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will athena work on u.s. t mobile 3g network?

anybody in new york or been to new york with your athena to see if it works with the new upcomming t mobile 3g network? they say its running on 1700 freq.

anybody have luck or an answer for this one?

cuba3377 said:
anybody in new york or been to new york with your athena to see if it works with the new upcomming t mobile 3g network? they say its running on 1700 freq.
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that would be a no then, 2100Mhz is what the athena is capable of AFAIK

I have used the Athena on both T-Mobile and AT&T Networks in the US without issues.

I also have had no problems with T-mo in my area (central NJ) using 3g. I'm using an x7501...TJ

TrekkerJmm said:
I also have had no problems with T-mo in my area (central NJ) using 3g. I'm using an x7501...TJ
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that seems odd, Current roms do not have the T-Mobile US band included, nor is the current radio capable of running the t-mobile 1700 band in the USA. ATT band is 3g/UTMS 850/1900 and Europe is 3g/UTMS 800/2100
T-Mobile Edge would work fine though

Hi, sometimes the 3g pop's up on my x7501 its not all the time but next time it does I will take a screen shot of it. Maybe its an error I have no idea...TJ

some roms incorrectly show that instead of edge !

Ok thanks...TJ

So is it possible to get T-mo 3g on athena?
T-mo finally rooled out 3g in my area, I thought my athena was 3g capable and could fly through the internet and never deal with slate Flinstone tablets and EDGE again! Sadly we do?
Their 3g is rolled out on 1700/2100 band only, so to exit the EDGE stone age, we must buy the G1 (not even close to x7501) or ask a crazy question to those in the know. Is the frequency band offered on a phone limited and fixed by the ROM / hardware, or is it software driven where a patch / upgrade could expand it's operantional band to include 1700/2100 UMTS alongside the voice 850/1900 band?

I can connect easily to TMobile. I get the "E" sign showing on the antennae.

anx7501 said:
T-mo finally rooled out 3g in my area, I thought my athena was 3g capable and could fly through the internet and never deal with slate Flinstone tablets and EDGE again! Sadly we do?
Their 3g is rolled out on 1700/2100 band only, so to exit the EDGE stone age, we must buy the G1 (not even close to x7501) or ask a crazy question to those in the know. Is the frequency band offered on a phone limited and fixed by the ROM / hardware, or is it software driven where a patch / upgrade could expand it's operantional band to include 1700/2100 UMTS alongside the voice 850/1900 band?
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It is hardware driven. Unfortunately this is why I'm going to switch over to AT & T because of the downgrade to get 3g service from a phone that NO OTHER Networks in the world uses is pointless IMHO. I don't know what T Mo was drinking or smoking, and when I asked the level 1 techs they said no future talks or expectations of using the NORMAL 1900/2100 Frequency like other 3g networks. Sux if you ask me.

Thanks for the note on hardware capability
I got similar responses from the techs at T-mo except I also got a moment of false hope when one incorrectly told me that their 3g is on 1900, I went nuts trying, then called back & someone else told me that it was in fact on 1700/2100. As I've been reading, their reason (though a huge pain in the ass for us) was to separate voice and data so one wouldn't steal bandwith from the other. Makes sense, though it would be easier to deal with if I had some REAL options other than G1 and crappy kids phones.
Since T-Mo has the best price for some pretty decent service (except EDGE that is), I've heard of some T-Mo users getting just an AT&T data plan alongside T-Mo voice, I'm not sure how it's done, do you need 1/2 simms, or what. If you find yourself doing this, I would like to hear your feedback.
Otherwise, I'll keep my fingers crossed that HTC will use some common sense, and use 1700/2100 in future US versions.

will my hermes work on Tmobiles 3G in the u.s?

i was reading this article and it said it wouldnt work..

Where are you getting 3G for T-mobile in the US? I only heard it was in NYC at the moment.

