Strange Wifi issue - Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey guys I am loving my atrix so far, I upgraded from an HTC Evo. I am having one weird problem and I haven't seen anyone else post a similar issue. I connect to my wifi network fine. It uses WEP encryption and it's the standard FIOS router that verizon supplies. I never drop connection but when I download from the market it takes unusually long as if it isn't using my fast wifi connection. My GF who has the nexus s is connected to my network also downloads much faster off of the android market. It feels as if even though the atrix says I'm connected to my wifi network it is still using the 3g data speeds. I tested it with speedtest and i get 16000kbps down and 7000kbps up. It sure doesn't feel like it though. Anyone else having this same issue???

I am having this exact same issue! FIOS, Verizon's default router, WEP encryption, and the speeds are slow only in the Market.
I wonder what the problem is...

I just tried WPA2 encryption. Same exact problem. I'm getting speeds of around 250 kb/s, even though the speedtest.net app shows me getting around 2.5 mb/s.

MultiKoopa said:
I just tried WPA2 encryption. Same exact problem. I'm getting speeds of around 250 kb/s, even though the speedtest.net app shows me getting around 2.5 mb/s.
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Click to collapse
That is my exact problem also. I wonder what is going on here.

I still haven't done anything to the phone like rooting it, so that can't be the issue.
Somebody did suggest I try changing the radio channel on my wifi router to 6 and 11, which did nothing to help the speeds.
It's strange that this is ONLY happening with the Market. Anything else internet-based works at regular speeds.
I wonder if this is only an issue with FIOS, or with the standard Verizon router? I'll be able to try out other wifi networks tomorrow.

Just curious, but have either of you with issues tried to push an app to your phone from the market website? It probably won't help, but worth a look.

Nope, just as slow as from the Market app.

Man, I have like 60+ apps to put on my Atrix. It'll take me hours to put it all back with these speeds. :\

Here's another problem: even on 4G, with a full signal, I load webpages with flash elements in seconds, but I download apps just as slowly as I do on wifi. It's like my Atrix is deliberately being capped, and ONLY with downloading apps, no matter what type of data connection I'm on.

If you use a different wireless network (something open and public) does the speed still seem slow?

Yes. 3G, 4G, wifi, it's always capped to around the same speed.
and again, it's ONLY downloading apps from the market. Absolutely nothing else.

Bandwidth usage while downloading a package from the market.
Bandwidth usage while streaming from youtube.
Monitoring done from my wireless router.
Did a bit of testing. Maybe some others can do the same to verify. I need to get ahold of my ISP because I am not getting my advertised speeds but download speeds from my computers were higher than my phone. I downloaded Astro File Manager and downloaded a .zip archive to the phone as well. Speeds did not seem throttled like they did when downloading from the market.

Just received the monster, same issue here!!
Using it in Germany. Very slow speed on my Wlan, sucks. I'll be anxiously following any news.

Could Google have purposely done this to the market?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11760852&postcount=7
someone try this and see if it works?

...actually, couldn't somebody just remove their SIM card and connect to the market with wifi? I've got a full body case with a screen protector on mine that I don't wanna screw up, but could somebody try that?
EDIT: Yeah, that didn't work.

Well just went back to ATT and got an exchange hoping that I just got a bum unit. Unfortunately same problem. On top of that I have noticed that my 3g data speeds are even slower now!! Speedtest will yield 500kbps down and 50kbps up WTF!!!

Replace it again. It's another defective unit. I've asked a bunch of people, and that's definitely the case.

Great. I checked the manufactured date on the phone in the store. 1/11/2011.
It was defective. Damn it.
So I'm basically playing roulette each time I exchange the phone.

I wish a firmware upgrade would fix the issues. I am in the same hell.

Related

[Q] Having tethering problem!

