[Q] [Stock][I9305] Signal Loss issues - Galaxy S III I9305 (4G LTE + 2GB RAM) Q&A, Help &

Hi all,
TL;DR: Does anyone have issues with lots of reception loss in areas with less-than-stellar signal on the I9305 (LTE or 3G or GSM)?
Tomorrow, I want to take my S3 to Vodacom (my carrier in South Africa) so that they will hopefully check the thing and fix / replace it.
The problem I'm having is that my signal drops ( (/) "No Access" sign at the top where the signal strength should be) whenever I'm in a low signal area while others have continuous signal (my partner with his I9300 will still be able to make calls).
I've tested with and without LTE on (LTE is spotty everywhere), on 3G (set it to WCDMA Preferred in one of the secret menu's), or GSM/2G (both via the secret menu and the normal one). There are places where I can put my hand over the back of the phone and within 5 seconds, the signal will disappear completely, until I take my hand away.
For reference, I use No Signal Alert to notify me, mostly because when I got my phone, the bad LTE reception caused frequent radio hangs, which would leave my phone without signal until I checked (hours) later, which forced me to switch to "WCDMA Preferred".
Cheers,
LV

Related

Triangle in Taskbar?

I sometimes get a triangle icon in the taskbar, next to the E / 3G icon.
Any idea what it means?
I cannot click it ... or better: nothing happens.
This is the Roaming indicator.
Mmmmh.
And why am I seeing this in Beverly Hills and the network is "AT&T"?
call up AT-T and ask lol.. But that is the roaming Icon sometimes phoines will pick the closest tower to use since it has the best signal and just maybe t-mobile owns that tower Only AT-T will know.
Not an isolated problem
I have a similar issue in Oz. I travel o/s a lot and am used to the roaming signal appearing whilst I am out of the country. However, this is happening right here at home. I have a Telstra 3G SIM card and all too frequently my Kaiser brings up this "Roam" Signal. Generally I then lose 3G as well, dropping back to HSDPA. Even more strangely, it is still showing that I am connected to Telstra. A soft reset usually brings back the 3G signal. I never had this problem with my Trinity and my work is only a few hundred metres from a Telstra tower so signal strength is not a problem. A bug I think, and damned annoying.
you are picking up T-Mobile. AT&T users can still use T-Mobile towers currently as a result of the deal they made when AT&T (Cingular) sold them the 310-170 network in CA/NV. (its now properly renamed to 310-260 by TMO)
the phone's alpha tag says AT&T regardless of what carrier's network you're on when you're roaming. unless you have the 4EON code applied to your account, in which case it would say Off Network when on non AT&T towers.
any idea how I can fix this?
I am fine with it roaming if there is indeed not 3G network but my issue is that it doesn't drop the roaming as soon as it could.
Camstech said:
I have a similar issue in Oz. I travel o/s a lot and am used to the roaming signal appearing whilst I am out of the country. However, this is happening right here at home. I have a Telstra 3G SIM card and all too frequently my Kaiser brings up this "Roam" Signal. Generally I then lose 3G as well, dropping back to HSDPA. Even more strangely, it is still showing that I am connected to Telstra. A soft reset usually brings back the 3G signal. I never had this problem with my Trinity and my work is only a few hundred metres from a Telstra tower so signal strength is not a problem. A bug I think, and damned annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue - sometimes I have "3G Telstra" (no roaming symbol, and will use HSDPA if needed) and other times I have "3 Telstra" and the roaming symbol displaying. One thing - as I understand it, you are not 'dropping back to HSDPA' - this is actually a service that is on top of the 3G networks, and provides greater download speeds.
I checked with my Telstra reseller who said that this would not change the call rates or data rates. Not sure what causes this though...
Have put this question on Whirlpool as well: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=846691#bottom
Telstra
I have the same issue on Telstra. Hope a new ROM fixes this.
Roaming Notice
Hmmm, I hate it when stupid people post garbage about which they know little. Problem is, this time the stupid person was me!
The 3G symbol shows the phone is within range of a UMTS signal. The H symbol means it is in range of a HSDPA signal, the high speed data version of UMTS so "H" is better than "3G". Oops, so my phone was roaming to a better signal.
This roaming issue appears to only affect a small number of people whose service providers have a crossover deal with another provider. This appears to apply to those with the AT&T/T-Mobile crossover in the US and here in Oz where the phone will pick up either the Telstra Next G network (UMTS 850Mhz, shown as 3G Telstra) or, in big cities, the Hutchinson "3" Network, (UMTS 2100Mhz with HSDPA, shown as 3 Telstra). I was uncertain about this as I never saw the roaming symbol with my Dopod 810, which always showed 3G Telstra. I think the TyTN II, like the original TyTN, has some different software seetings which means that the phone will try the "3 Telstra" network when it can, and this shows as roaming, whereas my D810 either didn't roam to 3 Telstra, or, if it did it didn't show it as roaming. In any case, it's not actually a problem, and as Telstra have indicated, it makes no difference to the data/call rates. I'm chilled on this. Now if they can fix the "hang-up" bug...
I've been wondering about the elongated triangle pointing up too. I have very poor/no reception in my office at work... though sometimes enough to get a voicemail notification (not enough to be able to call and check, usually don't have a missed-call notification).
I'd thought it might have to do with being connected to Active Sync. Sure would be smart if the phone could get notifications of even calls over an alternative data connection when the cellular couldn't connect... even if ATT charged regular minutes for it would be so much better than no signal, period.
I'm having this issue for some reason on my second Tilt that has been sent to me. The first doesn't show it at all but the second does. I don't understand what its doing.
Deleted.....

