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HELP! Firmware Issue!

P

premington

Newbie
I was informed by T-Mobile this evening that the firmware on my new Motorola Atrix 2 is Asian based and does not support 3G or 4G. I want to update the phone to a US-based firmware so I can get faster than 2G speeds. I'm currently getting sub-100Kbps throughput, which is terrible for this phone.

I'm confused on the order of what needs to be updated. It appears to me that there are three layers to be concerned about: 1) Android version (OS), 2) firmware, and 3) kernel. My OS is ICS (4.0.4). My firmware is GAS_ASIA_EDISONHKTWNGNC_P012. My kernel is 3.0.8-gf784df6 (lots of other info after this).

What do I need to do to get rid of the Hong Kong-based firmware? I'm not sure what I need to flash. Are ICS and the firmware tied together or do I leave ICS alone and install a new firmware version? I can't seen to locate what I need to do and have been unsuccessful at finding an answer here or by Googling.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Paul
 
I think your problem may be hardware rather than firmware.

Every spec sheet I can find for the Atrix 2 says that it does 3G in the 850, 1900 and 2100 bands. Therefore it won't support T-Mobile's main 3G, which requires both 1700 and 2100. So it's a question of whether you have T-Mobile's 1900 3G where you are (which I think is in the process of rolling out).

From everything I can find here and on XDA, your situation would be no different with North American firmware. But if you want to change firmware anyway, the best place to ask would be Motorola Atrix 2 - Android Forums.

Sorry I don't have better news.
 
Not only is it Hong Kong based firmware, it's Hong Kong based hardware as well. AFAICT this phone was intended to be sold and used in SE Asia. It doesn't have the US 3G/4G bands. That's why you're getting slow GSM/EDGE service only. ...and there's not a lot you can do about that. I assume that T-Mobile didn't supply this phone, and you bought it from HK?
 
Thank for the replies.

I purchased the phone from a vendor selling on Amazon. I can return it and already called Amazon to get a return label, but I haven't given up yet. There's no guarantee a replacement phone will correct this since the vendor can't assure me I won't get another HK-based phone. I also called the vendor who, of course, tried to talk me out of it saying that no Atrix 2 phone will ever work 3G or 4G on T-Mobile and it would only work through AT&T, which I question. I've never heard that before.

The model number of the phone is ME865. I know there's an MB865 as well.

I tried rooting the phone and get permission errors. I've learned it's the Honk Kong firmware that's causing the problem. I need to change to China retail to get it to root. I'm going to try that this evening.

Researching and reading around on this ME865, I *think* I should be able to get at least 3G from it on T-Mobile, but perhaps not. I'm not sure. I thought I just needed GSM 1900, which T-Mobile supports. My wife has a Samsung S3 Mini Orange (European) and gets 3G.

I guess the question is, what exactly is the difference in the ME865 as opposed to the MB865. This thread seems to address this:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1946620

So are ME865 phones not able to function in the US as 3G/4G phones?

-Paul
 
The mb865 has the same cellular frequency bands. Those threads talk of wifi differences. I really do think that the only thing that matters is which frequency bands it supports and which are used where you are.

FWIW I searched AF and XDA before originally replying and found the same problem reported with the mb865 and T-Mobile.
 
We have an Atrix 2 forum here (in the Android Phones section of AF). I'd suggest asking the people there whether any Atrix 2 variant can do 3g with T-Mobile.
 
Thanks for the information and reply. I actually have a post in the Atrix 2 group now, but I think it gets little traffic. I've been unlucky getting responses, which is why I asked here.

I just updated the firmware to China retail and it's working well. It should allow me to root now... I wasn't able to root using the Hong Kong firmware.

I'll also download a speed test and see if anything has changed. I'm getting some different indicators on the cellular signal strength meter: E and H+. Didn't see that before. Maybe that's from the new firmware; I don't know.

-Paul
 
premington said:
Thanks for the information and reply. I actually have a post in the Atrix 2 group now, but I think it gets little traffic. I've been unlucky getting responses, which is why I asked here.

I just updated the firmware to China retail and it's working well. It should allow me to root now... I wasn't able to root using the Hong Kong firmware.
Click to expand...

