Only using data/internet with 'H' or 'H+', not 3G

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AXIS of Reality

Senior Member
Mar 15, 2010
184
40
Brisbane
Something strange I've noticed with my Galaxy S II is that data / internet will only work if the 'H' (for HSDPA) is in the status bar, but not with '3G' there...the green arrow will appear next to the 3G when I try to connect to something but it will just time out unless it happens to switch to 'H'.

Anyone know why this would be? :confused: Is only the HSDPA network working with my phone, but regular 3G won't?
 
R

RaspyYeti

Member
Apr 7, 2011
14
0
It is possible that the 3G cells in your area are fully loaded with users.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
 
Ayrlupine

Ayrlupine

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2009
83
7
Same problem here, on 3.

Wondered if it was the phone or the network! If it's a problem with the phone it'll be fixable/covered by warranty though, right?
 
vimto25

vimto25

Senior Member
Jan 1, 2009
1,200
115
40
Burton-On-Trent,UK
Same here, it sits on 3g then i try to load a page etc and it goes to h like it carnt use 3g , im on t mobile and they have full coverage where i am

Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
 
A

AXIS of Reality

Senior Member
Mar 15, 2010
184
40
Brisbane
I found an older thread that says it's a feature, keeping the phone in 3G mode to save battery until you do something that requires data which switches it over to H. I've kept a closer eye on my phone and that does seem to be what it's doing, usually taking a second or two to switch over each time I use data.

However, there have still been some times where it stays on 3G and is unable to load data.
 
vimto25

vimto25

Senior Member
Jan 1, 2009
1,200
115
40
Burton-On-Trent,UK
Yeah i think your right and also it does not change sometimes and kinda hangs, be nice for it to switch over to H abit faster without battery drain.
AXIS of Reality said:
I found an older thread that says it's a feature, keeping the phone in 3G mode to save battery until you do something that requires data which switches it over to H. I've kept a closer eye on my phone and that does seem to be what it's doing, usually taking a second or two to switch over each time I use data.

However, there have still been some times where it stays on 3G and is unable to load data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse



Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
 
J

Jamie Jay

Senior Member
May 18, 2007
54
0
I have the same issue with my phone to on t-mobile, not working on 3g then working on H.

It is a right pain to be honest.

No way of stopping this battery save? I would rather use more battery.
 
M

mawardi

Senior Member
Mar 19, 2011
93
5
It's the network. I have no explanation but only Edge and HSDPA work whether on Samsung or Nokia.
 
X

Xero Xenith

Senior Member
Sep 4, 2010
111
26
Just tested, this does not occur for me, at least right here, right now. Comfortably loading pages on Google with just 3G signal (T-Mobile UK).

It's faster when I stand on my bed upstairs for HSDPA but 3G does work. Stock firmware from T-Mob, no modifications. :)
 
J

joeykatoa

Guest
AXIS of Reality said:
Something strange I've noticed with my Galaxy S II is that data / internet will only work if the 'H' (for HSDPA) is in the status bar, but not with '3G' there...the green arrow will appear next to the 3G when I try to connect to something but it will just time out unless it happens to switch to 'H'.

Anyone know why this would be? :confused: Is only the HSDPA network working with my phone, but regular 3G won't?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate,

I have the galaxy s i9000, with optus here in sydney. same problem, only switches to "H" when i make some sort of data request (load a page, open an app that uses internet), it takes a couple of seconds to switch from 3G to H. Sometimes, it keeps flicking back and forth between 3G and H like its having problems connecting to H

I complained to optus, they reckon i'm lying. Go figure.
 
J

joeykatoa

Guest
joeykatoa said:
Hey mate,

I have the galaxy s i9000, with optus here in sydney. same problem, only switches to "H" when i make some sort of data request (load a page, open an app that uses internet), it takes a couple of seconds to switch from 3G to H. Sometimes, it keeps flicking back and forth between 3G and H like its having problems connecting to H

I complained to optus, they reckon i'm lying. Go figure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry.. just to add on, i've tried about 13 different modems on my i9000 and it happens with all of them.

The only fix I've come by? dial *#301279# and disable HSDPA altogether :( thats the only way my phone will actually load any data on 3G
 
Last edited:
Pyrone89

Pyrone89

Member
May 31, 2011
39
2
I have the same thing, but as i understand H and H+ are the highest form of 3G, not a different thing. So I am wondering what mode we are in when 3G appears. UMTS?
 
J

Jamie Jay

Senior Member
May 18, 2007
54
0
Its all very annoying to be honest.

None of my other phones have this problem as they always stay on HSPDA
 
J

Jamie Jay

Senior Member
May 18, 2007
54
0
Actually this problem is making my phone more or less not usable.

I use the slingplayer alot, keeps skipping on the Galaxy S II as it seems to keep switching between H and 3G.

Put the sim card into my ZTE Blade (Orange San Francisco) and streams constantly with no problem with signal staying on H.
 
I

iznee

Senior Member
Oct 1, 2007
616
116
With all the threads relating to 3g and connectivity issues..we can deduce that SGS2's modem really sucks big time..and still no firmware update to correct this even though large number of people is facing some sort of problem with mobile internet which is a main function on todays smartphone.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatal
 
J

Jamie Jay

Senior Member
May 18, 2007
54
0
Anyone know who to e-mail with examples at Samsung?

I guess they won't fix a problem if they don't realise there is one.

