Help needed - New Galaxy S2 GT-i9100 (International) on Telecom. Terrible signal quality.

Forums › Android › Help needed - New Galaxy S2 GT-i9100 (International) on Telecom. Terrible signal quality.

Kiwigamer

16 posts

Geek

Topic # 111570 7-Nov-2012 17:06

Just bought this phone new from a fairly respected online store.
But I'm having some real trouble with signal quality...

I come to you guys needing any help I can get,
Is there a app that will allow me to tap into my homes wifi to boost the signal or is there a custom ROM or better firmware that will power up the modem more?

My old LG GC900-something will get full 3G connection and my mates vodafone galaxy will get close to full 3G connection too so its not just my house is receiving bad signal.

The i9100 is getting 1-2bars on average...

I've included what random numbers I could find.
Model: GT-i9100 (International)
Andriod ver: 4.0.3
Baseband ver: i9100XXLPX
Kernal ver: 3.0.15-i9100XWLPI
Build #: IML74K.XWLPI

Please give me some insight here... I'm really disappointed with this signal strength.

sbiddle

26633 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6133

Moderator

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 713638 7-Nov-2012 17:20

Was it branded with a network?

There are some models of this phone that don't support 850MHz or 900MHz 3G bands.

Kiwigamer

16 posts

Geek

Reply # 713644 7-Nov-2012 17:22

I'm not sure the extent of 'branding' I do notice theres a 2degrees symbol animation on it when I power it off.

sbiddle

26633 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6133

Moderator

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 713646 7-Nov-2012 17:25

Hmm probably not much you can do. You do need to establish if the phone is one that support 850 and 900, it could have easily just had 2d firmware loaded onto it.

Kiwigamer

16 posts

Geek

Reply # 713648 7-Nov-2012 17:28

Seriously? So I'm stuck with a phone that cant pick up a signal?

Kiwigamer

16 posts

Geek

Reply # 713650 7-Nov-2012 17:35

sbiddle: You do need to establish if the phone is one that support 850 and 900

So how would I do this?

eXDee

4025 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1076

Trusted

Reply # 713656 7-Nov-2012 17:44

Its an S2, almost all of these should work on quad band 3G. Probably just need a modem/setting change.

bradstewart

4304 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 152

Mod Emeritus

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 713662 7-Nov-2012 17:53

All the i9100's support 850MHz. However the i9100T has a modem that is better optimised for 850.

You'll want to root your phone and flash a i9100T modem and that should sort out your reception issues.

Check the SGS2 owners thread on the last few pages for more info.

AKLWestie

574 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 74

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 713786 7-Nov-2012 20:29

Hi there, you said your LG phone got better signal, was the phone on Telecom or Vodafone?

And you said your friend got better coverage with Vodafone, were you with your friend at the same place? If this is the case, maybe Vodafone has better coverage at that area.

What you can do is enter *#0011# on your galaxy s2, this will bring up the service mode. On the third line on output, it should tell you which frequency band the phone is currently using. If it said WCDMA 850 Band 5, that means your phone is using telecom's 850 MHz network.

Kiwigamer

16 posts

Geek

Reply # 713837 7-Nov-2012 21:25

AKLWestie: Hi there, you said your LG phone got better signal, was the phone on Telecom or Vodafone?

And you said your friend got better coverage with Vodafone, were you with your friend at the same place? If this is the case, maybe Vodafone has better coverage at that area.

What you can do is enter *#0011# on your galaxy s2, this will bring up the service mode. On the third line on output, it should tell you which frequency band the phone is currently using. If it said WCDMA 850 Band 5, that means your phone is using telecom's 850 MHz network.

The LG phone came from Australia actually.
My friend was sitting on the same couch next to me.
I checked the *#0011# thing and you are correct. It says WCDMA 850 Band 5, is this good news?

I flashed it with the entire latest telecom thing. So now it thinks its a 9100T with DOLP4/7
It fluctuates between 1-3 bars, H, H+ and 3G but still mostly sits on 2 bars H+
So I've yet to notice any big difference in signal...

DoggNZ

437 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 9
Inactive user

Reply # 714019 8-Nov-2012 10:36

I'd flash it back to the stock ROM it came with and return it. I've seen plenty of S2's running on Telecom with a mix of 2D, VF, Telecom and international ROM's and they've all been fine.