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I was wondering why someone would want to be connected to 3G all the time for talking. I could only guess that it is somewhat better quality. In my case I don't see it that much. I do however know that it waistes about double the battery using 3G all the time. If I am not using data is there any real advantages of it? and what if I am talking to someone who does not have a 3G phone.
Thank you,
Hmm, of course I could be wrong (but I doubt it), Data and voice are 2 different things. 3G is data, voice is voice.
Thats what I was thinking, but I dont understand why it would be connected via 3G all the time if im not even using the data. and 3G and EDGE connections seems to have different signal strengths. If it's only for data I guess I will leave 3G off all the time.
3G signal is emitted on a different frequency than GSM/Edge signal - it does drain the battery faster and is pretty useless if you are in a well covered GSM area and only using voice (phone) function. The quality gain isn't significant enough overall to make it worth battery drainage on a device like the Kaiser/Tilt.
The advantage of 3G is its data stream but it's also good with voice for hard to reach areas only reached by 3G signals - those are rare nowadays, especially in the US, but in some cities with landscape blocked coverage (like in some skyscrapers in Manhattan for example) you might not pick any GSM network at your work desk but might pick up 3G - in such places, using "bandswitch" regularly makes sense.
Lastly, 3G signal is slowly replacing GSM/CDMA (2G) as the broadcasting standard so I wouldn't be surprised that in the next 5 years, more and more GSM phone operators will stop mantaining there GSM frequency towers in favor of 3G.
Thanks jonas that's the answer I was looking for. I will use edge untill my signal gets low.
Jonasteddybear said:
Lastly, 3G signal is slowly replacing GSM/CDMA (2G) as the broadcasting standard so I wouldn't be surprised that in the next 5 years, more and more GSM phone operators will stop mantaining there GSM frequency towers in favor of 3G.
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Interesting, since that means AT&T has a lot of work ahead of them and better get their butts in gear rolling out 3G. I live in the whatever-it-is, 90%, of the network area that does NOT have 3G.
Or I suppose I could be an optimist about what you say, and think that maybe it means AT&T really will be accelerating the rollout of 3G. That would be nice given the snail's pace of 3G expansion in the past couple of years.
Over in the UK 3G is the standard 2G is still available but the telecommunications offcom have required all UK operators to offer a minimum of 90% 3G coverage by 2010
I've always heard that Voice on 3G uses less power on standby and when talking, but I might be remembering it wrong.
Data on 3G uses significantly more juice than EDGE does (over double in my experience!) but I don't think you'll see a significant difference without data usage on 3G vs GSM but I could certainly be wrong.
I always have FlexMail and IM+ running, I haven't compared battery usage without them yet.
One big advantage that 3G has over EDGE is you can do voice and data at the same time. I've heard varying stories about some phones can do it on EDGE and some can't, but I know on my Tilt my connections die when I'm on a voice call and reconnect after but does not on 3G.
The biggest advantage of 3g besides the penetration is that you can talk and maintain a data connection. Edge gives you one or the other at a time--data or talk.
It seems I have very good 4g signal at my work but when I am at home, it gets stuck on either 1x or 3g, according to sprint, there is 4g coverage on my house.Does anyone have problems with 4g not working properly? Its getting me annoyed since I use hotspot at my house. Any suggestions would be helpful.
I've noticed it'll show 3 bars of 4g at home, but if I actually start browsing it drops to 3g. My friend had done nothing but complain about sprints network so I am just assuming it's their problem.
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I'm having the same problem! My friends iPhone gets better reception, and we both have Sprint. He gets LTE at my house in my office, but I get 3G or 1X. It's very frustrating. I may return the phone, or leave Sprint altogether, as I didn't have these problems with my Verizon Note 2.
vampire5003 said:
I'm having the same problem! My friends iPhone gets better reception, and we both have Sprint. He gets LTE at my house in my office, but I get 3G or 1X. It's very frustrating. I may return the phone, or leave Sprint altogether, as I didn't have these problems with my Verizon Note 2.
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I have used sprint chat with an agent and followed every troubleshooting method and still 3g. I will check the store to see if I can exchange it for another phone or see whqt happens
Could just be a week signal. Note that the signal bars on your phone are NOT for 4G. Check out this helpful write up over at S4GRU could help you determine what is up once you check LTE signal levels.
