Maybe I've missed this somewhere (I have looked!) but is there a band select feature (to force the phone to use a specific cell frequency - say 1900mhz) in WM5 the way there is in WM3SE?
I want to upgrade to WM5 now that there are more stable options, but I need this feature and wanted to make sure it's still there.
Thanks!
MikeDC said:
Maybe I've missed this somewhere (I have looked!) but is there a band select feature (to force the phone to use a specific cell frequency - say 1900mhz) in WM5 the way there is in WM3SE?
I want to upgrade to WM5 now that there are more stable options, but I need this feature and wanted to make sure it's still there.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm I don't think it is possible... why do you want to do this anyway? I think it is automatic.
Hmm I don't think it is possible... why do you want to do this anyway? I think it is automatic.[/quote]
Damn.
The reason is that my house seems to be right in the middle of a point where leaving it on automatic frequently switches it between 850 an 1900 mhz cingular networks. If I force it to 1900 mhz it's rock solid with good reception everywhere in my house. If I let the phone make the decision I vary between good and awful with pretty frequent dropped calls.
I guess I'll stick with WM3SE
MikeDC said:
Hmm I don't think it is possible... why do you want to do this anyway? I think it is automatic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn.
The reason is that my house seems to be right in the middle of a point where leaving it on automatic frequently switches it between 850 an 1900 mhz cingular networks. If I force it to 1900 mhz it's rock solid with good reception everywhere in my house. If I let the phone make the decision I vary between good and awful with pretty frequent dropped calls.
I guess I'll stick with WM3SE[/quote]
On my qtec9090 i don't see less options in the phone settings than i had on wm20003 (using TuMa 1.3 now).
There's the usual network tab on phone settings where you manually can choose your netwerkprovider.
I don't know if it helps, otherwise please tell me where you configure the Band Select, so I can look for something simular.
Can someone please clarify the difference between HSDPA and HSUPA?? I know HSDPA is the next one up from 3G in terms of speed, but am unsure of what the D and U stand for (guessing variants of similar?).
From what I can see HSUPA was not enabled by default on most older ROMS, but could be in the registry or using something like AdvancedConfig. However I notice that it is enabled by default on the latest Vodafone ROM (v1.97.x.4, a horrible looking branded ROM that I had to get rid of, but with some interesting 'latest and greatest' components hidden in there).
Lastly to sum this one up in my own context - a UK user on Vodafone - do I gain any benefit from having it enabled?
Thanks!
SimonW500 said:
Can someone please clarify the difference between HSDPA and HSUPA?? I know HSDPA is the next one up from 3G in terms of speed, but am unsure of what the D and U stand for (guessing variants of similar?).
From what I can see HSUPA was not enabled by default on most older ROMS, but could be in the registry or using something like AdvancedConfig. However I notice that it is enabled by default on the latest Vodafone ROM (v1.97.x.4, a horrible looking branded ROM that I had to get rid of, but with some interesting 'latest and greatest' components hidden in there).
Lastly to sum this one up in my own context - a UK user on Vodafone - do I gain any benefit from having it enabled?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wikipedia has a lot of info on HSDPA and HSUPA and the differences.
As for enabling it on the Diamond, someone else will have to help you
Dave
Thanks for the prompt reply. Indeed you're probably right - I could've used Google a bit more prior to posting.
To answer my own question / for the benefit of others:
They are both HSPA protocol implementations although achieve it using slightly differing methods, therefore while similar are distinctly different and not directly compatible.
It seems Vodafone in the UK has both HSDPA and HSUPA networks, therefore I guess it *IS* of benefit to have it enabled (potentially more chance of picking up a network signal faster than 3G).
The D stands for download and the U for upload. They are all part of the same service, just used for different directions of data travel. Some networks have one and not the other some have both.
Not absolutely sure but judging from the maximum upload speeds quoted by HTC for the Touch Diamond it does not support HSUPA anyway
So we just got 3G here this week, but when I am on the 3g network, my cell triangulation doesn't work. can someone with 3G in their city confirm that it is working for them so I can stop worrying about it?
Thx
NC?
How does one know if triangulation is working exactly, ha
SLC utah
make sure your GPS is off then open Google Maps and hit menu - My Location.
I go to lunch in a few and will test. Raleigh NC just turned 3G this week as well.
Confirmed: same issue... can not find my location, where edge can (did not cut off 3g, basing that off of 1 year of using maps up till this week when i got 3g in my city).
Anyone have thoughts on this?
For that matter.... why do i not have 3g in buildings/homes? I only have 3g when outside.
