Google: Nexus One 3G issues result of poor coverage, bugs; patch possibly within a week
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 25th 2010 6:01PM
posted January 25th 2010 6:01PM
Looks like Google's investigation into the crappy 3G claims on the Nexus One are winding down, and it's a one-two combo of good news and bad news. First, the bad: preliminary findings suggest that poor 3G coverage factors into it, at least in part -- a believable story considering that T-Mobile has the smallest 3G footprint of the four US nationals. Now, the good: there's a software component to the problem, too, and the company says that it's already testing a fix. So far, testing is looking good -- so good, in fact, that an over-the-air update could be available "in the next week or so." It sucks that this partly boils down to crappy coverage, but we'll have to see where things stand after the patch gets rolled out -- and hopefully this'll serve as a high-profile reminder to T-Mobile that it needs to step on the gas (and to Google that it might want to expand its horizons).[Thanks, Wesley]
Yes! Why should T-Mo have all the good Android fun!
@snowglyder
Im with t-mobile... GOOGLE pleeease dont expand your horizons!
Google is expanding its horizons: Verizon, Vodaphone, T-Mobile (why not Sprint if Verizon? Will they not allow a non-ruined-with-sprint-shit phone on their network?)
@(Unverified) T-Mobile is a quasi-world partner. Verizon is the largest network in the U.S. In other words, if Google wants reasonable sales in the U.S., and wants to pick only one other carrier than T-Mobile (so as not to completely screw over U.S. T-Mobile), Verizon is the #1 choice.
Poor coverage = Poor reception
Makes sense to me
I think all US carriers need to step up. For some it's coverage, others it's tariffs...
I can't believe they charge for incoming calls and texts in the US. We saw the last of that shit in Asia 10 years ago.
@DirtyVegas
yes man,
when i moved here from europe i was shocked at the ridiculous prepaid prices, over the pond you get unlimited Data with a USB stick for 15 EUR per month. and that's PREPAID!!!! and you get adequate coverage!!
whats up with this shit here?
@DirtyVegas
It does suck and I think the appropriate term is called collusion because I'm convinced that there isn't true market competition amongst the cell carriers. I think LG and several other Asian TV manufacturers know a little about it;)
@DirtyVegas Congradulate Canada on finally removing the System Access Fee, now you don't have to pay to be able to pay and use your phone on the network! Although you still have to pay for Caller ID, Voicemail, Shrinking Long Distance Zones. Don't hog all the fun USA! :D
@DirtyVegas What carriers charge over here in America is highway robbery. 1500 minutes, text and web for two lines costs $170 on T-Mobile, which is the cheapest carrier in the US. Add-on the fact you have to commit to 2 years to the company, and it's not even funny.
@Rick James
+1
Totally agree with this. US phone companies run under a duopoly. They might not have set prices through some backdoor, smoke-filled meetings between the major cell phone providers, but they definitely are not "competing" with each other either.
@DirtyVegas
Wow, they seriously charge for incoming calls and texts in the US? Makes it worse when I read all the comments about lack of 3G coverage, I'm rarely without it even when travelling (3 UK)
@DirtyVegas Well Population density is the key, Europe is the size of the continental US. US Population is 300 million, European is over 800 million. If you look at coverage in Australia, the country is huge, but people are overwhelmingly centered on the eastern and southern coasts with few exception and that's where you find coverage. In Asia - same thing, you have population concentrated in cities. Rural China has shitty coverage. The problem with the US, besides the fucking companies that suck you drier than a vampire, is that it's all sprawl. There are comparitavely large population centers. Oh, and I think the fact that we use different frequences than the vast majority of the world puts us at a disadvantage big time, along with our non-upgrading dumbphone loving population.
Hmm. U.S networks are showing their suckage huh? iPhone is killing ATT, T-Mobile is too small of a network to handle a popular phone, and Verizon, I guess, is low network speed. Wonder why we never hear about network issues in Europe and other markets. I guess it's either that we don't care or they have no problems at all.
