What is going on?? Changing signal strength manually - Thunderbolt Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So... weird...
Don't know if this does anything at all, but I thought it would be worth mentioning.
So, after putting the code *#*#4636#*#* into my dialer to get the "testing" menu, I looked at Phone Information and saw the following:
Signal strength: -56 dBm 4 asu (which I assume to be the strength of the signal)
and further down:
Set preferred network type: CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto (which I assume to be the network type)
So I then changed the preferred network type to "EvDo only" and, lo and behold, when scrolling up I see:
Signal strength: -120 dBm 4 asu
Changing it to "CDMA only" makes the signal strengh -43 dBm and also makes me unable to do any sort of connectivity.
Can someone please explain? NOTE: I don't have 4G in my area.

info from my stuff in DFW
CDMA Auto (prl) = -96dBm 1asu 3g internet + phone
CDMA only = -96 dBm 2asu (1X 3g slow internet) + phone
EvDo only = -120 dBm 1asu 3G + no phone
CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto = -96dBm 1asu 4Glte +phone
LTE mode = -96dBm 1asu 4Glte +phone
donno if that helps you any but that's what i get out of each setting

cdma+lte lets it switch between 3g and 4g when available. if you dont have 4g, set it to cdma auto. youll max out at 3g and save battery as opposed to it searching and sometimes switching to 4g on the other option. evdo and the cdma i am not so sure about
oh, and obviously lte is 4g only.. i wish...

The different signal strengths are because those are different networks I believe. So the cdma evdo equipment could be different than the 1x tower you're connected to. The transmission power could be much higher or lower than the other.

