GN on T-Mo USA switching from H to 3G continuously - Anyone!? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Anybody got a Galaxy Nexus on T-Mo USA with the H icon switching to the 3G icon back & fourth on a daily basis? Seems like a software bug to me or could this be normal? I'm in a solid 4G area, never seen this before.
Thanks.
Sent from my GN

Its normal and exactly what its intended to do.
Your phone connected to umts which is 3g and will only change to hspa "4g" when pulling data.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

This is just what the phone is supposed to do. UTMS (3G) uses less power then HSPA (H), so the phone switches when there's data to be transferred, but otherwise stays at UTMS when there's nothing going on. Most ROMs just don't have a different icon for HSPA and UTMS, because HSPA hasn't always been "4G," so there's been no reason to notify the user that anything is different when it switches.

OK appreciate the information
Sent from my GN

Related

[Q] Should data always be 4G?

Reception is weak in my office at work. On my previous phone, Motorola Defy, I noticed my data would go back and forth between 'H' and '3G'.
With my GS2, data is stuck on 4G. I have watched it for hours now and even though I have no bars it does not change. Am I missing something? Is my device defective?
I appreciate your help with this.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
There might not be a 3G (icon) for the phone which is why it stays on 4G rather than drop to 3G.
At least that is the case with my G2X, it is either 4G or 2G but never 3G.
Not sure why, but that's how they made it.
Have you done a speed test to see if you are on 4G or not?
This phone also might have better connectivity to the network.
....
I can at least confirm there is an E for edge Found out today at my apartment in Boston (normally I have 4G with great speeds in Boston, but I guess the bathroom doesn't get good reception)
Thanks for the replies. Yes I ran 4 speed tests this morning in 4G and my max was 1490 Mbps so I think it's working well.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
There actually is a 3g icon. It is only displayed for Umts networks. The reason it was done that way is because there is no way to differentiate hspa from hspa+. Two network technologies for 3g were in use anyways and so it was easier to display all hspa and hspa+ networks as 4g and all umts as 3g.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Edit due to phone auto correct fail.

