Currently trialing CM9/Franco;
Anyhow, whilst streaming data (SIP/streaming radio/etc) connected to wifi after leaving range of the AP, there's a drop (audio) while the mobile data connection is reestablished (?). SetDNS has a notification pop of the changeover to the dns servers used by the hsdpa ap, so I'm guessing that it's resolving a new address every time that wifi is detached?
Is this normal behavior for ICS/android as a whole? Is there any method to keep active on the mobile data side, wifi on and preferred, so when one leaves the wifi area the changeover is relatively nonexistent rather than the 5-10 seconds at hand? That's enough to kill a phone call
I'd imagine that in some sense something is retained for the sms push, but I'm guessing that's...well, separate.
Of course there will be a break in streaming switching from WiFi to Mobile data, unless the app uses a large buffer and you're on a delay.
When you're on WiFi, Mobile data is turned off. Keeping both on would defeat (or worse) the battery savings offered by staying on WiFi. Both running at once wouldn't help anything.
You're not going to be able to hold a SIP call between WiFi and Mobile data, you won't be able to consistently get a quick enough handoff to do that. Keep in mind that for things like WiFi calling on T-Mobile devices, they needed a completely separate chip in the phone and specialized software to handle a phone call switch from WiFi to Mobile network seamlessly. That just gives you an example of the extra hurdles it takes to do something like that.
Related
Anyone have a short way to disable mobile networks except for WiFi while roaming? I'm taking a trip to the Caribbean, and I would rather use Google Voice and free WiFi than pay Verizon $1.99 a minute. Already have GV set up, just want to know how to disable the other data/voice network connections, or if that's even possible.
Also - if I've got WiFi Tether running in AP mode, can I bridge between my phone and the WiFi provider? The hotel I'm at charges you on a per-device basis (which really sucks), so I figured I'd run WiFi tether and just connect my laptop to the network via cell phone.
wifi on your device only goes one way, you can't use wifi to get data AND transmit data. you're either getting data via wifi, or you're using the network to get data, and transmitting data via wifi. i'm not sure of an option (like on a laptop or pc) which allows ISC (internet sharing)
RE: original question, airplane mode will disable all network connectivity except wifi.
Thanks Patches - didn't even try it out, had just assumed that Airplane mode meant all data went off, including WiFi.
Guess the solution to my roaming issue should be to disable roaming on the data side, and just not answer any voice calls that are incoming.
find out if google voice works on wifi.
also you'll have to consider sms fees also. i'd suggest contacting your carrier (vzw i assume) and tell them what you have in mind, and ask what charges to expect based on usage. how much for incoming and outgoing calls, txts and data. then approach each category and find possible solutions.
best bet is to pony up and get a prepaid phone for voice and txt charges, and wifi for data use on your android. FYI, you can send email to people's phone numbers. "ten digit number"@"carrier name".com (google to find out specifically the domain per carrier)
i don't travel internationally so i'm not very good at it, but i find prepaid phones are less expensive than the roaming charges, or calling cards.
After having my Galaxy Nexus for a few weeks I'd like to share my experiences with 'possible' data connectivity issues.
Firstly,
Upon first activating my phone at an official Verizon store I noticed that I lost data and voice services for almost 20 minutes after the phone was first activated. Toggling of 3G/4G, Airplane mode, and even rebooting (battery pull) would not fix the problem... It eventually just started working and has been fairly reliable ever since.
On the second day of owning the phone I unlocked / rooted... Still using the stock rom, antenna, and kernel though.
Secondly,
I've started to notice that every time I switch data sources.... For instance
*Turning off Wifi when connected to an AP
*Turning off 4G services
I'll completely lose data connectivity for a period of seconds; no longer than a minute (all gray reception bars). However, I can still make calls and send texts. My question is, is this behavior normal for the device? I've never owned a 4G device before so I'm ignorant to the matter. I'm simply inquiring as if this is a sign of a faulty antenna VZW is going to owe me a brand new device (not some refurbished crap either...). If this is typical, then I suppose it's just the nature of the beast. Either way, I've love to hear from others regarding their experiences.... Thanks!
Regards,
-Doug
When I had the thunderbolt data would drop in and out when switching from 3/4G and from wifi.
when you are switching from wifi to 4g/3g, it has to change your IP address, as its a different network. 4g to 3g viceversa it has to switch what frequency it is talking on, and reestablish communication with your carrier. switching data source will always drop data during the switch.
some later software upgrades have, and will reduce the time between switches, but there will always be some form of drop
I am completely ignorant of the WiFi configuration and purpose on this phone. Can anyone help?
1) I have an unlimited data plan. Should I care about using WiFi at all?