I have this problem using wired or wireless tether. My Eris will connect fine at first but the signal will go away (the 3g indicator goes away and the cellular signal cuts off and then back on). I don't think it happens using pdanet but I'd like wireless tether.
I have tried 6 different roms including froyo. I tried anetshare and it didn't work (I don't think it is updated anyway). I changed many of the settings off and then back on one at a time with no change. Trying to download anything seems to make it happen instantly, while just browsing might go on for several minutes. I thought it might be something verizon had done to detect if you are tethering but I doubt it.
Right now I am using xtrROM 4.2 and the wired tether is better but still cuts off. Wireless tether still drops off quickly upon starting downloads. I'm going to get the latest wireless tether for root users and check for updates for anetshare. I'll keep trying and hopefully one of us will figure it out.
camiot said:
I have this problem using wired or wireless tether. My Eris will connect fine at first but the signal will go away (the 3g indicator goes away and the cellular signal cuts off and then back on). I don't think it happens using pdanet but I'd like wireless tether.
I have tried 6 different roms including froyo. I tried anetshare and it didn't work (I don't think it is updated anyway). I changed many of the settings off and then back on one at a time with no change. Trying to download anything seems to make it happen instantly, while just browsing might go on for several minutes. I thought it might be something verizon had done to detect if you are tethering but I doubt it.
Right now I am using xtrROM 4.2 and the wired tether is better but still cuts off. Wireless tether still drops off quickly upon starting downloads. I'm going to get the latest wireless tether for root users and check for updates for anetshare. I'll keep trying and hopefully one of us will figure it out.
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Click to collapse
This is actually a problem that happens somewhere between your phone, and Verizon.
This happens with every ROM, everywhere, at random.
Sometimes it won't happen to me for a month at a time, sometimes it'll happen every night for weeks straight.
Reboot the phone. Cross your fingers. Next time it boots up, you might be fine for an hour or two. Might not be.
3g just disappears COMPLETELY at random, and removes any connections you have. It's REALLY annoying.
Knock on wood, but it hasn't happened to me in at least a week. I'm on xtrSense 3.1.
I've never had that problem before. Try updating your radio.
I tried more updated ROMs and 3 different radios. Still not working. Right now I'm on nonsensikal froyo 2.2 with radio 2.42.01.04.27. I'm going to update via *228 to see if that makes a difference. I can't see what rebooting would do to change the wireless connection.
Still Losing Connection
Tried some of the new ROMs and 3 different radios. Here is where I am now:
KaosFroyo V35
Kernal Version 2.6.29-DecaFuctCFS-dirty-53d732ab
Baseband Version 2.42.01.04.27 (is this the latest?)
Every time it is the same. I can connect for a while but it seems the longer I'm connected, or if I start a download, I lose my connection (cellular). Sometimes it comes back but not for very long.
PdaNet v2.45 seems to work the longest but sometimes I get a blue screen of death with it.
Wireless Tether Version 2.0.5-pre9 loses connection (cellular) within minutes.
Wired Tether Version 1.4 loses connection (cellular) within minutes.
The built in USB tethering loses connection (cellular) within minutes.
I must be doing something wrong since I can't find anyone that is having this problem anywhere else in the forums. Any help is greatly appreciated!
im having the same problem... tried it on CynoTazz 6.0 and xtrROM4.5
there's no way heat could cause this is there?
or maybe verizon just found a way to throttle heavy data usage?
I haven't tried wireless tethering on the replacement phone I got a a few weeks ago, but I remember having the same problems 3G just going away randomly on my old phone (on KaosFroyo) I'll give it a try tomorrow. As for wired tethering, I'm using EasyTether and my 3G never goes away. I noticed that if I do not let EasyThether stay on the foreground my connection drops sooner or later (3G stays on however), I think that may have something do with AutoKiller.
I'm having the same problem.. it'll disconnect upon using uTorrent while Im downloading a file.. I think it has to do with the app itself because a couple versions ago, I was downloading shows like crazy with little or no interruption. But when I just simply browse the interweb, it never and I mean never disconnects. It also may have to do with Verizon throttling usage
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App
Do you have JuiceDefender installed? Because that is one of the main problems. I would also try updating your radio.
I use xtrSENSE v4.6 and have always had problems with PDANet and Wired Tethering eventually the 3G dropping. Wired Tethering seemed to work at noticeably faster speeds than PDANet. I used Wireless Tethering extensively recently when reinstalling Windows on a neighbor's Netbook and it never dropped the 3G connection once; through all the Microsoft Updates and such.
I can confirm that occasionally rebooting helps make Wired Tethering work better, and also it seems to work faster and drop less often in the middle of the night. Sometimes Tethering would outright stop working completely (never actually make a connection) and then a reboot did definitely do the trick.
I am also having this problem. It was fine with PDAnet before i rooted and swapped rom's. now I have the same intermittent 3g during wireless tether. I also experience a period late one night around 4am where i was able to watch a full 30min show on hulu with no problems. I'd like to see this resolved. I'm still looking around the forum to see if it's been answered somewhere else...
haganme said:
I am also having this problem. It was fine with PDAnet before i rooted and swapped rom's. now I have the same intermittent 3g during wireless tether. I also experience a period late one night around 4am where i was able to watch a full 30min show on hulu with no problems. I'd like to see this resolved. I'm still looking around the forum to see if it's been answered somewhere else...
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I was getting bad 3G and I called Verizon and had them do a trouble ticket. My wife's Ally was doing the same thing so I knew it was the network in the area. They did a trouble ticket and it was fixed a few days later. So my advice is to call tech support and report spotty 3G, and make sure that you are talking to tech support and not customer service because I have had CS agents try to do tech support and they always suggest trying to wipe the phone and crap and don't usually know what they are talking about.
MrObvious said:
I was getting bad 3G and I called Verizon and had them do a trouble ticket. My wife's Ally was doing the same thing so I knew it was the network in the area. They did a trouble ticket and it was fixed a few days later. So my advice is to call tech support and report spotty 3G, and make sure that you are talking to tech support and not customer service because I have had CS agents try to do tech support and they always suggest trying to wipe the phone and crap and don't usually know what they are talking about.
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Click to collapse
I'm in the process of setting up a yx545 signal booster at my house. I've always had pretty low signal since i switched to verizon, so i'm hoping that the booster will fix my problems. My initial installation didn't separate the two antennas properly and so the amp was turning itself down. I'm going to purchase a high-gain outside antenna next and raise it up 10-15 feet on pvc. If the tether problems are solved as a result, i will post it...
We have been having this problem for a long time now. Mine started back in the old days of evil eris 1.0. I believe it is an actual hardware issue with the phone. No matter what rom or radio I use i get horrible signal (never more than 2 bars) and my data connection randomly drops all the time. And its not just my area of the country. I am in the military and have traveled all over the country in the last year and never have i seen more than -80 db.
The first time i took apart my eris i noticed 2 U.fl connectors on the back of the main board. These connectors are what you connect an external antenna to on a computer or any other peice of wireless made these days. So i took a u.fl pigtail and fabricated two 800 mhz antennas and connected them to these connectors. After playing around a bit i finally got a stable signal level of about -70DB to commence my testing. I tested every tethering program, radio and method of tethering and still nothing gave me a consistent connection. So that rules out a bad signal level causing the problems.
It could be two things
1. Our phones radio sucks and drops packets at 3G frequencies thus forcing the phone to drop back to the 1x frequency.
I dont know how the architecture on the phone is designed or what specific frequencies verizon uses in my area but the internal antenna is made for one specific band of frequencies. If the antenna was designed to work the best for 800 mhz and still worked "good enough" for the 1800 mhz band when the phone was developed it could be a manufacturer flaw.
Or i could be wrong and the 2 antennas are actually two separate frequencies. Somebody with more knowledge of the phone could help me here.
2. Verizon has found a way to throttle our data usage. I dont believe it is this one because i tethered to a friends droid incredible last week and had blazing speeds for over an hour on verizon.
