[Bug]Connections Manager (No longer the most urgent problem, but still important)

asked 2014-11-20 23:16:38 +0200

bilgy_no1
7008 ●55 ●100 ●104

updated 2016-08-17 11:03:13 +0200

jiit

2678 ●32 ●58 ●59

admin

I've been using the Jolla phone since day one. I'm very enthusiastic about the company, the OS, and the device. I even ordered the tablet yesterday...

There are many areas where the phone and the OS need to be improved in order to make it a really competitive product. Some of those have been tackled, others are still awaiting a resolution. The most important of these, in my experience, is the way connections are handled. Let me explain what I mean:

The device seems unable to follow an easy logic to automatically connect in the proper order: known Wi-Fi first, then the 3g or 4g network of your provider
It really gets confused when one or more available connections are weak
The WiFi indicator icon is unclear about the signal strength, and does not appear to be a real time indicator. Please just use the standard type indicators (concentric curved bars)
'Connection error' should only appear if there is no working connection, otherwise just switch to the other option.
Don't give me an option to choose between Wi-Fi and 4g just connect! This is especially annoying if it happens every other minute...
When I enable Wi-Fi, just connect. Why is there even a pulley option 'Connect to the Internet'? Just connect!

Finally, Wi-Fi seems to have stopped working, but I think that's something else (it worked before).

There was a new opt-in Connman in update 7, which was then rolled out in update 8. unfortunately, this has solved none of the above issues. Update 9 has some Connman related fixes, but none that seem to describe the above issues. Also, it is only available as a high risk opt-in, so I stay away from it until it is released as a normal update.

I'm amazed that the search didn't return a single topic on what is in my mind the single most important issue to fix in a smartphone: handling the connections effectively and without hassle.

I also have a HTC one m8 for work, and honestly, I couldn't keep using the Jolla if it were my only device. Mostly because of the poor connections.

So, please Jolla, fix this issue soon!

ADDITION: So, I found another incomprehensible 'feature' of the connman. I have disabled wifi (since it seems to be broken). Still, I regularly get the prompt to choose between mobile data and Wi-Fi!

UPDATE: So, I read through links provided by cquence below. It strikes me as odd that:

Often, some kind of work around is proposed (reboot the device, turn on Airplane mode, then turn it off again). This is clearly not the way this important issue should be solved.
Some of the questions have been closed as answered, whereas the problems have clearly not been solved
In one of the questions, a sailor replied: "The autoconnect/switch is a known issue and we are working on fixing it, as is the bridged AP problem." This was posted on JAN 3 2014, almost 11 months ago! The autoconnect/switch issue has clearly not been solved yet, but the question was closed.
In the release notes for the latest (opt-in) update, I don't see any indication that the connman stack is going to be properly fixed by this update.

UPDATE 2: Wi-Fi is working again. It turns out that the Carbon TOH from Funky Other Halves somehow blocked the signal. Strange, however, that mobile data continued to function.

Anyway, the issue with the Connman remains.

UPDATE 3: CHANGED THE TITLE TO 'NO LONGER THE MOST URGENT PROBLEM' So, after using 1.1.1.27 for some time, I conclude that the improvements made in the connections manager are significant. The frequency of the irritating pop-ups has decreased dramatically, and connections seem more stable. Switching from Wi-Fi to cell and back is also more seamless than before. Kudo's for that! There are still some issues, though: such as the symbols on the lock screen not showing the correct connection status.

Since it has already been announced that the connman will see more improvements in the next update, I feel the title of this thread (Most Urgent Problem) is no longer valid. Especially since there is a new kid on the block that genuinely deserves that title: the OOM-killer:

https://together.jolla.com/question/72016/browser-and-oom-handling-with-update-10/

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I have to say I completely agree with the points stated by the TO. Connections are handled very weird by the Jolla phone and this makes life quite hard, if you are using your Jolla as your only device. (which I do)

laubblaeser ( 2014-11-21 02:30:33 +0200 )edit

dsilveira ( 2014-11-21 03:56:28 +0200 )edit

I don't know about update 9's connman fixes since I haven't opted in but there is something very irritating for me that you didn't mention: when you use the share-over-wifi-internet-connection, the phone uses more battery which is normal but once you disable the wifi/connection sharing, it keeps draining battery like hell. Every time I use connection sharing, I reboot my phone after I finished using it and it's quite annoying. I think it's because some pieces of hardware aren't shut down properly. Please fix!

