WCDMA preferred vs GSM AUTO PRL

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sheek360

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2010
1,127
60
Had to hear it from the horses mouth, I called up HTC's tech support. I asked what was the difference between WCDMA preferred and GSM AUTO PRL. The gentleman I spoke to told me that they both have lots in common and that the only difference is that WCDMA preferred will favor 3G and GSM AUTO PRL will favor EDGE.

He continued to tell me that WCDMA preferred needs to reach a low threshold to go straight into 3g from edge. GSM AUTO PRL has a higher threshold, or higher standard has to be met (db of 3g signal) before it will go into 3G.

He mentioned that gsm auto prl will save the user a bit more power because it wont force the phone to continuasly hunt for a stronger signal. Typically this option gives our n1's a weaker signal and slower data speed. But he said it depends on our network in our city.

I also verified this information with t-mobiles tech support. They were a bit vague though. But they did mention that WCDA preferred will prefer 3g and that gsm auto prl is its complete opposite and will only prefer 3g if the signal is strong enough.

What do you guys think? Does this make sense?!?
 
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sheek360

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2010
1,127
60
Got this

WCDMA preferred - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 3G is favored more.
GSM only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
WCDMA only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM auto (PRL) - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more. This one is a bit confusing to me since PRL is associated mostly with CDMA technology and not GSM technology.
CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
CDMA only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
EvDo only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) - Some phones are equipped with both GSM and CDMA capabilities. This setting appears to just have the phone attempt to stay connected to the data communication type that works the best. (Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S will take advantage of this???)
Unknown - If none of the above fit or the phone is acting weird as far as connecting to the carrier, you will see your preferred network type is set to this

When using the 'only' options you should still be able to make calls.

To put things into perspective, The Nexus One is set to WCDMA preferred as default and the Droid Incredible is set to CDMA auto (PRL).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

from here, http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en
 
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sheek360

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2010
1,127
60
just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.

kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
 
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RogerPodacter

Senior Member
Apr 12, 2010
5,654
425
Los Angeles, CA
here is a really good explanation about the gsm auto (prl) setting from another forum. i'll quote and also link it.

Originally Posted by icebike
What that does Roger, is tells your phone to connect using EDGE, and obtain a Preferred Roaming List (PRL) from the tower, and THEN switch to 3G when a data channel is required (which in the N1, is pretty much always because people are checking mail etc all the time).

WCDMA preferred has the phone try to find 3G directly. This takes more power until a connection is established.

You can verify this in the 4636 display, below the Run Ping Test button. You will see the Network Type say EDGE, then, after a bit, it will switch to HSPDA.

If your phone is near your computer speakers, you will hear edge chatter as it obtains its Preferred Roaming List. You may periodically hear a lot of EDGE chatter if you have nothing requiring a data channel running, because it might drop to edge and stay there for unexplained reasons.

Depending on your towers and service availability, you may see no difference in this at all. I live in a strong 3G area, and this does not help me at all. In fringe 3G areas or in 3G areas where there are a lot of 3G phones (cities, near schools, etc) this will help quite a bit.

In Edge only areas it saves a lot of battery by not searching for HSPDA when it does not exist.

Note: I also see something of a speed test hit on GSM (PRL), but this may be just the speed test app doing odd things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

from this thread:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-one/13037-wifi-turning-off-sleep-mode.html
 
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Mokurex

Mokurex

Senior Member
Nov 22, 2009
562
20
Bangkok
sheek360 said:
just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.

kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Damn!!!! When I was 10, smartphone didn't even exist, people would stare at you if you even had a 'dumb phone'. Kids 20 years from now would probably be playing with nuclear powered smartphone. =)
 
U

uansari1

Senior Member
Jul 27, 2008
3,545
92
Karachi
sheek360 said:
just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.

kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Ah yes..at my school, the first girl that got knocked up was one of those kids. Don't worry..I'm sure that won't be your kid though. Just kidding! ;-)










But seriously..keep an eye on her!

Sent from my Nexus One
 
Y

ykphuah

Senior Member
Dec 17, 2009
417
38
Interesting, my Nexus S constantly drops the 3g connection (need to wait 15-30 seconds before it connects again), and I just realized its set to GSM/CDMA Auto PRL, will set it to WCDMA preferred and see.
 
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bunnybash

Senior Member
Sep 18, 2010
1,051
181
Perth
OnePlus 7 Pro
How do I change this on my desire, the wcdma is terrible at my house so I always need to switch it manually or else if someone calls they can't hear me...

Would love it if I could get my phone to just switch to gsm when the wcdma sucks

Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
 
R

RogerPodacter

Senior Member
Apr 12, 2010
5,654
425
Los Angeles, CA
bunnybash said:
How do I change this on my desire, the wcdma is terrible at my house so I always need to switch it manually or else if someone calls they can't hear me...

Would love it if I could get my phone to just switch to gsm when the wcdma sucks

Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

For the nexus one you press on the dial pad: *#*#4636#*#* and go into the hidden menu.
 
