Help [OFFICIAL SOLUTION] 3G issues on the 3D?

Nice!

Checking 3G in BHM
Using open signal
Inside building 28% signal strength 3 bars speed test.
Ping 635ms
download 37kbs
upload 16kbs

Outside building 40% signal strength 4 bars speed test.
Ping 511ms
download 153k
upload 9k

I have not done any of the required fixes. I plan on either going to the sprint store or calling sprint for help on this issue. My only concern is if the hard reset fixes the issue how often am I going to have to do it?
Will that fix the phone until the next update? I like the phone other then the 3g issues.

Having Sprint check your phone _is_ one of the steps. See post 2.

Factory/hard resets are required whenever the Dalvik cache gets seriously hosed or tangled - and that's common on major updates for all Android phones regardless of make or model. (Rooters will tell you - clearing Dalvik cache/data are required steps for rom changes - iow, the ultimate upgrade.)

In the Evo forum we had a thread giving backup/restore tips to make the hard reset easy and palatable. With time, we'll have one here or will update that one and point there.

(The Dalvik Virtual Machine (VM) is what runs your apps and lives on top of Linux - it's what makes Android Android as opposed to Linux.)

step1 - update prl and profile has now led to mobile network not being able to turn on...error 67

Repeat steps from wifi if possible.

If it persists - turn on airplane mode for one minute.

If still persisting, pull battery for one minute.

Please report back.

thx for quick reply...wifi now connected...will repeat step 1 on wifi...then see if it mobile data will turn back on and proceed

3g now working proceeding forward...

called sprint - lady hard reset my phone but didnt clear the 'cookies' according to next rep i was transferred to so he's gonna do it ...crossing fingers

I did get better performance when I had 5 bars but download was around 400kb.
Only thing I did was update prl, profile and remove battery.
I am curious how many bars did everyone else see to get 400kb?

Heh. Been watching Open Signal's tower direction arrow jump around from North, East, South, and West... Some towers are a mile or further... Some just 1500 meters... Did all the steps listed in the second post. Glad I set up an appointment at the Sprint Store for after work today. Looks like this one is going back.

Hey guys, first post for me in this forum. The information in this forum has been very useful, but I feel like I am at the place where I need to ask for some opinions before swapping my phone or canceling my service.

I have had an Android phone for a long time (started with the G1 on T-Mo back in early 2009), but have recently moved to Sprint and the Evo 3D. I love the phone (really fast!), but the Sprint service has left me a bit disappointed. At first I thought I had the 3G connection problems, but after going through the procedure outlined in this thread I got better performance. The hard reset with the techs on the phone and the performance seemed to improve everything. I have done some comparison tests with my phone and other Evo 3Ds at Sprint Stores and the phones have performed very consistently in those locations.

With 4+ bars of service (-70 to -80dBm), I am getting downloads that average in the 500-700 kbps range and uploads in the 300-400 kbps range (using the Speedtest.net App). Not great, but acceptable. But I do get some instances that the download is < 150 kbps with an upload around 250 kbps. And my best performances are over 1 Mbps down, but those are pretty rare. Based on these numbers, I believe that my phone does not have the 3G issue, but I feel like the numbers aren&#8217;t very consistent.

At home, I get 1-2 bars of service (I&#8217;d guess around -90dBm or lower). Based on the coverage map, I was expecting not great service at home (Sprint shows &#8220;Good&#8221; on the voice map; &#8220;On-Network&#8221; on the 3G Map; and between &#8220;In-Building&#8221; and &#8220;On-Street&#8221; on the 4G map).

After watching Open Signal maps for awhile, I noticed that even sitting still at home, my phone seems to jump around between a close tower (approx 800m away) and two towers much further away (I&#8217;d guess between 2000m and 3000m) away. I have seen similar behavior at work where the phone jumps around between towers. I feel like this is somewhat contributing to my widely varied 3G speeds. I guess overall, I feel like there is a possibility that the antennas of my phone are not performing as expected, especially in areas of low signal strength. The phone seems to do fine in places of high signal strength, but in places where it is less strong, the phone seems to &#8216;hunt&#8217; more.

In addition, it seems that the GPS takes longer than expected to locate the phone.

So the issues:
1) Is it normal, given my coverage at home, for the phone to be jumping between the various towers regularly? Is this normal expected behavior on Sprint&#8217;s network?
2) I have also noticed that GPS seems to take longer than expected to find me, and even when it does locate me, it typically will continually move my location around when I am not moving (e.g. stopped at a red light). This is with the cell based location turned off and GPS turned on. Is this expected?
3) Finally, when I connect to 4G while moving (e.g. riding in a car), the phone seems to drop the connection and then try to reestablish it regularly. It seems to have trouble holding onto the WiMax signal while in motion. With no 4G experiecnec, I don&#8217;t know if this is expected.

So, in summary, do you see a hardware or software issue with my phone? Or am I an overly sensitive user with too high of expectations of the Sprint network?

My phone was doing tower jumping and having GPS issues (unlike my previous Evo 4G).

I'd take to a Sprint repair center (you can dial *2, then tap to call Sprint, and ask them to find one close by and to make an appointment for you).

Have your phone RF tested, they should do it for free.

If your phone fails, best you found that early. If it passes, call Sprint back and let them know you're unhappy that they have tower issues serving you (and discuss it with the local repair rep while you're there).

