How Dual Mode Works
 

Is there a way to make dual mode prefer 2g connection instead of 3g ? I wanna be on 2g bydefault , but if the 2g signal disappear , automatically go to 3g.

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

uh, if there is no 2g then there is definatley no 3g, its usually the same mast...

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

Not here, 3g signal is pretty strong and 2g sometimes too weak or even disappear(N900 2g radio is not good) ... Since 3g eats lots of battery id like to keep 'prefer 2g' option

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

Sounds like you have the same problem as me. But mine is actually a triple problem. I'm on the edges of a 2G; 2.5G and 3G coverage triangle so my handset will be running under 2.5 one minute, then it will switch to a different mast a few miles away, which is 2G, but sometimes it will switch to 3G with no signal bars.

It's a right pain in the a**. What I use is "3G/2G/Dual Mode selection Applet" installed from the repositories, and when the network is having a bad day I just switch to the mode that gives the best, most stable connection.

Until the networks invest in their infrastructures, it's all you can do at the mo.

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

But I wonder.. _does_ 3G eat a lot of battery? From my testing I can't really see that it does. Well, not while not in data transfer mode (i.e. not networked) anyway. If I'm just in normal phone mode I don't see any problems with 3G over 2G.

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

Only drains the battery if you don't have a good enough signal.
Nokia's antennas are designed to use a little juice to boost the signal if it falls below a certain level.

The switcher app can be found here: 3g2g-mode-selection-applet

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

I can see a very fast drop in the battery , even idle, when using 3g.

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

Yes, depending on where I'm at, I can see a significant difference in battery life when in 2G only versus dual mode.

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

in my experience 2G/3G battery is basically the same on the n900. what kills the battery is when you either have a weak signal or if the phone keeps switching back and forth in dual mode.

i have really strong 3G coverage in my area and i have actually observed better battery life locking it to 3G than dual.

Re: How Dual Mode Works
 

Dual mode means in idle the phone has to measure neighbour cells in the serving cell list - this eats into the battery. 3g does take more juice in idle compared to 2g. Big difference is 3g on hspa in terms of power consumption.. You expect that though with the massive difference in data throughput.