Database Info

Olinex Hard-spl : the good, the bad...

First off, this is a complaint post. I truley grateful for you cooks, and programmers at this site. The following is just my observations (for better and for worse) on how this hard-spl affected me. The rhodium is my fourth smartphone that ive owned and unlocked from this site, so i slightly experineced with the unlock proccess (the mda, g1, and the kaiser). Although with this device, however the results of this hspl crack is most intriguing.
Lets start with..
The Good - For the most part its free. This means the gift of being able to try out other peoples roms is something anyone can enjoy. This is what xda is all about, or atleast this is what we cherish the most.
The Bad - Right after I installed oplix hspl and flashed my new rom, the camera doesnt want to load. It either the "data frame" message or the "driver" error. I trying everything except "relock" the hspl (flashed stock rom, stock radio, hard resets, that mitty wipe, camera cabs, registry edits,) . Im no expert, but some thing tells me its that Olinix. Does anybody know if this could be one of those "know issues" that sometimes happen with the verizon version?
The Ugly? -
Well, uglys not really the best word... atleast not yet. You see I realized just today, every since I sim-unlocked my phone (although not CID unlock) I discovered the most suprising thing, Free Data access! And no im not refering to Opera mini, im talkin about pocket twitter, facebook, youtube (low quality only), opera mobile, PIE, htc weather, the whole enchilada.
Now for all you people thinking this sounds too good to be true, well your right. There is one major flaw with the data stream, which i will get to later. First let me describe my exact circumstance to achive this oddity.
My rhodium is verizon. Its sim unlocked (but not security unlocked!), and im using a Tmobile prepaid sim with the sidekick plan. There is a balance of 0$ on my account, and it hasnt been active for a couple months. I have oplix hspl and a Mighty Rom installed. I deleted the verizon apn from connection settings and made a new one with the T-mobile apn, but i still named it Verizon anyways cuz im weird like that... After experimentation, i found out that it only works with the radio in Global mode. Good thing with a US sim inserted, the phone always defaults to GSM mode anyways... or atleast it does for me Under these conditions, I still get data access despite the fact that the sidekick plan doesnt include data access, and also the fact that THERES NO MONEY in my prepaid account.
Ok now to the ugly: The Catch. As i said before there is a catch to the "free data". That is its nowhere near 3g speeds, even for tmobile standards. Its like 8mbs/hr download speeds (using IE, not Opera mini). I know that seems horrid but theres a lot of things on you phone that requires a data plan (if no wifi available) thats very low bandwitdh. That social app updates, email sync, weather update, casual browsing, low quality youtube stream if desperate enough. Lets face it, we cant be surrounded by wifi all the time; so even getting dail-up_ish data access for free could be use be nice.
Just for the heck of it, heres my theroy why the bandwitdh is so slow. It seems to me that its due to constant interruption. For expamle when i go to google from IE, the web page seems to load a bit then stop 1/3 of the way. This Tmobiles server restricting access, and usually the browser would just quit after a couple of seconds. But for some reason it looks like the phones radio "reboots" just before the browser would normally time-out, and therefore able to "steal" another 1/3 of web page from the apn again and again. This play between APN and radio isnt too obvious and some may just pass it off as just a really low bandwitdh service.
This is very freaky behavior. Ever since Tmobile "secured" their sidekick prepaid data access to only sidekicks, i have not been able (with the exception of opera mini) access data from tmobiles hiptop APN. I wonder what make this device so special? Is because its a world phone? or are the newer radio patches able to reconnect faster? Well anyways am i the only one who noticed this, or am I losing it?

you're blaming the wrong people, t-mobile and at&t run on different gsm bands here in the states. you'll get 3g speeds in any country but not north america.

Not a single one of your complaints has anything to do with the Hard SPL. The camera access is determined by the software drivers in the ROM. Ask about it in the thread of whatever ROM you are using.
The 3G access for T-Mobile(1700/2100) is on a completely different frequency than your Verizon(800/1900) device. This is defined by the hardware, not the software. There is no "radio patch" to allow such a thing. You will never get more than EDGE speeds on the Verizon TP2 on T-Mobile's network. Just enjoy your free data access.

cajunflavoredbob said:
Not a single one of your complaints has anything to do with the Hard SPL. The camera access is determined by the software drivers in the ROM. Ask about it in the thread of whatever ROM you are using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im not too sure about that because I havent been able to get the camera working with ANY rom - and i tried a dozen already, even stock. I guess the only way for me to rule out my theroy, would be to take out hspl and reload official rom and radio. Im a little hesitant about that since you only get one free unlock from olinex, so im on the fence still.
cajunflavoredbob said:
The 3G access for T-Mobile(1700/2100) is on a completely different frequency than your Verizon(800/1900) device. This is defined by the hardware, not the software. There is no "radio patch" to allow such a thing. You will never get more than EDGE speeds on the Verizon TP2 on T-Mobile's network. Just enjoy your free data access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the icon at top is "E" symbol which i assume is for edge, because while commuting it would change to the "G" which i presume is a step below edge. Is this just a glitch in the WM OS?

