Keeping your data connection active on the network

[Ockie]

Glad you can confirm. I'd just like to point out that the issue doesn't seem to be limited to Android phones. I can confirm that it's also an issue on several different Nokia phones.

Thank you Viva. I will make a note of this in the thread I created in the Cell C thread. I just do not have personal experience with Nokia Push. I know that Google and Apple for example have a dedicated push server. I do not know if the same applies for Nokia.

 

[Base122]

I have noticed the same whatsapp issue.
I have two android phones (HTC Desire HD and Vodafone 858 smart) sitting side by side at the moment, HTC on Cell C and Vodafone on Vodacom.

Using Android OS Monitor 1.1.8 to watch the connections to the net, one can clearly see that the connection to the whatsapp server terminates after a while, from both phones.

Logic would therefore dictate, no server connection = no push messages, until said connection is re-established by say trying to send a new whatsapp message, or when the whatsapp application, itself decides to check for messages.

Not sure if there is a setting in whatsapp to define the interval between checking in with its servers? Anyone know what the default interval is? (30min?)

Perhaps, the mobile operators do not actually have enough IP addresses for each an every connected client phone (probably the case).
So after a period of inactivity, they may terminate the connection and return the address to the "pool" for other users?
Then, as soon as your phone requires another connection, allocate you a new address for short time again? (speculating here)

This would make "push" type operations difficult as the "push" server on the internet would not know how to find you. It may try the IP address which it used last time to communicate with you, but if that had changed in the interim the operation is bound to fail.

So, looking at both phones at the moment, with neither connected to a whatsapp server, I doubt I will receive any whatspp messages until the next server "check in" time.

Just to add:
If for example I sent you a whatsapp message now and your phone happened to have an active connection to a whatsapp server, it would appear as an instant push. If you then answered me within a minute or so I would also get an "instant" reply and we would be happy.

But, if you only replied after my whatsapp server connection had timed out or been terminated, I would not see your reply until the next time my whatsapp checked in again and the server saw my active connection. (Anything up to 30mins as some people have mentioned?)

The operation would probably still be considered a "push", but just not an "instant" one.

Maybe the answer is to get whatsapp to make more frequent connections to its servers at shorter intervals?

Hope this all makes sense!

 

[Ockie]

I have noticed the same whatsapp issue.
I have two android phones (HTC Desire HD and Vodafone 858 smart) sitting side by side at the moment, HTC on Cell C and Vodafone on Vodacom.

Using Android OS Monitor 1.1.8 to watch the connections to the net, one can clearly see that the connection to the whatsapp server terminates after a while, from both phones.

Logic would therefore dictate, no server connection = no push messages, until said connection is re-established by say trying to send a new whatsapp message, or when the whatsapp application, itself decides to check for messages.

Not sure if there is a setting in whatsapp to define the interval between checking in with its servers? Anyone know what the default interval is? (30min?)

Perhaps, the mobile operators do not actually have enough IP addresses for each an every connected client phone (probably the case).
So after a period of inactivity, they may terminate the connection and return the address to the "pool" for other users?
Then, as soon as your phone requires another connection, allocate you a new address for short time again? (speculating here)

This would make "push" type operations difficult as the "push" server on the internet would not know how to find you. It may try the IP address which it used last time to communicate with you, but if that had changed in the interim the operation is bound to fail.

So, looking at both phones at the moment, with neither connected to a whatsapp server, I doubt I will receive any whatspp messages until the next server "check in" time.

Just to add:
If for example I sent you a whatsapp message now and your phone happened to have an active connection to a whatsapp server, it would appear as an instant push. If you then answered me within a minute or so I would also get an "instant" reply and we would be happy.

But, if you only replied after my whatsapp server connection had timed out or been terminated, I would not see your reply until the next time my whatsapp checked in again and the server saw my active connection. (Anything up to 30mins as some people have mentioned?)

The operation would probably still be considered a "push", but just not an "instant" one.

Maybe the answer is to get whatsapp to make more frequent connections to its servers at shorter intervals?

Hope this all makes sense!

It does indeed thank you.

But what concerns me is that I tested mine with a Vodacom sim and it worked great. My emails came through within 2 seconds...even after my phone was idling for a hour. With Cell C this does not happen....I basically have to manually refresh or I only get my mails and IM's 40 - 60 minutes later. That was my experience between the two networks on the same phone. Also you need to check that your phone does not have data saver or battery saving modes activated and that background data is enabled. I checked all these settings on my phone and it does not help with Cell C. Works on Vodacom though.

I actually would not mind a survey done by MyBB testing the push service on the different networks. RPM and those guys are very clued up with these things and could do it thoroughly and more extensively than we can.

I have created a thread about this in the Cell C section if you care to post your findings there?

OC