6340i Questions

I recently switched to a Nokia 6340i for my Cingular service. I
previously had a 6120. I have a few questions about the performance of
the 6340i.

1. Why does it take so long for the phone to "acquire" a signal? Here's
the specific scenario: I'm standing outside an office building. The
signal strength indicator on my phone says full signal. I go inside the
building where there is zero signal strength (for me and everyone else).
When I come back outside the building it frequently takes over a minute
(sometimes 2-3 minutes) for the phone to acquire the signal again. (Once
it does acquire a signal, it is full strength.) Why does it take so long?

In the exact same scenario, my old 6120 took only a few seconds to acquire
the signal.

2. (FYI, the voice mail service I am referring to in this question is a
private service having nothing to do with Cingular. I use the "w" in a
dialing string to insert a "wait" between a voice mail system access phone
number and the password. And I have a one-touch button (#2) assigned to
that. It all works fine except:

About 80% of the time everything works normally. About 20% of the time,
after the voice mail system answers and I press the Send button to send
the password, it sends the password very s-l-o-w-l-y ... one number at a
time with a brief pause between numbers. Why the ocasional slowdown on
sending the password?

I do not see any pattern to when it works normally vs. when it's slow.
There may be a pattern but I haven't found it.

Thanks in advance. Peter.

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Peter,

I have made the same switch from a Nokia 6120 to a Nokia 6340i. My
switch was made in April 2003. I am in the belief that the reason it takes
longer for the Nokia 6340i to obtain service appears to be the fact that it
has to switch between air interfaces (GSM, TDMA, and AMPS), when searching
for service, with a default preference for Cingular GSM. By the way, your
old 6120 was a single band, so it only had one band to search, and not two
bands, and possibly as many as three air interfaces (5-mode), like the
6340i.
It also appears that if the 6340i cannot find Cingular GSM in the first
place, it will take even longer to find service. Is Cingular GSM turned on
in your area yet? I'm in the Baltimore/Washington area, and from what I have
heard, Cingular (850) is supposed to be soft-launched here in September.
As far as the sometimes slow, sometimes not sending of tones, whenever
you are using GSM (Cingular or not), the tones will be sent out slowly. From
what I understand, this is normal for GSM. With any other air interface
(TDMA or AMPS), the tones will be sent in the same way that you are used to
on your old 6120.
You also may notice that "Note: call forwarding active" may appear on
the display when using GSM, although I have found that it is not 100%
consistent with all GSM carriers. SUNCOM GSM for one, will not display the
note.

Have a good one,

Mark A. Smith


"Peter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I recently switched to a Nokia 6340i for my Cingular service. I
> previously had a 6120. I have a few questions about the performance of
> the 6340i.
>
> 1. Why does it take so long for the phone to "acquire" a signal? Here's
> the specific scenario: I'm standing outside an office building. The
> signal strength indicator on my phone says full signal. I go inside the
> building where there is zero signal strength (for me and everyone else).
> When I come back outside the building it frequently takes over a minute
> (sometimes 2-3 minutes) for the phone to acquire the signal again. (Once
> it does acquire a signal, it is full strength.) Why does it take so long?
>
> In the exact same scenario, my old 6120 took only a few seconds to acquire
> the signal.
>
> 2. (FYI, the voice mail service I am referring to in this question is a
> private service having nothing to do with Cingular. I use the "w" in a
> dialing string to insert a "wait" between a voice mail system access phone
> number and the password. And I have a one-touch button (#2) assigned to
> that. It all works fine except:
>
> About 80% of the time everything works normally. About 20% of the time,
> after the voice mail system answers and I press the Send button to send
> the password, it sends the password very s-l-o-w-l-y ... one number at a
> time with a brief pause between numbers. Why the ocasional slowdown on
> sending the password?
>
> I do not see any pattern to when it works normally vs. when it's slow.
> There may be a pattern but I haven't found it.
>
> Thanks in advance. Peter.
>
> --
> **Remove Xs to reply by e-mail**

On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 12:10:54 -0400, "Mark A. Smith" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Peter,
>
> I have made the same switch from a Nokia 6120 to a Nokia 6340i. My
>switch was made in April 2003. I am in the belief that the reason it takes
>longer for the Nokia 6340i to obtain service appears to be the fact that it
>has to switch between air interfaces (GSM, TDMA, and AMPS), when searching
>for service, with a default preference for Cingular GSM. By the way, your
>old 6120 was a single band, so it only had one band to search, and not two
>bands, and possibly as many as three air interfaces (5-mode), like the
>6340i.

I figured the reason was as you said ... it has more bands to search
through. Still, two minutes seems excessive. It ought to start its
search wth whatever band it was last on. That would save some time in
most cases. Does your phone take that much time?

> It also appears that if the 6340i cannot find Cingular GSM in the first
>place, it will take even longer to find service. Is Cingular GSM turned on
>in your area yet? I'm in the Baltimore/Washington area, and from what I have
>heard, Cingular (850) is supposed to be soft-launched here in September.