Sadly, the answer is most likely not.
T-Mobile is deploying 3G service on the 1700 MHz UMTS band, which the Hermes, and a lot of other phones, can not use.
My confusion is that T-Mobile USA has submitted the Kaiser for approval to the FCC, and the manual that comes with it lists the Kaiser as supporting 1700… in the Japanese version.
So are they using a modified Japanese version, or releasing it as a EDGE-only phone (which would be a mistake IMO), or something else? I sure don’t know, but I’m expecting to have to replace my beloved hermes with something else if I want to make use of the upcoming 3G.

jdc said:
Sadly, the answer is most likely not.
T-Mobile is deploying 3G service on the 1700 MHz UMTS band, which the Hermes, and a lot of other phones, can not use.
My confusion is that T-Mobile USA has submitted the Kaiser for approval to the FCC, and the manual that comes with it lists the Kaiser as supporting 1700… in the Japanese version.
So are they using a modified Japanese version, or releasing it as a EDGE-only phone (which would be a mistake IMO), or something else? I sure don’t know, but I’m expecting to have to replace my beloved hermes with something else if I want to make use of the upcoming 3G.
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After they fully release 3G, I hope that T-Mobile USA ventures into getting the Raphael since they NEED a good flagship of a phone in their lineup. AT&T already has the Kaiser and iPhone (not a fan, but it's a popular phone though)
But I'll be patient. I have 1 more year before I'm eligible for an upgrade, hopefully they'll have something worth it by then...

Answer
Absolutely not. It wont now and it wont in the future., T-Mo uses 1700 and at&t uses 2100. They will not interchange because neither side wants the others users sucking up they're bandwidth. Do not expect to see 3q dual band handsets that are "intended" for the US anytime soon.

CaptMorgan said:
Absolutely not. It wont now and it wont in the future., T-Mo uses 1700 and at&t uses 2100. They will not interchange because neither side wants the others users sucking up they're bandwidth. Do not expect to see 3q dual band handsets that are "intended" for the US anytime soon.
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Well, that's subject to a bunch of things, while AT&T may not want "T-Mobile Customers sucking up their bandwidth", EDGE is pretty fast in comparison to some DSL connections and the vast majority of T-Mobile customers get their service through AT&T towers. So, in a way, T-Mobile customers are already sucking up AT&T's bandwidth. Once quadband UMTS chipsets become common, or T-Mobile decides to abandon its 1700mhz plans, I'm sure that AT&T and T-Mobile will reach a roaming agreement just like they did with GSM/EDGE

dieKatze88 said:
once quadband UMTS chipsets become common, or T-Mobile decides to abandon its 1700mhz plans, I'm sure that AT&T and T-Mobile will reach a roaming agreement just like they did with GSM/EDGE
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Sounds like the best plan for them to come to their senses...This would be our best hope!

HTC Magic (Vodafone UK) - Trying to get 3g in the states?

I have just taken a job in the states and brought my phone with me. I was expecting to be able to get 3g when I insert an AT&T or T-Mobile sim card. Unfortauntely the best that the phone seems to be able to get is Edge.
After doing a bit of research it seems that in the US they are using differnt frequencies.
Does anyone know of a fix which would allow my phone to get 3g in the states?

