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Help Poor signal alot

jaybo1973

Android Expert
Aug 27, 2010
867
15
Nottinghamshire
Hi guys

I seem to have a poor signal alot of the time. 1 or 2 bars is not unusual in places my old phone used to have full signal strength. It went on roaming for some reason in the shopping centre today.

It is always on H or nothing. My old phone used to drop onto edge and GPRS if it didn't get a H signal. And what about 3G? An all singing all dancing phone is no good if it cant perform its main function.
 
Hi guys

I seem to have a poor signal alot of the time. 1 or 2 bars is not unusual in places my old phone used to have full signal strength. It went on roaming for some reason in the shopping centre today.

It is always on H or nothing. My old phone used to drop onto edge and GPRS if it didn't get a H signal. And what about 3G? An all singing all dancing phone is no good if it cant perform its main function.

H signal is better than 3G, in my local shopping precinct i get no signal on orange one end & full signal the other.
Vodafone gets the signal the other way round, are you by any chance surrounded by large concrete buildings?
These work as good signal stoppers.
 
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H signal is better than 3G, in my local shopping precinct i get no signal on orange one end & full signal the other.
Vodafone gets the signal the other way round, are you by any chance surrounded by large concrete buildings?
These work as good signal stoppers.

Hi

Yes, 4 story concrete carpark above. I can understand why it struggles in there although the R - roaming? is a mystery

Its more the 1 and 2 bars in open areas that worries me a bit. Why doesn't it ever deop to edge or GPRS?
 
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Hi

Yes, 4 story concrete carpark above. I can understand why it struggles in there although the R - roaming? is a mystery

Its more the 1 and 2 bars in open areas that worries me a bit. Why doesn't it ever deop to edge or GPRS?

Got to admit i have never seen any of my phones switch from 3G to the 2G network automatically, seems like even if there's a hint of a 3G signal they refuse to switch.
 
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Yes you can change it manually.

Go into settings / wireless & networks / mobile networks / network mode. The default should be GSM / WCDMA auto and on this the phone should drop onto 2G automatically but only if there is no 3G / H at all. The phone will tend to choose a weak 3G signal over a stronger 2G one.

If you switch it to GSM only when you know you don't have a reliable 3G signal it will force the phone onto 2G.

There are apps on the market which will provide a shortcut to these settings if it's something you want to switch frequently. I have one which puts the shortcut onto my pull down notification screen so it's always handy.
 
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Yes you can change it manually.

Go into settings / wireless & networks / mobile networks / network mode. The default should be GSM / WCDMA auto and on this the phone should drop onto 2G automatically but only if there is no 3G / H at all. The phone will tend to choose a weak 3G signal over a stronger 2G one.

If you switch it to GSM only when you know you don't have a reliable 3G signal it will force the phone onto 2G.

There are apps on the market which will provide a shortcut to these settings if it's something you want to switch frequently. I have one which puts the shortcut onto my pull down notification screen so it's always handy.

Thanks for this. This is when I get the R. I can now assume it is data roaming, not for calls. I have this switched off incase it changes me but it still shows the R

Which app do you use?
 
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Thanks for this. This is when I get the R. I can now assume it is data roaming, not for calls. I have this switched off incase it changes me but it still shows the R

Which app do you use?

You don't need to worry about the R as long as you are in the uk. It's because 3 use the Orange 2G network where they don't have their own 3G coverage. It's explained further here http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/148406-norfolk-trip-desire-used-roaming.html#post1365709

This is the app I'm using Switch Network Type 2G / 3G - Android app on AppBrain
 
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You don't need to worry about the R as long as you are in the uk. It's because 3 use the Orange 2G network where they don't have their own 3G coverage. It's explained further here http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/148406-norfolk-trip-desire-used-roaming.html#post1365709

This is the app I'm using Switch Network Type 2G / 3G - Android app on AppBrain

Thanks. This has put my mind at rest. Hope 3 get better coverage soon though, stuck with them for 2 years. Looks like it is safe to have data roaming on too
 
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