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WCDMA preferred vs GSM AUTO PRL

Had to hear it from the horses mouth, I called up HTC's tech support. I asked what was the difference between WCDMA preferred and GSM AUTO PRL. The gentleman I spoke to told me that they both have lots in common and that the only difference is that WCDMA preferred will favor 3G and GSM AUTO PRL will favor EDGE.
He continued to tell me that WCDMA preferred needs to reach a low threshold to go straight into 3g from edge. GSM AUTO PRL has a higher threshold, or higher standard has to be met (db of 3g signal) before it will go into 3G.
He mentioned that gsm auto prl will save the user a bit more power because it wont force the phone to continuasly hunt for a stronger signal. Typically this option gives our n1's a weaker signal and slower data speed. But he said it depends on our network in our city.
I also verified this information with t-mobiles tech support. They were a bit vague though. But they did mention that WCDA preferred will prefer 3g and that gsm auto prl is its complete opposite and will only prefer 3g if the signal is strong enough.
What do you guys think? Does this make sense?!?

Got this
WCDMA preferred - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 3G is favored more.
GSM only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
WCDMA only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM auto (PRL) - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more. This one is a bit confusing to me since PRL is associated mostly with CDMA technology and not GSM technology.
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
CDMA only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
EvDo only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) - Some phones are equipped with both GSM and CDMA capabilities. This setting appears to just have the phone attempt to stay connected to the data communication type that works the best. (Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S will take advantage of this???)
Unknown - If none of the above fit or the phone is acting weird as far as connecting to the carrier, you will see your preferred network type is set to this
When using the 'only' options you should still be able to make calls.
To put things into perspective, The Nexus One is set to WCDMA preferred as default and the Droid Incredible is set to CDMA auto (PRL).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from here, http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en

sheek360 said:
Got this
from here, http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess from this we can conclude that we will get a stronger signal and faster data using wcdma preferred, if we live in an area with horrible service. Seems like the guys with excellent service wont be affected one way or the other.
right?

just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol

here is a really good explanation about the gsm auto (prl) setting from another forum. i'll quote and also link it.
Originally Posted by icebike
What that does Roger, is tells your phone to connect using EDGE, and obtain a Preferred Roaming List (PRL) from the tower, and THEN switch to 3G when a data channel is required (which in the N1, is pretty much always because people are checking mail etc all the time).
WCDMA preferred has the phone try to find 3G directly. This takes more power until a connection is established.
You can verify this in the 4636 display, below the Run Ping Test button. You will see the Network Type say EDGE, then, after a bit, it will switch to HSPDA.
If your phone is near your computer speakers, you will hear edge chatter as it obtains its Preferred Roaming List. You may periodically hear a lot of EDGE chatter if you have nothing requiring a data channel running, because it might drop to edge and stay there for unexplained reasons.
Depending on your towers and service availability, you may see no difference in this at all. I live in a strong 3G area, and this does not help me at all. In fringe 3G areas or in 3G areas where there are a lot of 3G phones (cities, near schools, etc) this will help quite a bit.
In Edge only areas it saves a lot of battery by not searching for HSPDA when it does not exist.
Note: I also see something of a speed test hit on GSM (PRL), but this may be just the speed test app doing odd things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from this thread:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-one/13037-wifi-turning-off-sleep-mode.html

RogerPodacter said:
here is a really good explanation about the gsm auto (prl) setting from another forum. i'll quote and also link it.
from this thread:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-one/13037-wifi-turning-off-sleep-mode.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. Good read

sheek360 said:
just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn!!!! When I was 10, smartphone didn't even exist, people would stare at you if you even had a 'dumb phone'. Kids 20 years from now would probably be playing with nuclear powered smartphone. =)

sheek360 said:
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LMAO, you're family is awesome!

