Over the past few days, I’ve been testing out different modems for my Galaxy S2 to see which gives the best stability, battery life and connectivity. This is not a scientific test and it is purely based on what I feel. Anyways, the test phone is using this setup:
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100
ROM: update-cm-9-20120404-NIGHTLY-galaxys2-signed (ICS)
Network provider: DiGi
Location: Penang Island (mostly Bayan Lepas area)
Modem A (XXLPH)
I have been using this modem for the past month or two without much issues. It gives connectivity in most places that I spend most of my day at but I do notice that it is at times a little weak and could not get a signal when others do. Most of the time, I am connected on 3G or HSDPA with reasonable speeds though.
Modem B (XXLPX)
My test on this modem only lasted a couple of hours. This is a very frustrating modem for me. When I could get connected, my connection would suddenly drop for no reason and then I would be unable to get online until I restarted the phone or restarted the data connection. In places that I usually get connectivity with XXLPH, this modem was unable to.
Modem C (DXLP9)
My test on this modem lasted about a day. This modem was pretty ok. It managed to get connections in most places including some places where XXLPH was not getting a stable connection. However, with this modem, my battery life decreased extremely fast. I fully charged my phone at night before bed and 6-7 hours later, I had lost some 60% of power. Perhaps there was some misconfiguration. I think I will give this modem a 2nd chance and try it again.
Modem D (KE7)
My test on this modem did not last long. For some reasons, I wasn’t able to get a decent stable connection. The symptoms were very much like those found when I’m on XXLPX. Meh.
I do still have a couple more modems to test out:
XXKDH and NEKF2
I will update this post when I’ve completed my testing. Currently I’m back on XXLPH as I need to have the connection with me. Testing will resume tonight.
Do you have any modem that you’ve been using and gives you a very good, stable signal? Recommend it to me, provide me the link to download the modem and I’ll give it a test.
If you want any of the radios that I have, let me know and I will provide it.
Update 06/12/2012: After recovering from the fever and flu, I got myself into a touch of diarrhea. But rest assured that I am not dropping my modem test and review. However, I’m going to be doing the review on a different ROM. I’ve upgraded to CM9 20120611 release and will be basing my review on that ROM. While most aspects of the review should still stand irregardless of ROM, but I thought that I would just point that out. So the complete review will be delayed a little but it is on its way. Stay tuned.
Update 06/19/2012: Part 2 of my testing is updated. I am redoing the test on the 20120611 release so it will take some time to complete the rest of the modems. You can read part 2 here.
Update 07/04/2012: Part 3 of my testing is done. Adding a part by part navigation at the end of post.
Update 07/13/2012: Part 4 of my testing is done. Finally finished!
Local Standpoint 
will you be able to make this test for the I9100G too?
Hi,
For I9100G? I’ll have to ask my brother if he can loan me his phone. I do not own a I9100G so I cannot commit to it. But I will try my best to see. Maybe I can convince him to give it a try.
Just in case, he is currently on DZKL3 and he says it works pretty good for him.
Thanks for visiting.
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Loool dude your modem is area/phone dependent so maby for you it is good but for another nor…
I agree with you Dexter. I’m just posting about the results that I’ve gotten on my own quest to find the best modem for myself. Modem stability depends on your service provider, your phone, your usage, your coverage and lots of other factors. However, it does provide other people with a starting point to try out different modems to find the best modem for themselves.
Wow! This can be one particular of the most helpful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Fantastic. I¡¯m also an expert in this topic therefore I can understand your effort.
Hi, I appreciated your post. I was experiencing problems with my network (which i use for phone calls and sms only, not for 3g) since when I updated the gs2 to the official ics (stock samsung + cf-root). With the default XXLPX modem, the network has been keeping going down suddenly from time to time (never had a call drop, though). The only way to restore it was to reboot (got no luck playing with the airplane mode). Now I’m trying the XXLPR, flashed today, after reading lot of good stuff about it. Hope this will solve the issue for me, if so this means a negative feedback for the XXLPX!
