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WCDMA preferred vs GSM AUTO PRL

Had to hear it from the horses mouth, I called up HTC's tech support. I asked what was the difference between WCDMA preferred and GSM AUTO PRL. The gentleman I spoke to told me that they both have lots in common and that the only difference is that WCDMA preferred will favor 3G and GSM AUTO PRL will favor EDGE.
He continued to tell me that WCDMA preferred needs to reach a low threshold to go straight into 3g from edge. GSM AUTO PRL has a higher threshold, or higher standard has to be met (db of 3g signal) before it will go into 3G.
He mentioned that gsm auto prl will save the user a bit more power because it wont force the phone to continuasly hunt for a stronger signal. Typically this option gives our n1's a weaker signal and slower data speed. But he said it depends on our network in our city.
I also verified this information with t-mobiles tech support. They were a bit vague though. But they did mention that WCDA preferred will prefer 3g and that gsm auto prl is its complete opposite and will only prefer 3g if the signal is strong enough.
What do you guys think? Does this make sense?!?

Got this
WCDMA preferred - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 3G is favored more.
GSM only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
WCDMA only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM auto (PRL) - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more. This one is a bit confusing to me since PRL is associated mostly with CDMA technology and not GSM technology.
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
CDMA only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
EvDo only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) - Some phones are equipped with both GSM and CDMA capabilities. This setting appears to just have the phone attempt to stay connected to the data communication type that works the best. (Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S will take advantage of this???)
Unknown - If none of the above fit or the phone is acting weird as far as connecting to the carrier, you will see your preferred network type is set to this
When using the 'only' options you should still be able to make calls.
To put things into perspective, The Nexus One is set to WCDMA preferred as default and the Droid Incredible is set to CDMA auto (PRL).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from here, http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en

sheek360 said:
Got this
from here, http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess from this we can conclude that we will get a stronger signal and faster data using wcdma preferred, if we live in an area with horrible service. Seems like the guys with excellent service wont be affected one way or the other.
right?

just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol

here is a really good explanation about the gsm auto (prl) setting from another forum. i'll quote and also link it.
Originally Posted by icebike
What that does Roger, is tells your phone to connect using EDGE, and obtain a Preferred Roaming List (PRL) from the tower, and THEN switch to 3G when a data channel is required (which in the N1, is pretty much always because people are checking mail etc all the time).
WCDMA preferred has the phone try to find 3G directly. This takes more power until a connection is established.
You can verify this in the 4636 display, below the Run Ping Test button. You will see the Network Type say EDGE, then, after a bit, it will switch to HSPDA.
If your phone is near your computer speakers, you will hear edge chatter as it obtains its Preferred Roaming List. You may periodically hear a lot of EDGE chatter if you have nothing requiring a data channel running, because it might drop to edge and stay there for unexplained reasons.
Depending on your towers and service availability, you may see no difference in this at all. I live in a strong 3G area, and this does not help me at all. In fringe 3G areas or in 3G areas where there are a lot of 3G phones (cities, near schools, etc) this will help quite a bit.
In Edge only areas it saves a lot of battery by not searching for HSPDA when it does not exist.
Note: I also see something of a speed test hit on GSM (PRL), but this may be just the speed test app doing odd things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from this thread:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-one/13037-wifi-turning-off-sleep-mode.html

RogerPodacter said:
here is a really good explanation about the gsm auto (prl) setting from another forum. i'll quote and also link it.
from this thread:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-one/13037-wifi-turning-off-sleep-mode.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. Good read

sheek360 said:
just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn!!!! When I was 10, smartphone didn't even exist, people would stare at you if you even had a 'dumb phone'. Kids 20 years from now would probably be playing with nuclear powered smartphone. =)

sheek360 said:
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LMAO, you're family is awesome!

OrganizedFellow said:
LMAO, you're family is awesome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol thanks

sheek360 said:
just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.
kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes..at my school, the first girl that got knocked up was one of those kids. Don't worry..I'm sure that won't be your kid though. Just kidding! ;-)
But seriously..keep an eye on her!
Sent from my Nexus One

Interesting, my Nexus S constantly drops the 3g connection (need to wait 15-30 seconds before it connects again), and I just realized its set to GSM/CDMA Auto PRL, will set it to WCDMA preferred and see.

