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I use my nexus one on ATT - in my area, there are two antennas.. ATT's "preferred" antenna which barely gets any signal at all (resulting in dropped calls every couple of minutes), and there's a "roaming" antenna which gives me full signal and works great. The problem is that when I'm on the roaming (good) antenna, the phone gets a tiny bit of signal from the "preferred" (bad) antenna, switches me over then my calls drop.
I had a Palm Treo which had a hack to manually select the antenna I wanted to use, which worked GREAT. Does a similar hack exist for the nexus one/android?
interesting.... didn't know we can select antennas
there should be a way to hack radio module to allow cell tower override, i have exactly same problem. there are three cells around my house, one nearby and two far away. for some stupid reason phone switches to different cell tower and i lose my network.
in battery use, i have cell standby as my biggest battery hog. cell standby over 25%
I'd be willing to pay for this hack.
has anybody ever found a way to do this?? I just moved further out into the country to get away from the city, and i am one tower too far away to be in the local calling area to all my contacts. lol and i know I'm BARELY into the other towers coverage area. So, if i could tell my phone to stay locked on to a particular tower, and actually get a signal (It switches towers when i still have 3 bars of signal, and I live about a mile further down the street from where it switches) I can avoid long distance charges. I haven't been able to find anything anywhere to be able to do it, but I may be using the wrong search terms. I'm not completely up to snuff on most technical terms. Thanks in advance.
I think cell tower hand offs are handled by the networks, not the phone
can anybody confirm this? what antenna on N1???
mrbkkt1 said:
I think cell tower hand offs are handled by the networks, not the phone
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U could very well be correct! Sounds logical. I've been exploring a handful of VoIP options that ya can use from your Android/WM device using your Data connection/WiFi.
I spent a bunch of time reading and researching, and just installed one called Nettalk. No local phone number for incoming calls, but the app is free, and u can make calls to anywhere to/from any Canadian area. The app looks just like the regular dialer, and works pretty decent. So, when somebody calls, I'll just select 'reject call with message' (if calling from a cell) and say I'll call rite back, or if calling from a land line, I'll just send it to voicemail and call back and presto... problem solved. There are a few other options available, where u pay anywhere from $5 a month, to $30 a month and you still using your Data/WiFi connection, but u get a local calling number for contacts to call, and doesn't matter where your phone is, it will receive the call free of long distance charges. Problem is, i haven't found any that have the city I'm from in their numbers database. So for now, I'm going to see how this system works out.
mrbkkt1 said:
I think cell tower hand offs are handled by the networks, not the phone
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Click to collapse
Both the handset and the base station "handle" hand offs. The handset has a programmed minimum signal level, below which it will essentially request a hand off if one is available. The network can switch the handset to another tower for load balancing or other reasons if it determines that the handset (or the carrier's business interests) is better served by another tower. It's a two way system. If the network wants to move you on to another tower, but the phone won't get a lock, you stay on the original tower.
The problem with the OP is that his SIM (which is programmed with carrier preferences) keeps pushing him off roaming and into the actual AT&T network. Basically, AT&T has its network set up so that any level of AT&T signal is preferable to any level of roaming. It does that to save money on roaming costs, since AT&T handles you for free while you're on their system, but has to pay a few cents to have the roaming partner host you.
Maybe
I think Tasks can do that.
samsung has that feature but i have to find for other handsets
On Sprint, is there a way to get LTE data while on a voice call? On my old LG Optimus G, this was possible without any additional settings.
I did a quick search in the forums and it looks like the Verizon G4 can do this if you go to the website and enable it.
Anyone figure out if this is possible with the Sprint G4?
Most current Sprint phone can no longer do this. Older phones had SVLTE capability which allowed to use data/voice at the same time. Any Sprint phone that is spark enabled does not have this feature. Something that Sprint conveniently doesn't communicate to its customers.
lazerus06 said:
Most current Sprint phone can no longer do this. Older phones had SVLTE capability which allowed to use data/voice at the same time. Any Sprint phone that is spark enabled does not have this feature. Something that Sprint conveniently doesn't communicate to its customers.
