Does anyone know if the Gobi 4000 card will work with the Thinkpad Tablet?
I don't see why not. Its a step up from the Gobi 3000 currently used in the 3G enabled Thinkpads.
TS
It comes down to drivers in the end. And of course, the aerials need to be suitable. I'd await the Ericsson version and then comparisons of the two.
I imagine LTE performance would be quite awful. As far as I know, both AT&T and Verizon run LTE in the 700MHz band. The TPT likely doesn't have antennas configured to operate at 700MHz.
Related
Anyone who understands this "spectrum" 3g AT&T Tmob issue more than I.... I have a ?
Okay so here it goes....
WTF!!!!!!!!!!!???
So I've been reading all day to understand this and I do get how we ended up screwed on 3g from the rest of the world
Tmob is on "aws" which is sort of a halfway between 2100/1900 of Europe at 2100/1700
AT&T is on 1900/850 or 850... I couldn't find a straight answer on that.
Now everyone says this is "hardware" in the phone that dictates this issue. I've been researching (this is where I could use your help) and I'm missing something. Nexus one is using Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 3G QSD8250.... This AMAZING chip is not only the processor but the 3g chipset as well... (correct?) Yet this same chip is in the LG expo and the LG expo has 850/1900/2100 for it's 3g.
It would seem to me... (a simple man) that Qualcomm would NOT produce separate chips but would use some firmware/software to let the chip determine which frequencies to use. Otherwise they would have to stamp out more than one chip instead of just having one factory.
The other major issue I see is antenna length is a physical characteristic based on the radio wave you are trying to receive/send. So that may have to change too but that's more about being optimum than impossible.
Not that anyone has the cash for this but what would stop someone with REALLY amazing soldering skills from switching the two supposedly identical chipsets? Would that extremely silly idea work?
Just a thought that I thought a few people on this forum may understand more than I do.
First, the radio ROM should be the one to dictate what frequencies are supported if the radio chip can support multiple frequencies, which it does. There is a soft radio chip from Samsung (I think it's Samsung) that can be reprogrammed to change which carrier it's supporting, but I haven't read of it being used yet. I believe that's the future, but currently you get a chip that almost universally supports European 3G and quad-band GSM w/EDGE out of the box, and then *one* set of US/Canadian frequencies. That's it.
WIND (new Canadian carrier) is using the same AWS spectrum as T-Mobile US is, so that should give more "pull" for more AWS support in future handsets, but with T-Mobile moving toward a "dumb pipe" arrangement (no annoying a la carte options, no music services, no stupid "extras" to pay for, just voice/data/text plans) the hope is more devices will be available in the open market that will just work on T-Mobile and support whatever you're paying for. Since your ISP is just "there" and "supports" (ish) whatever you're using, the hope is T-Mobile US will set the trend for that behavior here, and WIND might be going the same way in Canada, and FINALLY bring this mentality to North America.
If that works out, expect to see more soft radio chips and ROMs to come out with these handsets so they can be "flipped" from network to network and still support all the data and voice options. If it doesn't (I think it will to some degree), then expect the long and annoying tradition of vertically integrated handset and carrier support where the handset has to be "made" to support whatever options the carrier chooses (for compatibility and being as cheap as possible to make) and not have full, cross network support for devices.
Softchips aren't common and won't be. You could probably swap the chips directly, but it's going to cause issues.
T-Mobile uses AWS, which is 1700/2100 for down/up stream. It's considered GSM band 4, which is different from Europe, who uses a 900 band and a 2100 band, both of those are full up/downloads on close bands, so some places use 900, some use 2100, some offer both. It's a bit different. The Nexus One supposed 900/AWS/2100, meaning it's 100% Europe and T-Mobile compatible. We're seeing more and more of these chips since it's significantly simpler than making Euro + AT&T chips.
Motorola is developing a chip with AWS + 850/1900, meaning sometime next year, we should be seeing truly "USA" model cell phones, which will support any US GSM carrier. Euro+USA full could come eventually, but the addition of AWS means it'd take a 5-band chip instead of Quad band like EDGE.
T-Mobile 3G Upgrade
FCC cleared radio frequencies about 3 years ago, T-Mobile bid on the majority of them and used it to upgrade its network.
Much lulz were had.
Here is a List of UMTS Networks. Pretty much all of Europe uses 2100.
I'll do more research as to WHY, but most carriers opt for certain frequencies because of hardware compatibility and cost effectiveness for when they were upgrading.
