Comments on: Google Nexus One 3G Issues Still Lurking

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:38:38 +0000

It certainly could have something to do with the provider's network. You might have been in good Vodafone coverage areas but those same areas offer marginal KPM coverage. In that case, the phone could be constantly seeking the 3G signal and all of that bouncing / searching will hurt the battery noticeably.

Of course, I'm assuming that the two carriers don't share network coverage, but I could be wrong - do they both have independent networks?

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:27:09 +0000

I found a weird issue in this respect with my Nexus One in the netherlands. I used to have a Vodafone SIM card in there and it works great with 3g continuously and low power consumption. Then I changed my SIM card to KPN (incumbent telecom provider) and it switches between G and 3G and battery life goes down the drain.

Does this have anything to do with the telecom provider?

By: Eval Blog

Eval Blog — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:40:12 +0000

Excited to get the NEXUS one. However, there is a glitch for anyone on a TMobile Family Plan. Nexus One only will let you upgrade a line if it is an “individual plan”. That being said, if you try to call Tmobile and pull a line out to individualize it, that negates your eligibility, because then you start a “new 2 yr.” contract, thus still making your phone line not eligible for the Nexus One through Google. After calling both Tmobile and Google customer care (18888-216-4736), I was disappointed to hear the only way around this “family plan” issue is to buy the NEXUS at full price! I don’t want the phone enough to pay almost $600 for it. So no thanks.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:22:26 +0000

My N1 is a beautiful phone. i got mine at the beginning of march. i live in san antonio, tx zip code 78232 and my reception is horrible. when im outside its a little better but indoors forget about it. i have to hold it a certain way just to get egde and sometimes 3G. i know i got the update cause i have the pinch zoom, woopee!!!. but now its getting to the point where i’ll miss out on important emails and what not. if anyone knows if i should send it back or just wait for another ota let me know. i gave my girlfriend my G1 and i’ll hold em next to eachother and she has great service but mine is barely getting edge. any info on this please shoot me an email. mynightmare17@gmail.com

By: william

william — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:55:57 +0000

Well to start off I would think that for a phone that cost me almost 600. Bucks it would be perfect but no after the upgrade my 3g comes n goes I hate it, I really hope they fix this....by the way I live in Houston good coverage area so is not T-Mobile.

By: droidstory

droidstory — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:49:11 +0000

I just posted a 2nd video on youtube that shows how you can easily reproduce this problem.

Blog: http://droidstory.com/2010/02/08/google-nexus-one-3g-issues-still-lurking/
There is also an ongoing discussion on the Google support forum.
http://bit.ly/9FmV7c
Btw, none of the suggested workarounds are working. Forcing the phone into WCDMA only mode will cause a total network loss if 3G isn’t available.

By: Shantanu

Shantanu — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:54:48 +0000

Did you reboot your phone? All modern electronic devices of all types seem to have what I call the Microsoft disease: exit the application/computer/room/house/country/etc. and log back it and voila! it works.

By: josesxi

josesxi — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:22:48 +0000

I do have a super fast connection(TW Cable's Road Runner Turbo). And i've never gotten speeds over 6Mbp/s with any of my phones, including the 3GS.

By: distortedloop

distortedloop — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:13:54 +0000

No, the Nexus One is 802.11b/g. See the spec sheet: http://www.google.com/phone/static/en_US-nexusone_tech_specs.html

On your WiFi, you’ll be limited by your cable/dsl connection anyways…unless you have very fast broadband (over 54Mbp/s).

By: josesxi

josesxi — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:43:31 +0000

Here are my WIFI speeds.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh3/josesxi/mywifi.png

Is this 802.11n? I have never gotten anywhere close to these speeds with any Nokia or iPHONE.

By: josesxi

josesxi — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:22:29 +0000

@ECB who doubts I got those speeds on 3G: Thats because to take a screenshot with the Nexus you HAVE TO do it on the PC. SO I did the test outside my building then went inside to take the screenshot and naturally the phone automatically connected to my WIFI network. Don’t you think I would know the difference?

[IMG]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh3/josesxi/MyT-Mobile3G-1.png[/IMG]

By: josesxi

josesxi — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:16:12 +0000

Thats because to take a screenshot with the Nexus you HAVE TO do it on the PC. SO I did the test outside my building then went inside to take the screenshot and naturally the phone automatically connected to my WIFI network. Don't you think I would know the difference?

By: Carrie

Carrie — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:59:50 +0000

I'm seeing the bouncing around of the, what I'm told is the voice signal, but 3G seems to be pretty steady. I'm told the average speed for d/l in Austin, TX (where I live) is ~600kpbs. I get anywhere between 500-900kpbs d/l. Upload is a paltry 50kpbs all the way up to 400kpbs. This seems to depend on the time of day. Midday I get the worst speeds. But at 2am I'll get the highest speeds on everything. It also depends on the server I'm connected to. I've tried a whole bunch of them on speedtest and sometimes one server does better than the other.

I've heard that T-Mobile 3G just does worse inside than outside and that seems to be part of my problem. The further I get away from windows whether at home, or work or shopping at a big box store, the worse the signal gets--when I have 3G enabled that is. When I switch over to 2G only, the voice signal shoots up to 4 bars and is steady with no fluctuations no matter where I'm at.

I don't really know that much about how these signals work, but it almost seems that somehow a lower 3G signal interferes with the voice signal causing fluctuations. When I'm outside or near windows, the 3G signal and voice signal seems to be steady and very strong.

I don't know if this makes much sense, but this has been what I've observed on my phone.

Other than that I love this thing. I won't return it, and am hoping beyond all hopes these fluctuations can be corrected quickly and easily an OTA update.

By: distortedloop

distortedloop — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:44:55 +0000

I didn't get the OTA update soon enough, so I actually went to Google's code site and downloaded the update myself. Installed it manually.

Anyways, I was ready to send the Nexus One back to Google after two weeks of testing (California residents get 30 days) due to the horrible signal in my home and a few other places. In the house, I pretty much got zero service on voice or data

After applying the update, I have significantly improved signal strength inside my home - no 3G here, but I don't need it with WiFi as long as I get voice.

Battery life is increase dramatically as well, indicating I'm not burning up the battery looking for a signal.

The only anomaly I am noticing now is that in several places (like my office) that were always 3G before, I sometimes now just get EDGE until I go into settings and open the Mobile Networks page. 3G comes on immediately at the point.

Overall, I am happy, and plan on keeping the phone & T-Mo service (I am coming from an iPhone 3G[s] & AT&T), but it's clear there is still some sort of issue with the radios on the device.

(I've also noticed an issue with bluetooth audio dropping out for 30 seconds when the N1 switches from mobile networks to WiFi - I need to report that as a bug).

By: distortedloop

distortedloop — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:22:23 +0000

New radio code? Only for the brave? I'm brave, but how about some details (who, what, when, where)? ;-)

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:08:01 +0000

I haven't had any problems, either before or after the update. I live in central Chicago, but have also travelled to Urbana, IL a few hours south of Chicago. In neither city did I see any problem.

I did go into the preferences and tell it to auto-select the network, but I also didn't see much problem with it before that. I only see edge when I'm out of the city, or if I'm in a basement or some such.