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Thanks for the information! I'm glad to at least hear that there's a reason for this. So glad to upgrade a phone 3 generations ahead and lose functionality. Lol.
But seriously, I still really like this phone because of the screen size/camera/SD slot/removable battery. Plus picking up a brand new phone 3 weeks after launch for $0.01 from Amazon AND getting a free SD card AND battery AND charging cradle really eases the pain.
lazerus06 said:
Most current Sprint phone can no longer do this. Older phones had SVLTE capability which allowed to use data/voice at the same time. Any Sprint phone that is spark enabled does not have this feature. Something that Sprint conveniently doesn't communicate to its customers.
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I agree, it really sucks to loose simultaneous voice and data. can't realy even use GPS software like waze while on the phone. Sprint claims they will have this functionality back for current phones within a year once they deploy VOLTE (voice over LTE)
you can have call and data..but you have to be doing the wi-fi calling feature.
SIM data and voice
the best option ive found so far is to use google hangouts dailer
The last phone with this feature of both was the note 3 . Any spark phones can't and won't sprint to stubburn to get towers up to do both. Wimax all over again. In 3 years they might get it together . You will get use to it eventually.
Hello just got a U2, At&t, what Sims have people been able to successfully use on it besides the att&t? Would like to connect mine cheaply. Anyone tried Mint or Project Fi?
I just got today my U2 ATT unlocked, I put in an ATT SIM and a T-Mobile SIM and both worked, and both showing LTE, although ATT held onto LTE more often, T-Mobile went down to HSPA+ or HSPA as I moved around deeper indoors.
Red pocket works for voice and text, but not data. I'm waiting on a Truphone sim to arrive as I've heard this works across the board.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
notamoosen said:
Red pocket works for voice and text, but not data. I'm waiting on a Truphone sim to arrive as I've heard this works across the board.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
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I've had Truphone for a year with no issues. It should work. I tried Ting and H2O originally but had the same issue of no data. Probably an APN settings issue.
notamoosen said:
Red pocket works for voice and text, but not data. I'm waiting on a Truphone sim to arrive as I've heard this works across the board.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I've also now ordered Truphone SIM.
I only have had my UB2 about 2 days and still learning, but know enough I think the Truphone incoming-centric cost structure probably is a good part of the solution. Thanks for advising Truphone works inside the UB2
mward1995 said:
I've had Truphone for a year with no issues. It should work. I tried Ting and H2O originally but had the same issue of no data. Probably an APN settings issue.
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Thanks for the Truphone tip, I got it and I been averaging about 2MB/day so 18c/day = $5 / month extrapolation, and so I'd struggle to find anything lower cost. What I learned is the LTE really drains battery life, about 25%/hour, vs 5%/hour on BT tether, so the idea I can spend all day out just with the UB2 is not viable so I'd be using for brief traveling light situations, popping down shops, walking the dog, that sort of thing. Around here AT&T is the best coverage. One thing i've learned however is the UB2 for some reason will lose the BT and Wifi connection and so connect to LTE so causing some demand, so I've had to disable cellular and manually enable when I intend to go away from the phone with just the UB2, that should lower my monthly cost to significantly less than $5 extrapolation.
My UB2 would be become more useful once AW2 and Android Pay comes out then it really becomes me single device to head to the local supermarket.
I use H2O Wireless for voice. Prepaid, minimum $10 for 90 days. Calls are something like 5¢ per minute, same for data & SMS. I turned data off, though, because the watch keeps hitting the data connection, running the balance down.
roebling said:
I use H2O Wireless for voice. Prepaid, minimum $10 for 90 days. Calls are something like 5¢ per minute, same for data & SMS. I turned data off, though, because the watch keeps hitting the data connection, running the balance down.
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Right, what I also found the watch keeps hitting the cellular data connection, when there is no good reason, I'd be near Wifi all the time and at most it moves from BT to Wifi but it seems to not go to Wifi, it seems to go LTE if the BT is hiccup.
