Pro1x - really poor connectivity to both wifi and cellular.

[hiroki 4]

2 hours ago, PoongZY said:

Did you experience band switching like mine? I am in Malaysia too

Yes, band switching many times, especially Band3/7/8.

Sometimes Band1/28.

I'm in KL.

[PoongZY 15]

@Caseydo we expecting some release / beta this month?

[doubleddav 34]

Hi all, I've been mucking around with the LTE Discovery app some of us have been using. Trying to gather as much data as I can, so stay tuned. (if I can get my act together)

I paid for the pro version in the end (about $3) and it has a nifty little feature where it resets the cell radio on a "not connected" condition. So far, I've been using data on my phone all day with no issues. Even voice calls in and out are working, so far. I've also been running a continuous ping test every 2 seconds while hotspotted and no dropped pings

It's not a solution but maybe a useful workaround for the time being.. I'll see how things goes more long term, and would also be interested if someone else can reproduce these results as well.

[doubleddav 34]

OK, I've merged the logs generated by Discover LTE with my ping test. Hopefully it makes sense to someone. So there were timeouts as you'll see even though it was much better than usual.

I have attached the spreadsheet. The column "LTE event" is just when something is logged by Discover LTE. The column "ping timeout" hopefully is self explanatory.

lte_logs.xlsx

[Rob. S. 1,664]

After some days of trying the LTE Discovery app in No-LTE cycle mode, I've found my LTE connection to be still poor, but at least usable for both the phone and the laptop with casual internet access. At least no more timeouts in the middle of a payment transaction or something like that. (Still taking the mobile router with me most of the time, but now it is not catastrophic anymore when I forget it 😉)

Edited February 16, 2023 by Rob. S.

[PoongZY 15]

Anyone is working with support using the new beta build? @Caseyany progress on this?

[Casey 321]

On 3/11/2023 at 11:58 PM, PoongZY said:

Anyone is working with support using the new beta build? @Caseyany progress on this?

We haven't released a new beta build yet. But we're still on track to release one soon.

[Michael074 0]

My QX1050 correctly recognizes my carrier as Dodo and allows me to connect to the internet via mobile network or by wifi, but I can't make or receive calls even though it shows there is a strong mobile network connection. when someone calls me it says unavailable. when i try to make calls the screen shows that its calling, but there is no sound at all, no ring tone and eventually i get the notification mobile network not available.

has anybody else had this issue? I'm having trouble coming up with search terms because its such a general sounding issue.

[claude0001 1,352]

10 hours ago, Michael074 said:

shows there is a strong mobile network connection. when someone calls me it says unavailable. when i try to make calls the screen shows that its calling, but there is no sound at all, no ring tone and eventually i get the notification mobile network not available.

That's a very similar symptom I observe often: Apparently, there is a signal, but calls can't get in or out, and finally the phone "gives up" and you get the "no network" message.

Unfortunately I have no solution. For me (German carrier), calls do work in principle, but only with specific cells/bands, and only with VoLTE. Do you have the latter enabled?

At this point, no one really knows what is going on. Sadly, if F(x)tec do not come up with a fix for this, be prepared to never be able to use the Pro1X as a (reliable) phone ...

Edited March 26, 2023 by claude0001

[Hook 3,043]

Well, it's ironic since, although they have SIMs, neither my Pro1 nor Pro1X are intended to be used as phones, but I just received my Pro1x and I having no problems at all.  WiFi connectivity in my house is superb.  I did have some trouble with people hearing me at first, but that went away after one adjustment (though that could be coincidence)... I changed preferred network to not include 5G (which my sim seemed to default to).

I tried both a T-Mobile sim (Now back in my Por1 where it normally lives) and a Ting Mobile sim (a T-Mobile MVNO) which is in there now.  Looking at 3C Network Manager, both my Pro1 and my Pro1x give me about the same readouts, except my Pro1x ventures more often to 75% signal strength.  According to LTE Discover (which does work on Lineage, by the way), which I mostly don't understand but readouts look very similar on the two phones) both phones use LTE B4 (the Pro1 sometimes uses B41). 

