Getting LTE to be found on Galaxy S3

[drhenning]

Here in Charlotte, we have numerous LTE sites active but while driving, I don't seem to usually pick up LTE unless force it by doing an airplane mode toggle... If I'm in the LTE area, it eventually finds it but that doesn't help much if moving through the area... I have had it switch while driving in larger LTE areas like Atlanta and sometimes in Charlotte...

 

I suspect it has something to do with how often it looks for LTE..

 

I went into a Sprint store over the weekend back in Jacksonville, FL which has some limited LTE but I hadn't experienced it yet since it's not near my home there.. I asked about a way to force my S3 to find LTE faster... No good answer but it was a junior guy and I didn't feel like making a big issue out of it...

 

Sometimes those settings are buried in the tech setup and not on the main menus for users....

 

Thanks..

[Luuminator]

Here in Charlotte, we have numerous LTE sites active but while driving, I don't seem to usually pick up LTE unless force it by doing an airplane mode toggle... If I'm in the LTE area, it eventually finds it but that doesn't help much if moving through the area... I have had it switch while driving in larger LTE areas like Atlanta and sometimes in Charlotte...

 

I suspect it has something to do with how often it looks for LTE..

 

I went into a Sprint store over the weekend back in Jacksonville, FL which has some limited LTE but I hadn't experienced it yet since it's not near my home there.. I asked about a way to force my S3 to find LTE faster... No good answer but it was a junior guy and I didn't feel like making a big issue out of it...

 

Sometimes those settings are buried in the tech setup and not on the main menus for users....

 

Thanks..

The gs3 minimum search for lte is 30 minutes. Ive tried to set it to less but it gives an invalid response. There is an app call lte discovery out that will cycle airplane mode every 30 seconds to try to find lte faster then the 30 minutes.

[tommym65]

The gs3 minimum search for lte is 30 minutes. I've tried to set it to less but it gives an invalid response. There is an app called lte discovery out that will cycle airplane mode every 30 seconds to try to find lte faster then the 30 minutes.

 

Also, the Blue Line Software SignalCheck Pro app written by an S4GRU Premier Sponsor has a manual "Reset Data Connection" menu selection, and works really well for helping to find LTE.

[drhenning]

I installed the lte discovery app and found it pretty obnoxious frankly... thankfully it was free so I can dump it... I just wonder if there will be a software update on these lte phones to test for lte more often or auto-switch when hitting a new tower??? For better or worse, especially when doing things like streaming music and/or sports, it would be nice to get the advantage of higher speeds when available.... I was wondering if VW has this issue or because its LTE is more built out, that it's phones get to LTE and stay there longer????

[Luuminator]

Once your phone knows that there is lte on a certain tower it wont take as long to switch but from what ive read until your phone knows of the lte it wont switch as fast.

[MacinJosh]

I installed the lte discovery app and found it pretty obnoxious frankly... thankfully it was free so I can dump it... I just wonder if there will be a software update on these lte phones to test for lte more often or auto-switch when hitting a new tower??? For better or worse' date=' especially when doing things like streaming music and/or sports, it would be nice to get the advantage of higher speeds when available.... I was wondering if VW has this issue or because its LTE is more built out, that it's phones get to LTE and stay there longer????[/quote']

 

Actually, the HTC Thunderbolt had problems with LTE connectivity and really bad battery life. VZW learned from that mistake, but it took them a while too.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forum Runner

[SpenceSouth]

I installed the lte discovery app and found it pretty obnoxious frankly... thankfully it was free so I can dump it... I just wonder if there will be a software update on these lte phones to test for lte more often or auto-switch when hitting a new tower??? For better or worse, especially when doing things like streaming music and/or sports, it would be nice to get the advantage of higher speeds when available.... I was wondering if VW has this issue or because its LTE is more built out, that it's phones get to LTE and stay there longer????