No excuse to have your phone jumping between towers when one is close by at 800m.

Hope this helps!

That helps, thanks for the suggestions. I will get an appt to get it RF tested and the from there.

So i made the switch to the EVO 3d from my hero and I'm 100 percent happy I did but the only things that angers me me is that I can barely can 3g anywhere unlike my hero which had service pretty much everwhere is this a software issue or hardware also I live in Philadelphia pa which if I'm correct has 4G yet I can't connect anywhere so if anyone can clear this up for me I'd appreciate it

Moved your post here. Please see post 2 in this thread, report back.

Hope this helps!

looks like the EVO 4G 3D is having the same problems as my EVO 4G. I have tried every possible prl (old and new), radio, rom, 3 different phones, data wipes, battery pull fix that there is and same problem that alot of you are having. I used to get 1.5 -2.0 downloads here at work now .3 -.4 most of the time and the same at home. This tells me it isn't a tower issue now, so who knows. I think someone at Sprint is sitting there flipping a 3g speed switch off and on and laughing at everyone here LOL!

longshot said:

looks like the EVO 4G 3D is having the same problems as my EVO 4G. I have tried every possible prl (old and new), radio, rom, 3 different phones, data wipes, battery pull fix that there is and same problem that alot of you are having. I used to get 1.5 -2.0 downloads here at work now .3 -.4 most of the time and the same at home. This tells me it isn't a tower issue now, so who knows. I think someone at Sprint is sitting there flipping a 3g speed switch off and on and laughing at everyone here LOL!

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Assume that means you've been at or above this - http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-tips-tricks/280082-major-solution-fix-your-slow-3g-speeds-evo4g.html

Is it possible they're doing some tower maintenance where you work and live? Not arguing, just thinking out loud. I wish there were some way we could know that inner top secret - would save a lot of grief for us users.

The only thing that I have not done that I will do is to call Sprint to do the re provisioning. That being said I really think it's more my location. The two places I want it to work the most, it sucks. I have gotten fair speeds at those locations a few times but mostly its the pits. When I do speed test at work my results are like this, 105 ping 1271 download and 382 upload. I did a few side by side tests with my sons Hero and my daughters Moment and my phone never beat them with Speed Test performed at the same time.

falconey said:

This morning I'm getting some great speeds. Phone is averaging over 1 mb/s d/l and almost hit 2 mb/s on one of the test.

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Probably because not as many people on it? Not sure hopefully it stays that way for you. Mine was smokin in the early morning around 5am then goes to crap when I get home in the evening

EarlyMon said:

Assume that means you've been at or above this - http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-tips-tricks/280082-major-solution-fix-your-slow-3g-speeds-evo4g.html

Is it possible they're doing some tower maintenance where you work and live? Not arguing, just thinking out loud. I wish there were some way we could know that inner top secret - would save a lot of grief for us users.

Click to expand...

When I first had great speeds and could even stream Netflix via PS3 the fix you mentioned above was how i did it. But that won't even work anymore. Believe me I have tried pretty much everything, besides building my own tower. I think it is on their end and a tower issues as well. When I call they say there is no problems here where I work or home. Sprint says that there is a tower issue around work, we will see.

Just got off phone with sprint, even though they said tower problem nearby (there are several towers close to here) they did a refresh on their end (I had my battery pulled during this) and speeds went back up. This "refresh" has been done around 3 times on my phone and every time the speeds go up dramatically for awhile then usually back down later.

longshot said:

Probably because not as many people on it? Not sure hopefully it stays that way for you. Mine was smokin in the early morning around 5am then goes to crap when I get home in the evening

Click to expand...

That post was a few days after I had the phone and my speeds have stayed consistent for the most part. At home I average 400-700kbs d/l on 3g and at work 700 kbs-1mbs d/l. I get nice 4g speeds in both spots.

I have a question, I have had the evo 3d for about 2 weeks now, and have noticed that the signal is always wavering. What I mean is that one second it has 3 bars, then the next second it goes down to 1, then 2, then, 3, then sometimes 4. Then it just drops down to 1 again, and so on and so forth. Does everyone else's do that as well? This happens in doors and out. I am in a an area where sprint has good signal.

I know you don't say that you have a problem with 3G, but the tools you need are in post 2 here.

Please try Open Signal Maps to see if you're tower hopping when you shouldn't be. That robs power and quality.

If that's happening, please do the PRL and Profile updates, and if necessary, have Sprint check your phone within the 30 days.

I guess I posted too soon before doing extensive research. I did the data restore as well as changing the setting from CDMA only to automatic, and that solved my problem. I now have constant 3 bars in my house (when it would waver from 1-3) and constant 4-5 bars outdoors.

Sorry for making a new thread before searching ^^;

No worries! So long as you have it working, that's the whole thing right there.

Vinter said:

YAY! Regretting my move to Sprint oh so very much.

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Also notice the Sync Icon is going at the same time. If your phone is downloading or uploading info at the time you are doing a test that will effect the result.

Hi,
Question along the same lines as a previous post. Open Signal shows my phone is tower jumping. signals between -90 to -95 on all the towers it jumps to.

Download speeds really are variable.

Wife's Shift shows same thing. I have not heard of any shift antenna issues.

Does this make it much more likely to be a Sprint issue? Is it worth RF testing? Should I get both checked?
(p.s. long time listener, first time caller)

Thanks for the help