Orange UK Only - What's Best Radio with WM6?

[philg2000]

Could I please be so greedy as to have a Orange-UK only thread? :)

I am been reading and searching in earnest to see what other peoples experiences are with the various Radio ROMs. It seems most people are happy with 1.38.00.10, although seems to be a few instances of people sticking with older versions because of battery life/drop outs/data freezes. But I am unable to establish what other people are experiencing in the UK on Orange's network.

I am well familiar with the Radio ROM 1.38 + WM6 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=301826) - good or bad? thread, but not many people in there commenting on Orange UK.

If you are on Orange UK, please can you share you experiences here?

My own experience has been thus.

Before upgrading to WM6, was on stock M3100, which had Radio 1.06 I beleive. This worked flawlessy with push email (Exch 2003), and never had any problems at all with it. This was also the case when I upgraded to LVSW 20070315, leaving Radio Rom as was.

Then I upgraded to Black 2.0 last week, and did the Radio to 1.34 with it. I didnt notice any problems at first, or rather didnt take much notice of not getting email notifications whilst at work. But on Friday I realised the Data connections were freezing.

I have tried going to 1.38.00.10, to 1.35, back to 1.06, even 1.27. Have also tried going back to LVSW 20070315, and am now on LVSW 20070408

I have narrowed it all down to the "common" problem in swicthing between GSM and 3G. At home I seem to be between 3 transmitters, and swicthing is common. Hence the problems I was having Friday.

The Excellent commmgrpro has helped here. Also Bandswitch.

Anyway, with Phone set to GSM only I have no problems. Odd thing is, driving to Sheffield and back yesterday (dont mention the football!!), with phoen set to Auto, I had no problems at all.

Yet at home, and at work, on auto the data connection freezes. :mad:

So.... Whats everyone else using on Orange?

[freben]

i've been using rom 3.23.0.2 with radio 1.38.00.10 on a spv m3100. this device is been freezing like you described in your post, thing is, it's become unuseable since you have to reboot after the freeze and it happens almost continiously... driving me insane.

if anyone knows of a way how to get back wm5, i'd appreciate it!

freben

[crazyC]

When I upgraded a while ago I was wondering the same thing. The only negatives re 1.38 at the time seemed to come from orange UK customers so I went for the 1.27 radio and it seems fine.
Have not yet stepped up further, and at the moment, see no reason to.
Especially as I can even get the H now and then. (If it aint broke...)

[Mark Crouch]

@Phil, I've "gone black" (v 2.0) with Radio 1.38.00.10 - only since Saturday, so it may be too early to tell. I've got a push email account with Mail2Web, which I don't tend to use that regularly - it's good for aggregating lots of mail stuff when I go away on business, but my data package ain't up to much (don't get me started :) ) so I only switch it on when required.

Since installing the new ROM/Radio/SPL, my M3100 seems to be much better than it was prior to the update. I've reinstalled all my apps (apart from PPCProfilesPRO - I'll do that tonight) and the phone seems really stable - no more random lockups when taking it off charge and only a couple of "slowdowns" when ending calls, or if Activesync'ing....can't really complain if I'm honest :)

I'll keep an eye on things - and maybe switch on the Exchange push email for a couple of days - and I'll post again if the situation changes.

Cheers,

Mark.

PS - Message for @freben; read MrVanx's guide on downgrading to WM5 - see THIS POST (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1211794) for details of how to find it.

[chrisjasper]

MrVanx kindly provides a guide here: http://www.mrvanx.myzen.co.uk/hermes_guide/Downgrade/
Do please read very carefully before trying it

[unwired4]

Yep...1.27 for me. No real radio problems to report.

Spent a couple of weeks with WMXL 2.0 and the last two weeks with Black 2.0. Both work fine with Orange with 3g (inc HSDPA) and voice. Direct push/web/pop email all fine.

One freeze this morning (first one in two weeks) but dont know if it was radio or os or an app?

Can;t compare with other radios but simply can say am happy with 1.27 (hence why I havent tried 1.38 etc)

[sheep_head]

Having no problems with set up in sig.

had the freezing with the stock set up.

