Database Develop

*#*#4636#*#* GSM to CDMA, fact or fiction.

So the *#*#4636#*#* GSM battery fix has been all over but I am unsure if it actually changes anything.
Here is what I have found:
I do the the *#*#4636#*#* dial, go to phone info, hit menu, then select radio band, force close, change to CDMA auto (PRL), then hit home.
Now here is the problem. Hold down home for recent programs and go back into testing (I found doing the *#*#4636#*#* lags and kills my phone sometimes). Hit Menu, force close, and take a look at what the preferred network type is: GSM.
As a test to the “visual glitch” theory, I changed the type to GSM/CDMA auto, when I return to the test menu, GSM/CDMA auto stays. So this menu is showing what it is actualy set to.
Every time you go to menu and select radio, the force close shuts off the radio and the menu says GSM. Is there really a “visual glitch” or does the GSM show because of the procedure followed??
Also it is referring to the PRL, which is the roaming list provided by Sprint, which is not going to have any GSM listing anyway.
I am not an expert by any means but there is more to this mystery then everyone is lead to believe. Battery life is a big issue and I am unsure if the “solution” is actually helping people.

The Time Without Signal fix works. Here's why.
Hitting menu and causing the force close causes it to reset to default. If you actually set it to GSM auto PRL, it is reading the Sprint towers off the PRL, and searching for a GSM signal at the same time. Try changing it to GSM only, and seeing if that causes the TWS to rise dramatically.
This solution was only meant to help people who's phones were searching for a non-CDMA signal.

Do we know if this is still a problem with the offical Sprint 2.1 update?

It hasn't been a problem for a few months now.

abcdfv said:
It hasn't been a problem for a few months now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not know that, I wonder how many people are doing this needless now.
I have been running fresh 2.1.1 and do it every time I reboot. No wonder I never saw a difference!

abcdfv said:
The Time Without Signal fix works. Here's why.
Hitting menu and causing the force close causes it to reset to default. If you actually set it to GSM auto PRL, it is reading the Sprint towers off the PRL, and searching for a GSM signal at the same time. Try changing it to GSM only, and seeing if that causes the TWS to rise dramatically.
This solution was only meant to help people who's phones were searching for a non-CDMA signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if my phone is CONSTANTLY at 50% +/- TWS... is this normal or should I change something?

kelmar13 said:
So if my phone is CONSTANTLY at 50% +/- TWS... is this normal or should I change something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should follow my guide on how to reduce it. It's in the sticky wiki.

Force WCDMA Only

Hi all,
Would like to check if anyone knows how could i set "WCDMA Only" (3G Only) on Galaxy S?
I can only Force 2G only via the settings menu, but not 3G only.
Managed to access the "Phone Info" menu via *#*#4636#*#*, selected "WCDMA Only" from the dropdown box.
However, nothing seemed to be set nor i see any button to save the choice?
Anyone happen to know how can i have it set? Or i could manually set it by applying some settings somewhere?
Thanks alot!

you cant force 3g... you would get no signal if you didnt have a 3g connection

boinger66 said:
you cant force 3g... you would get no signal if you didnt have a 3g connection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that. However, such settings are available in Nexus One.

i2umi said:
I know that. However, such settings are available in Nexus One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is also available on the HTC Desire :
WCDMA only
GSM/WCDMA auto
GSM only

*#*#197328640#*#* > debug screen > phone control > network control > band selection
You need to do this after each reboot though as it does not stick.

Is there a way to shortcut this with anycut?

-Double Post-
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App (Which seems less than stable...)

The app Network simplifies the procedure quite a bit. Haven't actually gone into a low signal spot yet to see if it fully works as intended though.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

thank you very much..i have been searching this high and low...you save my day..

Thank you so much! This helped me diagnose the SGS and see if I have 1900 3G in my area (1 bar). here's a tip that I used for quick access to the debug screen just as a trial and it actually worked
Enter ONLY *#*#197328640#*# then hit add to contacts (notice there is no * at the end).
Give it a name (Samsung Debug Screen) and tap to edit the number and enter the final * at the end.
Save and exit. Now whenever u want to enter debug mode to change the network or other stuff just type *#*# and it should appear. Tap on the contact and voila!

clubtech said:
*#*#197328640#*#* > debug screen > phone control > network control > band selection
You need to do this after each reboot though as it does not stick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks for this! Lots of fun debug info in there.
boinger66 said:
you cant force 3g... you would get no signal if you didnt have a 3g connection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My operator doesn't have a 2G network... all they have is 3G. There's no point in my phone looking for anything other than a 3G network.