Worked on edge.
In phone status it shows my network as UTMS, not 3G (used to say Edge).
I guess this in normal?
Think about how "triangulation" works (improper name, really):
Along one of the low-bandwidth data channels (along with network time, network name, etc.) are a few small numbers: your MCC and MNC (describe which network: 310/410 for att usa, 310/260 for tmo usa. Those are compared against the return from AT+COPS (or actually a little database if you see "T-Mobile" or "AT&T", compared with "Voicestream Wire", "Cingular", "ATT0", or often just "") to get your network.
Those are then combined with two more numbers, the LAC and CID. The Location Area Code is unique to a region on a network (pretty wide range), and the CID is unique per tower. There is no lookup (similar to COPS) that provides a location from a given cid. This means that you have to look up the LAC/CID against a database (MCC/MNC sometimes speed up searching/possibly sort out duplicates - idk). There are a few of these databases available - there's one free one which I'm thinking about, google probably keeps one (they keep a wifi database too), microsoft probably keeps one, etc. AFAIK, there's no unified database... please correct me if I'm wrong. However, the networks do provide their tower lists to big-name lists.
One last thing to think about - the companies will always try to sell you on the idea that they use multiple towers and find the area their coverage overlaps, or that they use "the unique footprint of a tower"... basically, they put your rough location as the complete coverage area of the tower to which you are currently registered. Actually, they don't really calculate it well - it's just a circle around the tower. What google means by this second claim (the footprints one) is that some of the circles are different sizes, depending on whether the cell is full power, low power, etc. This is especially provable in my bedroom - I have access at full signal to two 3g towers (I love this area ), that seem to overlap right here. This means that, when I use google maps, or another similar program, the circles constantly move between the two. It also means that I get spammed with unsolicited +CREG's on my modem line, as it moves around .
Combining all this knowledge, I know exactly what's wrong. #1: the lac/cid on the EDGE tower elements is different than the 3g towers (makes sense, for signal range calculations), #2: google knows about the LAC/CID on the EDGE towers, and #3: google doesn't yet have the new 3g towers' LAC/CID information in their database. Therefore, the program is passed information it doesn't know about, so it simply returns an error.
Proposed solution: wait a week or two
ADDITION: You don't have 3g in houses because the 3g signal does not penetrate as well (It's on a higher frequency, and the signal drops after less interference than edge). Since these are new towers, they may also be running at reduced power.
I'm in SLC as well, and can also confirm wierdness with the non-GPS location over the first couple of weeks... including one day where my phone absolutely insisted that I was just outside of San Diego. Quite mean of my phone to tease me like that considering that I was in West Valley City at the time. It seems to be getting better as time goes on.
^^ wow, I can feel the authority. Thanks for a great post. I think you are correct, the 3G seems to be getting better coverage (sometimes getting it in my house now). I trust t-mo and google, thank you man.
I don't know EDGE technology (never delved into it), but I seriously doubt poly's claim that it uses a different frequency than 3G. If you're using a USA spec G1, then your tphone has a single radio for t-mobile's 1900 MHz band.
The issues you are noticing with 3G coverage are more likely due to SIR parameter set by the deployment engineers (i.e. they are telling the 3G cell to only 'talk' to your phone if the signal is strong).
This is just a guess, though. There could be any number of issues going on, like some misconfigured settings on the RNC's for your sector (which makes sense if the coverage is new).
UMTS is the 3G technology that T-mobile (and AT&T) use, so that is normal.
Tarzanman said:
I don't know EDGE technology (never delved into it), but I seriously doubt poly's claim that it uses a different frequency than 3G. If you're using a USA spec G1, then your tphone has a single radio for t-mobile's 1900 MHz band.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, it's generally not too much of an issue - all the frequncies are pretty close (I think the 850mhz stuff from att might go a bit better than the old 1900, but it is pretty close). And, as I just discovered, tmo is entirely 1900mhz, so that part was mistaken. The rest should be accurate to the best of my knowledge (eg. EDGE can take more interference before it drops, etc.)
EDIT: Nope, their entire EDGE network is 1900mhz, but their 3g is only 1700/2100. So, it's a tossup, and that close makes not much of a difference.
Normally a phone doesn't outwit me like this one or maybe it's because I've been spoiled by using all the great tools here to fiddle fart with my phone and make it uber user friendly...
Anyway, I'm in an area in which the AT&T 3G speed just isn't strong enough to keep a connection so it's constantly switching from H+ or 3G to Edge. Of course when it flip flops I have no service so I drop calls or can't make a call.