GT-I9250 Galaxy Nexua - Fido in Canada

Hi,
Might be one of a few having the galaxy nexus GT-I9250 in Canada.. I tuned on the phone and it found Fido and it worked. I get 3g and H on the signal bar. How do i k ow if I have hspa + or 4g lte on the phone? Will it show 4g or H+?
Speed test gets only around 1 meg down...
Fido and rogers are one, according to service map by rogers HSPA+ is in Ottawa and soon LTE. Will they prevent Fido users from 4g?
Any settings I have to enter on phone to get the higher speeds? Anyone in Canada has this working?
Thanks a lot for any insight u might have...
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
forget LTE it will not work (for CDMA networks like Bell/Telus)
get the GSM version to work
The phone doesn't have LTE. It has GSM and HSPA+.
As far as speeds, you're going to have to talk to other Fido users in the same area and see their speeds (or other phones you own with the same SIM card). There may be some changes to the APNs you can do to increase speeds, again you're going to want to ask Fido users.
as for knowing how fast you are going
it's simply a matter of speed
in Canada normal H+ speed is around 8 Mbps down at best
if you seed speed that goes beyond 16 Mbps, you are most likely on "4G"
there's no real 4G if you check Wikipedia
all the current LTE / 4G technology are fake
they are more like 3.5G = H+, so "4G/LTE" is actually more like 3.75G
the real 4G is on WiMax radio which is not very popular in many places and phones
Is there a version that supports lte? All over web they say galaxy nexus lte...
If anyone lives in ottawa and has Fido, please share ur experience and settings.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
ssss25 said:
Is there a version that supports lte? All over web they say galaxy nexus lte...
If anyone lives in ottawa and has Fido, please share ur experience and settings.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is 1 version with LTE. And that is made for Verizon USA. You're probably only going to see the GSM/HSPA+ version in Canada.
Thanks all. OK, so hspa + I will forget about lte..
How do i know if my phone is connected to hspa+?
Will it has a plus sign on signal bar. If i go to settings, then about phone, then status. It shows the current connection, what should it be? Anybody has hspa+ can tell me what they see in status in setting and the signal icon on top?
I will be happy with around 8mb
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
ssss25 said:
Thanks all. OK, so hspa + I will forget about lte..
How do i know if my phone is connected to hspa+?
Will it has a plus sign on signal bar. If i go to settings, then about phone, then status. It shows the current connection, what should it be? Anybody has hspa+ can tell me what they see in status in setting and the signal icon on top?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So under connection it'll say "EDGE" on 2G, "UMTS" on 3G, and "HSDPA"/"HSPA+" on 3.5G/4G/H+ (depends what your carrier wants to call it).
i believe he was speaking about the ICON indicator on the status bar
it'll be either 3G in most areas, and in really go areas you'll see H+ or 4G depending on the ROM how it was coded for the signal quality strength
once you start flashing custom ROMs you'll notice that will change too, depending on the ROM Dev, it's all cosmetic eye candy
if you want to know the real deal install Open Signal from Market
it has a nice widget that tells you the true tower capacity
It fluctuates between
Umts:3 and hspa:11
The reason I ask about the plus is that there is hspa only.. no plus and i am not sure if the hspa:11 means plus or no plus.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Allgamer thanks. On the icon, I get 3g and H on stock ics. No H+.
if there is no H+, then you are on 3G
ssss25 said:
Allgamer thanks. On the icon, I get 3g and H on stock ics. No H+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but H also means H+
just cosmetic again
ssss25 said:
Allgamer thanks. On the icon, I get 3g and H on stock ics. No H+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said earlier, if under "status" you see UMTS then you're on 3g. If you see HSPA you're on "4g". What that means for speeds is up to Fido.
The ROM just has "H" icon I believe. You won't see H+.
First of all, Bell and Rogers are GSM networks and they support LTE, however the phone itself only supports HSPA+ 21mb/s. Only the CDMA Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus will support LTE.
Note: This is only as far as my knowledge extends to, and I don't accept any responsibility if anything goes wrong
Thanks for all the replies. I had a nexus one which only supports hspa, not hspa+ and i used to see Hspa there. That is why I was concerned if the hspa I am seeing is using the plus protocol which supports a much faster speed than hspa. This is why seeing an h only, or hspa in connection didn't give me a good feeling as i had it on my nexus one. Its the hspa+ that gives me the extra speed on the galaxy nexus and i wonders if its being used.
Thanks for all your help and comment guys.. I appreciate it
It seems like the Verizon LTE version will not work on Fido/Rogers or Bell/Telus (each of which seems to have their own LTE network)
If you want to do a good speed test while around the BC area, go to Whistler and then do a speedtest.net test (via the app).
I've had 6MB/s down on standard HSPA.
Thanks for the info.
I found that in ottawa if i use spedtest.net app I only get between 1 and 2. If I use open signal, another App on market, I get around 6mb/sec.
Thanks.

[Q] Anyone else experience weird behavior with data connection, 3G to H and back?