That link makes it appear that AT&T is worthless outside of NA, but that's untrue (AT&T has, for the most part coverage worldwide, or so I think...) so I'll do some more research on my lunch break.
Renarudo said:
T-Mobile 3G Upgrade
FCC cleared radio frequencies about 3 years ago, T-Mobile bid on the majority of them and used it to upgrade its network.
Much lulz were had.
Here is a List of UMTS Networks. Pretty much all of Europe uses 2100.
I'll do more research as to WHY, but most carriers opt for certain frequencies because of hardware compatibility and cost effectiveness for when they were upgrading.
That link makes it appear that AT&T is worthless outside of NA, but that's untrue (AT&T has, for the most part coverage worldwide, or so I think...) so I'll do some more research on my lunch break.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ATT has some coverage (edge once again) everywhere, some places in canada and australia have 1900, but ATT for the most part is using a freq that's not very universal
The issue is the amplifier module.
I have the Rogers G1 running on AT&T 3G. The radio firmware/software is identicle to the T-Mobile/ADP1 phone.
They did a tear down of the G1's and they both use physically different amplifier part numbers. It's not a part from Qualcomm and has nothing to do with their chipsets. Their chipsets do indeed support AT&T's 3G frequencies, if paired with a compatible amplifier.
Now if someone tears down the Nexus One, and gets the part number for the amplifier, and that amplifier can do AT&T frequencies, it may just be an issue of hacking the radio somehow to enable it.
It's quite possible the amplifier on the Nexus One can handle AT&T 3G, but they didn't bother to "certify" it with the FCC because T-Mobile is te launch parter and AT&T is sucking Apples teet.
One can only wait and see. I'm betting it simple doesn't have the correct amplifier for AT&T.
There are amplifiers that work on all frequencies. Why they don't spend the extra dollar or whatever is beyond me. They are literally THAT cheap.
-James
jmacdonald801 said:
The issue is the amplifier module.
I have the Rogers G1 running on AT&T 3G. The radio firmware/software is identicle to the T-Mobile/ADP1 phone.
They did a tear down of the G1's and they both use physically different amplifier part numbers. It's not a part from Qualcomm and has nothing to do with their chipsets. Their chipsets do indeed support AT&T's 3G frequencies, if paired with a compatible amplifier.
Now if someone tears down the Nexus One, and gets the part number for the amplifier, and that amplifier can do AT&T frequencies, it may just be an issue of hacking the radio somehow to enable it.
It's quite possible the amplifier on the Nexus One can handle AT&T 3G, but they didn't bother to "certify" it with the FCC because T-Mobile is te launch parter and AT&T is sucking Apples teet.
One can only wait and see. I'm betting it simple doesn't have the correct amplifier for AT&T.
There are amplifiers that work on all frequencies. Why they don't spend the extra dollar or whatever is beyond me. They are literally THAT cheap.
-James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or sell two (or more) versions of the phone?
850/1900/2100
900/1900/2100
1700/2100
I would guess ... idiocy.
Even more idiotic ... phone manufacturers building phones with NAM 3G frequencies ... but not selling them.
It seems the Nexus One at least has the hardware to support AT&T 3G, see my post here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=612950
-James
T-mobile has been announcing a variety of improvements to their LTE wireless network,:
4×2 MiMo, 15+15 and 20+20 LTE networks, 700 mhz.
Is any of this relevant to N4's running LTE? What about the N5?
kmandel said:
T-mobile has been announcing a variety of improvements to their LTE wireless network,:
4×2 MiMo, 15+15 and 20+20 LTE networks, 700 mhz.
Is any of this relevant to N4's running LTE? What about the N5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely.
scream4cheese said:
Absolutely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm surprised at your answer. As far as frequency, I thought the N4 only had the hardware for LTE at 1700mhz. For 4x2Mimo I thought it depended on the antenna arrangement in the phone (as well as the tower). I don't know what factors are related to 15+15 and 20+20.
The answer I expected was no for N4 and possibly yes for N5.
The n4 definitely doesnt support 700mhz anything for lte, no existing device (officially) supports band 12, though many recent ones support band 17 (which does not help for band 12).
Weither or not it can do carrier aggregration on the same band in hardware: i doubt it can do it in software (this is just opinion until someone can test it with a terminal emulator).
Even more basic stuff like cell tower location services is broken while in LTE on the N4.
Multi band carrier aggregration definitely isnt possible as the N4 only "supports" a single band.