You'll have to keep an eye on it, unless you change the build.prop, it will revert back to it's default setting.

How do I change this on my desire, the wcdma is terrible at my house so I always need to switch it manually or else if someone calls they can't hear me...
Would love it if I could get my phone to just switch to gsm when the wcdma sucks
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

That's how it behaves by default.
You can force GSM on by ticking the 2G networks only box in the network settings though.

bunnybash said:
How do I change this on my desire, the wcdma is terrible at my house so I always need to switch it manually or else if someone calls they can't hear me...
Would love it if I could get my phone to just switch to gsm when the wcdma sucks
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the nexus one you press on the dial pad: *#*#4636#*#* and go into the hidden menu.

Rusty! said:
You'll have to keep an eye on it, unless you change the build.prop, it will revert back to it's default setting.
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Click to collapse
You are right, it revert back to its default setting. How do I change it in build.prop? I don't see anything related in that file.

The entry ro.telephony.default_network=0 needs changing to 3.

Rusty! said:
The entry ro.telephony.default_network=0 needs changing to 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will this make GSM Auto (PRL) stick?

Should do, although mine seems to revert itself to WCDMA Preferred every so often anyway.

the PRL's of each of the phones should be different. They update those files constantly. It wouldn't be a fair and accurate test unless you knew for sure that you had the same PRL on two separate phones one that runs WCDMA and the other EDGE.
The PRL contains the RF information that your cell can access. When they update them they change the signals that your phone can and can't access so some signals are inhibited or blocked. There can be other modifications besides this like restricting speed or data.

(Q)HTC one low signal bars UK EE/Orange

i recently unlocked, rooted and s-off my htc one, on stock i used to get around 5/4 signal bars and now i only get two/three.
im currently running trickdroid 7.5 rom 4.2.2.
so im looking for a radio which would work for orange/EE in the UK.
please can someone help, or point me into the right direction

this is the one for the 4.2.2 firmware
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42139108&postcount=18404

Are you sure that it is not the same level? Don't be fooled by the bar looking different, remember that it might show 2 bars of LTE but that could still be better than 5 bars of H+ (as an example).
So if you used to get 5 bars of 3G but your now getting 2 bars of H or H+ then you are better off even though its less bars.
Please do not take this as me treating you as if you are stupid, I am not, I have come across a lot of people recently who thought the same, and it turned out to just be a different type of signal.

fixed
okk i just flashed 1.29.401.12 Radio and it's back to normal.
i found it here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2245615

Lennyuk said:
Are you sure that it is not the same level? Don't be fooled by the bar looking different, remember that it might show 2 bars of LTE but that could still be better than 5 bars of H+ (as an example).
So if you used to get 5 bars of 3G but your now getting 2 bars of H or H+ then you are better off even though its less bars.
Please do not take this as me treating you as if you are stupid, I am not, I have come across a lot of people recently who thought the same, and it turned out to just be a different type of signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the input but!
i never said i was using my data connection,

Same principle applies even with data off.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Lennyuk said:
Are you sure that it is not the same level? Don't be fooled by the bar looking different, remember that it might show 2 bars of LTE but that could still be better than 5 bars of H+ (as an example).
So if you used to get 5 bars of 3G but your now getting 2 bars of H or H+ then you are better off even though its less bars.
Please do not take this as me treating you as if you are stupid, I am not, I have come across a lot of people recently who thought the same, and it turned out to just be a different type of signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if I have 5 bars when set to "GSM" only but 2-3 when set to "GSM/CDMA" .. that's as good?
I'm being serious btw, I normally set mine to just GSM as I seemed to have more signal but if there isn't any point then I won't bother lol ..I'm in the UK btw and on a network that doesn't support LTE (I think)

AllAboutTheCore said:
So if I have 5 bars when set to "GSM" only but 2-3 when set to "GSM/CDMA" .. that's as good?
I'm being serious btw, I normally set mine to just GSM as I seemed to have more signal but if there isn't any point then I won't bother lol ..I'm in the UK btw and on a network that doesn't support LTE (I think)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can confirm the 'type' of signal you are getting at any time in the menu > settings > about part of the phone.
Your phone will automatically switch to whatever the best signal is available at any time, you don't really need to change your GSM/WCDMA settings, unless you really want to force it away from 3G connections (again this does not mean you have to have data turned on).

