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Help Edge signal in areas that previously had 3G. Potential phone problem?

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Miths000

Well-Known Member
The last couple of weeks - or at least that's when I started noticing it (I mostly rely on wifi) - I've had problems with only getting Edge data signal where I would previously get 3G (H+).
There are still areas of the city where I get a 3G signal (and they seem to be consistent, so no apparent completely random fluctuations back and forth between Edge and 3G), but that used to be almost everywhere, where it now seems to be in small sections of the city.

I just talked to my phone company today and they say there are no problems, although I intend to press the matter.

Is there any chance something like this could be caused by a hardware or software problem? Like for instance weakened signal reception causing the drop to Edge and 3G only being possible in areas with a really strong signal?
I haven't noticed any differences in the phone signal, it pretty much always shows full - although I don't know if that's in any way related to the data signal?

I also have had a couple of complete losses of the network lately (very similar to what's described in this thread: http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...55130-2-3-5-network-drop-out-signal-loss.html), requiring a phone reboot to lock onto a mobile network again. I've never experienced that before in the year or so I've had the phone.
 
After a bit of googling I just tried changing network mode to WCDMA only, and now I'm getting a 3G (H+) signal here in my apartment, just as I used to before the recent trend of seeing Edge most places (including here in said apartment).
The phone signal is slightly more sketchy now though, fluctuating between one and the full four bars.

My question still stands though - any chance hardware or software issues could have caused changes to signal reception? I did upgrade to ICS, but that's so many weeks ago now I'm almost certain I would have noticed it before if that upgrade had caused the drop in 3G coverage.
 
Miths000 said:
My question still stands though - any chance hardware or software issues could have caused changes to signal reception? I did upgrade to ICS, but that's so many weeks ago now I'm almost certain I would have noticed it before if that upgrade had caused the drop in 3G coverage.
Click to expand...
This recent thread might give you some insight into your question. :)
 
Thanks. After reading the first two pages I have preciously little idea what it's all about though :) - my best guess is some software or firmware replacement for the part of the phone relating to signal reception?

I'm guessing it also requires rooting, flashing and other scary words? Changing the launcher and lock screen is as far as I've ever gone with customization. Once upon a time many years ago I enjoyed experimenting with assorted technical stuff (like running a Linux PC instead of Windows for a while), but these days I really just want products that work with as little "tech support" from me as possible.
 
Miths000 said:
Thanks. After reading the first two pages I have preciously little idea what it's all about though :) - my best guess is some software or firmware replacement for the part of the phone relating to signal reception?

I'm guessing it also requires rooting, flashing and other scary words? Changing the launcher and lock screen is as far as I've ever gone with customization. Once upon a time many years ago I enjoyed experimenting with assorted technical stuff (like running a Linux PC instead of Windows for a while), but these days I really just want products that work with as little "tech support" from me as possible.
Click to expand...
Based on the thread's contents... you're spot on in your first paragraph. The modem they are talking about in the thread heavily relates to reception of both network and wifi... also thoroughput of data... and yes, it requires rooting, flashing.

2.3.4 seems to be a favourite with many users when it concerns reception. Albeit a few bugs in different areas of the firmware. 2.3.5 has known problems with signal reception and call quality... and 2.3.6 seems to be the middleground between the two... based on personal opinion after each firmware upgrade.
 
I just got a new simcard today - somehow they seemed to think that might fix the problem (I had always been under the impression that the simcard is basically just a chip with some network and user info, and a tiny portion of storage space?). Didn't make a bit of difference, still falling back to Edge almost everywhere I've been today (and this entire city, and most of Denmark for that matter, should have full 3G coverage).

While I hate getting everything installed and set up from scratch, I think I'm going to try a factory reset, just to see if going back to Gingerbread results in the 3G signal I should be getting.
Not that I won't upgrade to ICS again if it does, but at least it should hopefully offer some clarity on whether it's a software or hardware problem.
 
I thought a factory reset would set the phone back to the state it was in when I bought it, but after rebooting and allowing Google to "restore my account", the phone is still on ICS 4.0.3 instead of the Gingerbread version it was bought with.

Not surprisingly I'm also still only getting and Edge signal.

Is there any way to reset to Gingerbread (short of custom ROMs and whatnot, which I'd really prefer not to have to learn about)? Will doing a reset through Kies do it?
 
Thanks. But after spending the last three hours recovering from my first factory reset (a ton of apps to redownload, a lot of configuration work and annoying services to log in to) - and getting a headache just reading the first few threads in that post :) - I think I'll wait and see if I'm lucky enough that the problem is fixed in the next ICS upgrade.
Forcing WCDMA seems to work a lot of the time (but the signal is regularly so shaky that the phone - when set to auto network mode - apparently decides GSM is the better choice in most places), so I think that will have to do for now.

I don't really feel like sending the phone in for repair right now either (and that's assuming there's actually something wrong with it that's not software related), as I don't have a spare (other than an ancient GSM phone) to use in the meantime.
 
Miths000 said:
I think I'll wait and see if I'm lucky enough that the problem is fixed in the next ICS upgrade.
Click to expand...
Best to write your complaints to your phone and network provider, or directly to the phone manufacturer; Samsung... given enough complaints they'll surely work on a fix before the official release of your phone's firmware.
 
I've been getting a 3G (H+) signal everywhere I've been today - including my home address. Since I haven't changed anything on my phone it must have been a network problem after all, despite their insistence to the contrary.
 
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