I have searched high and low on this phone, Google and on these threads for some way to disable the 3G without success. I found a code for a hidden menu for another LG phone and when I used it there was nothing there allowing me to change it.
Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
ETA: I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but this phone is unlocked.
As far as I know the current prerelease of the CM7 will let you switch to a 2G network (EDGE) on the thrill. As far as switching from HSPA+ to 3G, you cannot do it. HSPA+ is a 3G technology so it’s all or nothing. I’d like to see the ability to switch from HSPA+ to 2G in the Thriller ROM, but as of now it’s all data or nothing. If you are running a stock (unrooted and unmoded) thrill you are only getting 3G anyway, however like anything else this too can be bypassed. if you load the Thriller ROM you will automatically get your HSDPA category set to 10 (ATT default is 9). If you want even faster data speeds you can go to the market and download SQLite. open the app let it compile your Databases. Scroll down the menu select "Settings storage" then "settings.db", select "system" and scroll near the bottom you will see a table entry called "hsdpa_category. With stock ROM this value will be 9, with Thriller it will be 10.
you can modify your hsdpa category to a value of 28, but I believe ATT can only support up to a category value if 14 which is what I have mine set to, data speeds are awesome!
Please correct me if any parts of this post were incorrect, thanks.
P.S. you cannot access this table with the stock ROM ir with the CM7. i have only been able to do this with Thriller installed.
So I'm writing this guide for SGH-I537 (ATT Samsung Galaxy S4 Active) users who want to use their I537 on T-Mobile or other carriers that support AWS (Advanced Wireless Services; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Wireless_Services).
Initially I got my I537 and heard conflicting reports of DIY SIM unlocking being successful, supposedly some people unable to get the AWS bands. So, I played it safe and got the device unlock code straight from ATT. Everything seemed to work at a cursory glance, got LTE and fast speeds, great! Little did I know that I actually did not have AWS unlocked.
In my room I get nearly no reception and rely on a repeater to get signal and be able to do basic things like SMS, make calls, etc. I noticed that for some reason the I537 was not picking it up.
ATT runs their LTE over some TMO HSPA frequencies (AWS) and the phone by default won't do HSPA on those frequencies. An AWS unlock will allow the phone to do either LTE or HSPA on these frequencies, thus allowing it to talk to my repeater.
I followed the guide at http://galaxys4root.com/galaxy-s4-t...aws-bands-on-att-galaxy-s4-sgh-i337sgh-i337m/ but instead used the UMMS code of *#0808#
It works on the latest stock, unrooted ROM. My device was already SIM unlocked but I don't think that will make a difference for this process. I believe that one would require SIM unlock regardless, though, to use another network.
This guide unfortunately depends on Windows specific tools, so I had to use a Windows machine to do this. It's a pretty easy guide -- basically you tell the phone to expose its modem over USB, use a Qualcomm program to talk to it, do a backup of the NVRAM, and NV Restore someone's I337 NVRAM that has the AWS enabled.
It works perfectly for me and has worked for others as well (see comments on that guide). The only difference is we have to dial *#0808#
You may want to add the T-Mobile LTE APN as well:
Code:
Name : T-Mobile LTE
APN: fast.tmobile.com
MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
MCC: 310
MNC: 260
APN Type: default,supl,admin,dun,mms
(From http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2236735)
VytenisK said:
Does not work. My there is "No phone" message shown.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which step did it fail at? Can you walk me through what you did?
EDIT: Did you go to Device Manager, and see the two Samsung COM ports? Then in the QPST tool, did you add those ports manually? Otherwise QPST wil always say "No phone"
VytenisK said:
I did everything as I should, but at the point where I should see zero (0), I do not. Tried it with several Windows machines with the same results. I am guessing it is something with the MF1 firmware. What firmware you are stranded on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on MF3.
VytenisK said:
Just tried this on MF1 after doing Odin One Click back to the stock MF1. Installed drivers, QPST when I added new ports (4 and 5, all from Samsung) all of them says "No Phone". So I am guessing AWS unlock does not work on MF1. Maybe someone had same issues? Is there any other way installing qcn AWS file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it SIM unlocked already or no?
VytenisK said:
Yes it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very strange. I wish I knew the ansewr to this I stumbled upon the AWS unlock guide for I337 long time before I bought the I537. I guess I was lucky that it went without a hiccup then.
And you have the special Samsung drivers installed from that site and are sure some other drivers aren't trying to pick it p? =|
I would like to add that you should change the apn name to fast.tmobile.com (from epc.tmobile.com) that's how enabled 4g LTE in my city.