There are differences between the Pro1 and the Pro1x's setups.  The Pro1 is on Lineage 20 (Android 13), the Pri1x on the stock it came with (Android 11).  I've made no tweaks except changing preferred network to the identical choice that didn't include 5G and installing the Network monitor apps.  Interestingly, the Pro1 has all the VoLTE toggles on (in the phone menu as well) while the Pro1X has all the VoLTE toggles grayed out but in the on position. However, the Pro1 has WiFi calls turned on by default, while the Pro1X has it off by default and, for now, I'm leaving it though I think Ting has it. 

Despite these differences, so far, there really is no noticeable difference between using my Pro 1 and my Pro1x. Which is to say signals are weaker than my Moto on Verizon, but that is true of the Pro1 too.

I will wait to go to Lineage so I can keep testing and will join the Beta group to see if they can tell me how to get them useful data.

Please don't misinterpret this post as dismissing problems others are reporting.  I'm just saying, in my case, I am not having troubles (yet).  Why is a mystery.

[EskeRahn 5,471]

2 hours ago, steff said:

They have not been able to come up with a fix for at least a half year. But they did what they are always doing: They say it is close, just a little bit more patience. These are hardware bugs in my opinion. The smartest thing is to sell it as long as it is not officially known as hardware bug.

From what we seen in here all bands individually works at some locations, so that makes it pretty unlikely to be hardware.

Why all bands does not work all time in all locations/situation is the big question here....

I personally have a suspicion that band switching (or attempted switching) is the real culprit (and thus likely controlled by firmware), but that's just my hunch from what people have reported, and could be completely false!

[EskeRahn 5,471]

1 minute ago, steff said:

I am not waiting for the saving bug fix and os update or any custom rom.

You're absolutely right that there are no guarantees that they will be able to pinpoint, let alone fix the bug!!
And the bug is very real, and for those in situations where they are hit by it, makes it useless (more or less) as is.

Unfortunately we have very little facts here, we do not even know if it is say 90% or 10% that are affected, as people rarely post when things work, and often post when they do not.

[claude0001 1,352]

1 hour ago, steff said:

For all of you, who are planing to use the pro1x as a daily driver, i hope you are right. I just do not believe in it [...]

I agree. I am in the lucky position to own an original Pro1 that is unaffected by all these issues. It shows that F(x)tec can make functional phones, just to emphasize that here once more. 

One thing @Michael074 could do is join their beta testing programme and provide debug-info to them. I haven't done so yet because my Pro1-X is already on LineageOS. Also, I admittedly have too much other fish to fry right now and cannot routinely carry a second smartphone along just to study its field-behaviour.

That being said, admittedly, even with all necessary debugging info provided, I no longer count on them fixing the Pro1-X's radio problems.  Mainly because I do not believe they have the financial means to do so.

Edited March 26, 2023 by claude0001

[jakfish 133]

@Hook  has walked me through a weird workaround, so far effective in Maryland, USA/TMobile. As follows:

Caller couldn't hear me. Put caller on speaker. Caller could hear me. Took caller off speaker. Caller could hear me. Called caller back, not on speaker. Caller could hear me.

Hook also advised, in Preferred Network settings, to use:

LTE/TDSCDMA/CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA

This success is all LTE; wifi calling has been disabled.

Data, anecdotally, seems fine. Haven't tried gps.

But I'm going to try Pro1x as daily driver for next few days to see what I can see.

Edited March 26, 2023 by jakfish

[Hook 3,043]

2 hours ago, jakfish said:

@Hook  has walked me through a weird workaround, so far effective in Maryland, USA/TMobile. As follows:

Caller couldn't hear me. Put caller on speaker. Caller could hear me. Took caller off speaker. Caller could hear me. Called caller back, not on speaker. Caller could hear me.

Hook also advised, in Preferred Network settings, to use:

LTE/TDSCDMA/CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA

This success is all LTE; wifi calling has been disabled.

