4G vs. 3G on the Stellar

[joemd60]

Hello, I am curious. Coming from a 3G Windows phone to Android, is certainly a learning experience.
What I have noticed, when my phone bounces from 4G to 3G, my cell signal improves.
My HTC Trophy was always solid on 3 bars, never dropping a call, and always great reception.
The Samy tends to fluctuate. Sometimes 1 bar, and at times 3 or 4, but mainly sits at 2.
The calls have been clear, and have not dropped, . This is always around my house.
Is there a way to force this phone to stay on 3G, or am looking for problems? Thanks

 

[backwards1979]

Settings > more settings > mobile networks > lte is the 4g, select other available options.
It may try to turn back on, but that is how you get there

 

[joemd60]

Settings > more settings > mobile networks > lte is the 4g, select other available options.
It may try to turn back on, but that is how you get there

Thank-you.

 

[backwards1979]

No problem! There is an app on market called 4G toggle by we make better apps, if you dl this free app and place it on your home screen, a push of that button will take you straight to the final screen, saving you many steps.
Note : every once in a while, in different places, check your 4G signal, anywhere you have 4G above 3 bars, try it out, should be like night and day. I have noticed 4G below 3 bars is useless

 

[joemd60]

No problem! There is an app on market called 4G toggle by we make better apps, if you dl this free app and place it on your home screen, a push of that button will take you straight to the final screen, saving you many steps.
Note : every once in a while, in different places, check your 4G signal, anywhere you have 4G above 3 bars, try it out, should be like night and day. I have noticed 4G below 3 bars is useless

My 4G at home is always 2 bars. Are you saying 4G below 3 bars is no better than having 3G? I will check out the app, thanks again! I don't think I can toggle between 4G on the Stellar. When I click on mobile networks, all I see for options are, Use packet data, which is checked off.
Global data roaming service, Roaming, and Acess Point Names.
I clicked on the APN, and LTE is checked off, above that is EHRPD (is that 3G?) I have it on that, and the phone is holding at 3G, and I am back to 3 bars,

 

[backwards1979]

I'm sorry yes I did forget the last step, the APN's.

EHRPD,is a 3g network. 3g and 4g are completely different networks so you may have 4 bars on 3g and 1 bar on 4g while sitting in one spot. This is a network coverage issue controlled by carriers rolling out the service. Chances are, in time, your service will improve, but this will require Verizon placing more 4G radios up closer to you than you live to the radio you that you currently pick up service from.

What I am saying is that in my personal experience, anytime my 4G is running but I have less than 3 bars, I cannot even get any of my interet functions to operate at all, I have to switch off my 4G and stick with 3g. When I have 3 or more bars on 4G, I have no problems whatsoever. I do not know if this is a 4g issue, Verizon issue, location issue, stellar issue or I'm too stupid to realize what is going on issue. I live near Dallas TX but the town I live in is not yet covered by 4G, so I only get to experiment with this on weekends that I am able to get out.

4G drains your battery much faster than 3g, so by all means, if you are not able to get the benefit of 4g speed, shut it down.

 

[joemd60]

I'm sorry yes I did forget the last step, the APN's.

EHRPD,is a 3g network. 3g and 4g are completely different networks so you may have 4 bars on 3g and 1 bar on 4g while sitting in one spot. This is a network coverage issue controlled by carriers rolling out the service. Chances are, in time, your service will improve, but this will require Verizon placing more 4G radios up closer to you than you live to the radio you that you currently pick up service from.

What I am saying is that in my personal experience, anytime my 4G is running but I have less than 3 bars, I cannot even get any of my interet functions to operate at all, I have to switch off my 4G and stick with 3g. When I have 3 or more bars on 4G, I have no problems whatsoever. I do not know if this is a 4g issue, Verizon issue, location issue, stellar issue or I'm too stupid to realize what is going on issue. I live near Dallas TX but the town I live in is not yet covered by 4G, so I only get to experiment with this on weekends that I am able to get out.

4G drains your battery much faster than 3g, so by all means, if you are not able to get the benefit of 4g speed, shut it down.

