AT&T LTE Connectivity Issues?

[gidgiddonihah]

I just got my Nexus 5 Monday and I have been loving it. Coming from a non-LTE enabled Galaxy S2 I stuck in a new micro SIM and had it activated. When I realized I wasn't getting LTE, I called them up and had then input my new IME number from my Nexus 5. I rebooted and had LTE. I have since ran into two problems:

1. After coming off my home WiFi sometimes it really, really doesn't want to connect to LTE. This means it takes forever to find the LTE signal, and then drops it much sooner than it should: friends, GF, family, etc are still getting a good LTE signal. A reset/resave of the APN settings or restarting the phone does the trick for awhile but then it happens again. Any ideas? Could this be an APN settings issue or am I looking at a bad phone? Should I have them put in a coworker's S4 IME?
2. Sometimes when my signal is really low (1-2 bars) I drop signal when someone else I am with still has a bar or two. It only loses the connection for a few seconds before coming back with 1-2 bars again. Should I be worried or is this just normal?

Would appreciate all and any input. Thanks ahead!

APN Settings
Name: ATT Phone
APN: phone
Proxy - Server: Not Set
MMSC: http://mmsc.mobile.att.net
MMS Proxy: proxy.mobile.att.net
MMS Port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410
APN Type: default, mms,supl,hipri (copied from coworker's S4)
Protocols: IPv4

 

[Haalcyon]

That does indeed seem odd. Do you have a case on your phone (if so, that is good, but may be affecting your signal?)

 

[clevin]

when you say "drop" or "not connecting" LTE, does it connect to HSPA+ instead? or just no data whatsoever?

 

[anon(8256055)]

I just got my Nexus 5 Monday and I have been loving it. Coming from a non-LTE enabled Galaxy S2 I stuck in a new micro SIM and had it activated. When I realized I wasn't getting LTE, I called them up and had then input my new IME number from my Nexus 5. I rebooted and had LTE. I have since ran into two problems:

1. After coming off my home WiFi sometimes it really, really doesn't want to connect to LTE. This means it takes forever to find the LTE signal, and then drops it much sooner than it should: friends, GF, family, etc are still getting a good LTE signal. A reset/resave of the APN settings or restarting the phone does the trick for awhile but then it happens again. Any ideas? Could this be an APN settings issue or am I looking at a bad phone? Should I have them put in a coworker's S4 IME?
2. Sometimes when my signal is really low (1-2 bars) I drop signal when someone else I am with still has a bar or two. It only loses the connection for a few seconds before coming back with 1-2 bars again. Should I be worried or is this just normal?

Would appreciate all and any input. Thanks ahead!

APN Settings
Name: ATT Phone
APN: phone
Proxy - Server: Not Set
MMSC: http://mmsc.mobile.att.net
MMS Proxy: proxy.mobile.att.net
MMS Port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410
APN Type: default, mms,supl,hipri (copied from coworker's S4)
Protocols: IPv4

My APN Type ends with 'fota', not 'hipri'. Other than that, it looks the same.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[clevin]

My APN Type ends with 'fota', not 'hipri'. Other than that, it looks the same.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Apparently some people at xda claims the more the better.

So, just add fota after mms, make sure no spaces between them.

@T-Mobile GN3

 

[gidgiddonihah]

when you say "drop" or "not connecting" LTE, does it connect to HSPA+ instead? or just no data whatsoever?

I mean it drops down to HSPA. Funny thing is it never shows the H+ icon either. Always just a plain, vanilla H.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Happened again just a few minutes ago. I was in Costco with a friend. I had LTE all over town and when I walked into Costco I dropped back down to HSPA when she had LTE. A restart later and I got LTE the rest of the shopping trip, including the areas I wasn't getting it before. I edited the APN settings last night to include fota and a few others recommended on a site which gave me even better LTE coverage than before, even over my mom's S3.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[clevin]

I guess at this time, you need somebody nearby and has an ATT N5 to compare and see if phone is the problem. You can also call google, although I am not sure how much help that can be.

