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< Esato Forum Index > Sony Ericsson / Sony > GPRS, WAP, MMS and Email setup > C510 - abysmal internet speeds Bookmark topic

Hopefully someone can help me.

I've just got a brand new C510 to replace my K800i, which will no longer take pictures and the joystick is getting knackered.

Let me set the scene: it took me long enough to get 3G to enable on my K800i phone! It wouldn't enable on my PAYG SIM, but when I changed to Simplicity in November, 3G was working fine. And has been ever since.

So when I got my C510 two days ago, I placed my o2 Simplicity SIM inside it and it all worked fine. And so I expected my internet speeds to be fine too. But it doesn't use 3G - instead, I just have an "H" at the top. Which I gather stands for HSDPA, a better and faster internet standard than 3G. However, I always have a pathetic, rubbish signal when "H" is showing, and I expected it to fall back to 3G - but it never shows a 3G icon.

So I'm wondering, is 3G even available on this phone? It looks like I only have two options - HSDPA or the ridiculously slow GPRS. Could the WAP settings etc have any bearing on this?

If anyone could give me any advice on this C510 that'd be great, because I amalready rapidly losing my patience, this phone should be so much better than my K800 but I am seriously considering going back to it!!

Thanks

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Posted: 2009-04-24 23:30:31
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I have c510 too. I find that at first it finds 3G then after few mins it shows a H. Now i find whatever the signal strength speeds are still fast. You cant select to go back to 3G as it will hook onto whatever the phone finds. My speeds are fine pages load very fast but i noticed your on O2. I left them a while ago due to their poor internet connections and speeds. But oddly enough i was using a K800i back then. I found it terrible. Though i find my speeds fine i did read one review somewhere of the c510 saying they thought the browser was poor. I am not sure what the answer is.

[ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2009-05-02 21:28 ]
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Posted: 2009-05-01 21:29:00
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That is a tough one. I think you might have to do some investigation with both SE and your network provider.

It's commonplace for networks to upgrade all their UMTS cellsites to HSPA but clearly O2 haven't done that for many of their cellsites. I noticed recently that MPE displays Cell ID info in the monitor; that will tell you which transmitter you are connected to and a knowledgable O2 person may be able to identify it's location for you. It would be interesting to see if changing the C510 network setting to GPRS only, causes the phone to switch to a different (closer) cellsite. It would also pay to see which cellsite the K800i connects to.

I went for a drive around my suburb a few weeks ago to scout out all the local transmitters and I did speedtests (with an iPhone app) at each location. I pinpointed the locations on Google Maps and it turns out I'm only 350m from one cellsite and 650m from another. Each of these is only 1.8Mbps capable I believe and my network has confirmed there are no 7.2Mbps sites in my region so don't assume as I initially did that an H symbol automatically means 7.2Mbps speeds.

SE firmware doesn't usually differentiate between UMTS and HSPA in the settings, just calls it all 3G. You could make enquiries with them and see what they have to say.
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Posted: 2009-05-01 23:39:29
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I'm on O2 as well, I've found that I don't get 3G, it's either HSDPA, EDGE or GPRS. Edge isn't too bad speedwise but sometimes will drop back to crappy GPRS speeds if there's no 3.5g signal. Seems pretty quick on 3.5g on my C905 running Opera Mini, tho the 3.5g signal isn't quite widespread yet.
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Posted: 2009-05-02 00:30:36
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Ok. Something i have noticed strange. I recently sold my Orange c510 and bought a Future black sim free one from CPW and also moved back to Vodafone cos i love new pre pay tariff. Anyway when i was previously some time ago on Vodafone with my old K800i i noticed signal not so good in my area even though the K800i is very good signal wise. But now i got the sim free c510 with Vodafone the GSM signal is better in my area. Could it be that some phones pick up cell sites further away than others? Its strange. Oddly enough too i also find standard GPRS pages load quite fast on Vodafone which is very unusual in itself and thats using Opera Mini. Only frustrating thing is in my area i dont have 3G coverage on Vodafone Though i can get 2 bars of 3G coverage in my garden. Not very handy. Vodafone have said there are future plans in my area :@

[ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2009-05-02 21:54 ]
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Posted: 2009-05-02 22:27:00
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Since becoming a regular on the Voda NZ forum I've found that a lot of what we think are handset issues are actually fluctuations/limitations in network performance. It does pay to be aware of just how much performance is available from your chosen network in your area. Advertised maximums are simply irrelevant in most cases. It certainly makes you think twice about buying devices with the latest modem technology.

@alex ncfc
It seems that the C510 (like all SE phone probably) looks for the best speed over the best reception. Therefore you'll need to talk to your network about updating the cellsite nearest you to HSPA. If that's not going to happen anytime soon then you'll need to discuss it with SE; they need to know that O2's HSPA rollout schedule is causing negative attitudes toward SE products.

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Posted: 2009-05-03 01:48:28
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Not noticed but does the c510 have edge? When i am browsing with no 3G coverage i am not sure if i am using edge or GPRS.
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Posted: 2009-05-03 02:58:00
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