So the UB2's option for cellular is very dumb, it only allows on/off, I can't say, disable LTE for data but keep the SIM on for incoming calls. So that means I must take specific action when I leave the phone behind, which is to enable cellular.
I guess data is on, it's reporting on & I don't see a setting to turn it off.
I leave my phone on 24/7: cellular on, WiFi on, Bluetooth on, data on (apparently). But I sent a text message from a Google Voice account to my watch 5 minutes ago & the watch hasn't received it so I don't know. I don't want data on it, except WiFi, so it's not been a problem for me. Bill's about $3 a month & I have coverage everywhere so I love it.
Just checked & the SMS test message did go through. Didn't alert so I didn't know it until I looked for it. Guess the volume's down.
mward1995 said:
I've had Truphone for a year with no issues. It should work. I tried Ting and H2O originally but had the same issue of no data. Probably an APN settings issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the APN couldn't be modified from the watch. I am not sure if there is a small tool so that we can modify it from the paired phone.
Too bad my LG urbane 2 is being tortured atm. Will update when I get it back.
For the record, it's 200mb free each month plus calling and texting.
My total cost was $1
Drops77 said:
Too bad my LG urbane 2 is being tortured atm. Will update when I get it back.
For the record, it's 200mb free each month plus calling and texting.
My total cost was $1
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Click to collapse
Couldn't set up APN for the Freedompop SIM card, did you?
My watch is being repaired, other places say the same. Hopefully 2.0 will bring some configuration.
Drops77 said:
My watch is being repaired, other places say the same. Hopefully 2.0 will bring some configuration.
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Click to collapse
Unfortunately I don't think that option is available yet on 2.0 either.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidWear/comments/604p4w/any_payasyougo_sims_work_with_gsm_watches/
I didn't spot any cellular configuration options in AW2 DP
@moderator please apply lg-urbane-2 tag.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/lg-urbane-2
damiloveu said:
Couldn't set up APN for the Freedompop SIM card, did you?
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Click to collapse
I couldnt either. US mobile did work for me with no issue. I might try truphone, US mobile is $9 a month hopefully can average lower for the watch with truphone pay per use.
So now that 2.0 is out, I got the truphone Sim but it's not working. Any tips?
Drops77 said:
So now that 2.0 is out, I got the truphone Sim but it's not working. Any tips?
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Click to collapse
it worked before 2.0 but not after? Or first time trying the SIM? What's not working, cellular and data?
hi everyone,
I am about to replace my galaxy watch with the GW3 and I am still undecided which version (LTE/BT) I should get.
I have a phone i use as a secondary number, so I could migrate this one to the watch, even if e-sim are not common in my country and this will result in a more expensive plan compared to the one I currently have. Anyway, I will accept it because I will keep my 2 separate numbers and I also could finally go jogging without carrying the phone.
My 2 doubts are:
1-battery life. I am worried that with LTE on all of the time the watch will not last an entire day
2-I am unsure about what will happen when the phone is connected to the watch and I receive a call on the other number on the watch. Is the watch switching in standalone mode?
I understand the ideal use of the LTE version is more like a companion sharing the same contract of the phone rather than using it as a standalone phone, and I could not find any answer on these doubts, so I hope someone here having an user experience could help me in making the right decision
Thanks in advance!
PL
atalanta1 said:
hi everyone,
I am about to replace my galaxy watch with the GW3 and I am still undecided which version (LTE/BT) I should get.
I have a phone i use as a secondary number, so I could migrate this one to the watch, even if e-sim are not common in my country and this will result in a more expensive plan compared to the one I currently have. Anyway, I will accept it because I will keep my 2 separate numbers and I also could finally go jogging without carrying the phone.
My 2 doubts are:
1-battery life. I am worried that with LTE on all of the time the watch will not last an entire day
2-I am unsure about what will happen when the phone is connected to the watch and I receive a call on the other number on the watch. Is the watch switching in standalone mode?
I understand the ideal use of the LTE version is more like a companion sharing the same contract of the phone rather than using it as a standalone phone, and I could not find any answer on these doubts, so I hope someone here having an user experience could help me in making the right decision
Thanks in advance!