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D

derekstaroba

Senior Member
Apr 12, 2011
57
0
the PRL's of each of the phones should be different. They update those files constantly. It wouldn't be a fair and accurate test unless you knew for sure that you had the same PRL on two separate phones one that runs WCDMA and the other EDGE.

The PRL contains the RF information that your cell can access. When they update them they change the signals that your phone can and can't access so some signals are inhibited or blocked. There can be other modifications besides this like restricting speed or data.
 
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    sheek360
    Had to hear it from the horses mouth, I called up HTC's tech support. I asked what was the difference between WCDMA preferred and GSM AUTO PRL. The gentleman I spoke to told me that they both have lots in common and that the only difference is that WCDMA preferred will favor 3G and GSM AUTO PRL will favor EDGE.

    He continued to tell me that WCDMA preferred needs to reach a low threshold to go straight into 3g from edge. GSM AUTO PRL has a higher threshold, or higher standard has to be met (db of 3g signal) before it will go into 3G.

    He mentioned that gsm auto prl will save the user a bit more power because it wont force the phone to continuasly hunt for a stronger signal. Typically this option gives our n1's a weaker signal and slower data speed. But he said it depends on our network in our city.

    I also verified this information with t-mobiles tech support. They were a bit vague though. But they did mention that WCDA preferred will prefer 3g and that gsm auto prl is its complete opposite and will only prefer 3g if the signal is strong enough.

    What do you guys think? Does this make sense?!?
    View
    7
    S
    sheek360
    Got this

    WCDMA preferred - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 3G is favored more.
    GSM only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
    WCDMA only - The GSM phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
    GSM auto (PRL) - The GSM phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more. This one is a bit confusing to me since PRL is associated mostly with CDMA technology and not GSM technology.
    CDMA auto (PRL) - The CDMA phone is capable of using both 2G and 3G data communication and when signal strength is low 2G is favored more.
    CDMA only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 2G data communication. When the 2G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
    EvDo only - The CDMA phone is capable of using only 3G data communication. When the 3G signal is too low you get nothing at all.
    GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) - Some phones are equipped with both GSM and CDMA capabilities. This setting appears to just have the phone attempt to stay connected to the data communication type that works the best. (Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S will take advantage of this???)
    Unknown - If none of the above fit or the phone is acting weird as far as connecting to the carrier, you will see your preferred network type is set to this

    When using the 'only' options you should still be able to make calls.

    To put things into perspective, The Nexus One is set to WCDMA preferred as default and the Droid Incredible is set to CDMA auto (PRL).
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    from here, http://www.google.ie/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6a327a95211ac789&hl=en
    View
    4
    S
    sheek360
    just conducted a test. I get no service inside of my sons school with my n1. i put my n1 on gsm auto prl and i left my sons n1 on wcdma preferred. we both walked in the school till we lost service. as soon as we walked out i was on full bars of edge. my son was on 1 bar of 3g. i wanted to repeat the test over and over again but my wife gave me "that" look. BTW my daughters moto cliq had full bars of 3g inside the school and outside the school.

    kids are 8 and 10, they have never brought home a B. straight a's and always on the honor roll. they wanted android phones, my 10 year old chose the n1 and my daughter picked the cliq. wife has a bb till the mytouch slide is released! android family that roots together stays together lol
    View
    2
    R
    RogerPodacter
    here is a really good explanation about the gsm auto (prl) setting from another forum. i'll quote and also link it.

    Originally Posted by icebike
    What that does Roger, is tells your phone to connect using EDGE, and obtain a Preferred Roaming List (PRL) from the tower, and THEN switch to 3G when a data channel is required (which in the N1, is pretty much always because people are checking mail etc all the time).

    WCDMA preferred has the phone try to find 3G directly. This takes more power until a connection is established.

    You can verify this in the 4636 display, below the Run Ping Test button. You will see the Network Type say EDGE, then, after a bit, it will switch to HSPDA.

    If your phone is near your computer speakers, you will hear edge chatter as it obtains its Preferred Roaming List. You may periodically hear a lot of EDGE chatter if you have nothing requiring a data channel running, because it might drop to edge and stay there for unexplained reasons.

    Depending on your towers and service availability, you may see no difference in this at all. I live in a strong 3G area, and this does not help me at all. In fringe 3G areas or in 3G areas where there are a lot of 3G phones (cities, near schools, etc) this will help quite a bit.

    In Edge only areas it saves a lot of battery by not searching for HSPDA when it does not exist.

    Note: I also see something of a speed test hit on GSM (PRL), but this may be just the speed test app doing odd things.
    Click to expand...
    Click to collapse

    from this thread:
    http://forum.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-one/13037-wifi-turning-off-sleep-mode.html
    View
    1
    Y
    ykphuah
    Interesting, my Nexus S constantly drops the 3g connection (need to wait 15-30 seconds before it connects again), and I just realized its set to GSM/CDMA Auto PRL, will set it to WCDMA preferred and see.
    View

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