I don't know if Cingular has GSM truned on in my area (Southern New
Jersey).

> As far as the sometimes slow, sometimes not sending of tones, whenever
>you are using GSM (Cingular or not), the tones will be sent out slowly. From
>what I understand, this is normal for GSM. With any other air interface
>(TDMA or AMPS), the tones will be sent in the same way that you are used to
>on your old 6120.

OK, I figured there had to be some pattern to this but I just didn't know
what it was.

> You also may notice that "Note: call forwarding active" may appear on
>the display when using GSM, although I have found that it is not 100%
>consistent with all GSM carriers. SUNCOM GSM for one, will not display the
>note.

I don't recall ever seeing that message. I have, however, in the past
couple of weeks occasionally seen "Cingular Extended" where it usually
says just "Cingular" on my phone. (Which raises a question that I will
now ask in the Cingular newsgroup.)


>"Peter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> I recently switched to a Nokia 6340i for my Cingular service. I
>> previously had a 6120. I have a few questions about the performance of
>> the 6340i.
>>
>> 1. Why does it take so long for the phone to "acquire" a signal? Here's
>> the specific scenario: I'm standing outside an office building. The
>> signal strength indicator on my phone says full signal. I go inside the
>> building where there is zero signal strength (for me and everyone else).
>> When I come back outside the building it frequently takes over a minute
>> (sometimes 2-3 minutes) for the phone to acquire the signal again. (Once
>> it does acquire a signal, it is full strength.) Why does it take so long?
>>
>> In the exact same scenario, my old 6120 took only a few seconds to acquire
>> the signal.
>>
>> 2. (FYI, the voice mail service I am referring to in this question is a
>> private service having nothing to do with Cingular. I use the "w" in a
>> dialing string to insert a "wait" between a voice mail system access phone
>> number and the password. And I have a one-touch button (#2) assigned to
>> that. It all works fine except:
>>
>> About 80% of the time everything works normally. About 20% of the time,
>> after the voice mail system answers and I press the Send button to send
>> the password, it sends the password very s-l-o-w-l-y ... one number at a
>> time with a brief pause between numbers. Why the ocasional slowdown on
>> sending the password?
>>
>> I do not see any pattern to when it works normally vs. when it's slow.
>> There may be a pattern but I haven't found it.
>>
>> Thanks in advance. Peter.
>>
>> --
>> **Remove Xs to reply by e-mail**
>

--
**Remove Xs to reply by e-mail**

The answer to the two minute question is yes, according to which area
mine is in. I believe that an additional reason for the long search time is
due to the fact that it gives a chance to find Cingular GSM every power on.
I usually leave mine on 24/7, so it is not as much of a factor for me.
As far as your other question, the phone will display Cingular Extended
if you are on the Cingular Preferred Nation or any local plan, and are
considered to be roaming (@ &.79 per minute, using a non-preferred roaming
partner). If you have the Cingular Nation, or the new Cingular (GAIT)
Nation, your phone will display Cingular Extended, if you are using any
carrier but Cingular.