PL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. When the watch is connected via BT, LTE seems to be switched off.
2. When someone calls or sends me a text on the other number it shows up as if I received it on the handset as if they did not call/text the other number (atleast with my operator, Telia)
I will do some more testing with handset in flight mode etc.
Sent from my own Galaxy via Tapatalk
1. there is a setting that will AUTO turn off the mobile network when the watch connects to the phone. you can disable this so the mobile network setting is on if that is what you prefer. for me, i leave it on all the time since the watch has its own working number separate from the phone. so even IF the watch connects to the phone, the mobile network can still stay on.
2. if you use the watch as a PHONE, then thats what it will be-- a phone. if you dont want that, get the BT only version.
when your watch line rings, the phone does not ring. conversely, if you have certain settings enabled in the galaxy wear app, the watch will sync to the phone and ring when the phone rings. this can be seen as a "companion" but make no mistake, the watch can and does stand alone on itself. ive had these lte watches for years and i spak from experience.
marctronixx said:
1. there is a setting that will AUTO turn off the mobile network when the watch connects to the phone. you can disable this so the mobile network setting is on if that is what you prefer. for me, i leave it on all the time since the watch has its own working number separate from the phone. so even IF the watch connects to the phone, the mobile network can still stay on.
2. if you use the watch as a PHONE, then thats what it will be-- a phone. if you dont want that, get the BT only version.
when your watch line rings, the phone does not ring. conversely, if you have certain settings enabled in the galaxy wear app, the watch will sync to the phone and ring when the phone rings. this can be seen as a "companion" but make no mistake, the watch can and does stand alone on itself. ive had these lte watches for years and i spak from experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got a call on my watch and answered on my phone.
I guess this depends on your operator settings for call forwarding etc.
Sent from my own Galaxy via Tapatalk
Thank you for sharing your experience!
it is actually not easy, and the scenario is probably also different whether you have 2 numbers on the same contracts or 2 different numbers with 2 different carriers.
to recap:
by default, if BT is connected, then LTE turns off to save battery life, and this makes a lot of sense in consideration of the typical use of a smartwatch, where the cellular connection sums up to BT and wifi in ensuring the watch is always connected to the phone
but
you can turn this auto-switch off, so also when is BT connected the watch will get his own calls/SMS (plus the notification of the phone i guess)
one last question: can you turn off completely LTE ? this would be useful to save battery life when traveling...
Thanks !!
Did some testing, I have the same operator on watch and phone, watchs plan is connected to the phones plan.
1. Phone in flightmode, watch is stand alone, call the WATCH'S number - Only watch rings.
2. Phone in flightmode, watch is stand alone, call the PHONES number - Only watch rings.
3. Phone in flightmode, watch BT connected, call the watch number - Get to voicemail. (Because of LTE getting turned off while on BT)
4. Phone in flightmode, watch BT connected, call the PHONES number - Get to voicemail. (Also because of LTE getting turned off while on BT)
5. Phone using cellular network, BT off, call the watch number - Handset rings, watch stays off
6. LTE on on both Watch and Handset, call either number and both Handset and Watch rings.
So i guess that if you have 2 different operators/plans the watch would behave just as any other phone.
Sent from my own Galaxy via Tapatalk
Iv just ordered the BT version of the G3. I’m sure Iv come across something for the US where the carrier gives you a companion number so it basically the identical number as your main number to use in the watch. Trying to find the article.
Anyone know if we have anything like that in the UK.
Any thoughts or experiences from folks on three network here in the UK?
I would love to have the identical number running on both the SIM card in the phone and on the watch and you can activate which ever one is the active line.
Funny enough about 15+ years ago Vodafone Uk did actually have this service!
I have that in UK. My network is Vodafone and they have a service called "OneNumber".
The GW3 shares the same mobile plan you have on the phone and since the mobile network on the GW3 is set to Auto, GW3 will only connect to the mobile network when there is no BT connection between phone and GW3. This means that if you do not have the phone with you, you will get the calls and texts on the GW3.
