Cell Info Not Updating on a NextG phone

After my recent jaunt around NE Victoria when I got home I found that the
phone was displaying cell info from an area some distance from here.

I'm not sure why this is. Maybe someone here can explain it. But I suspect
that it (the cell in question) was the first one that the phone picked up
after it entered back into a NextG coverage area.

Why doesn't it update to show the current cell area?

The phone's a Samsung A501.

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› See More: Cell Info Not Updating on a NextG phone

Snapper wrote:

> After my recent jaunt around NE Victoria when I got home I
> found that the phone was displaying cell info from an area
> some distance from here.
>
> I'm not sure why this is. Maybe someone here can explain it.
> But I suspect that it (the cell in question) was the first one
> that the phone picked up after it entered back into a NextG
> coverage area.
>
> Why doesn't it update to show the current cell area?
>
> The phone's a Samsung A501.

UMTS (3G) cells don't broadcast cell name (area info) data yet.
Any you see come from times when the phone's camped on a 2G
(plain old GSM) cell.

John

John Henderson wrote...

> UMTS (3G) cells don't broadcast cell name (area info) data yet.
> Any you see come from times when the phone's camped on a 2G
> (plain old GSM) cell.

That's interesting. GSM coverage where there is no NextG.

Not looking good for Telstra's claim about NextG being more widespread
than its GSM or any other telco's networks, for that matter.

In some areas there is Optus GSM coverage where there is no NextG
coverage. Then I'm seeing GSM coverage where you'd think that there'd be
NextG.

Trouble is, when I'm travelling the phone's tucked away in the pocket, so
I can't easily see what the coverage is doing and when I was in this area
whether or not the 3G symbol was active on the phone.

There was every chance that Next g coverage existed where your phone went to
2G, however the 2G signal may have been slightly stronger

To really maximise your Next G coverage, I would recommend that you change
the settings on your phone to stay on Next G only.

With your phone switching between frequencies you may get drop outs.
Although you technically are supposed to switch without a problem, sometimes
dropouts do occur.

"Snapper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> John Henderson wrote...
>
>> UMTS (3G) cells don't broadcast cell name (area info) data yet.
>> Any you see come from times when the phone's camped on a 2G
>> (plain old GSM) cell.
>
> That's interesting. GSM coverage where there is no NextG.
>
> Not looking good for Telstra's claim about NextG being more widespread
> than its GSM or any other telco's networks, for that matter.
>
> In some areas there is Optus GSM coverage where there is no NextG
> coverage. Then I'm seeing GSM coverage where you'd think that there'd be
> NextG.
>
> Trouble is, when I'm travelling the phone's tucked away in the pocket, so
> I can't easily see what the coverage is doing and when I was in this area
> whether or not the 3G symbol was active on the phone.
>
>

Bubba wrote...

> There was every chance that Next g coverage existed where your phone went to
> 2G, however the 2G signal may have been slightly stronger

Why would it do that?
>
> To really maximise your Next G coverage, I would recommend that you change
> the settings on your phone to stay on Next G only.

The A501 has the following settings under "Network"

1. Automatic (which it's default is)
2. GSM 900/1800
3. GSM 850/1900
4. UMTS

I just selected option 3. The antenna bar shows no signal and the 3G symbol
isn't being displayed.

And it's "searching" for a network connection.

I then selected UMTS. As I changed it a message "UMTS only works inside 3G
coverage areas" was displayed. Back at the main screen the signal is back to
full strength and the 3G symbol is present.

"3G" in this case refers to NextG as that is all there is as far as 3G services
go in this area.

I then changed it to GSM 900/1800. On the main screen I have full bars but there
is an "E" symbol next to it. I do not know what that means. I'll have to look
the manual up if I can find it.

And shortly after I changed it to GSM 900 the cell name changed to the one where
I live.

I changed it back to "auto" and 3G is once more displayed.

Next test was to remove the battery, wait a few seconds and put it back in and
turn it on.

The "cell name" is now back to Telstra. Which is what it normally displays.

So, what you say is correct, then. Maybe there wasn't a NextG signal at all when
I came back into a coverage area, so it briefly picked up the GSM cell, then as
I travelled further it connected back to a NextG cell but the GSM cell name
stayed.

