[Hero, G2 Touch Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] j0bro:
Ok all here is my problem and I know there many more suffering from this:

Connecting to the internet from my Hero works fine on 2G (GPRS) and Wi-Fi, but is very unstable on 3G (UMTS) and H (HSDPA).

By starting a thread, I want to get to an answer as to WHY this is happening and hopefully find a solution :)

My problem started around the time I started using custom 2.1 (or radio) ROMs, but I am not sure whether flashing those is actually the cause. I have a SIM unlocked Hero and an unlimited data plan with T-Mobile Netherlands (called Web 'n' Walk Plus @ 1 Mbit/s down, 384 Kbit/s up). I had no problem on the stock 1.5 ROM/radio.

Symptoms:

Whenever an app is making a server request, the 3G icon starts blinking the up arrow, shortly followed by the H icon blinking the up arrow, indicating the request is made.

When all is well, the response is received and communication is quick and smooth. Most of the time though, the phone continues making requests but no response is received and the application reports a network error/timeout. This happens while signal strength is max (4 bars).

Ping test:

Enter *#*#INFO#*#* in the phone dialpad and select Phone Information, press the "Run ping test" button.

- The line "Ping IpAddr" reports: "Fail: IP addr not reachable";

- The line "Ping Hostname(www.google.com)" reports: "Fail: Host unreachable";

- The line "HTTP Client test" reports: "Fail: IOException".

The preferred network type is "WCDMA preferred", as set in the lower part of the same screen.

Note: WCDMA is an air interface standard used for UMTS and the like and is not related to CDMA, which is the mobile access technology used in the USA as opposed to GSM, which is used everywhere else in the world.

The thing is though, that the connection does not seem to fall back to 2G but rather experiences a timeout.

FWIW: the Phone Information screen reports a signal strength of -dBm, 25 asu.

Tried:

- Flashing various ROMs to spot any difference, none found.

- Flashing newer radio ROM (JU instead of EU), no luck.

It is here when I first start posting about it:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=6099325#post6099325

Other cases that seem to point at the same problem:

http://android.modaco.com/content/h...93937/hero-strange-3g-data-connection-problem

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=547563

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=616475

http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/discussions/index?page=forums&topic=8010384abbabde01276d5f3caa005e2d

I hope that anyone experiencing the same post his or her findings, so that we can try to detect a pattern and maybe the solution to this.

UPDATE: Apparent solution for T-Mobile 3G problems:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=595108

Fix includes settings as proposed by adwinp below.

Explanation of some settings: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=5123531&postcount=46

UPDATE 2:

Well, my problems have vanished "as snow in the sun" (old Dutch proverb)!

Applying the latest radio (JU) and the settings as mentioned by adwinp below made my 3G connection fly again, steady and smooth. Thanks adwinp!

How to modify your build.prop file

:

1) Connect your handset via USB, make sure USB debugging is enabled

2) From the Android SDK > tools directory, type the following:

# adb pull /system/build.prop ~/build.prop

3) Open the file with your favorite editor and append the following lines:

ro.ril.enable.dtm=1
ro.ril.hep=1
ro.ril.hsxpa=2 #for USA, use 1
ro.ril.gprsclass=12 #for USA, use 10
ro.ril.enable.a52=1
ro.ril.enable.a53=1
ro.ril.hsdpa.category = 28
ro.ril.hsupa.category = 7

Save the file. Next:

# adb remount
# adb push ~/build.prop /system/build.prop
# adb reboot

Some sources claim that a second reboot is necessary, check this for yourself.

Good luck!

UPDATE 3:

Seems my joy was short lived; could be that just rebooting was a temporary fix and a good old placebo effect, since I already experienced connection loss again. Sigh. Anyone else with a good idea?

UPDATE 4:

Could this be an MTU issue, like stated here or here? I'd like to know the methods of changing the MTU for 3G, investigating now.

UPDATE 5:

None of the theories above seem to be plausible. Looks like T-Mobile/Orange is the culprit here. Further reading here: https://t-mobile-forum.pocketinfo.nl/showthread.php?p=725207#last (in dutch)