For the current PF subscribers, why did you choose to switch to Project Fi when MetroPCS (another T-Mobile subsidiary) offers the $60 truly unlimited plan?
I'm definitely not trying to step on any toes here, I'm just curious since I bought a Nexus 6 during the Black Friday sale and I'm wondering if I should make the switch. But, TBH, Looking at what I've seen so far, MetroPCS seems to have the better plan as of right now.
I'm really looking forward to hearing your inputs on this subject, I just might be a new subscriber if there's a benefit from switching.
Thanks in advance ?
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1) If you need to use lots of cellular data, then Project Fi is not for you. Its pay-as-you-go data-pricing model is optimized for users who can stay on WiFi most of the time. For them, Fi is very cost effective.
2) A big appeal of Fi is that it offers two networks (T-Mobile and Sprint) with dynamic switching between them, and between cell data and WiFi. This switching is not perfect, but the basic architecture is there.
I use Fi because I live in a rural area that has poor reception from all carriers. I wanted an option to have Wifi calling. If I'm at home I am making calls/text through wifi most of the time. My WiFi is always great at home, and is in most stores and shops I go to (although cell service is fine in town). I know t-mobile offers this, but I like that I can switch between sprint and t-mobile with Fi. This is great because both sprint and t mobile have contracts with other carriers in the area. So If I'm on t-mobile and have a weak connection, it will sometimes roam to AT&T. Other times nothing is available on GSM and it will roam to Bluegrass Cellular through Sprint. I have better overall coverage with both carriers vs just being on att.
The phone does a pretty good job on switching. Sometimes it will get stuck on sprint when I know there is a better t-mobile signal in that spot, but I can use a dialer code to force it to switch (Fi spy makes this easy, although the codes are pretty easy to memorize).
I mostly work from home so cellular data isn't a big issue. On the days I'm in the office, I only use cell data on the way to the office to stream music. There is Wifi at work for data. I seem to find WiFi in most areas I go to. I have averaged 1gb of data per month, making this an affordable service. I do use the data saver in chrome, but don't take any other precautions on saving data. If I want to use the internet, I do, whether i'm on wifi or cellular.
The customer service is great with Fi, and the billing is nice and easy. I can now send/receive all calls and texts at home. On my previous carrier, I would just get voice messages randomly without the phone ringing and usually couldn't send text.
alex.o said:
I use Fi because I live in a rural area that has poor reception from all carriers. I wanted an option to have Wifi calling. If I'm at home I am making calls/text through wifi most of the time. My WiFi is always great at home, and is in most stores and shops I go to (although cell service is fine in town). I know t-mobile offers this, but I like that I can switch between sprint and t-mobile with Fi. This is great because both sprint and t mobile have contracts with other carriers in the area. So If I'm on t-mobile and have a weak connection, it will sometimes roam to AT&T. Other times nothing is available on GSM and it will roam to Bluegrass Cellular through Sprint. I have better overall coverage with both carriers vs just being on att.
The phone does a pretty good job on switching. Sometimes it will get stuck on sprint when I know there is a better t-mobile signal in that spot, but I can use a dialer code to force it to switch (Fi spy makes this easy, although the codes are pretty easy to memorize).
I mostly work from home so cellular data isn't a big issue. On the days I'm in the office, I only use cell data on the way to the office to stream music. There is Wifi at work for data. I seem to find WiFi in most areas I go to. I have averaged 1gb of data per month, making this an affordable service. I do use the data saver in chrome, but don't take any other precautions on saving data. If I want to use the internet, I do, whether i'm on wifi or cellular.
The customer service is great with Fi, and the billing is nice and easy. I can now send/receive all calls and texts at home. On my previous carrier, I would just get voice messages randomly without the phone ringing and usually couldn't send text.
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+1 that's why I switched since I live in the rural mountains near Yosemite. In town I have perfect T-Mobile service, plus Comcast is every where so my phone automatically connects to their hotspots all around. No one has cell service at my house, so WiFi calling is perfect. When I leave my town, sprint is in some areas, and even more rural locations I roam off Verizon. If the op is a heavy data user then I'd go with metro. I personally need the flexibility of the fi network of networks.
I thought about going FI. But with verizon unlimited and their cell tower 500 yards away I don't think I would have a benefit. But is still so tempting.
I actually have an unlocked S8 on Verizon, but I think the question is generally applicable to all of the firmware versions.
