I received the Samsung Focus 2 weeks ago today. After I post this I will be heading over to Amazon Wireless to make return arrangements.
I come from a Windows Mobile (Tilt 2) and I don't think I am yet ready to transition to this type of phone. I depend too much on Pocket Informant and I couldn't find any app to replace that. Actually this is not really the reason I gave up. This is the reason that kept me on the fence.
At my work I have a very poor 3G signal indoors. The signal fluctuates between 2 bars to no signal indication and sometimes switching to Edge. With the Tilt 2 I turn off 3G and that keeps the phone happy. Several times I found the Focus showing no signal (small crossed out circle at the top left). Even after I went to an area with good 3G signal the Focus did not change from its no signal status. I had to actually turn it off and back on (soft reset, I guess) to get a strong 3G signal.
Searching on Google for means to turn 3G off in the Focus showed that only a few months ago there was such an option Settings | Cellular. Apparently now it is removed.
With 3G trying desperately to hang in there instead of just giving up and letting Edge take over, this phone is useless to me 8 to 12 hours a day. The Tilt 2 had a similar issue before I tweaked it to give me the band switch. However the Tilt 2 did not get stuck in the no signal state. I wish AT&T did not remove this from settings.
So long, Focus.
Um... there's totally still an option called Cellular in Settings. Whatever, though. If you don't enjoy the phone, there's no reason for you to keep it. However, there's equally no reason for you to share this information with us, since a large part of your issue is born of ignorance of the OS (not finding a setting that is clearly there) and your lack of enjoyment of the phone should have no effect on anyone who owns one.
FishFaceMcGee said:
Um... there's totally still an option called Cellular in Settings. Whatever, though. If you don't enjoy the phone, there's no reason for you to keep it. However, there's equally no reason for you to share this information with us, since a large part of your issue is born of ignorance of the OS (not finding a setting that is clearly there) and your lack of enjoyment of the phone should have no effect on anyone who owns one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Cellular option is still there, in Settings. However, unlike screen shots or pictures I saw during my search (see this sample), I do not have the option to turn off 3G.
If your phone has it, good for you. Mine does not. Hardly a reason to call me ignorant for this though.
That's strange. My Focus appears to have better reception than my Tilt 2.
Actually, the 3G only setting is under the diagnostic menu I believe. The should have a thread in this forum on it.
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Tempest790 said:
That's strange. My Focus appears to have better reception than my Tilt 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, side by side, the 2 phones had a similar reception. The Tilt 2 got an extra bar or 2 when I forced it to Edge. However, the Tilt 2 did not get stuck with the no signal indication.
Actually, the 3G only setting is under the diagnostic menu I believe. The should have a thread in this forum on it.
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While at this moment I do not have the phone with me, I just looked in the PDF I downloaded from that other thread (the PDF shows [2] Band Selection) and I remember that I was in that area and when I tried to make a change I got a message saying something about the selection or option being restricted. Sorry, but I do not remember the exact words. I guess I could try again later tonight after I get home. Thank you.
Tempest790 said:
Update
I checked and its under the test menu
*#32489#
Back
Back
[7] Network control
[2] Band Setting
This may help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I select "[2] Band Selection" the exact message is:
"RAT Selection option is restricted".
Yeah, that's what I got. I also got my phone from freaking Amazon.com and didn't work right. Had do alittle talking around but they me exchange it at the Att Wireless Store. Have you actually tried any other Samsung Focus Phones to see if its just the phone itself?
I got mine from att store, I'm using the org diagnostic app version, I get same error message.
Seed 2.0 said:
I got mine from att store, I'm using the org diagnostic app version, I get same error message.
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Click to collapse
I would switch phones then. The phone has to be unlocked to switch bands, even turning off 3G. That's stupid, I know. I have a Dell Venue Pro sitting here that can switch bands but that phone is VERY buggy.
Fuzzy John said:
Yes, the Cellular option is still there, in Settings. However, unlike screen shots or pictures I saw during my search (see this sample), I do not have the option to turn off 3G.
If your phone has it, good for you. Mine does not. Hardly a reason to call me ignorant for this though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW: 3G = "Data Connection" on the Focus' settings menu. As far as I know, 3G has nothing to do with voice calls. I suspect that the name of that switch was changed with an eye toward future data options on cell phones. I hope that helps. (Even the person who posted that picture notes that they modified the label to be "Cellular Data". You can see that in the comments area of the image/post that you listed. )
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might very well be correct, however on my Tilt 2 I have to turn off 3g in order to get full voice bars back in the location where my room is in my house. It doesn't seem to make any sense; why would the phone's 3g connection interfere w/ the 2g voice? Yet it seems like this is the case.
ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry. I may have used the wrong terms. After all I admit I am not really familiar with all the terminology. I am more like a user. Anyway, on my Tilt 2 phone I have a switch which turn off 3G. This puts the phone in Edge mode. Gives me a lot better reception in areas where the 3G signal is flaky. True, I cannot talk and do data at the same time. Also true that my data rate is slower. But I can receive and make calls while I am in that area.
ITDRAGON said:
GrayWolf is correct
These are GSM phone and voice only works on 2G.. data on 3G and Edge if necessary. that is why you can talk and use the internet at the same time. You turning 3G off does nothing for your call reception what so ever. When you turn off the Celluar data you turn off both 3G and edge. Also I believe the bars are only for the voice service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Both voice and data work on 3G if it is available. You can tell this by the fact that once your phone is on 3G, you will not encounter the annoying speaker buzz from GSM phones.
The switch in the settings are for cell data connection. If you turn it off, it turns off the data connection, 2G or 3G. There is no separate setting to turn off 3G data only (a commonly requested feature but non-existent on all AT&T phones). You will always have to access the secret menu to select your band (WCDMA or GSM).
The bars are for signal strength, not just for vocie service.
EDIT: rjohnstone
foxbat121 said:
Nope. Both voice and data work on 3G if it is available. You can tell this by the fact that once your phone is on 3G, you will not encounter the annoying speaker buzz from GSM phones.
The switch in the settings are for cell data connection. If you turn it off, it turns off the data connection, 2G or 3G. There is no separate setting to turn off 3G data only (a commonly requested feature but non-existent on all AT&T phones). You will always have to access the secret menu to select your band (WCDMA or GSM).
The bars are for signal strength, not just for vocie service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G contains the following quote:
"The UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure"
<snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=2877
"Modes GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
WCDMA 850 / 1900 / 2100"
Those are the GSM and 3G bands that the Samsung Focus uses. <snipped my "you're wrong" message, but leaving my other data here.>
I'm always willing to accept that I can be wrong (EDIT: and it seems that I was). I'm only human after all. If I'm the one who's somehow misunderstanding, then I would be open to having some information shared so that I can learn more about it. Would you have any links to back your claim up?
GrayWolf said:
I'm sorry to say that you've misunderstood how AT&T's network is set up. 3G + GSM = Data + Voice. Not 3G = Voice & Data.
contains the following quote:
"The UMTS system, first offered in 2001, standardized by 3GPP, used primarily in Europe, Japan, China (however with a different radio interface) and other regions predominated by GSM 2G system infrastructure. The cell phones are typically UMTS and GSM hybrids. Several radio interfaces are offered, sharing the same infrastructure"
To further back the position that our phones do not use 3G to carry voice data:
"Modes GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
WCDMA 850 / 1900 / 2100"
Those are the GSM and 3G bands that the Samsung Focus uses. GSM for voice traffic, WCDMA (3G) for data.
I'm always willing to accept that I can be wrong. I'm only human after all. If I'm the one who's somehow misunderstanding, then I would be open to having some information shared so that I can learn more about it. Would you have any links to back your claim up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T sends both voice and data traffic over the 3G connection when in a 3G area.
The GSM radio only comes into play when the data connection falls back to EDGE (i.e., 3G signal is too weak or not present).
This is why your call drops when you switch from a 3G area to a GSM/EDGE area.
It's a hard hand off to the next tower.
rjohnstone said:
AT&T sends both voice and data traffic over the 3G connection when in a 3G area.
The GSM radio only comes into play when the data connection falls back to EDGE (i.e., 3G signal is too weak or not present).
This is why your call drops when you switch from a 3G area to a GSM/EDGE area.
It's a hard hand off to the next tower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - would you happen to have any links that explains this in any detail?
I looked around after you mentioned it and found that I should have ran a few more keyword searches before posting. So far, the best explanation that I've found seems to be here:
"3G or Non 3G-that is the question"
http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/G...at-is-the-question/m-p/1544262/highlight/true
The specific/relevant portion that I'm referring to is:
Yea 3G is amazing. It's the replacement for GSM. It's a completely seperate network. When in 3G at present signal in some area's might seem a bit more week than GSM because in some area's it runs on the 1900mhz frequency which has less penetration. But AT&T has plans of phasing out GSM in the future for 3G on the GSM frequency.
But 3G on the W-CDMA side handles call's and data, GSM also does handle voice and data. But the two networks are seperate. For example. If your phone is in 3G then the 3G network is handling the call and not transmitting anything to do with GSM at all. But if you travel to a non 3G area while in the call then your phone will hand off to the GSM network to continue the voice call and the call quality will get that crackly raspy phenomenom. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that's another person's statement on a forum and, like rjohnstone's post, makes logical sense. I'd love to read a bit more about this, if there are any useful links out there?
