[crowfield99]

Hey Guys

I got my Nokia N95 Yesterday and it did come with a 3G SIM Card (Great I thought) - I used to be on 02 Pay as you Go with a SE K800i and 3G in the House has been fine apart from just two rrooms... Switched to 3G to 2G without problems and as soon as 3G was around again it switched back no problems...

Now, first of all turned the N95 on and it only came with 2.5 G Signal on Screen (Thought it was werid!) - Left it an hour and guess what still not 3G!

So looked in the Menu and went to Network Settings and it did say "Dual Mode" - So I selected this and changed it to "UMTS"

As soon as I did this the 3G Symbol came up, and this has been great.

I then decided to put it back to "Dual Mode" and the 3G Symbol remained (Great!)

So thought I would go downstairs to the rooms where it goes back to 2G and then see if it would go back to 3G after...

Left it all day and once its gone back to 2.5G it does not seem to switch back to 3G without going into the Settings --> Network and Selecting UMTS and then Dual Mode again...

Could someone tell me if this is normal or if anyone else has had this problem with a Nokia N95 on 02? Or if any way around this?

Or, if it leave it on UMTS rather than Dual Mode will this still use GSM if no 3G can be found?

Thanks for any help on this one, never had this issue with any other 3G Nokia's in the Past!

Cheers!
David :)

[Hands0n]

My own experience with O2's 3G network in North Kent has been abysmal to the point where we cancelled our last O2 contract with them when renewal time came round. The 3G handset would only work on 3G when pressed up against the window in direct line of sight of the O2 3G mast some 200M away. Since then, I've put a Vodafone SIM in the same handset and it gets a rock solid 3G all the time - even with a T-Mobile SIM in the same handset that network's 3G is solid. So the conclusion is that O2's 3G network - at least in these parts - sucks rather badly.

To your closing question - if you set the N95 to UMTS it will not fall back to 2G GSM if no 3G can be found. Instead, you will merely get a "no signal" indication and not be able to make or recieve calls.

As you are so recent into your contract you may have a way out within 7 or 14 days (check your contract terms). Use that time to assess the N95 on O2's network and if it is not good for you then consider switching elsewhere. Otherwise your experience of the N95 will not be likely to be a good one.

[crowfield99]

Yeah, 02 does have the least 3G Coverage than any other Network at the moment - Lets hope thats not the case as time goes along! Where I am in the West Midlands most areas have it and its fine and stable to be honest, as good as Three & Vodafone...

Thanks for clearing that up for me!! I'm just a bit stuck to be honest on what to do... Decided to give the Nokia Careline a quick call - They said the Latest Version of the Firmware is 12 something, but when I tried to Update it via the Nokia Program it says I do have the Most Up-to-do-software....!!

I just wanted to know if its maybe just my N95 or if anyone else has the 02 Version if they have the same issue? (Guess it's hard to really say when they have the least coverage though!!)

I thought it was a Power Save thing to start with - But I dont think so now?? (Correct me if I am wrong!)

Doin' me head in... lol :D

[Hands0n]

No, its not a powersaving thing at all - just that the N95 is locking on to the strongest signal it can find. So even if there is a 3G signal in your area, if the 2G/2.5G signal is stronger then it will lock onto that. In fact, with the handset set to Auto it will consume the most battery power by flipping from the different standards. You could take a bit of a punt and lock it to UMTS and see if there is enough 3G in your area of work & play to make it viable. If you keep losing signal then you need to either let it remain on Auto or lock it to GSM 2G/2.5G.

[crowfield99]

Thanks for all your Help Hands0n! - Today, just had enough with it be honest... Rang 02 Up and gave them the chance to amend things and see if they would swap for the Nokia N73 which I had no problems with on Vodafone at all with the 2G/3G Switching...

Said that was not a problem till I decided to ask for the Swap on a Saturday, they then said I would have to pay £14.99 for that! Paid £9.99 to have the pile of garabge sent to me in the first place on a Saturday and now going to have to pay to return the handset back to 02 as the Stores don't want anything to do with it at all! (Well, they can't say I didn't give them a chance!!)

Since I was on a £50 a month Price Plan with 02 I think they have lost out on a good Customer and I was going to use the Data also at the Prices they wanted...

Well, back to Vodafone with a Nokia N73 I go with UNLIMITED DATA!! (Yay!!) OK Near Enough :D Cough....

Thanks as always!

David :cool:

[Hands0n]

You're welcome - and I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you. But I really am of the opinion that O2 have somewhat lost the plot. Their disjointed business model is a major headache. We bought "Online" and, like you, the O2 retail shops didn't want to know. I even went and did my best John Cleese impersonation and ranted at the shop manager once. He was made of stronger stuff than I. He didn't blink once and with a completely po face told me that this wasn't the same O2 that I'd bought online from.

I really cannot deal with O2 under any circumstances anymore. Sad really, as when they were Cellnet and owned by BT they really did have it a bit more together than these days.

Ho hum. Plenty more fish in the sea :) Well ..... at least four .... well ... three actually if you don't count ...... 3 :D