Hi SK,
Do let me know the results for your XXLPR! I am gonna test that too later.
XXLPX doesn’t seem very stable. Hopefully XXLPR works for you. I’m currently on XXKDH which is ok, but I do still get the occassional network issues.
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great post
Bad news here. My phone keeps loosing the network connection, although non so frequently as before. I’m on cm9 rc1 now. The first days passed without troubles, but today I encountered that issue again, for the second time since I flashed the XXLPR. I’m starting to think that this can be due to stock ICS “substrate” or something like that, excluding hardware problems. I’ll wait for the results of your test, since we have a very similar setup! Happy testing!
Hi SK,
I didn’t have a great time with XXLPR. Currently on XXLPS which while better than XXLPR, isn’t as great as XXLPH. I have another thought that perhaps the modems are optimized with some Samsung propriety codes which are not released and has some issues with CM roms.
After completing test on XXLPS, I’ll move on to XXLPW then back to XXLPH for a final confirmation of that modem. After that, depending on time, I may flash a stock Samsung ICS and test with a known faulty modem.
Good luck finding your best modem!
P.S. Give XXLPH a try. Let me know if it works as well for you as for me.
Thanks
i’m using XXLPX currently with the 20120709 CM9 build. DiGi network as well in KL. Generally without any problems but wifi signal seems to be weaker than XXLPS and XXLPH.
Good to know that XXLPX is working for you. No signal drops? Weird that I’ve experienced that quite a bit.
On a side note: I’ve noticed that my WiFi tethering seems to have stopped working. It has definitely worked before. SK, shadowcaster, you’re able to let another device tether to your S2 without issue?
Yes, I’m able to use wifi tethering. I think it can be a rom-related stuff, perhaps you should try with the RC1 and see if it works.
Btw, I have the XXLPH now, following your advice. Now I’m clueless about that issue that I’m still experiencing… I noticed that the signal drops (in a way that constrain me to reboot my phone to restore it) when the market tries to automatically update my apps. Maybe it’s a concidence, maybe this things are unrelated, but I don’t know what to think! However, now I believe that the modem is not involved in this so much, what’s your opinion?
Yup. I believe it is ROM related as well since it worked on an earlier build (an April build).
Wow. That sounds severe. I think that the modem is involved to a certain extent, but perhaps not the biggest factor to consider. Good luck finding the best modem for yourself!
Hey SK,
If you’re still having issues with your modem, try this if you haven’t:
Boot into CWM and fix permissions, clear dalvik and clear cache
Let me know if it helped you any.
Mhm, I tried to clear cache/dalvik, but didn’t even consider to fix permissions 🙂 Now I’m about to change rom and clear everything, if that hitch strikes back I will do that. In the meantime I tried to match RIL and modem (with the app getril) but nothing new happened.
Anyway I’m testing the XXLPW, which works well for me (except for that same old creepy issue), plus I’m reading that you found it a nice modem too. I think I will stay with this one, but still have to test the XXKPA which seems to be a good modem for a lot of italian fellows (I’m in Italy, with WIND as provider, BTW).
Thanks and congrats for the epic test! 😀
XXLPW was pretty stable for me. Not perfect but probably amongst the best that I can find for now. =)
Anyways, I’m without my S2 since last Saturday and probably will not be using my S2 for another couple of days as I’m testing the Galaxy Ace at the moment. But if do keep me posted on the XXKPA, if it works for you, I may give it a run in Malaysia.
I tried Wi-Fi tethering using XXLPX and everything works as intended. So far no real signal drops.
Had the signal icon showing wrongly once though. It was displaying as no signal but in reality everything was fine (this is definitely not a modem related issue). After a reboot everything was displaying correctly again.
Thanks shadowcaster. I’ll be updating my cm9 soon and hopefully I can get WiFi tethering to work again. Seems like you’ve found your best modem. Congrats. =)
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