Is there any way to improve call reception other than changing modem? - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi, I have a UK based i9100 that I am using on the Telstra network (Australia).
I am losing signal in my kitchen and other parts of my house.
The strange thing is, that I can hear the other party loud and clear, but to them I keep breaking up and they eventually can't hear me.
On 2g it is the same but the call quality is bad-crackling a bit and a pulsing sound of the radio trying to hold a signal. It takes a bit longer to break up and drop my call, but it still happens.
I have tried every modem and there is little difference, as well as flashing the stock Telstra i9100-T firmware.
So, I am asking if there is anything else to try-can different kernels make a difference? Could the CSC make a difference? Is there a possibility of modifying something to put more power into the modem? Anything else?
I have not had this issue with a htc desire and a motorola defy.
I have had it with previous phones in other networks.
It seems my only option is to trade it for an iphone 4 (I have seen working perfectly) or something else....which is a shame, as this phone is otherwise close to perfect.
Any ideas will be appreciated.
Edited- Swypo typos...

Related

[Q] Problem with cell network

I am admittedly a noob when it comes to Android phones. I have had my i777 for a few months now and have successfully bricked it more than once. Having said that, I have found that the answers to my questions have always been on the board somewhere. I am having troubles figuring out where to go with this portion of the issue though. Having tried several different ROMs for my phone, I keep having the same issue. With any ROM, other than stock, I miss phone calls or text messages when my phone is locked and on Wi-Fi at home. If I'm out and about with my phone in my pocket and locked, it works normally. But, if I'm at home working at my desk and the phone is locked, I will not get text messages or phone calls. Notifications from apps like CNN continue, but nothing from the mobile network. I have followed the guide to return to stock and built my own jig that worked to reset my flash counter as I flashed before I read when I got the phone. (Former iPhone user that just assumed it was as easy as a jailbreak, really really dumb on my part)
I am a tech geek. I follow instructions well. I am sure the problem is with my phone and not the ROMs. My question for the forum, is where to begin troubleshooting the issue. I want to be able to use these ROMs.
Some info that may be helpful:
Baseband: I777UCKH7
Kernel: 2.6.35.7
I have tried the following in no particular order:
UCKK6-SHOstockV1.9.2noWipe
Serendipity_8.2
update-unnamed-v2.2.1-full
ICScrewD_2.1
TurkbeyRom-v33
Each has individual issues that I can deal with and learn to fix, but the phone issue I, obviously, cannot get past.
Have you set the phone to keep the wifi active when sleeping or locked?
Miami_Son said:
Have you set the phone to keep the wifi active when sleeping or locked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I have not. Does the wifi connection prevent the cell network from connecting?
cell network shouldn't disconnect at all if it is, swap it out could be bad phone. Also what is your signal level at your desk at home? Low signal normally causes missing of messages.
Puff3r said:
No I have not. Does the wifi connection prevent the cell network from connecting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it doesn't.
Do you use any 3rd party apps like tasker?
When did this issue start? Perhaps there is an issue with the tower that serves your home. How strong is your cellular signal at home? I believe text messages (except MMS) are sent over the cellular network. Your being on wifi shouldn't matter (does being at home with wifi off and the phone locked still cause issues?).
I can't imagine other ROMs causing issues, though. If anything, they would mess up your data network only if they had the wrong APN settings for your area (for example, for a while, people using Unnamed didn't have data issues, except for a few like me who lived in certain areas with Cingular towers). Or maybe the stock modem files are better for you than the ones provided by the ROMs?
Maybe you have an old sim card that somehow has issues? You should be able to get a free one from at&t. Do you have another phone that you can test it with?
nh5 said:
cell network shouldn't disconnect at all if it is, swap it out could be bad phone. Also what is your signal level at your desk at home? Low signal normally causes missing of messages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep a minimum of 3 bars and live near the center of a large city. As stated in the op, this is only happening on added ROMs never on stock. I have again reverted to stock (+root), since the op, and confirm that I am getting messages and calls at my desk at home with the phone locked.
****************************Edit for SoCaliTrojan post********************************************
I do not have any additional task managers installed, I've just always used the one built in. As for the SIM card, I am using the one that I got with the i777 at upgrade and get the 4G network when not on wifi, so I think I can rule it out. My wife has a Note that I have been drooling over, guess I will have to "borrow" it for "testing" when she gets home from work.
Also, I notice I am on baseband KH7 with Android version 2.3.4. I see mention of KK6 and 2.3.6 on the forums. I have avoided flashing the baseband, when possible, to keep from possibly bricking the unit. Is it possible that upgrading these could resolve the issue?
That is a very weird problem. Only thing I can suggest is compare the APN settings in root with a custom rom's settings. They should be identical, but check anyway.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
Puff3r said:
As for the SIM card, I am using the one that I got with the i777 at upgrade and get the 4G network when not on wifi, so I think I can rule it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I have to ask since seeing the above, do you have a plain SGSII or a SkyRocket?
Miami_Son said:
OK, I have to ask since seeing the above, do you have a plain SGSII or a SkyRocket?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is branded GalaxySII on the back with model number sgh-i777.
Puff3r said:
It is branded GalaxySII on the back with model number sgh-i777.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then it isn't connecting to 4G networks.
It's labeled as "4g" but really just multiple 3g connections to give you a faster overall speed. But you might want to just try getting a new sim card at your AT&T store, if that doesn't work, try a different modem (like KK6) the whole list/downloads are in the development section.
penguinlogik said:
It's labeled as "4g" but really just multiple 3g connections to give you a faster overall speed. But you might want to just try getting a new sim card at your AT&T store, if that doesn't work, try a different modem (like KK6) the whole list/downloads are in the development section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made AT&T upgrade me to a n LTE sim card. Our phone disent have LTE but the newer sim cards supposedly will make your speeds faster when LTE does come to your area due to it pushing HSPA+ faster than enhanced backhaul.
You said you live in the center of a big city maybe being surrounded by a lot of tall buildings could be causing havoc on your cell reception.I know at my work I can send and receive messages and calls everywhere except our breakroom but everyone else's phone works fine in the breakroom.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
If I was wanting to pit a new modem on my sgs2 att phone what do I need to do?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA

[Q] call quality after rooting

Hi!
I just rooted my SGS3 today and I noticed that some friends of mine had some problems hearing me during the call. I made some other phone calls and my friends confirmed the problem.I did the phone calls under a good network coverage. I'm new to android and I wanted to ask if someone else had the same problem or if there is a solution for it.
Thanks,
No not at all i highly doubt rooting your phone assuming everything was done correctly could have any impact in call quality, mine is fine.
I noticed my call quality is crap today. Not sure when it started, but it's bad. I'm testing by leaving myself voicemails on my work number. I'm starting from a seated position and the call was clear enough, but as soon as I start walking around it gets very badly garbled to where you can't make out what was said. I put the sim back in the galaxy nexus and quality was fine, so I don't think it's the network, also I have full bars.
Is it possible something could be causing interference to the S3 and not the Gnex?
Yes I am rooted, and yes I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with it.
Was data on at the time? If so, disable and test.
Try another modem or firmware with different modem.
Sent from my GT-I9300T using xda premium

HTC Radar – Anyone else have poor Speakerphone quality?

I really like this phone but the speakerphone is awful so I’m wondering if mine is faulty or if it is just a poor design. Does anyone else have a similarly poor experience?
It’s an Orange UK phone although I’ve unlocked it but tethering is blocked which is a pain as I don’t want to mess with custom ROMs. I’ll ask Orange if they expect this to change when it gets the 7.8 update.
I'm on T-Mobile USA and the Speaker phone works just right. Yeah, I would like it to be louder, a lot louder. But it's okay, and is definitely usable.
yes, i think its not meant for having it loudspeaker. just use a headset for you to hear better.

[Q] mobile data + active call + AOSP?