On a side note, ATT H+ has decent speed, so if this can't get figured out, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

On a side note, ATT H+ has decent speed, so if this can't get figured out, I wouldn't worry too much.

Except in my area H+ isn't so great - lucky to even reach .75 Mbps with five bars. It's one of the biggest reasons I got rid of the S2.

Could it be a hardware problem? Is it very likely?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[clevin]

Except in my area H+ isn't so great - lucky to even reach .75 Mbps with five bars. It's one of the biggest reasons I got rid of the S2.

Could it be a hardware problem? Is it very likely?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

It can only be diagnosed as a hardware problem if somebody with ATT N5 is right next to you and have no problem with LTE. It could be, but there is no way to be sure. Maybe calling google and see what they say.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

It can only be diagnosed as a hardware problem if somebody with ATT N5 is right next to you and have no problem with LTE. It could be, but there is no way to be sure. Maybe calling google and see what they say.

Think I'll call when I get home, don't know anyone with Nexus device, let alone a 5 on AT&T.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[clevin]

Think I'll call when I get home, don't know anyone with Nexus device, let alone a 5 on AT&T.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Yeah, do let us know what they say, it's an interesting case, may help future users.

@T-Mobile GN3

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Yeah, do let us know what they say, it's an interesting case, may help future users.

@T-Mobile GN3

I Googled it and came up with this:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2515717
N5 chooses hspa+ over LTE ??

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[clevin]

I Googled it and came up with this:

N5 chooses hspa+ over LTE ?? - xda-developers
N5 chooses hspa+ over LTE ??

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

it seems discussion there is not really sure about this theory, keep an eye on it.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

it seems discussion there is not really sure about this theory, keep an eye on it.

Seems like it a common problem among many devices (restarting works for these people too until they hit another weak area):

Phones seem to hang on to HSPA rather than LTE

Guess I may be just a bit paranoid about LTE as this is my first device with it. I would just like it to use LTE unless there is no LTE signal to lock on to. I will continue to keep an eye on it though.

 

[Haalcyon]

it seems discussion there is not really sure about this theory, keep an eye on it.

I wonder. Does HSPA offer better battery life than LTE? If so, that may be why its naturally pointing there instead of to LTE.

gp8.3

 

[clevin]

I wonder. Does HSPA offer better battery life than LTE? If so, that may be why its naturally pointing there instead of to LTE.

gp8.3

apparently there is a study on this topic https://archive.ugent.be/input/download?func=downloadFile&fileOId=1001367&recordOId=1001362

theoretically, LTE is actually more energy efficient than HSPA+. I think issue may be more to do with the coverage itself.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

apparently there is a study on this topic https://archive.ugent.be/input/download?func=downloadFile&fileOId=1001367&recordOId=1001362

theoretically, LTE is actually more energy efficient than HSPA+. I think issue may be more to do with the coverage itself.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing! So in your opinion I keep getting shoved off LTE because the HSPA tower has better coverage?

 

[clevin]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing! So in your opinion I keep getting shoved off LTE because the HSPA tower has better coverage?

That, however, does not explain why other people around you had no problem.

Im thinking, for whatever reason, your phone isn't picking up lte coverage efficiently, so it falls back to hspa. I don't know if it's that particular device, or N5 in general.

I guess if it's a general N5 problem, others can compare their N5 and other devices to see if N5 has more trouble staying on lte.

I don't have a N5 to compare, see if anybody else can confirm or disprove this.

If it's not a general problem with N5, you may want to contact Google and ask for a replacement.

@T-Mobile GN3

 

[gidgiddonihah]

That, however, does not explain why other people around you had no problem.

Im thinking, for whatever reason, your phone isn't picking up lte coverage efficiently, so it falls back to hspa. I don't know if it's that particular device, or N5 in general.

I guess if it's a general N5 problem, others can compare their N5 and other devices to see if N5 has more trouble staying on lte.

I don't have a N5 to compare, see if anybody else can confirm or disprove this.

If it's not a general problem with N5, you may want to contact Google and ask for a replacement.

@T-Mobile GN3

What I don't get is in some cases I pick up LTE earlier than other people. Very odd.