Wifi or 3G while in a call

[Jkasten]

It seems that the Motorola Droid will not connect to either 3G or WiFi when in a call. Is this a known issue? I looked though all the FAQ and Googled the problem but haven't been able to find a fix. Anyone know how to get around this?

Thanks.

 

[drbob]

Lack of combined voice/data is related to Verizon's end-of-life CDMA network.

GSM (ATT/Tmobile) allow simultaneous voice and data; Verizon is coming out with a new network (along with ATT) called LTE which is a lot faster than CDMA and allows simultaneous voice and data.

 

[Jkasten]

I see. Didn't know that. Whats with the wifi not working either?

 

[Trip]

Verizon uses CDMA technology, which means you can not use your phone and data (3G) at the same time, its a limitation of their network, but in general CDMA is faster than the alternatives so...

You phone should be able to use Wi-Fi and the phone at the same time, I don't do it often, but I'm almost positive that I have been on a call and checked an email from my phone at work via the Wi-Fi connection.

 

[moosc]

its not really the networks fault cdma can handle voice/data its verizon who has crippled it

 

[Jkasten]

I wonder once someone finds out how to root this phone if that will be something easy to do. I'll give the wifi a try again when I am on the phone next time but the last 2 times it was not working for me. Thanks everyone for the fast reply.

 

[drbob]

Actually, GSM has faster data than CDMA.

EVDO initially had data of 2.4 Mbps download (real world probably 300-700 Kbps) and only 153 Kbps on upload.

EVDO Revision A has data of 3.1 Mbps download (real world ~ 1 Mbps) and 1.8 Mbps upload.

GSM has HSDPA (high speed download packet access) with speeds up to 14.4 Mbps (ATT is reportedly building out its network to 7.2 Mbps in major cities presently).

4G (LTE - both Verizon and ATT are going this route) reportedly will go up to 140 Mbps!

Here are nice articles which explains this stuff in more detail:

Mobile Term Madness: LTE, WiMax, EV-DO and More Explained - At&t - Gizmodo

Giz Explains: Why WiMax and LTE Wireless 4G Data Will Blow Your Mind - WiMax - Gizmodo

 

[EARL97850]

I assume that the Droid will work on this "LTE", or will all CDMA phones need some kind of upgrade?

Cya

 

[drbob]

The current Droid will not work with LTE (which is more related to the GSM standard and may only work on 700 Mhz).

Assume there will be new devices out next year that probably will work on both CDMA and LTE (CDMA for voice and LTE for data) until the transition to LTE is complete.

 

[mth04]

OK so try it. Get on a call and turn or have WIFI on. Go back to home screen and see if you can surf or something. I haave always thought that was possible. I'm gonna test that today and see if I can confirm it

 

[drbob]

To clarify:

You can do voice and data with the Droid when on WiFi. The voice call goes thru Verizon's network and the data goes thru the WiFi router.

If WiFi is not available, you can only do voice OR data (not both).

(It bugs me that this is one area where the iPhone beats the Droid, as the iPhone can multitask phone with email, web surfing, multiplayer games and other 'data' programs.)

 

[Backnblack]

I wonder once someone finds out how to root this phone if that will be something easy to do.

it's not a phone limitation, it's a network limitation...

 

[drbob]

So is it something Verizon could just turn on? Would it be too much of a load on the network if we could do voice/data at the same time?

 

[Jkasten]

I gave the wifi a try again and it worked this time. I've had the known issue once where the speak was very soft and could not get it working again until a re booted. Also my GSP was not working once and had to reboot because no matter how many time i messed with the settings it was not working on Google maps. So maybe my wifi was being weird those other 2 times i tried it. O well at lest there is a update coming out Dec 11th. Thanks for confirming that 3G does not work for sure on a call and I hope Verizon does think about allowing both data and voice at the same time.

 

[dezymond]

Didn't realize Verizon had so many limits....

I never did have a data plan on AT&T so I never got to use it simultaneously, but it seems like a pretty basic feature that's needed in today's "mobile race". I mean AT&T, their direct competitor, and T-Mobile have it. Sprint is claiming they're going 4g first. Verizon gotta step their game up....

Google and Motorola did, your turn Verizon=P