Longtime Sammy ROM (mostly Wanamlite) user here, dabbling now with new 4.3 ROMs based on AOSP, namely Carbon and PA. I like both of these releases and for the most part few problems but one:
The precise moment I start a cellular call, my mobile data connection drops. 3G, H, H+, doesn't matter. As soon as the call is over, the mobile data connection immediately resumes. Sorry if this is a noob question, but am I missing something here? I've played with a number of ro.ril build.prop settings, none of them seemed to influence this behavior a bit.
This is a deal killer for me, I commonly run IM clients and participate in web data conferences while simultaneously making phone calls. This works against AT&T service on the Sammy ROM.
fredless said:
Longtime Sammy ROM (mostly Wanamlite) user here, dabbling now with new 4.3 ROMs based on AOSP, namely Carbon and PA. I like both of these releases and for the most part few problems but one:
The precise moment I start a cellular call, my mobile data connection drops. 3G, H, H+, doesn't matter. As soon as the call is over, the mobile data connection immediately resumes. Sorry if this is a noob question, but am I missing something here? I've played with a number of ro.ril build.prop settings, none of them seemed to influence this behavior a bit.
This is a deal killer for me, I commonly run IM clients and participate in web data conferences while simultaneously making phone calls. This works against AT&T service on the Sammy ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you have the GT-i9300 on AT&T and NOT the AT&T version?
I too am on att and use an i9300 not sure but i think the att version would say 4g instead of h+ or 3g. anyway What I do is I always use Stock rooted roms. I alter the default apn to geta much better signal. att does not recognize the I9300 as an sgs3. they frankly do not know what it is . also they do not support it. so they put the phone in the wap cingular default apn. this is also used for their prepaid and dumbphone customers. you can manually change apn settings.to get better data speeds and signal.
I have been researching on this for a few days. It seems like it is a motherboard issue with several GS3s... This sounds stupid, but try to hit the back of your phone really hard.. If the sound is workign for five minutes after doing this, it's most likely a hardware issue, just like mine..
i would think that hitting the back of the phone really hard would most likely cause damage to the motherboard and other microelectronic components. the op has stated that he has problems with his signal while using aosp roms. but the problems disappear on sammy roms. that would indicate that his problem is Not hardware related rather than software or incorrect settings in build prop.
I do believe you when you say you have hardware problems. if you are hitting the back of your phone as you have recommended to the op. it is almost a certainty that you have damaged the fragile internal mechanisms inside your phone.
Yeah! But the problem is that this is a known hardware problem with the S3. It's very annoying cause I love my S3.. Would be a bummer to sell my iphone 5 just to get a new S3.. I was thinking of buying a motherboard and install it myself. I just hope that the fault lies within the motherboard components
well first you need to find out if the problem is hardware related. my suggestion is to get your phone back to stock if it isn't already. then see if you have the same problem. if yes then try factory reset . if that does not work then you probably do have a hardware problem . but it is probably your baseband or antenna rather than your motherboard, also check that your apn settings are correct,
if you decide to send it to a service center do not tell them that you have been hitting your phone, and please don't advise anyone to hit their phone either, these devices are not cheap and hitting them will cause physical damage which is not covered under warranty.
Sure I understand that advicing someone to hit their phone is stupid. But taking from my example I've tried a bunch of ROMs, a bunch of radios. I've also reverted to stock ROM with the same problem.. the audio comes and goes when knocking the phone behind.. I've also tried to reassemble the whole phone myself. I've reattached every wire there is and the problem still persists.. This is a very weird problem
definitely sounds like hardware problem either speaker or wire connection.if the phone is under warranty then send it to samsung. if not then find a reputable repair shop that understands how to fix it. shop around because too many places only know I phones. also you can go for a paid repair from samsung. may cost more but at least you know it will be fixed right.
Thanks all for the replies. First, I have no plans to hit my phone nor do I have the audio issues the other poster hijacked regarding
rootSU said:
Are you sure you have the GT-i9300 on AT&T and NOT the AT&T version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have an i9300, good question though.
ashraf sharif said:
I too am on att and use an i9300 not sure but i think the att version would say 4g instead of h+ or 3g. anyway What I do is I always use Stock rooted roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say "stock", do you mean a rooted Samsung ROM?
ashraf sharif said:
I alter the default apn to geta much better signal. att does not recognize the I9300 as an sgs3. they frankly do not know what it is . also they do not support it. so they put the phone in the wap cingular default apn. this is also used for their prepaid and dumbphone customers. you can manually change apn settings.to get better data speeds and signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worth noting, I do not have LTE enabled on my AT&T plan (I have a grandfathered unlimited iPhone data plan) so can't use the lte or other "4G" APNs out there. I tend to use the wap.cingular APN as none of the other posted alternatives work better (or at all). What APN do you use out of curiosity?
Since my OP, I've also tried SuperNexus 3.0, and saw precisely the same issue. I've fiddled with bringing in applicable ro.ril build.prop settings from Wanamlite's ROM, checked my modem (it's the same between Wanamlite and the AOSP ROM's I've tried, I9300XXEMB6), tried different APN's nothing seems to work.
One thing I haven't tried, is to use a well-established AOSP 4.1 or 4.2 ROM.. may do that later if no other bright ideas come along.
att apn settings
this is what I use. just one apn called PHONE . I am in new York city. I don't know if this will work for you where you are. I am rooted and everything else is stock
Worth noting, I do not have LTE enabled on my AT&T plan (I have a grandfathered unlimited iPhone data plan) so can't use the lte or other "4G" APNs out there. I tend to use the wap.cingular APN as none of the other posted alternatives work better (or at all). What APN do you use out of curiosity?
Just some info I am in UK using correct APN from provider and I have the same issue on 4.3 roms when on rootbox 4.2.2 I could use internet while on a call hadent noticed that had changed till I seen your thred