kdrover said:
I have just taken a job in the states and brought my phone with me. I was expecting to be able to get 3g when I insert an AT&T or T-Mobile sim card. Unfortauntely the best that the phone seems to be able to get is Edge.
After doing a bit of research it seems that in the US they are using differnt frequencies.
Does anyone know of a fix which would allow my phone to get 3g in the states?
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T-Mobile are, I think, UMTS 900 / 2100 (perhaps like Vodafone in the UK and elsewhere, which is why we can all use T-Mobile-based rooted HTC ROMs in our phones).
AT&T is UMTS 850 and 1900.
At the moment no phone on earth can do both UMTS 850 *and* UMTS 900. These frequencies are used to provide longer range coverage in low-density service areas - in other words, most city-edge and countryside places.
UMTS 1900, 2100 and other higher numbered frequencies are used in higher-density areas to provide more calling / data capacity, but with the downside of more limited range.
It seems (googling) that AT&T do 850/1900 and T-Mobile do 1700 (as of May '08 sez Wikipedia), though the T-Mobile MyTouch3G does 1700 and 2100....so maybe T-Mobile now do 2100 as well (at least in some places). There doesn't appear to be much, if any overlap on 3G frequencies between carriers and users must be EDGE only on the telco that doesn't match their phone. Everyone does EDGE.
In New Zealand, where I am, one carrier does 850 and the other 900...but they both support 2100....and a 3rd carrier will soon be offering 2100 later this year.....so you do get *some* 3G on just one phone in built up areas where telcos need more capacity and use 2100....but you get nothing in the countryside and have to used EDGE/GPRS.
There are about 7 UMTS frequency bands all up (Wikipedia).....so any single device is going to be seriously challenged to support all those well.....and what telco would want their phones to do that anyway? Frequency incompatibilities prevent their customers from leaving.......which explains why there aren't any phones that do all 7.

linuxluver said:
T-Mobile are, I think, UMTS 900 / 2100 (perhaps like Vodafone in the UK and elsewhere, which is why we can all use T-Mobile-based rooted HTC ROMs in our phones).
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If Vodafone (UK) & T-Mobile (US) are using the same UMTS frequencies, does this mean that I should be able to get 3g in the states? I am currently using a T-mobile (US) sim card but the phone is only getting an Edge connection. Maybe I need a ROM update??

maybe your in a area with no 3g coverage?
go to t mobiles website or better yet go here
http://coverage.t-mobile.com/default.aspx?pageType=idealer
and press the data coverage tab....are you in a purple place?

glendawg619 said:
maybe your in a area with no 3g coverage?
go to t mobiles website or better yet go here
http://coverage.t-mobile.com/default.aspx?pageType=idealer
and press the data coverage tab....are you in a purple place?
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I checked on the t-mobile site and Tampa, FL appears to be all purple.

Have you checked your settings?
Settings -> Wireless controls -> Mobile networks -> Make sure 2G only is "Un-ticked"
If it doesn't work, maybe you would like to consider selling your one on ebay and buying a Magic {or other handset} from the US

ATT 3G on a T-Mobile HD2 - Who says you can't?

I was lamenting on my lack of foresight, getting a HD2 without researching the different bands that AT&T and T-Mobile use for 3G coverage, when just the other day...
NOTE: This was on a call to AT&T Support and the tech tells me:
a) Once unlocked from TMOUS, I should do a search on "AT&T APN's" and that if I search diligently, I will find APNs on AT&T's network that support HD2 3G Bands
b) AT&T techs, right in his data center have this working.
So I research a bit, and, apart form everyone and his brother professing to be 3G Band experts, and saying all I will see is Edge if I put the HD2 on AT&T. (Which is troublesome, since Wikipedia claims Edge is being dropped to facilitate more 3G bandwidth, so potentially I would lose even THAT).
Here is what official information I could find on the two:
The U.S. T-Mobile network predominately uses the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 MHz frequency-band. T-Mobile's UMTS (3G) service is now active in over 30 major US cities
Further all official documentation states that AT&T uses:
* 850 MHz UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ 3G
* 1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ 3G
Finally look at my screenshot, taken from the GSM 3G toggle on the "Settings Tab" of Manila. I am running a NRG ROM (see signature) and I KNOW this is wishful thinking. This screen in particular is no doubt a function of the many devices NRG cooks for, but really, can anyone explain to me why this technically would NOT WORK (other than "just because", LOL)?

AT&T's CEO recently gave an interview and stated that the company's 3G service is being migrated to the 850MHz band with a target date of 2010:
http://www.intomobile.com/2009/02/24/att-3g-network-going-850mhz-nationwide-by-2010.html
For what it's worth, I think the Australian version of the HD2 might have a band that overlaps with US AT&T bands.