Cool, I'm not too fussed about what data type it uses as I rarely have data turned on, I just naturally assumed that by switching it from GSM'CDMA Auto to just GSM, meant that I'd have better reception, being that the signal bars went from 2/5 to 5/5 ... You learn something new everyday lol
EDIT: I checked my signal, and I mean my reception, not the data connection type, when switched between GSM/WCDMA Auto and GSM Only and there is a huge difference. I found this guide:
dB Signal - A basic guide
-50 to -60 (very strong, near a cell tower)
-60 to -70 (extremely good, rare)
-80 to -85 (normal downtown)
-90 to -95 (getting on the weak side)
-95 to -98 (weak, dropping calls)
-98 to -100 (bad, hard to stay connected)
-100+ (basically no usable signal)
When I set my phone to GSM Only I hover around -70, which is good, when I switch to GSM/WCDMA Auto it is a different story. I know it changes and finds the best signal, which I might add drains more battery on an already power hungry beast, but I was hovering at -100 which is terrible and often calls were dropping or people were saying it was engaged when infact I hadn't used it.
It's clear to me that in my case, GSM Only is the far better option if I actually want to use my phone to make calls ... Data speeds I'm not arsed about so EDGE is just fine with me.

4G Data issues

Hello guys,
So I just bought my HTC one about a week ago. I'm.. pretty much in love with it. I haven't had time to sit down and room and customize it and such, but plan to soon.
However, i'm having an issue with it. The phone shows that it is connected to 4G and has full signal. However, it will not load anything whatsoever. Sometimes it works... but most of the time it does not, and I cannot figure out why. I also really hate that I can't manually toggle JUST the 4G on/off without diving into the settings. Waiting for the phone to decide to search for a 4G signal is frustrating. I'm somewhere I know has 4G signal, but the phone takes a long time before it realizes.
Is there anyone else who has these issues or someone who knows what I can do about them?
Thanks

Kleinersaphire said:
Hello guys,
So I just bought my HTC one about a week ago. I'm.. pretty much in love with it. I haven't had time to sit down and room and customize it and such, but plan to soon.
However, i'm having an issue with it. The phone shows that it is connected to 4G and has full signal. However, it will not load anything whatsoever. Sometimes it works... but most of the time it does not, and I cannot figure out why. I also really hate that I can't manually toggle JUST the 4G on/off without diving into the settings. Waiting for the phone to decide to search for a 4G signal is frustrating. I'm somewhere I know has 4G signal, but the phone takes a long time before it realizes.
Is there anyone else who has these issues or someone who knows what I can do about them?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've actually been having that issue for a week or so. No matter what ROM I'm running. Very strange. Maybe Sprint is "upgrading" their towers....lol. I'm in VA, are you in VA by chance?
D

Maybe someone can answer this better but 4G doesn't have "bars" the bars are for your 3G do you may show full bars but still have a weak 4G signal.
The best way I have found to address this is if your connected to 4G and you aren't able to connect to anything go into your mobile data settings and temporarily switch to CDMA only, or toggle CDMA then switch back to CDMA/LTE this will cause your signal to cycle and you may be able to browse using the 4G.
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app

