Sony

[stickman]

Recently upgraded to a x10 mini pro and wish I hadn't (not the easiest layout for a phone). However I'm now stuck with it for another 16 months so had better make the best of a bad job.

One thing that is bothering me (other than the slow roll out to 2.1) is the signal reception of the phone. Not only will it not pick up a signal in places where all my previous phones did, but I find it very slow automatically switching from 3g back to 2g. This is a pain if you live in a town with half 3g coverage (Harrogate) as it can be ages before the phone realises it has lost the 3g signal before it tries to search for 2g. I have ended up locking the phone to 2g if I am out and about as it is important that I don't miss calls. This works but what is the point of a smart phone locked to 2g?!?

Is this just the way this phone is or is there a setting or an update that will help resolve the problem? Or is it something that SE or Voda could look into for future updates as it really is annoying. Either that or speed up your 3g rollout.

[Reidar]

hi Stickman

There isn't a setting as such, other than to keep the phone set on 3G only (of course if your 3G signal is poor this may prove to be an issue).

We caould also take a look at your post code (if you provided it in full) to see if there are any obvious 3G issues.

It sounds to me like the phone is struggling to switch over to 2G, roughly how long does the switch take?

Thanks

Reidar

eForum Team

[stickman]

The phone is ok at my home address as there is a 3g voda mast only 300 yards away. The problem is when I am out and about in the Harrogate area - which has a mix of excellent and zero 3g coverage. I originally tried locking the phone to 3g but the coverage and/or reception of the phone is poor and makes this even worse. The phone picks up 2g ok but struggles more with 3g (more than any previous 3g phone I have ever had and I've had about five!), hence I try to lock it to 2g when not at home.

The switch back from 3g to 2g isn't smooth like previous 3g voda phones I have had where it is pretty much seamless. With the X10 mini pro you lose signal completely (no bars with an 'x' to the left) and it will stay like this for minutes. Sometimes it will pick up a very weak 3g signal for a second or two before going back to 'x'. Eventually it will lock on to 2g again or 3g if strong and all is ok again.

It sounds like a software issue with the timings to switch or search for other masts - but I'm not technical so don't know for sure. It does remind me of the problems I had when I was with the '3' network where there was a huge delay switching from their own 3g network to their roaming partner and back again. One of the reasons I came to voda was the seamless 2g/3g switchover. 

Is it a software problem for this model? Is an update due? Not sure I can live with this for another 16 months

[Lee]

Hi there stickman,

I'm sorry that your X10 mini pro is having problems in the Harrogate area switching from 2G to 3G and vice versa.

Judging from your comments, I'd be inclined to believe this is a combination of both the network's limitations, and the handset's ability to switch between the two.

A suggestion, that you might wish to try, is to get a brand new SIM card from your local store to see if this improves things. If not, then you can always submit your handset for repair should you believe it to be faulty(point 3 is the one you need to refer to).

Finally, you've asked about a firmware upgrade and whether this would improve the situation. While I'm unable to comment on whether there is a firmware upgrade in the pipeline, please check out this link to our firmware upgrades page, select your manufacturer and you'll be redirected to the manufacturers web page where you can check for any available updates for your model.

Let me know how you get on.

Cheers,

LeeH

eForum Team