OrganizedFellow said:
LMAO, you're family is awesome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol thanks

sheek360 said:
just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes..at my school, the first girl that got knocked up was one of those kids. Don't worry..I'm sure that won't be your kid though. Just kidding! ;-)
But seriously..keep an eye on her!
Sent from my Nexus One

Interesting, my Nexus S constantly drops the 3g connection (need to wait 15-30 seconds before it connects again), and I just realized its set to GSM/CDMA Auto PRL, will set it to WCDMA preferred and see.

You'll have to keep an eye on it, unless you change the build.prop, it will revert back to it's default setting.

How do I change this on my desire, the wcdma is terrible at my house so I always need to switch it manually or else if someone calls they can't hear me...
Would love it if I could get my phone to just switch to gsm when the wcdma sucks
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

That's how it behaves by default.
You can force GSM on by ticking the 2G networks only box in the network settings though.

bunnybash said:
How do I change this on my desire, the wcdma is terrible at my house so I always need to switch it manually or else if someone calls they can't hear me...
Would love it if I could get my phone to just switch to gsm when the wcdma sucks
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the nexus one you press on the dial pad: *#*#4636#*#* and go into the hidden menu.

Rusty! said:
You'll have to keep an eye on it, unless you change the build.prop, it will revert back to it's default setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, it revert back to its default setting. How do I change it in build.prop? I don't see anything related in that file.

The entry ro.telephony.default_network=0 needs changing to 3.

Rusty! said:
The entry ro.telephony.default_network=0 needs changing to 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will this make GSM Auto (PRL) stick?

Should do, although mine seems to revert itself to WCDMA Preferred every so often anyway.

the PRL's of each of the phones should be different. They update those files constantly. It wouldn't be a fair and accurate test unless you knew for sure that you had the same PRL on two separate phones one that runs WCDMA and the other EDGE.
The PRL contains the RF information that your cell can access. When they update them they change the signals that your phone can and can't access so some signals are inhibited or blocked. There can be other modifications besides this like restricting speed or data.

Signal strength bars fluctuating

Hi guys, I just got my Incredible S yesterday, and I absolutely love this phone!! The only problem so far is the fluctuating signal bars. I'm not sure if this topic has been discussed here, but it seems to me that when I hold the phone...my signal gets weaker. When I put the phone on down..the signal gets stronger. Does a rubber or silicone case help as far as limiting signal interference?

Are you talking wifi signal or 3g signal?

mrHD2 said:
Are you talking wifi signal or 3g signal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm talking about 3G/H. It's such a shame. I really liked this phone, but designing the antenna on the battery cover is a huge flaw. What were they thinking?!!??

I also have the signal strength fluctuations. I have tried everything: changing the SIM card, changing operators (Swisscom and Sunrise), changing settings GSM alone, WCDMA alone, and GSM/WCDMA auto, and soft reset. The only thing I have not yet tried is a hard reset.
I wonder if somebody else has the same problem? The consequence of this problem is that often times the quality of the calls is lousy and/or the calls are dropped.
Please help me..

Have to say, my signal level is dreadful compared to my bog standard Nokia mobile phone in low signal areas, I get no signal on my Inc S while 2 or sometimes 3 bars on my Nokia. It's really spoiling an otherwise brilliant device. One thing I was wondering is if changing radio from the 22_M to the 27_M might help, anybody know what the difference between them is ?
and, data does not work over 50% of the time on gprs, but fine on hsdpa/3g/edge, don't know if that's also down to poor signal reception ?

I had the same problem with my IS. when the internet connaction GSM/WCDMA auto i had many unexeptable call ends. I put the internet connection to GSM only and every thing is ok. Acording to info i have the problem is in some operaters new software when the network type changes the telefone cannot change it normaly.

After visiting other fora, I have a crucial question to ask: is the reception problem (fluctuating bars, dropped calls, WiFi disconnecting) a generalised problem, or, rather, is my phone faulty, and therefore should I have it repaired?