maxinf said:
Im not too sure about that because I havent been able to get the camera working with ANY rom - and i tried a dozen already, even stock. I guess the only way for me to rule out my theroy, would be to take out hspl and reload official rom and radio. Im a little hesitant about that since you only get one free unlock from olinex, so im on the fence still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it isn't working on the stock ROM, then you've very likely got a defective device. Hard SPL has nothing to do with the camera. Set it back to stock everything and do a warranty exchange/repair if you still have time. Check with HTC to see when it will expire if it hasn't already. You normally get 15 months from HTC on a brand new device.
Well, the icon at top is "E" symbol which i assume is for edge, because while commuting it would change to the "G" which i presume is a step below edge. Is this just a glitch in the WM OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would that be a glitch? The service is determined by whatever the tower has. If the tower you're connected to has EDGE service, it will say EDGE. If it has only GPRS, then it will say GPRS. You will never be able to 3G from T-Mobile on the Verizon model. The hardware does not have the capability.

cajunflavoredbob said:
Not a single one of your complaints has anything to do with the Hard SPL. The camera access is determined by the software drivers in the ROM. Ask about it in the thread of whatever ROM you are using.
The 3G access for T-Mobile(1700/2100) is on a completely different frequency than your Verizon(800/1900) device. This is defined by the hardware, not the software. There is no "radio patch" to allow such a thing. You will never get more than EDGE speeds on the Verizon TP2 on T-Mobile's network. Just enjoy your free data access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agh, I cant take it anymore. Im gotta rule out the possiblity once and for all. Im going to revert hspl, radio, rom back to stock. Ill report back with the results... crossing my fingers!

[Q] Android or HTC Wifi Issue

Hi all,
I have searched the threads as best I can so I post this...apologies for the legnth...
It is assumed that the wifi adapter in the Sensation will connect to the strongest signal to give us all the best connection experience possible, however with the proliferation of open wifi signals now on offer in the UK (Openzone and BTFON etc) it is now causing havoc when I don't have BT as an ISP.
The problem:
Currently the priority of the Sensation's wifi radio software seems to be connecting to an open signal first. The strongest is second.
Unlike an alternative Apple product, I haven't found any settings to set a preference for remembered wireless networks and to only apply the other default rules AFTER those preferences.
The Apple product also never connects to a network without the okay from the user. The HTC/Android software connects irrespective. Finally the "forget network" option doesn't work either, as it rescans, picks it up again straight away and because it's "open" connects again.
This always happens in my home as the BTFON signal from next door's BT router is actually stronger at the front of my house that my own router signal from the back. Before anyone says "get another router or position it somewhere else", I can't without spending at least £60+ for a SKY ANYTIME+ wireless receiver (which I refuse to do).
Is there another hidden option for "stock" phones? or perhaps there is a ROM?
What I want it to do is:
1) control which discovered networks I allow my phone to connect to automatically.
2) set a flag to ignore other found wifi networks, regardless of signal strength.
I know these fly in the face of the original idea of the Sensation and HTC, which was to produce a phone that connects to any network as silently and quickly as possible. HTC's "Watch" app and service launched specifically with the Sensation wouldn't have been so great without it.
Has anyone else spotted this with BTFON signals out there or fixed it?
EtA
(Vodafone stock Sensation on 2.3.4)

I've got a stock O2 (2.3.3) Sensation and the Forget Network works with BT Openzone, which is good as I've never been able to get past the "enter your phone number" registration page with BT Openzone. Mine also doesn't automatically try to connect to open networks.
If BT wasn't such a scummy internet provider they wouldn't have their home broadband routers broadcasting as BT Openzone providers.

On stock as well and yes the phone automatically detects the network again after "forgetting" it, but does not auto connect unless I go and tell it to connect again. Not to sure why you're auto connecting after forgetting the network...

You know, this sounds like FUD to me. One post and a non-existent problem no one ever reported.
Forget network works just fine. The phone wont' connect to an open network at random.
If this is real it's got to be be user error.

More than likely just another PEBKAC error...

swellthekitty said:
More than likely just another PEBKAC error...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm laughing my socks off at your attempts to belittle me and my issue.
So you both think you are experts do you? How?..based on the number of posts or thanks you have received?
One post of a problem no one has heard of before is how a forum starts off.
Trying to be "clever" with acronyms is childish.
I have posted my issue to HTC and rec'd a sensible response. It is now being looked into.
But then you don't care because its just operator error.
I suppose you never knew that you couldn't input British postal codes into the 'people' app until the bug was spotted. I wonder you raised that first to HtC and then it got fixed...That's right...not you guys either. Too busy belittling members.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

Wish more Vodafone users had posted their experience, as I mentioned my O2 2.3.3 only auto connects to known networks and once connected to openzone I can't get past the page asking for my phone number