Related

3G or H? you can only have one

well through testing almost all of the roms here in this section i have found out that every rom does have 3g but if you select HSDPA/HSUPA you will lose your 3G connection and can only have it again if you disable HSDPA/HSUPA. This seems very odd because the hermes and kaiser would switch between the two depending on which one had the stronger connection. i welcome others to test this as i think it is interesting and should be looked into.
HackMimic said:
well through testing almost all of the roms here in this section i have found out that every rom does have 3g but if you select HSDPA/HSUPA you will lose your 3G connection and can only have it again if you disable HSDPA/HSUPA. This seems very odd because the hermes and kaiser would switch between the two depending on which one had the stronger connection. i welcome others to test this as i think it is interesting and should be looked into.
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Hmmm Curious..
I am currently running RomeOS 1.21 and am about to update to 1.51.
mine switches no problem between the two.
If i can't get a HSDPA signal then it auto switches to 3G..
will see if the new rom changes anything.
Dean
let me know because i have been observing and have only seen it auto change from H to E or G whichs sucks when it use to go from H to 3G. travel the entire bay area for my job and both phones side by side with me act different. so wierd.
HackMimic said:
let me know because i have been observing and have only seen it auto change from H to E or G whichs sucks when it use to go from H to 3G. travel the entire bay area for my job and both phones side by side with me act different. so wierd.
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Click to collapse
I Thought H was the same as 3g. Isn't Att's 3G network run on HSDPA?
HackMimic said:
well through testing almost all of the roms here in this section i have found out that every rom does have 3g but if you select HSDPA/HSUPA you will lose your 3G connection and can only have it again if you disable HSDPA/HSUPA. This seems very odd because the hermes and kaiser would switch between the two depending on which one had the stronger connection. i welcome others to test this as i think it is interesting and should be looked into.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HSDPA/HSUPS is 3G. If you are referring to WCDMA vs HSPA there would not be a stronger connection for either because they are on the same frequency.
Fact is on the Hermes/Kaiser the HSPA was downstream only (HSDPA) , on the raph its has bi-directional HSPA (HSDPA and HSUPA) therefor the towers you are broadcasting to with the device will have HSPA mode on continuously as apposed to only when you are receiving from them since the device is receiving and transmitting using HSPA.....which is why the HSDPA mode "H" symbol only appeared during data transfer on the older devices, there was normally a short delay (when using the device as a modem for example) before the "H" appeared and the data began coming in.
Notice how you need to reboot if you choose to deactive HSPA alltogether? The radio stack probably needs to start a new session on the network to change from HSPA back to UMTS only. Indeed when you set standard 3G mode you should get the "3G" symbol rather than "H".
The service rep at ATT told me the other day that HSDPA is actually different then 3G. THe HSDPA is typically meant for the Laptop Connect cards. Since the inception of the iPhone on 3G if you haven't noticed your speeds have dropped significantly.
How true is this I don't know...but when I am using a ROM like RRE that has HSDPA my speeds are much faster then with 3G.
ryncppr said:
The service rep at ATT told me the other day that HSDPA is actually different then 3G. THe HSDPA is typically meant for the Laptop Connect cards. Since the inception of the iPhone on 3G if you haven't noticed your speeds have dropped significantly.
How true is this I don't know...but when I am using a ROM like RRE that has HSDPA my speeds are much faster then with 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HSPA (3.5G) is just another coding method, it still uses the 3G frequencies as with UMTS (aka normal 3G). The theoretical bandwidth due to the more complex an efficient coding method means you can get ALOT more bandwidth down the same frequency than with UMTS. So technically UMTS and HSPA can both be encompassed into the "3G" terminology although they use different coding techniques, the video calling and voice stuff are handled identically afaik, data transmission is where they differ.
This kind of improvement can be seen in the 2G technologies with GSM/GPRS/EDGE.
HSDPA is a "higher speed" data connection than 3G... but its still a "3G" frequency data connection. So on-the-face-of-it, they are one and same, just one is faster than the other.
thank you so much. i am a very visual and analytical person. love to compare behavour. glad i got a real answer about this as i have been reading for days on this and it seems kind of cloudy with the fuze on information. thank you again for the replys.
Wow, there's quite a bit of information, some conflicting, about the various 3G-related terminologies here. So I might as well add my take on it all
Let's compare 2G terminologies to 3G ones, as that should make it easier for some to understand.
GSM - the very basic 2G standard
UMTS - the very basic 3G standard
GPRS - upgraded GSM to packet switching - faster data access - dubbed 2.5G
HSDPA - upgraded UMTS to faster downlink speeds - dubbed 3.5G
EDGE - upgraded GPRS to faster data access - dubbed 2.75G
HSUPA - upgraded UMTS to faster uplink speeds - dubbed 3.75G (occasionally)
Finally, HSPA is simply a term encompassing HSDPA and HSUPA.
I hope this helps more than it hurts
Trancecoder said:
GSM - the very basic 2G standard
UMTS - the very basic 3G standard
GPRS - upgraded GSM to packet switching - faster data access - dubbed 2.5G
HSDPA - upgraded UMTS to faster downlink speeds - dubbed 3.5G
EDGE - upgraded GPRS to faster data access - dubbed 2.75G
HSUPA - upgraded UMTS to faster uplink speeds - dubbed 3.75G (occasionally)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There i fixed it for you
shotta35 said:
There i fixed it for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WCDMA is the air interface for UMTS as
TDMA is the air interface for GSM.
At the same time, GSM is used to describe a phone system that uses GSM/TDMA and UMTS/WCDMA versus the CDMA phone system used by Sprint/Verizon/Qualcomm.
Confused yet?
NuShrike said:
WCDMA is the air interface for UMTS as
TDMA is the air interface for GSM.
At the same time, GSM is used to describe a phone system that uses GSM/TDMA and UMTS/WCDMA versus the CDMA phone system used by Sprint/Verizon/Qualcomm.
Confused yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PLEAAAASEEE can we go into how OFDM and QPSK work?? i want to see some heads explode...scanners style.
NuShrike said:
WCDMA is the air interface for UMTS as
TDMA is the air interface for GSM.
At the same time, GSM is used to describe a phone system that uses GSM/TDMA and UMTS/WCDMA versus the CDMA phone system used by Sprint/Verizon/Qualcomm.
Confused yet?
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Click to collapse
LOL, newbs reading this will and should be confused. I only edited it to make his comparisons between GSM and UMTS which is should be, not GSM and WCDMA which aren't in the same "group"
shotta35 said:
LOL, newbs reading this will and should be confused. I only edited it to make his comparisons between GSM and UMTS which is should be, not GSM and WCDMA which aren't in the same "group"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*head explode*
what are decent speeds for HSPA connections?
shotta35 said:
There i fixed it for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I really shouldn't post anything when it's late, especially when my head feels twice its size due to a particularly annoying cold
NuShrike and Mr. Vanx has explained it.
These jargons always confusing for us, laymans. Easiest term is i think CDMA (2000,1X, EVDO) is used almost exclusively in US, while GSM and WCDMA (UMTS) is in almost everywhere else of the world (around 3.5 billon users as of now - open www.gsmworld.com). Except Japan, they have their own customized system.
Reasons of difference? Matter of choice, more like when you decide using VHS instead of BetaMax. I think part of the reason why US choose CDMA instead of GSM you may ask Qualcomm's technical people, as they hold majority of the copyrights and licenses in CDMA technology. Not only in driverless chipsets... LoL.
Actually, we in Indonesia also adopt CDMA in smaller and narrower market. But the gov limit them to be Fixed Wireless. Now, what does the jargon: Fixed Wireless means?? Another head exploded... LoL =D
3G icon shows when the phone's sitting idle, H shows when data's being transferred.
My phone shows H all the time now because this market has moved on from UMTS + HSPDA to a HSPA market now. This is ONLY as a result of using the non-AT&T ROM, if you use that it will say 3G because AT&T has disabled it (the icon, not speeds) to cause less confusion.
As for what's typical HSPA speeds? Well on the AT&T network i've seen as high as 2Mbps (on a 3.6Mbps HSPA network) but there are places in Europe that are deploying 7.2Mbps and in Australia they are launching 21Mbps!!!

