Database Develop

[Q] Worth buying Droid 4 as GSM phone?

I thinking about buying D4 as my prime phone. I already find out that It supports GSM and how to unlock this feature. But is it worth to buy this phone to work on GSM? I noticed that there are many issues with it:
- not working callout on 3G on Android 2.3
- Verizon lockscreen that wants to activate phone
- problems with APNs
etc.

zwierzak said:
I thinking about buying D4 as my prime phone. I already find out that It supports GSM and how to unlock this feature. But is it worth to buy this phone to work on GSM? I noticed that there are many issues with it:
- not working callout on 3G on Android 2.3
- Verizon lockscreen that wants to activate phone
- problems with APNs
etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! It's definately worth it!
The 3g callout problem is a temporarily thing, I'm sure of it. We're still playing with settings and drivers to fix that. In the mean time I use my phone on 2g for voice and 3g for iinternet. With one press of a button I can switch between 2g and 3g (There's an app for that )
The verizon lock screen pops up only once. Once you skip it, it doesn't return until you reset your phone to factory defaults.
Problems with apn's? Depends on your provider. I didn't have any problems at all.My apn settings were transferred automatically to my D4 when my provider detected that I was using a new phone. Even after installing different roms.
I'm using my D4 a couple of weeks and everything still works like a charm.

vmu said:
Yes! It's definately worth it!
The 3g callout problem is a temporarily thing, I'm sure of it. We're still playing with settings and drivers to fix that. In the mean time I use my phone on 2g for voice and 3g for iinternet. With one press of a button I can switch between 2g and 3g (There's an app for that )
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Click to collapse
Mainly I work on 2G because of battery saving (it last for much longer!). But bug with callout has been patch in leaked ICS and what I heard it don't have Verizon stuff installed. I can't wait that some CFW ICS would use its libraries and kernel.
Unfortunately for now I can't afford on buying it because last 10 days jump over 10% according to my currency so it, when previously it had very good price then now it isn't.

I love it. I'm in Canada on Bell Mobility and everything works perfectly on Gingerbread, including outgoing calls on 3G. I think the voice issue is only affecting those within the USA on other carriers such as AT&T.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium

Whats the difference in using 2G or 3G for voice calls?
Isn't it the same?
Also, I wanted to use this phone on AT&T in the US. I just have voice and texting. Will this phone work for me?

Rick#2 said:
I love it. I'm in Canada on Bell Mobility and everything works perfectly on Gingerbread, including outgoing calls on 3G. I think the voice issue is only affecting those within the USA on other carriers such as AT&T.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Hi there,
did you have the chance of direct comparison to the Droid 3's signal quality, 3g speeds and call quality? I may consider importing it, but still not sure.
THANKS

It seems to work just as well as my Droid 3 did. The only issue I have is that the Droid 4 seems to underreport the signal it is receiving in the status indicator, the highest signal I've been able to see is 3/5 bars but it still seems to perform as if it were at 5/5.
I'm sure it is just tampering by Verizon and doesn't hinder the device's operation at all. I haven't tried any of the AOKP ROMs yet but will report back once I get a chance to install one.

Thanks for the reply!
Thats interesting, it's like the Droid 3 cheating on us that the GSM Signal would be very poor. Would you please have a look in the build.prop if there is a value ro.mot.phonemode.vzwglobalphone and set it to 0? Then prove if the signal gets better?
News about Droid 4 GSM unlocking this summer:
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/2...er/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Interestingly enough, in the ICS build just leaked that has global support enabled by default, that value is set to 0 in the build.prop.
I am in the US and a VZW user, so I can't test the GSM radio performance on the D4 because they have disabled it for US carriers via another band lock or other mechanism.
I have been dumping and comparing the NVM of the various builds to try and isolate any critical differences to find the key. It may not, in fact, be in the NVM at all, but elsewhere in the radio image.
Just an FYI.

gtmaster303 said:
Whats the difference in using 2G or 3G for voice calls?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is difference in voice codec (on 3G you should get better quality, but it also depends on the second side). Also at 3G you can use front cam for video conferences.

Rotkaeqpchen said:
Thanks for the reply!
Thats interesting, it's like the Droid 3 cheating on us that the GSM Signal would be very poor. Would you please have a look in the build.prop if there is a value ro.mot.phonemode.vzwglobalphone and set it to 0? Then prove if the signal gets better?
News about Droid 4 GSM unlocking this summer:
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/05/2...er/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the first thing I did once I could was look at the build.prop settings but I noticed that ro.mot.phonemode.vzwglobalphone is already set to 0, with a note in the comments above it that "the definition moved to cdma_maserati.mk to support different config for factory", which suggests that maybe their tampering is a little more hard-coded into the Blur interface.