I would like to ask a 'stupid' question is there a way to enable 3g? It seems to be either edge or 4g/4gLTE for me, I've never seen my phone have a 3g icon.
For T-Mobile it's not going to show 3G afaik, it will default to showing 4G for any 3G or HSPA 4G mode. If you have LTE enabled (any of the LTE modes) then it'll show the 4G with "LTE" under the bottom right side. I leave my GS4A on T-Mobile with WCDMA Preferred which seems to offer the best speeds and connections. While T-Mobile is still working on their system here in Vegas and making improvements, the LTE aspect is of no use to me and just allows me to burn up my 5GB that much faster.
To change the modes you'll have to go into the *#*#4636#*#* menu and do it, again afaik. It's the least hassle free method I've found for myself so that's what I stick with.
And I've never changed the APN from epc to fast - it's worked since I did those same instructions to enable the AWS capability. I did change it one time but the speed tests ended up being effectively the same no matter which APN I used so I set it back to the default of epc.tmobile.com and have yet to have any issues.
yamugushi said:
I would like to add that you should change the apn name to fast.tmobile.com (from epc.tmobile.com) that's how enabled 4g LTE in my city.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, good call, I'll add the APN settings to this thread.
We have LTE in San Jose and San Francisco and it's REALLY fast and way better than the HSPA+ network. And it seems to switch to HSPA+ just fine if there's no LTE.
Added TMO LTE APN settings.
while the process went without a hitch for me, I did not see any improvements
I was getting 4G both before and after, no LTE
in fact, the speed went down fron 2.5MBPS to less 1MBPS !!
So i flashed the AT&T backup back!
might be cause I am in Seattle area
(it shows HSPAP:15 in the status in either case)
Mf3
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4
HSPA isn't LTE, you have to enable that aspect manually. By default when you put a T-Mobile SIM in the GS4A it'll set itself up for GSM/CMDA usage, and you have to alter that to get the LTE working, at least I did in my case.
I went into the service menu using *#*#4636#*#* and changed it from GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) to LTE/GSM auto (PRL) and you should reconnect and get the proper 4G/LTE symbol noting the type of connection (4 with smaller G above the letters LTE).
Here in Las Vegas that's all I have to do to enable LTE (it'll show as LTE:14). I don't use it because the actual LTE signal strength is like -105 dB here at home; when I switch it over to WCDMA Preferred it increases to -78 dB and the speeds are very fast with HSPA:10 or even HSPA:15 on occasion, and LTE drains the battery more as well (in my testing).
That's my usage and experience, maybe making some alterations with your service menu can improve performance for you. T-Mobile is still doing the upgrades across their whole network so, what might have crappy signal coverage now might improve soon.
My suggestion is try each of the potential connection methods and find the one with the best signal strength and the best speeds - for me, again, that turned out to be using WCDMA Preferred, and I'm right across the street (line of sight) with a T-Mobile leased cell site, just about 1200 feet from me with nothing in the way either when I'm here at home.
Also, I've never had to edit the APN info on my GS4A for use with T-Mobile. I know the recommendation is to alter it from epc.tmobile.com to fast.tmobile.com but since mine works just by altering the radio connection and ends up getting the same speeds (I've tested both APNs), I just stick with the default of epc.tmobile.com and I haven't had any issues worth noting. I did read some comments that said in some areas to get the LTE working properly you DO need to use fast.tmobile.com, but for me I haven't - could be something to check into for yourself.
br0adband said:
HSPA isn't LTE, you have to enable that aspect manually. By default when you put a T-Mobile SIM in the GS4A it'll set itself up for GSM/CMDA usage, and you have to alter that to get the LTE working, at least I did in my case.
I went into the service menu using *#*#4636#*#* and changed it from GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) to LTE/GSM auto (PRL) and you should reconnect and get the proper 4G/LTE symbol noting the type of connection (4 with smaller G above the letters LTE).
Here in Las Vegas that's all I have to do to enable LTE (it'll show as LTE:14). I don't use it because the actual LTE signal strength is like -105 dB here at home; when I switch it over to WCDMA Preferred it increases to -78 dB and the speeds are very fast with HSPA:10 or even HSPA:15 on occasion, and LTE drains the battery more as well (in my testing).
That's my usage and experience, maybe making some alterations with your service menu can improve performance for you. T-Mobile is still doing the upgrades across their whole network so, what might have crappy signal coverage now might improve soon.