Elioty ( 2014-11-21 11:21:17 +0200 )edit

that indeed is the biggest showstopper since the beginning, which in turn creates problems with applications and the end user not knowing if there are no notifications/emails etc for real or because the device has actually lost connection in the background and the applications are unaware of this etc. I have also tried to describe some of this problems here:

https://together.jolla.com/question/45026/hotfix-opt-in-hotfix-for-connectivity-in-upcoming-update-7/#post-id-47390

I am not that worried with the indicator and if it uses an industry standard with bars etc; I actually like to differentiate. The important bit is that it works!!Let's hope that this question will get a large number of votes, it should be up there along with the offline maps availability as it is a really basic problem with the phone operation: Unreliable data connection!

cquence ( 2014-11-21 11:35:23 +0200 )edit

Sometimes when you disable mobile data then go to change the system from 3g to 2g mobile data becomes enabled again.

alloj ( 2014-11-21 16:30:01 +0200 )edit

3 Answers

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answered 2014-12-03 23:39:46 +0200

tigeli

9543 ●111 ●112 ●130

admin

updated 2015-01-06 04:04:00 +0200

bennypr0fane

5920 ●54 ●75 ●74

We have been improved the logic and I believe it works rather well in its current development version
This is something which is rather complicated when your device is located at the edge of the signal coverage. However we could look into avoiding bad wlan connection by temporarily disabling auto-connection for a wlan-service which has been connected/disconnected x times within y secs, this would of course be optional-setting.
Yes, we have noticed this but have been working on more prioritized issues (however, I just looked into it and I think I found the issue why this is not working "interactively").
We have suppressed lots of "Connection error"-notifications in the upcoming updates, but otherwise this is pretty much the same as 2 on above.
We have improved this a lot, and with update11 (yes, 11.. don't want to risk u10) things should ease up with the popup not being so aggressive.
Not sure what you are after on this as after enabling wlan the device will automatically scan available wlans and connect to one if finds one with "autoconnect" option enabled. There is no need to use the "Connect to internet" at this time.

If you want to follow what we are doing with the connectivity please see:

https://github.com/mer-packages/connman/commits/master

https://github.com/nemomobile/connectionagent/commits/master

https://github.com/nemomobile-packages/ofono/commits/master

https://github.com/nemomobile/libconnman-qt/commits/master

https://github.com/nemomobile/libqofono/commits/master

Some random-stuff:

@Elioty We have fixed the power leaking issue with the internet sharing and it should be part of the upcoming u10.

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Thank you for shedding light on these issues. It's good to hear that improvements can be expected in the next update. Great news!

My question in the 'update 10' thread was exactly about whether there would be improvements in the update. Since this will be the case (or in update 11), I don't think it was fair to remove it as 'unrelated spam'. So, can I get my 500 karma points back please? :-)

bilgy_no1 ( 2014-12-04 01:07:40 +0200 )edit

Thanks for the update on the internet-share power leaking issue =D I now have an extra reason to be impatient for update 10.

Elioty ( 2014-12-04 12:26:19 +0200 )edit

@tigeli - Have a look at this suggestion on the annoying Internet connection pop-up and see if it makes sense. A countdown message header appears max of 5 seconds like remorse time and that perhaps says "Tap to connect to a network" (maybe only the first time app is opened in that particular session) https://together.jolla.com/question/53124/option-to-disable-the-select-internet-connection-popup/#post-id-66444

anandrkris ( 2014-12-04 15:53:55 +0200 )edit

I personally consider that this fix should come as a small update before update 10 as is the most annoying and hamper phone usage in most situations.

tvicol ( 2014-12-05 11:12:28 +0200 )edit

Thanks for this answer. We are waiting for the updated version of the connection manager. A little bit offtopic but it would be nice to know if there will be any more changes for enterpise WiFi (ie supporting it via GUI)

cquence ( 2014-12-05 16:25:26 +0200 )edit

answered 2014-11-21 11:10:46 +0200

Neo

30712 ●180 ●234 ●229

I agree this is one of the most important issues to fix, but it seems to me that some improvement has been made since Jolla phone release back in December 2013.

