Chaps,
Are you sitting down? Good. You'll need to be - I'm about to ask a really daft question.
I have had my desire for about 2 months now, and it's the first smartphone I have ever had. Never before have I been able to get an internet connection other than when plugged into broadband, sitting at home (or work).
But ... I can't seem to get an internet connection all that often. By my understanding, the icon in the top right of the screen shows you how fast a connection you should be getting (G, E, 3G and H, in increasing order of speed), and you can expect data to load accordingly quickly.
However, on my desire, it seems I can have a 'good' connection, and yet not be able to do anything with it. Last night I was in a place I visit regularly, and the 'phone tells me that I had a 3G signal. Great - should be fast. But it wouldn't let me see any web page, instead telling me that www.google.com had moved or wasn't available - the usual message I get when I have no signal. I tried "speedtest" to see how fast a connection I had, but even though I supposedly had a 3G connection, speedtest showed a ping time of 999 and both upload and download speeds of 0. Google maps couldn't tell me where I was and wouldn't show me a map of anything.
Even now, I am sitting at my usual desk, and I am told that I have an 'E' connection. But I can't open a web page, and am told that "There is no connection. The page will continue downloading when the connection is restored."
The 'phone works fine when connected to a WiFi network (wonderfully well, in fact). But I have never been able to make the Google Sat Nav function work as it never seems to get the maps quickly enough. I have never been able to make YouTube work when not on a WiFi network (I assume 'cos there isn't enough data to make it work), and I tried the last.fm application the other day, which failed to work in the car as it downloaded songs more slowly than it played them.
Is this normal? As I said, I have never had a smartphone before and I don't really know what to expect. The 'phone software is 2.10.405.2, which I think makes it a Froyo 'phone, but not branded (although it's on Orange). It is not rooted - as far as I know.
I live and work in central London, and have yet to take the 'phone outside an area which claims to have "Excellent" 3G coverage, according to the Orange website.
I have a few non-standard apps installed, one of which is Dolphin (which I tried to see whether the problem was with the standard browser. It made no difference.) Are these likely to be relevant? Should I restore the 'phone to factory settings to see if this helps?
So, simple question, is this sort of (lack of) connection normal? If so, I am slightly struggling to see the point of a smartphone. If it isn't, what can I do about it?
Thanks for your help.
Oli.
Are you sitting down? Good. You'll need to be - I'm about to ask a really daft question.
I have had my desire for about 2 months now, and it's the first smartphone I have ever had. Never before have I been able to get an internet connection other than when plugged into broadband, sitting at home (or work).
But ... I can't seem to get an internet connection all that often. By my understanding, the icon in the top right of the screen shows you how fast a connection you should be getting (G, E, 3G and H, in increasing order of speed), and you can expect data to load accordingly quickly.
However, on my desire, it seems I can have a 'good' connection, and yet not be able to do anything with it. Last night I was in a place I visit regularly, and the 'phone tells me that I had a 3G signal. Great - should be fast. But it wouldn't let me see any web page, instead telling me that www.google.com had moved or wasn't available - the usual message I get when I have no signal. I tried "speedtest" to see how fast a connection I had, but even though I supposedly had a 3G connection, speedtest showed a ping time of 999 and both upload and download speeds of 0. Google maps couldn't tell me where I was and wouldn't show me a map of anything.
Even now, I am sitting at my usual desk, and I am told that I have an 'E' connection. But I can't open a web page, and am told that "There is no connection. The page will continue downloading when the connection is restored."
The 'phone works fine when connected to a WiFi network (wonderfully well, in fact). But I have never been able to make the Google Sat Nav function work as it never seems to get the maps quickly enough. I have never been able to make YouTube work when not on a WiFi network (I assume 'cos there isn't enough data to make it work), and I tried the last.fm application the other day, which failed to work in the car as it downloaded songs more slowly than it played them.
Is this normal? As I said, I have never had a smartphone before and I don't really know what to expect. The 'phone software is 2.10.405.2, which I think makes it a Froyo 'phone, but not branded (although it's on Orange). It is not rooted - as far as I know.
I live and work in central London, and have yet to take the 'phone outside an area which claims to have "Excellent" 3G coverage, according to the Orange website.
I have a few non-standard apps installed, one of which is Dolphin (which I tried to see whether the problem was with the standard browser. It made no difference.) Are these likely to be relevant? Should I restore the 'phone to factory settings to see if this helps?
So, simple question, is this sort of (lack of) connection normal? If so, I am slightly struggling to see the point of a smartphone. If it isn't, what can I do about it?
Thanks for your help.
Oli.