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Help Problems since getting 3G

alfick3

alfick3

Android Expert
Ok, since getting 3G on my phone, I haven't been able to get phone calls our text messages. I thought it had something to with a high temp battery (the battery stopped charging the other day due to over heating in my air conditioned car here in Texas). I thought I had fried my phone. Well today I used the app LTE onoff to keep the phone at the 1x speed to help conserve battery while I was at work, and low and behold, I am able to get phone calls and texts.

Has any one else, that has been fortunate enough to get 3G and PRL 3020, had problems like this? I like the speeds that I seem to be getting, but the trade off seems to be that I can't get my phone calls or texts. I guess what I will have to do is leave it on 1x and when I want to use data change out up to the 3G. I had un-rooted my phone and was getting ready to take it back to Metro thinking I had overheated my phone.
 
Ok, well, here's the deal:

As I drive around Dallas and the outlying northern suburbs, I get spotty 3G. Sometimes I have it, and other times I don't. If I set the phone to EVDo only (using the app LTE onoff), I can't receive any phone calls. My wife and I experimented with this. I can make them, but for some reason when she calls me, it rings 4 or 5 times and then goes to vm with out my phone actually ever ringing. Also, I can't get any texts. I can send, but it takes like 5 minutes for it to send. I can however surf the web. Oh, the same as texts goes for email using the gmail app on my phone.

If I set the app at CDMA only, I have no problems except now I'm only on 1x speeds.

So, I set it at CDMA, auto (PRL) and now I get the 3G speeds and will receive phone calls and texts. However, the coverage like I said earlier is spotty. I went to my brother-in-laws house last night and was only getting 1x coverage. I manually set LTE onoff at EVDo and then had no coverage at all; both cell and data were gone. I set it back to auto, and got 1x data back, as well as phone coverage.

Its seems to be a pain, but I will get used to it and learn to live with it for the increased data speeds that I can get in some places. :)
 
I have not driven around to find any spotty coverage but here at my house im getting 3g signal and speeds
Optimus%203g.jpg


No problem with phone calls regular txt or mms pic txts.
 
new optimus said:
I have not driven around to find any spotty coverage but here at my house im getting 3g signal and speeds...

No problem with phone calls regular txt or mms pic txts.
Click to expand...

Yeah, since I selected CDMA auto, I haven't had problems either. But for 2 days my wife wasn't able to call me and get through. I think you probably are just at auto as well, standard. I had changed it to the EVDo only for the couple of days, to try and keep the 3G speeds rather than setting back to 1x at all.
 
tms592 said:
Ok so if I do happen to get the 3G I wont be able to receive calls or texts?
Click to expand...

I am now able to get calls and texts. What I had done was force 3G by using the app LTE onoff and make it so I couldn't get the 1x. Thus for some reason I wasn't able to get incoming phone calls. I imagine it has something to do with Metro's underlying structure. When I went into the app and changed it to auto, then I was still getting 3G, but I was also still getting my calls and texts. The app allows you to choose what network you want, or if you just want it to connect automatically to which ever network has the best signal.

One thing I have noticed though; Dallas is a big market for Metro (their corporate offices are in Richardson, a north suburb of Dallas) and I can't get 3G in north Dallas. I get it in Garland, which is a ne suburb.

Anyway, I mostly started this thread to let others, who have gotten it know not to use the app to force 3G and not let it get the 1x. I know it's pretty sporadic on who has gotten the PRL update and who hasn't.
 
So here is a screen shot of some speed tests done today. The 1st 3 were done at my father-in-laws home. I wasn't able to get 3G over there, only 1x. The last three tests were taken at my house this evening on 3G. See for your selves and decide wether I'm getting 3G speeds or not.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
new optimus said:
The only way it is possible is metro has upgraded some of their towers.
Now the real question is will they cap the speed to make it the same as the rest of the towers.
Click to expand...

They are rolling out 3G EVDO in some markets to fix network problems. Only some markets, and it will be CAPPED and it will be temporary. Metro still wants to move everyone to LTE. So, they can't make the 3G too good.
 
alfick3 said:
So here is a screen shot of some speed tests done today. The 1st 3 were done at my father-in-laws home. I wasn't able to get 3G over there, only 1x. The last three tests were taken at my house this evening on 3G. See for your selves and decide wether I'm getting 3G speeds or not.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Click to expand...

Considering 1x RTT is 150k or less, EDGE (anther "2G" technology) is 200k or less, and the ITU in 2005 said minimum CMDA "3G" speeds were 384kbps, you aren't hitting 3G yet! :D

But at least two of those tests are better than 1x RTT.

It does tell me Metro is capping the speeds.
 
new optimus said:
This is my latest tests, all different servers different parts of the country.

Speed%20test%20results%20aug%209.png
Click to expand...

Well, they are all over 385k -- which was what the ITU stipulated as minimum 3G speed for CDMA in the 2005 revised 3G standards. So, Metro finally has 3G in a few places! :rolleyes:

By the way, this is why 1x RTT started being called "2.5G" -- due to the 2005 ITU revisions. 1x RTT can't get above 150k (and realistically often never gets above 100k). In 2005, with the advent of EVDO, the ITU said 3G CDMA should have a minimum speed of 385k. Now, EVDO is much faster than that, but that was the minimum acceptable speed to be labelled 3G.

So, while in 1997, 1x RTT it was originally deemed "3G" techology, by 2005 the ITU revised the standards. They still left 1x RTT still on the books as "3G" technology -- but it could no longer hit minimum ITU 3G speed. :confused: Thus, it was in limbo-land. Not 2G, but no longer quite 3G. So, "2.5G".

