[Q] Straight Talk Galaxy 2 signal question - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-I777

I live in Portland, Oregon. I am a noob on this site, but I seem to be having issues with signal. For some reason, my Galaxy S2 on Straight Talk will drop from H+ to 3G in the middle of downtown! I am running the mod for 4.2.1 on my phone. Does anyone know a way to either boost the signal strength or get better overall signal?

It should drop to 3g when no data is being used. Back to H+ when you're using it again. That what you're saying?

Phalanx7621 said:
It should drop to 3g when no data is being used. Back to H+ when you're using it again. That what you're saying?
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even when I'm trying to upload, it likes to cut out of the h plus signal go back to 3g. even when I try to do a speed test, it will cut out to 3G and not it is any results on the speed test.

Related

UMTS & HSDPA Hopping

Hey, I have an USA T-Mobile Vibrant.
It is rooted and running the Vibrant edition of Darky's 9.3 Final ROM.
I am also using the latest overstock kernal and the honeycomb 2.0 theme from the I9000 forums.
Enough background info. This isn't really a problem as much as my curiosity.
My phone almost constantly is switching back and forth between 3G (UMTS) and H (HSDPA) on my data connection.
It doesn't seem to affect battery life or service too much (though H might be faster), so I'm not worried; but does anyone know what the deal is with this?
Thanks ahead of time!!!
Sent from my Vibrant using XDA App
Mine has been doing this lately as well. It's only been happening since I installed my current ROM (Trigger 2.7).
Noticed this just now as well...might have something to do with the mods to show H or 3G.
I wonder if it has anything to do with signal strength. I know that shouldn't make a difference but I can't think of any other reason.
Sdobron said:
Noticed this just now as well...might have something to do with the mods to show H or 3G.
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Click to collapse
I would agree, but I went to my settings/ phone info/ signal page and the reason it was changing was because it was physically switching between UMTS and HSDPA.
Why? I have no idea.
I do live in a T-Mobile 4G enabled area, though I am not on their so called "4G plan".
I did notice that it did not have this switching problem on Bionix Frost-u2.
So, if anyone has some insight, please help us all understand
CrazyCharlie said:
I wonder if it has anything to do with signal strength. I know that shouldn't make a difference but I can't think of any other reason.
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I was just watching my signal strength change and it doesn't seemed tied to the change from 3G to H.
For example, it would be around 67dBm and be on UMTS. Raise to up to around 75dBm and be on UMTS. Then it would switch to HSDPA and still be at 75dBm or sometimes lower down to 69-72dBm and still be on HSDPA.
So with that type of cross-over stats, I would be skeptical of that solution.
HSDPA is a temporary data link. If it was on continously the phone would have very poor battery life.
When network server has a data packet for your phone it 'pages' up your HSDPA capability. Your phone can also request HSPA to initiate a data transmission.
The HSPA paging process is similar to receiving and initiating a voice call.
If no more packets have qued at their server or received from your phone after some period of time it will revert to normal 3G battery saver cycling. It has to be re-paged up to reinitiate HSPA data link. The wake up HSPA function does add some initial delay.
So is there a way to force it to stay on HSPA while tethered, for example? (Or always)

Why is Edge faster than 3G or H+ (see edit)?