Whos gonna buy me one?
Mase_Mase said:
AT&T's CEO recently gave an interview and stated that the company's 3G service is being migrated to the 850MHz band with a target date of 2010:
http://www.intomobile.com/2009/02/24/att-3g-network-going-850mhz-nationwide-by-2010.html
For what it's worth, I think the Australian version of the HD2 might have a band that overlaps with US AT&T bands.
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Yes, I have been hearing the same. Problem is, I am not likely to fork out $$ for ANOTHER HD2. I just wanted to get the most out of the one I have. Thx!

if something like this WAS possible, it would have to be through something like a rogue apn setup on non-standard frequencies on ATT's network...but good luck finding anything like that, it wouldn't be able to remain a secret if it existed. also, if the hd2 had the ability to use those native frequencies, it would have had to have been certified as such by the FCC (which of course it wasn't).
To summarize, the only way to make it happen is if ATT did indeed somehow sneak in alternative-frequency apn's across it's entire network. Let us know how the search for those turns out

SmartAs$Phone said:
The U.S. T-Mobile network predominately uses the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 MHz frequency-band. T-Mobile's UMTS (3G) service is now active in over 30 major US cities
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Sorry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Mobile_USA
3G (UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+) service by T-Mobile exclusively uses the AWS 1700/2100 MHz frequency-band, making it incompatible with other existing 3G UMTS/HSPA networks already established in the United States.
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Its not physically possible. The hardware would have to be changed. They don't make radio chips with all the bands in it. I see this all the time, some random csr from whatever company says it can be done, but its just not true. Cell phones are designed and made for a specific company. They don't make universal radios and just turn off some bands. They don't exist, though I did read a few months back that Motorala was working on making one.

Although I understand the reason for your wishful thinking (and you did do some research which is always great), unfortunately it is just that and I'll gladly (though not happily) tell you why.
As you stated "U.S. T-Mobile network predominately uses the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 MHz frequency-band" which is correct (and it also uses the 850 band for edge as well....though this is usually more 'roaming' aka you're using another companies cell tower because tmobile made a contract with them to allow you). You were also correct in stating that "Further all official documentation states that AT&T uses:
* 850 MHz UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ 3G
* 1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ 3G"
Also, ironcroth was also correct in quoting that "3G (UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+) service by T-Mobile exclusively uses the AWS 1700/2100 MHz frequency-band" which alone might not answer your question.
So where is the problem if both use 1900 and 850 bands? Well, the problem is that in the hardware, there is a difference between GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G/UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+. In other words, you can't use 1900 and 850 Edge frequency of the HD2's radio chip to get 3G (UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+); they are incompatible. This is why phone spects always list both seperatly and not just all the frequencies that it supports.
The above reason alone will make the TmoUSA HD2 incompatible with AT&T's 3G, but there's even more. When Tmobile says that it uses the (for example) 1900 frequency band for Edge, it doesn't actually mean that it uses 1900-1999 frequencies; instead it only uses a part of that spectrum (buying the full 100 frequency range would be expensive so they only buy what they need). Instead they only use maybe something like 1943-1978. And this range will likely not overlap with the frequncies that AT&T uses for their 3G (you can look up the exact values on the internet if you'd like). This second reason is why a european phone which supports 2100 band for 3g will not work on Tmobile's 3G 2100 frequncy (because they don't actually overlap).
Lastly (and I almost forgot to mention this), the screen shot you posted from your ROM can indeed be changed by a cook to whatever they want (though it won't actually make any difference since it all depends on the hardware). However, in this case, it's likely because htc actually made the error and never updated that screen and just used it from their previous builds from previous phones (this was stated on the forums before and I'm sure you'd be able to find it given some searching).
Hope this helps.

