Pro1x - really poor connectivity to both wifi and cellular.

[Rob. S. 1,634]

5 hours ago, david said:

because they are going to stop using it for LTE this year.  This thread below discusses it more

In Germany, the three network operators keep promising they wouldn't drop LTE for 5G, they say 5G would only replace 3G (3G has already disappeared), but my impression is that 4G connectivity has generally become worse where I live, and a network specialist said that's because they've added 5G to their towers. 

[Hook 2,907]

9 hours ago, david said:

They don't list band 41 on their website, but they use it.  I am hoping the reason they don't list it is because they are going to stop using it for LTE this year.  This thread below discusses it more.  I hope they kill it completely and not just leave 5 MHz of it left.  They may have already killed it off in your area.

I don't have 5G (NR) in my preferred network type list.

 

 

 

They do list Band 41 on their website, but as UC 5G.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network

[david 918]

5 hours ago, Hook said:

They do list Band 41 on their website, but as UC 5G.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network

Sorry, I meant they don't list LTE band 41 (b41).  They do list 5G band 41 (n41).

[david 918]

9 hours ago, Rob. S. said:

That is the first option I'm reading about which actually sounds like it would describe a relatively simple (for a manufacturer) method to substantially alleviate the connectivity issues! I wonder what @Casey might be able to say about it. 

It might be a work around until they can figure out why certain bands don't work.

[david 918]

9 hours ago, Rob. S. said:

In Germany, the three network operators keep promising they wouldn't drop LTE for 5G, they say 5G would only replace 3G (3G has already disappeared), but my impression is that 4G connectivity has generally become worse where I live, and a network specialist said that's because they've added 5G to their towers. 

I can't speak for non-USA countries, but the sense I am getting here is that they will keep lowering bandwidth on the LTE bands and giving that to 5G.  Eventually, I am guessing they will shut down LTE completely.  That's not good news for Pro1/Pro1X owners.  My hope is that someone will make a 5G keyboard phone and that 5G will be around for a very long time (with 6G, 7G. Etc. being more about ultra high frequency use for shorter distances).

Of course, keeping a phone working over these long time periods is probably a bigger obstacle.  😢  And that's just the hardware aspects.  Then there is software support and not being able to run apps made for newer versions of android that we won't get on our pro1/Pro1X phones.  Maybe LineageOS will extend the lifespan a bit in this regard.

[Rob. S. 1,634]

57 minutes ago, david said:

Maybe LineageOS will extend the lifespan a bit in this regard.

Seeing that even on the original Pro1 there still is an official up-to-date LineageOS, now that LineageOS is also official for the Pro1X I'm actually inclined to be cautiously optimistic in that regard...

[Hook 2,907]

Considering I still get security updates for my (admittedly "unofficial") Lineage on my 2014 Samsung Tab S, I think so.  If they stop making official builds down the line, there will no doubt be someone who can keep patching older builds with current security patches, Like @claude0001does for Lineage 16.

[Hook 2,907]

Well, I'm out in CO now and my pro1X works great as a phone here.  It immediately grabbed Band 4.  Calls are clear on both ends.  Either Both home and here has really great T-Moble (which is possible-- an n=2 locations is not a lot of data) or there are Pro1xs that work and Pro1xs that don't work.  Variability in manufacturing quality?  Could that be why the beta testers never found this problem before release?    

[david 918]

1 minute ago, Hook said:

Well, I'm out in CO now and my pro1X works great as a phone here.  It immediately grabbed Band 4.  Calls are clear on both ends.  Either Both home and here has really great T-Moble (which is possible-- an n=2 locations is not a lot of data) or there are Pro1xs that work and Pro1xs that don't work.  Variability in manufacturing quality?  Could that be why the beta testers never found this problem before release?    

That's great it is working for you there.  My guess is your phone either hasn't found band 41 yet, or where you are doesn't have any LTE band 41 towers.

Are there people reporting band 4 not working on Tmobile?  Mine works okay on Band 4, both in Minnesota (multiple towers) and in SW Tennessee.  It didn't work on band 41 in SW Tennessee and doesn't work on band 41 in Minnesota.  I don't remember if it found a band 41 in Mississippi.  I was using my Verizon 5G wifi hotspot most of the trip, so my Pro1X was using wifi more often than cellular.

