3g to 2g drops signal completely - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

When I manually switch between 3g and 2g it drops the signal completely. When i go from lte to 3g it doesn't drop the connection or give me any errors.
This drop is enough that when I'm in a building i almost always have to have 2g forced. If i have 3g and someone calls i usually drop to 2g, but doing so causes the call to drop instead of handing it off.
I've tried to google it and I've seen this a few other times but I've never seen a clear reason why? Does anyone experience this or know a solution? It's done it on different phones over the last few years. All android too.

Someone must know something. I'm on t mobile in central Florida if that helps

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.
Click to expand...
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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)

[Q] Phone prefers 3G to 4G??

I have noticed that my phone seems to prefer 3G data to 4G where I live. (I'm in the Stow, OH area for those curious)
At first I thought I simply didn't pick 4G up at my house because I've never had the strongest 3G signal here either. But if I go into the Phone Info and switch the radio to "LTE mode", it switches to 4G no problem.
For some confirmation that the software wasn't being glitchy, I did a speed test and got ~5mbit down (like I said, I may not have the best 4G coverage... I get upwards of 18mbit when I'm in the Akron area). And for additional confirmation, I placed a call and was also able to simultaneously surf and do another 5mbit speed test. So it is definitely connected to 4G.
For more experimentation, I switched it back to the usual "CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto". The icon switched to the 3G symbol. I then tried placing a call, and I was able to simultaneously use data, but it was clearly 3G speed. So it seems it used the 4G radio for the call, but the 3G radio for the data (weird).
So, I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed it this kind of behavior? Perhaps in the fringe coverage areas this will be most noticeable.
My phone dose this too. I think its poor 4g service and stuff. Im sure it will inrpove eventually
Interesting...
Now I put it on the "CDMA Auto (PRL)" option. speed test indicates 3G speeds. But then I place a call, and the call AND data are both working-- at 3G speeds. So maybe this was what was happening on the CDMA + LTE mode I selected before.
It appears Verizon has some sort of simultaneous 3G technology now?? I wasn't aware of this-- certainly about time, though.
But my initial conclusion does seem to be true-- it's preferring the 3G coverage to the 4G coverage. Perhaps this is a battery life decision. Or something else completely weird is going on.
Either way, I'm plenty happy with the phone.

Eratic Signal Issue - Network mode Switching - Anyone else notice this?

Hey guys and gals,
Posted this on Android forums, so thought i'd see what you guys think too. Tried searching but didn't really find anything.
I have been wondering about my signal on my SGS 2 as it's been up and down like a yo yo, and in some instances I get 0 bars and then it goes up on its own. This is whether im set on 2G or 3G or both, and has been getting on my nerves.
Add to the time without signal being quite high, I thought i'd try and work out the issue.
Well it seems that, if i'm on GSM only for example, the phone will switch randomly between GPRS or EDGE, even though I have network traffic turned off.
Whenever it switches between GPRS and EDGE, my reception goes from whatever bars it was on, down to 0, then back up to full. It does this often, and is annoying lol.
On 3G it does exactly the same, but i'm guessing between UTMS and HSPDA.
I tried searching before coming on and found nothing.
Is it possible this is hammering battery life? And affecting whether I have a signal (time without a signal) and can it be addressed?
Anyway hope this helps anyone with the same annoying issues.
Biff.

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

Sprint/T-Mobile LgV60

Is anyone else whos on sprint/TMobile having issues where the phone cant decide wether to connect to a sprint or TMobile tower? When im at my home i have a very weak TMobile 600mhz signal and a strong sprint band 41 signal due to the magic box. I also can pick up the band 25 signal the box uses and my phone refuses to just use the stronger faster sprint signal. It absolutely insists on using the TMobile signal. Is anyone having similar issues? Even on wifi its causing network interruptions so i have to reload a page several times to make it use the wifi.
jwarrior319 said:
Is anyone else whos on sprint/TMobile having issues where the phone cant decide wether to connect to a sprint or TMobile tower? When im at my home i have a very weak TMobile 600mhz signal and a strong sprint band 41 signal due to the magic box. I also can pick up the band 25 signal the box uses and my phone refuses to just use the stronger faster sprint signal. It absolutely insists on using the TMobile signal. Is anyone having similar issues? Even on wifi its causing network interruptions so i have to reload a page several times to make it use the wifi.
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Click to collapse
Mine jumps a lot but never connects to the magic box. I don't think it's enabled for B41? I have a Pixel 3XL that I activate (and deactivate my V60) when I'm at my camper which is where my MB lives.
henderjr said:
Mine jumps a lot but never connects to the magic box. I don't think it's enabled for B41? I have a Pixel 3XL that I activate (and deactivate my V60) when I'm at my camper which is where my MB lives.
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Click to collapse
Mine works with Band 41. Its a big one in the nearby city. It works with all sprint and TMobile bands. Its just prioritizing TMobile bands over sprint ones regardless of signal quality
Sent from my LM-V600 using XDA Labs
jwarrior319 said:
Is anyone else whos on sprint/TMobile having issues where the phone cant decide wether to connect to a sprint or TMobile tower? When im at my home i have a very weak TMobile 600mhz signal and a strong sprint band 41 signal due to the magic box. I also can pick up the band 25 signal the box uses and my phone refuses to just use the stronger faster sprint signal. It absolutely insists on using the TMobile signal. Is anyone having similar issues? Even on wifi its causing network interruptions so i have to reload a page several times to make it use the wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea of this is related but.. I'm on T-Mobile, with T-Mobile home internet as well, and for the last several days my phone is having issues connecting and the home WiFi is doing the same thing. I'm in a rural area so my signal is weak, but it's been fluctuating WILDLY since the merger and sometimes it does seem like my phone is struggling trying to decide what to connect to. There's definitely something going on with the network at least in my area for the last 2 weeks for sure
Ryano89 said:
I have no idea of this is related but.. I'm on T-Mobile, with T-Mobile home internet as well, and for the last several days my phone is having issues connecting and the home WiFi is doing the same thing. I'm in a rural area so my signal is weak, but it's been fluctuating WILDLY since the merger and sometimes it does seem like my phone is struggling trying to decide what to connect to. There's definitely something going on with the network at least in my area for the last 2 weeks for sure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like this will be happening until the transition is done/5G is more widespread. These are TMobile models. When mine was first turned on at the store it had the T-Mobile splash screen. The ability to access sprint towers was added via software update post merger. I figure once the 600mhz band is fully rolled out the issue will go away as a result of the signal being strong enough.
Sent from my LM-V600 using XDA Labs

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