Annoying problem with 3 mobile data connection

Four of a kind

I presume this is common problem for a lot of people on 3.

To use my mobile data, I've to each time to into settings-mobile networks and click "network operators" and let the phone scan and then select 3. It then says "registered to 3". Fine....I get 3G/H/H+ signal and all is good.

But when I lose that signal/out of coverage or turn mobile data off, I've to go through the whole process again :mad::mad:

My g.f who's also on 3 told me that's what she's been doing from day one(over a year ago) as I always wondered lately why she'd have full 3G coverage while I was only get G(basically can't even load google page)

IIRC someone here said that this is a known issue with 3 and that there's no fix for it? Is this true?

Its really, really, really annoying having to do that every few mins just to use the internet. I never had this problem on my S2 but since I switched to the S3 last week, I've had to do this method as there was no alternative that I knew of.

Any help on this guys?

ED E

Yuuuuuuuup. Its true, no fix for it.


What happens is that three are the first and only entirely 3G network. Their antenna are all pure 3G, but they dont cover everywhere. To compensate for this, they buy space from vodaphone, 2G space. This means you have phone coverage 99% of the time, but not so for data.

I take commuter rail reasonably frequently, end up losing data 3-4 times a trip. Pain in me hole. But w/ AYCE data for €20 a month, its not enough to force me away.


I'd consider writing an app to fix it, but it'd need root I'm pretty sure, and my XS is bootloader locked for the moment :mad:

Four of a kind

ED E wrote: »

Yuuuuuuuup. Its true, no fix for it.


What happens is that three are the first and only entirely 3G network. Their antenna are all pure 3G, but they dont cover everywhere. To compensate for this, they buy space from vodaphone, 2G space. This means you have phone coverage 99% of the time, but not so for data.

I take commuter rail reasonably frequently, end up losing data 3-4 times a trip. Pain in me hole. But w/ AYCE data for €20 a month, its not enough to force me away.


I'd consider writing an app to fix it, but it'd need root I'm pretty sure, and my XS is bootloader locked for the moment :mad:

It's so annoying

So your saying that someone like yourself can actually fix it but 3 won't/can't?

I'm on the €20 a month offer as well which is the best deal I've ever been on Payg so I'm not changing networks just for that.

But I would love one day to have it sorted. I don't understand though why it never happened on my S2? Only swapped to S3 last week.

Chibs

I had this problem on my phone galaxy s2 but i changed my rom to omega rom and since that its been working fine no problems about 4 months now

Zagato

There is no menu setting anymore in ICS to select 3G only our even 3G preferred, like there was in 2.1-2.3
I don't know if this is part of the problem. That does not necessarily mean that there is not a way to do this.

It might be worth keeping an eye on E.V.A.'s thread in the SGS3 forum discussing/finding codes to change phone settings.

You may remember that the menu for disabling fast dormancy on the s2 also allowed changing above network settings

ED E

Maybe I'm wrong actually(still looking for that old thread, had buckets of info).

The reason it doesnt work for me on the 2G is the my phone sees it as a foreign network...screeny below...and thus treats it as roaming, and I have data roaming off. Enabling it may fix it(will try in a sec) but then my concern is that if I hit a blackspot where 3 3G and 3 2G are both out of range and it defaults to another carrier, and push data over them. That said, I dont know enough about the routing at that stage to know if the APN would be unreachable or not.



EDIT: Why three have two networks(3G) I have no idea.

ED E

Found her: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056633140

Also, its reminded me of the WCDMA fix, which is a decent stop gap. Most phones allow you to force WCDMA(3G) so that it'll never connect to the vodaphone 2G network in any way. This has the upside of meaning it'll always be 3G data, but its that or nothing. If you're in a 2G zone the phone wont connect at all.


Going back to fixing it as I mentioned above, my idea is an app could fix the problem, so theoretically three could fix it. But the way different FW's implement things could make it difficult for them to make a one size fits all fix. I'm gonna do some reading on this now.

Update: just ran some test, phone clearly sees the 2G network as vodafoneIE, that makes things simpler, I think. *goes back to reading API*

Raoul Duke

Had this problem on my S2. Not anymore. Try this - go to your "mobile network settings", check out your "network mode", check "WCDMA only".
That did it for me.

