[Ben]

I was clearing up the Vodafone packaging for my N95 8GB last night when I noticed a leaflet I hadn't seen before.

According to the leaflet, when a 3.5G (HSDPA) connection is active on the handset outgoing calls will not be available and incoming calls will be diverted to voicemail.

I didn't believe it, so I tried it for myself. I browsed to news.bbc.co.uk and kept browsing links to keep 3.5G active. I called myself from another phone and sure enough the call went straight to voicemail.

Can anyone explain to me why calls don't work when 3.5G is active?

Also, I assume this is why a 3.5G connection will always drop back to 3G when idle?

[whatleydude]

It's not just Nokia devices. It's the same for Window HTC devices too.

[Ben]

Yeah, I've put this in Vodafone as I've only had experience of it on Vodafone.

Does the same thing happen on every network? Would love to know the technical explanation for this.

[Nero]

From here:

http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?t=56172


In some geographical areas the current HSDPA network causes the inability to make/receive voice calls whilst a high speed data connection (HSDPA) is active, these include services such as mobile TV, instant messaging, emailing or browsing the internet. Incoming calls will be diverted to the users voicemail (if set up)

From what little I've read it would appear to be just the N95 with problems, but whatley may know more.

[The Mullet of G]

I actually noticed this a while back, I have my phone set up to check my gmail account every half hour for new emails, I got a call while it was checking emails but it didn't bounce the call to voicemail, it suspended the data connection and gave me some warning about having to suspend data to receive the incoming call, I've only ever had it once though which is weird. I'm on T Mobile if thats any help. :)

[Ben]

That's interesting G - and you were definitely in HSDPA at the time? If that's a T-Mobile solution to the issue then it certainly seems more elegant than bouncing the call.

[miffed]

Just had a play with my e90 (t-mobile)

I rang it (from my iphone) while it was downloading a large web page in HSDPA coverage - I got a 'data connection on hold' message and the call came through as normal

I am perfectly happy with that - not as if I am going to carry on browsing during a call , but IIRC wasn't one of the major 'wonders' of 3G that you COULD do both simaltaneously ?

Not sure why Vodafone would choose to route calls to voicemail - but then if you charge the earth for data - you are not going to want that data connection interupted by incoming calls are you ? Then you can also reap a few quid in voicemail charges too I suspect :)

[Ben]

Hmm... Ok, looking to be a Vodafone specific thing from these early indications then. It's certainly a substandard way of doing things! As phones become increasingly used for data does Vodafone really think it's acceptable to route calls to voicemail? :S

I'd try Orange but I haven't yet found anywhere with Orange HSDPA coverage :rolleyes:

[miffed]

Forgive me for not being up to date on these things , but is Voda's voicemail (in the main) charged ?

[hecatae]

Is this across the board?

allaboutsymbian's review of the Nokia 6120 showed it dropped to 3G while a call came in, and afterwards went back to 3.5G.

[Hands0n]

I just tried making a call while speedtesting and repeatedly refreshing Talk3G forum pages (they're very network busy). As soon as the voice connected the HSDPA dropped to regular 3G but the actual data speed plummeted to around 248Kbps! After I hung up the call the data went back to HSDPA and I was getting 1.2Mbps downlink and over 380Kbps uplink.

So - on T-Mobile I was able to keep going with my data at the same time as making a call. I didn't try the receive a call thing ....

[Ben]

Is this across the board?

allaboutsymbian's review of the Nokia 6120 showed it dropped to 3G while a call came in, and afterwards went back to 3.5G.
Do you know what network they were testing on?

The leaflet in my box is co-branded Nokia and Vodafone. It doesn't appear to relate to any specific handset, just HSDPA.

[hecatae]

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Nokia_6120_Classic__6121_Classic_Review.php



3G vs 3.5G (HSDPA)

The 6120 Classic's HSDPA compatibility shows up when you use the internet in a HSDPA-compatible 3G network. If you start to download data from the internet (for example by starting up the web browser), the 3G network icon turns into a 3.5G icon, which means download speeds can be up to 14 megabits per second. HSDPA only speeds up the downloading of pages, and doesn't affect how quickly the phone's processor renders pages once they've been downloaded, so a complex page can still take about 10 seconds to fully appear. However, there's no processing required on downloads of raw data such as application or video files, so the difference between 3G and 3.5G is much more noticeable when using things like the Download! service.

You can make and receive phone calls while using a 3.5G connection, but the phone automatically switches to 3G for the duration of the call.

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/images/reviews/article6120classicfront2.jpg

have a look at the image, saunalathi?

[Hands0n]

have a look at the image, saunalathi?

Its the Finnish mobile phone operator and ISP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saunalahti

[Ben]

Elisa Oyj (Elisa) is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882 (known until July 2000 as HPY or Helsingin puhelinyhdistys). Elisa Oyj employs about 5000 people. The company's revenue for 2005 was about €1.34 billion. Mobile operations of Elisa were known as Radiolinja before. Elisa works together in co-operation with Vodafone
Obviously they're not co-operating enough because it doesn't bloody work like it should over hyarr!

Hmph. I mean seriously. A phone is first and foremost a phone! Nothing should prevent a phone from making or receiving calls!

[whatleydude]

Hmph. I mean seriously. A phone is first and foremost a phone! Nothing should prevent a phone from making or receiving calls!

Not even turning it off!

;)