[Droid 2 Global General] MotoCache1:
I have a D2G that I'm using an AT&T SIM in for GSM use only. The phone stays in GSM mode all the time.

I'm having an interesting issue with the way the phone detects that it has completed a call.

On a normal CDMA phone (my DX) after you dial a number and hit send, the "call timer" starts counting up as soon as the phone has connected to the network and the call starts ringing. If you want (though there would be little reason to do so) you can bring the dialpad back up and start sending DTMF tones even while the other end is still ringing (hasn't answered yet).

On the D2G in GSM mode (don't know about CDMA mode because I've not used this phone in CDMA mode) when you dial a call, the call timer doesn't start counting up until the phone senses that the other end has actually answered (receives a connect signal). While the line is ringing (before anybody answers) you can bring up the dialpad, but pressing keys does not send any tones. Once the called party answers, pressing keys then sends tones.

The problem comes when trying to dial into a conference bridge where you have to enter the bridgeline passcode, or while trying to use a calling card. Both these systems appear to not send the "connected" signal when they first answer. They wait until you get connected to the desired conference call, or until you've entered all the calling card information and are rung through to your ultimate target before sending the connected signal.

Since the D2G in GSM mode is actually waiting for this "connected" signal before starting the call timer, and since it won't allow you to send DTMF tones until the call timer starts, it is basically impossible to use a conference bridge or calling card.

I have tried numerous add-on dialers, but all hand off to the OEM phone/dialer app after initial dialing. I've tried add-on DTMF generators, but of course they just generate the tones locally (speaker) and not onto the ongoing call. I've been all through build.prop, etc. looking for a setting that would tell it not to wait for a connect signal to enable the "connected" behavior and not found anything.

Putting pauses or waits in the dial string doesn't work either because the phone doesn't even start "pausing" or "waiting" until it senses that it has connected (which doesn't happen before the other end gives up waiting for me to enter the code).

That's the really irritating part. When the conference bridge or calling card system gives up waiting and connects me to the thing that tells me my time to enter the codes has expired and it is going to hang up on me, then it sends the "connected" signal and I can enter all the tones I want on top of the "please call back when you can figure out how to use a phone" message.

I've had someone running a newer firmware test to see if they have this same behavior and they do. If anyone wants to see if they have the issue, they could call the Sprint calling card access number (800-366-2255) and you should find you can't enter any tones once it has answered. Again, this is on a D2G in GSM mode. I'd expect in CDMA mode it would work fine.

Possible avenues of resolution:

Make the phone treat the call as connected immediately instead of waiting for the other end to answer

Have an external app that can send DTMF tones on an active call (Google says that is a common desire that is generally not possible)

Somehow make the built-in dialer allow number presses to generate tones even if it doesn't think the other end has answered yet

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.