WiFi Calling - Tmobile

I was wondering how wifi calling is going to work with the Nexus 6. Tmobile said that wifi calling is coming to the Nexus 6 early 2015 via an OTA update. Will the Nexus 6 from the play store also be able to receive this update and be able to use wifi calling?

raazman said:
I was wondering how wifi calling is going to work with the Nexus 6. Tmobile said that wifi calling is coming to the Nexus 6 early 2015 via an OTA update. Will the Nexus 6 from the play store also be able to receive this update and be able to use wifi calling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since all the US carriers will have the same SKU, it's literally the exact same phone for all carriers. So there's no way they can tell where you purchased it, all the OTAs will be handled by Google.
What's likely happening is that Google is still finishing up the code for a generic wifi calling API (a lot of code is likely shared with VoLTE if I had to take a guess). When it detects a T-mobile SIM it will setup T-mobile's variant of wifi calling. Same for Sprint and any other carrier that rolls out wifi calling. So even if you aren't using T-mobile you'll get support for their wifi calling when that OTA is released. It just won't be activated unless you have a T-mobile SIM inserted.
It's going to be a similar case to support VoLTE on different carriers, since as of right now each implementation is incompatible with the others. It would be smart for Google to make a generic API for this so it's quicker/easier to add support for new carriers.

Ingenium13 said:
Since all the US carriers will have the same SKU, it's literally the exact same phone for all carriers. So there's no way they can tell where you purchased it, all the OTAs will be handled by Google.
What's likely happening is that Google is still finishing up the code for a generic wifi calling API (a lot of code is likely shared with VoLTE if I had to take a guess). When it detects a T-mobile SIM it will setup T-mobile's variant of wifi calling. Same for Sprint and any other carrier that rolls out wifi calling. So even if you aren't using T-mobile you'll get support for their wifi calling when that OTA is released. It just won't be activated unless you have a T-mobile SIM inserted.
It's going to be a similar case to support VoLTE on different carriers, since as of right now each implementation is incompatible with the others. It would be smart for Google to make a generic API for this so it's quicker/easier to add support for new carriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, that sounds pretty simple. Thanks!

On a separate note, I wonder if once it is enabled, if someone would be able to modify the N6 so it can bypass the WiFi calls going against your minutes, like how you can get around WiFi Hotspot checker on the N5 by editing the Database file. It probably isn't even possible on WiFi calls, but we do have some pretty smart people around these forums, so I'll stay hopeful for a bit. I have the $30 "unlimited data" plan with 100 minutes. Would be nice if I could bypass that 100 minutes by using WiFi calling somehow.

charesa39 said:
On a separate note, I wonder if once it is enabled, if someone would be able to modify the N6 so it can bypass the WiFi calls going against your minutes, like how you can get around WiFi Hotspot checker on the N5. It probably isn't even possible on WiFi calls, but we do have some pretty smart people around these forums, so I'll stay hopeful for a bit. I have the $30 "unlimited data" plan with 100 minutes. Would be nice if I could bypass that 100 minutes by using WiFi calling somehow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on sprint and will get my N6 when it come out. I'm hoping they do the same for sprint as well for WiFi calling support. I know that on sprint they don't count against ur minutes or text... And sprint has unlimited LTE ...
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

charesa39 said:
On a separate note, I wonder if once it is enabled, if someone would be able to modify the N6 so it can bypass the WiFi calls going against your minutes, like how you can get around WiFi Hotspot checker on the N5 by editing the Database file. It probably isn't even possible on WiFi calls, but we do have some pretty smart people around these forums, so I'll stay hopeful for a bit. I have the $30 "unlimited data" plan with 100 minutes. Would be nice if I could bypass that 100 minutes by using WiFi calling somehow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you use hangouts to call?

raazman said:
Why don't you use hangouts to call?
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Click to collapse
I currently do on my N5. However, the quality is usually dependent on who I'm calling and where they are. It's rarely a problem on my end since I have really fast data connections at home and virtually anywhere I go. For example, my parents' WiFi router is in a bedroom at the opposite end of the house from where the living room is. So when I call them, even though I have a strong WiFi signal, their's isn't very good, so the call quality diminishes a bit. It would be great if I could use my WiFi signal and call their actual cell phone number (or house phone) so their is no drop in quality, without eating into my minutes.