As an O2 customer don't you have free Cloud membership?
I used to with my iPhone...Go to McD's and whilst sitting inside connect...I'm sure it's still foc after popping in your phone number.
I thought I could use BTOpenzone as it is offered with Vodafone, but I have to pay seperately otherwise I can't get past the screen you mention either.
I do remember though that even with Cloud coverage my phone would at least download email. It was only browsing that would require passwords etc. Not sure wy this happened really though...seemed to be offering a cherry to tempt buying the cake I suppose.
BTW ...HTC have responded again saying that they are aware there are issues with Wi-Fi connectivity, specifically with baseband (radio) 10.56.9035.00U_10.14.9035.01_M and software 1.45.161.1
They say they will issue "stability" fixes in the next release to vodafoneUK customers (and others UK carriers I presume) in the coming months...

Ethel the Aardvark said:
As an O2 customer don't you have free Cloud membership?
I used to with my iPhone...Go to McD's and whilst sitting inside connect...I'm sure it's still foc after popping in your phone number.
I thought I could use BTOpenzone as it is offered with Vodafone, but I have to pay seperately otherwise I can't get past the screen you mention either.
I do remember though that even with Cloud coverage my phone would at least download email. It was only browsing that would require passwords etc. Not sure wy this happened really though...seemed to be offering a cherry to tempt buying the cake I suppose.
BTW ...HTC have responded again saying that they are aware there are issues with Wi-Fi connectivity, specifically with baseband (radio) 10.56.9035.00U_10.14.9035.01_M and software 1.45.161.1
They say they will issue "stability" fixes in the next release to vodafoneUK customers (and others UK carriers I presume) in the coming months...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We get The Cloud (which works perfectly) and BT Openzone (which has never worked for me).

This thread seems to shed some light on the issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1251226

xaccers said:
This thread seems to shed some light on the issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1251226
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this.
Trouble is, that I don't have this application on my phone, although I confess I did at one time but that was two restores ago although it could I suppose have residual data on the SD card. I will check.
I have had a call from HTC Customer Support today as I gave my call experience a bad customer feedback score.
The issue will now be raised further for investigation the developers and they are going to inform me as to when the next update will come out...or at least that is what the guy said...I run a Helpdesk myself at work, so I realise the situation...but we'll see.
HTC have been honest and fair to me in the past so I have good expectations.
I'll report back...

BT Openzone issue
Had this problem myself. If you are on Vodafone then go to the "My Vodafone App", Click the WiFi Finder tab, press the menu key (next to the home button) and click settings. Untick "Enable BT Openzone" and your Sensation will properly "forget" BT Openzones.
Let me know if this helps.

@jengla Thank you very much! This worked perfectly. Been driving me crazy for months

[Q] HTC One S, hotspot connected but no internet

Hi,
Firstly I have read similar threads for other mobiles, most notably the One X but the solutions there don't translate to my One S. i.e. the menu structures explained and headings given are not a match to mine with no obvious, to me, , alternatives.
There was also a mention of wifi tethering with a link but no description. I assume this is DL'd directly to the phone and then...?
Mine is currently running Android 4.1.1 provided by Vodafone Spain (my country), which is where the problem started. (i.e. all was well before)
The mobile shows the laptop (Dell running WinXPpro) is connected and the laptop also says it's connected to the HTC HotSpot.
However, no internet is availaible. The One S and the Dell work perfectly on other wifi networks.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
As a footnote, I will soon be changing to Jazztel Spain (provided via Orange Spain network), so if a solution is known for that system as well/instead I can wait/resort when the changeover happens.
TIA

T-Mobile is pretty picky about Hotspot. If you have less than 5GB 4G Unlimited, it doesn't work.
Or else, there's really somethin' wrong.

touchy66 said:
Hi,
Firstly I have read similar threads for other mobiles, most notably the One X but the solutions there don't translate to my One S. i.e. the menu structures explained and headings given are not a match to mine with no obvious, to me, , alternatives.
There was also a mention of wifi tethering with a link but no description. I assume this is DL'd directly to the phone and then...?
Mine is currently running Android 4.1.1 provided by Vodafone Spain (my country), which is where the problem started. (i.e. all was well before)
The mobile shows the laptop (Dell running WinXPpro) is connected and the laptop also says it's connected to the HTC HotSpot.
However, no internet is availaible. The One S and the Dell work perfectly on other wifi networks.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
As a footnote, I will soon be changing to Jazztel Spain (provided via Orange Spain network), so if a solution is known for that system as well/instead I can wait/resort when the changeover happens.
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using your laptop when the phones screen is on. On some version of the software wifi wasn't working when the screen was off.