Could/should we be more scientific here and use one of the many web2.0 survey sites to do a ROM/OS survey to find the right mix?

with a little effort we could then find the most reliable Radio ROM and view by Country/OS/carrier/etc.

just a suggestion..

[sheep_head]

but my data package ain't up to much (don't get me started :) ) so I only switch it on when required.
.

@Mark,

try Orange World Browsing, 8ukp for unlimited data access 24/7

Give O a call on 150 and then the billing option, 4

Orange World Browsing is what is what the O rep told me it was listed as. I think one of the key points is the cost, it’s 6.81 exc VAT or 8 inc VAT, that’s the way to check you have the right package.

And you need to be on a 35ukp per month tarif or more to get it.

apologies for off topic post!!

[unwired4]

(I was told it was Orange World Unlimited)

[crazyC]

(I was told it was Orange World Unlimited)

My bill confirms it as Orange World Browsing -although I too thought it was OWU.

Not sure if it is still so hard to get as it once was.

[philg2000]

Sheep_Head - Well, I am definetely up for using a survey site - any recommendations?

I gave re-flashed my phone back to Black 2.0. Seems to be what most people are using here (IMHO). Have tried Radio 1.27, 1.38.00, and right back to 1.07.
With a totally clean device (i.e. straight after flashing), setting up the orangeinternet connection manually, the thing just wont connect to 3G. Only when I have Band set to GSM will it connect.

Jeez!

I am now in the process of going back to an Orange WM5 rom, to see if it makes any difference, (albeit the Romanian one, so will have to reset the internet connection).

Getting mildly frustrated now.:confused:

[philg2000]

OK, I'm now back to Orange Radio version, and Orange WM5 -(Romanian!)

Entered Orange Internet settings. And have gained nothing. COnnects via GSM, but not via 3G.

Grrrrrr....

Spoke to Orange CS - no reported 3G problems in my area (well, what about me???).

What's the panel's opinion on sending a phone back to O with OliPro's bootloader on it? (well, and the Romanian Rom, but they prob wouldnt spot that).
I have insurance etc, so would get a replacement in advance....

[mrvanx]

OK, I'm now back to Orange Radio version, and Orange WM5 -(Romanian!)

Entered Orange Internet settings. And have gained nothing. COnnects via GSM, but not via 3G.

Grrrrrr....

Spoke to Orange CS - no reported 3G problems in my area (well, what about me???).

What's the panel's opinion on sending a phone back to O with OliPro's bootloader on it? (well, and the Romanian Rom, but they prob wouldnt spot that).
I have insurance etc, so would get a replacement in advance....

dude as a last ditch attempt can you try out flashing LVSWs latest ROM?? Make sure your settings are good and post the results?? (it wont take long)

[wberesford]

Hey guys - mega useful thread.

I 'thought' I had solved all of my woes and was feeling bloody smug with myself as I thought I had managed to keep the stupid questions down to a minimum. After reading this obviously not :confused: .

I am running Black v2.0 (happily) and the rest of the handset is as per my sig block but I have removed spb pocketbooks and replaced it with shell. I thought it was all working correctly but I am suffering the same connectivity issues as yourself (gprs and not 3G).

Also - and I have read the threads but still not working (was going to try again after a re-re-re build :D I still have no VM notifications.

Anything I can help with or test let me know and I will do what I can.

Bezman.

[crazyC]

Also - and I have read the threads but still not working (was going to try again after a re-re-re build :D I still have no VM notifications.

Bezman.

I have just tested the voicemail fix again since my reinstall and the certificates cab plus installing the sms dll has always worked for me.
Are you having any specific issues with it?

[wberesford]

CrazyC,

I am struggling with the whole copying over of the .dll file in the widows directory. Like I said I have done a search of the wiki on VM notifications etc and followed the directions. I have attempted using Activesync but keep getting a response saying that the destination is in use. I have tried directly on the handset (not expecting it to work) and it doesn't and finally I tried by using Total Commander. Still no joy. I will keep going with it though as I was thinking about building again from fresh anyways, and then attempting the vm notification from clean.
Gonna wait out for black v2.5 before I do that however.
Cheers for getting back to me though!