Sprint has WiFi calling on some models already also so it's probably close to the same for all

charesa39 said:
I currently do on my N5. However, the quality is usually dependent on who I'm calling and where they are. It's rarely a problem on my end since I have really fast data connections at home and virtually anywhere I go. For example, my parents' WiFi router is in a bedroom at the opposite end of the house from where the living room is. So when I call them, even though I have a strong WiFi signal, their's isn't very good, so the call quality diminishes a bit. It would be great if I could use my WiFi signal and call their actual cell phone number (or house phone) so their is no drop in quality, without eating into my minutes.
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Click to collapse
Use hangouts to place a call over Wi-Fi to their cell phones?

joshua.justice said:
Use hangouts to place a call over Wi-Fi to their cell phones?
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Click to collapse
Don't you have to have a Google Voice number for that, which you have to pay for? The whole thing would be not having to pay anything more than what I'm paying now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hurting for minutes, but it would be nice to have free WiFi calling/minutes available if necessary.

charesa39 said:
Don't you have to have a Google Voice number for that, which you have to pay for? The whole thing would be not having to pay anything more than what I'm paying now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hurting for minutes, but it would be nice to have free WiFi calling/minutes available if necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's free in the USA to call to landline.
Edit: https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3187125?hl=en

raazman said:
It's free in the USA to call to landline.
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Click to collapse
WHAT?!?!?! I feel like my whole life has been a lie!!! Haha! But in all seriousness, I thought that was only for people with Google Voice numbers. But after doing a quick Google search, it looks like you only need a GV number to RECEIVE said calls. Wow. I feel so dumb right about now. Thanks for enlightening me, guys!

Data during Calls

Has anyone else noticed this feature is missing? If I'm on 4G and make a phone call it switches to a 1x network and I can't access my e-mail or data without wifi. My note 3 had the feature so I know it's not verizon's network. Is there a hidden option somewhere? I couldn't find anything when I looked.
Thanks

You need to enable HD Calling. Go into your settings - Advanced Calling - Activate Advanced Calling. This will disable Caller ID trial that the phone comes with and enables HD Voice and Video Call, which will also enable data while incall.

Just to add, call Verizon and they can add it for you... I couldn't activate it on my phone because I'm on a business account.

Thanks a lot. Was able to enable it online and it works now.

To add, the note 3 (if it's like the note 4) had dual antennas, so you could make a call and use data on the LTE network at the same time. This feature is missing from the s6, and is a lack of hardware, not something that can be turned on. Advanced calling using VOLTE can sort of accomplish the same result, but it's not the process to accomplish it. The only reason I'm going to the trouble of making the distinction is to point out that there is a hardware limitation that Samsung made after the note 4. If you're satisfied with the result, then that's great. If you're on prepaid, then advanced calling isn't available to you at his time and you cannot do calling and data at the same time. You could on the note 4, however. The note 4 was capable of utilizing the advanced calling feature, but also featured the dual antennas. Hope that's a fairly clear addition to everyone's input. Let me know if it's not clear. Currently have the s6 edge and note 4 on Verizon.

I wanted to add that Recent VZW smartphone releases all exclude the H/W to perform SVLTE which is to make calls (Over the 2G/3G net) and surf on LTE at the same time. This includes the Droid Turbo, Nexus 6, s6/Edge and probably all future phones.
my 2 cents

So every Verizon Galaxy S6 is going to jump to 1X when making a call?

felloffthetruck said:
So every Verizon Galaxy S6 is going to jump to 1X when making a call?
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Click to collapse
No. There is data during calls. You just have to make sure you have the feature enabled. It's free and takes 2 minutes to add.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app

eorsini said:
No. There is data during calls. You just have to make sure you have the feature enabled. It's free and takes 2 minutes to add.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but I loose my Name/Number/Caller ID to do so. I need my Caller ID.

Then you already know the options, and have chosen the one best for you. That's all you can do for now.

Why did I pay $800.00 for a state-of-the-art Samsung Note 5 (and a fortune for Verizon every month) when it can't even do the simplest of things like "caller id" and "turn on data"?
Huh?
My $50 used, 4 year old phone can do it without a single problem.

SmartCarol said:
Why did I pay $800.00 for a state-of-the-art Samsung Note 5 (and a fortune for Verizon every month) when it can't even do the simplest of things like "caller id" and "turn on data"?
Huh?
My $50 used, 4 year old phone can do it without a single problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you asking us why you made that choice? lol its clearly attainable information that it doesnt have simultaneous voice/data out of the box..