Question 61.2.A.0.418, XQ-BC52 signal problems

Hi, I am new to Sony family and bought used III which mightve been a Mistake.
I never see the signal having all bars full. It also reports values around 100dbm.
I have not been making calls really but I can see the reception is worse than with my old Xiaomi 9, same for 4g. Sometimes it drops and only restart fixes it.
Running dualsim, different carriers. Did network config restarts etc.
Lets assume it is sw problem. Could it be bad non-eu stock rom? How do I check?
I might immediatelly go with custom rom, maybe on android 12 just to see if it works better. Any suggestions? I just dont think factory reset or flashing stock is gonna fix it easily and I am open to experiments as long as the system and mainly signal reception is stable because next stop is trashbin really. The phone is overall great, I just did not expect phones having such problems nowadays.
I've seen the same, especially if I go underground for a few minutes - the phone can't reconnect unless I restart it or switch on and off the airplane mode.
But apart from that I have a pretty stable connection, no matter what the bars show.
My uneducated guess is power savings affect the signal strenght.
Never had problems during calls, no matter if driving or stationary
MorkoCZ said:
Hi, I am new to Sony family and bought used III which mightve been a Mistake.
I never see the signal having all bars full. It also reports values around 100dbm.
I have not been making calls really but I can see the reception is worse than with my old Xiaomi 9, same for 4g. Sometimes it drops and only restart fixes it.
Running dualsim, different carriers. Did network config restarts etc.
Lets assume it is sw problem. Could it be bad non-eu stock rom? How do I check?
I might immediatelly go with custom rom, maybe on android 12 just to see if it works better. Any suggestions? I just dont think factory reset or flashing stock is gonna fix it easily and I am open to experiments as long as the system and mainly signal reception is stable because next stop is trashbin really. The phone is overall great, I just did not expect phones having such problems nowadays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As A current Metro by T-mobile sales rep, and self proclaimed cell phone guru, some carriers require a phone to be registered on your account for it to fully work, even if the phone on paper has all the supported bands of said carrier. so this could be the problem, and if it's a software problem you can simply reinstall the correct firmware for your region and device and see if that fixes the issue, you could also try a different region but same device model number...
MorkoCZ said:
Hi, I am new to Sony family and bought used III which mightve been a Mistake.
I never see the signal having all bars full. It also reports values around 100dbm.
I have not been making calls really but I can see the reception is worse than with my old Xiaomi 9, same for 4g. Sometimes it drops and only restart fixes it.
Running dualsim, different carriers. Did network config restarts etc.
Lets assume it is sw problem. Could it be bad non-eu stock rom? How do I check?
I might immediatelly go with custom rom, maybe on android 12 just to see if it works better. Any suggestions? I just dont think factory reset or flashing stock is gonna fix it easily and I am open to experiments as long as the system and mainly signal reception is stable because next stop is trashbin really. The phone is overall great, I just did not expect phones having such problems nowadays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem as well
unicastbg said:
I've seen the same, especially if I go underground for a few minutes - the phone can't reconnect unless I restart it or switch on and off the airplane mode.
But apart from that I have a pretty stable connection, no matter what the bars show.
My uneducated guess is power savings affect the signal strenght.
Never had problems during calls, no matter if driving or stationary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not really tested it much in such environment like underground. The signal mostly stays ok, not full at all but the connection works tho. I had only like 2-3 restarts/week due to connection reporting only EDGE available (still I couldnt browse anything) and both sim signals showed a problem (exlamation mark), I think it could have been caused by worse reception conditions and it eventually stopped working at all.
Ainz_Ooal_Gown said:
As A current Metro by T-mobile sales rep, and self proclaimed cell phone guru, some carriers require a phone to be registered on your account for it to fully work, even if the phone on paper has all the supported bands of said carrier. so this could be the problem, and if it's a software problem you can simply reinstall the correct firmware for your region and device and see if that fixes the issue, you could also try a different region but same device model number...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont see registration being a requirement here in EU. These are prepaid simcards, no binding to a device, no contract and such.
I dont know if its software problem. After little bit of Googling I came to a conclusion that Sony does indeed have problem with signal reception no matter what is the cause. To me it seems it could be SW related. Question is if flashing stock rom is the way to go or maybe using a custom rom as daily driver?
DrDrag0n said:
I have the same problem as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What os/rom do you have? Have you had any success on making the reception better, more stable? Did custom rom help with that anyhow?
MorkoCZ said:
I don't see registration being a requirement here in EU. These are prepaid simcards, no binding to a device, no contract and such.