 

Can I ask what you didn't like about it? For the purpose of making it better of course.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[Dkoellerwx]

I installed the lte discovery app and found it pretty obnoxious frankly... thankfully it was free so I can dump it... I just wonder if there will be a software update on these lte phones to test for lte more often or auto-switch when hitting a new tower??? For better or worse, especially when doing things like streaming music and/or sports, it would be nice to get the advantage of higher speeds when available.... I was wondering if VW has this issue or because its LTE is more built out, that it's phones get to LTE and stay there longer????

 

The GS3 is one of the best Sprint phones when it comes to detecting and hanging on to LTE. Maybe second to the Note 2, but I'm not sure about that. The scan times have actually been updated to run fairly frequently, even on the EVO LTE. What you are experiencing is being in a market with VERY LITTLE LTE to go around at the moment. Unless there is a serious issue with your phone, when LTE becomes available in your area, your phone will connect to it. If there is no LTE in your area, don't expect the LTE Discovery app or anything else to help your phone.

 

In the future, if you could specifically describe what your issue is with examples, we can better help you.

 

As for Verizon, they waited until there was total coverage before they allowed anyone to connect the their LTE network, so no they typically didn't have issues like this. What Sprint is doing is unprecedented and is better for the end user, because as soon as LTE is available on any particular tower, Sprint is allowing people to connect to it.

[drhenning]

The GS3 is one of the best Sprint phones when it comes to detecting and hanging on to LTE. Maybe second to the Note 2, but I'm not sure about that. The scan times have actually been updated to run fairly frequently, even on the EVO LTE. What you are experiencing is being in a market with VERY LITTLE LTE to go around at the moment. Unless there is a serious issue with your phone, when LTE becomes available in your area, your phone will connect to it. If there is no LTE in your area, don't expect the LTE Discovery app or anything else to help your phone.

 

In the future, if you could specifically describe what your issue is with examples, we can better help you.

 

As for Verizon, they waited until there was total coverage before they allowed anyone to connect the their LTE network, so no they typically didn't have issues like this. What Sprint is doing is unprecedented and is better for the end user, because as soon as LTE is available on any particular tower, Sprint is allowing people to connect to it.

 

Oh I full agree about the GS3... Once I'm in LTE, it hangs with it quite a while.. my only complaint is when driving around areas of Charlotte that have demonstrated as having LTE, it doesn't grab the LTE signal like it should fast enough for me... I drive home into an LTE area and don't pick it up at the point where I lose it going into work in the morning... It does eventually get picked up as I pull into my community.. I can see the LTE active but then I flip to my WIFI ( though the LTE is often faster!!!)...

This is on Providence Rd in Charlotte, NC.. The LTE as it works is wonderful!!!

[Dkoellerwx]

Oh I full agree about the GS3... Once I'm in LTE, it hangs with it quite a while.. my only complaint is when driving around areas of Charlotte that have demonstrated as having LTE, it doesn't grab the LTE signal like it should fast enough for me... I drive home into an LTE area and don't pick it up at the point where I lose it going into work in the morning... It does eventually get picked up as I pull into my community.. I can see the LTE active but then I flip to my WIFI ( though the LTE is often faster!!!)...

This is on Providence Rd in Charlotte, NC.. The LTE as it works is wonderful!!!

 

Ah, ok. I understand better now. This is still a symptom of a market with only a handful of currently active LTE towers.

 

While the scan times on LTE devices have been lowered, they are still around 5 minutes, so if you move through an area quicker than that, you may not pick up LTE. If you want to see it immediately, you have to either be cycling airplane mode, or running the LTE discovery app, which basically cycles airplane mode for you until it makes an LTE connection.

[drhenning]

So in order to use Discover LTE, should I hit start?? It seems like even when I'm in an LTE and hit Start, it still toggles Airplane Mode???

 

No big deal really...

[Dkoellerwx]

So in order to use Discover LTE, should I hit start?? It seems like even when I'm in an LTE and hit Start, it still toggles Airplane Mode???

 

No big deal really...

 

Well, if you're already in LTE, kinda defeats the purpose.

 

If you have issues with the app, SpenceSouth may be able to help, as he is the author of the app. See 5 posts up.