Zagato

Raoul Duke wrote: »

Had this problem on my S2. Not anymore. Try this - go to your "mobile network settings", check out your "network mode", check "WCDMA only".
That did it for me.

This option is not available on S3 firmware

Four of a kind

Appreciate the help so far lads. I'll keep an eye here to see how things develop.

Four of a kind

Zagato wrote: »

Raoul Duke wrote: »

Had this problem on my S2. Not anymore. Try this - go to your "mobile network settings", check out your "network mode", check "WCDMA only".
That did it for me.

This option is not available on S3 firmware

It is on my S3? Just checked there and I can indeed set it to WCDMA only mode!?

Zagato

Four of a kind wrote: »

Zagato wrote: »

Raoul Duke wrote: »

Had this problem on my S2. Not anymore. Try this - go to your "mobile network settings", check out your "network mode", check "WCDMA only".
That did it for me.

This option is not available on S3 firmware

It is on my S3? Just checked there and I can indeed set it to WCDMA only mode!?

Oh, well then go for that, our maybe WCDMA preferred it that's an option

Four of a kind

Zagato wrote: »

Four of a kind wrote: »

Zagato wrote: »

Raoul Duke wrote: »

Had this problem on my S2. Not anymore. Try this - go to your "mobile network settings", check out your "network mode", check "WCDMA only".
That did it for me.

This option is not available on S3 firmware

It is on my S3? Just checked there and I can indeed set it to WCDMA only mode!?

Oh, well then go for that, our maybe WCDMA preferred it that's an option

Well so far so good. I selected WCDMA only mode and it's kept 3G/H+ signal, even when I turn screen off or moved areas.

So straight away this has made things alot more manageable.

Dozen Wicked Words

Raoul Duke wrote: »

Had this problem on my S2. Not anymore. Try this - go to your "mobile network settings", check out your "network mode", check "WCDMA only".
That did it for me.

Worked a treat for my s2 too, thanks. Very rarely have no signal at all but massive, massive improvement on how it was before. Don't get the annoying signal lost triangle either.

Mc Love

Am using RR and I cant seem to locate that setting

Zagato

Mc Love wrote: »

Am using RR and I cant seem to locate that setting

Yeah, it's not on CM9 either

srsly78

Install 3s custom radio driver binary (comes with official firmware) and this issue should go away. If not complain and get released from contract because their own software doesn't work with their own network. Also forget about getting any kind of support from them over this. They clearly can't be bothered fixing it, has been going on for over 3 years with them.

Forget about getting any support from them if you got custom rom, or even if you got official.

niallb

Open the dialer, and type in the following network code.
It should get you to the testing menu.
Scroll down under the Phone Info section, and you should see an option for "preferred network type".
It's probably set to WCDMA preferred, but you'll get the option to set it to WCDMA only which should sort out your problem.
*#*#4636#*#*


DISCLAIMER!!

• This works on Samsung SG2, Samsung Galaxy Spica, and original HTC Desire which is all I can confirm personally.
• They are however the only phones I've tried it on.
• I cannot guarantee that it will work on your handset.
• You should google the code for verification before simply typing in a suggestion given to you on an internet forum to solve your problem :-)

Nolimits

niallb wrote: »

Open the dialer, and type in the following network code.
It should get you to the testing menu.
Scroll down under the Phone Info section, and you should see an option for "preferred network type".
It's probably set to WCDMA preferred, but you'll get the option to set it to WCDMA only which should sort out your problem.
*#*#4636#*#*

[COLOR="Red"]
DISCLAIMER!!

• This works on Samsung SG2, Samsung Galaxy Spica, and original HTC Desire which is all I can confirm personally.
• They are however the only phones I've tried it on.
• I cannot guarantee that it will work on your handset.
• You should google the code for verification before simply typing in a suggestion given to you on an internet forum to solve your problem :-)

[/COLOR]

Can confirm the above code also works on Galaxy Nexus. Hope setting it to WCDMA also works as I have the issue too and it's quite annoying

ED E

*#*#4636#*#* is pretty much a standard for Android, and is totally harmless.

niallb

There are reports that it can occasionally stop you sending text messages on some networks.
This is because there is also a space on that page for the SMSC (SMS Center) number,
and with some networks if this box is blank it wipes the setting instead of leaving it unchanged.
If this were to happen, you can find the SMS settings on the mobile boards here, type it into the box, and should be good again after pressing update.
You should also just be able to put it in in the SMS settings under System settings, but phones vary.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

I've had to do the same from day one as well OP. It's really REALLY annoying.
I can't set it to 3G only coz as soon as I go into a building, I lose signal completely so can't make/receive calls. :rolleyes: I'd say my phone spends 75% of the time on 2G.