Have a good one,

Mark A. Smith

"Peter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 12:10:54 -0400, "Mark A. Smith" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >Peter,
> >
> > I have made the same switch from a Nokia 6120 to a Nokia 6340i. My
> >switch was made in April 2003. I am in the belief that the reason it
takes
> >longer for the Nokia 6340i to obtain service appears to be the fact that
it
> >has to switch between air interfaces (GSM, TDMA, and AMPS), when
searching
> >for service, with a default preference for Cingular GSM. By the way, your
> >old 6120 was a single band, so it only had one band to search, and not
two
> >bands, and possibly as many as three air interfaces (5-mode), like the
> >6340i.
>
> I figured the reason was as you said ... it has more bands to search
> through. Still, two minutes seems excessive. It ought to start its
> search wth whatever band it was last on. That would save some time in
> most cases. Does your phone take that much time?
>
> > It also appears that if the 6340i cannot find Cingular GSM in the first
> >place, it will take even longer to find service. Is Cingular GSM turned
on
> >in your area yet? I'm in the Baltimore/Washington area, and from what I
have
> >heard, Cingular (850) is supposed to be soft-launched here in September.
>
> I don't know if Cingular has GSM truned on in my area (Southern New
> Jersey).
>
> > As far as the sometimes slow, sometimes not sending of tones, whenever
> >you are using GSM (Cingular or not), the tones will be sent out slowly.
From
> >what I understand, this is normal for GSM. With any other air interface
> >(TDMA or AMPS), the tones will be sent in the same way that you are used
to
> >on your old 6120.
>
> OK, I figured there had to be some pattern to this but I just didn't know
> what it was.
>
> > You also may notice that "Note: call forwarding active" may appear on
> >the display when using GSM, although I have found that it is not 100%
> >consistent with all GSM carriers. SUNCOM GSM for one, will not display
the
> >note.
>
> I don't recall ever seeing that message. I have, however, in the past
> couple of weeks occasionally seen "Cingular Extended" where it usually
> says just "Cingular" on my phone. (Which raises a question that I will
> now ask in the Cingular newsgroup.)
>
>
> >"Peter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> I recently switched to a Nokia 6340i for my Cingular service. I
> >> previously had a 6120. I have a few questions about the performance of
> >> the 6340i.
> >>
> >> 1. Why does it take so long for the phone to "acquire" a signal?
Here's
> >> the specific scenario: I'm standing outside an office building. The
> >> signal strength indicator on my phone says full signal. I go inside
the
> >> building where there is zero signal strength (for me and everyone
else).
> >> When I come back outside the building it frequently takes over a minute
> >> (sometimes 2-3 minutes) for the phone to acquire the signal again.
(Once
> >> it does acquire a signal, it is full strength.) Why does it take so
long?
> >>
> >> In the exact same scenario, my old 6120 took only a few seconds to
acquire
> >> the signal.
> >>
> >> 2. (FYI, the voice mail service I am referring to in this question is
a
> >> private service having nothing to do with Cingular. I use the "w" in a
> >> dialing string to insert a "wait" between a voice mail system access
phone
> >> number and the password. And I have a one-touch button (#2) assigned
to
> >> that. It all works fine except:
> >>
> >> About 80% of the time everything works normally. About 20% of the
time,
> >> after the voice mail system answers and I press the Send button to send
> >> the password, it sends the password very s-l-o-w-l-y ... one number at
a
> >> time with a brief pause between numbers. Why the ocasional slowdown on
> >> sending the password?
> >>
> >> I do not see any pattern to when it works normally vs. when it's slow.
> >> There may be a pattern but I haven't found it.
> >>
> >> Thanks in advance. Peter.
> >>
> >> --
> >> **Remove Xs to reply by e-mail**
> >
>
> --
> **Remove Xs to reply by e-mail**

I think Mark is right. The 6430i is supposed to go through the following search -
GSM Home
TDMA & AMP Home
TDMA & AMP Partner
GSM Preferred
TDMA & AMP Favored
GSM Neutral
GSM Forbidden
TDMA & AMP Forbidden

Plus, it has to check 850Mhz & 1800Mhz. Interesting that it checks Forbidden.
That is for 911 calls. Neutral means that the provider is not on any list.

I had noted that when I attach an antenna, sometimes it takes a couple of
minutes before I see the signal strength go up. Suppose this also explains
why the signal strength jumps so? When it is talking to a favored or neutral,
it keeps scanning (background scanning) for a Home or Partner. So it could
jump from better signal to smaller signal if a Home provider tower is found?

Ray

Peter wrote:
>
> On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 12:10:54 -0400, "Mark A. Smith" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >Peter,
> >
> > I have made the same switch from a Nokia 6120 to a Nokia 6340i. My
> >switch was made in April 2003. I am in the belief that the reason it takes
> >longer for the Nokia 6340i to obtain service appears to be the fact that it
> >has to switch between air interfaces (GSM, TDMA, and AMPS), when searching
> >for service, with a default preference for Cingular GSM. By the way, your
> >old 6120 was a single band, so it only had one band to search, and not two
> >bands, and possibly as many as three air interfaces (5-mode), like the
> >6340i.
>
> I figured the reason was as you said ... it has more bands to search
> through. Still, two minutes seems excessive. It ought to start its
> search wth whatever band it was last on. That would save some time in
> most cases. Does your phone take that much time?
>
> > It also appears that if the 6340i cannot find Cingular GSM in the first
> >place, it will take even longer to find service. Is Cingular GSM turned on
> >in your area yet? I'm in the Baltimore/Washington area, and from what I have
> >heard, Cingular (850) is supposed to be soft-launched here in September.
>
> I don't know if Cingular has GSM truned on in my area (Southern New
> Jersey).
>
> > As far as the sometimes slow, sometimes not sending of tones, whenever
> >you are using GSM (Cingular or not), the tones will be sent out slowly. From
> >what I understand, this is normal for GSM. With any other air interface
> >(TDMA or AMPS), the tones will be sent in the same way that you are used to
> >on your old 6120.
>
> OK, I figured there had to be some pattern to this but I just didn't know
> what it was.
>
> > You also may notice that "Note: call forwarding active" may appear on
> >the display when using GSM, although I have found that it is not 100%
> >consistent with all GSM carriers. SUNCOM GSM for one, will not display the
> >note.
>
> I don't recall ever seeing that message. I have, however, in the past
> couple of weeks occasionally seen "Cingular Extended" where it usually
> says just "Cingular" on my phone. (Which raises a question that I will
> now ask in the Cingular newsgroup.)
>