sirphunkee said:
To summarize, the only way to make it happen is if ATT did indeed somehow sneak in alternative-frequency apn's across it's entire network. Let us know how the search for those turns out
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Quite unlikely, the AWS bands are licensed to TMO, im sure TMO would notice real quick if there were unlicensed cell towers on the AWS band and the FCC would be slapping ATT with fines pretty quick. quite alot of work goes into setting up cell towers and the frequencies each cell segment runs on, If a rouge cell tower went up overlapping TMO's frequencies, all hell would likely break loose as far as customers being able to get usable service in the area.
also as far as the terminology APN's don't operate on a "frequency" an APN is more or less and authentication/proxy server on the data network after the data has transferred over the air interface.
Maybe the best way to think of it is similar to a cell tower being like a wifi access point, and the APN being like an authenticating router/firewall on a standard tcp/ip network. yeah i know its not quite the same, but that might be a simple way to visualize it for those familiar with networking

d0ug said:
Quite unlikely, the AWS bands are licensed to TMO, im sure TMO would notice real quick if there were unlicensed cell towers on the AWS band and the FCC would be slapping ATT with fines pretty quick. quite alot of work goes into setting up cell towers and the frequencies each cell segment runs on, If a rouge cell tower went up overlapping TMO's frequencies, all hell would likely break loose as far as customers being able to get usable service in the area.
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Exactly
d0ug said:
also as far as the terminology APN's don't operate on a "frequency" an APN is more or less and authentication/proxy server on the data network after the data has transferred over the air interface.
Maybe the best way to think of it is similar to a cell tower being like a wifi access point, and the APN being like an authenticating router/firewall on a standard tcp/ip network. yeah i know its not quite the same, but that might be a simple way to visualize it for those familiar with networking
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Right, very true...I should have said "apn's attached to alternative-frequency radios" Are you a Ham d0ug?

sirphunkee said:
Exactly
Right, very true...I should have said "apn's attached to alternative-frequency radios" Are you a Ham d0ug?
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Haha no, though i do have scanners and listen in on HAMs sometimes and have read up on the stuff somewhat. never gotten myself licensed.
On the subject of scanners, there isnt all that much interesting to listen too anymore. Here in tampa the police and sheriff are on analog trunked now, so its impossible to follow anything without a trunking scanner, and about the only other things you can listen to are cabbies, tow truck drivers, aircraft, and hams. I don't even know why scanners still have the 800mhz blocks anymore, analog amps cellular has been dead a few years now. you find lots of digital noise scanning around though, just about everything is transmitted digitally now. i've got an icom R20 that goes from 150khz all the way upto 3ghz

So why don't you put in an AT&T sim card with a 3G data plan and let us know if you get 3G on your HD2?

Svegetto said:
Although I understand the reason for your wishful thinking (and you did do some research which is always great), unfortunately it is just that and I'll gladly (though not happily) tell you why.
As you stated "U.S. T-Mobile network predominately uses the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 MHz frequency-band" which is correct (and it also uses the 850 band for edge as well....though this is usually more 'roaming' aka you're using another companies cell tower because tmobile made a contract with them to allow you). You were also correct in stating that "Further all official documentation states that AT&T uses:
* 850 MHz UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ 3G
* 1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ 3G"
Also, ironcroth was also correct in quoting that "3G (UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+) service by T-Mobile exclusively uses the AWS 1700/2100 MHz frequency-band" which alone might not answer your question.
So where is the problem if both use 1900 and 850 bands? Well, the problem is that in the hardware, there is a difference between GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G/UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+. In other words, you can't use 1900 and 850 Edge frequency of the HD2's radio chip to get 3G (UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+); they are incompatible. This is why phone spects always list both seperatly and not just all the frequencies that it supports.
The above reason alone will make the TmoUSA HD2 incompatible with AT&T's 3G, but there's even more. When Tmobile says that it uses the (for example) 1900 frequency band for Edge, it doesn't actually mean that it uses 1900-1999 frequencies; instead it only uses a part of that spectrum (buying the full 100 frequency range would be expensive so they only buy what they need). Instead they only use maybe something like 1943-1978. And this range will likely not overlap with the frequncies that AT&T uses for their 3G (you can look up the exact values on the internet if you'd like). This second reason is why a european phone which supports 2100 band for 3g will not work on Tmobile's 3G 2100 frequncy (because they don't actually overlap).
Lastly (and I almost forgot to mention this), the screen shot you posted from your ROM can indeed be changed by a cook to whatever they want (though it won't actually make any difference since it all depends on the hardware). However, in this case, it's likely because htc actually made the error and never updated that screen and just used it from their previous builds from previous phones (this was stated on the forums before and I'm sure you'd be able to find it given some searching).
Hope this helps.
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Thank you very much. I myself had been wondering why I couldn't get an HTC Desire (honestly, pretty much the only phone I'd change my HD2 for unless a GSM version of the Supersonic becomes available) and have it work in the US at the 2100 frequency.
When I asked before, people would tell me that a phone would have to support both bands (1700/2100) to actually run on T-Mobile because one did HSDPA and the other did HSUPA, but that didn't make sense to me since all you need is a single band frequency to handle both D and U data streams.
Your explanation makes a lot more sense. It's a sad thing, though.