Solution added to FAQ

sorry to ask if this is already answered but how exactly to i get to CONFIRM my wcdma only selection? i check it and nothing happens, data connection stays on "G" symbol. I know for sure that at the place where i tested i get NO 3g signal. which means probably that i should be losing all signal after choosing wcdma only. that does not happen. also if i close the phone info app and reopen it, choice gets back to default (3g/gprs).
any help appreciated... I really need this.

forcing to only 3g is a bad move, i tested it on my n1 and i kept dropping calls once 3g lost signal.

raspdeep said:
forcing to only 3g is a bad move, i tested it on my n1 and i kept dropping calls once 3g lost signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know but i need it for the internet.. and i need it badly.. please help anyone as soon as possible. thank you guys

Its available in the new firmware I9000XWJM1
Hey, its there in I9000XWJM1 and tested working great as expected! However its a beta so you may see other issues. Not sure if its there in latest stable.

Just to confirm, i upgraded my firmware to XWJM5 today, and i noticed that in settings > wireless and network > mobile networks, there's a new menu 'network mode' in which there's 3 options - auto / gsm only / wcdma only. Nice touch!
In answer to the cynics, there are times when browsing, when the phone is borderline whether to give you 2g or 3g, it does come in handy, and it's safer too, as if i have to browse on 2g it makes me want to smash the phone up!!

spark001uk said:
Just to confirm, i upgraded my firmware to XWJM5 today, and i noticed that in settings > wireless and network > mobile networks, there's a new menu 'network mode' in which there's 3 options - auto / gsm only / wcdma only. Nice touch!
In answer to the cynics, there are times when browsing, when the phone is borderline whether to give you 2g or 3g, it does come in handy, and it's safer too, as if i have to browse on 2g it makes me want to smash the phone up!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL "safer"

@OP Although 'WCDMA only' mode may not be a good idea and hence not recommended but just to confirm
my current Build i9000XXJPH have following three modes
GSM/WCDMA (auto mode)
GSM only
WCDMA only

JM8 build also have this mode. I noticed that when I flash the i9000M (bell version) previously it didn't have these modes.

Switch from 2G to 3G

Recently bought a Samsung I897 Captivate. Its a unlocked phone and I'm using it in Argentina with Movistar. My previous phone was a Motorola Milestone, and it sometimes changed the connection from 3G / HSDPA to 2G (EDGE), in 3G areas. The solution was to go to APN settings, enable "2G only", then disabling it, and the phone instantly switched to 3G again.
However, the Captivate doesn't have such option. Setting the phone to Flight Mode its useless, it will keep connecting in 2G.
Only solution I found at the moment was to go to Network Mode (*#0011#) then navigate to Network Control => Band Selection, selecting WCDMA only, and then enabling Automatic again.
That seems to reset the connection.
I searched in the market for free and paid apps to help me fix this issue, but I found nothing, only the Toggle 2G app, but it only works with Cyanogen Mod.
I have some questions:
If I set the connection to WCDMA only, then I'll have no signal at all in 2G areas, right?.
Does anyone know a quicker way to do this?. I tried to make a shortcut to ServiceMode with dg Quickcut but when I try to open it it crashed the phone.
Thanks in advance.
Whipon.

Whipon said:
Recently bought a Samsung I897 Captivate. Its a unlocked phone and I'm using it in Argentina with Movistar. My previous phone was a Motorola Milestone, and it sometimes changed the connection from 3G / HSDPA to 2G (EDGE), in 3G areas. The solution was to go to APN settings, enable "2G only", then disabling it, and the phone instantly switched to 3G again.
However, the Captivate doesn't have such option. Setting the phone to Flight Mode its useless, it will keep connecting in 2G.
Only solution I found at the moment was to go to Network Mode (*#0011#) then navigate to Network Control => Band Selection, selecting WCDMA only, and then enabling Automatic again.
That seems to reset the connection.
I searched in the market for free and paid apps to help me fix this issue, but I found nothing, only the Toggle 2G app, but it only works with Cyanogen Mod.
I have some questions:
If I set the connection to WCDMA only, then I'll have no signal at all in 2G areas, right?.
Does anyone know a quicker way to do this?. I tried to make a shortcut to ServiceMode with dg Quickcut but when I try to open it it crashed the phone.
Thanks in advance.
Whipon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as of right now, there is no "fix" for this. the best you COULD do is to flash Eugene's VibrantHybrid ROM where the "use 2g networks only" option does exist, but you'll lose GPS (for now)

Kaik541 said:
as of right now, there is no "fix" for this. the best you COULD do is to flash Eugene's VibrantHybrid ROM where the "use 2g networks only" option does exist, but you'll lose GPS (for now)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply Kaik541.
Does the signal strength improve with that rom?.
Currently I'm using I897UCJH7 from samfirmware.