[Jormsen 12]

As it seems to be hardware issues i wonder if it has something to do with missing connection springs.
Is it only my device looking like this?

Can't find a seller for these, the closest contacts i can find are these:
OGSC-T-302020 https://www.kitagawa.de/wp-content/uploads/OGSC-TB-302020-1.pdf

[BufferBear 9]

I’ve given up on my Pro1X.  Without a decent signal, what’s the point? So disappointed as I had such high hopes for this phone: 

[EskeRahn 5,399]

44 minutes ago, steff said:

but Eske and others just saying: We do not know how many devices are effected, not that bad. This forum is disappointing as well. No solutions for all the major problems.

Oh I'm not trying to say that it is not bad!

What I'm saying is that we have not got a clue if it is 10% or 90% that are affected by the severe bug.
we do not even have a clear pattern, so we can not say that it is likely or unlikely to work for anyone - and that only adds to the frustration...
We do not even know if it is specific locations&carrier combinations that are not supported correctly, or if it is specific devices that would fail all over.

I lean towards it being some particular environment it fails to handle correctly. My personal GUESS is that it is some band-switching that fails, perhaps when the carrier uses particular equipment.

To get a little bit wiser we might try to take a device A not working under conditions B and swap with a device X working under conditions Y, to see if it is the conditions that are not properly supported or it are some specimens that are faulty.

We have not heard much from FxTec on this, except they said early on that they were unable to reproduce the bug.

We have had at the least one reporting the same problems in the UK.

If anyone here in Denmark have the problem, I will be willing to travel with mine to that spot, to see if mine works there, and if it does, to try to swap sims, and see if the problem follows the device or the sim.

[BufferBear 9]

On 7/18/2023 at 1:12 PM, EskeRahn said:

Oh I'm not trying to say that it is not bad!

What I'm saying is that we have not got a clue if it is 10% or 90% that are affected by the severe bug.
we do not even have a clear pattern, so we can not say that it is likely or unlikely to work for anyone - and that only adds to the frustration...
We do not even know if it is specific locations&carrier combinations that are not supported correctly, or if it is specific devices that would fail all over.

I lean towards it being some particular environment it fails to handle correctly. My personal GUESS is that it is some band-switching that fails, perhaps when the carrier uses particular equipment.

To get a little bit wiser we might try to take a device A not working under conditions B and swap with a device X working under conditions Y, to see if it is the conditions that are not properly supported or it are some specimens that are faulty.

We have not heard much from FxTec on this, except they said early on that they were unable to reproduce the bug.

We have had at the least one reporting the same problems in the UK.

If anyone here in Denmark have the problem, I will be willing to travel with mine to that spot, to see if mine works there, and if it does, to try to swap sims, and see if the problem follows the device or the sim.

I’m in the UK. Such a shame as there were many things I loved including pleb, split screen, etc 

[BufferBear 9]

On 7/18/2023 at 12:29 PM, steff said:

I did as well, i have sold it some month ago. First all the disappointments in the campaign, downgrade and delays, after receiving it depleted battery and sending it back to Fxtec in UK, than no signal and not usable as a phone. And hoping for help in this forum, but Eske and others just saying: We do not know how many devices are effected, not that bad. This forum is disappointing as well. No solutions for all the major problems.

I made the biggest mistake. Bought an iPhone 13.  Always owned Androids. Whilst I love my photos being in snyc for a change as I use an iMac, I dislike everything else about it the iPhone.  For starters, what’s the issue for a lack of split screen? So basic! 

Edited July 20, 2023 by BufferBear

[EskeRahn 5,399]

6 hours ago, BufferBear said:

I’m in the UK. Such a shame as there were many things I loved including pleb, split screen, etc 

Interesting. It would be great if FxTec could reproduce the bug. IMHO that would make it much more likely that they can find a fix. Let me tag @Casey here, and hope you can get in direct contact. I hope they will be willing to take a trip to your location.

[guss 13]

hi,

I have some problems with calls.