Konfuzion said:
Maybe someone can answer this better but 4G doesn't have "bars" the bars are for your 3G do you may show full bars but still have a weak 4G signal.
The best way I have found to address this is if your connected to 4G and you aren't able to connect to anything go into your mobile data settings and temporarily switch to CDMA only, or toggle CDMA then switch back to CDMA/LTE this will cause your signal to cycle and you may be able to browse using the 4G.
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Datdude, no i am in Texas.
Konfuzion, thats disappointing. Toggling the signals through the settings is really clunky and always ends up with my phone having no signal at all for a couple minutes while it cycles everything. Is there an easier way? Maybe a widget I can get somewhere to do it more quickly?
Also, I dislike that I have no representation of how strong a 4g signal I have. I don't want the phone to tell me I have signal where there is none. Is there a ROM that will show this, maybe?
All in all, while I love the phone, I'm beginning to regret the upgrade. 4g data is very important to me as I use my phone as a mobile modem for work. In places (the exact same chairs) where I had strong enough WiMax 4g signal to do what I wanted, even to play latency restricted games like a MOBA, I can't get the LTE to do anything. I really don't want to have to downgrade, just to keep access to an inferior 4g signal, even if it's more reliable.

Bump for help?

Check out SignalCheck Pro, it will show you your true 1x, 3g and LTE signal strength. I just got my One on Monday and haven't had any 4g issues here in NC.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 4

You can also check your LTE reception by going to Settings->About->Network. Anything above -120dBm RSRP is useable, though if it gets much lower than that, the signal becomes tenuous. I think the lowest I've held onto was -124dBm.
Also, I run into this problem every few days around Chicago. The data connection just seems to stall. The fastest way I found to fix it is to toggle Airplane mode with the widget that I keep on my home screen.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

subhumanderelict said:
You can also check your LTE reception by going to Settings->About->Network. Anything above -120dBm RSRP is useable, though if it gets much lower than that, the signal becomes tenuous. I think the lowest I've held onto was -124dBm.
Also, I run into this problem every few days around Chicago. The data connection just seems to stall. The fastest way I found to fix it is to toggle Airplane mode with the widget that I keep on my home screen.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks guys for your responses! I went ahead and bout Signal Check Pro and although I don't understand all the numbers, my RSRP is around -105 to -110 at the moment, so it looks like i'm on the lower end of the connectively spectrum. Hopefully this app will help me better understand when my 4G is and isn't going to work.

[Q] Force phone to stick to low signal LTE rather than switching to 3g?

Hey guys
So I looked around the forum for an answer to this question and i found similar topics but not exactly what I was looking for. I have the HTC one with sprint and the only issue I have with it is how it handles its preferred networks. If have 2 bars of LTE but 4-5 bars of 3g its going to stay on 3g and not switch to LTE. Is there anyway to change how it gives each signal preference. Currently it will wait till there is no 3g signal before it switches to 2g but LTE is not giving the same preference. I know it's just this phone because I had the iphone 5 before this and when I was on campus at my university it would stick to the 1 bar of LTE i had rather than switching to 3g. If I force the phone in LTE only mode then it will pick the LTE signal but then I can't call and text obviously so it's not very useful.
There are two things that the iphone 5 did which I miss but otherwise love this phone. One is getting LTE in places that has low coverage and the other is roaming on verizon network on 3g. The iphone would always roam on 3g but the htc one only roams on 2g.
Is there a way to change those things with this phone? Thanks in advance!

onelight17 said:
Hey guys
So I looked around the forum for an answer to this question and i found similar topics but not exactly what I was looking for. I have the HTC one with sprint and the only issue I have with it is how it handles its preferred networks. If have 2 bars of LTE but 4-5 bars of 3g its going to stay on 3g and not switch to LTE. Is there anyway to change how it gives each signal preference. Currently it will wait till there is no 3g signal before it switches to 2g but LTE is not giving the same preference. I know it's just this phone because I had the iphone 5 before this and when I was on campus at my university it would stick to the 1 bar of LTE i had rather than switching to 3g. If I force the phone in LTE only mode then it will pick the LTE signal but then I can't call and text obviously so it's not very useful.
There are two things that the iphone 5 did which I miss but otherwise love this phone. One is getting LTE in places that has low coverage and the other is roaming on verizon network on 3g. The iphone would always roam on 3g but the htc one only roams on 2g.
Is there a way to change those things with this phone? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried changing the preferred in the *#*#4636*#*# > Phone Information?