xllxjustinxllx said:
We have been having this problem for a long time now. Mine started back in the old days of evil eris 1.0. I believe it is an actual hardware issue with the phone. No matter what rom or radio I use i get horrible signal (never more than 2 bars) and my data connection randomly drops all the time. And its not just my area of the country. I am in the military and have traveled all over the country in the last year and never have i seen more than -80 db.
The first time i took apart my eris i noticed 2 U.fl connectors on the back of the main board. These connectors are what you connect an external antenna to on a computer or any other peice of wireless made these days. So i took a u.fl pigtail and fabricated two 800 mhz antennas and connected them to these connectors. After playing around a bit i finally got a stable signal level of about -70DB to commence my testing. I tested every tethering program, radio and method of tethering and still nothing gave me a consistent connection. So that rules out a bad signal level causing the problems.
It could be two things
1. Our phones radio sucks and drops packets at 3G frequencies thus forcing the phone to drop back to the 1x frequency.
I dont know how the architecture on the phone is designed or what specific frequencies verizon uses in my area but the internal antenna is made for one specific band of frequencies. If the antenna was designed to work the best for 800 mhz and still worked "good enough" for the 1800 mhz band when the phone was developed it could be a manufacturer flaw.
Or i could be wrong and the 2 antennas are actually two separate frequencies. Somebody with more knowledge of the phone could help me here.
2. Verizon has found a way to throttle our data usage. I dont believe it is this one because i tethered to a friends droid incredible last week and had blazing speeds for over an hour on verizon.
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Click to collapse
My Eris has been doing good. I'm on PRL 36060 I think (it's a 36000 series PRL) and had a problem but I called tech support and had them fix a local tower through a trouble ticket since it affected my wife's LG Ally also. I had them fix it and my Rev. A EVDO speeds have been great. You could have a bad phone and maybe a new handset under warranty may not be a bad idea.
xllxjustinxllx said:
We have been having this problem for a long time now. Mine started back in the old days of evil eris 1.0. I believe it is an actual hardware issue with the phone. No matter what rom or radio I use i get horrible signal (never more than 2 bars) and my data connection randomly drops all the time. And its not just my area of the country. I am in the military and have traveled all over the country in the last year and never have i seen more than -80 db.
The first time i took apart my eris i noticed 2 U.fl connectors on the back of the main board. These connectors are what you connect an external antenna to on a computer or any other peice of wireless made these days. So i took a u.fl pigtail and fabricated two 800 mhz antennas and connected them to these connectors. After playing around a bit i finally got a stable signal level of about -70DB to commence my testing. I tested every tethering program, radio and method of tethering and still nothing gave me a consistent connection. So that rules out a bad signal level causing the problems.
It could be two things
1. Our phones radio sucks and drops packets at 3G frequencies thus forcing the phone to drop back to the 1x frequency.
I dont know how the architecture on the phone is designed or what specific frequencies verizon uses in my area but the internal antenna is made for one specific band of frequencies. If the antenna was designed to work the best for 800 mhz and still worked "good enough" for the 1800 mhz band when the phone was developed it could be a manufacturer flaw.
Or i could be wrong and the 2 antennas are actually two separate frequencies. Somebody with more knowledge of the phone could help me here.
2. Verizon has found a way to throttle our data usage. I dont believe it is this one because i tethered to a friends droid incredible last week and had blazing speeds for over an hour on verizon.
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Click to collapse
I am very interested in how you managed to get a pigtail hooked into the back of the eris. I looked around before, and could not find any info on the connector. could you post a picture of your pigtail? did you make it or buy it? a pic of the phone with pigtail with antenna(s) would also be great. Thanks
As i said in an earlier post, I have a Wi-Ex 545 at home now, but it would be very useful to me to have a pigtail to use while pointing the antenna.
also, I am still having 3G dropping while wireless tethering.
haganme said:
I am very interested in how you managed to get a pigtail hooked into the back of the eris. I looked around before, and could not find any info on the connector. could you post a picture of your pigtail? did you make it or buy it? a pic of the phone with pigtail with antenna(s) would also be great. Thanks
As i said in an earlier post, I have a Wi-Ex 545 at home now, but it would be very useful to me to have a pigtail to use while pointing the antenna.
also, I am still having 3G dropping while wireless tethering.
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I've had 3g randomly cycle off on every Eris I've ever had. Every day.
I don't buy internet at home, I just tether, so I notice.
EVERY rom and radio I've ever had, ever. Ever. I've had 4 eris's.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I've had this happen on two Eris', in the same household, since I got them Christmas 09. Could any of you please explain this "trouble ticket" and how id go about doing that with tech support? One side note, also- my 3g is spotty and drops during WiFi tether (i also don't pay for internet at my house, so I notice big time), BUT when I use 3g to download torrents on my phone with AndTorrent, its almost flawless, downloads up to 2.14mbps, and never drops/stops/ or switches to 1x. Weird huh? And normally I get terrible 3g service in a small section of southeastern Connecticut that technically isn't covered in Verizons 3g map. So is it safe to say maybe these problems have something to do purely with the wired/wireless tether apps, maybe something with the SU access? I have no idea at all, just trying to throw some ideas around
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App
settlethestorm said:
I've had this happen on two Eris', in the same household, since I got them Christmas 09. Could any of you please explain this "trouble ticket" and how id go about doing that with tech support? One side note, also- my 3g is spotty and drops during WiFi tether (i also don't pay for internet at my house, so I notice big time), BUT when I use 3g to download torrents on my phone with AndTorrent, its almost flawless, downloads up to 2.14mbps, and never drops/stops/ or switches to 1x. Weird huh? And normally I get terrible 3g service in a small section of southeastern Connecticut that technically isn't covered in Verizons 3g map. So is it safe to say maybe these problems have something to do purely with the wired/wireless tether apps, maybe something with the SU access? I have no idea at all, just trying to throw some ideas around
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I don't really have anything constructive to offer regarding this. From August until just the other day, my phone was my only internet, too, so I have lots of experience with tethering in all sorts of ways as well. I just wanted to say that I didn't have any luck at all using any torrent program on the Android without my 3G shutting down just like it does while heavy tethering. I'm very sure I tried AndTorrent among the others because it sounded like one of the most recommended.
Maybe I'll try it again sometime just to see what happens. What ROM do you use AndTorrent on, again?
roirraW "edor" ehT said:
I don't really have anything constructive to offer regarding this. From August until just the other day, my phone was my only internet, too, so I have lots of experience with tethering in all sorts of ways as well. I just wanted to say that I didn't have any luck at all using any torrent program on the Android without my 3G shutting down just like it does while heavy tethering. I'm very sure I tried AndTorrent among the others because it sounded like one of the most recommended.
Maybe I'll try it again sometime just to see what happens. What ROM do you use AndTorrent on, again?
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Click to collapse
I'm using AndTorrent 0.89.3 and its worked well on almost every froyo Rom available to us except for conaps 4.3. I've also noticed (only on kaos v39) that HTC_IME almost stops my 3g, so I have to kill it a lot. I set max connections to 25 (highest choice) and leechers to 5. I tend to get the best results when I set the screen time-out to 30 minutes, brightness on dim and just let it sit at night. Now, a few rules of thumb if you do get it to work. 1) I set the search engine to torrentz simply cause you can find more options there. 2) Sometimes TPB torrents don't work (no idea why) 3) I always look for a torrent that 20 seeders or more just to make sure I can get a good amount of connections 4) lastly, my house always has sweet spots for 3g that change all the time but I always try to find one before I torrent lol. I hope some of this helps you. If you send me a PM with your email I can send you the apk too, but I don't know if that'd make a difference.
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App