Whipon said:
Thanks for the quick reply Kaik541.
Does the signal strength improve with that rom?.
Currently I'm using I897UCJH7 from samfirmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should revert back to JH3 if you're going to use Hybrid (I don't believe JH7 is compatible yet, there are some issues that cropped up with SRE, so it would be safer to do JH3, or even better JF6). I've seen slightly better reception and MUCH better battery life running Hybrid

Kaik541 said:
you should revert back to JH3 if you're going to use Hybrid (I don't believe JH7 is compatible yet, there are some issues that cropped up with SRE, so it would be safer to do JH3, or even better JF6). I've seen slightly better reception and MUCH better battery life running Hybrid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems it will be updated soon.
Maybe I'll give it a try.
Do you know if it removes the 850 band?.
I need it, because my carrier uses it for WCDMA.

Try this:
1. In the Market, download Any Cut. (This is a free app) 2. open Any Cut and choose New Shortcut 3. select Activity 4. Scroll down the list until you get to Phone Info 5. Select OK. (this will place the short cut on your homescreen) 6. Open the shortcut and scroll down until you see "Set Preferred Network Type" 7. Choose GSM only and you are set. This forces the phone to EGDE
I used this to force edge. Use google to download AnyCut, it doesn't exist on the market for the unknown reason
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I just discovered Juice Defender. One of its features is to set phone to 2G automatically (seems very configurable). I haven't really had a chance to test it, but thought I'd mention it to you anyway

DarkVasyaK said:
Try this:
1. In the Market, download Any Cut. (This is a free app) 2. open Any Cut and choose New Shortcut 3. select Activity 4. Scroll down the list until you get to Phone Info 5. Select OK. (this will place the short cut on your homescreen) 6. Open the shortcut and scroll down until you see "Set Preferred Network Type" 7. Choose GSM only and you are set. This forces the phone to EGDE
I used this to force edge. Use google to download AnyCut, it doesn't exist on the market for the unknown reason
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot. I use dg Quickcut for that.
But, I don't need to force EDGE, I need a way to force 3G .
The phone usually switchs to EDGE in 3G areas, and I need to change it back to 3G.
I've used your suggestion to make such shortcut, changed it to WCDMA only, clicked the Disable Radio button twice (because it didn't changed to 3G), and when it switched back to 3G, I changed back the network to GSM / CDMA auto.
What about WCDMA preferred?. Will it try to allways connect to 3G?.

can yall not just dial * # * # 4636 #*#* scroll to the bottom and chnage it there, just so happens i posted a how to earlier in the general section, works on stock ROMS afaik.
also GPS still works

Whipon said:
Thanks a lot. I use dg Quickcut for that.
But, I don't need to force EDGE, I need a way to force 3G .
The phone usually switchs to EDGE in 3G areas, and I need to change it back to 3G.
I've used your suggestion to make such shortcut, changed it to WCDMA only, clicked the Disable Radio button twice (because it didn't changed to 3G), and when it switched back to 3G, I changed back the network to GSM / CDMA auto.
What about WCDMA preferred?. Will it try to allways connect to 3G?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
read my previous post.
it has a WCDMA preferred WDMA only (only uses 3g) and a bunch of others. read my post in general for a more detailed explanation.