HSDPA -Poor Signal Strength and Constant Call Dropouts on Hutchison 3 Australia -Why?

Hi there,
Can anyone please assist?
Whenever I select a phone Band of WCDMA and am operating on HSDPA [H], my Touch Diamond which is on Hutchison 3's Network, has very poor reception whenever indoors and has lots of call dropouts. The phone shows just the dot below the Antenna Icon or just one bar to the right, most of the time while on HSDPA.
Whenever I select a phone Band of GSM, and the phone switches to an Edge connection [E] then I have nearly full signal strength, but this is considered "Roaming" off my network service provider and therefore is much more expensive to use. (What a scam!).
I have tried installing several radio ROM's but it has not made any difference to the signal strength and dropout problems. The Radio ROMs tried so far:
1.09.25.23 Official (Quad Band)(52.51.25.26H)
1.08.25.20 Official (Quad Band)(52.44.25.24H)
1.08.25.08 Official (Quad Band)(52.44.25.24U)
1.00.25.BS14 Official (Quad Band)
1.00.25.06
The phone has had this problem with HSDPA signals since I purchased it.
My questions are:
1. Have other people experienced this kind of issue and is poor reception indoors normal when on HSDPA [H]?
2. Is there a way to force a Touch Diamond, say through a registry hack, to use a Band of WCDMA but stay on [3G] instead of using [H] ?
3. Is it more likely that my phone is a good candidate for a warranty return as perhaps the antenna is dodgy?
4. Are there any other suggestions I can try to fix this problem?
Any guidance here is appreciated.
Thanks,
nanohaxor
HTC Touch Diamond (Telstra branded phone)
ROM: 1.93.861.4 WWE
Radio: 1.05.25.BS14
Network: Hutchison 3 Australia
DIAM130 MFG 64M
SPL-1.40.OliNex
nanohaxor said:
My questions are:
1. Have other people experienced this kind of issue and is poor reception indoors normal when on HSDPA [H]?
2. Is there a way to force a Touch Diamond, say through a registry hack, to use a Band of WCDMA but stay on [3G] instead of using [H] ?
3. Is it more likely that my phone is a good candidate for a warranty return as perhaps the antenna is dodgy?
4. Are there any other suggestions I can try to fix this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love my Diamond and think that it is one of the best PDAs I have used. Its small size is just perfect for me, and I find other phones eg iPhone, Touch HD too big for me as a phone. I have customised it to the extent that I get no lag issues and it runs really fast.
The one flaw which I haven't been able to fix is its poor 3G/HSDPA reception compared to other phones like my previous Nokia. (The iPhone suffers from this problem also).
You obviously live or work in a poor 3G reception area for Three. When your phone switches from 3G to GSM, it will invariably drop the call if you are on a call. If the 3G reception is strong, indoors or outdoors, there will be no problems. 3G reception can fluctuate especially indoors. I dont think there is any fault with your phone.
Your options are to:
1) Change mobile phone provider
2) Force the phone to use GSM in low 3G signal areas and you will have no problems with call drop outs. There is no extra cost for roaming in GSM with Three for calls, only for data.
I use option 2, since I use WI-FI in the house for all my data needs. The easiest way to do this is to use Comm Manager, under Settings, Phone, Band, and then select GSM in 'Network Type' to force it to use GSM, or WCDMA to force it to use 3G/HSDPA. The other option is Auto, which is the cause of the problem. I use a hack which enables a '3G' toggle in Comm Manager so that I can change from 3G to GSM with the simple touch of a button.
You will also find that the battery life of the Diamond is really poor when it has to constantly change from 3G to GSM and vice versa. On the other hand, forcing it to use GSM and only switching on 3G when you use data, will actually prolong the battery life. I get up to 2+ days battery life when using GSM only.
Riker88 said:
I love my Diamond and think that it is one of the best PDAs I have used. Its small size is just perfect for me, and I find other phones eg iPhone, Touch HD too big for me as a phone. I have customised it to the extent that I get no lag issues and it runs really fast.
The one flaw which I haven't been able to fix is its poor 3G/HSDPA reception compared to other phones like my previous Nokia. (The iPhone suffers from this problem also).
You obviously live or work in a poor 3G reception area for Three. When your phone switches from 3G to GSM, it will invariably drop the call if you are on a call. If the 3G reception is strong, indoors or outdoors, there will be no problems. 3G reception can fluctuate especially indoors. I dont think there is any fault with your phone.
Your options are to:
1) Change mobile phone provider
2) Force the phone to use GSM in low 3G signal areas and you will have no problems with call drop outs. There is no extra cost for roaming in GSM with Three for calls, only for data.
I use option 2, since I use WI-FI in the house for all my data needs. The easiest way to do this is to use Comm Manager, under Settings, Phone, Band, and then select GSM in 'Network Type' to force it to use GSM, or WCDMA to force it to use 3G/HSDPA. The other option is Auto, which is the cause of the problem. I use a hack which enables a '3G' toggle in Comm Manager so that I can change from 3G to GSM with the simple touch of a button.
You will also find that the battery life of the Diamond is really poor when it has to constantly change from 3G to GSM and vice versa. On the other hand, forcing it to use GSM and only switching on 3G when you use data, will actually prolong the battery life. I get up to 2+ days battery life when using GSM only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Riker88, appreciate your comments and feedback. Thanks.
I tried my 3 SIM in another Touch Diamond and found the problem with poor HSDPA reception on Hutchison 3 was exactly the same on the other phone. This likely means it's the provider, or phone + provider combination. In either case, darn it !!
I generally operate with the phone band selection on WCDMA, rather than GSM or Auto. I noticed yesterday while driving around the city that my phone switched from the HSDPA (ie. 3.5G) service with the [H] icon on the screen to the 3G (ie. 3.0G) service with the [3G] icon on the screen, and the [3G] service signal was stronger. What I'm wondering is this:
Is there a way to force the Touch Diamond to use [3G] all the time, instead of [H]?
nanohaxor
nanohaxor said:
Riker88, appreciate your comments and feedback. Thanks.
I tried my 3 SIM in another Touch Diamond and found the problem with poor HSDPA reception on Hutchison 3 was exactly the same on the other phone. This likely means it's the provider, or phone + provider combination. In either case, darn it !!
I generally operate with the phone band selection on WCDMA, rather than GSM or Auto. I noticed yesterday while driving around the city that my phone switched from the HSDPA (ie. 3.5G) service with the [H] icon on the screen to the 3G (ie. 3.0G) service with the [3G] icon on the screen, and the [3G] service signal was stronger. What I'm wondering is this:
Is there a way to force the Touch Diamond to use [3G] all the time, instead of [H]?
nanohaxor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my understanding, you should get same radio signal strength no matter it is 3G or HSDPA enabled. Your observation may be your original signal (with HSDPA) is too weak and hand-over to another radio station that have stronger signal but no hsdpa.
I also notice that the 3G reception capability of diamond is weak. But this is nothing dealing with hsdpa.
snufkin wrote:
"I also notice that the 3G reception capability of diamond is weak. But this is nothing dealing with hsdpa. "
From what i've seen - that's true. (i have the same problem).

