Cannot get 3G data and Bluetooth audio at the same time

B

bobman

New member
First post guys so be patient...

Just taken delivery of a UK edition Samsung Galaxy S. Connecting it to my car audio via bluetooth no problems but it drops the 3G/H network connection as soon as it connects to the car. Disconnect the Bluetooth and I get the data connection back.

Is this deliberate or a bug? It means I can't receive emails etc whilst in my car unless I turn off Bluetooth.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Tony
 
First post guys so be patient...

Just taken delivery of a UK edition Samsung Galaxy S. Connecting it to my car audio via bluetooth no problems but it drops the 3G/H network connection as soon as it connects to the car. Disconnect the Bluetooth and I get the data connection back.

Is this deliberate or a bug? It means I can't receive emails etc whilst in my car unless I turn off Bluetooth.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Tony
 
Hi togyogtr and welcome to the AC forums.

I've never heard of this reported before, nor can I find any similar reports on Google.

There are apps that claim to be able to tether a phone using 3G via Bluetooth, so I'm guessing it most be possible at an Android level to use 3G and Bluetooth at the same time.

Are you in a strong 3G area? Just I have a theory...

When you get into your car, you will lose some signal strength due to the metal body of the car being impervious to mobile phone signals. All of your phone signal must come through the windows. The phone is likely kept lower than the height of the windows too, which will further reduce the signal strength.

Nearby radio sources can reduce signal quality and strength too, so it could be turning on Bluetooth, which activates the BT radio in your phone and the BT radio in your car, also compounds the issue.

So try this... Download the app called Antennas (you can scan the QR code on this page with the barcode scanner if you want to be quicker) http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-technolatry-antennas-qiEq.aspx

Connect to 3G, and run the app to see where the transmitter is that you're using for 3G. Then, drive to as close as possible to it, and repeat your 3G + Bluetooth test. Do you still lose signal?
 
This is a double post so let me double reply but more clearly. My G1 sits low on the console of my car, runs a Bluetooth (Nokia) hands-free speaker, and with all windows up, I get perfect 3G reception. This really sounds like a hardware issue. I would call Samsung and/or go on a Samsung forum and check.

This may or may not be related:

http://cellphoneforums.net/samsung/t309585-samsung-sch-a950-shuts-off-when-car-bluetooth-connects.html
 
Hi Guys,

This definitely seems like an Android bug. When the Bluetooth is not connected I still the normal Bluetooth blue box in the notification bar AND I see the 3G data arrows right next to the signal strength indicator. But once it connects to the car, the 3G icon disappears and the Bluetooth connected symbol takes it's place.

Is it possible the phone thinks it can now get data from the Bluetooth connection and is overriding the 3G data connection? Is there a hidden setting somewhere I can use to tell the phone not to use Bluetooth for data transfers?

Cheers

Tony

ps Apologies for the duplicate thread...
 
Well, if nobody else can confirm this, I'll test it out in two or three weeks when I buy one.

Don't mistake the 3G icon disappearing and the BT icon appearing for an icon being "replaced". I still think what you're seeing is your phone losing 3G signal because of the proximity of two other transmitters (your phone and your car's BT). You may also notice that laptops frequently lose their WiFi signal when BT devices are used nearby. My laptop loses connection every time a Wiimote comes near it.
 
I tried it again just now on the way to work. If I switch off the bluetooth in the car and leave bluetooth running on the phone, i still keep the data connection. If I switch off the Bluetooth on the phone and keep the car bluetooth on, still get data. If I unpair the two and have both bluetooth on I still get data.

This really only "disables" 3G data when I pair the two devices. Seems like it must be a Samsung Galaxy S bug then. Definitely not an antenna problem. It's like Samsung has coded the phone (accidentally) to use Bluetooth as a data provider even when connected just to a headset.

Would love for someone else to demo a phone at least and try the bluetooth connection to even a plain old Bluetooth headset and see if the data connection works.

BTW, this is a UK version SIM free phone, brand new.

Cheers

Tony
 
Yeah I'll be buying it SIM free, new, in the UK too. So I'll test for you when I get it.

Having BT switched on doesn't mean anything is being transmitted. On the phone having BT on just means apps can use BT. Having BT on in the car just means it's "discoverable". The only time BT devices transmit is either when actively searching for (discovering) devices, or when they're paired. So again this actually supports my theory, as you said you only lose signal when they're paired.
 
Not necessarily a disconnect though. Could be Samsung just screwed up. I've got a friend in Korea, I'll ask him to test it today too and maybe call Samsung if he can reproduce it.
 
After doing some more digging I found this thread on another forum and it looks like weak signal IS the main culprit and Bluetooth compounds the problem:

https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/142620?tstart=0

So I guess you guys were right afterall. I'm going to attempt it again but holding the phone just outside the car and see what happens.

Cheers

Tony
 
That might do it... but I still reckon my suggestion of driving to your nearest transmitter (as found on the Antennas app) would give you the best idea
 
Bad news. Confirmed it's a limitation of the phone. Samsung disables 3G data when Bluetooth is on. I just tried it again in and outside my car and with a separate headset. Absolute full 3g signal which then gets disconnected the second the BT is connected. I can repeat it every time.

This absolutely sucks as I'm in my car for over an hour a day and this means I cannot get any updates for my email while I'm connected. And if I choose to walk down the road using a BT headset and want to read my email? Tough.

So, I have no idea what to do with this now.
 
GREAT NEWS!

The SwitchPro Widget (SPW) works like a dream. I enabled the Data switch and Bluetooth from the SPW then connected to the car. Sure enough the Data connection dropped immediately. Then I clicked the Data toggle switch twice on the SPW and boom, Data restored and Bluetooth running.

So, why on earth would Samsung disable this in the first place? Because they don't want to be held responsible for someone crashing or walking into traffic because they're talking on the phone but looking down at their email!
 
Good question. I wonder if you need that app at all? Maybe you can just toggle it back on in the settings, or with any of the toggle apps? I'd be curious to know.

It's really weird they'd want to disable 3G when on BT.

Could be power drain?

Can you let us know how you confirmed it is the phone? I like to know sources
 
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