I'm wondering if there is a way to set the phone to only use 3g and not hit edge. ATT has ran fiber to the towers where i live and the signals have jumped up about 30%. but for some reason since Edge hits 4-5 bars it jumpbs back and forth. 3g i can get 2-3 bars which is still faster than the 5 bars of edge. is there any way to set it to only use 3g?
Samsung Captivate
Rooted.
ota'd update 2.1update1
nothing else done or added as far as that.
In general your phone will ALWAYS try to grab 3G if the signal is stable enough to support the connection.
However, I know some people use this method to lock their phone to 2G until they manually tell it to switch to 3G, though I'm not sure if it will work in reverse since the phone will generally downgrade to next best as soon as it loses stable 3G, this might not BIND it to 3G, but I suppose it's worth a shot:
Use your phone dialer and dial in *#*#197328640#*#* Click [1] Debug Screen then [8] Phone Control then [4] UE State Control and choose [2] Change RAT to WCDMA. You might have to give it a minute or two to negotiate the connection.
This option isn't super practical though, you'll have to reenter it everytime you reboot, and if it works the way you want it to work you'll be stuck doing the same procedure to change it to GSM if your network drops below 3G quality. My suggestion is to leave it alone and hope that AT&T upgrades your 3G coverage to acceptable levels =/
Related
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.
It seems like people with unlocked devices are able to lock 2g but AT&T branded devices are not. We've all tried these methods and they have not worked:
4636 menu
AnyCut
ProWidgets
The problem seems to be that we can't disable the automatic operator selection. I remember this used to be a problem on the BB but someone figured out a way to enter some type of code into the phone and enabled 2g lock... AT&T also eventually enabled it after a few years. Is it possible for this to be enabled on AT&T Atrixes?
You're trying to lock the device to 2G bands only? I can't imagine why you'd want to do that with AT&T upgrading their 2G towers (albeit slowly).
The problem is I get very weak 3G/H+ signals but strong E signals where I am and it kills my battery when the radio is flipping back and forth and trying to find a stronger 3G signal.
agentdr8 said:
You're trying to lock the device to 2G bands only? I can't imagine why you'd want to do that with AT&T upgrading their 2G towers (albeit slowly).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe he want save battery where not in use the internet
Hi All,
I have a weird issue. My phone seems to be permantently stuck at "H" (HDSPA), it never switches back to 3G. Does anyone know what the problem could be?
It's sucking up my battery real fast.
I'm currently using a Generic Northamerican R3 rom. My phone is the X1a model.
Help would be much appreciated, thanks.
EDIT: I should also add that "Bands" option is set to Auto (both of them). If i play around i can get it to use Edge only, but thats not what i want. Id like it to work as it should, 3G when data is not being used, otherwise H.
download WMlonglife.cab n setting it..i forget the link..u can googling...
to the OP:
here's some info to let you figure out if you actually have a problem at all or not:
H(SDPA) is a data-extension of UMTS = 3G, E(DGE) is an extension of GSM/GPRS (always data, voice is either GSM or 3G). with band-setting, you just choose between gsm or 3g, if you get edge or hdspa for data depends on what your provider is delivering in that area.
standard behaviour with hdspa is to show the icon only if there's actually data transfered, if not it should show the 3g-icon. but some providers break that standard and will always let the phone show H.
so either you have one of those providers and are just complaining about the higher power-consumption of 3G compared to GSM. then normal power-saving measures come into play, search for them, there's a thread for it.
OR you don't have one of those providers, the symbol should fall back to 3G. this would mean you have constant data-transfer going on, causing higher power-consumption. if that's the case, remember what you installed and set to autostart (skype, irc-client, webradio... - web-stuff running in background)
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
I saw a few screenshots of people's Moto X's from sprint with a bunch of options under Network Mode. I have the XT1053 (TMO unlocked, on ATT network) and the only options I see are "Auto" and "2G."
I browsed around and found that there's an LTE OnOff app, but I'm just wondering if there's a way I can get those options for 3G on my device's Network Mode option list?
The reason why I even care is because for some reason at my workplace, I can't seem to get any data through LTE. My signal will display 3 bars of LTE, but it absolutely does not work. While it will turn off LTE and just say 4G since it's on auto, I find that a majority of my day, it WON'T switch. It stays on 4G LTE 99% of the time and does not function at all. When I walk outside the building, LTE works perfectly fine. Would I be right to assume that the auto mode is literally on borderline between switching, so it never establishes a stable connection?
I guess it brings me to the question, is the Auto mode inefficient / will I have to live with manually turning off LTE every time I get to work? :/
noc215 said:
I saw a few screenshots of people's Moto X's from sprint with a bunch of options under Network Mode. I have the XT1053 (TMO unlocked, on ATT network) and the only options I see are "Auto" and "2G."
I browsed around and found that there's an LTE OnOff app, but I'm just wondering if there's a way I can get those options for 3G on my device's Network Mode option list?
The reason why I even care is because for some reason at my workplace, I can't seem to get any data through LTE. My signal will display 3 bars of LTE, but it absolutely does not work. While it will turn off LTE and just say 4G since it's on auto, I find that a majority of my day, it WON'T switch. It stays on 4G LTE 99% of the time and does not function at all. When I walk outside the building, LTE works perfectly fine. Would I be right to assume that the auto mode is literally on borderline between switching, so it never establishes a stable connection?
I guess it brings me to the question, is the Auto mode inefficient / will I have to live with manually turning off LTE every time I get to work? :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3 bars of LTE is an excellent signal. With 1 bar of signal I can still get 15mbps down from my provider. If your phone is detecting such a strong received signal it won't be switching back to HSPA on its own. For some reason the building you're in may block the phones transmitted signal more then it blocks the signal from the cell site. I am guessing you're on band 4 LTE which has quite the frequency difference between uplink and downlink. Your only option(assuming the phone or cell site isn't defective) is to manually switch to WCDMA with a third party app such as the "LTE setting" app in the Play store. Or unlock your bootloader and flash firmware from another provider that has more options. I know the Rogers Canada firmware has an LTE on/off option, it also has a 2G only option. Sadly Rogers has not yet approved the release of 4.4 (kitkat).
Steve-x said:
3 bars of LTE is an excellent signal. With 1 bar of signal I can still get 15mbps down from my provider. If your phone is detecting such a strong received signal it won't be switching back to HSPA on its own. For some reason the building you're in may block the phones transmitted signal more then it blocks the signal from the cell site. I am guessing you're on band 4 LTE which has quite the frequency difference between uplink and downlink. Your only option(assuming the phone or cell site isn't defective) is to manually switch to WCDMA with a third party app such as the "LTE setting" app in the Play store. Or unlock your bootloader and flash firmware from another provider that has more options. I know the Rogers Canada firmware has an LTE on/off option, it also has a 2G only option. Sadly Rogers has not yet approved the release of 4.4 (kitkat).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes a lot more sense to me now. So basically the "Auto" mode only considers my reception and not transmittance strength, so it never saw a need to switch me off LTE. I am almost sure it is not my phone because I started experiencing a signal loss issue with my S3 a few days ago. I doubt it's the cell site because as soon as I step out of the building, LTE works with no problems.
I did ended up using LTE OnOff to force CDMA and I can actually do stuff now. I went and did a speedtest ...
Ping: 114 ms
Down: 4.06 Mbps
Up: 0.77 Mbps
I guess with the lack of options, I have yet another reason to roll up the sleeves and get my hands dirty. Haven't touched ABD since I had a samsung captivate!
Thank you