@Goaliegeek
Its well known that Europe's cellular networks have always been far more advanced than the US's--but the entire US is much larger than any given European country which I'm sure is partly the reason why coverage is an issue here in the States.
@Goaliegeek - wouldn't say we have NO problems, but it never ceases to amaze me at the number of comments I see about US carriers bitching about something or other.
I guess we're just lucky that collectively we agreed on 3G early on - though I'm not technical enough to know if that means we're all on the same band (can't be arsed to look).
In some countries in Europe though you don't see much carrier subsidy, so it may also be the case there has been more money to inject into network infrastructure?
I'm in the UK on O2, so I have 3G coverage and multitouch on my Hero :) Life's good.
@Rick James - I'm pretty sure there have always been local carriers for cellular networks. If not cellular then incumbent landline providers. I suspect they all had different ideas about the technology to use - hence the fragmented band usage and technology?
@Goaliegeek
It's because the rest of world has lower standards and lower expectations than the US of A, hence they aren't b******ing because they don't know any better.
@Rick James
Yeah I just checked, and the US is roughly the same size as all of Europe as far as land area goes. That's gotta mean something.
Maybe.
-Taylor
@Rebajas Telenor Mobil subsidize phones for around $1bn per year, and we have one of the best built cellular phone networks in the world. So your comparison may be true for some countries, but definitely not in Norway's case.
Furthermore I'm really shocked about the contract lengths you have, what seems to be the same for the rest of the world. In Norway the maximum contract length is 12 months, and compared to most carriers in the US most of the contracts are cheaper, considering total costs.
If i recall right Telenor has 99,8% 2G-coverage and about 90% of the residents have 3G-connections. Last year Telenor had a whopping 1500TB of traffic over their mobile network. That alot of traffic considering there's only around 1,2 million customers. And pretty much every 3G-basestation is ready for 4G upgrade, so they can roll that one out in matters of months too.
Gotta love it!
@Taylor Yes Taylor, Verizon's 3G coverage rivals any European carrier's. Sprint is similar. However, they operate on a different network. AT&T and T-Mobile use the same technology as in Europe, but they also have the weakest 3G coverage in the country. Comparisons of the US and Europe usually conveniently leave out VZW and Sprint.
@Rick James
Hi Rick, Yes USA is bigger than Europe however Australia by all accounts has a better coverage with faster access than USA, using similiar network systems to Europe, and we are as large a land mass as Continental USA. Population is way smaller (23million) maybe that explains some of our higher access rates re data.
So does the Nexus protect you from enemy Ninjas?
@SpydaKat
Absolutely!
the first steps are always the hardest ....
You didn't REALLY think the nexus one was going to have better coverage than every other TMO phone did you...?
iphone mark 2?
So far google is following apples play-book perfectly
Wait, aren't there any other T-Mobile 3G phones? How come this (the poor converage) wasn't discovered or realized before?
@sygyzy It was always like that but you have to realize that t-mo's first 3g device was the G1, which came out less than 2 years ago. So most people who got the G1 are still on contract. Meaning that most people with an N1 haven't had a 3g phone before. There are definitely problems(as noted from the bug mentioned), but part of it is probably people thinking they'd get 3g everywhere under the sun and then hearing other people saying that something was wrong with the device, making it not get 3g.
@sygyzy I agree totally. I have a G1 on T-Mobile and I don't see why this phone would work any better or worse than the Nexus on the same network. This has to be a software only issue otherwise all 3G phones on T-Mobile would have this issue
@gjunky
Heck we got 3G here in CT AFTER the release of the MyTouch3G, it's good, but had to deal with Edge for a few weeks before they lit us up.
@MarcusMaximus Sorry, this is wrong. The real problem is a software issue with the N1 itself. Head to head with a G1 exposes the N1 as the culprit, not the network.
@Jak Crow Agreed
@gjunky
Exactly right! This makes no sense. My G1 and my wifes Cliq all get perfect 3G but my new Nexus One doesnt? Thats a lame excuse and I fear an attempt by Google to deflect some of the blame.