Some people will prefer longer battery when its on 3G then H, others will want the constant H.
 
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    M
    mansonitefirefox
    Problem fixed.

    Sorry for my first ever post being EPIC'ly long but XDA wont let me post external link to whirlpool.net.au until 8 post count so... here is what you have all been looking for and i thought everyone should benefit for my 4 hours on the phone with Samsung :p

    After contacting Samsung for an insane period of time (ended up on an international call to England i think... or now that i think about it could have just been some English guy in Aus lol) I have got an official explanation and confirmation that this issue is being looked into for KE8 (but it appears that KE8 has been launched in India already so it might be KE9).

    *disclaimer*

    I am no expert on mobile technology this in-depth however the (probably very) dumbed down version the Samsung guy told me was this;

    *end disclaimer*

    The problem stems from the fact that this phone has 3 forms of data connection, 3G, HSDPA, and HSPA+.

    3G is what we have all had since 3/Telstra launch 10 years ago.
    HSDPA is the 7.2mbps connections that we got after that.
    HSPA+ is the full fledged 42mbps Next G stuff that only Telstra has.

    The problem is, when you are just using the phone as "a phone" it idles on a 3G connection to save battery and when you initiate a data connection it flicks on to the higher connection protocols for better speed.

    What is supposed to happen when you initiate the data connection is the phone checks for H+ connection, then for H and then finally 3G. For some reason if you arent with Telstra or are in an area without HSPA+ the phone gets hung up for too long attempting to initiate the H+ connection and refuses to drop back to H!

    Also, even if it does give up on H+ it then has an issue with falling back to 3G. Resulting in the problem that if it cant get H+ or the tower is too flooded for a H connection you get absolutely nothing until you restart the data mode within the phone, renegotiates with the tower and BAM, you are back in business.

    So... there are 5 fixes;

    1. Wait for KE9 (or what ever firmware fixes the modem timings etc)
    2. Get a Telstra sim and never leave an area that has H+
    3. Turn off/on data mode whenever it happens

    to which i told him they were stupid answers and completely unacceptable, but then he came out with this complete gem!

    4. using service code *#301279# you can turn off HSPA+ completely forcing it to start the data connections on HSDPA
    5. using *#301279# again you can just turn off HSPA+ and HSDPA meaning it instantly starts downloading the data on 3G without delay

    Now yes, i thought... great... ive bought this $779 phone that has all the latest and greatest technology and I cant even use it! But, I did some testing!

    First of all my normal sim is Vodafone so turning off HSPA+ is an obvious one for me, im never going to get it so why bother. So now that the phone only attempts to get a connection with HSDPA the need to turn off and on data connection was getting more and more rare but still having the problem (i have a feeling that is due to congestion?). So i bumped it down to 3G only and it works perfectly 100% of the time!

    The point of these faster connection protocols is speed so i did testing.

    Vodafone sim, 4 bars of signal in the middle of a shopping centre.

    HPSA+ turned on = 4mbps down, 1mbps up
    HSDPA turned on = 4mbps down, 1mbps up
    3G only = 3.5mbps down, 1mbps up

    did this over and over and over again and to be perfectly honest, im willing to lose 500kbps to make sure that data always works and if you are just doing general web browsing the time it takes to initiate the HSDPA connection wastes more time than the slightly slower speeds with 3G does.

    Now obviously this only works fine in my situation, if you are with Telstra and going from HSPA+ down to 3G means going from 20mbps to 3... i would be pissed. But for the rest of the country you are talking about a loss of less than 1mbps so in real world situations with just small amounts of burst data its fine :D

    TLDR; Try and go online and the 3G up arrow lights up but never actually downloads anything

    Dial: *#301279# – Change HSPA revision – Release 5 HSPDA only

    test, if still a problem

    Dial: *#301279# – Change HSPA revision – Release R99 HSPA off

    Your welcome, Peace out!

    To find the full conversation on this at another forum google "whirlpool Samsung Galaxy S II Data Issue"

    Note: I havent had anyone tell me this doesnt work, but so far its only tried and tested in Australia with a Non-Telstra sim
    View
    1
    Q
    qasdfdsaq
    daveok said:
    Isn't HSDPA just a number of 3G connections running in parallel? If you are getting more than 3G speeds even when both codes are applied then that doesn't make sense.

    Good investigation work though thanks.

    Don't have any data problems at all on Vodafone UK but I am still gonna mess around with this in the hope of saving some battery.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    In some ways, yes. HSPA uses several spreading codes (5-15) but also more advanced modulation on each code.

    On Voda UK as well, their 3G seems to drain my battery a lot faster than it should - getting about 7 days standby on GRPS/EDGE and only 3 on 3G.

    Just curious, do you see any H+ coverage at the moment? Voda used to have H+ throughout my city but seem to have switched it off, as I've had zilch for a month...

    bazofia said:
    I'm also on 3 UK and I've been all around London and never seen the H+ icon though I have HSDPA/HSUPA enabled. I wonder if this is a restriction from the carrier or I just haven't hit any spot with HSPA.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse
    HSPA != HSPA+

    3's HSPA+ coverage is currently just about nil, though they are rolling it out. Voda had extensive HSPA+ but seem to be turning it off (or maybe it's just me). Other networks have just about no HSPA+.

    All networks have just about nationwide HSPA (H) now especially 3, HSPA+ (H+) barely exists outside of Vodafone (though it's ironically quite extensive in Germany where they seem to use it less...)
    View

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