Many thanks for the replies folks.
In the end the answer to my problem was extremely simple.
All I had to do was change the hotspot name and password on the HTC and just follow suit on the PCs to connect. I guess, in hindsight, I really should have tried that!
Apparently (according to Vodafone tech. dept in Spain) the upgrade has be known corrupt the above data.
Easy when you know how, as always.
dc211 said:
Try using your laptop when the phones screen is on. On some version of the software wifi wasn't working when the screen was off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] HTC One S, CM11, and poor data/cell signal (if any)

Hey everybody:
This is kind of a last gasp for me. My HTC One S suffers from the usual that you read about - "Preparing SIM" messages, constant error reports on bootup, random reboots. I honestly hate the phone.
So I installed a custom ROM. I unlocked the bootloader via HTCDEV, then I used the 12/20/13 CM11 (KitKat 4.4.2) with the 12/15 GAPPS.
The phone worked OK except now I was able to see what I've read about, and probably unknowingly experienced with the stock ROM, and that is the phone constantly flipping between Edge, 2g, HSPA, HSPA+, etc.
So, I decided to try a new radio. Did it a million times on my old G2. In order to get S-OFF to update it, I used the RLL to bring it back to stock Jelly Bean, then Moonshine to set S-OFF, SuperCID'd, and restored it with CWM. Then I installed the 1.20.x radio and at that point, all heck breaks lose with the data network connectivity and even cell signal. I might have no cell or data signal. I might have a cell signal with Edge. If I get up and move, it might go to HSPA, then I might lose everything again. This is much more pronounced than what I witnessed when I first installed the CM11 ROM.
I've tried reflashing the original 1.13 radio and it's no better. I went back to the 1.20 radio and even wiped and reflashed CM11 and GAPPS from scratch. Still very inconsistent data connectivity, so I'm not necessarily convinced it's the version of the radio because they're both pretty darned bad including the original version.
Has anybody been through this and gotten it straightened out? This is strange that even going back to the old 1.13 radio doesn't seem to help.
Thanks for any ideas...
Type: HTC One S, S4, S-OFF, SUPERCID
HBOOT: 2.15.4444 (Moonshined)
Image: CM11 (12/20/13 - 4.4.2)
Radio: 1.20.50.05.16_10.31.50.08L

Who is your carrier? If it is TMOUS you will probably need to make some adjustments to your /system/build.prop file. When I flash a new ROM I have to make the following additions/changes before my data connectivity is stable:
Code:
pm.sleep_mode=1
ro.ril.hsdpa.category = 24
ro.ril.hsupa.category = 6
ro.ril.hsxpa = 4
ro.ril.radio.svn=19
ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule = 0
The setting "ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=1" probably already exists in the file, so it will either need to be edited or removed. The other settings should not exist.
The changes that actually allow the phone to maintain a data connection (as I recall) are "ro.ril.radio.svn=19" and "ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule = 0". "pm.sleep_mode=1" allows the CPU to completely power off, and the "ro.ril.h*" settings set max speeds for different data connections. I'm going off of what I've culled from various posts and forums, so I may be off the mark on some of my descriptions.
Here's one post briefly talking about these settings:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48276115#post48276115
You will need root access and your /system partition will need to be remounted as read-write to make the changes. Ask or search if you need help with those. Of course if you're not on TMOUS, then I have no idea...

Yes, T-Mobile US is my carrier. There's another thing I found. If it go into the phone's testing facility (*#*#4636*#*#), I notice that it's set to WCDMA preferred. If I set it to WCDMA Only and give it a few, it does go to an HSPA/HSPA+ connection. However, that setting appears to be lost between restarts.
What I don't get is that when I first flashed the CM11 ROM, I at least had the intermittent E/2g/3g/HSPA connections. How, if I go into that testing facility, it is stuck on Edge (and more consistent since my last flash). I will read the thread you provided a URL to. Thanks very much!
benyto said:
Who is your carrier? If it is TMOUS you will probably need to make some adjustments to your /system/build.prop file. When I flash a new ROM I have to make the following additions/changes before my data connectivity is stable:
Code:
pm.sleep_mode=1
ro.ril.hsdpa.category = 24
ro.ril.hsupa.category = 6
ro.ril.hsxpa = 4
ro.ril.radio.svn=19
ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule = 0
The setting "ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule=1" probably already exists in the file, so it will either need to be edited or removed. The other settings should not exist.
The changes that actually allow the phone to maintain a data connection (as I recall) are "ro.ril.radio.svn=19" and "ro.ril.fast.dormancy.rule = 0". "pm.sleep_mode=1" allows the CPU to completely power off, and the "ro.ril.h*" settings set max speeds for different data connections. I'm going off of what I've culled from various posts and forums, so I may be off the mark on some of my descriptions.
Here's one post briefly talking about these settings:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=48276115#post48276115
You will need root access and your /system partition will need to be remounted as read-write to make the changes. Ask or search if you need help with those. Of course if you're not on TMOUS, then I have no idea...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