But there are ignorant people who still try to convince you 1x RTT is 3G. Don't listen to them. When you get real 3G, you know what it is. :D
 
ChazzMatt said:
Well, they are all over 385k -- which was what the ITU stipulated as minimum 3G speed for CDMA in the 2005 revised 3G standards. So, Metro finally has 3G in a few places! :rolleyes:

By the way, this is why 1x RTT started being called "2.5G". It can't get above 150k (and realistically often never gets above 100k). And in 2005, the ITU said 3G CDMA should have a minimum speed of 385k. So, while in 1997, 1x RTT it was originally deemed "3G" techology, in 2005 the ITU revised the standards. They left 1x RTT still on the books as "3G" technology, but it could no longer hit minimum ITU 3G speed. :confused: Thus, it was in limbo-land. Not 2G, but no longer quite 3G. So, "2.5G".

But there are ignorant people who still try to convince you 1x RTT is 3G. Don't listen to them. When you get real 3G, you know what it is. :D
Click to expand...

Chazz you and I have been around and around about that, and while I agree the 3g "speed" matter yadayadayada, I am happy I have the speed, before when I was on 1x I rarely got over 40k. that sucks. I hated dialup when it was the only thing out there.:D
I hope they do not cap it, though I still think they might, your earlier observations are most likely correct.
 
new optimus said:
Chazz you and I have been around and around about that, and while I agree the 3g "speed" matter yadayadayada, I am happy I have the speed, before when I was on 1x I rarely got over 40k. that sucks. I hated dialup when it was the only thing out there.:D
I hope they do not cap it, though I still think they might, your earlier observations are most likely correct.
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Well, since we last discussed this, I found ITU 2008 website screenshot that explicitly says 385k minimum speed for CDMA 3G. Can't argue with the ITU! ;) It's no longer there on current website, because 385k seems to antiquated for today's 3G speeds. But if in 2005, they said it and kept it there until 2008, they certainly aren't going to accept freakin' 150k or less as 3G speed!

And now that you have real 3G, it feels good doesn't it?
 
ChazzMatt said:
Well, since we last discussed this, I found ITU 2008 website screenshot that explicitly says 385k minimum speed for CDMA 3G. Can't argue with the ITU! ;) It's no longer there on current website, because 385k seems to antiquated for today's 3G speeds. But if in 2005, they said it and kept it there until 2008, they certainly aren't going to accept freakin' 150k or less as 3G speed!

And now that you have real 3G, it feels good doesn't it?
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I know, but them changing the standards after the fact doesnt make it so, for example phone plans, they grandfather existing plans in but all new plans are different.

Now taking speeds by them selves though, yup I understand what you mean.
They are saying if your running a 1x network you can not claim 3g speeds.
 
New Optimus, it looks like they haven't capped your area. Based on my speed tests, I can't get over 200kbps so it looks like they've capped the Dallas area. Suck, but it is better than before. :)
 
new optimus said:
I know, but them changing the standards after the fact doesnt make it so, for example phone plans, they grandfather existing plans in but all new plans are different.

Now taking speeds by them selves though, yup I understand what you mean.
They are saying if your running a 1x network you can not claim 3g speeds.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Which is where the "2.5G" moniker came from. 1x RTT was "3G" technology (from 1997, when the standards were first written), but then by 2005 couldn't hit minimum 3G speeds. Yet the ITU never officially retired it. But if you can't hit the minimum speeds, do you really have a right to be called 3G? So, it started being called 2.5G or even 2.G.

The 2G GSM techology "EDGE" has a top speed of 200k. So, that's also a nail in the coffin. :rolleyes:
  • 1X RTT has top speed of 150K.
  • Competing 2G GSM technology has top speed of 200k.
  • Then, in 2005, the ITU, which created the 1997 standard, said minimum 3G CDMA speeds should now be 385k...

They never officially demoted 1X RTT but in effect they did. Here's an analogy....

ford-model-t-1a.jpg


A 1920's pristine Model T Ford, everything works. Yet, in the years since it was made, interstates have been built with a 40mp minimum speed. So, while the Model T is still an automobile, it's not like you can drive it much anywhere, like to go on vacation. ;)
 
ChazzMatt said:
Exactly.

ford-model-t-1a.jpg


A 1920's pristine Model T Ford, everything works. Yet, in the years since it was made, interstates have been built with a 40mp minimum speed. So, while the Model T is still an automobile, it's not like you can drive it much anywhere, like to go on vacation. ;)
Click to expand...
Nope just parade after parade after parade. They are so cool to see in the parade aren't they.:D
 
ChazzMatt said:
Exactly.... Here's an analogy....

ford-model-t-1a.jpg


A 1920's pristine Model T Ford, everything works. Yet, in the years since it was made, interstates have been built with a 40mp minimum speed. So, while the Model T is still an automobile, it's not like you can drive it much anywhere, like to go on vacation. ;)
Click to expand...

Love the analogy. :D Beautiful car.
 
no internet connection on my optimus m so i called customer service twice talked to two different people who both said metro was enhancing their data service to make it better lol hope my phone aint just tripping.

they told me it should be up in 2hours and they said they where updating all data areas.
 
blaxican25 said:
no internet connection on my optimus m so i called customer service twice talked to two different people who both said metro was enhancing their data service to make it better lol hope my phone aint just tripping.

they told me it should be up in 2hours and they said they where updating all data areas.
Click to expand...
blax where you at, I think you need to update some info on your phone, take a look at this to get web enabled on your phone.
by the way do you have phone service?

http://androidforums.com/optimus-m-all-things-root/392019-help-please.html#post3059235
 
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