[Q] Is anybody else downloading apps very slowly from the Market?

I thought it was a wifi issue, but I realized that I'm capped at the exact same speeds no matter what type of data connection I'm using. I can't go above around 200-250 kb/s no matter what. But this problem ONLY happens with downloading apps from the Market. Everything else loads quickly. My Captivate does not have this issue at all.
What would cause such a unique problem? My Atrix has a capped download speed ONLY from downloading Market apps.
It's called "throttling" they do it to keep their system stable. If they didn't then market would be even slower because everyone would be eating way more bandwidth. So just a guess here but they prolly think 250kb/s is fine because most apps are like 1-4 megs so your talking 4-16 sec to download an app? Which I find reasonable but to each their own.
*edit*
Coming from a cappy like you I really don't notice a DL speed diff, but I've never really paid attention either.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
I mean, I didn't really do it with a stopwatch, but it's very slow.
And my Captivate, when connected to my FIOS router, downloads at around 2.5-3 MB/s. Angry Birds, a 16 mb app, downloads within 6-7 seconds. And its 3G download speeds aren't throttled on the market, either.
So, why is only the Atrix being throttled?
FWIW, I'm in Canada, apps download FAST from the market - coming from N1, it's faster from download to install.
Could it just be AT&T then? Like, if the market detects that you're on the Atrix in the US on AT&T, it throttles your speeds?
Or is it some kind of software glitch or something?
dammit
mister_al said:
FWIW, I'm in Canada, apps download FAST from the market - coming from N1, it's faster from download to install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of speeds are you seeing for upload and downloads? Use speedtest.net to test your speeds.
I'm getting 2.0Mb/s download and 0.33Mb/s upload speeds with Fido out here in Victoria.
I dont have an atrix so i cant really try this out but anyone in the US who is rooted download an app called marketenabler and change the sim code to either t-mo or rodgers and see if that will un-throttle the download speeds
bencaptivate said:
I dont have an atrix so i cant really try this out but anyone in the US who is rooted download an app called marketenabler and change the sim code to either t-mo or rodgers and see if that will un-throttle the download speeds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There would be no reason for Google Market to throttle speed based on provider
rajeshr said:
What kind of speeds are you seeing for upload and downloads? Use speedtest.net to test your speeds.
I'm getting 2.0Mb/s download and 0.33Mb/s upload speeds with Fido out here in Victoria.
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Click to collapse
My upload is the same as you - my download is on average about 5Mbps.
I *am* just outside Toronto though. I know if I'm in downtown I can usually get much faster results, I'll be running it on Thursday to confirm
mister_al said:
There would be no reason for Google Market to throttle speed based on provider
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Click to collapse
i know google wouldnt do it but at&t might. if they can edit the market to display an "at&t market" when connected to an at&t tower then they could very well hardcode it in the market to throttle speeds when on the at&t network
No, wait... this goes further than that... I turned on Airplane mode and connected to the regular, non-AT&T market. And I STILL get these throttled speeds.
I have a full-body case on mine... Can somebody try taking out their SIM card, then using wifi to download a big app from the market like Angry Birds?
...well, this is weird. I'm in New Jersey.
Somebody told me they've got an Atrix in Virginia and don't have any problems with download speeds from the market.
But there's no way it's LOCATION based... right? I mean, that would be the most ridiculous thing possible, right?
I just did a stopwatch test with my Atrix and Captivate.
Angry Birds Lite Beta
11.44 MB app
Both are on the same Wifi connection, and are physically less than 4 feet away from the router.
Atrix: 82 seconds (143 kilobytes per second)
Captivate: 7 seconds (1,673 kilobytes per second)
There is absolutely something wrong with the Atrix here.
Defective unit....
MultiKoopa said:
I just did a stopwatch test with my Atrix and Captivate.
Angry Birds Lite Beta
11.44 MB app
Both are on the same Wifi connection, and are physically less than 4 feet away from the router.
Atrix: 82 seconds (143 kilobytes per second)
Captivate: 7 seconds (1,673 kilobytes per second)
There is absolutely something wrong with the Atrix here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's not right. I get excellent download rates with my Atrix on Wifi, equal to and better than your example with the Captivate. I'd be heading back to the store for a replacement if I were you. It has to be that particular phone because I never have problems like that, sorry.
Downloaded Slice It (6+ MB) on the Nexus One in 5 seconds flat. Atrix needed almost a minute.
Using in Germany on a non at&t sim so there cannot be anything related to them, I guess?
I am also having very poor download speeds via Wifi and 3g. I have a very fast fios connection and i'm only downloading at 300kbps which is pathetic. I am returning this thing, hopefully the replacement will work better!!!
Alright, after checking with a bunch of people who do and don't have the problem, it seems there were a bunch of defective ones from late December until around January 4.
Anybody who did not have a problem had a manufacture date after January 4.
Looks like that's our answer. Our phones are defective. :\
How do you determine your manufacture date?
MultiKoopa said:
Alright, after checking with a bunch of people who do and don't have the problem, it seems there were a bunch of defective ones from late December until around January 4.
Anybody who did not have a problem had a manufacture date after January 4.
Looks like that's our answer. Our phones are defective. :\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your download speeds are in general low or only in the market?
ONLY downloading apps from the market. Absolutely nothing else is affected.
But downloading apps from the market on 3G, 4G or any Wifi network is always no faster than around 200 kb/s. Usually 150 kb/s.
I went to exchange my phone today. I checked the manufactured date on the phone in the store. 1/11/2011. So I figured it'd be fine, with a newer manufactured date on the phone.
It was defective. Damn it.
So I'm basically playing roulette each time I exchange the phone.