I recently switched from AT&T to Verizon. While the switch has been great in general, it has lead to low signal in our basement where my office is located. While calls/texts seem to work in the basement, I'm noticing reduced battery life due to the reduced signal.
I picked up a (3G) Network Extender to try to improve the situation, but it seems to behave differently than I would have expected. I wasn't thrilled to have to disable VOLTE in order to use the extender at all (since it isn't the LTE version), but the bigger issue is that it *seems* like the device is still using the cell towers except when there is an actual incoming or outgoing call. Is that correct? What does that mean from a battery usage perspective?
In the end, I'm trying to figure out whether there is any real value in using the extender if it doesn't improve battery life? Can anyone comment?
Thanks,
Craig
csetera said:
I actually have an unlocked S8 on Verizon, but I think the question is generally applicable to all of the firmware versions.
I recently switched from AT&T to Verizon. While the switch has been great in general, it has lead to low signal in our basement where my office is located. While calls/texts seem to work in the basement, I'm noticing reduced battery life due to the reduced signal.
I picked up a (3G) Network Extender to try to improve the situation, but it seems to behave differently than I would have expected. I wasn't thrilled to have to disable VOLTE in order to use the extender at all (since it isn't the LTE version), but the bigger issue is that it *seems* like the device is still using the cell towers except when there is an actual incoming or outgoing call. Is that correct? What does that mean from a battery usage perspective?
In the end, I'm trying to figure out whether there is any real value in using the extender if it doesn't improve battery life? Can anyone comment?
Thanks,
Craig
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The 3G extender only routes when there is data going to or from your phone (phone calls). You should see a little icon indicating that you are connecting to the extender. I had 2 of the 3G extenders, neither did anything to help my cellphone battery. I also had continuing issues with losing the GPS sync signal almost daily, even with the external antenna connected and outside away from the house. Verizon has also said that they are "retiring " 3G at the end of 2019 in my area. I bought their new 4G extender, and it works like a miniature cell tower - phone is always connected to it when in range, and it does seem to help with the battery life. Data / messaging / VOLTE works *much* better. Best of all, GPS lock has been solid with no drops at all. If you bought the 3G extender from a Verizon store, take it back and get the 4G instead - works sooo much better!
rhricik447 said:
The 3G extender only routes when there is data going to or from your phone (phone calls). You should see a little icon indicating that you are connecting to the extender. I had 2 of the 3G extenders, neither did anything to help my cellphone battery. I also had continuing issues with losing the GPS sync signal almost daily, even with the external antenna connected and outside away from the house. Verizon has also said that they are "retiring " 3G at the end of 2019 in my area. I bought their new 4G extender, and it works like a miniature cell tower - phone is always connected to it when in range, and it does seem to help with the battery life. Data / messaging / VOLTE works *much* better. Best of all, GPS lock has been solid with no drops at all. If you bought the 3G extender from a Verizon store, take it back and get the 4G instead - works sooo much better!
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This is good to know. I actually bought this off of EBay for cheap, so I can't easily swap it out. At that point, I didn't understand the behavior of the device and phone.
One of the great things about this device on Verizon's network is instant LTE service. In my house I have dead areas which cause my signal to drop. When trying to get LTE back it can sometimes take 30 seconds or more because once I get to an area with service it will first go to 3G and then sometimes get stuck on it and I'll have to toggle airplane mode to get LTE back in a timely manner. With the OnePlus6T as soon as I have service it goes instantly to LTE! This is the first time I've ever had a device connect to LTE so fast. All my previous devices over the past 5 years since I've had LTE in my area have annoyed me because they always go to 3G first even though I have strong LTE service where I live.
I've always wondered why companies can't make their phones instantly connect to LTE when it's there and why they always favor 3G -- but this is no longer an issue since the OP6T doesn't have 3G on Verizon
imucarmen said:
One of the great things about this device on Verizon's network is instant LTE service. In my house I have dead areas which cause my signal to drop. When trying to get LTE back it can sometimes take 30 seconds or more because once I get to an area with service it will first go to 3G and then sometimes get stuck on it and I'll have to toggle airplane mode to get LTE back in a timely manner. With the OnePlus6T as soon as I have service it goes instantly to LTE! This is the first time I've ever had a device connect to LTE so fast. All my previous devices over the past 5 years since I've had LTE in my area have annoyed me because they always go to 3G first even though I have strong LTE service where I live.