[Q] [n00b] Network Standards

Hi
Our O1 is HSDPA 7.2 Mbps acroding to spec sheets but in the settings it shows either GSM or WCDMA. There is no HSDPA.
Is HSDPA included in the GSM settings?
I am getting very low speeds even when it says 3G in the notifications bar so was just wondering.
WCDMA deployments are usually marketed as UMTS.
UMTS networks in many countries have been or are in the process of being upgraded with High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), sometimes known as 3.5G.
So the answer to your question is: HSDPA is included in WCDMA settings. Or properly said, it is a feature of the WCDMA connection mode. Your phone supports it. If you get low speeds, then your operator doesn't offer this service in your area. Or at all.
If you have never seen an "H" in your status bar, only "G" or "3G", that't the answer: no such service in your area from your mobile operator.
I actually see H and 3G most of the time with it goin to E(EDGE) or G(GPRS) very rarely.
I was just wondering why it wasn't given in the settings.
And the speeds remain poor. Even at nights, assuming less traffic/users, the speeds rarely rise above 40 KBps. I am not looking for 3.6 Mbps or 7.2 Mbps but atleast speeds in the range of 1Mbps(128KBps) should be there.
Anyway, i guess its my operator that sucks!
Now that number portability has been rolled out here in India its time to switch operators!
Thanks for the reply. Upped that meter a little for ya!
kewlsid05 said:
I was just wondering why it wasn't given in the settings.
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Click to collapse
The reason why you don't see HSDPA as an option in your menu is because the WCDMA connection will automatically work at its best: HSDPA if available or 3G otherwise. Low speed even if your phone is connected using HSDPA is definitely your operator's fault.
Glad I was able to shed some light on this matter and thanks for the appreciation.

