. I consistently pulled 3-6 mbps on that phone. I tried calling t-mobile 3 times and they give me the same basic crap, like clear your cache, make sure airplane mode is off (really?) make sure youre network mode is on auto (i tried auto and wcdma only and it still gets slow) and all that other stuff. Is there anything else I could try to see if its a network or phone issue?
It sounds like it might be something with your local tower. I would call Tmobile and put in a repair ticket.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks, I just did that. Called t-mobile and just directly asked them to check for tower issues, and they filed a complaint. They said to check back in 3 days, hopefully this gets fixed, or else it might be the phone. Do you think flashing different modems would change anything?
tigim101 said:
Thanks, I just did that. Called t-mobile and just directly asked them to check for tower issues, and they filed a complaint. They said to check back in 3 days, hopefully this gets fixed, or else it might be the phone. Do you think flashing different modems would change anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wouldn't hurt to try. What are you currently running? (rom/kernel/modem)
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Completely stock 4.1.1, with UVDLJA modem, which is the latest I believe. The phone is relatively new so I wanted to try touchwiz before I rooted. Does installing something like cm10 change the modem? Or is it independent of rom/kernel. I saw an application for tmo that can change between multiple modems pretty quickly, I might give it a try.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
My opinion
tigim101 said:
Thanks, I just did that. Called t-mobile and just directly asked them to check for tower issues, and they filed a complaint. They said to check back in 3 days, hopefully this gets fixed, or else it might be the phone. Do you think flashing different modems would change anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work for T-Mo,
If I may lend my opinion,
To me, it definitely sounds like the tower. If you go from 20Mbit down to 0.2, and with 1000ms latency, it's super obvious there is something
wrong with the tower, or there is significant demand on the tower from other users, hey its NYC population density is insane.
Something to note as well, New York City is "in progress" for "network modernization" where they are switching to 1900Mhz.
This is why some people who have iPhones are now getting 3G in certain areas, unlocked devices, as well as AT&T phones can have 3G down there.
Due to this, since there is quite a lot of switching around going on down there, that's probably what's going on.
Example:
http://www.tmonews.com/2013/01/t-mobiles-network-modernization-what-is-it-where-can-i-get-coverage/
Hope it helps.
I see, well that makes sense. I dont really mind if its a tower issue because thatll be fixed eventually, I just would of hated if I had to replace the phone, it would of been such a hassle because I didnt buy it direct from t-mo. Thanks to both of you!
Also, since t-mobile seems to be using multiple bands for 4g, I guess it would be better to leave it on auto in network settings?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
tigim101 said:
I see, well that makes sense. I dont really mind if its a tower issue because thatll be fixed eventually, I just would of hated if I had to replace the phone, it would of been such a hassle because I didnt buy it direct from t-mo. Thanks to both of you!
Also, since t-mobile seems to be using multiple bands for 4g, I guess it would be better to leave it on auto in network settings?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it helps you at all to see if you are on a different band than 1700/2100mhz
You can go into the dialer and do:
*#0011#
Up top mine says band 4
Which is for 1700mhz AWS
BAND 2
which is for 1900mhz PCS.
You might be on band 4 or 2 on a tower by tower basis, or if they are making adjustments
You might be switched but that is above my pay grade lol

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