OK, I did these build.prop edits. Unfortunately, they've gotten me nothing. Then I went and investigated them a bit more and tried two other minor changes to build.prop (one of your parameters and added another). I'm still stuck on the Edge network. If you do a lookup, you'll see plenty of others. I think this phone is pretty much worthless - as it's been from day one. It will be my last HTC phone. By contrast, my old G1 and G2 are still working. There are tons of reports about One S phones suffering serious issues like this.
I appreciate your help and certainly, if anybody has a eureka moment, I'd love to hear about it. For the time being, I'll most likely see about getting my old G2 reactivated. Others have reported that the only way they've gotten this fixed is sending it back to HTC under warranty. Mine is out of warranty, which is the only reason I decided I'd do it. It was such a bad phone, I had nothing to lose. The next one I buy will most likely be the Moto X.
Thanks again for the help. I absolutely appreciate it.
whealton said:
Yes, T-Mobile US is my carrier. There's another thing I found. If I go into the phone's testing facility (*#*#4636#*#*), I notice that it's set to WCDMA preferred. If I set it to WCDMA Only and give it a few, it does go to an HSPA/HSPA+ connection. However, that setting appears to be lost between restarts.
What I don't get is that when I first flashed the CM11 ROM, I at least had the intermittent E/2g/3g/HSPA connections. How, if I go into that testing facility, it is stuck on Edge (and more consistent since my last flash). I will read the thread you provided a URL to. Thanks very much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Sorry I can't be of more help. I'm still fairly new to this phone, but I quite like it. I suppose I've been more fortunate than others in that I haven't had any real problems with it.

It's not a problem and I'm grateful for you trying. The information you provided was also interesting from a learning perspective.
I reran the RUU on it, just to see if it would make any difference. This made it so I USUALLY have 2g connectivity, but that's as far as it goes and it's not good enough. I have lost that at times, but for the main part, it's consistent with 2g.
T-Mobile is sending me a new SIM to get my old G2 reactivated. While it's only about a quarter of the One S speed, it'll suffice. Unfortunately, the SIM it had couldn't be used because too much time had elapsed since the phones last use. That should be here Monday and that particular phone was WAY more tolerant of different images and radios (knock on wood!). It's currently running a Jelly Belly image of Android 4.2.2 (if I remember), so this should be interesting.
As for my HTC One S, I'll most likely give it to my son to use for games and media. With nothing more than 2g speeds, it's worthless to me. This phone has been a complete and utter piece of garbage since the day I got it. It's funny that my excellent experience with the T-Mobile G1 and G2 by HTC was my reason for buying the One S over a Samsung model. Now that phone is the reason I won't be getting another HTC. Strange how that works.
Again, thanks VERY much for the help!
benyto said:
Sorry I can't be of more help. I'm still fairly new to this phone, but I quite like it. I suppose I've been more fortunate than others in that I haven't had any real problems with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Weird, I had a desire z (same phone as g2) and it had really bad reception while holding it. Would lose all signal in the house. All my other phones used have been fine and pretty well equal - nexus one, desire hd, one s, my girlfriend's iPhone are all about the same.
This summer at a cottage my sister gs3 had no service all week, same network and the one s and iPhone
4s both could squeak some signal if you didn't touch them. A slight edge going to the iPhone most of the time I think.
Probably either a radio issue with that phone on your provider or defective hardware?
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

It's not the provider (T-Mobile). My wife's Samsung has 4g here in the house - no issues. I took the One S out and had 2g everywhere. It's the phone.
I'm also guessing it's most likely the radio, as in a bad chip. Once you try to burn a new firmware into it, it finishes it off. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly no engineer. It may or may not be that, or may be WAY more involved. Some people said the only way they got it fixed was by HTC replacing the main board.
The phone was a POS even before installing a custom ROM. Random reboots, constant startups with messages asking if I wanted to report the errors to HTC, random instances of NO data connectivity and then a message saying the phone is "Preparing the SIM card". I finally realize now that the occasional drops I would get while working remotely in Mexico (using a Movistar SIM) were most likely a result of this thing losing it's data connectivity while "Preparing the SIM card." The issues with this phone and the fact that it was out of warranty were the only reasons I took a chance on installing a custom ROM.
I'm sorry that I most likely sound like I'm ranting. However, I've searched all over and found SO MANY issues with this phone, that there's no way they should NOT have been recalled. Even T-Mobile told me there were many reported issues with these things. Both companies failed their customers.
350Rocket said:
Weird, I had a desire z (same phone as g2) and it had really bad reception while holding it. Would lose all signal in the house. All my other phones used have been fine and pretty well equal - nexus one, desire hd, one s, my girlfriend's iPhone are all about the same.
This summer at a cottage my sister gs3 had no service all week, same network and the one s and iPhone
4s both could squeak some signal if you didn't touch them. A slight edge going to the iPhone most of the time I think.
Probably either a radio issue with that phone on your provider or defective hardware?
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Here in Canada we don't even have 2g on Telus, Bell, virgin mobile and koodo (I am on Telus), so the several phones that seem to have network problems on 2g or switching back And forth only have those issues on Rogers/fido or the small carriers like wind.
A guy I knew from highschool years ago works at fido and I remember him telling me last year this phone had some reception issues.
When telus had this phone on their website still they had pretty well all 5 star reviews. So my phone would probably be a piece of **** on a 2g/3g network too luckily they work perfectly on hspa only.
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

