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Google Nexus One users suffering from poor 3G service may soon get a reprieve.
A Google employee named Ravi said Google may have found a fix for the spotty 3G service plaguing users who purchased the Nexus One with service from T-Mobile in the last three weeks.
“Our engineers have uncovered specific cases for which a software fix should improve connectivity to 3G for some users,” said Ravi on the Nexus One support forum Jan. 25. “We are testing this fix now, initial results are positive, and if everything progresses as planned, we will provide an over-the-air software update to your phone in the next week or so.”
For those who don’t find better service after Google pushes out the improvement, Ravi said users may simply be on the edge or outside of 3G coverage, which a product fix cannot address.
In the meantime, the mobile experts at JKontherun have potentially found a way for users to fix their inconsistent 3G access by changing the wireless settings on their handset. Wrote Kevin Tofel:
““In ‘Settings,’ I went to ‘Wireless & networks.’ Look for the ‘Mobile Networks’ option at the bottom of this listing. The next screen has a ‘Network Operators’ section-tap it. Your Nexus One will search for compatible GSM networks in the area. Once it’s complete, you’ll see the choices, which will consist of T-Mobile and/or AT&T. You’ll also see a choice to ‘Select Automatically’-tap it and your phone should say ‘Registered on network.’ That’s it. That’s all I did and I immediately saw the phone jump from EDGE to T-Mobile’s fast 3G network.”“
This won’t work for everyone. eWEEK tried it on its Nexus One test device from Google, and the device continued to flutter back and forth between the slower EDGE and faster 3G service. But it’s worth trying in case users see the same improvement.
Google began selling the Nexus One with a two-year, $179 contract from T-Mobile through its Webstore Jan. 5, marking the search engine’s first retail channel.
Almost immediately upon buying the device and setting it up, users began complaining about unreliable 3G service. Google said it was working on the issue.
Google also took flak for its $350 equipment recovery fee, which the company promised to charge users for canceling their T-Mobile contract within the first four months of purchasing the Nexus One from Google.
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart is not selling the Nexus One in any of its brick-and-mortar stores or from Walmart.com, despite what this Web page said. The retail giant removed the Web page.
Wal-Mart officials said the Web page was a “technical error.”