My suggestion is try each of the potential connection methods and find the one with the best signal strength and the best speeds - for me, again, that turned out to be using WCDMA Preferred, and I'm right across the street (line of sight) with a T-Mobile leased cell site, just about 1200 feet from me with nothing in the way either when I'm here at home.
Also, I've never had to edit the APN info on my GS4A for use with T-Mobile. I know the recommendation is to alter it from epc.tmobile.com to fast.tmobile.com but since mine works just by altering the radio connection and ends up getting the same speeds (I've tested both APNs), I just stick with the default of epc.tmobile.com and I haven't had any issues worth noting. I did read some comments that said in some areas to get the LTE working properly you DO need to use fast.tmobile.com, but for me I haven't - could be something to check into for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
just changed this, but no LTE so far, but this could be cause I am in a highrise right now
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:31 PM ----------
ledocbio said:
Thanks!
just changed this, but no LTE so far, but this could be cause I am in a highrise right now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reflashed the tmobile file
I am still not getting LTE, but definitely getting more bars
interestingly, there was no change initially, but after 15 minutes i started getting better signal strength...
still, no LTE (
ledocbio said:
Thanks!
just changed this, but no LTE so far, but this could be cause I am in a highrise right now
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:31 PM ----------
I reflashed the tmobile file
I am still not getting LTE, but definitely getting more bars
interestingly, there was no change initially, but after 15 minutes i started getting better signal strength...
still, no LTE (
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got LTE running on the opposite corner of my building, with abysmal speeds!
the LTE coverage in Bellevue/Redmond seems to be either very spotty, or very incompatible with S4A, not sure which it is... but overall the internet speeds are better with HSPA+ than LTE in any case...
Thanks guys for you help
Sweet
Sent from my mikTouch_4G_Slide using xda app-developers app
anyone else find their S4A sluggish on T-mobile (before or after) this?
Hi
mnasledov said:
So I'm writing this guide for SGH-I537 (ATT Samsung Galaxy S4 Active) users who want to use their I537 on T-Mobile or other carriers that support AWS (Advanced Wireless Services; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Wireless_Services).
Initially I got my I537 and heard conflicting reports of DIY SIM unlocking being successful, supposedly some people unable to get the AWS bands. So, I played it safe and got the device unlock code straight from ATT. Everything seemed to work at a cursory glance, got LTE and fast speeds, great! Little did I know that I actually did not have AWS unlocked.
In my room I get nearly no reception and rely on a repeater to get signal and be able to do basic things like SMS, make calls, etc. I noticed that for some reason the I537 was not picking it up.
ATT runs their LTE over some TMO HSPA frequencies (AWS) and the phone by default won't do HSPA on those frequencies. An AWS unlock will allow the phone to do either LTE or HSPA on these frequencies, thus allowing it to talk to my repeater.
I followed the guide at http://galaxys4root.com/galaxy-s4-t...aws-bands-on-att-galaxy-s4-sgh-i337sgh-i337m/ but instead used the UMMS code of *#0808#
It works on the latest stock, unrooted ROM. My device was already SIM unlocked but I don't think that will make a difference for this process. I believe that one would require SIM unlock regardless, though, to use another network.
This guide unfortunately depends on Windows specific tools, so I had to use a Windows machine to do this. It's a pretty easy guide -- basically you tell the phone to expose its modem over USB, use a Qualcomm program to talk to it, do a backup of the NVRAM, and NV Restore someone's I337 NVRAM that has the AWS enabled.
It works perfectly for me and has worked for others as well (see comments on that guide). The only difference is we have to dial *#0808#
You may want to add the T-Mobile LTE APN as well:
Code:
Name : T-Mobile LTE
APN: fast.tmobile.com
MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
MCC: 310
MNC: 260
APN Type: default,supl,admin,dun,mms
(From http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2236735)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wen I get to Device Manager I dont see COM24 I see COM6 and COM7. Do you know what to do in that situation???
jci8926 said:
Wen I get to Device Manager I dont see COM24 I see COM6 and COM7. Do you know what to do in that situation???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try each. One of them should come up as the phone.
SIM Unlocked on T-Mobile in Orlando:
Before Samsung replaced my Active I was running MF1, this hack wouldn't work. They sent me a new replacement with MF3 Monday. This worked!! Places where I get "E" are now "4g"!!
Awesome! I was almost going to sell it for a Nexus 5 due to this problem but not anymore!
So I've gone through all the steps and now I am at the part where I add the APN but I can't seem to find the MMS Protocol section. I've also heard we should use fast.t-mobile.com instead of the fast.tmobile.com, would that matter??