I remember reading somewhere that a chip manufacturer (motorola?) was working on a all frequency chip. I also read that the inherent problem with that would be the antenna.
It would be awesome to have an all band phone that world travelers could utilize. I love the HD2, I had upgraded from a long time use of a Treo 750. That phone was pretty close (quad GSM, triple umts). However when Tmo rolled out it's 3G on 1700 I was still stuck on edge with the 750.
Finally bit the bullet for an HD2, really like this phone. The 750 seems antique now heheh

moonchaser said:
I remember reading somewhere that a chip manufacturer (motorola?) was working on a all frequency chip. I also read that the inherent problem with that would be the antenna.
It would be awesome to have an all band phone that world travelers could utilize. I love the HD2, I had upgraded from a long time use of a Treo 750. That phone was pretty close (quad GSM, triple umts). However when Tmo rolled out it's 3G on 1700 I was still stuck on edge with the 750.
Finally bit the bullet for an HD2, really like this phone. The 750 seems antique now heheh
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Building a multi frequency chip isnt all that hard. software defined radios have existed for quite some time. basically a simple reprogramming allows it to xmit/rec on a different frequency. the trouble comes in the antenna design. antennas must be designed to work at specific frequencies to be the most efficient at transmitting and the most sensitive at receiving. trying to make a single antenna capable of xmit and rec anywhere in a bandwidth ranging from 700mhz upto say the 2500mhz that wimax uses, is going to make for quite a ****ty antenna at any frequency. When you see the piece of foil antennas in todays phones, they may just look like a simple piece of foil, but a lot of design goes into them to make them work well at the frequencies they need to work with.
I guarantee if you compared the internal antenna of the Euro, AUS and USA HD2 there are slight differences. Ill bet the radio chip in them is for the most part identical, there may be something modified on them to keep people from interchanging the radio roms between them though since that would invalidate any FCC or other country equivalent certification for that phone to operate
Its one thing to run a hacked rom, its something completely different to use an uncertified radio rom. Could cause all kinds of havoc with the cellular network, and get slapped with FCC fines if they could track down your trouble causing phone

d0ug said:
Building a multi frequency chip isnt all that hard. software defined radios have existed for quite some time. basically a simple reprogramming allows it to xmit/rec on a different frequency. the trouble comes in the antenna design. antennas must be designed to work at specific frequencies to be the most efficient at transmitting and the most sensitive at receiving. trying to make a single antenna capable of xmit and rec anywhere in a bandwidth ranging from 700mhz upto say the 2500mhz that wimax uses, is going to make for quite a ****ty antenna at any frequency. When you see the piece of foil antennas in todays phones, they may just look like a simple piece of foil, but a lot of design goes into them to make them work well at the frequencies they need to work with.
I guarantee if you compared the internal antenna of the Euro, AUS and USA HD2 there are slight differences. Ill bet the radio chip in them is for the most part identical, there may be something modified on them to keep people from interchanging the radio roms between them though since that would invalidate any FCC or other country equivalent certification for that phone to operate
Its one thing to run a hacked rom, its something completely different to use an uncertified radio rom. Could cause all kinds of havoc with the cellular network, and get slapped with FCC fines if they could track down your trouble causing phone
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Click to collapse
Yeah that's on par with what I had read, you do well at explaining it.
Maybe some futuristic worldphone designer would opt for interchangeable external antenna's... I could live with that or maybe multiple builtin foils with a software driven switch between them and the radio... that would be neat. Not holding my breath though...
Interesting on the FCC, hadn't thought of that.