[Q] Force G/2G on SGS

I currently have an issue in forcing the G/2G network onto my SGS. The issue is that in my house, the 3G signal is ridiculously weak (but the 2G signal is workable) so I want disable the 3G when I am at home
The problem is, that even when using the #*#*INFO#*#*, when you change it to GSM, the change doesn't actually apply and it forces back to GSM/WDCMA (preferred).
The signal for example works fine when the SIM is put into my really old nokia, and calls and connects perfectly every single time
I am on the Virgin network (through Optus) in Australia btw

WCDMA signal horrible

I've flashed my phone countless of times now over the past months and one thing I was hoping for would be better signal strenght for WCDMA mode... I live in Switzerland and my provider is sunrise. Whenever I'm using WCDMA mode the signal is just horrible. Mostly 1 bar or sometimes dropping to zero. 3g and H works most of the time, but the signal is bothering me.. I've tried different modems etc.. but nothing seems to change.. Does anyone else have this problem?? what can I do about it? GSM has full bars most of the time and that's why it's so weird.
also worthy to note is that people hear an echo sometimes when they're talking to me both in GSM and WCDMA mode.
it would be great if someone knows how to solve this problem...
have you been on your providers website to check the coverage in your area ? they could be a fault on their part affecting your signal strength
Im on Vodafone UK and i have terrible 3g signal, I can only use 2g/GSM otherwise my phone doesnt recieve 1 bar of signal - bit of a bummer when you have a smart phone and unlimited internet
Finally, How was your signal before you flashed ? when the phone popped out of the box ? was it still poor then ?

Weak (no bar) 3G signal after back from 2G

Anyone with Android 6.0 experience this issue?
So, when the phone enters an area with weak 3G signal, it will go to 2G (GPRS).
This is normal behavior.
Then, when the phone enters an area with strong 3G signal, it will go back to 3G.
This is also normal behavior.
Except, the restored 3G connection is weak. The icon shows with "no signal bar". It is connected to 3G though.
And it will stay like this until I recycle the connection by going to airplane mode and turn-off airplane mode.
My device is Nexus 6, international model. I installed Android 6.0 by flashing the image.
It is not rooted though and it doesn't have much apps.
And yes, I can reproduce this issue every time, as I know exactly the weak 3G area in our building.
Thanks.

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