HTC update the radio module immediately....

atn_chargers said:
Hi guys, I just got my Incredible S yesterday, and I absolutely love this phone!! The only problem so far is the fluctuating signal bars. I'm not sure if this topic has been discussed here, but it seems to me that when I hold the phone...my signal gets weaker. When I put the phone on down..the signal gets stronger. Does a rubber or silicone case help as far as limiting signal interference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also believe that the desire s has this same problem they are similarly designed devices now running with very similar software.
even though at times signal can be great without moving it can drop to nothing and I'll lose all signal, which I believe has caused me miss several calls as they've gone to voicemail rather than ring on the phone.
I'm hoping that an upgrade to the phones radio will fix/improve this over time (the optimistic outlook)
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA Premium App

signal
its the antenna design =Fail , put it flat on a desk and dont hold it and watch your signal go up pick it up and its like an hour glass going down

I am now arriving at the conclusion that sound quality and dropped calls (and bars fluctuating) can be explained by a connection problem when using GSM/WCDMA Auto. The problem disappears when using GSM Auto. Any views?

Same here, but it is better on "wcdma only" either. I'm suspectinig it has issues only when switching between wcdma and gsm

(Q)HTC one low signal bars UK EE/Orange

i recently unlocked, rooted and s-off my htc one, on stock i used to get around 5/4 signal bars and now i only get two/three.
im currently running trickdroid 7.5 rom 4.2.2.
so im looking for a radio which would work for orange/EE in the UK.
please can someone help, or point me into the right direction

this is the one for the 4.2.2 firmware
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42139108&postcount=18404

Are you sure that it is not the same level? Don't be fooled by the bar looking different, remember that it might show 2 bars of LTE but that could still be better than 5 bars of H+ (as an example).
So if you used to get 5 bars of 3G but your now getting 2 bars of H or H+ then you are better off even though its less bars.
Please do not take this as me treating you as if you are stupid, I am not, I have come across a lot of people recently who thought the same, and it turned out to just be a different type of signal.

fixed
okk i just flashed 1.29.401.12 Radio and it's back to normal.
i found it here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2245615

Lennyuk said:
Are you sure that it is not the same level? Don't be fooled by the bar looking different, remember that it might show 2 bars of LTE but that could still be better than 5 bars of H+ (as an example).
So if you used to get 5 bars of 3G but your now getting 2 bars of H or H+ then you are better off even though its less bars.
Please do not take this as me treating you as if you are stupid, I am not, I have come across a lot of people recently who thought the same, and it turned out to just be a different type of signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the input but!
i never said i was using my data connection,

Same principle applies even with data off.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Lennyuk said:
Are you sure that it is not the same level? Don't be fooled by the bar looking different, remember that it might show 2 bars of LTE but that could still be better than 5 bars of H+ (as an example).
So if you used to get 5 bars of 3G but your now getting 2 bars of H or H+ then you are better off even though its less bars.
Please do not take this as me treating you as if you are stupid, I am not, I have come across a lot of people recently who thought the same, and it turned out to just be a different type of signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if I have 5 bars when set to "GSM" only but 2-3 when set to "GSM/CDMA" .. that's as good?
I'm being serious btw, I normally set mine to just GSM as I seemed to have more signal but if there isn't any point then I won't bother lol ..I'm in the UK btw and on a network that doesn't support LTE (I think)

AllAboutTheCore said:
So if I have 5 bars when set to "GSM" only but 2-3 when set to "GSM/CDMA" .. that's as good?
I'm being serious btw, I normally set mine to just GSM as I seemed to have more signal but if there isn't any point then I won't bother lol ..I'm in the UK btw and on a network that doesn't support LTE (I think)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can confirm the 'type' of signal you are getting at any time in the menu > settings > about part of the phone.
Your phone will automatically switch to whatever the best signal is available at any time, you don't really need to change your GSM/WCDMA settings, unless you really want to force it away from 3G connections (again this does not mean you have to have data turned on).