Interesting. It's nice to have the option in the case of there ONLY being Edge/2g/3g service available, but not to be stuck on it when HSPA is there.
350Rocket said:
Here in Canada we don't even have 2g on Telus, Bell, virgin mobile and koodo (I am on Telus), so the several phones that seem to have network problems on 2g or switching back And forth only have those issues on Rogers/fido or the small carriers like wind.
A guy I knew from highschool years ago works at fido and I remember him telling me last year this phone had some reception issues.
When telus had this phone on their website still they had pretty well all 5 star reviews. So my phone would probably be a piece of **** on a 2g/3g network too luckily they work perfectly on hspa only.
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

True, at least around here though the amount of area without service for Telus/bell or Rogers seems to be pretty equal. So I'm happy not to have the issues with switching between 2g, 3g and LTE. It's hspa or hspa I guess.
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

LTE Band 12, VoLTE, and T-Mobile

I am starting this thread, since there seems to be a lot of confusion around "newer" LTE bands, like Band 12 on T-Mobile, which apparently require a fully functioning and "approved" VoLTE phone to get reception.
There are various threads in device-specific forums, but they are not getting a lot of attention, and this is a significant enough problem that it should be more visible.
T-Mobile at this point has pretty fantastic coverage via the 700MHz Band 12 LTE network.
The only problem is that Band 12 requires the phone to be VoLTE "certified". The rumor was that phones could still connect to this band/LTE-network and send/receive data, but that they would fall back to alternative bands, even 3G or 2G, for phone calls. For a lot of people that would be "good enough" if not ideal.
Based on some recent testing, this is NOT CORRECT:
While phones may "sometimes" connect to Band 12 for data, the much more common scenario is apparently that the phone will disconnect from Band 12 almost immediately, or will refuse to connect to Band 12, and will instead default to an alternative LTE, 4G, 3G, or 2G connection.
In other words: even if you have perfect LTE Band 12 coverage (5/5 bars, or 100%), your "Band 12 capable" phone may instead try to connect to a really ****ty GPRS or EDGE tower that has barely any reception for the phone.
I recently encountered this with my Xperia X Compact while travelling: My phone would barely be able to connect to a T-Mobile tower with a GPRS data connection, while my wife's Moto G4 would get 5/5 or 100% LTE reception. Swapping SIM cards had the same result, so we know the problem rests with the phone.
Searching for "Available Mobile Networks" on my "band 12 capable" phone would show various T-Mobile 4G networks, but the phone would be unable to connect to them.
Talking to other Xperia X Compact owners, they have the same problem: the phone will sporadically connect to Band 12, but it is not a reliable connection (if the phone even connects) and it will (more likely) prefer other networks/bands/frequencies.
Based on the phone having the proper frequencies, I would assume that T-Mobile has some mechanism on some (or the majority of) towers where they disconnect non-VoLTE certified devices.
Anecdotally, I also had a similar issue with my previous phone - a Nexus 5x. The phone is even VoLTE certified, but when using Cyanogenmod/LineageOS, it would have really terrible reception, despite the location having almost perfect Band 12 coverage - LineageOS/CM does not (or had no) VoLTE support.
I have also tried "hacking" the X Compact to enable VoLTE support by adding the relevant lines to the build.prop and enabling the option under Settings and (*#*#4636#*#*) but this does not appear to make any difference.
A list of T-Mobile "VoLTE certified" phones can be found here:
http://www.spectrumgateway.com/compatible-phones
Would be great if anyone has any suggestions how to resolve this, or force the phone to prioritize Band 12, but it would otherwise appear that the only solution is to get the phone certified by T-Mobile (so much for net neutrality and open access).

I'm using an Xperia X Compact and my home market only has band 12 lte and I can't connect to it. Which means I'm always in 3g or roaming and rarely have data in buildings. It's maddening because I will only buy Sony. I think they are the only manufacturer making attractive handsets and the build quality is light years beyond well marketed, poorly constructed brands like Samsung and LG. But regardless of anyone's choice of manufacturer, a device with a functioning 700 mhz lte radio should function just fine on the corresponding network regardless of where it was purchased.
Would certifying this device and enabling VOLTE be particularly costly to Sony? Correct me if I'm wrong but based on internal components this device should be capable of this ja?
I think it wouldn't hurt to send petitions to both the manufacturer and T-mobile USA. This certainly doesn't help Sony in a market they are seriously struggling in. It also isn't very uncarrier to favor certain devices over others.
The only reason I switched from Verizon was the ability to choose my device. That and the things John Legere was doing to change the industry. I believed in what he was saying. But right now it isn't working for me and likely many others. He should know. I can say firsthand that the guy answers his emails. I think we need to show both parties that this is worth their attention.
---------- Post added at 01:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 AM ----------
I should mention that after multiple calls to T-mobile tech support I received a cryptic call very late at night from someone high up in tech support.
Long story short he at least admitted that even though it wasn't a t mobile device and even though it didn't support VoLTE, it should still connect to band 12 just fine. He also said that they were having problems with this sort of thing in my area and that it should be resolved in a month. He also said my IMEI was logged and I would be given priority in the matter. Whatever that means.
I should also mention that was a month ago and he didn't have an email to give me. He did however give me a phone number (probably just the department) that I need to dig up.
Could just be a bunch of fluff because they are afraid to lose customers. Then again he was from tech support not customer retention. And as I said t mobile does listen to its customers.