AFAICT this is a budget phone that's only officially sold in China and Asia. And probably 99.9% of people who buy this type of phone are never likely to travel to North America. So manufacturers just don't bother with the North American cellular bands.

premington said:
I'll also download a speed test and see if anything has changed. I'm getting some different indicators on the cellular signal strength meter: E and H+. Didn't see that before. Maybe that's from the new firmware; I don't know.

-Paul
Click to expand...

I presume the "E" means 2G EDGE. Now would the "H+" mean HSDPA? Which is 3G.
 
Ahhh... That would make a lot of sense, Mike... regarding the E for "edge" and H+ for "HSDPA" (3G). I didn't think of that. That's very promising. When the bars go high, the H+ displays. When they drop, the E displays. So this is potentially promising in that I might be getting 3G throughput.

But right now, I'm stuck... I had to wipe and do a factory reset after flashing the firmware and now all my Google Play stuff is gone. LOTS of stuff are gone... It's pretty stripped down and I'm trying to figure out how to get it back. I have no file manager and the Motorola Shop4App app is entirely in Chinese! I don't know how to get any of my Google stuff back.

I'm downloading CM10 4.1.1 Jelly Bean now. I don't know if this will stick the Google account and Play store stuff back on my phone. I need it or I have no way of getting any apps and checking to see what kind of download speeds I'm getting.

So complicated! This is a time sink... I'll be glad when this is over and things are stable and working properly.

Thanks for your replies... Any advice?

-Paul
 
Oh... One last thing, just as an FYI. Since my wife is Chinese and we'll be traveling to China, we wanted a GSM phone that would be assured to work in China. The trouble is, we also want it to work in America. So far, it's been a hassle.

From what I've been able to discover, this phone is one of five 865 flavors Motorola makes. They make two flavors in ME865 and three in MB865. The ME phones load the Asian firmware. I actually ordered an MB phone, but the vendor sent an ME. This is why Amazon approved the return. The vendor says he can't assure me that a replacement wouldn't be an ME, so that's why I'm going through the struggle to try and get this phone working... I'd like to keep it rather than roll the dice and see what I get as a replacement. For all I know, it'll be exactly what I have now.

-Paul
 
Just an FYI for those who hit this thread. The phone is operational running China retail firmware an I'm getting 3G in my area only when I get a strong enough signal. This area has GSM 1900 using T-Mobile, so it is possible using this phone. I've installed JB 4.1.2 and it's rooted. Life is good!

-Paul
 
premington said:
Oh... One last thing, just as an FYI. Since my wife is Chinese and we'll be traveling to China, we wanted a GSM phone that would be assured to work in China. The trouble is, we also want it to work in America. So far, it's been a hassle.
Click to expand...

Paul you can do that, but if you want the same phone to do 3G in the States and China, you'll have to use China Unicom. And their pre-paid plans can be really quite expensive compared to China Mobile. Something like equivalent of $30-$40 for just 1GB of data. China Mobile uses its own 3G technology, TD-SCDMA, which is unique to China and Chinese phones. Phones that are not TD-SCDMA will only get 2G EDGE speeds with China Mobile, voice calls and SMS are OK though.
 
Thanks for the info, Mike.

A friend of mine at work is Chinese and she travels to and from China/America regularly. She has a plain T-Mobile 4G smartphone. She said what I can do is buy a SIM card over there and pop it in the phone and it'll work fine. This is why we wanted GSM phones, specifically.

So when we do that, will we be restricted to 2G speeds in China? My understanding was these phones (my Atrix 2 and my wife's Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini) would function well over there.

-Paul
 
premington said:
Thanks for the information and reply. I actually have a post in the Atrix 2 group now, but I think it gets little traffic. I've been unlucky getting responses, which is why I asked here.

I just updated the firmware to China retail and it's working well. It should allow me to root now... I wasn't able to root using the Hong Kong firmware.

I'll also download a speed test and see if anything has changed. I'm getting some different indicators on the cellular signal strength meter: E and H+. Didn't see that before. Maybe that's from the new firmware; I don't know.

-Paul
Click to expand...

Hi I have exactly the same phone as your with the same firmware and I also need to update to China retail firmware. Please could you tell me where to get the proper file and how to do it at all
 
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