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  1. #1
    Paul Day
    Guest
    So, after a decade I finally moved from Optus to Telstra for my GSM
    service. I even got a free SE K600i thrown in. So far, so good.

    However, as you'd expect, the K600i tries its best to lock onto a 3G
    signal, even if it can see a stronger GSM signal. Considering I don't
    give two hoots about video calls and just want the best reception for
    where I am, is there any way you can configure the phone "change to
    strongest cell, regardless of network" rather than the current "use
    strongest 3G cell, if there's no 3G cell then swap use the strongest GSM
    cell". Or would this be incredibly battery ineffecient?

    I can configure the phone to _only_ do GSM instead of the above, but
    that's obviously not _quite_ what I'm after. I'll settle for that if I
    can't find a solution though as having conversations drop in and out
    while stuck on a 1/5-strength 3G cell is annoying to say the least.

    Adding "Telstra Mobile (GSM only)" as the first preferred network and
    "3TELSTRA (3G only)" as the second preferred network doesn't do the
    trick either.

    Any ideas?

    PD

    --
    Paul Day
    Web: http://www.bur.st/~paul/



    See More: Removing 3G preference?




  2. #2
    Mike
    Guest

    Re: Removing 3G preference?

    Paul Day wrote:
    > So, after a decade I finally moved from Optus to Telstra for my GSM
    > service. I even got a free SE K600i thrown in. So far, so good.


    Paul, nice handset - by 3G standards! :-)

    > I can configure the phone to _only_ do GSM instead of the above, but
    > that's obviously not _quite_ what I'm after. I'll settle for that


    I think you'll have to. Thats what many frustrated '3' customers did
    before the network stopped them. Why are you reluctant?
    As a bonus, your battery life should improve with 2G.

    Supposedly, 3 have recently (at last!) sorted out the handover
    problems between gsm and 3g, and since telstra use the same networks,
    I'd have hoped it was OK.

    > can't find a solution though as having conversations drop in and out
    > while stuck on a 1/5-strength 3G cell is annoying to say the least.


    Is it possible you have a bad handset? I've seen a couple of SE handsets
    that struggle with a weak signal when others manage comfortably.


    Mike.



  3. #3
    Paul Day
    Guest

    Re: Removing 3G preference?

    Mike <[email protected]> may have written:
    > > can't find a solution though as having conversations drop in and out
    > > while stuck on a 1/5-strength 3G cell is annoying to say the least.

    >
    > Is it possible you have a bad handset? I've seen a couple of SE handsets
    > that struggle with a weak signal when others manage comfortably.


    Nope, because when I'm moving about I'll often see a 5/5 strong 3G
    signal no problem - just not as often as a 5/5 GSM signal. The main
    problem occurs at home and my office, which are obviously the two most
    important locations. Both of them will lock to a 1/5 3G signal while in
    range of a 3-4/5 GSM signal.

    And yep, realised the battery life would be better locked to 2G, but
    (and my thoughts may be incorrect), 3 deployed their (now
    half-Telstra-owned) network independantly of Telstra's GSM network, so
    there could be areas with better 3G signal strength than 2G signal
    strength?

    Bit of a pipe dream though. Might just stick with locking to 2G.

    And yep, the K600i seems a really nice phone. It's an upgrade to my
    K700i, which I was equally happy with (other than the battery life).

    PD

    --
    Paul Day
    Web: http://www.bur.st/~paul/



  4. #4
    Michael
    Guest

    Re: Removing 3G preference?


    "Paul Day" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > So, after a decade I finally moved from Optus to Telstra for my GSM
    > service. I even got a free SE K600i thrown in. So far, so good.


    Heh. Nothing is free. Telstra owns you, now.

    > However, as you'd expect, the K600i tries its best to lock onto a 3G
    > signal, even if it can see a stronger GSM signal. Considering I don't
    > give two hoots about video calls and just want the best reception for
    > where I am, is there any way you can configure the phone "change to


    Then you shouldnt have bought a 3G phone






  5. #5
    Paul Day
    Guest

    Re: Removing 3G preference?

    Jeremy Quirke <[email protected]> may have written:
    > It's not totally wise to be switching RATs frequently just because one
    > is stronger. It's much more complicated than picking the 'strongest
    > cell' - even in GSM the operator has a number of parameters broadcast
    > which affect how a cell is chosen - based on bands, time the cell has
    > been visible, etc.
    >
    > When you throw in multiple RATs it gets even more complicated. If the
    > UE keeps jumping between RATs, location updates need to be performed
    > to inform the network of the switch between RATs. This involves
    > establishing a connection - using radio resources and consuming
    > battery. (In GSM two-way communications are not established during
    > cell change unless the cell change is across a location area (LA)
    > boundary).
    >
    > The solution used by UMTS is to define a threshold signal quality
    > level at which GSM measurements are factored in. This is controlled by
    > the operator.


    Gotchya. That makes sense. So for the moment I'll just lock it to GSM
    and flick to 3G when I need decent data speeds.

    PD

    --
    Paul Day
    Web: http://www.bur.st/~paul/



  6. #6

    Re: Removing 3G preference?


    Paul Day wrote:
    > So, after a decade I finally moved from Optus to Telstra for my GSM
    > service. I even got a free SE K600i thrown in. So far, so good.
    >
    > However, as you'd expect, the K600i tries its best to lock onto a 3G
    > signal, even if it can see a stronger GSM signal. Considering I don't
    > give two hoots about video calls and just want the best reception for
    > where I am, is there any way you can configure the phone "change to
    > strongest cell, regardless of network" rather than the current "use
    > strongest 3G cell, if there's no 3G cell then swap use the strongest GSM
    > cell". Or would this be incredibly battery ineffecient?
    >
    > I can configure the phone to _only_ do GSM instead of the above, but
    > that's obviously not _quite_ what I'm after. I'll settle for that if I
    > can't find a solution though as having conversations drop in and out
    > while stuck on a 1/5-strength 3G cell is annoying to say the least.
    >
    > Adding "Telstra Mobile (GSM only)" as the first preferred network and
    > "3TELSTRA (3G only)" as the second preferred network doesn't do the
    > trick either.
    >
    > Any ideas?
    >
    > PD
    >


    Why is it annoying?? You can still do all the phone things with one bar
    showing so why worry.

    There is a hell of a lot more involved selecting the best network than
    signal strength - as displayed by a 5mm high indicator on the phone
    screen.




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