I've always wondered why companies can't make their phones instantly connect to LTE when it's there and why they always favor 3G -- but this is no longer an issue since the OP6T doesn't have 3G on Verizon
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What now happens in the areas where you only had 3G on your old phone? On your new Oneplus 6T do you just have no signal at all since it is only a LTE phone?
mjnoles1 said:
What now happens in the areas where you only had 3G on your old phone? On your new Oneplus 6T do you just have no signal at all since it is only a LTE phone?
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Well, I'm assuming that in none LTE areas I'll have no signal at all. But, Verizon's whole network has been converted to LTE as far as I know. I never go anyone where I don't have LTE (and I live in the sticks). But in the off chance that happens I have 2 lines and my Pixel 2XL is still in service.
mjnoles1 said:
What now happens in the areas where you only had 3G on your old phone? On your new Oneplus 6T do you just have no signal at all since it is only a LTE phone?
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I too am on Verizon, and in my office at work, one of the places I had zero service on Axon 7, I still get calls and text and one spotty bar of LTE. At my house, in the basement bedroom where I have missed countless calls and txts, I have 3 bars of signal and no issues with calls, txts, or LTE.
I drive all around my county for work, and so far, I havent hit a no service area. on the Axon 7, they were evident. It could just be better coverage due to glass back vs metal (the real reason OEMs have switched to glass back imho) or the better modem of the SD 845, but hands down, the cdma-less VZW is far superior for me IRL usage so far.
This is obviously subjective, but despite living in a rural area, I have no need for cdma so far. Vzw is the only carrier with good coverage where i live (upstate SC) and somehow, cdma-less is better.
kitcostantino said:
I too am on Verizon, and in my office at work, one of the places I had zero service on Axon 7, I still get calls and text and one spotty bar of LTE. At my house, in the basement bedroom where I have missed countless calls and txts, I have 3 bars of signal and no issues with calls, txts, or LTE.
I drive all around my county for work, and so far, I havent hit a no service area. on the Axon 7, they were evident. It could just be better coverage due to glass back vs metal (the real reason OEMs have switched to glass back imho) or the better modem of the SD 845, but hands down, the cdma-less VZW is far superior for me IRL usage so far.
This is obviously subjective, but despite living in a rural area, I have no need for cdma so far. Vzw is the only carrier with good coverage where i live (upstate SC) and somehow, cdma-less is better.
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what network type are you using in the phone information settings??
mpetruzz said:
what network type are you using in the phone information settings??
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LTE only in *#*#4636#*#*
2g/3g/4g in Preferred Network Type
Yeah I was in a spot Friday that goes to 3g or no signal often. I still had some sort of signal. It had an R and an H on the signal bar I believe. It worked fine and was still pretty fast online. Signal is way better than any of the Pixels was.
When I select LTE only I get two signal icons in the status bar.
Just curious will wifi calling / VOLTE work on Verizon?
rekd0514 said:
Just curious will wifi calling / VOLTE work on Verizon?
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Volte has worked for me since the moment the tech I chatted with switched my sim to CDMA-less. Case and point, I am in the section of my house with the worst reception, a spot where the Axon 7 I came from got zero service on tmob and Verizon. Yet, much to my heart's content, I have service and VOLTE in the downstairs Faraday cage that is my house.
To the second part, no, Verizon doesn't support wifi calling on this device yet. Hopefully, they will work that out soon, but so far, I am having the best network experience I have had yet with Verizon.
mpetruzz said:
When I select LTE only I get two signal icons in the status bar.
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Wow, just reset mine and noticed. I guess I had defaulted back to LTE/CDMA/UMTS, which apparently works fine. When I switched to LTE only, you are correct, double LTE icons in the status bar. I don't remember it doing that on 9.0.4. That being said, the other, default setting works perfectly fine for me.
Did y'all not have any problems sending/receiving MMS (not SMS) when your phone was in LTE only mode? I had to manually switch back to the default preferred network type from the dialer menu in order to fix that issue.
I had no problems at all I did the following.
1.Ordered new SIM card
2.Turned off old phone and took out SIM from old phone
3.Went on my Verizon account put in info on BYOD
4. Insert New SIM in 6T
Finish Setting up in your Verizon account then turn on the 6T
Done all working
I was worried because my old phone was 3G but the LTE is everywhere I always have signal.