Nexus S and 2Degrees

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gcorgnet

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#89310 30-Aug-2011 19:33

Hi,

Not sure if this post belongs in the 2Degrees forum or the Android forum, but here it goes:
I just bought a Samsung Nexus S for a parallel import store and judging by the usb plug that came with it, that phone originally comes from the US (it also came with a T Mobile SIM card inside the box which kind of gave it away...)
The model number is GT-I9020T (this is the one with SAMOLED screen).

I put my 2Degrees card in there and the APN were set up automatically.
When using the wireless data, I can see that the icon says "3G" whereas on my previous phone (an HTC Hero, also parallel imported) it said "H" (for HSDPA)

I also ran a SpeedTest and the results weren't really impressive. It went up to 1500kbps whereas my HTC Hero (albeit slow for other things) goes up to about 3000kbps.

It seems to me like the phone cannot use the HSDPA network from 2Degrees so there might be a frequency issue there...

According to Wikipedia, the Nexus S can either be AWS WCDMA/HSPA Tri-band (900, 1,700, and 2,100 MHz) or UMTS WCDMA/HSPA Tri-band (850, 1,900, and 2,100 MHz)
(Not sure which one I have...)

I also looked online and from what I could tell 2Degrees required UMTS850 or UMTS 2100. Can anyone confirm this?

The shop I bought if rom also had the other version (I9023, with different screen) which was originally sold in Europe.
I there any chance that this one would work better with 2Degrees' HSDPA frequencies?

Has anyone had experience with a similar issue?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Guillaume

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#514046 30-Aug-2011 19:40

That is HSDPA speed anything over 384k

gcorgnet

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#514047 30-Aug-2011 19:43

johnr: That is HSDPA speed anything over 384k

Ok, so would there be anything explaining the large difference in speed between the HTC Hero (running 2.2) and the Nexus S?

Also, why would android display "3G" instead of "H" in the case of the nexus?

Thanks,

Guillaume

johnr

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#514049 30-Aug-2011 19:45

different spec handset

gcorgnet

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#514055 30-Aug-2011 19:53

johnr: different spec handset

Are you saying the phone just happens to be less performant?

That doesn't sound really plausible...

johnr

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#514057 30-Aug-2011 19:55

gcorgnet:
johnr: different spec handset

Are you saying the phone just happens to be less performant?

That doesn't sound really plausible...?

Have you checked the specs between the two handsets?

gcorgnet

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#514061 30-Aug-2011 20:00

For the Hero:

Network1 HSPA/WCDMA:900/2100 MHz
Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)

For the Nexus:

CDMA (850, 1900 WIMAX 2500)
GSM Model 1:
Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900)
GSM Model 2:
Tri-band HSPA (900, 2100, 1700)
HSPA type:
HSDPA (7.2Mbps) HSUPA (5.76Mbps)

johnr

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#514067 30-Aug-2011 20:22

looks like same spec device

gcorgnet

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#514070 30-Aug-2011 20:25

It's just that I use the 3G quite a bit on my phone and wouldn;t want to have a slowed down experience just because I didn't pick the right version of the phone...

Having said that, it seems like 2Degrees main frequency is 2100Mhz, with which any version of the Nexus is compatible so in theory, there shouldn't be any problem.

KevinL

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#514086 30-Aug-2011 21:09

The stock firmware on the Nexus S doesn't differentiate between 3G/UMTS and HSDPA; it will show 3G in the status bar regardless of whether 3G or HSDPA is active. You can determine the connection type by going into settings/about phone/status. Some custom ROMs enable 3G/H status switching in the status bar.

gcorgnet

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#514087 30-Aug-2011 21:11

KevinL: The stock firmware on the Nexus S doesn't differentiate between 3G/UMTS and HSDPA; it will show 3G in the status bar regardless of whether 3G or HSDPA is active. You can determine the connection type by going into settings/about phone/status. Some custom ROMs enable 3G/H status switching in the status bar.

Legend!

Phone says HSDPA!

Thanks for that. looks like I was worrying for nothing !

Cheers

jjnz1

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#514094 30-Aug-2011 21:18

Have you tried using a mates VF sim in it to see what speeds you get? Also, are you running the latest stock update? ie android 2.3.4?

I highly recommend installing CM7 on your nexus s too. Mines works awesomely!

gcorgnet

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#514097 30-Aug-2011 21:20

Hi, thanks for the tip.
I wanted to have a look at the stock one (haven't installed the latest 2.3.4 update yet) before thinking about custom ROMs.

Maybe you would know: I am running a VillainROM on my HERO and I love the toggle buttons in the notification area (when sliding down the notification bar)

Does CM7 have that?

Cheers,

Guillaume

jjnz1

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#514144 30-Aug-2011 22:48

yes it does, and a lot more... just google cm7 review

gcorgnet

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#514300 31-Aug-2011 10:38

jjnz1: yes it does, and a lot more... just google cm7 review

Thanks jjnz1.
Do you know if CM7 brings BLN (Back Light Notification) to make up for the lack of Notification LED on the Nexus S?

I had a look and it seems that a Kernel update is necessary. Can anyone explain the fundamental difference between ROM update and Kernel update? Can you do one without the other?

Do you need Root access?

Thanks,

Guillaume

jjnz1

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#514356 31-Aug-2011 11:42

gcorgnet:
jjnz1: yes it does, and a lot more... just google cm7 review

Thanks jjnz1.
Do you know if CM7 brings BLN (Back Light Notification) to make up for the lack of Notification LED on the Nexus S?

I had a look and it seems that a Kernel update is necessary. Can anyone explain the fundamental difference between ROM update and Kernel update? Can you do one without the other?

Do you need Root access?

Thanks,

Guillaume

Yes you do need root access.

Every time I get an email /txt notification, my 4 buttons at the bottom stay lit up until I clear the notifications. Works really well, and I haven't noticed any extra battery drain.

Once you have root access, I recommend installing Rom Manager (PRO), as this app makes it very easy to update/install CM7 with 2 clicks. It will even backup your old rom too.

I am running a different kernel, (netarchy), which you don't need to do, but I have my phone overclocked @ 1200 permanently. Makes it a bit more perky/snappy. Plus battery life can be a bit better.

A kernel is a CPU driver pretty much, while the ROM is the operating system. The CM7 ROM does include its own kernel.

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