Thanks a lot
xatrekak said:
can yall not just dial * # * # 4636 #*#* scroll to the bottom and chnage it there, just so happens i posted a how to earlier in the general section, works on stock ROMS afaik.
also GPS still works
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but Mesasone pointed me to a great app in the market.
Its called Samservmode. It opens service mode without entering any codes.
Anyways, thanks for your help .

wCDMA Milestone (mod)

Doing this will boost call QUALITY & response time between the tower and your phone. It also seems to cut alot of the background noises as well.
1. open dialer
2. *#*#4636#*#*
3. change GSM Auto (prl) to wCDMA preferred.
4. click Enable QXDM SD Log
5. SMSC: -refresh, then long hold update.
6. Scroll to top, run ping test...
7. Once done, hit HOME.... NOT BACK!
if you run into any issues, swap back to GSM-Auto (prl) then update your SMSC number again. By default it loads as GSM-Auto, so if you reboot, you will have to swap it again.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Ive been running like this for around 10 days now and & definitely notice a good gain in call quality, not only in response time, but clarity as well. I don't get any background static and outside wind/other noise seems to drop as well also.
-Leave me feedback and let me know what you think if you try it.

Is this working fpr European Phones (in my opinion Germany) too?

gmbhneo said:
Is this working fpr European Phones (in my opinion Germany) too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have EUR version of XT720 and using it with T-Mobile USA; I tried that method, it works.

Ph0z3 said:
Doing this will boost call QUALITY & response ti
1. open dialer
2. *#*#4636#*#*
3. change GSM Auto (prl) to wCDMA preferred.
4. click Enable QXDM SD Log
5. SMSC: -refresh, then long hold update.
6. Scroll to top, run ping test...
7. Once done, hit HOME.... NOT BACK!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1-2-3 no problem
4_ I dont have that option anywhere
5_refresh Ok , but log hold update doesnt change anything ??????
6-7 no problem
I dont really feel any difference . ill tell you in a couple days
also there must be a way to set this on boot or make this persistant , I noticed if you go back in that menu and use back to exit it will also revert changes to default ...

gmbhneo said:
Is this working fpr European Phones (in my opinion Germany) too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it is. like i said, if it doesnt, change back... no harm done.
DAGr8 said:
4_ I dont have that option anywhere
5_refresh Ok , but log hold update doesnt change anything ??????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4. Not all phones will... it varies with service.
5. should automatically update, if nothing pops up saying it saved... skip it.
DAGr8 said:
I noticed if you go back in that menu and use back to exit it will also revert changes to default ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats why i said USE HOME... NOT BACK. Also im looking at the radio file to figure out a boot sequence to make this permanent, once i get it solved, ill post it.

Ph0z3 said:
thats why i said USE HOME... NOT BACK. Also im looking at the radio file to figure out a boot sequence to make this permanent, once i get it solved, ill post it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok I know this is confusing but what I meant is if I apply the changes . then hit menu . I do some testing and then I go (again) in *#*#4646 etc etc , even if I dotn do anything and I just hit 'back' it will reset the settings ...
btw got my first compliment today someone said my phone sounded louder then usual 9normally its the otherway aroud ppl say its not loud enough ...

Did it and the network xhanged from GPRS to HSPA will test it and report here
Sent from my Milestone

Im sure ill get it at some point or another.. so here is it...
WHAT IS wCDMA... and why is it better than GSM?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
wCDMA (Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access), an ITU standard derived from Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), is officially known as IMT-2000 direct spread. wCDMA is a third-generation (3G) mobile wireless technology that promises much higher data speeds to mobile and portable wireless devices than commonly offered in today's market.
wCDMA can support mobile/portable voice, images, data, and video communications at up to 2 Mbps (local area access) or 384 Kbps (wide area access). The input signals are digitized and transmitted in coded, spread-spectrum mode over a broad range of frequencies. A 5 MHz-wide carrier is used, compared with 200 KHz-wide carrier for narrowband CDMA.
Summary:
1.WCDMA is a 3G technology while GSM is a 2G technology
2.GSM is slowly being phased out in favor of CDMA
3.GSM is still more widespread than CDMA
4.WCDMA and GSM uses different frequency bands
5.WCDMA offers much faster data speeds than GSM
6.WCDMA would soon replace GSM