Once again, thank-you. You have been a big help. According to the Verizon map, I am in very strong 4G coverage( Worcester County).
I did switch off, but for some odd reason the phone stayed stuck on 4G. When I left it on 4G, it would rarely toggle back to 3G on it's own, but sometimes it would. It would not let me force it on 3G, LTE was still unchecked in the options, but it would not switch.
If I were to guess why it won't switch over, it could be that the 4G network is stronger than 3G in my area, I don't know.
This could be a Verizon thing, Samsung, or both. My Trophy was the same way, it always stayed on the 3G network. But once in awhile you would see 1X.
Not bashing Samsung, but they are not known for strong reception on their phones, so maybe it is the phone.
I have to give props to Verizon's network, even 2 bars on 4G this phone is very fast. And not to jinx myself, the calls are clear,and they're holding. I am going to leave well eough alone, this phone was not a choice. And the last thing I can afford to do, is brick another phone. I dropped my Trophy for the 3rd and final time. ( Never underestimate the power of a protective case) The phone worked, but the screen went black.
So I wanted another Smartphone, but had to pay full retail. The Stellar was my cheapest best option.
Unfortunately compared to my Trophy, and even my previous Blackberry, I don't have Stellar reception.

I performed a test today. I noticed my phone did switch back to 3G. I went into the APN settings, and switched it to 3G. Even on 3G setting the phone switched back to 4G, so my guess it is the network.
Probably with Verizon deploying 4G, if you have a 4G device, they don't want you toggling between 3G and 4G.

 

[backwards1979]

Have you thought about replacing the screen on the trophy? There are stores everywhere that will do that kind of work and now that everyone has a cell phone now days and inevitably they will need some form of repair, costs are extremely competitive.

 

[joemd60]

I never thought of that option. Unfortunately I trashed the phone. Since I had it about 15 months, I figured the circuit board inside was shot.
I am not unhappy with the Android OS or this phone for the most part, after 2 years of not having network problems.
I am hoping with the deployment of 4G this isn't the sign of the times. That unless you have a high end device, your service will go south.

 

[backwards1979]

i can say that i am much more happy with this device than my gf is with her iphone4. i have not had 1 dropped call in the last month and she has had numerous in the same time frame. we are on a shared plan, pointing its finger directly at the device.
i will agree that samsungs are not the best on the market. my personal preference is lg models, much beter quality in everything from the exterior to the programming. here we are though, on this samsung galaxy stellar.. trying to enjoy it for all it is worth.
the android software is all just a matter of getting used to it. i have had froyo and gingerbread models, this is my first ice cream sandwich. the diference in froyo and gingerbread were not too much distinguishable aside from copy and paste function. this ics however, is not like the others i meantioned. ics is less user friendly but offers so much more at the same time.
i just had a thought. you can get a launcher called go! (as well as many others) and add a windows theme. it may help you become more comfortable with this phone and the android system...

 

[joemd60]

i can say that i am much more happy with this device than my gf is with her iphone4. i have not had 1 dropped call in the last month and she has had numerous in the same time frame. we are on a shared plan, pointing its finger directly at the device.
i will agree that samsungs are not the best on the market. my personal preference is lg models, much beter quality in everything from the exterior to the programming. here we are though, on this samsung galaxy stellar.. trying to enjoy it for all it is worth.
the android software is all just a matter of getting used to it. i have had froyo and gingerbread models, this is my first ice cream sandwich. the diference in froyo and gingerbread were not too much distinguishable aside from copy and paste function. this ics however, is not like the others i meantioned. ics is less user friendly but offers so much more at the same time.
i just had a thought. you can get a launcher called go! (as well as many others) and add a windows theme. it may help you become more comfortable with this phone and the android system...

I am by no means a genius when it comes to technology. But I can pretty much learn a new OS on my own by trial and error, and of course here, and other forums. The Windows OS is buttery smooth and the most user friendly.
I kept hearing how hard Android is to figure out, I do not see that, at least not yet.
The difference I found between the two, is I find I have to do that extra step or work arounds to get what I need I.E. Yahoo mail, and texting (it does not have spell check, or at least I have not found it yet.
As said, I am happy so far with the Android OS. I was at my cousins helping her set up and figure her first smartphone which was the iPhone 4S.
While it is a well built device,I don't think I want to be an iSheep.