Data, anecdotally, seems fine. Haven't tried gps.

But I'm going to try Pro1x as daily driver for next few days to see what I can see.

Yeah, this was really weird... I accidentally did this early on but I didn't believe it was what fixed things. But when @jakfishwas telling me about his problems in discord, I  just, on a whim, made the suggestion to see what would happen.  I keep thinking it has to be a mistaking correlation for causation error, but the question is, what is the real variable.

[EskeRahn 5,471]

14 hours ago, Hook said:

Yeah, this was really weird... I accidentally did this early on but I didn't believe it was what fixed things. But when @jakfishwas telling me about his problems in discord, I  just, on a whim, made the suggestion to see what would happen.  I keep thinking it has to be a mistaking correlation for causation error, but the question is, what is the real variable.

Let is tag @Casey on this one. If this shows to be a working workaround for that bug -crazy as it is- it MIGHT help in tracking the bug down.

If I were doing he testing, I would be likely to do either hands-free or with headphones, as you during test is likely want to see the screen. So who knows that MIGHT be why they could not reproduce the bug - I for one would never had guessed that hands-free or not could have any affect on this...

Add:
I almost NEVER use a phablet held to my ear. 99.9% of calls are handfree on my desk or with earphones, and THAT could be why I have not had the issue testing here,

[Hook 3,043]

12 minutes ago, EskeRahn said:

Let is tag @Casey on this one. If this shows to be a working workaround for that bug -crazy as it is- it MIGHT help in tracking the bug down.

If I were doing he testing, I would be likely to do either hands-free or with headphones, as you during test is likely want to see the screen. So who knows that MIGHT be why they could not reproduce the bug - I for one would never had guessed that hands-free or not could have any affect on this...

Add:
I almost NEVER use a phablet held to my ear. 99.9% of calls are handfree on my desk or with earphones, and THAT could be why I have not had the issue testing here,

Casey has been made aware on Discord.  I will be joining the beta group in the next day or two. 

[EskeRahn 5,471]

7 minutes ago, EskeRahn said:

I almost NEVER use a phablet held to my ear. 99.9% of calls are handfree on my desk or with earphones, and THAT could be why I have not had the issue testing here,

An app like "Auto Speaker" (com.hanan.android.ramkol) can be really handy here, using the proximity sensor to detect if it should be handsfree or not.

With this app the workaround could be triggered simply by moving the Pro1X away from and back to your ear.

[Hook 3,043]

6 minutes ago, EskeRahn said:

An app like "Auto Speaker" (com.hanan.android.ramkol) can be really handy here, using the proximity sensor to detect if it should be handsfree or not.

With this app the workaround could be triggered simply by moving the Pro1X away from and back to your ear.

Seems a little overkill... I move the phone away and just tap the speaker button. 😄 No additional software needed.

[claude0001 1,352]

22 hours ago, jakfish said:

Hook also advised, in Preferred Network settings, to use:

LTE/TDSCDMA/CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA

This success is all LTE; wifi calling has been disabled.

This doesn't change anything for me (nor all the other "preferred modes" I have tried).

I have a pretty constant behaviour in all the tests I have made:

1) At one end of my apartment, the Pro1-X works acceptably. It uses LTE band 3 (1840 MHz) in that spot. Mobile data is fine. Phone calls go in and out, though only via VoLTE (in principle, my carrier supports GSM calls and I use those exclusively with the Pro1).

2) When I move to the other side of the house (~ 10 m), the Pro1-X switches to LTE band 20 (800 MHz), and all connections stall, even though the signal strength is displayed as equally good. If I do this during a call, the latter stalls and gets disconnected at some point.

3) If I stay in the "bad" part of the apartment for too long, at some point, the modem goes game over and shows zero signal. It will then not reconnect even if I move back to the "band 3" area of the house. Once in this state, I need to "reinitialize" the modem by switching to aeroplane-mode and back.