Cool, I'm not too fussed about what data type it uses as I rarely have data turned on, I just naturally assumed that by switching it from GSM'CDMA Auto to just GSM, meant that I'd have better reception, being that the signal bars went from 2/5 to 5/5 ... You learn something new everyday lol
EDIT: I checked my signal, and I mean my reception, not the data connection type, when switched between GSM/WCDMA Auto and GSM Only and there is a huge difference. I found this guide:
dB Signal - A basic guide
-50 to -60 (very strong, near a cell tower)
-60 to -70 (extremely good, rare)
-80 to -85 (normal downtown)
-90 to -95 (getting on the weak side)
-95 to -98 (weak, dropping calls)
-98 to -100 (bad, hard to stay connected)
-100+ (basically no usable signal)
When I set my phone to GSM Only I hover around -70, which is good, when I switch to GSM/WCDMA Auto it is a different story. I know it changes and finds the best signal, which I might add drains more battery on an already power hungry beast, but I was hovering at -100 which is terrible and often calls were dropping or people were saying it was engaged when infact I hadn't used it.
It's clear to me that in my case, GSM Only is the far better option if I actually want to use my phone to make calls ... Data speeds I'm not arsed about so EDGE is just fine with me.

4G Data issues

Hello guys,
So I just bought my HTC one about a week ago. I'm.. pretty much in love with it. I haven't had time to sit down and room and customize it and such, but plan to soon.
However, i'm having an issue with it. The phone shows that it is connected to 4G and has full signal. However, it will not load anything whatsoever. Sometimes it works... but most of the time it does not, and I cannot figure out why. I also really hate that I can't manually toggle JUST the 4G on/off without diving into the settings. Waiting for the phone to decide to search for a 4G signal is frustrating. I'm somewhere I know has 4G signal, but the phone takes a long time before it realizes.
Is there anyone else who has these issues or someone who knows what I can do about them?
Thanks

Kleinersaphire said:
Hello guys,
So I just bought my HTC one about a week ago. I'm.. pretty much in love with it. I haven't had time to sit down and room and customize it and such, but plan to soon.
However, i'm having an issue with it. The phone shows that it is connected to 4G and has full signal. However, it will not load anything whatsoever. Sometimes it works... but most of the time it does not, and I cannot figure out why. I also really hate that I can't manually toggle JUST the 4G on/off without diving into the settings. Waiting for the phone to decide to search for a 4G signal is frustrating. I'm somewhere I know has 4G signal, but the phone takes a long time before it realizes.
Is there anyone else who has these issues or someone who knows what I can do about them?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've actually been having that issue for a week or so. No matter what ROM I'm running. Very strange. Maybe Sprint is "upgrading" their towers....lol. I'm in VA, are you in VA by chance?
D

Maybe someone can answer this better but 4G doesn't have "bars" the bars are for your 3G do you may show full bars but still have a weak 4G signal.
The best way I have found to address this is if your connected to 4G and you aren't able to connect to anything go into your mobile data settings and temporarily switch to CDMA only, or toggle CDMA then switch back to CDMA/LTE this will cause your signal to cycle and you may be able to browse using the 4G.
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app

Konfuzion said:
Maybe someone can answer this better but 4G doesn't have "bars" the bars are for your 3G do you may show full bars but still have a weak 4G signal.
The best way I have found to address this is if your connected to 4G and you aren't able to connect to anything go into your mobile data settings and temporarily switch to CDMA only, or toggle CDMA then switch back to CDMA/LTE this will cause your signal to cycle and you may be able to browse using the 4G.
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Datdude, no i am in Texas.
Konfuzion, thats disappointing. Toggling the signals through the settings is really clunky and always ends up with my phone having no signal at all for a couple minutes while it cycles everything. Is there an easier way? Maybe a widget I can get somewhere to do it more quickly?
Also, I dislike that I have no representation of how strong a 4g signal I have. I don't want the phone to tell me I have signal where there is none. Is there a ROM that will show this, maybe?
All in all, while I love the phone, I'm beginning to regret the upgrade. 4g data is very important to me as I use my phone as a mobile modem for work. In places (the exact same chairs) where I had strong enough WiMax 4g signal to do what I wanted, even to play latency restricted games like a MOBA, I can't get the LTE to do anything. I really don't want to have to downgrade, just to keep access to an inferior 4g signal, even if it's more reliable.