It did help me decide come upgrade time what I want for my next device. It is still a toss between Android and Windows.
And it will not be another Samsung, only because of the low signal strength in and around my house.
Aside of the poor camera(No flash, which makes it useless for indoor shots).
For a low end Smartphone, it is packed with a lot of features, and I am happy with the speed.
How is your indoor reception with your Stellar compared to your girlfriends iPhone?

 

[backwards1979]

I do not know as I don't touch her iphone for 2 reasons. No, 1 of the reasons is not the whole respect her stuff business... It is much deeper seeded. I don't want to touch an iphone and she doesn't want me to try to jailbreak it (which of course I would attempt if I were going to touch an iphone).

The only thing that makes android any kind of difficult is every new version and every new phone needs to be hacked. No I honestly don't believe that but I do practice it. The phones work very well out of the box, but one day you may decide you want your phone to do something it didn't or couldn't do out of the box. Instead of thinking that sux, oh well, chances are you can make it happen. This is where root and exploits come in. All androids are open source and anyone may make platforms, roms (the user interface) and apps. This is what makes every model of android so diferent. The builders of the phone write their own rom, then based on the carrier they build it for, they create certain functions, capabilities or apps on it. The consumers buy them and devs (developers) exploit them. The exploit may be simple like taking a screen shot of the phone or removing all the crap that came on the phone. T to a custom rom that may mock a different phone or look and act like no phone on the market.

If any of this intrigues you, or you want to see what I'm talking about search for custom rom screen shots and begin reading the all things root section of a phone.

There is not a spell check per se on android but you can get different keyboards. Some have spell check ish capabilities. The top keyboard for Android is swift key 3. I use swift key 3 personally. It not only offers you a spellchecker ish style, it is an ai keyboard, meaning it learns how you write and offers predictions based on what it learns. It is a pay for app that is well worth the cost.

As for pay for apps, there is a way around almost everything, you would just have to figure out exactly the right terminology to successfully search. Before devs get upset that I would suggest a free pay for app, I am in no way claiming I do this, nor am I claiming I condone it, I am simply offering information. If you want

 

[joemd60]

I do not know as I don't touch her iphone for 2 reasons. No, 1 of the reasons is not the whole respect her stuff business... It is much deeper seeded. I don't want to touch an iphone and she doesn't want me to try to jailbreak it (which of course I would attempt if I were going to touch an iphone).

The only thing that makes android any kind of difficult is every new version and every new phone needs to be hacked. No I honestly don't believe that but I do practice it. The phones work very well out of the box, but one day you may decide you want your phone to do something it didn't or couldn't do out of the box. Instead of thinking that sux, oh well, chances are you can make it happen. This is where root and exploits come in. All androids are open source and anyone may make platforms, roms (the user interface) and apps. This is what makes every model of android so diferent. The builders of the phone write their own rom, then based on the carrier they build it for, they create certain functions, capabilities or apps on it. The consumers buy them and devs (developers) exploit them. The exploit may be simple like taking a screen shot of the phone or removing all the crap that came on the phone. T to a custom rom that may mock a different phone or look and act like no phone on the market.

If any of this intrigues you, or you want to see what I'm talking about search for custom rom screen shots and begin reading the all things root section of a phone.

There is not a spell check per se on android but you can get different keyboards. Some have spell check ish capabilities. The top keyboard for Android is swift key 3. I use swift key 3 personally. It not only offers you a spellchecker ish style, it is an ai keyboard, meaning it learns how you write and offers predictions based on what it learns. It is a pay for app that is well worth the cost.

As for pay for apps, there is a way around almost everything, you would just have to figure out exactly the right terminology to successfully search. Before devs get upset that I would suggest a free pay for app, I am in no way claiming I do this, nor am I claiming I condone it, I am simply offering information. If you want

Swift key 3 is a great alternative to the stock keyboard. Thanks again for the suggestion.