POMF2K said:
I'm using an Xperia X Compact and my home market only has band 12 lte and I can't connect to it. Which means I'm always in 3g or roaming and rarely have data in buildings. It's maddening because I will only buy Sony. I think they are the only manufacturer making attractive handsets and the build quality is light years beyond well marketed, poorly constructed brands like Samsung and LG. But regardless of anyone's choice of manufacturer, a device with a functioning 700 mhz lte radio should function just fine on the corresponding network regardless of where it was purchased.
Would certifying this device and enabling VOLTE be particularly costly to Sony? Correct me if I'm wrong but based on internal components this device should be capable of this ja?
I think it wouldn't hurt to send petitions to both the manufacturer and T-mobile USA. This certainly doesn't help Sony in a market they are seriously struggling in. It also isn't very uncarrier to favor certain devices over others.
The only reason I switched from Verizon was the ability to choose my device. That and the things John Legere was doing to change the industry. I believed in what he was saying. But right now it isn't working for me and likely many others. He should know. I can say firsthand that the guy answers his emails. I think we need to show both parties that this is worth their attention.
---------- Post added at 01:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 AM ----------
I should mention that after multiple calls to T-mobile tech support I received a cryptic call very late at night from someone high up in tech support.
Long story short he at least admitted that even though it wasn't a t mobile device and even though it didn't support VoLTE, it should still connect to band 12 just fine. He also said that they were having problems with this sort of thing in my area and that it should be resolved in a month. He also said my IMEI was logged and I would be given priority in the matter. Whatever that means.
I should also mention that was a month ago and he didn't have an email to give me. He did however give me a phone number (probably just the department) that I need to dig up.
Could just be a bunch of fluff because they are afraid to lose customers. Then again he was from tech support not customer retention. And as I said t mobile does listen to its customers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I did encounter this also on my Nexus 5x with LineageOS, I doubt that what T-Mobile told you is true. They must be actively blocking these non-certified handsets, since the phone should just attempt connecting.

So who do we need to appeal to? T mobile or Sony.?

POMF2K said:
So who do we need to appeal to? T mobile or Sony.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both. Maybe also complain to the FCC - I thought that carriers needed to provide open access to their network. Verizon got into hot water for not doing so ...

Does your compact ever connect to lte for a few seconds after a reboot?
I might try to force LTE and restart and see if that has any effect.
I just flashed the UK. T mobile networks work just fine. Well except lte/4g but that was expected.

POMF2K said:
Does your compact ever connect to lte for a few seconds after a reboot?
I might try to force LTE and restart and see if that has any effect.
I just flashed the UK. T mobile networks work just fine. Well except lte/4g but that was expected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does connect sometimes but it then usually kicks down to Band 4 or a GSM band (HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, or even GPRS).
I cannot find any info how to prioritize LTE bands, so I assume this is T-Mobile's band 12 cell tower's kicking the phone off when they notice that it is not VoLTE approved.

Interesting discussion on Howard forums....
http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...rtphones-with-band-12-LTE-w-o-VoLTE-now/page2

POMF2K said:
Interesting discussion on Howard forums....
http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...rtphones-with-band-12-LTE-w-o-VoLTE-now/page2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting discussion though nothing new.
Yes, we know that Band 12 phones should be able to get a data connection, yet T-Mobile apparently actively disconnects them (or bars them from connecting), especially in areas where Band 12 would give you great coverage but there is no other coverage.
F Sony and F T-Mobile for this!
BTW: here is an article about the follow up model: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/08/sony-xperia-xz1-compact/
Please leave comments about Sony not getting their phones approved for VoLTE with T-Mobile and the phone therefore NOT REALLY WORKING with the carrier.