I would have thought that if there were two signals, GSM and UMTS/3G/NextG that
it would've automatically picked NextG regardless of the strength. When I travel
around here and particularly at work, NextG can drop down to one bar. I can
compare my wife's GSM phone signal and often it may be getting a better signal.
But in those cases it isn't swapping around.

So, I'd be tipping that on the weekend that the phone didn't pick up a NG
signal, only a GSM one.



--
Women do come with instructions. Just ask them.

Snapper wrote:

> Bubba wrote...
>
>> There was every chance that Next g coverage existed where
>> your phone went to 2G, however the 2G signal may have been
>> slightly stronger
>
> Why would it do that?
>>
>> To really maximise your Next G coverage, I would recommend
>> that you change the settings on your phone to stay on Next G
>> only.
>
> The A501 has the following settings under "Network"
>
> 1. Automatic (which it's default is)
> 2. GSM 900/1800
> 3. GSM 850/1900
> 4. UMTS
>
> I just selected option 3. The antenna bar shows no signal and
> the 3G symbol isn't being displayed.
>
> And it's "searching" for a network connection.
>
> I then selected UMTS. As I changed it a message "UMTS only
> works inside 3G coverage areas" was displayed. Back at the
> main screen the signal is back to full strength and the 3G
> symbol is present.
>
> "3G" in this case refers to NextG as that is all there is as
> far as 3G services go in this area.
>
> I then changed it to GSM 900/1800. On the main screen I have
> full bars but there is an "E" symbol next to it. I do not know
> what that means. I'll have to look the manual up if I can find
> it.
>
> And shortly after I changed it to GSM 900 the cell name
> changed to the one where I live.
>
> I changed it back to "auto" and 3G is once more displayed.
>
> Next test was to remove the battery, wait a few seconds and
> put it back in and turn it on.
>
> The "cell name" is now back to Telstra. Which is what it
> normally displays.
>
> So, what you say is correct, then. Maybe there wasn't a NextG
> signal at all when I came back into a coverage area, so it
> briefly picked up the GSM cell, then as I travelled further it
> connected back to a NextG cell but the GSM cell name stayed.
>
> I would have thought that if there were two signals, GSM and
> UMTS/3G/NextG that it would've automatically picked NextG
> regardless of the strength. When I travel around here and
> particularly at work, NextG can drop down to one bar. I can
> compare my wife's GSM phone signal and often it may be getting
> a better signal. But in those cases it isn't swapping around.
>
> So, I'd be tipping that on the weekend that the phone didn't
> pick up a NG signal, only a GSM one.

That sounds reasonable. But did you have it set to "Automatic"
or "UMTS" back on the weekend?

Even if you had it set to "UMTS", it may still have decoded a 2G
cell broadcast message while it was scanning for a usable (or
better) 3G signal, and stored that as a result of a quirk in
the firmware. It's even possible that cell name came from a
non-Telstra GSM cell - I once had a GSM phone with a firmware
bug like that.

John

"Snapper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I then changed it to GSM 900/1800. On the main screen I have full bars but
> there
> is an "E" symbol next to it. I do not know what that means. I'll have to
> look
> the manual up if I can find it.

"EDGE"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhance..._GSM_Evolution

--
Kwyj.

John Henderson wrote...

> > So, I'd be tipping that on the weekend that the phone didn't
> > pick up a NG signal, only a GSM one.
>
> That sounds reasonable. But did you have it set to "Automatic"
> or "UMTS" back on the weekend?

Automatic.

"Snapper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> John Henderson wrote...
>
>> UMTS (3G) cells don't broadcast cell name (area info) data yet.
>> Any you see come from times when the phone's camped on a 2G
>> (plain old GSM) cell.
>
> That's interesting. GSM coverage where there is no NextG.

No one said that NextG covered all CDMA or GSM areas. In the same fashion
that CDMA didnt cover all GSM areas

> Not looking good for Telstra's claim about NextG being more widespread
> than its GSM or any other telco's networks, for that matter.

It looks fine. You could have been camped onto that 2G cell for 5 seconds
for all you know


> Trouble is, when I'm travelling the phone's tucked away in the pocket, so
> I can't easily see what the coverage is doing and when I was in this area
> whether or not the 3G symbol was active on the phone.

So your point is irrelevant
>
>

>> There was every chance that Next g coverage existed where your phone went
>> to
>> 2G, however the 2G signal may have been slightly stronger
>
> Why would it do that?

