Is your radio broken?
The HTC/Google Nexus One is an awesome phone, but it sounds like everyone is still having major radio issues. I know I frequently have issue’s when I’m driving through a certain spot on my way home from work. I’ll frequently drop calls and when I look at my phone, there will be NO data connection what-so-ever.
What is the problem and why is it taking so long for the team of HTC, Google and T-Mobile to work out a solution? At least they are all admitting that there is a problem and they are working on a solution.
We’ve had an official ERE27 radio update that everyone received, and from my experience, did nothing to help with the issue. We’ve also had the Leaked ERE36b radio and I’ve tried that one which appeared to be worse for me.
If you want any if these radios, you can download the packaged update ZIP file’s from Enomther below:
ERE27 Radio Version 4.03.00.21
ERE36B Radio Version 4.04.00.03
* Remember that you need a rooted Nexus On to install these updates.
My partner in crime, Allen, also has the same issue on his Nexus One that he’s had for just 3 days. He’s been on the phone with T-Mobile who said “Everything is fine sir” and passed him on to Google Technical Support. Google Technical Support proceeded to inform him that the problem is related to applications and that some applications are breaking the radio.
After trying many alternative solutions to get his data connection restored, they eventually asked him to do a factory reset and completely clean out his phone to ensure that no residual application settings or components where left on the phone. It worked immediately.
Now, I’m no hardware or operating system guru, but my understanding is that the actual radio driver is protected from the applications by the RIL.
From Wikepedia:
The Android Open Source Project provides a Radio Interface Layer (RIL) between Android telephony services (android.telephony) and the radio hardware.
Isn’t this supposed to protect the hardware from the operating system and prevent applications corrupting things like the radio drivers themselves?
So are Google saying that android is so unstable that installing applications can botch the radio?
Any Android OS experts or hardware geeks out there care to comment? We’d love to hear from you!
