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Android newbie questions (network and music)

necrochaos

Lurker
May 21, 2011
5
0
I'm a bit of a n00b when it comes to Android. I had the G2X for a short period of time with T-mobile, but had to scrap it when I couldn't make calls in my house and it rebooted all the time.

I come over from the Win 7 side.

Here's the problems I'm having with my Motorola Droid Razr:

I'm having a lot of network issues. For instance, as I type this, I have 4G. I switched over to Facebook because I got a message. I replied. When I tried to get back to the forums, I had no internet. No 3G. Nothing.

So I switched to airplane mode and back, still no network. I rebooted the phone, now I have 4G again.

I get this a lot. I'll check in on Foursquare, be sitting in my chair at work, and the network is gone. It won't come back until I reset the phone or stay in airplane mode for quite sometime. It's extremely annoying.

Is there a way to fix this? Or is there a shortcut to turning off the antenna to reset the network? (A friend had a shortcut on his phone to do this and it was something like *#*#46*#*# or something like that)


The second problem is less annoying, but i haven't figured out a fix.

I use Doggcatcher for my podcasts. I listen to them over Bluetooth in my car. Things are going fine. I get a phone call, take it and hang up. Doggcatcher starts for just a second, then I get a message that another program has requested to use audio and the music player starts playing on it's own. I have to go in and stop it so I can start Doggcatcher again.

I love to be able to completed disable the music app, but since it appears to be built in, I can't.

Also, is there a way to stop this audio request thing from happening?

Thanks ahead of time.
 
You are probably in an area where 4G is spotty. My honest answer? Stay on 3G full time except when you NEED 4G. That's what I did on my Thunderbolt. That's what I'm doing on my Galaxy Nexus. 4G is fun - but not what I would consider super reliable unless you work, live and drive near your carrier's antennas.

I know that isn't the best received answer .. but if you want DEPENDABILITY over speed ... that's the best one I have.

I've never seen the music issue you speak of. I don't use Doggcatcher though.

Does the same behavior happen if you use another app? How committed to Doggcatcher are you -- if another app would work as you like?
 
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You are probably in an area where 4G is spotty. My honest answer? Stay on 3G full time except when you NEED 4G. That's what I did on my Thunderbolt. That's what I'm doing on my Galaxy Nexus. 4G is fun - but not what I would consider super reliable unless you work, live and drive near your carrier's antennas.

I know that isn't the best received answer .. but if you want DEPENDABILITY over speed ... that's the best one I have.

I've never seen the music issue you speak of. I don't use Doggcatcher though.

Does the same behavior happen if you use another app? How committed to Doggcatcher are you -- if another app would work as you like?

I'm not sure if I made it clear enough regarding network. I'll be browsing on 4g, then I have no network. Not even 3G service. All applications and browsers say network unavailable. I usually have to reset my phone to get my data services back. Then I have 4g/3g again.

Regarding music, I'm pretty set on Doggcatcher. I paid $5 for it and it's been the best podcast app that I've found to date.
 
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Yeah, I got you. What is happening is that when the 4g drops it has to SEARCH for another connection. Sometimes, if it doesn't find 3G or 1x to downshift to - it stops looking for awhile (so it isn't bleeding your battery dry constantly looking). Eventually, it searches again - and it will connect you back up; sometimes at 4g, sometimes at 3g.

ANYTIME it has to shift services, you're dead for a period of time (and it varies).

My point is that 4g drops A LOT. 3g doesn't. If you're set on being on 4g, and drops are regular - then you'll either have to wait for reconnection or toggle Airplane mode, or do whatever tricks are necessary to recover your connection.

I live in Phoenix - and 4g is "good" but my work environment doesn't get great 4g. I have several "dead zones" of 4g (scientifically tested and PROVEN I'll lose 4g at least twice on the way home from work). Now I could FIGHT the issue - or simply sit on 3G LTE unless I HAVE to have 4g for something.

I would still recommend you try a different app and see if you get IDENTICAL behavior. If you do? It's the phone. If you don't? It's the app .. you'll have to live with it (contact the app dev and see if they can help) - or consider using another app.
 
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