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Help What does it mean when my Wifi and data symbols are grey?

N

nzdreamer55

Member
Hey everyone,

I know this is kind of a softball question (so this is for those who never play :-)

I have been having trouble with my connections droping and though it was due to the software and was going to try and go to 4.0.4 unofficial release, but then found this link
http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...y-apps-not-updating-gtalk-not-connecting.html

I set my wifi to static IP and it has helped the connectivity issue (I CAN connect now over wifi), but my little icons still are grey. They (both bars and wifi signal) are usually around 2 bars.

BTW, the little mobil bars will sometimes have a 3G or 4G. If neither of these is present does this mean that the bars are only representing signal for voice and text signals?
Does this little bar symbol ever represent data strength/speed?

Thanks

-S
 
In my experience with the LTE galaxy nexus when the bars are grey it means you have no data connection (even if it says 3G or 4g). Data only works on my phone when the bars are colored blue.

Sometimes toggling airplane mode will get the phone to connect to 3G/4g. I've never had a problem with my wifi connection being stuck on grey, only does it for a few seconds while the phone is obtaining an ip address.
 
I get data when bars are grey, however, I very rarely see an instance where the bars are grey and remain grey. I've always been under the assumption that grey bars mean not actively connected to any Google services (gmail account/music, browser, photos, contacts, etc...) therefor isn't actively syncing with those particular services.
 
Grey bars mean you have connectivity, data is there if you have the 3G/4G/H symbol above the bars, but when they are grey you have no Google sync connectivity. I read this somewhere in the forums.

I have found this to be true, that data works on grey bars. But it would be nice to get more confirmation from other users.
 
dhworph said:
Grey bars mean you have connectivity, data is there if you have the 3G/4G/H symbol above the bars, but when they are grey you have no Google sync connectivity. I read this somewhere in the forums.

I have found this to be true, that data works on grey bars. But it would be nice to get more confirmation from other users.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. I also sometimes had grey WiFi bars when waking up the phone. Opening browser shows no data when it's grey, but after a little while like 5~10 seconds it works with blue bars. My home page is google.com, so maybe that's why? I should try browsing other sites and it might work under grey bars.

And I'm not sure how to set IP to static in WiFi setting as I don't see that under advanced WiFi setting screen. I'm not having much issue with WiFi stuck to grey, most of times it turns to blue quick, but I'm just curious how to do that.
 
I see gray bars when i turn off/on wifi. The nexus sucks at radio handoffs. 4.04 is supposed to make these faster.
 
I can confirm it has to do with Google servers connection. Since Google probably have 99% uptime (or better) it can also be used to show you if your data link is working properly :)
 
In my experience, grey bars with no 3g or 4g symbol above them means you are connected to voice only, and no data. If it has 3g or 4g above the signal strength, regardless of color, you're connected. Hope that helps, that's just what i've noticed.
 
With my N1, I would occasionally have grey bars, usually when I'd downloaded too many apps and the phone would report the "low memory' error in the Notification bar.

They wouldn't turn green again until I deleted some apps.

With my GN, I only see grey bars when I'm not connected to Google servers...very rarely.
 
dhworph said:
Grey bars mean you have connectivity, data is there if you have the 3G/4G/H symbol above the bars, but when they are grey you have no Google sync connectivity. I read this somewhere in the forums.

I have found this to be true, that data works on grey bars. But it would be nice to get more confirmation from other users.
Click to expand...
This. As long as I have the 3G/4G/1X showing, I'm connected to mobile network and can send/receive data even when the bars are grey.

It's when there is no data indicator at all, just the bars, that I have no data (which is consistent with turning mobile data off completely). In those cases, of course the phone still works. I'm not sure if the bars are indicating what data network strength would be if it were connected, or if it is the 1X voice connection strength. My guess is it is still the 3G or LTE signal (depending on which mode your phone is in).
 
I recently bought a small WiFi router for work because 3G is pretty much nonexistent and my battery drains quickly searching for a signal.

Whenever I'm on WiFi, whether at home or at work, the call signal strength bars are sometimes gray and sometimes blue but I never see the 3G icon.

When I'm at home and on WiFi, the WiFi icon is always blue.

When I'm at work the WiFi icon is always gray, but I have no interruption of any service. I get my Gmail, Play Store works and I've watched it sync.

And I know I'm on WiFi. Speedtest shows 18 Mbs down and 2 up. Since this is a Sprint GNex, there ain't no LTE.

But I have noticed that when it connects to the WiFi at work, it's blue for about a second, then it turns gray and stays gray.

And FWIW, the router I bought was an Edimax BR-6258n. That thing is crazy small, about the size of two books of matches stacked on top of each other. It fits in the coin pocket of my Levi's.
 
I would like to add my two cents worth of observations on wifi icon colors. When home or connected to any number of other SOHO access points I always get a blue or green wifi icon (depending on my device), however at work, connecting to Enterprise network I always get grey wifi icons on both my tablet and phone. I do believe this has to do with Google not being connected, since neither device will auto update GMail when connected at work (need to do a manual refresh to get new mail). Other than the GMail problem when grey everything else seems to work fine.
 
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