2G / 3G / H / H+ Logos on CM10

On Jelly Bean, the cellular radio states are clearly shown under System Settings, About Phone, Status, Mobile network type.
It would be nice to know when we are operating with a HSDPA category 10 connection just by looking at the Status Bar.
(Status Bar / Mobile network type / complete description / Max download throughput)
2G = EDGE:2
3G = UMTS:3 = HSDPA Category 3 = 1.8 Mbps max
H = HSDPA:8 = HSPA Category 8 = 7.2 Mbps max
H = HSDA:9 = HSPA Category 9 = 10.2 Mbps max
H = HSDA:10 = HSPA Category 10 = 14.4 Mbps max
H+ = HSPAP:15 = HSPA Category 14 = 23.4 Mbps max
Contrary to popular belief, H+ (HSPA Evolution) is not supported on the Atrix 4G.
Can we get better status bar logos on the Atrix to show this giant difference between HSDPA category 8 and category 10?
Good refernece here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Speed_Downlink_Packet_Access
jjwatmyself said:
Other than CNA, how can we implement the missing H+ logo on the Atrix?
2G = EDGE:2
3G = UMTS:3
H = HSDPA:8
H+ = HSPA:10
The states are clearly shown under System Settings, About, Phone, but it would be nice to know when we are operating in HSPA category 10 (HSPA+) just by looking at the Status Bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A themer could do that in two seconds. I recently did it for CSROM Turbo Red. It will also be included in the next version of CSROM (v6.9).
Interestingly, I used to think I got great H+ coverage in my area. But when I changed the icons, I realized I get great 3G coverage and rarely get H+.
AT&T is delusional with it's 3G = H+ = 4G nonsense. I never realized how bad it was until I actually looked at the icon names.
Merged into post #4
upndwn4par said:
A themer could do that in two seconds. I recently did it for CSROM Turbo Red. It will also be included in the next version of CSROM (v6.9).
Interestingly, I used to think I got great H+ coverage in my area. But when I changed the icons, I realized I get great 3G coverage and rarely get H+.
AT&T is delusional with it's 3G = H+ = 4G nonsense. I never realized how bad it was until I actually looked at the icon names.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T = delusional :good:
"H+ = 4G = true" This is becasue H+ (HSPA Evolution) support the same very high rates that LTE does
I found a great article that discusses the many technologies. As we all know, HSDPA categroy 10 has a theoretical peak of 14.4 Mbps, which is the highest speed supported on the Atrix (ref: http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_atrix_4g-3708.php).
HSPA+ (HSPA Evolution) is not HSPA Category 10. So HSPA:10 is not HSPA+.
Conclusion: the Atrix 4G is not an HSPA+ device and should not display H+ or 4G on the status bar.
Modifying the icons to show the category of HSPA, wouldn't be a bad thing though.
H8
H10
See page 55 of http://www.4gamericas.org/documents/2006_Rysavy_Data_Paper_FINAL_09.15.06.pdf
Another great document: http://www.option.com/Upload/main/White%20papers/Option%20White%20paper%20-%20HSDPA%209.pdf
A great little write up that 'characterizes' category 10 as HSPA+... you can see this is going to get controversal... Technically, the Atrix is not an H+ device. Sales and marketing didn't get that memo.

[AOSP] 3G or HSPA+?

Hi guys. I'm currently using Tctien342's sAOSP Project Rom. Using AT&T's data network in the US, on the signal indicator, it says I'm on the 3G data connection. On the stock MIUI rom, it indicates if I'm on 3G or HSPA+ data network.
I know that HSPA+ is the same as 3G, but is there a way I can have the indicator differentiate 3G or HSPA+ connection?
HSPA+ is different to 3G... HSPA+ is faster than 3G and as fast as the slowest frquencities of LTE
~ Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Prime ~
HSPA+(Evolved High-Speed Packet Access)
HSPA+ is an evolution HSPA(HSDPA&HSUPA). It is a 4G technology that allows download at a rate of up to 168Mbps.
4G LTE(Long Term Evolution)
LTE is a 4G communication standard that supports HD video streaming, download speed as high as 299.6Mbps
Okay. So there is a difference between the two networks. But what I'm wondering is do the AOSP roms indicate whether I'm on 3G or HSPA+ network?
They actually do, when you are on 3G it shows you "3G", when you are on HSPA it shows you " H", and when you are on HSPA+ it shows you "H+". You will normally be on 3G or H, H+ is tipically used only for data, so if you have it turned off you wont see that plus. It deppends on your carrier too and its bands that uses for data and calls

Change LTE to 3G switch threshold

Is there a way to lower the LTE signal strength where the phone changes to 3G?
I find that it switches to 3G even if the LTE signal is still ok, speed on LTE is 20MBPS and 3G at the same spot is 2MBPS.
I know I can force LTE only but I need it to be PRL 3G or I won't be able to take calls.
I need to do the same exactly, were you able to accomplish this?

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