Poor WiFi performance next to laptop

Last night I was looking for a video on youtube on my photon, and my wife was searching on our old laptop. Both were connected to our WiFi router, and we were sitting right next to each other. The laptop was MUCH faster than the photon, and the photon kept hanging in the middle of videos.
I'm pretty sure it was a wireless issue. I turned off WiFi and ran it on 3G, and it ran faster with no signal drops! I went back to WiFi and the performance dropped significantly.
Any suggestions for how to improve the WiFi performance? Would a newer router help? The 2300 is tried & true, and I've always like it. Does WiFi channel matter? Other ideas?
I'm not rooted, if that matters for any response.
Jeffrey_L said:
Last night I was looking for a video on youtube on my photon, and my wife was searching on our old laptop. Both were connected to our WiFi router, and we were sitting right next to each other. The laptop was MUCH faster than the photon, and the photon kept hanging in the middle of videos.
I'm pretty sure it was a wireless issue. I turned off WiFi and ran it on 3G, and it ran faster with no signal drops! I went back to WiFi and the performance dropped significantly.
Any suggestions for how to improve the WiFi performance? Would a newer router help? The 2300 is tried & true, and I've always like it. Does WiFi channel matter? Other ideas?
I'm not rooted, if that matters for any response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What build version are you currently on? Have you flashed any of the updates or is the phone stock from Sprint?
I don't think a new router would help. My wifes nexus s 4g always has better signal strength than my photon when on wifi, I compared it to a friends Htc sensation connected to the same router and he had the better signal strength, and places where my evo 4g use to get a very weak signal but was still able to connect the photon won't connect at all.
Just some info to add to the OP....
I have a good router at home and a good one at work (different brands) and my WiFi is fast and smooth while at work but sometimes at home it is slow and chunky. Very sporadic at home for some reason and it never seemed to happen until after one of the updates.
CCallahan said:
Just some info to add to the OP....
I have a good router at home and a good one at work (different brands) and my WiFi is fast and smooth while at work but sometimes at home it is slow and chunky. Very sporadic at home for some reason and it never seemed to happen until after one of the updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue after the last "update". It seems to lose the wi-fi connection and keeps any network from connecting. I have to turn the wifi off and wait for the 3G to connect or I won't get any mail. I can't figure out what changed, but it used to work perfectly. I'm contemplating rolling back to the first update.
pzztgotbagz said:
What build version are you currently on? Have you flashed any of the updates or is the phone stock from Sprint?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have installed all OTA updates to date.
Build No. 4.5.1A-1_SUN-154_6
Ok, I bit the bullet and used RSD to roll back to the earliest version of the code (I didn't lose any data or even the location of the widgets on my screen) and it totally fixed the WiFi issues I've been having. Plus the battery seems to last quite a bit longer. I thought that the latest update was a loser, this just proves it.
I came to the conclusion on my own that the photon doesn't like any mixed wifi signals; i had my 2.4ghz router running with mixed b/g/n for wireless and it didnt play nice. Once i changed it to n only it worked way better.......
Nextelian said:
Ok, I bit the bullet and used RSD to roll back to the earliest version of the code (I didn't lose any data or even the location of the widgets on my screen) and it totally fixed the WiFi issues I've been having. Plus the battery seems to last quite a bit longer. I thought that the latest update was a loser, this just proves it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am experiencing the same wifi issues after updating to 198_6. Which version did you roll back to?
I would be interested in knowing what version also,, I'm sure if I did some research I can find out on my own in the meantime,,,,
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
Sorry to be so late responding. I've been away from the forum for awhile (been out slumming with the iPhone crowd trying to see what the panic was about).
1FF-sunfire-user-2.3.4-4.5.1A-1_SUN-154_5-CM-release-keys-signed-Sprint-US.sbf
is the one I used. I just accidentally applied the OTA update and the WIFI issues returned. Back to the drawing board. I guess I need to do the "no OTA update" hack.
EXACTLY! This has been happening to me now on TWO Phones! I can't say that it's been just my home router though. I took my phone into the sprint store, hooked up to their wifi and same problem... Right off the bat it didn't connect to the market.
This happens at home and is super frustrating. I will get to browse a couple pages/apps/zedge then nothing. I've even had it go retarded enough to pop up the 3G icon as well as the wifi signal indicator...? No up/down arrows showed in the 3G to indicate data transfer but I was just like WTF?
So now when I leave my house, out of range of wifi, my phone blows up with e-mails, apps I've had in queue, etc.
I've noticed these problems more with the most recent update but I didn't spend too much time browsing without it though. Maybe I'll get a new one from Sprint and just never apply the update.
**EDIT: Both times I've received one of these phones the only update I've done is the most recent one. I haven't bothered checking the software version they are coming with. Is it possible they're no longer putting out the first update and these aren't cumulative? Just a shot in the dark but maybe I needed that first update before the second to make things jive. It's unlikely they would put out updates in this manner but I'm grasping for straws here.
kennypow3rs said:
I came to the conclusion on my own that the photon doesn't like any mixed wifi signals; i had my 2.4ghz router running with mixed b/g/n for wireless and it didnt play nice. Once i changed it to n only it worked way better.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience is different. The phone connects and works great at the office but not so great at home. Both routers are set on mixed. Not sure what the difference is (besides the brand of router). I do know the one at home is handing out IPs but the one at work is not. The server handles that.
Not sure what else could make a difference.
Just got my third Photon from the sprint store and same issue. This one already had the 42.5.7 update installed on it but wifi has been flakey. I'm convinced that it's something in the software combined with the wifi we are using. The ridiculous thing is I have a motorola SBG 900 that I use for wireless at home so you would think they would be compatible. I really like the phone otherwise so I hope a new update is right around the corner.
Just went and bought a $160 modem/router combo and my phone has no issues at all with wireless now...
Three Photons in a week and a good chunk of cash later and I can use wifi at home. And now that I've finally had time to play with it I find out wifi tether only does ad hoc natively.
I wouldn't mind having my Evo Shift back.
I'm having the same problem. I updated to 198_6 as part of the testing group and at first had no problems with Wifi. Now when I am connected to wifi (both at work and at home) I can't send or receive text messages, download from the market, nada. As soon as I connect back to 4G everything works perfectly. I'm gonna roll back tonight to the previous update. BTW, I also updated my PRL to 51082 and that didn't seem to help.
Is the problem basically where wifi is connected to the router then stops going past that? Like you still have an ip but no data?
If so try turning off notifications for gmail or turning off the "notify once option". This seemed to help me lose my connection to where i had flip on/off the wifi radio.
Let me know how you fare with this.
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
Are you running any "turbo or super G" like modes set on the router? I remember reading on the motorola forums that these sometimes may cause issues - other things, router firmware update if applicable... do you have an airave device? If so, make sure the distance between that and the router are more than 5ft apart in distance.
Still, in your situation - streaming over the wifi shouldn't be an issue with bandwidth to keep in consideration, but realistically speaking - that should be better than 3g speeds for video playback.
These were some of the thing I had picked up from while troubleshooting an ongoing issue I am still having with my old d-link di-624 and photon getting stuck at "obtaining an IP address" on the official Motorola photon forums. In the latter situation, mine will connect if I reboot the router... my other tablets and laptops connect flawlessly on this.