One of the reasons I'm thinking of switching networks now.

Four of a kind

BearNecessities wrote: »

I've had to do the same from day one as well OP. It's really REALLY annoying.
I can't set it to 3G only coz as soon as I go into a building, I lose signal completely so can't make/receive calls. :rolleyes: I'd say my phone spends 75% of the time on 2G.

One of the reasons I'm thinking of switching networks now.

Their Payg €20 per month deal is the only thing making me stay with them tbh.

aaronm13

I've started having problems with my One X in the last few days. It's unbranded car phone warehouse one on 3 payg. When I got it about 4 weeks ago mobile data connection was amazing. Connected to H (HSDPA) every single time. Now at best I get E (Edge) even in Dublin city centre and it's so slow. Don't know if it's phone or network related. Really not happy.

god's toy

Had that very problem in work with both the S1 and S2 but not with the S3!
Others I work with never had it (Also on three) so it's just depends I suppose.

Also as this is my first phone to hold on to its 3g/H+ and reconnect as soon as it's available I'm not going to ROM it at all! (Shock Horror!)
Seeing as every time I wanted use the net over the last few years I had to scan the networks first and it drove me nuts I'm more than happy to leave a working phone alone.

Four of a kind

god's toy wrote: »

Had that very problem in work with both the S1 and S2 but not with the S3!
Others I work with never had it (Also on three) so it's just depends I suppose.

Also as this is my first phone to hold on to its 3g/H+ and reconnect as soon as it's available I'm not going to ROM it at all! (Shock Horror!)
Seeing as every time I wanted use the net over the last few years I had to scan the networks first and it drove me nuts I'm more than happy to leave a working phone alone.

Well since I changed modes from GSM/WCDMA auto to "WCDMA only" the problem has been eliminated completed for me. Anyone I click mobile data on now it picks up straight away and always 3G/H+.

The downside is sometimes I'll get zero signal due to been in a 2G zone and switching over to VF network(which is part of 3's deal I'm told)

But tbh I'm delighted not to have to manually configure mobile data 15/20 times a day like I used to.

I'm considering Flashing a ROM as I'm rooted using CF method.

Anyone know if I have to flash with odin on pc or can I use CWM to flash? Bit of a noob when it comes to this area :rolleyes:

Zagato

It depends on how the ROM is packaged.

You could have a look at mobile odin which allows you flash ROMs through Odin just using your phone - think it's a paid app though

matrim

I've noticed my s3 with the R symbol a couple of times but it seems to automatically go back to H+ itself.

matrim

I've noticed my s3 with the R symbol a couple of times but it seems to automatically go back to H+ itself.

irish_stevo815

Having a similar problem with my HTC One V. When i have it set to "GSM/WCDMA auto", I have full 5 bars of signal, but mobile internet (3G signal) is pretty crap/non-existent.
But when i set it to "WCDMA only", I get near perfect 3G signal, but with only 1 or 2 bars of phone signal. And it also drops out of signal from time to time also.

Also, on my previous phone, HTC Wildfire S, i had it set to "WCDMA only" and it worked grand.

Mc Love

Since changing to WCDMA only I havent lost connectivity as much which is great.

aaronm13

On my One X when I select "WCDMA only" it can take up to 15 minutes to find a signal and it also wont stay on "WCDMA only" a lot of the time it will revert back to auto. At my wits end with this now. What's the point in having a top of the range phone if all I can seem to get is an Edge connection mostly. When I got the phone I had to cut my standard sim down to a micro one, would this cause problems and should I change the sim over for a proper micro sim?