Side note: I have no problems with WiFi reception, as others have reported. Neither at 2.4 nor at 5 GHz.

Just from my own observations, I wonder whether the Pro1-X's rf hardware simply has problems with the lower frequencies < 1 GHz. This would explain why I can't use LTE band 20 (800 MHz, unfortunately often used by my carrier, also with the Pro1) and cannot use GSM telephony (carrier uses 900 MHz for that exclusively).

Edited March 27, 2023 by claude0001

[Hook 3,043]

42 minutes ago, claude0001 said:

This doesn't change anything for me (nor all the other "preferred modes" I have tried).

I have a pretty constant behaviour in all the tests I have made:

1) At one end of my apartment, the Pro1-X works acceptably. It uses LTE band 3 (1840 MHz) in that spot. Mobile data is fine. Phone calls go in and out, though only via VoLTE (in principle, my carrier supports GSM calls and I use those exclusively with the Pro1).

2) When I move to the other side of the house (< 10 m), the Pro1-X switches to LTE band 20 (800 MHz), and all connections stall, even though the signal strength is displayed as equally good. If I do this during a call, the latter stalls and gets disconnected at some point.

3) If I stay in the "bad" part of the apartment for too long, at some point, the modem goes game over and shows zero signal. It will then not reconnect even if I move back to the "band 3" area of the house. Once in this state, I need to "reinitialize" the modem by switching to aeroplane-mode and back.

Side note: I have no problems with WiFi reception, as others have reported. Neither at 2.4 nor at 5 GHz.

Just from my own observations, I wonder whether the Pro1-X's rf hardware simply has problems with the lower frequencies < 1 GHz. This would explain why I can't use LTE band 20 (800 MHz, unfortunately often used by my carrier, also with the Pro1) and cannot use GSM telephony (carrier uses 900 MHz for that exclusively).

As far as I can tell, my Pro1x is constantly using Band 4 throughout my house and anywhere in my yard.  It doesn't seem to switch.  Your theory would predict that I'd be fine if that's really the case (I am basing this on LTE Discovery, assuming I understand what it is telling me, which is not guaranteed).

I'm going to take it with me shortly to a place I know gets terrible T-Mobile reception on my Pro1 and see if it a)switches and b) if it does, does it have trouble recovering later.

[Rob. S. 1,664]

Just for the record, switching preferred networks to LTE/TDSCDMA/CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA (from NR/LTE/TDSCDMA/CDMA/EvDo/GSM/WCDMA) did not make anything better for me. LTE is usable, even if only just, with the LTE discovery app in No-LTE cycle mode, and frequently drops for longer periods without. Nice to hear that it helps others!

[claude0001 1,352]

31 minutes ago, Hook said:

I'm going to take it with me shortly to a place I know gets terrible T-Mobile reception on my Pro1 and see if it a)switches and b) if it does, does it have trouble recovering later.

According to my research, T-Mobile US uses several "long-range" LTE bands (5, 12 and 71), all below 1 GHz (though not identical to my band 20). We'll see what happens ... 👍

[EskeRahn 5,471]

1 hour ago, claude0001 said:

3) If I stay in the "bad" part of the apartment for too long, at some point, the modem goes game over and shows zero signal. It will then not reconnect even if I move back to the "band 3" area of the house. Once in this state, I need to "reinitialize" the modem by switching to aeroplane-mode and back.

Just out of curiosity. What happens if you do the Aeroplane-mode trick in the Band-20 end of the apartment?

Others have reported it working on Band 20, so my theory is that it is the switching that fails. That is in your case that the Pro1X fails to request the call to be transferred to the other channel (or however that works, do not know any details on how calls are handed over)

[claude0001 1,352]

2 minutes ago, EskeRahn said:

Just out of curiosity. What happens if you do the Aeroplane-mode trick in the Band-20 end of the apartment?

Unfortunately doesn't help. As (I think) I wrote previously, band 20 does not work, even if I enable the modem (or boot the Pro1-X) in that "zone" of my apartment. It will then directly go to the "no service" state.