N00b and Reception

[Shadowbirdy]

Hello,

I am new to the android world and have been learning alot from these forums. It seems there is an answer I can not find. I have a Standard 2.1 w/root and recently updated my PRL (I believe that is what is called) But it seems my reception has gotten worse. My wife having an Eris as well did not update and gets amazing reception. Is there a way to revert or fix this?

Eternally,
Shadowbirdy

 

[Frisco]

Welcome!

PRL update affects roaming (assuming you're talking about the *228 option 2 method), not signal quality.

It helps detect trusted towers not solely of the carrier you're on, such as an Alltel tower with you on Verizon as you travel.

 

[scary alien]

Hello,

I am new to the android world and have been learning alot from these forums. It seems there is an answer I can not find. I have a Standard 2.1 w/root and recently updated my PRL (I believe that is what is called) But it seems my reception has gotten worse. My wife having an Eris as well did not update and gets amazing reception. Is there a way to revert or fix this?

Eternally,
Shadowbirdy

Welcome to the forums, Shadowbirdy!

Are you looking at the number of bars reported on the notification area at the top of your screen? If so, then you should know that HTC/VZW (we believe) purposely drop the power to the antenna while you are not making calls (this is a battery-saving measure and does seem to have merit and effect).

Your better measure of signal strength would be to look at your settings to view this (Settings -> About phone -> Network and view the "Signal Strength" value, given in dBm(s)).

I'm sitting here in my basement and getting a -90 dBm value with barely one little bar. On my top floor, I only get about -85 dBm (which is better), but the number of bars don't really change. I've gotten about -78 dBm (better still) near work with three bars...its really all about the signal strength and not the number of bars.

I think that the 3G data transfer speeds would also be in-line with the signal strength (i.e., the "better" the value, the higher, more stable your connection and transfer speeds are).

Others might chime-in regarding the PRL (preferred roaming list)...hopefully, some of the above might alleviate some of your concerns.

Cheers!

edit: of course, I see that the ubiquitous Frisco has already replied... ...he is a wealth of useful information and a great guide.

 

[Shadowbirdy]

OK! So it is unrelated then. Any clue why my reception would drop then? I did the update because we had an investigation on the Canadian border and it helped as to not require roaming while there. But as soon as I returned to southern Maine is when my reception issue began.

 

[Frisco]

OK! So it is unrelated then. Any clue why my reception would drop then? I did the update because we had an investigation on the Canadian border and it helped as to not require roaming while there. But as soon as I returned to southern Maine is when my reception issue began.

Have you rebooted your device since the roaming change?

It's a good idea to do that after any change.. I'd even do a live battery pull (remove battery with device on, replace and power up).

 

[doogald]

Did you get the OTA update for the Eris before you rooted the phone? That update included new radio software; if you did not get it, and your wife's phone did (or vice versa), that may explain the difference.

Go into settings->about phone and look for a listing for "baseband version". I have (what I think is) the latest, and the version is 2.42.01.04.27. Is yours the same? Is your wife's phone?