It's stated in this thread that it's non-dangerous as you can just reboot the phone / change it back. I'll just pop in here with a word of caution: I couldn't.
I have received a significant increase in speed and response time on my data connection since performing this change. I've received significant performance/quality on my conversations over the phone. I can still receive SMS's, however I can no longer send any...
When I attempt to change it back it's already on "GSM auto (PRL)", and I can no longer get the "Enable QXDM SD Log" button when changing to "WCDMA preferred".
I've attempted to change back by ignoring the step that included the "Enable QXDM SD Log" button, but to no avail.
I've attempted to re-flash GOTs 2.2.1 as that should include the most partitions of any flashable ROM, and I had hoped it re-wrote the radio. Apparently it did not.
I basically have a looong night of debugging ahead of me Such is the nature of modding.
[edit 1]
My phone is a UK Milestone, one of the first models. I am not sure of the technical term for the model.
[edit 2]
Solved it.. The SMSC number was set to 5p41450522.
After some time I found the SMSC (SMS center - responsible for sending SMS on the network) number from my provider. For TDC in Denmark it's +4540390999.
Pressed UPDATE and home button.
NOTE: For non-english phones the menu is translated, and as such the 2 buttons next to the SMSC field may be named the same. The left most button is UPDATE, the right most button is REFRESH. Some languages tend to translate those two words to the same.

The default setting, GSM auto (PRL), will switch to wCDMA when there's a load on the network connection. That is, with a call, a download, or something similar, the phone will accomplish exactly what's been done manually.
The difference is that with this setting, the phone will almost always prefer 3G, meaning you won't have the benefit of using the less power-consuming connection when there's very little load. There has to be almost no traffic for it to step down to 2G.
It won't affect call quality, and if it does, I'm going to go out and state that it's simply a placebo effect. Regardless of which setting you choose, call quality will be the same, as both will have the phone switch to 3G during a call anyways.
One thing you may notice, though. With it set to WCDMA preferred, you may notice a less reliable data connection, and perhaps some dropped calls if you're not in an area with good 3G coverage. GSM auto will prefer 2G network when reception is low, helping to ensure you stay connected.

jlor said:
Solved it.. The SMSC number was set to 5p41450522.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got your issue solved.
xslntx said:
One thing you may notice, though. With it set to WCDMA preferred, you may notice a less reliable data connection, and perhaps some dropped calls if you're not in an area with good 3G coverage. GSM auto will prefer 2G network when reception is low, helping to ensure you stay connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not an issue to me, because ATT is the dominant force here in the south KC metro area, I always have solid signal!

Tag, I did this to see if it fixes my SMS problem.

Thanks to your "wonderful mod" sending SMS didnt work anymore. Make sure you put in the correct SMSC number of your SMS Service Center!

I can no longer send any txt messages after applying this mod, I did a factory wipe and still can't. Any way to revert this?
Took me a while to find the telus SMSC number: +16475800172

gmbhneo said:
Is this working fpr European Phones (in my opinion Germany) too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it does

here are two that I found:
t mobile +2063130004
at&t +13123149810
sorry to any issues you may have recieved whole doing this... but as always, full nandroid back- ups should be done before adding a new mod. yeah I realize I said there was no harm if this didn't work out, so I'm sorry for that.
Anyways just google for "(your carrier) SMSC address" then correct it if you are having issues.

[Q] i9000 stuck on EDGE:2

Hi guys,
I dug out my old i9000 for a US trip I'm doing(because it's unlocked), and had previously installed CM 9.1, and now CM10.1. I landed in Newark and had HSDPA, and now in Tampa I'm stuck on EDGE:2.
My Austrian SIM card in the i9000 also only connects to EDGE, whilst my Austrian S3 connects to H+ (both roaming on AT&T).
The phone still has its IMEI.
The "dialer codes" don't work, so I can't look at what "bands" its using. aka *#4636#, also others won't work.
The same problem with 9.1 and 10.1 CM, I think the problem is elsewhere.
Wi-Fi works well.
Of course, the option for "only use 2g" isn't checked, but the other option to use GSM only or WCDMA or what its called I can't find.
I'm reluctant to give up on this phone, since AT&T only charges me 15$/month for unlimited data, since this version of i9000 isn't recognized as a smartphone on their systems .
Does anyone have an idea what could be wrong? I heard something about a blackhole system wipe, or someone else uploaded an old "qnc" on their phone... alas I'm not in the modding scene, so that means nothing to me .
It's already cost me a day and a half, since I don't have wireless here anywhere but Starbucks ^^. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you
Franz

*#*#4636#*#*
After a moment, a screen will appear called "Testing". Select the drop-down that says "Phone Information". From there, scroll down to where it should say "WCDMA preferred", and change it to "WCDMA only". Use the back key to get out. It should stay selected even through a reboot.
I copied it from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=536234
I forced WCDMA only, or what it's called. I cant find the setting in settings. Also, itll jump to "unknown", so i gotta play around with it for awhile until it works. And its broken again if I select "only use 2g" and the unselect it again.