I don't know if its software problem. After little bit of Googling I came to a conclusion that Sony does indeed have problem with signal reception no matter what is the cause. To me it seems it could be SW related. Question is if flashing stock rom is the way to go or maybe using a custom rom as daily driver?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the states Metro by T-Mobile is a prepaid company that uses T-Mobile's network, but they specifically require your current device to be on your account to make sure they can give you the correct info on why your phone isn't working correctly. And some times to send the correct configuration file to your device. But in your specific case i would say go the firmware route and see if that fixes it before calling the carrier to see if there's a config file or something similar they need to send.
Ainz_Ooal_Gown said:
In the states Metro by T-Mobile is a prepaid company that uses T-Mobile's network, but they specifically require your current device to be on your account to make sure they can give you the correct info on why your phone isn't working correctly. And some times to send the correct configuration file to your device. But in your specific case i would say go the firmware route and see if that fixes it before calling the carrier to see if there's a config file or something similar they need to send.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the explanation. I chose the FW route, testing AlphaDroid as of now. So far so good. Reception already looks better so I will stick to this rom for now and see how it performs.
MorkoCZ said:
Thanks for the explanation. I chose the FW route, testing AlphaDroid as of now. So far so good. Reception already looks better so I will stick to this rom for now and see how it performs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a tip, you might wanna force 4G even on custom ROMs, I am running same config as you double sim and diff carriers but i get better result by forcing LTE Only on my main data SIM.
Sakuu said:
Just a tip, you might wanna force 4G even on custom ROMs, I am running same config as you double sim and diff carriers but i get better result by forcing LTE Only on my main data SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it, thanks for the tip.
MorkoCZ said:
Got it, thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a quick update for you regarding my devices connectivity problems
I reflashed the latest global firmware, this overrides the modem 5g configs that you find on all of the 5g enabling guides.
immediately my reception AND my phone switching between 3G, 4g 4g+ etc was better. Im not saying im magically getting full bars, but its improved substantially on top of switching between networks when travelling etc is instantly now. Instead of me having to enable flight mode to reset my network every time.
i will try flash a custom rom and see if the reception stays fine
only had problems after trying to enable 5g and follow the guides.
edit: spelling
DrDrag0n said:
I have a quick update for you regarding my devices connectivity problems
I reflashed the latest global firmware, this overrides the modem 5g configs that you find on all of the 5g enabling guides.
immediately my reception AND my phone switching between 3G, 4g 4g+ etc was better. Im not saying im magically getting full bars, but its improved substantially on top of switching between networks when travelling etc is instantly now. Instead of me having to enable flight mode to reset my network every time.
i will try flash a custom rom and see if the reception stays fine
only had problems after trying to enable 5g and follow the guides.
edit: spelling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, thanks for the info. What is the version of that global fw?
I had only one network disconnect on AlphaDroid but it managed to fix itself within minutes. Still the display seems bit irresponsive to touches at times, baterry drain is not the best and also call quality does not seem to be the best. So I am considering switching to global or maybe different custom. Ofc it could be just my device.
MorkoCZ said:
Cool, thanks for the info. What is the version of that global fw?
I had only one network disconnect on AlphaDroid but it managed to fix itself within minutes. Still the display seems bit irresponsive to touches at times, baterry drain is not the best and also call quality does not seem to be the best. So I am considering switching to global or maybe different custom. Ofc it could be just my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should start using 120Hz if it feels slow (go into QS settings and get the refresh rate toggle from there), also enable High polling rate from Settings > Display for better responsiveness, also if you're rooted/using Shizuku you should try https://github.com/kyujin-cho/pixel-volte-patch/releases it may unlock some SIM options that may improve your call quality.
MorkoCZ said:
Cool, thanks for the info. What is the version of that global fw?
I had only one network disconnect on AlphaDroid but it managed to fix itself within minutes. Still the display seems bit irresponsive to touches at times, baterry drain is not the best and also call quality does not seem to be the best. So I am considering switching to global or maybe different custom. Ofc it could be just my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.1.2.A.0.447 was what I upgraded too
Honestly, I don’t have a single practical use case for my phone where i need 5g enabled, so it’s really not a deal breaker for me to not have that enabled. 4g+ is still pretty quick especially for my use case. If you want volte & vowifi I recommend magisk + zygisk so you can use banking apps. Works well for me and call quality is fantastic
edit: I think I should note i did a full clean flash, flashing all and wiping all data on the phone. It’s been a few days and signal noticeably better.
edit 2: spelling (damn autocorrect)

Categories

Resources