Ever since I've transferred to AT&T I've had laggy data issues. I finally rooted/flashed to AOKP, and while trying to address the issues of no APNs appearing or saving and no signal status in the status bar, I've come to find both AT&T and T-Mobile as Available Networks under some network setting. Am I chasing ghosts here, or is there something actually up?
EDIT: So I really need help troubleshooting the issue. I'll logcat, dump, or whatever necessary. I've been in many cities/areas and this problem persists: if I haven't used data or the phone hasn't been backgrounding traffic, it'll take anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds before a connection is made when I try to access an internet-related function on my phone (even though 3G/H is displayed in the status bar). Out of shear frustration (this has been happening since I got the phone, under stock ROMs and now under AOKP), I tried messing with *#*#info#*#*. I changed WCDMA-preferred to WCDMA-only -- no improvement. Oddly, I also tried GSM-only. Well, great improvement! Even though I only have E, there is absolutely no latency in waiting for a connection -- so pages and other data end up loading faster on Edge than 3G !
I have absolutely no idea why my phone takes forever to make a connection. Under 3G, I see only but a few upstream network activity blips (even under full bars) for as much as 30 seconds, before there is any downstream activity (and when it comes, it comes). Can anyone help???
P.S.: I'm going to try using a friend's SIM later for comparison.
joebobjoe said:
Ever since I've transferred to AT&T I've had laggy data issues. I finally rooted/flashed to AOKP, and while trying to address the issues of no APNs appearing or saving and no signal status in the status bar, I've come to find both AT&T and T-Mobile as Available Networks under some network setting. Am I chasing ghosts here, or is there something actually up?
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Click to collapse
Because they both share the 1900MHz band I believe.
Red5 said:
Because they both share the 1900MHz band I believe.
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I'd like to know if it shows up for anyone else?
joebobjoe said:
I'd like to know if it shows up for anyone else?
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On AOKP it does for me too. Just ignore it.
Red5 said:
On AOKP it does for me too. Just ignore it.
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An aside: does your phone stay on 3G and switch to H only under moderate network traffic?
joebobjoe said:
An aside: does your phone stay on 3G and switch to H only under moderate network traffic?
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Click to collapse
The phone displays 3G because thats what it is... then when data is being processed, it shows H because its using the "what AT&T calls 4G but its really HSPA" side of the network. For just standby time with no data, its going to show 3G because HSDPA is traffic, not standby.
Red5 said:
The phone displays 3G because thats what it is... then when data is being processed, it shows H because its using the "what AT&T calls 4G but its really HSPA" side of the network. For just standby time with no data, its going to show 3G because HSDPA is traffic, not standby.
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Click to collapse
Well that's strange. I'm used to phones displaying what network-level they are capable of. So why would it not just display H for HSPA+ when HSPA+ service is available, instead of only displaying under traffic.
I'm going to go ahead an edit this thread to help troubleshoot what I think to be the main issue.
After some trials I see that the network indicator switches back and forth between 3G and H a few tines before making the connection and transmitting data. Hmmm...
Basically, "4G" will eat your battery alive so the phone idles at 3G and jumps to H+ only when you use data. If you were on a "stock" ATT rom it would always read H+, but this is technically false since when its idle the phone sits in 3G. CM9 and AOKP accurately display it which is why you see the switch.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
I have a HTC Amaze for a phone and the Galaxy S2 is my media player. Sometimes, when I don't feel like carrying around two devices, I put my T-Mobile SIM in the galaxy and use it as my phone. I must say, Edge is not as slow as I remember it being. Maybe speed is contingent on network traffic. If thats the case, instead of using crowded "faux G" networks, I may defer to Edge to save battery life and get good dl/ul rates.
My phone does the same thing. I noticed it sometime ago. When idle 3g. Internet I get H+. This is with both Shostock2 and Phone Bricker. I was curious to know too but just blew it off because it really doesnt make any difference to me as long as Im getting decent speeds. Im not even with ATT anymore. Went with Straight Talk. Which uses ATT towers. Cant beat the price!!
They don't have the correct apns, but that symbol problem is because the phone doesn't use hspa+ passively, only actively. It causes some lag when downloading, but it is faster fit large data. But your problem is due to a supposed imei range with bad modems. Rehash stick, fix the triangle, and return it.
Sent from my GT-I777 using xda premium