GrayWolf said:
Thanks - would you happen to have any links that explains this in any detail?
I looked around after you mentioned it and found that I should have ran a few more keyword searches before posting. So far, the best explanation that I've found seems to be here:
"3G or Non 3G-that is the question"
The specific/relevant portion that I'm referring to is:
Now that's another person's statement on a forum and, like rjohnstone's post, makes logical sense. I'd love to read a bit more about this, if there are any useful links out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Graywolf,
My friend is a tower manager for T-Mobile.
He helped setup the initial GSM/EDGE network for Cingular back when they leased tower time from T-Mobile while they were making the transition from TDMA devices from the old AT&T network.
He explained how the call handlers worked and how the air interface works when handing off from UMTS/HSPA over to the GSM/EDGE network.
All of AT&T's handsets are programmed to use either GSM/EDGE or UMTS/HSPA, not both at the same time.
The point is, a handset can't have a GSM voice call and an HSPA data session occurring at the same time. The radios are not configured to allow it.
Many towers run both GSM/EDGE radios and UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ radios.
Mainly to support legacy devices.
You will also notice that the old network is still there when you turn of the 3G radio in an iPhone or any other handset that permits it.
Yes, AT&T is working to decommission the older GSM/EDGE towers all together to recover the 850Mhz frequencies for use with HSPA+. This will give them better building penetration in large metropolitan areas.
Right now, AT&T does use the 1900MHz band for HSPA, and as the residence of NY will tell you, it sucks at going through walls.
You will have to do some digging for old AT&T press releases, but the info is out there.
Gotta give credit where it's due. I appreciate the technical detail combined with layman phrasing. I'll do more digging later but you've given me a nice high-level view of things. I did have a suspicion that my understanding was flawed somehow. Thanks for taking the time to share, rjohnstone!
Yep your right I typed it wrong.. voice and data both work on 2G and 3G, but I know I'm in a 3G area only and when I turn data off 3G goes out. Now that doesn't mean I'm only making or recieving calls on the 2G band. It just mean 3G data is off. So if you want to turn off 3G all together, I don't see it on these phones yet. When I turn the celluar data back on, the 3G symbol comes back on, because it would be pretty dumb for the 3G to be controlled by turning data on and off.
I have SM-N910U model of the note 4 and would like to know how I can enable voLTE. I know my phone supports it, but I can't find it anywhere in the settings nor is it active. My carrier has voLTE, but the phone data drops to 2g when I make calls. I would like to know a way to enable voLTE, so the data stays at 4g while on the call.
Or is there a way to add volte to international roms seems like it is only for carrier branded phones
I have the same problem with Galaxy Alpha on the Metro/ Tmobile Network.
LTE drops to 3 G on calls and often kills Data
during and even a minute or so after the call.
Not good for multitasking- this is a Factory Unlocked Alpha NOT a native Tmo / Metro phone .
The 4G LTE Tmo/ Metro Phones always have simultaneous voice and data so you can be on Web while on a call.
I think some have VoLTE and some have dual band simultaneously in the firmware specifically for Tmo.
robertkoa said:
I have the same problem with Galaxy Alpha on the Metro/ Tmobile Network.
LTE drops to 3 G on calls and often kills Data
during and even a minute or so after the call.
Not good for multitasking- this is a Factory Unlocked Alpha NOT a native Tmo / Metro phone .
The 4G LTE Tmo/ Metro Phones always have simultaneous voice and data so you can be on Web while on a call.
I think some have VoLTE and some have dual band simultaneously in the firmware specifically for Tmo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you are correct. VoLTE service can be enabled only with layer 1 modified kernel/drivers. The hardware itself definitely supports it, but firmware doesn't. Main reason the Samsung decided to disable this feature is because not all carriers in the world use voLTE service and enabling the service on the user end may trigger unstable and disconnection during call. I have contacted Samsung by Twitter and have yet to receive a response if they are going to enable this feature or not. Will let you know if I hear anything back from them!
Thanks. I wonder if some Dev here can do it for $ 100 .
Really like the size, speed and great Audio quality of Alpha and was going to get the larger Battery but I often can not get back on Internet for a few minutes after a call-
while the Phone says 3G (?) then it goes back to LTE and back to Internet...frustrating .
Am used to Metro PCS VoLTE since 2012 and had not considered this problem with a Factory Unlocked non Carrier Device.
No one reminded me there would be no VoLTE and sometimes no voice and Data simultaneously...
So DEVs figure it out for me and I will have a Tech here do the Install/ Download.