moonchaser said:
Yeah that's on par with what I had read, you do well at explaining it.
Maybe some futuristic worldphone designer would opt for interchangeable external antenna's... I could live with that or maybe multiple builtin foils with a software driven switch between them and the radio... that would be neat. Not holding my breath though...
Interesting on the FCC, hadn't thought of that.
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Thanks, I was just again looking at the spec differences between the euro and TMO HD2s and i really don't know why HTC did not also give the TMO HD2 850/900mhz HSPA/WCDMA to truly make it a world 3G phone. According to the tech specs over at HTC.com, TMO HD2 can already use 850/900mhz for GSM/GPRS/EDGE so the antenna is obviously quite capable of both. The only other frequency the TMO HD2 has to handle that the euro doesn't is 1700mhz
Part of me thinks it was probably done so the HD2 couldn't be used over on AT&T

d0ug said:
Thanks, I was just again looking at the spec differences between the euro and TMO HD2s and i really don't know why HTC did not also give the TMO HD2 850/900mhz HSPA/WCDMA to truly make it a world 3G phone. According to the tech specs over at HTC.com, TMO HD2 can already use 850/900mhz for GSM/GPRS/EDGE so the antenna is obviously quite capable of both. The only other frequency the TMO HD2 has to handle that the euro doesn't is 1700mhz
Part of me thinks it was probably done so the HD2 couldn't be used over on AT&T
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Click to collapse
It had nothing to do with AT&T, it's because there's a difference between Edge and 3g radio frequency. More than that, there is no phone radio chip that supports all those frequencies and even more so, htc doesn't manufacture radio chips, they purchase them and put them in their phones....just like the majority of the hardware

Srs wow hd
How do you get SRS WOW HD downloaded onto the HTC HD2?

Svegetto said:
a european phone which supports 2100 band for 3g will not work on Tmobile's 3G 2100 frequncy
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I think this is incorrect -- the 2100 band support on the HD2 is in fact expressly intended for 3G compatibility in Europe/Asia, and people have reported being able to get 3G in Europe with their US HD2.
1700 == US-only 3G
2100 == Europe, Asia 3G
What's missing, I believe, might be 3G support in certain areas of places like Latin America which may follow US frequencies but don't have T-Mobile USA there to provide 1700 service... e.g., no 2100 and no 1700 either.

T-Mobile U.S. uses both AWS 1700mhz and 2100mhz for 3G. The 2100mhz band is used for transmit and 1700mhz is used for receive. Hence the incompatibility with other carriers phones that only operate in one spectrum.
Cheers.
~Jasecloud4

US T-Mobile's 3G freq vs the rest of the world?

Anyone getting the T-Mobile version tomorrow? With CDMA not SIM capable, and AT&T version still up in the air, I think I'm probably going to get one tomorrow!
I've got question regarding T-Mobile's werid 3G band tho. I think Samsung listed T-Mobile's version as AWS 1700/2100. I know 1700 is weird, but is that AWS 2100 same as the 2100 band that the rest of the world use? Sorry it's my first 3G T-mobile device, and looking on wiki or google is just kinda vague

2100MHz is the band used all across Europe as well as large parts of Asia.
So, yes, the T-Mobile one should give you 3G capability in other parts of the world, though if it's locked that may open up other issues.

