Problems with N73 on Orange

At The Gates · 7 Nov 2006 at 22:44

Hi,

Girlfriends just got a Nokia N73 and are having a few problems with it (Nokia Nseries with problems haha no surprises there then)

1. Keep on getting connection error when i try and dial numbers. I assume this is yet again down to Orange being completely inept at setting up a 3G network that can switch from 2 to 3G. Turning the phone on and off fixes it (so does switching to GSM).

2. Phone keeps on turning itself off mid call (user on other end gets a network busy error for some reason when they try and call back and the phone is still in limbo).

3. 3G data connection is always on (but idle) at startup. Is therea way to change this? Dont really want a 3G connection active at startup, even if it does say it's idle. I assume this is so Orange can try and trick people into using data services by not asking them to open a connection.

Anyone come across these problems? The phone is 3 days old and cant be taken back because it's an upgrade!

A2Z · 7 Nov 2006 at 22:50

At The Gates said:
Anyone come across these problems? The phone is 3 days old and cant be taken back because it's an upgrade!

are you sure about that?

i got my n73 yesterday on upgrade from 3 and was told i have 7 days to change the phone if i want.

MadMan-JaMeS · 7 Nov 2006 at 23:19

mt boss is having problems with his too and can't do nothing cos its an upgrade lol they said he will get and update next week or something lol

Dolph · 7 Nov 2006 at 23:25

At The Gates said:
Hi,

Girlfriends just got a Nokia N73 and are having a few problems with it (Nokia Nseries with problems haha no surprises there then)

1. Keep on getting connection error when i try and dial numbers. I assume this is yet again down to Orange being completely inept at setting up a 3G network that can switch from 2 to 3G. Turning the phone on and off fixes it (so does switching to GSM).

Or alternatively Nokia can't make a phone that will handle it correctly. 3G phones from other manufacturers don't experience half the problems nokia do on Orange.

2. Phone keeps on turning itself off mid call (user on other end gets a network busy error for some reason when they try and call back and the phone is still in limbo).

That will be Nokia's "rebooting if it detects an error" feature....

3. 3G data connection is always on (but idle) at startup. Is therea way to change this? Dont really want a 3G connection active at startup, even if it does say it's idle. I assume this is so Orange can try and trick people into using data services by not asking them to open a connection.

Again, that will be the way Nokia have written the software...

Anyone come across these problems? The phone is 3 days old and cant be taken back because it's an upgrade!

If it was faulty it could be returned (or if you bought it as a direct upgrade over the phone you have 7 days to cancel it), all you need to do now is to get Nokia to stop responding to every complaint about the phone with the idea that it's not a fault, it's a feature of how the phone operates and is designed to do that, and you can return it... I'm not really sure why you seem intent on blaming the network (well apart from them allowing the phone to be sold) for phone behaviour that the manufacturer deems acceptable or desireable.

mrochester · 7 Nov 2006 at 23:39

When the phone is showing the 3G symbol it means it is connected to the 3G network. This doesn't mean any data is being transmitted though. You can switch the phone to GSM only mode if you want (unless Orange have removed this feature).

The reason you get dropped calls is because you're probably in an area with marginal 3G coverage. This means that when the 3G signal is lost, the phone then has to reconnect to the 2G network. 3G and 2G are two different standards, you can't just seamlessly switch between them. And as you stated above, you don't want the 3G connection to be active, so just switch the phone to GSM only mode and that'll kill two birds with one stone.

With regards to the phone rebooting, you should first try removing all added software/features to see if it some rogue bit of software causing the problem. Failing that, I suggest you seek to have the phone debranded. A lot of the time it is the networks firmware that causes most problems.

Dolph · 8 Nov 2006 at 00:17

mrochester said:
The reason you get dropped calls is because you're probably in an area with marginal 3G coverage. This means that when the 3G signal is lost, the phone then has to reconnect to the 2G network. 3G and 2G are two different standards, you can't just seamlessly switch between them. And as you stated above, you don't want the 3G connection to be active, so just switch the phone to GSM only mode and that'll kill two birds with one stone.

Well, actually you can seemlessly switch between 2g and 3g, at least you should be able to. Unfortunatley Nokia can't seem to actually produce a handset that will do it correctly. A call shouldn't drop (unless it's a video call) if you switch between the two on Orange.

Nokia seem to have really lost the plot recently with their phones, but everyone seems to want to blame the networks for Nokia's poor performance based on Nokia's previously good (and well deserved) reputation...

mrochester · 8 Nov 2006 at 00:34

Dolph said:
Well, actually you can seemlessly switch between 2g and 3g, at least you should be able to. Unfortunatley Nokia can't seem to actually produce a handset that will do it correctly. A call shouldn't drop (unless it's a video call) if you switch between the two on Orange.

Nokia seem to have really lost the plot recently with their phones, but everyone seems to want to blame the networks for Nokia's poor performance based on Nokia's previously good (and well deserved) reputation...

That's because it tends to be the network branded models that fall down the most. I've had 2 sim free N80s now, and both as good as each other with none of the problems that many others are reporting.

Dolph · 8 Nov 2006 at 10:29

mrochester said:
That's because it tends to be the network branded models that fall down the most. I've had 2 sim free N80s now, and both as good as each other with none of the problems that many others are reporting.

Shame the network branded software is written by the same people who write the sim free software

And fwiw, many people with N80's (branded or otherwise) don't experience the problems that some people do either, same with most of the other phones. The fact that you only hear about the bad ones can give you the wrong impression. I wouldn't take one person saying "Mine's been great" to mean they are all great, or that it's the fault of something else. There are people out there with Orange (or vodaphone, or insert other network) N series phones who think they are fantastic and have no problems with them, that's why you don't hear about them.

Unfortunately, from where I sit, there isn't a good enough proportion of trouble free users to demonstrate the handset is good and reliable when compared with alternative manufacturers.

A2Z · 8 Nov 2006 at 13:00

Dolph said:
Unfortunately, from where I sit, there isn't a good enough proportion of trouble free users to demonstrate the handset is good and reliable when compared with alternative manufacturers.

yep, i think that if Nokia made a handset that wasnt as advanced and rich in features as their N series phones, with so many posibilities to enhance the phones features, which would then be on par with most samsung, SE phones etc, there would be less problems.

mrochester · 9 Nov 2006 at 23:48

Well, actually you can seemlessly switch between 2g and 3g, at least you should be able to. Unfortunatley Nokia can't seem to actually produce a handset that will do it correctly. A call shouldn't drop (unless it's a video call) if you switch between the two on Orange.

I've asked about this and it's a problem with the network rather than the phone.

Dolph · 10 Nov 2006 at 07:27

mrochester said:
I've asked about this and it's a problem with the network rather than the phone.

Which is why the sony ericsson and samsung 3g phones have the same issue... oh wait, they don't

The only phones that behave this way are the nokia ones, now it could be a glitch in the way the two work together, but it's not soley the network at fault otherwise it would affect the other handsets too

mrochester · 10 Nov 2006 at 10:03

Well that doesn't explain how some guy in Germany gets seemless handoffs between 3G and 2G on his 6680.

This used to happen to me in the first days of 3G in Greece and probably was a problem of bad configuration from the network side, combined with my handset's software not being fine tuned since it was one of the first 3G phones available (the Motorola V980).
Nevertheless, all present day 3G phones (including all Nokias) have no problem in call switching and the dropped calls are probably called by incorrect network configuration by the provider.