my phone is 1x camping. verified this and am now extremely aggrivated with this damn phone. It's the worst phone i've owned. 1: can't make or receive calls cause the audio drops 2: 3g isn't 3g 3: not getting paged from my work email like i used to on my EVO. this does explain my incredible lag when trying to use pandora, tiny shark, youtube, basically the phone.
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Help Sloooow 3G speeds
- Thread starter JSchu22
- Start date
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- motorola photon 4g
my phone is 1x camping. verified this and am now extremely aggrivated with this damn phone. It's the worst phone i've owned. 1: can't make or receive calls cause the audio drops 2: 3g isn't 3g 3: not getting paged from my work email like i used to on my EVO. this does explain my incredible lag when trying to use pandora, tiny shark, youtube, basically the phone.
I wonder if we could use the information from being in test mode to help isolate if problems that some Photon users have been experiencing is dependent on the build date.
In "test" mode there is an option for "Service Info." When I select that I note that the build date for my phone is the following:
Build Date: Thu Jul 21 03:26:52 EDT 2011
My phone so far (knock on my head) has been rock solid and I definitely feel for those that have been bit by all the sound/reboot/radio issues.
vinnmann11
Lurker
This is in reference to 4g, and not 3g, but I felt the need to give thanks. I was having a terrible problem with the 4g showing zzzz and it would not "wake up" when I tried to send/receive using k9 mail, or ism to view my TD Ameritrade account. It was constantly trying to connect, but never got connected. This simple setting change fixed those two annoyances, and increased speed.
For some stupid reason, Sprint phones will not show 1X only 3g or 4g. I've had the EVO and Photon both exhibit the same, while I had the droid X on VZW it would show 1X network. Not sure why Sprint does not want to show when the phone is on 1X.....
My Photon should arrive Tuesday 9/20. I have high hopes it'll replace a Sprint 598U USB mobile broadband device I've been using for two years as my rural home net connection. I've signed-up to pay for the Wi-Fi hotspot option so I can not only connect my desktop PC and laptop, but also an eBook reader and if possible a Playstation 3.
On the EVDO issue I found from info on the net that Sprint's software for the 598U called Smartview would not allow you to lock-in EVDO and I found it would frequently switch to the slower 1xRTT speed especially during heavy use time when I used it on my laptop when visiting a metro area. I learned software from the maker of the device, Sierra Wireless, still allows for a choice of Network Mode ... Automatic, EVDO only, or 1x only.
I've had good success using the "Sierra Wireless Watcher" software to lock-in EVDO for the 3G signal I get here at my rural home location. I do occasionally lose connection due to low signal signal strength, but it's only caused me minor irritation. Trying to use the slow 1xRTT for the net makes me wanna pull my hair out it so frustrating!
I wonder if some of those android phone software gurus out there could try to tackle the problem of getting the Photon to lock-in to the 3G EVDO network? I think this would resolve many of the speed issues I read about in this thread.
On the EVDO issue I found from info on the net that Sprint's software for the 598U called Smartview would not allow you to lock-in EVDO and I found it would frequently switch to the slower 1xRTT speed especially during heavy use time when I used it on my laptop when visiting a metro area. I learned software from the maker of the device, Sierra Wireless, still allows for a choice of Network Mode ... Automatic, EVDO only, or 1x only.
I've had good success using the "Sierra Wireless Watcher" software to lock-in EVDO for the 3G signal I get here at my rural home location. I do occasionally lose connection due to low signal signal strength, but it's only caused me minor irritation. Trying to use the slow 1xRTT for the net makes me wanna pull my hair out it so frustrating!
I wonder if some of those android phone software gurus out there could try to tackle the problem of getting the Photon to lock-in to the 3G EVDO network? I think this would resolve many of the speed issues I read about in this thread.
Only way to fix this that i know of is to call intp Sprint and have them do a phone refresh as they call it. Basically you power down the phone and they reset something on their end. Why this happens and how it gets fixed I have no idea. Irritating yes. My wifes EVO also has to do this from time to time.
I think Sprint either had a hiccup for the last few days (say, 9/17-9/19) or they were doing something to the network. I noticed that my 3G performance slipped considerably during that timeframe, from averaging around 1mbps down to around 250kbps down. Last night, I hit 2100kbps down (!), and today I'm back to 1mbps or maybe higher (1.2-1.3mbps).
So, it looks like it's definitely not the Photon but rather the network, at least over the last few days.
So, it looks like it's definitely not the Photon but rather the network, at least over the last few days.
douglaslem88
Well-Known Member
I tired putting the setting on automatic but it says I need a sim card. Did anyone get a sim card with their phone?
drexappeal
Extreme Android User
Did you purchase on ebay or something? Every MoPho has a sim card pre-installed.
douglaslem88
Well-Known Member
yep ebay, why wouldn't it have a sim card if it was new
drexappeal
Extreme Android User
I really don't know. If you open the back cover, you'll see it. It's immediately to the left of where you put the microSD card in, under the black plastic covering that you have to lift up in order to insert the microSD.
Nontheless, when I switch to Automatic, I've never seen that prompt ever. I'd double check to make sure the SIM card is inserted. If it is, I'd check back with the seller that you purchased from.
douglaslem88
Well-Known Member
Thanks, did the switch to automatic fix your slow 3g speed issue? I thought the mopho had the best radio of the high end smartphones. That's why i traded my evo 3d for it.
drexappeal
Extreme Android User
Yes. It did. Actually, I noticed more of a change after the 1st update was released.
When people are talking about the "best radio," they're talking about for phone calls and for signal strength, not necessarily how fast the 3G speeds are. That, in general, has always been an issue for Sprint (regardless of the phone).
I just bought a used Photon because, well, I liked it better than my old Evo 4G and the new Evo 4G LTE seemed to have some of the same limitations as my old Evo while the Photon does not. Well, problem - I have been experiencing this slow 3G issue and lo and behold I don't have a SIM card just like a previous poster. I assume the easiest fix is to "get one?" Where? Look for a busted Photon on eBay? The googs did not yield a lot...
Lokifish
Well-Known Member
In my area 200k down on 3G is the norm. It's been consistently this way since the iphone launch. If I kick it into 1xRTT, my speeds are slightly slower than 3G, @180k. Please keep in mind that I'm not only telcom certified but also worked for Sprint as a tech. I also have some experience in tweaking phones as you can tell by my sig.
Citizen Coyote
Android Enthusiast
My 3G speed tends to be all over the map these days, depending on where I am. In my office it's atrocious, but elsewhere in my hometown it ranges from poor to good. While I was in New York a week ago it was surprisingly decent in the West Village (midtown was another matter entirely). There's really no rhyme nor reason to it these days.
simcha
Android Enthusiast
I think as they roll out Network Vision we're going to continue to suffer through unpredictable network issues and periods of painfully slow speeds. This weekend I was home and I ran the speed test and had 29kbps down and 230kbps up. I hope that Network Vision will vastly improve this. But we still don't know yet what's going to happen.
But i can't try the fix where you set radio state to automatic without one. I did try setting to sprint only and them back to any CDMA - now I can't even run speedtest on 3G. I get a network error
Works OK on 4G and wifi but 3G is useless.
drexappeal
Extreme Android User
But i can't try the fix where you set radio state to automatic without one. I did try setting to sprint only and them back to any CDMA - now I can't even run speedtest on 3G. I get a network error
Why not? When the phone roams, it roams on Verizon's CDMA towers, so why wouldn't you be able to?
I don't know, but i get a no valid sim card detected error...