Bezman.

[philg2000]

dude as a last ditch attempt can you try out flashing LVSWs latest ROM?? Make sure your settings are good and post the results?? (it wont take long)

Hmmm... I dont think that will achieve anything. I have had the latest LVSW ROM on there a while bad, with the same problem.

I'd really like to hear from anyone who has returned a flashed M3100 to Orange.;)

[philg2000]

CrazyC,

I am struggling with the whole copying over of the .dll file in the widows directory. Like I said I have done a search of the wiki on VM notifications etc and followed the directions.

Bezman.

The only way I have done this recently is using Resco File Explorer. You need to go into the Options menu to ensure you can see all files, then copy the sms_providers.dll into the \Windows directory. It warns you, but if you say yes it lets it happen. I have done this numerous times (have flashed my phone about 10 times recently!) without any problems!

[crazyC]

CrazyC,

I am struggling with the whole copying over of the .dll file in the widows directory. Like I said I have done a search of the wiki on VM notifications etc and followed the directions. I have attempted using Activesync but keep getting a response saying that the destination is in use. I have tried directly on the handset (not expecting it to work) and it doesn't and finally I tried by using Total Commander. Still no joy. I will keep going with it though as I was thinking about building again from fresh anyways, and then attempting the vm notification from clean.
Gonna wait out for black v2.5 before I do that however.
Cheers for getting back to me though!

Bezman.

First few times I did this, it just copied OK with the file explorer. Most recently tho it gave me the same error - so I went to the zip file on my ppc and told it to extract directly to the windows folder, said yes to overwrite and it did. Maybe worth a try. (install the certs first incase it makes a difference.)

[forza]

To make my life easier I put the sms_providers.dll from WM5 into a CAB. To install make sure you've installed the sdk certificates (http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35814&d=1174572298) first and then install this cab - a soft reset is requested at the end of installation and is required.

I've tested this on the latest LVSW ROM and it works perfectly, hopefully will overcome peoples issues with copying this file.

[wberesford]

Guys,

Cheers for the help - I am at work at the moment and haven't made the necessary changes to my VI$TA laptop yet so I will try all the suggestions when I get back home.

TA

Bezman

[wberesford]

To all those who helped (especially Forza)

I have had a chance to do this now, and run the new cab file as offered and packaged by Forza.

All is working now - Brilliant.

Bezman.

[crazyC]

So any Orange UK customers used the 1.40 radio - feedback looks good apart from something called MobiTV (Never heard of and don't use).

Just wondered as things seem to work differently on Orange sometimes.

Still fearfully keeping to 1.27 unless there is some positive feedback.

[wberesford]

CrazyC

I am not on 1.40 but I can confirm 1.38.11 is stable as you like and sig strength seems to be one hell of a lot more favourable since I upgraded from the Orange supplied 1.06!

As for mobitiv (www.mobitv.com (http://www.mobitv.com)) I know some people use it for checking the traffic and that sort of thing and that seemingly it is only in the UK supported by Orange - don't quote me on that though.

Bez

[mrvanx]

So any Orange UK customers used the 1.40 radio - feedback looks good apart from something called MobiTV (Never heard of and don't use).

Just wondered as things seem to work differently on Orange sometimes.

Still fearfully keeping to 1.27 unless there is some positive feedback.

from the feedback ive read and my own testing (in the last couple of hours) the 1.40.30.00 radio is good stuff. You can try it out and flash back to an earlier Radio if you wish dude

[falum]

went from 1.06-->1.27 a few weeks ago and then 1.38.10 last thursday, to date no problems and since 1.27 better reception. A good test for a radio is my commute home since I always lose signal in a valley. Last radio just made it through without losing signal so sticking with it for now.

[philg2000]

I have my "problem" sorted now....

Was suffering from serious problems with 3G connectivitey, but only for Data. Voice & SMS were fine.

In any case, long story short, I am now on a different phone, but still an Orange M3100.
Using 1.40.olipro, and Black 2.0, but have left Radio as stock Orange 1.06.00.00

No disconnection issues with data, voice, etc, working fine.
I do have a nagging feeling tho that my orginal problems were down to the Orange Network in my area, and would quite like to upgrade to 1.27 or even 1.38, to try and improve battery life a little, (maybe even 1.40 !!).