@Jak Crow
Yeah, it's definitely software. I had a G1 and now have an N1 and it's definitely worse unless I force the phone into "WCDMA only" mode. Then it behaves the same as my G1 did.
Here's how to do it:
http://www.androidcentral.com/how-force-nexus-one-3g-mode
I'm in a pretty good 3G-coverage area, so this solution has worked fairly well for me. Unfortunately for those in mixed or rural areas, if you set your phone for WCDMA only, your phone won't even try to get on EDGE when 3G is unavailable, so this solution won't work for everybody.
they can do all the software updates they want. But we all know the major factor is the network.. Idk why google chooses to work so closely with T mobile, they need to expand asap so people can see the full potential of there products
if the 3G coverage sucks, why didn't they make this phone with AT&T 3G? I know its not perfect but their GSM network is a lot more built out than t-mobiles..
@darth vader, AT&T announced 5 Android phones for the first half of 2010. Perhaps Google made a conscious decision so as not to disrupt AT&T's launch. Up to now, AT&T had not sold any Android phones.
I know they are different networks, but I'm kind of glad T-Mobile is being the guinea pig for all us Verizon Customers.
That's BS. The issue is the phone, not "Poor Coverage". In NYC, I haven't had Poor coverage with any other T-Mo phone (G1). Now it's Poor Coverage because the Nexus One can't hold a 3G signal? LOL
@Cormega27 And if it's "Poor Coverage", why the patch? I've had Verizon and Sprint, and T-Mobile. Here in NYC, it doesn't make much a difference.
@Cormega27
They said it''s also software bugs and that they are issuing a patch.
@Cormega27 RTFA. They said outright that it's part a bug in the phone and part coverage. Basically, a ton of people saw that some people were experiencing the bug with 3g(including the test between the g1 and the n1) and said "Hey, I don't get 3g either, it must be because of that" when in reality, they just don't get 3g in their area. It's not rocket science.
No problems with 3g coverage in my area (Monterey, CA) on my G1.
This is why I'm waiting till the Nexus One hits Verizion C:
Yawn. Nexus no(One).
Here comes Wednesday.
My new favorite day of the week.
More than bugs will be crushed.
You can wear the patch.
Fail.
I really, really don't see how it could be an issue of poor coverage (from T-Mobile's end) when so many of the initial reports contained anecdotal evidence of using other, 3G capable handsets on the same network and not being able to duplicate the N1's shortcomings. Far be it from me to suggest that it isn't possible that T-Mobile itself is to blame for this, but I'm skeptical.
@Intellectualdiot
I'm skeptical as well, where are all the reports of G1 and Mytouch 3g connectivity issues? Sounds like google is just passing some of the blame to me. I live in San Francisco and have great coverage pretty much everywhere except Chinatown. Consumer Reports rated T-Mobile 2nd in call quality(Verizon#1) in major cities while At&t and Sprint fell behind. I work for T-mobile and these Nexus 1 owners are still getting the connectivity issue even in my store? They added 30 new towers in my district and I get 4 full bars of 3g on my Cliq at my T-Mobile store, I just don't buy it...
@Intellectualdiot, re-read the post. They are saying it is bad software, plus weaknesses in the network. IOW, they are getting complaints from people who won't get 3G even after the software is fixed. They aren't blaming T-Mobile for the phone not working in 3G mode in NYC. They are telling people outside urban areas that they may not get 3G even after the patch is done.
I know my comments are like spitting into the wind, but I just wish Google had seen fit to offer the phone on all networks.
With an open strategy, we would know what problems are phone related, which ones network, but more than that it would force the phone to stand on it's merits and also make the carriers stand on theirs.
Admitted I have an ax to grind, I'm stuck on ATT for a variety of reasons, but I would have loved to see this phone on ATT, Verizon, Sprint and TMobile at the same time.
And after four days with TMobile phones searching........., my att monikered HTC clunker was still getting calls. How I would have loved to be pulling out a Nexus One. Google you dropped several notches in my book.