There are many questions dealing with that topic (or very closely related), these are a few of them:

https://together.jolla.com/question/4047/wifi-issues-sometimes-keeps-disconnecting-and-reconnecting/

https://together.jolla.com/question/6113/lots-of-connection-errors-while-on-wlanwifi/

https://together.jolla.com/question/17758/bug-infinite-loop-of-connection-errors/

https://together.jolla.com/question/9125/data-connections/

https://together.jolla.com/question/57975/dont-show-select-internet-connection-screen-when-unsuccessfuly-trying-to-connect-to-saved-wlan-network/

https://together.jolla.com/question/53124/option-to-disable-the-select-internet-connection-popup/

https://together.jolla.com/question/51426/internet-connection-issue-when-low-network-since-10819/

https://together.jolla.com/question/5126/jolla-behaviour-if-connection-problem/

https://together.jolla.com/question/5309/setting-of-wlan-or-mobile-data-preference/

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Thanks for putting up these links. It's a well-known fact that the search function on this website is totally useless. I've searched several keywords and none of these came up.

Still, these issues you link to are all just part of the problem. I want to call attention to Jolla that the Connections Manager is the weakest link in their device at the moment. Some improvements may have been made, but it's still not working as it should. It seems to me they shouldn't chase the single issues, but rather fix the entire connman stack.

This makes it frustrating to see an announcement of the next update that includes minimal UI changes, or another addition to the first user tutorial. Please first make sure that the device works reliably and flawlessly in its most basic functionality!

bilgy_no1 ( 2014-11-21 12:14:29 +0200 )edit

Still on 1.0.8, hope that November release (if ever) will fix connectivity issues, is a priority. Thanks.

magullo ( 2014-11-21 13:55:08 +0200 )edit

I'm VERY glad to read power leaking issue will be solved in u10!! finally you got it, was very boring to reset the phone each time, especially beacuse sometimes i've forgot to do that and in 3 or 4 hours battery was empty..

gordon_pcb_designer ( 2014-12-04 13:46:14 +0200 )edit

answered 2014-11-27 00:06:20 +0200

bilgy_no1
7008 ●55 ●100 ●104

In response to cquence,

What I mean about the network indicators...

It is often unclear which of the connections is active. The wifi indicator and the data up/down indicators are in the same place. if I see the up/down arrows, it's not clear whether wifi is indeed being used
The wifi indicator may look active, but does not update when I move closer to the hotspot
the wifi indicator does not clearly reflect the signal strength. The 'traditional' design does this much better.
I've noticed once that the wifi indicator showed an exclamation mark, but in Peek view showed normal signal strength. This means that the indicator is not a reliable reading.
in Settings menu, if it says that the device is 'Connected' to a network, this is not always the case.

I do like a different (Unlike) look and feel, but in the case of the wifi indicator it is not working, and the design actually makes it less functional.

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Yes, I agree with those points but what I was trying to say improving the graphics is a lower priority for me. The fact that for example you move closer to the hotspot and the WiFi strength indicator doesn't change or the Peek view shows different signal strength etc as you are describing is another indication that the backend is broken and different views on the phone think different things/get different info about the active connection. I just want to stress the fact that we need the actual connection switching functionality to be reliable first and then the last bit to change/fix is the visual indicators.

cquence ( 2014-11-28 12:25:53 +0200 )edit

I fully agree there!

bilgy_no1 ( 2014-11-30 20:37:05 +0200 )edit

[Bug]Connections Manager (No longer the most urgent problem, but still important)

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