It doesnt. If there is any NextG it will stay on NextG

>> To really maximise your Next G coverage, I would recommend that you
>> change
>> the settings on your phone to stay on Next G only.
>
> The A501 has the following settings under "Network"
>
> 1. Automatic (which it's default is)
> 2. GSM 900/1800
> 3. GSM 850/1900
> 4. UMTS
>
> I just selected option 3. The antenna bar shows no signal and the 3G
> symbol
> isn't being displayed.

Because GSM in Aus is at 900 and 1800 mhz, not 850 and 1900. Option 3 is for
Seppo's

> I then changed it to GSM 900/1800. On the main screen I have full bars but
> there
> is an "E" symbol next to it. I do not know what that means. I'll have to
> look

E = Edge = high-speed data. Completely normal

For best results, set it to UMTS and Manual
However, change it to Automatic should you ever take it overseas

"Snapper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bubba wrote...
>
>> There was every chance that Next g coverage existed where your phone went
>> to
>> 2G, however the 2G signal may have been slightly stronger
>
> Why would it do that?
>>
>> To really maximise your Next G coverage, I would recommend that you
>> change
>> the settings on your phone to stay on Next G only.
>
> The A501 has the following settings under "Network"
>
> 1. Automatic (which it's default is)
> 2. GSM 900/1800
> 3. GSM 850/1900
> 4. UMTS
>
> I just selected option 3. The antenna bar shows no signal and the 3G
> symbol
> isn't being displayed.
>
> And it's "searching" for a network connection.
>
> I then selected UMTS. As I changed it a message "UMTS only works inside 3G
> coverage areas" was displayed. Back at the main screen the signal is back
> to
> full strength and the 3G symbol is present.
>
> "3G" in this case refers to NextG as that is all there is as far as 3G
> services
> go in this area.
>
> I then changed it to GSM 900/1800. On the main screen I have full bars but
> there
> is an "E" symbol next to it. I do not know what that means. I'll have to
> look
> the manual up if I can find it.
>
> And shortly after I changed it to GSM 900 the cell name changed to the one
> where
> I live.
>
> I changed it back to "auto" and 3G is once more displayed.
>
> Next test was to remove the battery, wait a few seconds and put it back in
> and
> turn it on.
>
> The "cell name" is now back to Telstra. Which is what it normally
> displays.
>
> So, what you say is correct, then. Maybe there wasn't a NextG signal at
> all when
> I came back into a coverage area, so it briefly picked up the GSM cell,
> then as
> I travelled further it connected back to a NextG cell but the GSM cell
> name
> stayed.
>
> I would have thought that if there were two signals, GSM and UMTS/3G/NextG
> that
> it would've automatically picked NextG regardless of the strength. When I
> travel
> around here and particularly at work, NextG can drop down to one bar. I
> can
> compare my wife's GSM phone signal and often it may be getting a better
> signal.
> But in those cases it isn't swapping around.
>
> So, I'd be tipping that on the weekend that the phone didn't pick up a NG
> signal, only a GSM one.
>
>
>
> --
> Women do come with instructions. Just ask them.

"Michael" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Snapper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> John Henderson wrote...
>>
>>> UMTS (3G) cells don't broadcast cell name (area info) data yet.
>>> Any you see come from times when the phone's camped on a 2G
>>> (plain old GSM) cell.
>>
>> That's interesting. GSM coverage where there is no NextG.
>
> No one said that NextG covered all CDMA or GSM areas.

Lie.

--
Kwyj.

On Sat, 10 May 2008 13:39:24 Michael may have written:
> It doesnt. If there is any NextG it will stay on NextG

Actually, I've found my 6120c will happily stay on 2100MHz/Three for
quite some time if that's the first signal it finds as I come out of a
black-spot (eg, tunnel). Found it still happy on 2100MHz/Three up to
twelve hours later.

PD

--
Paul Day

On Sat, 10 May 2008 14:29:55 Bubba may have written:
> Also you are using a "Group A" handset, which is the worst for rural areas
> when it comes to Next G

Group A doesn't neccesarily mean "worse". It can also simply mean "can't
be fitted with an external antenna".

PD

--
Paul Day

Bubba wrote...

> Also you are using a "Group A" handset, which is the worst for rural areas
> when it comes to Next G

I have no idea. It's a Samsung A501 which I purchased soon after NextG commenced
service. Its 2 year contract is up in October.