just ordered mine. How do I set it to 3g?

[mpgo4th]

I ordered my wife and I the Droid 4 yesterday. I dont live in an area with 4G so do I need to get it to 3G or does it pick up whatevers available. I will be in 4G zones maybe once a month but I didnt know if using it factory set would kill the battery faster. Also what are some proven tricks for better battery life?

 

[Rev2010]

It will use the best service it can find, so yes it will automatically use 3G. The only thing I've found with pretty much all cellphones is that they continue looking for the best signal it supports, in this case 4G. So typically the battery will drain faster. I don't have the Droid 4, I'm still using the Droid 2, but in the settings you should be able to hardset it to 3G mode. Hopefully someone else with the 4 can tell you where to do so.


Rev.

 

[fuddster]

I believe you can set the Droid 4 to use 3G mode by going to Settings> Wireless & Network Settings> Mobile Networks> Network Mode and selecting "CDMA only"

 

[elcheapodeluxe]

Fuddster is correct. Haven't found a nice widget to do it automatically yet, but doing this does dramatically improve the battery life. I also set up a smart action that says when the phone is on WiFi to turn off mobile data - and then I only turn on WiFi at home and work.

 

[mpgo4th]

Thanks. Im pretty excited because Im still on my old droid X. This thing should feel like a rocket ship to us. Is ICS coming to this device???

 

[Kmcferrin]

Is ICS coming to this device???

VZW says yes, but not until later. For some reason I want to say June.

 

[Rev2010]

VZW says yes, but not until later. For some reason I want to say June.

Verizon also says they'll be enabling the global functionality.... for some reason though I just don't think they'll ever follow through on it.


Rev.

 

[mpgo4th]

Ive been using this droid for a few days now. I really like it. No 4g in my area but its still faster than my droid x was. Im at my parents now for easter and they have 4g. Wow this is a big jump from 3g. Its as fast or faster than my home wifi. Great phone and glad i went with it instead of the razr.

 

[redsandvb]

I believe you can set the Droid 4 to use 3G mode by going to Settings> Wireless & Network Settings> Mobile Networks> Network Mode and selecting "CDMA only"

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but had a question directly related to this...

I was trying to look for these settings in someone's Droid4 with the goal of increasing battery life by turning 4G off as above ^^^. Turns out the only options were:

1)Global
2)LTE/CDMA
3)GSM something (I think)

So as far as this option goes, I guess there's no battery saving trick anymore?

Thanks!

 

[Eclipse2K]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but had a question directly related to this...

I was trying to look for these settings in someone's Droid4 with the goal of increasing battery life by turning 4G off as above ^^^. Turns out the only options were:

1)Global
2)LTE/CDMA
3)GSM something (I think)

So as far as this option goes, I guess there's no battery saving trick anymore?

Thanks!

I'm not sure if Motorola changed this in the Droid 4 (Doesn't work on my Maxx) but you can try *#*#4636#*#* within the dial pad and see if it brings up the menu. If the code does work you can change the network type under what I believe is Phone Information. However, if you reboot the phone you'll need to repeat. Is it worth it? Depends. As I said though not sure if this code works anymore.

Sent from my Motorola Droid Maxx using Tapatalk 4

 

[redsandvb]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think they'd want to do that every time the phone boots. If I get a chance, I'll try the key combo on their phone to see what happens. Any chance I could accidentally screw things up by trying it?

 

[Eclipse2K]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think they'd want to do that every time the phone boots. If I get a chance, I'll try the key combo on their phone to see what happens. Any chance I could accidentally screw things up by trying it?

Not without a few clicks at the least if at all. There is a drop down box to select the network type so it would be straight forward.

Maybe see if the Droid 4 supports an app in the play store called LTE On/Off (HTC Thunderbolt). This will open the menu that special number dials and it worked on a Droid Maxx just now. It will need to be set after every reboot but its simple.

Sent from my Motorola Droid Maxx using Tapatalk 4

 

[redsandvb]

Thanks! I'll pass that one along to them.

 

[redsandvb]

Not without a few clicks at the least if at all. There is a drop down box to select the network type so it would be straight forward.

Maybe see if the Droid 4 supports an app in the play store called LTE On/Off (HTC Thunderbolt). This will open the menu that special number dials and it worked on a Droid Maxx just now. It will need to be set after every reboot but its simple.

Wanted to say thanks again. The LTE On/Off app installed on their Droid 4. Don't know how much battery life is improved yet, they just installed it yesterday.

Another question about the app, What's the difference between 'CDMA only' and 'CDMA auto (PRL)'? Just wondering...they're using 'CDMA only'.

 

[redsandvb]

Another question about the app, What's the difference between 'CDMA only' and 'CDMA auto (PRL)'? Just wondering...they're using 'CDMA only'.

After some more research it's my understanding that 'CDMA only' = 1G, I guess...or reeeaally slow, and 'CDMA auto (PRL)' = 3G/1G auto switching. Is that right?

Thanks!

 

[Inundated]

After some more research it's my understanding that 'CDMA only' = 1G, I guess...or reeeaally slow, and 'CDMA auto (PRL)' = 3G/1G auto switching. Is that right?

Thanks!

You always need "CDMA auto (PRL)" on the 3G side, as the Verizon service needs the PRL ("Preferred Roaming List") to know which towers to use, not just those on your home/current system.

The PRL is what makes nationwide service/roaming/included roaming possible, and is how the 3G phones work normally.

Just ignore "CDMA only".

 

[Inundated]

dup

 

[Inundated]

Please ignore the quoted dup, can't edit/kill it on mobile.

 

[redsandvb]

Thanks for the explaination!