im getting 3g and h @4.2mb on tmobile ..how ? how am i getting this

i noticed 2 days ago my i777 showed h for a sec then 3g and was gone i tryed to google for this and found no info
this morning i wake up power on my cell and sit it on the table next to me while online and notice again its showing 3g h then 3g holding the 3g i browse and it goes from h back to 3g i did a speed test to verify this and i get 4.1mb on 1st try
so is tmobile now rolling out for a new band cause i thought tmobile could not get anything bu e edge for our i777
if any one needs info let me know
however i have noticed that if i pick up the phone is almost always goes back to e edge seems like it must have a full bars of e edge before it snaps over to h then 3g so i really want to know whats going on and if so how to maybe keep the 3g and h cause it really seems sensative when i pick it up and hold it i get almost full e edge and the 3g h goes away
im using aokp
set rom controls to hspda andhuspa or whatever it is
sitting on 3g for about 15 mins now pretty excited ths would have been good a week ago while trying to download google drive and do some mapquesting that got me lost for 40 mins due to slow internet while driving
i was shocked so i took a video and a pic of the phone
i know this may be due just to the area i live in but still this is cool as far as i knew only the galaxy note could have its modem changed software to get on tmobile 3g i thought us i777 users were destined to get e forever i know tmobile was going to get a band back in oct last year and all this junk with att and then somthing about rogers getting it idk whats what i know tmobile is upgrading the whole reason they changed the modem in thier t989 and 3 weeks ago my net cut off totally for the day had major issues and tmobile was no help so i wonder if this is a indicator that before long we all will have 3g ? on i777 if so yet another reason to get my i777
T-Mobile is rolling out HSPA on the 1900MHz (PCS) band in some markets.
niteice said:
T-Mobile is rolling out HSPA on the 1900MHz (PCS) band in some markets.
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Click to collapse
sounds great
but.... i can only get 3g or h
when the phone is setting on the coffe table near window undisturbed lol
i go stand out side and still no 3g or h even after 5 min
i sit it on the curb lol and i get 3g but sometimes back to e
and in side the coffe table wins with 3g and h consistantly taking up to 5 mins to switch back from edge once sit down tho ...
lol thanks alot tmobile the i777 modem and antenna are not weak are they
aokp
siyah kernal
nothing modded from stock or changed tho not using dualboot either
uckh7
can u suggest a better more battery draining modem to try i do not care of batt life if it will be good enough to stop losing the 3g h when i pick it up off the table or direct me to the post with the locator i cant find it again was a link to g maps with search for areas and comments on best modems for areas
OR DO YOU THINK MAYBE IT IS WHAT IT IS I NEED TO WAIT FOR BETTER SERVICE BEFORE THINKING I CAN MAKE IT BETTER ON MY SIDE MAYBE ITS JUST TMOBILES SIDE AND THEY SOMHOW NEED TO REFINE THIER CATCHING OR WHATEVER YOU WOULD CALL IT
Usually cell carriers don't light up a new service on every tower in an area simultaneously while they're still rolling it out. That's reserved for the big public unveiling. Eventually the gaps will fill in. It's also possible your local geography is making 1900mhz reception worse than 850/900, but again, it's more likely it's not on every tower around you yet.
colorsharpkid said:
but.... i can only get 3g or h
. . .
lol thanks alot tmobile the i777 modem and antenna are not weak are they
. . .
can u suggest a better more battery draining modem to try i do not care of batt life if it will be good enough to stop losing the 3g h when i pick it up off the table or direct me to the post with the locator i cant find it again was a link to g maps with search for areas and comments on best modems for areas
. . .
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Click to collapse
That's what HSPA is (idles in UMTS, aka 3G).
As stated, coverage is spotty because it's just being rolled out. It will become stronger over time. I suppose you could find a way to lock it to Edge if you want (easily accomplished on AOSP roms).
As for modems, it'll drain less if locked to Edge since your HSPA signal strength isn't good. You'll have to look at the map in the modem thread for suggestions. It's mostly different for everyone.

sprint throttles to 1x speed when I listen to stream

When I listen to internet radio for a long period of time my phone goes into a 1x connection. I have to reboot to get it back to 3g. is there a hack on the phone I can do to stop this from happening like a ip refresher or something. it stuck on 1x until I reset the phone. I believe this is sprint doing this on purpose. even though they advertise they dont do this. I use only around 2 gb of data a month.
any help would be nice. I don't want to have to restart my phone every 2 hours when I feal like streaming online music at work
highly doubtful they do that. cause i've been on 3g streaming for hours on end and dont get throttled. Are you in a bad signal area?
no full bars its possible It could be my phone or I am new to sprint and may not have the same limitaions most people have.
Here in hawaii,I usually get 300-1mbps on 3g. However, at home where my signal is 3-4 bars has horrible speeds,and I also notice the same problem. About 5-10mb and the 1x icon shows up.
Honestly I think its a tower issue.
Does it go into 1x on any tower while streaming?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
The bars on your phone have nothing to do with data signal strength. The bars are for voice signal only.
cruise350 said:
The bars on your phone have nothing to do with data signal strength. The bars are for voice signal only.
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Click to collapse
This is correct.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
cruise350 said:
The bars on your phone have nothing to do with data signal strength. The bars are for voice signal only.
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Click to collapse
How do we find data signal strength? Or do you mean the bars stand for signal strength and not signal speed?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
It's a big annoying, but you have to go into the dialer, dial ##DEBUG#, go into EVDO Engineering (for 3G, since 1X is your voice and LTE is your LTE) and read the Rx Power. It should be different from your 1X Rx Power and your LTE Rx Power (if you have LTE).
I looked for a data signal meter widget a while back and never found one that worked or pulled from the right info (usually people just pulled from the Settings->About->Network->Signal Strength info, which is 1X (Voice).
Here some more info: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2...to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/
cgrimm9 said:
When I listen to internet radio for a long period of time my phone goes into a 1x connection. I have to reboot to get it back to 3g. is there a hack on the phone I can do to stop this from happening like a ip refresher or something. it stuck on 1x until I reset the phone. I believe this is sprint doing this on purpose. even though they advertise they dont do this. I use only around 2 gb of data a month.
any help would be nice. I don't want to have to restart my phone every 2 hours when I feal like streaming online music at work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can say with a known certainty that Sprint does not "throttle" or "cap" data usage on a mobile device. Only the top < 1% of abusers are contacted by sprint, which is usually a letter of intent to cancel service if data abuse continues, or a notice of cancellation. No "throttling" or "capping"
I just find it odd that my phone randomly goes from 3g speed to 1g only after multible hours of use and there was no movement from the phone where I never had a issue.I can go days or weeks without going to 1g when its on 1g I have to restart the phone it will not go back into 3g mode.
cgrimm9 said:
I just find it odd that my phone randomly goes from 3g speed to 1g only after multible hours of use and there was no movement from the phone where I never had a issue.I can go days or weeks without going to 1g when its on 1g I have to restart the phone it will not go back into 3g mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could just toggle airplane mode
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[Q] TMO GS5 LTE signal always low?