This works great! No more dependency on BT connection for your watch to get calls and texts!
Trainzer said:
I have that in UK. My network is Vodafone and they have a service called "OneNumber".
The GW3 shares the same mobile plan you have on the phone and since the mobile network on the GW3 is set to Auto, GW3 will only connect to the mobile network when there is no BT connection between phone and GW3. This means that if you do not have the phone with you, you will get the calls and texts on the GW3.
This works great! No more dependency on BT connection for your watch to get calls and texts!
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Click to collapse
Oh wow! That’s good to know Vodafone is still offering this.
Shame in stuck in my contract would 3 or I would have
Jumped ship.
Thanks for the heads up ?
Just got my Pixel 5 today and in reading up on it I discovered it has wi-fi calling capabilities. While this wasn't something I was actively looking for, it would be nice to have as the finished basement of our new house doesn't really get cellular signals, and even the rest of the house doesn't have the greatest cellular connection.
I do have wi-fi all throughout the house though, so if I could enable this feature it would be a bonus. I'm on Straight Talk, using the AT&T towers, and I'm just wondering if anyone has had any luck getting this feature activated with them. I've tried using their automated tool to see if the phone is capable, but it's telling me no. I don't see any options looking through the phone settings, and looking around on the ST site they don't mention the Pixel 5 in their FAQ section.
So is this phone feature only available on certain carriers? Do I need to get an updated SIM from Straight Talk (the one I'm using I've had for about 4-5 years or so)? Any help would be appreciated.
AT&T is very particular about what devices can use VoLTE and VoWIFI. i've found occasional workarounds, but for the most part you need an AT&T branded device for those features. AT&T has a running list of provisioned devices.
I'm afraid you are probably out of luck on this.
Too bad to hear this. Luckily, I've been surprised to find that I'm able to actually make and receive calls, at least in the main living area of the basement, so everything worked out okay in the end.
I can't promise you that it will work but from experience I'm pretty sure ..... If you can get customer support at ATT to provision your account for wifi calling AND put a dummy IMEI in your acct from a device that does wifi calling (one that is whitelisted by ATT) the wifi calling will work ..
I have done this many many times. The dummy IMEI had actually never been needed with pixel devices though, for me
jcrompton said:
I can't promise you that it will work but from experience I'm pretty sure ..... If you can get customer support at ATT to provision your account for wifi calling AND put a dummy IMEI in your acct from a device that does wifi calling (one that is whitelisted by ATT) the wifi calling will work ..
I have done this many many times. The dummy IMEI had actually never been needed with pixel devices though, for me
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Click to collapse
Would that even work in my case though, since I'm not an AT&T customer? I have Straight Talk, which is using the AT&T bands/towers, but I'm not technically with AT&T.
Geese1 said:
Would that even work in my case though, since I'm not an AT&T customer? I have Straight Talk, which is using the AT&T bands/towers, but I'm not technically with AT&T.
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Not sure if calling Straight talk sand using an IMEI from a phone that normally does wifi calling with ATT would work or not. Go to an att and copy the IMEI of a demo phone then call straight talk and switch to that phone
jcrompton said:
Not sure if calling Straight talk sand using an IMEI from a phone that normally does wifi calling with ATT would work or not. Go to an att and copy the IMEI of a demo phone then call straight talk and switch to that phone
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Click to collapse
I may have to try that if it really starts becoming a problem. Surprisingly, as I mentioned above, I can actually make and receive calls in the main part of the basement. Maybe because it is the house above us, and not mostly the garage/solid cement like in the other portion where I was having trouble before, I'm not sure. It's pretty much just storage rooms in that section of the basement anyway, although that is where the internet comes in and the modem is located (the house is fully wired for internet, so I have a switch that feeds out from the basement to go throughout the house). Only time it would really become a concern is if I have to be on the phone with our internet provider while simultaneously working on the router or modem. Barring that, the phone seems to work fine throughout the majority of the basement, which wasn't what I was expecting.