Is this an Android feature or is there something wrong with my 3G?
What happens is that whenever I am using my browser and searching on Google and my data connection shows 3G, when I click something it switches to H. Then, after page load, it changes back to 3G.
It makes me wonder if something is wrong with my 3G, or it is some battery-optimizing done by the phone.
Am I missing something? I did not notice this with my HTC Desire, it stayed on 3G or H until connectivity became worse or better.
perfectly normal,as 3G just being the band you can be called on,but once you start browsing and download stuf,your conection turns into HSPDA(thus the H) this is the data conection integrated in 3G(its faster than actual 3G)
you can see it as a download mode.
H is just a download indicator if you ask me.
thus maybe your HTC was downloading constand or had a lower refresh rate?
the described action you present is pretty common on my nexus S
Yes this is normal behaviour in stock Android.
Great to hear, thanks
Yeah it was constant on my HTC Desire, either on H or 3G. Apps were the same, so I don't think Desire did some background work that Nexus isn't doing.
I like it, thanks!
Every phone I've had from the Nexus One would do this - usually stock roms don't show an "H," only 3G, so you can't tell that it's switching between.
My HTC desire would switch between 3g and h on Orange but if I roamed on to t mobile it would permanently show as H. I guess it can also depend on the network.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
You don't want it to stay on H .. it uses heaps more battery. There's also limited capacity on the network to support H connections. If everyone connected in H they would run out. It's meant to be temporary while you need to download a webpage, etc.
Mine is doing this too
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I think there's been a thread on this already, but just to reiterate:
This is just a feature of UMTS and HSPA. Using HSPA takes more battery than UMTS or EDGE, so you only want it on when you are actively downloading or uploading data. Otherwise, UMTS serves just fine for background data and syncing.
When you're reading a web page (your example), there's not a lot of data being transfered, and you're sitting on UMTS. As soon as you click a link, it switches to HSPA, pulls down the info, and switches back again.
To my knowledge, stock android shows the difference between 3G and H pretty accurately. Carrier and/or manufacturer customized ROMs often tend to lead towards leaving "H"/"H+"/"4G" in the status bar more than 3G. If you watch your "about phone" > "status" screen, you'll see your phone switches between UMTS and HSPA quite often, even if the interface is preferring to show you "H". I think its mostly a marketing tactic that also reduces customer confusion.
So bottom line, you should be happy it switches to save your battery!
I have this and trust me, it cains battery.
I have never seen H in my Nexus S.
So this is good
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
gogol said:
I have never seen H in my Nexus S.
So this is good
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because the Nexus S is a 3G phone that doesn't have the hardware required to transmit HSPA+ signal.
matt2053 said:
That's because the Nexus S is a 3G phone that doesn't have the hardware required to transmit HSPA+ signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nexus S is HSPA capable. just not HSPA+.
Actually HSPA doesn't use _more_ battery when you're camping. It only uses more battery while transferring, but even thats debatable. Eg 10mb downloaded in 1 minute over HSPA vs 5 minutes on 3G - which uses more battery to complete the task?
What does use extra battery is IF it has to switch to another tower to get you HSPA. However the network is pretty smart at choosing the most efficient thing to do, although it is biased to move people to towers which allow the most number of subscribers to be on the network. For example, if you are in a built up area and there are 3 towers within range, one perhaps right next to you, you may be switched to one further away so that one can service a user on the edge of its signal area. Although this uses more of your battery, it allows both of you to use the network rather than just 1.
Booo. So I just upgraded from a mt4g (the old one) to a GN, and now when I stream Sirius, it cuts out as it switches between H & 3G. I used Wifi today because it was driving me crazy. I wish there was a switch to turn off 4G, not 3G also.

No 3g on sgh-t989?