[Q] best way to turn phone in to home internet

I want to say bye, bye to TW internet, but don't know the best way to make My Razr 4G LTE internet to all PC's,Ps3 and my Xbox 360.
I put it here becouse the Razr forms are small vs this one and Is more about LTE any way.
Thanks
Not really
It's not really the solution you wanted, but assuming you are not trying to tether the world to your cell phone (which should then double nicely as a heater), why not just get a mobile hotspot and be done with it.
I hate my TWC wires (2 cables spanning 2 neighbors yards) and have pulled twice the speed on my Rezound than I am getting from TWC (although not at home, regrettably). I say this because I understand your frustration first hand; I just disagree with your proposed resolution.
looked into this a bit, my conclusion was that:
1) unless you have a fairly small network (ie just yourself), you're going to need to go the route of the mobile hotspot.
&
2) the mobile hotspot hardware currently available isn't reliable enough to trust as a dedicated home internet solution.
Don't be fooled I use mine for everything and I pay for unlimited mobile hotspot. Just can't use everything at onces.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
I wouldnt recommend using your phone or any wireless solution for gaming, the ping is too high.
Kane5581 said:
I wouldnt recommend using your phone or any wireless solution for gaming, the ping is too high.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get only maybe 20-30ms higher on my phone tether vs my FiOS.
If you are dead set on doing this, I would use your PC/Laptop as a network bridge. You should be able to connect the LAN cable to your PC and then into where your modem would plug into your router. But, you would have to setup your router first, or connect it via USB to setup since you wouldn't be able to use the provider software or the IP to connect in through that port. Just an idea, but like others said, reliability could probably be zero.
Let me tell you the "reliability" of my TW cable internet right now: It gos form 7-10DL to 3 and then even to under 1, 2-4 times A DAY. It go's out at times too, so I can't see it geting more bad then that.
P.S I am "dead set" on having home internet that has good up time and able to play 1080p video if needed.
Time Warner doesn't offer a package higher than 10mbps? Why not just get Fios or something? Have you even called TW? I had an issue like this a few years back (With a provider in GA I can't remember the name) where I wasn't getting the 25mbps I was paying for. They came out and tested my modem and it was dying. They replaced it, and it worked from then on out. It was even a modem I paid for myself, they gave me a new one and took the old one free of charge.
Koush posted that Tether is in the Android Market now.
I pay for 15DL and 1UL, But am only geting 6-10DL and .5UL. I think it's BS, but I can't poof that to them. I Have used all kinds of speed test and they all never hit more than 11-12DL and 1UL. LTE has been about the same on DL at home after the outges and DEC the 25th. ( It was geting 10-15DL and now its 4-10DL and 5-6UL.)
Now I am a bit mad at the big red, becuase on AT&T my speeds have been going up and Up and up. (I think AT&T Is about toput up LTE here soon)
LTE is extremelt cool, and will only get better. But as of right now, I wouldn't call it reliable enough to handle an entire house full of bandwidth-hungry devices.
My At&T U-Verse internet advertises up to 25mBps. This, to the average user, probably sounds like more than one would ever need. But what they don't tell you is that each TV (when its box is on) takes up to 6mBps of that bandwidth all by itself. So if you've got 2 HDTVs running in the house, and somebody gaming online, suddenly that internet speed ain't lookin' all that cutting-edge.
According to what I've gleaned from the small amount of research I've done, you need a solid 10mBps to stream 1080p HD content without bottlenecking. The top AT&T U-verse package I have can do it all day long, while also handling whatever else may be using bandwidth. I would worry about any plan below the top one though. Maybe if you only have one HDTV connection in the house.
I tried tethering off my phone when temp-root v2 came out, and I was impressed with the results. But I was also realistic about it. My tether speed tests came in at roughly 6-7mBps downloaded. Not bad in a pinch, but certainly nowhere near good enough to power a whole house. And certainly not good enough to stream HD.
I don't think the idea of a phone providing internet for the home far off, but we just aren't there yet. I'm thinking in 5-10 years.
If you want to use your phone as your home internet service, pm me. I've been using mine for my home for the last 4 years, cuz I don't have dsl. It's awesome, and I can help you get it up and running. I've averaged 40-50gb per month for the past 3 years. PM me.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
I used 30Gb and I saw my speed in my home go down, but at work it would be fast as ever with 5 bars. My billing just started to day and my DL is now in the 20+ vs 5-7 DL before. I think I got my speeds lowered for useing 30gb. Any way TW sucks even more with that.