I have s6 Verizon phone on straight talk service I have no data while i'm on a call I tried to activate HDvoice and video is in the grey want let me do it

WiFi Calling on Mint

Has anyone succesfully gotten their Pixel 5 to work with WiFi Calling on mint? It seems like I can but after a while it won't work. If I make an outgoing call on wifi calling, it will attempt for about a second and then hang up. Even after turning wifi calling off I have to reboot before it'll use the cellular network for the call instead. If I turn it on again, it seems to work for a little while, but only a little while. It's really frustrating.

Gibsonflyingv said:
Has anyone succesfully gotten their Pixel 5 to work with WiFi Calling on mint? It seems like I can but after a while it won't work. If I make an outgoing call on wifi calling, it will attempt for about a second and then hang up. Even after turning wifi calling off I have to reboot before it'll use the cellular network for the call instead. If I turn it on again, it seems to work for a little while, but only a little while. It's really frustrating.
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Click to collapse
Let Ryan Reynolds know! Just kidding, sorry to hear that. I have ATT so I can't weigh in.

Gibsonflyingv said:
Has anyone succesfully gotten their Pixel 5 to work with WiFi Calling on mint? It seems like I can but after a while it won't work. If I make an outgoing call on wifi calling, it will attempt for about a second and then hang up. Even after turning wifi calling off I have to reboot before it'll use the cellular network for the call instead. If I turn it on again, it seems to work for a little while, but only a little while. It's really frustrating.
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Have you gone to their website and entered your 911 address?

Tel864 said:
Have you gone to their website and entered your 911 address?
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Click to collapse
Yep, I even contacted support and bugged them about it. The support person just disabled/enabled it for me. It worked for a bit but only for a bit.

Similiar Problem.
Gibsonflyingv said:
Has anyone succesfully gotten their Pixel 5 to work with WiFi Calling on mint? It seems like I can but after a while it won't work. If I make an outgoing call on wifi calling, it will attempt for about a second and then hang up. Even after turning wifi calling off I have to reboot before it'll use the cellular network for the call instead. If I turn it on again, it seems to work for a little while, but only a little while. It's really frustrating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read about a problem like this on facebook that a guy was having, he'd have to reboot to get calling to work and he'd miss some incoming calls.
I bought my wife a Pixel 5, it's too small for me and I even tried turning off WiFi Calling completely but occasionally it won't call out until she reboots it.
I have to think that this must be a software issue. I'm going to try disabling WiFI calling in Mint's settings too.
I did notice that if you put a Pixel 5 imei number in the phone compatibility checker, it says it doesn't support all features.
I found a page on the Pixel 4a 5G which said that they aren't selling the Pixel 5 but are working with google to fully support it.
Can any other T-mobile users weigh in? Is this a problem your experiencing or is it strictly a Mint Mobile issue?
Thanks

movielover76 said:
I read about a problem like this on facebook that a guy was having, he'd have to reboot to get calling to work and he'd miss some incoming calls.
I bought my wife a Pixel 5, it's too small for me and I even tried turning off WiFi Calling completely but occasionally it won't call out until she reboots it.
I have to think that this must be a software issue. I'm going to try disabling WiFI calling in Mint's settings too.
I did notice that if you put a Pixel 5 imei number in the phone compatibility checker, it says it doesn't support all features.
I found a page on the Pixel 4a 5G which said that they aren't selling the Pixel 5 but are working with google to fully support it.
Can any other T-mobile users weigh in? Is this a problem your experiencing or is it strictly a Mint Mobile issue?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The turning off and back on occasionally is a little odd because of a problem I had on my previous phone, a Galaxy S10. At the time I was also on a AT&T/T-Mobile MVNO (Consumer Cellular) and I had to turn it off occasionally before it would call out and wifi calling would come and go. The only thing was, it was on Android 10, but it had the exact same problem and by coincidence both our phones were on MVNO's with the same parent networks. After I got the Pixel, I couldn't get wifi calling no matter what Consumer Cellular did, but this past weekend I switched to Verizon and everything is OK now.

movielover76 said:
I did notice that if you put a Pixel 5 imei number in the phone compatibility checker, it says it doesn't support all features.
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Click to collapse
Hmm, that's disappointing. It's really the only complaint I have though. I'll take $15/month over $50+ anyday if all I lose is wifi calling.

I'll be switching over to Mint shortly, hopefully it works well otherwise!! (I've been using Straight Talk for years)

Unable to get wi-fi calling activated on Straight Talk network

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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.