Step666 said:
2100MHz is the band used all across Europe as well as large parts of Asia.
So, yes, the T-Mobile one should give you 3G capability in other parts of the world, though if it's locked that may open up other issues.
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I had a TMo US G1, and it worked fine on 3G when I returned to the UK. The converse was not true of my TMo UK G2 (HTC Hero), which would only get Edge in the US because it did not support both bands of AWS (1700/2100).
So, I see no reason why a TMo US shouldn't work pretty much everywhere else in the world where 2100 3G is ubiquitous.
Regards,
Dave

Cool thanks, i guess that AWS threw me off. I thought there were a regular 2100, and then T-Mobile's AWS 2100

Step666 said:
2100MHz is the band used all across Europe as well as large parts of Asia.
So, yes, the T-Mobile one should give you 3G capability in other parts of the world, though if it's locked that may open up other issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you're a bit off. Tmo's 3G runs on AWS 1700/2100 band which is not the same 2100 *frequency* as the rest of the world. Tmo uses 1700 for downloads and 2100 for uploads, so both bands (aws/band IV) are needed.
Now Europe (and rest of GSM world) use straight 2100 band for 3G but the exact frequency is not the same as Tmo's.
Basically a Tmo Galaxy Tab will only get you EDGE outside of the US. An ATT Galaxy Tab will get you 3G in the US and the rest of the world (as long as it's sim unlocked, ofcourse).

LordLugard said:
Basically a Tmo Galaxy Tab will only get you EDGE outside of the US. An ATT Galaxy Tab will get you 3G in the US and the rest of the world (as long as it's sim unlocked, ofcourse).
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No, the T-mobile phones give you also 3G in Europe. All AWS chipsets do both Band I (2100) and Band IV (AWS 1700/2100).

I thought the galaxy tab is quad band, so you can simply swap your sim card with another european carrier and it should work on thier frequency
Am I wrong?

ahbvrh said:
I thought the galaxy tab is quad band, so you can simply swap your sim card with another european carrier and it should work on thier frequency
Am I wrong?
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You're right for 2G, not for 3G

So getting the unlock code for tmobile device and putting AT&T sim card will not give me 3g connectivity (using AT&T network)?

ahbvrh said:
So getting the unlock code for tmobile device and putting AT&T sim card will not give me 3g connectivity (using AT&T network)?
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No, because it doesn't support the 850 or 1900 MHz bands.

Volker1 said:
No, the T-mobile phones give you also 3G in Europe. All AWS chipsets do both Band I (2100) and Band IV (AWS 1700/2100).
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It will not. Pls do some more reading on the subject. There's a very good writeup on it in these forum. Someone explained it better than I've probably done. If I find it I'll link to it.

LordLugard said:
It will not. Pls do some more reading on the subject.
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One could say the same to you.
This is a link to T-Mobile US's support forum, in which someone has had it confirmed from T-Mobile themselves that all devices designed for their network have to be fully compatible with the 2100MHz band, meaning they will give you 3G capabilities in Europe.
Your previous post in which you claim that the 2100MHz band that T-Mobile use is not the same as the 2100MHz band the rest of the world uses is nothing short of ridiculous.
If the band T-Mobile used was different to the one used in the rest of the world, it would not be described as 2100MHz.

LordLugard said:
It will not. Pls do some more reading on the subject. There's a very good writeup on it in these forum. Someone explained it better than I've probably done. If I find it I'll link to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but as I already said earlier in this thread, my T-Mobile US G1, which is an AWS device, worked perfectly well in the UK with full 3G. Similarly, I know of people who bought TMo Nexus Ones in the US, and these all worked fine in the UK.
That's not to say there isn't some subtle difference which not all chipsets can cater for, but it is certainly true that many TMo US handsets will give 3G capabilities in Europe.
Regards,
Dave

The normal UMTS 2100 is called "Band I" and t-mobile's AWS is called "Band IV":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands
The AWS 3G module has already 2100MHz support, so there is no additional hardware necessary to support Band I as well. Theoretically it could be disabled, of course, but then T-mobile wouldn't be able to charge you an arm and a leg if you were to roam outside of the US