"Internet connection is unstable" issue

OK, I've seen a lot of posts in various forums about this issue, but have yet to find a single thread that captures all the details about what I've experienced. Let me know if I should move this conversation into a different thread.
On my home wifi network, I am able to connect, but constantly receive the error "internet connection is unstable", and I cannot pull any data over wifi. I noticed this issue on my home network after returning from a business trip this week. I'd previously seen the issue occasionally in hotels, etc, and had already disabled the "Passpoint" and "Auto network switch settings". That seemed to work on the road, but now that I'm at home, I'm unable to pull any data over wifi.
My home router is a TP-Link Archer C7, running the latest firmware.
Per Verizon and Samsung's advice, I cleared the cache partition, "forgot" and reconnected to the network, tried using safe mode, and tried a factory reset of the phone. I also restarted the router and changed the router's broadcast channels.
Last night, I rooted the phone via Kingo and installed the Jelly 'Beans' rom using SafeStrap, since I wasn't getting satisfactory answers from support. To my surprise, the issue also occurred on the new rom. I'm not an Android expert, but it seems like this means its either:
1) a hardware issue, or
2) a lower-level software issue (radio firmware? not sure how that works)
I removed root and safestrap, to continue support options with Verizon, but I wanted to ping the community here for suggestions. The timing is confusing to me. I'm pretty sure, though not certain, that I've used my home network successfully since the 12/17 OTA update. However, since so many others are seeing issues, it seems unlikely that this is a hardware issue.
Could others describe their issues and router, so we can look for patterns? Let me know if I should move this into a different thread.
Thanks!
Mine does the same thing from time to time but only on certain roms
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Premium HD app
yeah, I'd seen intermittent issues previously, but all of a sudden it stopped working at home entirely. Still connects to some other networks, although not all.
After seeing a bunch of posts on the Verizon forums (and just the general timing and behavior of the issue) it seemed like a software problem.
Verizon is actually cooperating, so I may just end up replacing this phone. Wondering if anyone else has seen wifi completely break like this.
This is the only thing I can not stand about my note
I have a Zyxel WAP3205 WIFI access point (Wireless G) that I use at both work and at home.
At home, I have Comcast Business Cable internet, and have absolutely no issues connecting to it. The WAP is connected to a Belkin N600 router, which is then connected to my cable modem (not sure of the model, shouldn't matter TBQH).
At work on the other hand, I have constant connection issues. Albeit, I don't get the 'connection is unstable' notification, but I get constant connect/disconnect problems. I also have almost no (most of the time I can't even send/receive text messages at my desk.....) phone signal (ie not even 1X). I'm not sure if that plays into it at all either. The company I work for uses Windstream for their ISP, and it's complete crap to be perfectly honest. Needless to say, it doesn't change the fact that I'm connecting to the internet through the same device (well, same model/firmware/etc...), and I'm having issues at 1 place and not at the other.
I might also add that my tablet (Nexus 7 2013 running CM11) doesn't seem to have these issues at all and works just fine via the WIFI.
That's about the only information that I can provide. I know my internet where I work is complete crap. I sometimes remote desktop back to my home server to browse the web and download files via that because it's actually faster. I'm not even kidding.
I have 2 routers at home and have experienced the same issue as well and none of my other devices have this problem
Sent from Rooted Note 3 (stock rom) Xposed framework
Verizon is shipping a replacement phone to me tomorrow, so I'll test this out and see if it makes a difference. I'm on the road until Thursday, so it'll be a few days before I can check on my home router.
The behavior on this issue just seems strange. It began intermittently, but then completely stopped working at my house (but still sometimes works elsewhere). Lots of people report intermittent issues, but a few seem completely broken. Not sure what to make of it, I'm just glad I was able to get a different device out of Verizon. We'll see if that actually fixes the problem.
I haven't had this notification until I got the Note3. Is it possible that its android 4.3? Or this tw 4.3? Anybody know if other folks get this with other devices?
Harleydroid said:
I haven't had this notification until I got the Note3. Is it possible that its android 4.3? Or this tw 4.3? Anybody know if other folks get this with other devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only have this problem if I connect to the wifi at work, which is odd because I'm about 7 unobstructed feet away from the AP. I don't get this anywhere else.
I had a Note2 on stock rom up to 4.3 and never had the issue. I have a 2012 Nexus 7 latest version, again, no problem. It's only on my Note3 with stock rom that this happens.
exactor_mortis said:
I only have this problem if I connect to the wifi at work, which is odd because I'm about 7 unobstructed feet away from the AP. I don't get this anywhere else.
I had a Note2 on stock rom up to 4.3 and never had the issue. I have a 2012 Nexus 7 latest version, again, no problem. It's only on my Note3 with stock rom that this happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It happens on custom roms too.
I've asked a couple devs if they could remove it and they said it been like that in android for along time.But I never experienced it until my Note 3
exactor_mortis said:
I only have this problem if I connect to the wifi at work, which is odd because I'm about 7 unobstructed feet away from the AP. I don't get this anywhere else.
I had a Note2 on stock rom up to 4.3 and never had the issue. I have a 2012 Nexus 7 latest version, again, no problem. It's only on my Note3 with stock rom that this happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Never happened on my Note2 but happens all the time on my Note3. I have two Linksys Routers at home for full house coverage and I can be in the next room and get that message. Just got it earlier. Same routers as I had with the N2 a few months ago. My Tablet, nor the Spouses HTC One Max have that issue and are connecting just fine, and stay connected.
