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