3G questions

[GoreGalaxy]

Hello, I have a Samsung Galaxy W, I am on O2 network and live in England, this is my first smartphone so I don't know how well I should expect 3G to work...

Is it normal for the 3G icon to constantly change between 3G, H, E, and G? I could be stood still in one spot and the icon would change every few seconds.

O2 say they don't guarentee it to work indoors but I've found that it can, but it's very sensitive, for example: I was using it on the 1st floor of a building and it was fine, then I moved to the ground floor and it stopped working even though the 3G icon was still there.

I am nervous that this is a problem with the phone as opposed to the network. I am told that I live in a well covered area for 3G masts so reception shouldn't be a problem.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[chanchan05]

Hello, I have a Samsung Galaxy W, I am on O2 network and live in England, this is my first smartphone so I don't know how well I should expect 3G to work...

Ok, there's a lot of misconceptions about 3G phones for some reason. 3G is not exclusive to smartphones. I've owned non smartphones that have 3G connection.

Is it normal for the 3G icon to constantly change between 3G, H, E, and G? I could be stood still in one spot and the icon would change every few seconds.

Its not actually a 3G icon, its a connectivity icon. You are on dual mode with both 2G and 3G antennae on. The icon changing shows you that you have a pretty bad signal and the phone is trying to connect to the best one. G and E are both 2G networks, standing for GSM and EDGE. This is the basic network which can use calls and sms and a little data but a bit slow. 3G and H are 3G networks, with H being HSPDA or 3.5G...

O2 say they don't guarentee it to work indoors but I've found that it can, but it's very sensitive, for example: I was using it on the 1st floor of a building and it was fine, then I moved to the ground floor and it stopped working even though the 3G icon was still there.

They don't guarantee it simply because the construction of the building may deter signals. The presence of the icon does not mean that there is 3G, that's what the signal bars are for.

I am nervous that this is a problem with the phone as opposed to the network. I am told that I live in a well covered area for 3G masts so reception shouldn't be a problem.

It doesn't matter how good the reception is in the area if the building's structure effectively blocks the signal.

 

[GoreGalaxy]

Cheers.

They don't guarantee it simply because the construction of the building may deter signals. The presence of the icon does not mean that there is 3G, that's what the signal bars are for.

Do you mean the arrows below the icon, or the regular reception bars? Does the 3G reception and regular reception have any relation? I.e if I have good reception, should my 3G reception be good? Because I often have good reception, but bad 3G connectivity.

 

[chanchan05]

The Galaxy W has a newer version of TouchWiz than I have, so I can't be sure about it. However the reception bars simply dictate the level of interference. If it's high there's little interference, but if its low there is high interference. Of course it also shows how good the signal is, but its a little of both. For example, signal may be good, but there is high interference so you only see two bars.

The arrows below the icon represent internet connectivity. The data packets may not be getting through, so you have signal but no internet. The green up arrow represents uplink (send info), and the orange down arrow represents downlink (receive). If there is no orange arrow (greyed out), then the phone isn't receiving data.

 

[GoreGalaxy]

Sorry I'm getting a bit confused here, I've never followed the development of phone technology.

I don't understand if you're saying that the reception bars have any relevance to the 3G reception? Ignoring the indoors business, if I was standing outside in a town centre with good reception, does that have any bearing on the 3G reception?

I just want to know if the thing in my pocket I'm paying

 

[chanchan05]

Basically without explaining anything, based on what you are saying, yes it works as it should, I don't see anything wrong.

The bars do have relevance, it says that you have signal, but having signal does not automatically mean that you have 3G internet connection. You can stand beside the cell tower and not get internet. Your phone sends information to the server via the cellphone tower. There are instances when you have signal but no internet. For example, the DNS server (basically the server to which the cell towers are connected providing you internet) may not respond to your phone's sending information to it, due to traffic overload or other possibilities.

 

[GoreGalaxy]

Great, cheers, thanks for the help.

One last question - I can appreciate that an E or G icon might mean a page might not load quickly or at all, but if my phone is displaying a 3G or H icon, and the internet isn't working, should I be concerned?

 

[chanchan05]

It doesn't matter what icon is present, as long as the arrows turn green and orange. Well mostly the green arrow is important IMO, because that signals your phone is trying to send information. It it doesnt turn green no matter how you try to open a web page, that's when you should be concerned the most. The arrow turning green but the other one not turning orange is less of a concern, since it could be an unresponsive server.

 

[GoreGalaxy]

Great, many thanks.