I get this all the time. Got it on stock as well. Only really happens with my ghetto satellite Internet though lol
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app
Has anyone with this issue installed AdBlock and/or an ad-blocking HOSTS file? I didn't start seeing this problem until I did both.
Whenever I see this message I can go into the speedtest.net app and pull a continuous 60mbits down, pretty much maxing my connection, and I never see any actual stability issues.
I think the system may have some connectivity test that's being interfered with but I haven't had time to go digging through the logs yet, so I wanted to see if anyone else had done what I did to trigger it first.
Seems to be two different issues being discussed here without really differentiating the two... the OP states that he is always getting the notification and "can't pull any data over wifi" ... others are saying they are getting the notification without really stating if it is affecting their overall wifi performance at all.
I'm on AT&T DSL... I was getting the notification ALL THE TIME while using the supplied (4 year old) AT&T 2Wire router and it would fail and freeze and disconnect and it was DRIVING ME NUTS... so i went out and got a brand new Netgear N300 router and problem is solved ... mostly
I'm still using the AT&T 2Wire as a modem... disabled it's internal wifi... ethernet cable to the Netgear. .. and BINGO!!! All my connection problems and data problems have gone away... i still get the unstable notification maybe once or twice a week but i figure that's a DSL thing... any little glitches in Internet availability will be detected by the device and displayed so that doesn't bother me at all.
It's almost like this phone does ping tests all the time and if one doesn't come back properly it throws the notification...
i was at a friends house the other day and was getting the notification constantly but was still able to watch YouTube videos and Netflix without much problem... so i did some speed tests on his wifi and his ping and upload were all over the place... His download speed was solid between 20 and 28 but his upload was never even close to normal and failed several times... and his ping was good on some and took forever on others... i also noticed Web pages would sometimes take forever to start loading ... Once they started loading they did so quickly but the start was painfully slow a lot of the time... This would indicate to me that the ping or upload connection has issues or maybe over congested on his iSP.
Anyway... hope this helps others iron things out
b00mb00mchuck said:
Seems to be two different issues being discussed here without really differentiating the two... the OP states that he is always getting the notification and "can't pull any data over wifi" ... others are saying they are getting the notification without really stating if it is affecting their overall wifi performance at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I get the notification, it refuses to use the wifi at all.
I haven't noticed any problems with my WiFi. I host 6 wireless networks, and play with WiFi a lot, War driving, and wireless network setup is a hobby of mine.
One thing I noticed at several throttled Hot Spots My VZW note 3 would test the WiFi speed, if it was slower than 4G it would display a popup, something to the effect "Wireless too slow, using mobile Data" I can't remember the exact popup text. It might be a VZW thing.
I use the OOKLA speedtest, free from the play store. (After you run your OOKLA test, for fun drag the speedometer down to reveal some cool messages about Ookla!
A few wireless router settings I use:
Set 2.4 to N 20 Megs max. N 40 or AC mostly just creates problems with connections, and the neighborhood.
Channels 1, 6, or 11 in USA Use a WiFi analyzer app and pick a less cluttered WiFi channel.
Place wireless router up high away from electronics, construction, and stuffs. Mine is on a pedestal in a window.
SM-N900V DE Running JellyBeans V6
radionerd said:
One thing I noticed at several throttled Hot Spots My VZW note 3 would test the WiFi speed, if it was slower than 4G it would display a popup, something to the effect "Wireless too slow, using mobile Data" I can't remember the exact popup text. It might be a VZW thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to WiFi settings/advanced/auto network switch... and turn that off so it won't jump off slow WiFi networks
b00mb00mchuck said:
Go to WiFi settings/advanced/auto network switch... and turn that off so it won't jump off slow WiFi networks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,
I just tested "auto network switch" on and then off. It let me connect to one of my throttled networks, without; "Checking quality of internet connection".
I noticed that it only showed; "network disabled because internet connection is slow" on the congested 2.4 GHz band, not with same router on 5.8 GHz.
Radio interference, location, and router settings, can cause many problems on wireless networks.
b00mb00mchuck said:
Seems to be two different issues being discussed here without really differentiating the two... the OP states that he is always getting the notification and "can't pull any data over wifi" ... others are saying they are getting the notification without really stating if it is affecting their overall wifi performance at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, I noticed in my research that multiple issues seem to be getting lumped together. I think you're correct in that it's related to the router as well, somehow. I see the notification occasionally on slow hotel connections, but it's intermittent, my problem at home seems permanent. I can use some other wifi networks without problems, though.
That said, I used this phone on my home router for a couple months before ever seeing this problem. I'm guessing it's a combination of the 12/17 OTA update, and particular router models.
Verizon sent me a replacement phone, and it's running the previous build (MJ7 instead of MJE). I'll check things out tonight, and will report back.
Alright, the issue seems resolved on the new phone. This seems to suggest that it is related to the MJE build. So far this phone hasn't asked for an update, but I'm hoping Verizon doesn't break this again for me

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