When I try to call my phone I often get the voicemail 
When I try to call with the phone, the call end immediately or i get "busy network"

The signal quality can be full or quite full in LTE or 3G

The problem is the same on Stock Android or LineageOS

My operator is "Free" in France

Any idea to fix that ?

[mangled 15]

Try changing the preferred network type under SIMs settings. I found that the default one often resulted in disconnections. For me tdcdma/wcdma worked good for network stability.

[guss 13]

ok i ll try that, thanks.

 

I found, if i set to "LTE only", there is no possibility to call, i can't find if the Pro1x is voLTE compatible ? i think, if "yes", it would be possible to make calls with "LTE only"

 

 

[Rob. S. 1,634]

See this thread – the phone has some serious data and voice connectivity problems, mostly depending on which bands, most prominently LTE bands, your carrier uses:

Depending on that, there might be settings/workarounds or not. Unfortunately there is no general rule as to what works where. 

(For me, in Germany, no workarounds worked properly, so I bought a small mobile LTE router and got a second SIM, with both data and voice now going through that. The phone SIM's provider needs to offer voice over wifi aka wifi calling, though, for voice to work...)

[mangled 15]

I did have issues with data and voice with LTE band as well but with the current settings I chose, it works flawless for both data and voice but I am limited to data speed H+. WiFi has never been an issue for me. It could vary maybe on each phone, maybe they are all built slightly differently and of course carriers use different bands.

Edited August 31, 2023 by mangled

[jakfish 124]

Over in fxtec pro1x discord forum, a post-er says a beta tester just uploaded results that might entail a software workaround for these hardware difficulties. Best to remain skeptical, but I do want to see where this goes.

[guss 13]

On 8/31/2023 at 1:32 PM, mangled said:

Try changing the preferred network type under SIMs settings. I found that the default one often resulted in disconnections. For me tdcdma/wcdma worked good for network stability.

It seems to be better as you explained

[aaroncv3 9]

On 7/15/2023 at 2:03 AM, Jormsen said:

As it seems to be hardware issues i wonder if it has something to do with missing connection springs.
Is it only my device looking like this?

Can't find a seller for these, the closest contacts i can find are these:
OGSC-T-302020 https://www.kitagawa.de/wp-content/uploads/OGSC-TB-302020-1.pdf

SImilar for me.  I have one of the springs that you're missing:

 

I will try using a small bit of metallic tape to bridge the presumed connection to case edge.  Will report back.

[aaroncv3 9]

27 minutes ago, aaroncv3 said:

SImilar for me.  I have one of the springs that you're missing:

 

I will try using a small bit of metallic tape to bridge the presumed connection to case edge.  Will report back.

Yeah, I don't know.  Hard to say if it made a connection, but in the attempt the spring that I have that @Jormsen did not have fell off.  What a piece of trash.

I held a wire to the other spring under the GPS and that seems to positively affect my 5GHz signal.  FWIW.

[Vitamin C Plus Plus 0]

I'm having a problem when making calls on my Pro-1X.  During a call, my voice cuts off sporadically.  I can hear the other person just fine, however.  This happens even when I have full service strength, and the problem tends to get worse as the call goes on.

Phone Info

• O.S.: Android 11 (reinstalled after I had trouble with Lineage, if that makes any difference)
• Country: United States
• Service Provider: Consumer Cellular

What I've Tried

I can use the S.I.M. card in my old phone without issue.

I've double checked my A.P.N. settings.

I've used the voice recorder app to test the mic.  It works exactly as it should

I've tested it with some of my friends' S.I.M. cards with the following results:

• AT&T: Exact same problem.  My voice would cut out, but I could hear the person on the other end.  The S.I.M. card's owner had her data turned off by AT&T later, with them claiming the phone wasn't compatible with their network.  Apparently their system thought it was a 3G device.
• Google Fi: The person on the other end of the line couldn't hear me at all.  I could hear them perfectly well, however.
• T-Mobile: Same as Google Fi.  Interestingly, if I pressed any numbers on the dial pad, the person on the other end of the line could hear the dial tone.

 

Does anyone know what's going on with my phone?  Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.