2) If I have a 4G/3G signal loss, will WiFi automatically kick in to sustain a signal?
3) I currently have no WiFi networks attached, and a scan returns nothing.
Should I be attaching WiFi networks manually. If so, how?
4) Should I just allow my battery optimizer app to disable WiFi?
mds54 said:
I am completely ignorant of the WiFi configuration and purpose on this phone. Can anyone help?
1) I have an unlimited data plan. Should I care about using WiFi at all?
2) If I have a 4G/3G signal loss, will WiFi automatically kick in to sustain a signal?
3) I currently have no WiFi networks attached, and a scan returns nothing.
Should I be attaching WiFi networks manually. If so, how?
4) Should I just allow my battery optimizer app to disable WiFi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) That's upto you. If your speeds suck, or are in a terrible reception area (switching between 4G and 3G a lot, or stuck in 3G), then Wifi can be faster.
2) If you lose 3G/4G data, it may not connect to wifi unless your configured network is nearby. Normally, wifi will be always connected unless you're out of range of that particular signal.
3) Make sure Wifi is switched on. (switch will be blue in the on position). If you don't see any networks, then there are none. You may have to add networks manually, but thats because its not broadcasting its SSID (ie making itself visible), but thats usually in like a corporate environment.
4) I have noticed that being on Wifi saves me some battery than being on 4G, but your results may vary.
I can only offer advice on the first one. I also have unlimited data but I use wifi whenever possible. Wifi doubles my battery life. Using 4g all the time kills it way too quickly.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
mds54 said:
I am completely ignorant of the WiFi configuration and purpose on this phone. Can anyone help?
1) I have an unlimited data plan. Should I care about using WiFi at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you're happy with your speeds then no. WiFi does save battery though.
2) If I have a 4G/3G signal loss, will WiFi automatically kick in to sustain a signal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, because WiFi isn't always on (or shouldn't be), and won't automatically turn on. You'll have to turn it on manually if 3G/4G isn't available.
3) I currently have no WiFi networks attached, and a scan returns nothing. Should I be attaching WiFi networks manually. If so, how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there's no WiFi around you, then there's no WiFi around you... The only reason you'd have to manually enter a network is if you're at home and aren't broadcasting your SSID, so you won't pick it up on a scan. You should elaborate more on this.
These comments make me think you don't understand how WiFi works....
4) Should I just allow my battery optimizer app to disable WiFi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery optimizer apps don't always know what's best. Usually how they work is they'll turn off WiFi when you get out of range of your house or other specific location (via GPS). Then enable when they "know" you're at home (again, by GPS). Usually its easier to just have a toggle widget for WiFi and turn it on when you're at home if you want it.
I think this additional info may be useful:
Wifi is not a feature of your phone service through your provider. It is a completely different technology that replaces, not amplifies, your 3g/4g connection when it is on and connected. When you are using your phone's data connection, you are connected to the internet through your phone provider, which is also functioning as your Internet Service Provider (in your case, Verizon).
A wifi signal only exists when a wireless device is broadcasting it locally. Most often this is a wireless router in someone's home, office, or a store that offers wifi for its customers. In this case, your internet connection goes through the router, then to a hard-wired internet connection off to whatever ISP the service is paid for through.
It is a much shorter-range technology than your cell service. As such, while your phone will eat through your battery boosting its signal if it can't connect to a cell tower, your phone will use much less energy looking for wifi signals.
If you are absolutely sure that you will not be connecting to wifi networks in your daily travels, you should turn wifi off and not worry about it. If you have an existing wifi connection at home/work, then leaving wifi on and letting it connect will save you battery when you are within range. The idle drain of wifi when it is looking for networks is fairly low, so if you are going to be spending large amounts of time in wifi zones, you might as well just always leave it on.
If your phone shows no wifi available by a scan, chances are very slim that there is a non-broadcast network that you would be able to connect to manually; someone is keeping it hidden and it is most likely password-protected as well. Most private networks will be visible to a scan, but are probably password protected. You will need to connect to these manually; your phone will not alert you to their presence. Your phone will automatically let you know if there is an unprotected network in range. By default, if wifi is enabled, it will automatically connect to any network that comes into range that you have already connected to.
Wow, you guys are good! Thanks!
I have a Verizon G4 and have one major gripe.
At my workplace, the wifi is somewhat spotty and it's a guest network that requires authenticating (clicking an "i agree" button)
So my phone will, throughout the day, as it detects the "weak" signal, automatically turn off that network due to "unreliable internet connection".
Even as I'm back in an area with a strong signal, now my phone is ignoring that and stuck trying to use mobile network. I have to go into my network list and manually tell it to reconnect.