But I am understandably very nervous about doing so.

At risk of getting flamed, I am slightly confused at how I could go back to the stock 1.06.00.00 Radio Rom if I wanted to. WIKI seems to indicate can only use SPL or Custom RUU to go back to 1.07.03.10, and need Bootloader 1.04 to go to 1.06. Even then seems that 1.06.00.00 is not available as a download, only 1.06.00.10 which is not HSDPA, or 1.06.04.00 which has?

Help!

Can anyone reassure me that I can go back to the Stock Orange Radio ROM, and give me a pointer as to how & where?

Thanks.

[rabdo]

I have my "problem" sorted now....

Was suffering from serious problems with 3G connectivitey, but only for Data. Voice & SMS were fine.

In any case, long story short, I am now on a different phone, but still an Orange M3100.
Using 1.40.olipro, and Black 2.0, but have left Radio as stock Orange 1.06.00.00

No disconnection issues with data, voice, etc, working fine.
I do have a nagging feeling tho that my orginal problems were down to the Orange Network in my area, and would quite like to upgrade to 1.27 or even 1.38, to try and improve battery life a little, (maybe even 1.40 !!).

But I am understandably very nervous about doing so.

At risk of getting flamed, I am slightly confused at how I could go back to the stock 1.06.00.00 Radio Rom if I wanted to. WIKI seems to indicate can only use SPL or Custom RUU to go back to 1.07.03.10, and need Bootloader 1.04 to go to 1.06. Even then seems that 1.06.00.00 is not available as a download, only 1.06.00.10 which is not HSDPA, or 1.06.04.00 which has?

Help!

Can anyone reassure me that I can go back to the Stock Orange Radio ROM, and give me a pointer as to how & where?

Thanks.

This is not really an issue as I cannot think of any reason to go back to 1.06.00.00. I am using 1.40 (previously 1.38) which I upgraded from 1.06 - no problems. Just make sure you follow mrvanx's step by step guide to flashing your phone.

ps. your signature shows that you are already using radio 1.38

[philg2000]

This is not really an issue as I cannot think of any reason to go back to 1.06.00.00. I am using 1.40 (previously 1.38) which I upgraded from 1.06 - no problems. Just make sure you follow mrvanx's step by step guide to flashing your phone.

ps. your signature shows that you are already using radio 1.38

Thanks for that. Thing is, whilst most people seem to be ok with 1.38, or indeed 1.40, there are odd instances of problems.

In fact I am itching to try 1.40, but as I have already had problems in my area previsouly I would like to be sure of how to go back if need be.


Thanks for the reminder about my sig - updated now.

[crazyC]

Having seen rabdo's follow up post re problems with 1.40 in another thread, Iw as wondering if there was anymore feedback re this, or what people are currently using (ORANGE UK only)

Cheers
C

[philg2000]

Having seen rabdo's follow up post re problems with 1.40 in another thread, Iw as wondering if there was anymore feedback re this, or what people are currently using (ORANGE UK only)

Cheers
C

Still using stock Orange Radio - and very nervous about moving (although I would like better reception & battery life!)

[crazyC]

Can only say that I have been using 1.27 for ages with no problems. If you are running black pro then your warranty is screwed anyway, and as long as you use Oli1.4 (which you are) then......

I am even considering upping it to one of the 1.38 radios - just need advice as to which one.

[adelamare]

Hi there.

Im using 1.40 and have an SPV M3100. I have been using it for nearly a week now. I was using 1.38 before that and I noticed quite a battery drain.

1.40 is the same as 1.38 but with less drain as far as I can tell.

I am using XDA live 0.20 and its good. I also have the HSDPA fix and A2DPfix and the registry hack for the mem card (which im not sure works jsut yet)

Waiting for 0.30 and see if that includes those fixes.. as for 1.40.. I thinks its a good radio so far.

[philg2000]

Can only say that I have been using 1.27 for ages with no problems. If you are running black pro then your warranty is screwed anyway, and as long as you use Oli1.4 (which you are) then......