Hi thanks for the response. Yes I have messed around with that. That's how I got the LTE only option. It isn't a matter of not finding LTE signal. It's just the way the phone handles what is perferred. The phone first sees if there is a strong LTE signal and it catches that but the moment it goes to about 3 bars or less it will switch to 3g. I want it to continue sticking with LTE until the signal is gone completely like it does with 3g -> 2g.

onelight17 said:
Hi thanks for the response. Yes I have messed around with that. That's how I got the LTE only option. It isn't a matter of not finding LTE signal. It's just the way the phone handles what is perferred. The phone first sees if there is a strong LTE signal and it catches that but the moment it goes to about 3 bars or less it will switch to 3g. I want it to continue sticking with LTE until the signal is gone completely like it does with 3g -> 2g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its that way then I belive a builder will be able to forge a flashable zip for that purpose.

Terramoto said:
If its that way then I belive a builder will be able to forge a flashable zip for that purpose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. And who do I ask for that? Or how can I build one? Sorry I am a bit of a rookie in this. I don't want to mess around with it too much but can learn. I thought there might already be some sort of hack or a modded PRL.

any new insight on this by anyone? thanks
I have lte at my work if I do lte only but it will switch to 3g when i turn everything else one because 3g signal is stronger than lte. id rather use lte however but still have my texting and calling capabilities.

onelight17 said:
any new insight on this by anyone? thanks
I have lte at my work if I do lte only but it will switch to 3g when i turn everything else one because 3g signal is stronger than lte. id rather use lte however but still have my texting and calling capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it's not an optimal solution, but have you considered using Google Voice integration in the meantime? With LTE only mode, so long as you're signed into an app of choice (Google Voice/Hangouts should be able to handle your calls and texts if you tweak at it a bit), you should have the desired service until you can get some dev help.

Brand new T-Mobile Nexus 6 Lte not connecting

I have a brand new Nexus 6 64 Gb from T-mobile I just got. I had been on At&t with a different Nexus 6 so I know the phone inside and out. I was testing the phone and noticed the my wives new Lg g2 get perfect reception in my house. My Nexus get Zero bars Lte to 2. Mostly zero. Also I know when you make calls its over Hspa, but after I make a call it does not go back to Lte. Even if I browse the web or do speed test it stays on HSPA for 10+ mins or until I reboot the phone. It does this every time not just once in a while. Several times I have run speed test it has said no network even with 3 bars Lte. I did a lot of searching here and many people have issues with the Nexus 6 and T-mobile.
What do you guys think? Bad phone? T-mobile is sending out a new one just in case.

if you are using data, it wont swich back to lte until you have no data flowing. while you ate using data, it wont switch, period. and the bars dont really matter, as they don't really show your connection. some companies even add extra bars just so the connection looks better. if you want to see your real connection, open your main settings, go to about phone, status, sim status, signal strength.

simms22 said:
if you are using data, it wont swich back to lte until you have no data flowing. while you ate using data, it wont switch, period. and the bars dont really matter, as they don't really show your connection. some companies even add extra bars just so the connection looks better. if you want to see your real connection, open your main settings, go to about phone, status, sim status, signal strength.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked my wives phone. In the same spot I will have -115 and she will be at -102. Even right now I am at -91 and dont have full bars. Also after I hang up I can leave it there doing nothing but the screen on, it wont switch back to lte. Even doing Airplane mode on\off should kick lte back on and it does not.

MadHatter01 said:
I checked my wives phone. In the same spot I will have -115 and she will be at -102. Even right now I am at -91 and dont have full bars. Also after I hang up I can leave it there doing nothing but the screen on, it wont switch back to lte. Even doing Airplane mode on\off should kick lte back on and it does not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
airplane mode then back isnt supposed to kick it back to lte. for me it takes anywhere from seconds to 3-4 minutes. but that would also depend on the quality of lte signal in your area.

LMY47M Fixed the issue.