During all of this, wifi is enabled the entire time.
I see where others have had the same problem on other phones and have turned off "Smart Network Switch" and I even read where someone had done this on a LG G4 (not verizon).
So I'm thinking this is something Verizon removed. Anyone have any ideas?
Smart Network Switch is just a feature that checks for a "data" connection over wifi and switches to use Mobile Data if WiFi loses internet access.
I am not sure the G4 has this. When I am connected to WiFi with a bad signal, it will just send me a popup telling me the WiFi has no internet access and whether to use Mobile Data or not. The feature you are looking for is "Avoid bad WiFi Connections", which is the same thing with a different name. Just make sure that is OFF. That will force WiFi to use WiFi as the only connection.
And it sounds like your wireless network sucks and needs to be upgraded to a corporate solution.
Just FYI, in my WiFi > Advanced WiFi settings, I have everything unchecked + "Keep WiFi on when screen is off" = Yes.
Well "avoid bad Wi-Fi connections" is off. Read on another forum that the mobile version I think it was had the smart network option.
I have the same options as you except I also allow Wi-Fi scanning.
I have tried with that one both on and off and see the same behavior.
I never get a popup, it just ignores that wifi connection and used mobile data. When I look at my Wi-Fi list, it'll say something about unreliable internet connection in small text,on the Wi-Fi network that it disconnected from. Surely I'm not the only one seeing this.. :/
Beats me. Sounds like the Access point you are connecting to has a bad internet connection. What is happening is you are connected to the WiFi and it notices that the WiFi AP is either dropping internet connection (Google pings google servers to test connections) or bouncing.
In order to keep from losing a data connection, it seems to be switching to your cellular network.
I see this often because we install APs (I am a network engineer). I think your phone is trying to protect you and that is normal behavior. Here is another scenerio: In a hotel, wifi is always set to OPEN. If your phone automatically connects to the hotels network, you will lose a data connection because Hotels require you to "sign-in", just like most free wifi places do. The phone sees that your phones WiFi connection is not accessing the internet and making sure you are good.
I am not sure how often it "checks" the wifi for a good connection or if it ever does once it switches.
I've read (and THINK I understand) what smart switch is supposed to do (going all the way back to the Note4.
And it seems like the complete opposite of what wifi calling does.
Anyone care to explain the difference or real reasons one is used over the other?
Also on a related note, in the developer options category there is an option to turn on "Aggressive Wi-Fi cell h.."
With the explanation "switch from wifi to mobile networks more quickly when wifi signal is weak"
Kind of self explanatory and my question would be real work use. If you have unlimited data, any reason you would NOT want to check this?
Unless this just sounds great, but doesn't work well......
Thoughts?
vtcats said:
I've read (and THINK I understand) what smart switch is supposed to do (going all the way back to the Note4.
And it seems like the complete opposite of what wifi calling does.
Anyone care to explain the difference or real reasons one is used over the other?
Also on a related note, in the developer options category there is an option to turn on "Aggressive Wi-Fi cell h.."
With the explanation "switch from wifi to mobile networks more quickly when wifi signal is weak"
Kind of self explanatory and my question would be real work use. If you have unlimited data, any reason you would NOT want to check this?
Unless this just sounds great, but doesn't work well......
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smart switch imports the data from your old phone when you switch to a Samsung phone; WiFi calling routes voice traffic over WiFi when available.
Sorry, I meant to say Smart NETWORK Switch. It says your phone will be connected to a mobile network if Wifi becomes unstable.
And Wi-fi calling kinda of says the exact opposite. If mobile becomes unstable, it will switch to Wifi......
Anyone?
Many times.. even when the wifi signal is weak, as long as wifi is turned on, the phone will remain connected to it. This especially happens when you are just pulling out of your house and you are trying to get to google maps for directions or something.. but because the phone is still connected to your home wifi, it'll remain so and since the connection is weak, you won't be able to browse or anything and google maps may say "no network connection".
I believe what Smart Network Switch does, is that in such cases, it'll immediately switch to mobile data.
androidbuff123 said:
Many times.. even when the wifi signal is weak, as long as wifi is turned on, the phone will remain connected to it. This especially happens when you are just pulling out of your house and you are trying to get to google maps for directions or something.. but because the phone is still connected to your home wifi, it'll remain so and since the connection is weak, you won't be able to browse or anything and google maps may say "no network connection".
I believe what Smart Network Switch does, is that in such cases, it'll immediately switch to mobile data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happens to me every morning in my driveway trying to route Waze. I get a weak wifi signal that the phone hangs onto and I get a no network error from Waze.