Mobile internet via cellular network mostly not working
#1
For some time now (since Bookworm? Or only a few weeks? I actually don't know) I usually don't have internet access via the mobile network.

Sometimes it works, mostly it does not. A restart usually helps, but of course that's not what you want to do when you need to quickly look something up or when you or wait for a Signal/Telegram message while on the move. The problem occurs with two different providers.

Is there anything I can do?
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#2
Your symptoms are not "normal" - I am on bookworm with a 5.15 kernel and 4G data is fine. My Pinephone is my only internet connection and is pretty reliable.

My only thought is check your APN and make sure it is set correctly for your SIM provider. Other than that I am puzzled.
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#3
On Pure Talk,
.... : Mobian/Phosh, Post Market/Phosh, and Arch/Phosh/Dremur all have dependable data connections on my test phones.
but this is with "Out of the Box" operating systems, no major changes or additions to the system.
(This is testing of most recent releases of these operating systems, + recent updates)

Pure Talk is an AT&T reseller, but it has been more usable for me than AT&T prepaid...? (and cheaper)
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#4
(12-04-2021, 08:27 AM)Anna Wrote: For some time now (since Bookworm? Or only a few weeks? I actually don't know) I usually don't have internet access via the mobile network.

Sometimes it works, mostly it does not. A restart usually helps, but of course that's not what you want to do when you need to quickly look something up or when you or wait for a Signal/Telegram message while on the move. The problem occurs with two different providers.

Is there anything I can do?

@Anna


Have you tried using an sd card flashed with the latest release..?

If the sd card works, it could indicate a problem with your currently installed software.

If that gives the same results,   it could show a hardware or firmware fault.

Good Luck !
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         **BCnAZ**
               Idea
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your favorite OS Team
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#5
Mobile data has never worked for me reliably on any version of Mobian.

(12-04-2021, 08:27 AM)Anna Wrote: Sometimes it works, mostly it does not. A restart usually helps

I've always had exactly the same experience. It's weird that it works only sometimes, because what is different in those situations? Maybe it only works with 3G?

I use the default modem firmware.
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#6
(12-05-2021, 09:18 AM)beta-user Wrote: I've always had exactly the same experience.

Thank you, guys!

At least I'm not alone...

I tried it with three different installations -- same problem. I followed the APN clue and changed it to the recommended settings from my provider -- same problem.

I usually have a 4G connection that drops to 2G when I make phone calls. Making calls, however, does not seen to negatively affect connectivity: After a restart, mobile Internet connections work fine even after a call. I don't know what the factor is that finally makes the connections drop.
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#7
I finally found out how to make the mobile internet work on my phone, I hope you can make any use of it:

For some reason there are two APNs from my provider (O2 Germany) in Settings/Mobile Network/Access Point Names: There is "pinternet.interkom.de" and there is "internet". When I don't have a data connection, I have to switch to the respective other APN and everything works. I have no idea what it depends on and of course this workaround is not ideal, but it's at least less tedious than restarting the phone and hoping that it will work.

I found that out after I had followed zetabeta's advice to set ATTR{power/control}="on" instead of ATTR{power/control}="auto" in the first line of /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/80-modem-eg25.rules (reboot afterwards or make udev load the new rules). This minimises the notorious modem crashes (in fact I hardly had any crashes since changing it), which is great in itself; I'm not sure whether it contributed to the fact that I have mobile internet.

Anyway: My pinephone is now perfectly usable.
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#8
(02-21-2022, 07:39 AM)Anna Wrote: I finally found out how to make the mobile internet work on my phone, I hope you can make any use of it:

For some reason there are two APNs from my provider (O2 Germany) in Settings/Mobile Network/Access Point Names: There is "pinternet.interkom.de" and there is "internet". When I don't have a data connection, I have to switch to the respective other APN and everything works. I have no idea what it depends on and of course this workaround is not ideal, but it's at least less tedious than restarting the phone and hoping that it will work.

I found that out after I had followed zetabeta's advice to set ATTR{power/control}="on" instead of ATTR{power/control}="auto" in the first line of /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/80-modem-eg25.rules (reboot afterwards or make udev load the new rules). This minimises the notorious modem crashes (in fact I hardly had any crashes since changing it), which is great in itself; I'm not sure whether it contributed to the fact that I have mobile internet.

Anyway: My pinephone is now perfectly usable.

Be careful, it may ruin your battery life.
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#9
(02-22-2022, 03:44 AM)anonymous Wrote:
(02-21-2022, 07:39 AM)Anna Wrote: I finally found out how to make the mobile internet work on my phone, I hope you can make any use of it:

For some reason there are two APNs from my provider (O2 Germany) in Settings/Mobile Network/Access Point Names: There is "pinternet.interkom.de" and there is "internet". When I don't have a data connection, I have to switch to the respective other APN and everything works. I have no idea what it depends on and of course this workaround is not ideal, but it's at least less tedious than restarting the phone and hoping that it will work.

I found that out after I had followed zetabeta's advice to set ATTR{power/control}="on" instead of ATTR{power/control}="auto" in the first line of /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/80-modem-eg25.rules (reboot afterwards or make udev load the new rules). This minimises the notorious modem crashes (in fact I hardly had any crashes since changing it), which is great in itself; I'm not sure whether it contributed to the fact that I have mobile internet.

Anyway: My pinephone is now perfectly usable.

Be careful, it may ruin your battery life.

Hey Anna,

great that you found a solution. And yes, it would be interesting, if that fix influences your everyday battery life.
I am also an o2 Germany user and sometimes the stability of my mobile data is a bit fragile, too.

Cheers
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#10
(02-22-2022, 03:44 AM)anonymous Wrote: Be careful, it may ruin your battery life.

I haven't measured it yet.

But battery life has always been bad (I don't go out without a 10,000 mAh power bank and a charger) and depends heavily on usage: When the phone is on standby, it works for almost two days and when in use, it lasts not much more than two hours (guesstimate) - so I really would have to do a controlled experiment to gauge the impact.

But at least battery life has not become so much worse that I would have noticed an obvious difference during the ten days since I made the change. The crashing modem had made the phone completely unreliable; now the phone is usable. So it's definitely a good trade from my perspective.
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