I am even considering upping it to one of the 1.38 radios - just need advice as to which one.

Oh, I understand the warranty situation. I just need to be 100% sure ofthe route back to Stock Radio ROM if I decide I dont like 1.27 or in fact get the same issues I experience at the start of this thread.
But there doesnt seem to be a 100% clear picture anywhere that I can find that demonstrates how to get back to 1.06.00 radio....

[rabdo]

Can only say that I have been using 1.27 for ages with no problems. If you are running black pro then your warranty is screwed anyway, and as long as you use Oli1.4 (which you are) then......

I am even considering upping it to one of the 1.38 radios - just need advice as to which one.
After reading the forums at length I have come to the following conclusion - different radios work for different people. I would suggest trying a few of the popular ones and see which one suits you best. I have now stuck with 1.38.00.10 and have no problems with good signals. Tried yet again to flash 1.40 radio after a hard reset but I still could not connect to a data connection. I know others have had no problems with 1.40. By all means try 1.40 but the stable ones I have found are 1.38 and 1.27.

Again, a very subjective comment, but using 1.40 radio seemed to drain my battery significantly quicker.

Using 1.38.00.10 I am sure I have better signal strength than with stock radio. As long as you have Oli1.40 installed then radio flashing is safe so you can try out as many radios as you like.

I know one reason why my results are different to others is that I live in a very poor 3G area where my phone only switches occasionally to 3G. I use 'Profiles for Windows Mobile' which is an excellent program that allows me to switch to GSM only when at home and then switch to auto when I am at work.

[JPW]

Hi folkes

I've been using 1.40 for about a week or so since it appeared as a download in wiki and I must say for me its the best combination with BLACK 2.0 rom that Ive used so far.
Found 1.38 was ok not much dif from previouse versions but I get a reception now where previously I couldnt before.
Think advice is good TRY lots and make up your own mind you can always change back if it dont work for you.

regards :)

[mrvanx]

People for a guide to upgrade to the new 1.40.30.00 radio, here it is (http://www.mrvanx.org/hermes_guide/Radio.html)

The latest radio has been a VERY good show. The only thing I can say to people STILL experiencing battery drain is to investigate the 3rd party applications they have loaded on as it has been a common occurrence for 3rd party apps to cause problems.

[AdamTibi]

philg2000,

I am wondering if we have the same problem, I have the SPV M3100 with Orange . I didn't have this problem before for a year but now I am having it every 5 min (from full signal to "trying to connect")! I didn't do any software/rom upgrade and I am still using the phone same locations (so assuming I am still having the same reception). Sometimes I need to soft reset multiple times to get it back to work!

I tried the following and all failed:
- Upgrade to the ROM given by Orange (WM5 , I don't rem the radio version)
- I tried WM6 with different Radios including 1.48 and 1.54 - FAILED!

Are you still losing the signal, what is the frequency? Did you solve it?

[UKMadBeef]

Don't post here much but thought I'd put my hat in the ring with this one (yay i found a thread with less than 20 pages already w00t) no disconnection issues on Orange UK with radio 1.38.00.01. That's the one that came with the latest Orange WM5 at the time (10/07) running K's ROM v1.30b (great ROM so far, stable and very fast might be the 6 meg page pool tho) popped my WM6 cherry with Schap's 4.00 (pretty good but then I changed it to 6mpp) then Schaps 4.30 4mpp but that lasted a week, too slow and I had stability issues.

Battery life is pretty good in my opinion, remember to make sure you're fully charged prior to flashing. Reception isn't great but still as good if not better than other phones in the same circumstances. Finding 3G is no problem although signal is only good at work - usually I find it rolls back to GSM after a phone call elsewhere. (so possibly before / during)

To be fair tho I try to use Orange data sparingly (WiFi FTW) I don't have push e-mail, and I haven't flashed a non-Orange radio. Is the grass greener? Not when it's good enough already. You could try latest Orange WM5 to radio it and back to WM6 of your choice, I think you said you were using a jasjamming ROM no disrespect to the guy but those are old as the hills try K's or Schap's 6mpp maybe :)

Good luck, HTH :)