ED E

aaronm13 wrote: »

On my One X when I select "WCDMA only" it can take up to 15 minutes to find a signal and it also wont stay on "WCDMA only" a lot of the time it will revert back to auto. At my wits end with this now. What's the point in having a top of the range phone if all I can seem to get is an Edge connection mostly. When I got the phone I had to cut my standard sim down to a micro one, would this cause problems and should I change the sim over for a proper micro sim?

No effect whatsoever. The only difference between the two is the size of the plastic.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Just wanted to follow up on my experience after moving from 3Ireland to eMobile.

I was having terrible trouble with my S2 staying on 2G most of the time.
I just got used to having to manually switch from 2G to 3G each time i wanted to go online. More recently though, it was becoming a real pain in the a*se.
Setting to 3G only wasn't an option as I wasn't able to receive calls once I walked more then two foot inside a building

After switching to eMobile, all I can say is...wow. What a difference switching network makes!
I really can't believe how easily the phone switches from 2G to 3G automatically. Very happy I moved.

ED E

BearNecessities wrote: »

After switching to eMobile, all I can say is...wow. What a difference switching network makes!
I really can't believe how easily the phone switches from 2G to 3G automatically. Very happy I moved.

This is because emobile have two actual networks, unlike Three who have no real 2G network. Its one of the two big cons to being with three, and is something thats inherent in their system.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Ah yea, I just wanted to give my experience though. I've been with Three since the early days so hadn't tried another network in a while.
(for ages I thought it was a normal problem on all networks - then their pricing kept me with them) Now I'm using the internet so much, it was time to switch.

Btw, eMobile customer service has been great too (so far!). They've been very pleasant to deal with.

ED E wrote: »

This is because emobile have two actual networks, unlike Three who have no real 2G network. Its one of the two big cons to being with three, and is something thats inherent in their system.

Zagato

This is can only be good for people on 3?

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Hi Zagato, link doesn't work. Looks like you have "http://http//..."

Interesting news all the same.

BN

Zagato wrote: »

This is can only be good for people on 3?

ED E

Zagato wrote: »

This is can only be good for people on 3?

Pros: Fix 3G switching bug
Cons: See data be raped to uselessness

Result: Porting again.

srsly78

Seems a bit pointless since 3 customers spend all their time on vodafone anyway

G1032

ED E wrote: »

This is because emobile have two actual networks, unlike Three who have no real 2G network. Its one of the two big cons to being with three, and is something thats inherent in their system.

What's the other big con?? Was thinking of switching to 3 when my current meteor contract expires

srsly78

The other big con is the worst support you can possibly imagine. See the 3 forum for comedy/horror http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1367

You are crazy to switch from meteor... Sure you might save a few quid, but meteors network actually works (so does everyones except 3 really).

ED E

G1032 wrote: »

What's the other big con?? Was thinking of switching to 3 when my current meteor contract expires

Mumbai. Or wherever it is. Dell/Microsoft pick up the best of the best and then train them with users who have english as a second language. Three on the other hand hire fools who have only rudimentary english and dont appear to be too smart either.

If you're going billpay though you get support from Louth and are fine. Its only us prepay customers who get shafted.

god's toy

Not so, I'm bill pay (SIM only plan) and get 'shafted'

well least the reps on boards are better.

ED E

god's toy wrote: »

Not so, I'm bill pay (SIM only plan) and get 'shafted'

well least the reps on boards are better.

If you call and hit the right option from the automated menu you should get louth, thats what the staff in store said.

ellinguistico

niallb wrote: »

There are reports that it can occasionally stop you sending text messages on some networks.
This is because there is also a space on that page for the SMSC (SMS Center) number,
and with some networks if this box is blank it wipes the setting instead of leaving it unchanged.
If this were to happen, you can find the SMS settings on the mobile boards here, type it into the box, and should be good again after pressing update.
You should also just be able to put it in in the SMS settings under System settings, but phones vary.

Can you explain this a bit clearer please. I have all of a sudden not been able to send texts on 3 with my SGS2 due to (i think) me alternating between WDWCMA only and Auto. Thanks!

Nothingbetter2d

well vodafone and 3 are talking about merging their backbone soon so hopefully 3g coverage will improve.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/359471/20120704/vodafone-hutchinson-whampoa-joint-venture-merger-telecom.htm