Android

[djaolnes]

Hi, I have just bought a prepaid Samsung Galaxy W from Vodafone, and have unlocked it. It works fine with a Vodafone SIM.

I tried to use a Telstra NextG sim to verify if it was unlocked so that I know I can use it overseas. It can access the Telstra network for voice, but cannot use 3G on the Telstra network. This seems to suggest that this handset cannot use the Vodafone 850 network.

Can someone confirm that this model of handset definitely supports the 850 network? The Vodafone website says that it does, and the box says that it supports 3G on 850 and 2100, but my initial testing suggests that it doesn't actually support 850.

In comparison, I also own a Vodafone Samsung Galaxy S II, and it works fine with Vodafone on 850, and also on Telstra NextG.

If this phone does not support 850 3G, it will be far less useful on the Vodafone 850 network, so it would be good to have confirmation that it does support the 850 network. Has it been tested on the 850 network?

Dale.

[thefineline]

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djaolnes wrote:

 It can access the Telstra network for voice, but cannot use 3G on the Telstra network. 

Are you talking about 3G data or voice here? If your talking data have you changed the APN settings?

[Nick]

Hi Dale,

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djaolnes wrote:

Hi, I have just bought a prepaid Samsung Galaxy W from Vodafone. Can someone confirm that this model of handset definitely supports the 850 network? 

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I can confirm that the Samsung Galaxy W sold by Vodafone is definitely compatible with the 850 network. It has been tried and tested.

As thefineline pointed out, if you are having issues with using the Internet on your phone, it is probably something to do with the APN settings. By default it would be set up with Vodafone's APN, and hence won't allow you to connect to the Internet at all through another carrier. No need to worry though. These settings can be changed.

In order to get your APN settings straightened out, I'd suggest contacting your carrier, as they will be able to run you through the correct settings.

Cheers,

Nick

[djaolnes]

Thanks for the reply. I am talking about 3G Data. It can make calls on the other network okay.

It doesn't come up with any APNs automatically, and when I add a new APN configuration, the Samsung doesn't store it. By comparison, on the Galaxy SII, it comes up with the APNs automatically, but the Galaxy W does not.

It will not store any APN configuration that has a different MNC from the Vodafone 03. When I try a Telstra SIM, it says there are no APNs, and any attempt to configure one does not seem to stick when you try and save it. It's like the phone is configured to reject any MNC that is not Vodafone's.

I now suspect it does actually see the 850 network, as it can see the Telstra network on 850 and the Telstra/3 network on 2100. It just doesn't allow you to use the Telstra APN.

Any idea why this would behave differently from the Galaxy SII?

[djaolnes]

Thanks Nick, it does appear to be APN settings, but the phone itself does not seem to allow the alternate APN to be configured.

By default it shows no APNs, and when you add a new one, it doesn't stick. I have used the same values that the Galaxy SII has when using the same SIM, but it still does not apply the settings or save them.

In contrast, I can add other APNs when the Voda sim is present, and they save fine. I have the settings from the other carrier, from the Samsung Galaxy SII, which work fine.

Is there some way in that the Galaxy W phone is locked to a particular MNC?

[djaolnes]

Hi,

I have solved the problem. Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions.

Yes indeed, the Samsung Galaxy W supports the 850 network on Vodafone Australia, and also the Telstra NextG network. This is great as my coverage with Vodafone on the older network was not great, but the new 850 network coverage is better.

In summary, it appears to be that the older Telstra SIM does not work (for 3G data) with the Galaxy W, but a newer Telstra SIM does. I expect that if I change my sim to a newer one, it will work okay.

In detail:

I downloaded an app called MCC/MNC Checker, which checks the MCC and MNC values that are read from the SIM and from the available mobile networks. This shows if the phone can read these values.

In normal operation, if the sims MCC and MNC matches the networks MCC and MNC, the phone applies the appropriate APN information that is stored in the phone. If they don't match, it loads nothing, even though it has really saved it when they were created manually.

On the Vodafone sims, I can see both the MCC and MNC values, and everything worked fine.

I have two Telstra SIMs. One is a few years old, and the other is only a few months old. It seems that the Galaxy W does not read the MCC and MNC from the older sim, but can read the MCC and MNC from the newer sim. The Galaxy SII can read the MCC and MNC from either the old or the new sim.

As a result, the Galaxy W can read these values from the newer Telstra SIM, and works as expected with 3G NextG data. On the older Telstra sim in the Galaxy W, it can't read the values from the SIM, and the 3G data will not work as it can't apply an APN.

In the case of the Galaxy SII, it can read the values from both Telstra SIMs (the old one and the new one) and works fine with either. I don't know why this is, whether it is different code, or something else, but it can definitely read the MCC and MNC values from either Telstra sim.

Ultimately, I expect I can swap the older Telstra sim for a newer one, and that will allow me to use that sim in that phone if I need to. It also means that if I see the same problem with another overseas carrier, I will have a good idea on how to check it and possibly solve it.

Dale.

[Maddie]

I have solved the problem. Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions.

Yes indeed, the Samsung Galaxy W supports the 850 network on Vodafone Australia, and also the Telstra NextG network. This is great as my coverage with Vodafone on the older network was not great, but the new 850 network coverage is better.

Hi Dale, 

Thank you for letting us know  I'm so happy you were able to solve this problem and are no longer facing any issues. It's such an exciting time to be with Vodafone, with the new 850Mhz towers being rolled out Australia wide and it's great to hear that your happy with the signal you're getting on your Samsung Galaxy. 

Certainly let us know if you have any difficulties in future or if you have any questions or concerns. 

Thanks again, 

Maddie