Moto G: Signal reception & notifications

[furkin]

How do I switch between 2g & 3g etc ?

I am new to all this stuff, & been trying a sat-nav app.

I was asking about the signal dropping out, and someone suggested that although I might be receiving a cellular signal, it wasn't necessarily a 'data' one - for sat-nav etc.

I recall the salesman saying something about 2g & 3g,,,, but I didn't take it all in.

many thanks

 

[ColbyJvonBrown]

It only gives you a 2g option if its the CDMA and GSM models. But if its the Indian Dual Sim Model then slot 1 should be 3g & 2g and slot 2 should be 2g only.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[furkin]

Thank you for your help.
I'm in the UK, but have no idea just what my unit is.
As I have only been in this game for a matter of months, I have a lot to learn.

After receiving a reply from Motorola (yep - it surprised me also) I visited my local 02 store.
Motorola suggested a Factory Reset might help !
They advised me to back up my files on the SD card,,,,,, mmmmmm,,,,, if only I had a SD slot !

The 02 store said that I HAD to have my data thing enabled to show 2G &/or 3G !
In my case, I am on payg (due to limited funds).

When I got home, I enabled data,,,, but still don't see 2G or 3G etc.

So far - no further forwards,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

cheers all for your advice.

 

[neu smurph]

The O2 variant Moto G will display a little H or H+ Icon next to the mobile signal icon when it's got a good connection to a 3G network, or a G when its on a 2G network. No letter and either mobile data is off / you are connected to Wifi / or there is no 2G/3G coverage right were you are at that moment in time. As far as I know out of the box it should 'prefer' 3G when it's available, but if you want to be sure go to Settings/Wireless & Networks/More.../Mobile Networks/Network Mode and ensure 3G is marked as the Preferred Network Mode.

A quick 101 -

2G stands for 2nd Generation (Mobile Internet) - in the UK the standard is also referred to as GSM and GPRS. It's pretty slow (roughly equivalent to old dial-up landline internet)
3G stands for 3rd Generation - it includes EDGE, HSDPA and HSDPA+, in increasing order of speed. EDGE is roughly equivalent to slowest ADSL broadband speeds, HDSPA+ to the fastest ADSL broadband speeds.
4G is (you've guessed it) 4th generation - not available on the Moto G and is also referred to as LTE. Silly fast.

Re navigation apps - there are several on the play store that store maps on the phone memory and can do route calculations without any mobile data (using Google maps navigation which does need data will eat into your payg balance). None are quite as polished as Google Maps Navigation, but having tried several I can recommend GPS Navigation & Maps by Skobbler. It's got a nice interface, good turn by turn directions with a similar 3D viewpoint to Google Maps and the map downloads (a country at a time) are not massive which is reassuring given the limited internal storage on the Moto G..