Bump for help?

Check out SignalCheck Pro, it will show you your true 1x, 3g and LTE signal strength. I just got my One on Monday and haven't had any 4g issues here in NC.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 4

You can also check your LTE reception by going to Settings->About->Network. Anything above -120dBm RSRP is useable, though if it gets much lower than that, the signal becomes tenuous. I think the lowest I've held onto was -124dBm.
Also, I run into this problem every few days around Chicago. The data connection just seems to stall. The fastest way I found to fix it is to toggle Airplane mode with the widget that I keep on my home screen.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

subhumanderelict said:
You can also check your LTE reception by going to Settings->About->Network. Anything above -120dBm RSRP is useable, though if it gets much lower than that, the signal becomes tenuous. I think the lowest I've held onto was -124dBm.
Also, I run into this problem every few days around Chicago. The data connection just seems to stall. The fastest way I found to fix it is to toggle Airplane mode with the widget that I keep on my home screen.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks guys for your responses! I went ahead and bout Signal Check Pro and although I don't understand all the numbers, my RSRP is around -105 to -110 at the moment, so it looks like i'm on the lower end of the connectively spectrum. Hopefully this app will help me better understand when my 4G is and isn't going to work.

[Q] How to prefer 4G over 3G

Here in Wichita, we finally got LTE, so when I got my HTC One, I was thrilled. Sure enough, on any given day, I get anywhere from 5MB to 15MB speed on 4G. On 3G though, even with full bars, I average between .05MB to sometimes all the way up to .5MB speed. Those speeds aren't new, and have nothing to do with my One. Had the same results on my old Evo3D, and E4GT. My question really is, is there some way that I can force the phone to prefer 4G instead of 3G? If my 3G signal is stronger, it uses that, even though the speeds are absolutely terrible.
I have gone in and changed the priority, but through the normal options, the only real choices I have are either Auto, or CDMA/LTE. I have used both options, and see no difference in behavior. Using the dialer menu, I can change it to LTE Only, but of course that makes it so I can't get phone calls.
I really wish there was a toggle to specify which network I want to run on. As it is, if it won't switch to 4G, my workaround is to turn the mobile data off through the toggle, wait a few seconds and turn it back on, then cross my fingers that it will choose to connect to the 4G network.

adarict said:
Here in Wichita, we finally got LTE, so when I got my HTC One, I was thrilled. Sure enough, on any given day, I get anywhere from 5MB to 15MB speed on 4G. On 3G though, even with full bars, I average between .05MB to sometimes all the way up to .5MB speed. Those speeds aren't new, and have nothing to do with my One. Had the same results on my old Evo3D, and E4GT. My question really is, is there some way that I can force the phone to prefer 4G instead of 3G? If my 3G signal is stronger, it uses that, even though the speeds are absolutely terrible.
I have gone in and changed the priority, but through the normal options, the only real choices I have are either Auto, or CDMA/LTE. I have used both options, and see no difference in behavior. Using the dialer menu, I can change it to LTE Only, but of course that makes it so I can't get phone calls.
I really wish there was a toggle to specify which network I want to run on. As it is, if it won't switch to 4G, my workaround is to turn the mobile data off through the toggle, wait a few seconds and turn it back on, then cross my fingers that it will choose to connect to the 4G network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*#*#4636#*#* and go to Phone Information. There you can set the radio mode. You can set it to LTE,CDMA. That will force LTE and give you 1X for voice calls, but if the LTE signal isn't strong enough it drops to 1X and not EVDO (3G).

I will give it a try now that I am on 4.3. I did that on 4.1 not long after release, and it did force 4g, but it prevented me from getting voice calls. I called my number from another phone, while I was just sitting at my home screen with no apps open, and the call never came through. Tried it multiple times from two areas of town to make sure. Anyway, it is worth trying again. Thanks.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 4