Does anyone else notice that the LTE signal on this phone always seems on the weak end? For example, with the T-Mobile cell site about 10 yards away, my LTE reception is -90-95dbm. When sitting that close with my AT&T iPhone 5 (work phone) the signal is about -75-80dbm. What gives? I also notice that the phone does hold onto weak LTE signals, but I am seeing weak LTE signal more often than not. I have seen a -115dbm-120dbm LTE signal. Yes, data still works, my only concern though is that the battery life is getting sucked out of my phone?
Running stock, T-Mobile also likes to show 5 bars for a -109dbm LTE signal. That couldn't be more of an exaggeration could it? Also in my tests, I have noticed if you set the phone to WCDMA only, the signal is a lot stronger.
Anyone care to comment on this?
No issues for me. Even in the factory that i work at i am getting 4G LTE over people with ATT and its quite strong. LTE Tower is a good distance away.
Have you rooted or flashed anything? If its 100 percent pure stock, ask for a replacement. Or even re-flash the latest update to see if that helps.
The only issue i have and others have is where the outgoing data arrow constantly lights up but no data is coming in. I think its a T-Mobile programming bug in 4.4.2 as the issue didn't exist in 4.3 on my S4.
elesbb said:
No issues for me. Even in the factory that i work at i am getting 4G LTE over people with ATT and its quite strong. LTE Tower is a good distance away.
Have you rooted or flashed anything? If its 100 percent pure stock, ask for a replacement. Or even re-flash the latest update to see if that helps.
The only issue i have and others have is where the outgoing data arrow constantly lights up but no data is coming in. I think its a T-Mobile programming bug in 4.4.2 as the issue didn't exist in 4.3 on my S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but on average what is your dbm? Not going by bars.
T-Mobile also does not have a dense cell grid in my area which could be why. Already past the 14 day return window. Absolutely no device modification has even done.
I'm at full 5 bars on LTE 4G signal strength @ - 97 dBm
Biker1 said:
I'm at full 5 bars on LTE 4G signal strength @ - 97 dBm
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Click to collapse
Appreciate the response. Been doing some research lately, and I think its because t-mobile doesn't have many sites in my area. I don't think their frequencies travel far either. Maybe I am wrong, but wouldn't this cause very low LTE signal?
BlockEight88 said:
Appreciate the response. Been doing some research lately, and I think its because t-mobile doesn't have many sites in my area. I don't think their frequencies travel far either. Maybe I am wrong, but wouldn't this cause very low LTE signal?
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Click to collapse
If the towers are far from you, I would think that would cause a weak signal.
You can try this app.
It may help to see where the issue may be regarding towers, etc
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.android.telnet
Biker1 said:
If the towers are far from you, I would think that would cause a weak signal.
You can try this app.
It may help to see where the issue may be regarding towers, etc
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.android.telnet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That app just shows the -dBm as a widget. Anyone else notice a -109 or less signal showing 5 bars?
BlockEight88 said:
That app just shows the -dBm as a widget. Anyone else notice a -109 or less signal showing 5 bars?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does give you a more accurate signal bar strength indicator consisting of 14 bars and not 5 bars, as the stock indicator does. I'm at 11 bars.
BlockEight88 said:
Yes, but on average what is your dbm? Not going by bars.
T-Mobile also does not have a dense cell grid in my area which could be why. Already past the 14 day return window. Absolutely no device modification has even done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh. I will have to check the dbm. I don't get full signal but i get like 2 bars. Sometimes four depending where i sit. Then outside, i get full bars. I'll double check the dbm outside with full bars. It should be in and around the -90s.

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