Alternative will be a too big branded S6 either Tmo or Metro which will have a better Camera, even slightly better than Note 4 but I love the small form factor of Alpha- this is Alpha 850 M.
Don't think Samsung will help although there is rumored to be VoLTE with Lollipop so there's a possibility.
Will Lollipop VoLTE perform like a Branded Metro PCS with LTE remaining on Display during calls and simultaneous Internet ?
Anyone have a Beta Lollipop for Alpha that achieves this ?
Thanks.
When I try to place a video call in the built in phone dialer, it says "Video calling is currently not available. Call connected as voice only." But when my brother tried calling me on his S7 edge, it works fine. I tried turning off the feature in call settings and turning it back on but still doesn't work.
Any one have this problem yet? My best buy order came thru today.
I think it only works between AT&T phones. I've only tried between my S7 edge and my girlfriends S7 edge...both on AT&T. There were a few times she missed the notification to do video and it ended up being audio. The other side definitely has to pick it up as a video call.
Yea, my bro has the S7 edge also and we are living in the same house. Some reason mine doesn't work. When you press the video call icon, the front camera suppose to kick on, but on mine it doesn't. My brother's does...
They had it (HD Voice feature) disabled due to me calling back in October complaining about bad reception around my house. They just reenabled and all is fine now!
I'm having the same issue and att Tech support couldn't figure it out
Call AT&T and have them enable HD Voice feature on your line. Should work then. Make sure you're on a 4G network possibly with LTE as well.
I've tried this a few times with me and my wife's phones. Every time I get the message that its unavailable and audio only. But when we call audio only its HD voice. So not sure what the issue is.
benk016 said:
I've tried this a few times with me and my wife's phones. Every time I get the message that its unavailable and audio only. But when we call audio only its HD voice. So not sure what the issue is.
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I wanted this on mine and my gf's phones, after multiple fails I started researching. We live in a country rual area, while we still show 4g LTE and great signal. The HD network isn't available everywhere. It shows both phones have to be on the HD network not WiFi and good signal. I recently traveled to new Orleans and we made multiple video calls to each other. After coming home it no longer works. We defaulted to using hangouts and with our unlimited data and good signal strength it works great. [emoji3]
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using XDA-Developers mobile app
I had that problem the first date I upgraded my S6's software to MM. I called AT&T and complained that I could not make video call between my S7 and S6. The next day both worked, both on WiFi and LTE...
1. From your home screen, press the Phone icon.
2. Tap More on the top right corner.
3. Scroll down and tap on Settings.
By default, VoLTE should be enabled if your Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge was first used with a carrier SIM that supports it. If your phone was unlocked and subsequently transferred to a carrier SIM that supports VoLTE, you may have to enable it manually.
4. Tap on VoLTE.
Make sure that Use VoLTE when available is checked.
Note: Some versions of the Galaxy S7 may show this setting in a different spot.
Worked for me!
Just a tip, I did some research on this. Att requires both phones to be on their 4g LTE enhanced network. So if one of the callers is in a rural area or low signal, it won't work. I have a s7 and my wife a s6, if one of us is around her parents house (very rural but still 4g coverage) it won't work. However if we both in town or at home, no issue. We started using Google duo when she would visit her family and att video any other time.
Rakuten Mobile (partner: AU mobile) in Japan is an MVNO that has a new UN-LIMIT plan.
There are many phones incompatible with their network (and partner network) and I'd like to understand why.
For example the Oneplus 5 supports all their+partner frequencies but it still can't grab the network (2G/3G and 4G).
There is a trick using a hidden setting in Android which is "LTE only". In that case, we can connect to the Internet.
1. We can't receive calls and can't call if the 4G isn't available because it happens via their "Rakuten Link" app (kinda VOIP).
2. The quality is awful, I receive a new complain of "echo" in the voice at each call.
Could you help me to understand what's the technological reason behind that?
If it isn't the frequencies, what can it be? I've searched everywhere, they never say the reason behind that incompatibility.
Thanks!
Dunno if you're still watching this thread but here's been my experience with Rakuten Mobile:
I have a rooted OP5T. Didn't work out of the box even after putting in the APN settings.
Did some digging around on Japanese blogs and enabling VoLTE does get me connected to the network. You can make calls over the network or use their Link app to use wifi/data instead. Both worked fine in the limited testing I've done. Data was also fine and pretty quick. This worked well for at least a few months.
However, some months later, the fixes and patches I have applied to get VoLTE enabled on my phone doesn't seem to stick or something is resetting it. If I stay home, my connection will stay on indefinitely, however if I go outside, after a few minutes my signal will drop and stay off until I reflash the fixes, or now it seems to reconnect if I reboot the phone. I am starting to think switching cell towers might be doing something? I have more testing to do.