Can someone let me know why my phone never shows 3g? Either it is showing 'E' or 4G. My nexus used to show 3G.
I am under the assumption that this sgh-t989 can connect to all those networks t-mobile has....
Thanks
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
It might be because of the fact that everything being advertised now as '4G' is technically '3G.
8Fishes said:
It might be because of the fact that everything being advertised now as '4G' is technically '3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats not true anymore.. the T-Mobile 4G network has been officially recognized as 4G along with WiMax and LTE. Happened a few months ago.
The reason your only seeing either E or 4G is because those are the networks you are near. And many people believe that T-Mo sets the software to show 4G in the 3G area to "lie".. personally depending where i am, I see 3G or 4G we dont have any edge left in my area any longer..
Either way does it really matter? I mean as long as you have a solid connection..
PJcastaldo said:
...The reason your only seeing either E or 4G is because those are the networks you are near...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My friend's Nexus S shows 3G or H -depending on which tower it connects to? I don't know but it does show them at different times. we are still living in the same area. So, I am not so sure that they might have "phased out" the 3G. Confusing..
PJcastaldo said:
Either way does it really matter? I mean as long as you have a solid connection..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Suppose it doesn't matter but, I'd rather get 4G > 3G > E, and in that order. As you know, 3G is definitely faster than E and not all markets/areas have been upgraded to 4G...
T-Mobiles "4G" is a boosted UMTS (3G) band per say which is HSDPA. As long as the market you live in supports HSPDA you will see a "4G". If not then you will see a "3G". If none of those you will see "E" for EDGE or "G" for GSM. To say that T-Mobile's "4G" is actually 4G is ridiculous.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
iLeopard said:
T-Mobiles "4G" is a boosted UMTS (3G) band per say which is HSDPA. As long as the market you live in supports HSPDA you will see a "4G". If not then you will see a "3G". If none of those you will see "E" for EDGE or "G" for GSM. To say that T-Mobile's "4G" is actually 4G is ridiculous.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But T-Mobile's 4G is really fast. Lets not start bad mouthing here.
I get on average 18-20mbps on T-Mobiles "4G" here in South Florida. These speeds are absolutely horrible! Youtube videos are fully cached in seconds and i don't even get the buffering icon so I can sneeze or make sure my car is even being driven in the right direction! Someone should report them to the BBB!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
iLeopard said:
T-Mobiles "4G" is a boosted UMTS (3G) band per say which is HSDPA. As long as the market you live in supports HSPDA you will see a "4G". If not then you will see a "3G". If none of those you will see "E" for EDGE or "G" for GSM. To say that T-Mobile's "4G" is actually 4G is ridiculous.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then call it ridiculous because as of the end of last year the hspa + network was accepted as 4G. As well as wimax and LTE. Since previous non of these where "real " 4G.. 100mbps.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
tester420 said:
Can someone let me know why my phone never shows 3g? Either it is showing 'E' or 4G. My nexus used to show 3G.
I am under the assumption that this sgh-t989 can connect to all those networks t-mobile has....
Thanks
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically, if you live in an area with mixed coverage where there are 3g bands in addition to hspa plus (a form of 4g), you will see a mixture between 3g and 4g. However, in most areas the 3g bands have been upgraded to support 4g so the 4g > 3g > edge map has the 4g and 3g combined into 4g so you're not losing out on 3g time but rather are gaining 4g time.
Another explanation involves TMobile showing all 3g as 4g regardless of whether it is actually hspa plus or not. This would explain your friend's nexus s coverage changing. Personally, I only see a difference between 3g and 4g on specific roms which would indicate that TMobile does code their roms to label everything above edge as 4g.
Side note: H is the same as 4g as far as we are concerned. H means hspa plus whereas 4g if the more broad category that also includes lte and Wimax. It's like calling my car a ford fusion versus just a Ford. Neither is wrong.
Bottom line: you are not losing out on 3g coverage. At best, you are getting 4g in place of the 3g even when you should be getting 3g. At worst, you are getting both 4g and 3g but your phone is always telling you that you're on 4g

[Q] Lte - anyone slow/idle 3g speed?

got the nexus 7 lte and with my 3g sim card, it has problem sending data even with full reception. For instance, at 3g /h, its does not switch to h+ immediately . When it changes to h+ it loads for a few seconds and goes back to h where the connection will just idle
But when I put in my 4g sim card, iit's fast and responsive.. Instant loading for all and no such idling..
No problems with wifi.
Anyone having problems with hsdpa? Running 36c version and changed to custom rom and i changed to a new 3g sim card butProblems still persist.
(no response from Q&A so had to post here)
I'm getting much better speeds with the LTE tablet on T-Mobile than my GNex phone on Tmobile. Maybe you don't have good coverage in your area?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Actually it's fine on 4g. Just 3g even with full reception..
Deleted weird double post (how does something like this happen 30 minutes after I exited the app?!?)
It's with full reception.. I tried the same 3g sim on 2012 nexus, it seems fine..
I got a feeling it's a bug or my unit is faulty
Remember on 4g it's fine.. Just hsdpa/3g
Mine has never shown LTE symbols, but it's faster than my non LTE phone. I don't know if that's because it's capable of faster HSPA or it just doesn't show LTE. Anyway, the speeds I posted are using HSPA not LTE as far as I can tell. Ignore the wifi speed test, I was testing a poor wifi repeater.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
I dunno if it's my service provider sux or my tablet is faulty

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