It would seem to me that the only solution to this problem would be either T-Mobile accepting a standard spec for VoLTE, they open source their code for VoLTE, or someone figures out how to implement VoLTE and trick T-Mobile to think it is an approved "whitelisted" phone.
Given that the T-Mobile network is getting worse and worse every day without Band 12 coverage, I find it really surprising that most people just don't seem to care. Does nobody use their phone outside of WiFi?

andTab said:
It would seem to me that the only solution to this problem would be either T-Mobile accepting a standard spec for VoLTE, they open source their code for VoLTE, or someone figures out how to implement VoLTE and trick T-Mobile to think it is an approved "whitelisted" phone.
Given that the T-Mobile network is getting worse and worse every day without Band 12 coverage, I find it really surprising that most people just don't seem to care. Does nobody use their phone outside of WiFi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a standard spec, the problem is the certification. It requires a certificate from T-mobile to be used by the phone, which is gained through certification. And if SONY is detecting T-mobile at the modem level then there isn't anything a ROM can do with or without a ROM. I had a Z5, but this drove me crazy so I switched to a Pixel.
I wouldn't expect this to change based on SONY de-prioritizing the US phone market, so either upgrade to a new supported sony phone or move on (shrug)

sovanyio said:
There is a standard spec, the problem is the certification. It requires a certificate from T-mobile to be used by the phone, which is gained through certification. And if SONY is detecting T-mobile at the modem level then there isn't anything a ROM can do with or without a ROM. I had a Z5, but this drove me crazy so I switched to a Pixel.
I wouldn't expect this to change based on SONY de-prioritizing the US phone market, so either upgrade to a new supported sony phone or move on (shrug)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That can't be true.
I accept that T-Mobile may issue a certificate but that must be processed on the rom/OS/phone.apk level. Otherwise, every custom ROM on any certified phone would work. We all know that is not the case.
If it's the rom/OS/phone.apk though, why can't we hack a phone to work with TMUS / VoLTE?
I have an x compact and while it is the best device I have ever owned it is essentially unusable on T-Mobile or att.

andTab said:
That can't be true.
I accept that T-Mobile may issue a certificate but that must be processed on the rom/OS/phone.apk level. Otherwise, every custom ROM on any certified phone would work. We all know that is not the case.
If it's the rom/OS/phone.apk though, why can't we hack a phone to work with TMUS / VoLTE?
I have an x compact and while it is the best device I have ever owned it is essentially unusable on T-Mobile or att.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because the SONY modem firmware doesn't even attempt to negotiate VoLTE, which does *not* happen in user space. It is likely possible to hack the qualcomm modem with QPST to enable this, but without documentation and correct values one will not get very far.

sovanyio said:
Because the SONY modem firmware doesn't even attempt to negotiate VoLTE, which does *not* happen in user space. It is likely possible to hack the qualcomm modem with QPST to enable this, but without documentation and correct values one will not get very far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was the modem, then flashing a new system (eg custom ROM) should not make any difference.
I also have a Nexus 5x. With stock it is fantastic and uses VoLTE on T-Mobile. With LineageOS, it is useless on Band 12. SAME MODEM!
Experience therefore shows that it is the OS/System that somehow prevents this from working.

andTab said:
If it was the modem, then flashing a new system (eg custom ROM) should not make any difference.
I also have a Nexus 5x. With stock it is fantastic and uses VoLTE on T-Mobile. With LineageOS, it is useless on Band 12. SAME MODEM!
Experience therefore shows that it is the OS/System that somehow prevents this from working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nexus 5x is a different phone made by a different manufacturer with a different firmware scheme. You cannot compare them directly.

I noticed that the XZ1 Compact says right on the website compatible with t mobile band 12 and wifi calling... this is infuriating. It should be easy for them to patch the Xperia x compact.
I would have never purchased this if I had known. Especially since they apparently flashed an update to my old t mobile z3 that allows voice over lte and band 12.

Sony X Compact
sovanyio said:
There is a standard spec, the problem is the certification. It requires a certificate from T-mobile to be used by the phone, which is gained through certification. And if SONY is detecting T-mobile at the modem level then there isn't anything a ROM can do with or without a ROM. I had a Z5, but this drove me crazy so I switched to a Pixel.
I wouldn't expect this to change based on SONY de-prioritizing the US phone market, so either upgrade to a new supported sony phone or move on (shrug)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has to be on Sony, use the t-mobile BYOD app to check, I have a Huawei mate 9 that I just purchased, connects perfectly on band 12, VoLTE works just like it's supposed to. On a side note I went through three Sony phones before I bought this Huawei, had to return all three due to quality control issues, one had worst touches that made the phone unusable, one wouldn't pick up the SIM card, and the third wouldn't power on at all, thank good Amazon refunded my money on all three. They may have the Sony name on the phone, but they are still build by the lowest bidder in China and makes with Sony's name.

revjamescarver said:
It has to be on Sony, use the t-mobile BYOD app to check, I have a Huawei mate 9 that I just purchased, connects perfectly on band 12, VoLTE works just like it's supposed to. On a side note I went through three Sony phones before I bought this Huawei, had to return all three due to quality control issues, one had worst touches that made the phone unusable, one wouldn't pick up the SIM card, and the third wouldn't power on at all, thank good Amazon refunded my money on all three. They may have the Sony name on the phone, but they are still build by the lowest bidder in China and makes with Sony's name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See this: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/0...cked-smartphones-and-yep-its-still-confusing/ It is up to an OEM to decide to go through this process per-phone. Since no US carrier carried the phone they didn't not bother spending the money or time to certify it. I loved the SONY design, but since they weren't supporting the market I had to abandon them for other phones.