The S4pro and S600 (technically the MDM9x15M as they both use it) platform should only support a maximum of 2x2 MIMO as they're all only rated for LTE Cat 4 (E-UTRA - User Equipment (UE) categories - Wikipedia)
It's the S800 and newer that use the MDM9x25 and that supports LTE Cat 5, which includes 4 stream MIMO
I am trying to work out what I need to do get a pentaband model Note 4 when it comes out. I have tried to research this through the history of the Note 3 but I'm still confused. Ideally (coming from a Nexus 5) I want the phone unlocked (bootloader and SIM) and I need all five UMTS bands including 1700. I believe I could get what I need from T-Mobile but getting it would be a bit of a pain. Could I get what I need from Wind? It seems all Canadian models are the same (W8) but they just have different ROMs that only enable some of the frequencies? Is it the case that there are just simply two models of hardware - Exynos and Snapdragon and with the latter you can put any carrier-specific ROM on it? Coming from the Nexus world this plethora of models is all very confusing.
2xbass said:
I am trying to work out what I need to do get a pentaband model Note 4 when it comes out. I have tried to research this through the history of the Note 3 but I'm still confused. Ideally (coming from a Nexus 5) I want the phone unlocked (bootloader and SIM) and I need all five UMTS bands including 1700. I believe I could get what I need from T-Mobile but getting it would be a bit of a pain. Could I get what I need from Wind? It seems all Canadian models are the same (W8) but they just have different ROMs that only enable some of the frequencies? Is it the case that there are just simply two models of hardware - Exynos and Snapdragon and with the latter you can put any carrier-specific ROM on it? Coming from the Nexus world this plethora of models is all very confusing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in a similar boat to you on Wind Mobile.
The Snapdragon version will probably be the one you want to get, as the Exynos versions have historically received very little development, owing largely to Samsung's lack of documentation. Note 3 Exynos I think did not even get CM, because of Samsung's lack of documentation.
Gobi 9x35 model should be accompanying the Snapdragon 805.
It should support the following:
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 700 / 850 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
It's likely that there will be a Wind variant that comes out later this year. Historically, Wind has taken a couple of months after launch b efore getting it.
I was reading elsewhere that T-Mobile won't sell me an unlocked phone unless I've been a customer of theirs for a while. So what I'm seeing is this:
a) The only versions I can buy online such as from deltamobiles or canadagsm or expansys are the Exynos version which has no 1700 band support.
b) Wind might not release the Note 4 for months after other carriers.
c) I can't buy one from T-Mobile even if I drive over the border to get one in person.
Seems like a pretty screwed-up system to me. Looks like I might as well just stay in the Nexus family and get the Nexus 6. Samsung sales are already down and with the iPhone 6 there are already reports of many people making the move to iOS now that they have bigger screens. Samsung needs to make the buying experience easier if they have any hope of staying in the game.
sauron0101 said:
I'm in a similar boat to you on Wind Mobile.
The Snapdragon version will probably be the one you want to get, as the Exynos versions have historically received very little development, owing largely to Samsung's lack of documentation. Note 3 Exynos I think did not even get CM, because of Samsung's lack of documentation.
Gobi 9x35 model should be accompanying the Snapdragon 805.
It should support the following:
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 700 / 850 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
It's likely that there will be a Wind variant that comes out later this year. Historically, Wind has taken a couple of months after launch b efore getting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
t-mobile/videotron/Wind.....same phone same band...
if my memory dont drive me wrong...t-mobile and videotron are on the 4g (hspda) 1700 band not sure about Wind however...
That makes sense to me but was that actually the case with the Note 3?I thought all Canadian carriers had the same W8 model?
Hello to all,
I have a ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KL). Asus support said me that is a Taiwanese version.
The issue is that is not working with LTE network in my country, only with 2G and 3G. Here is used AWS1 that is the same AWS band 4 (1700/2100 MHz) 1700 for uplink and 2100 for downlink. Asus support said me that I have nothing to do since is a hardware issue because the antenna doesn't work in 1700/2100.
Is there a way to know if this handset could be enabled to work with LTE AWS Band 4?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Regards
First thing first, I'm sorry if my reply did not help you, and this is based on my limited understanding...
Simple answers would be nothing, nothing you can do if this is "hardware" limitation as asus told you.
Now the explanation, note that I'm not knowledgeable about this thing, so I don't think could give a meaningful explanation.
From what I've read, LTE, on different country use different band (1700, 2100, etc). And by that, just say *not the real reason, just play along with it*, "device built by limiting hw capabilities to certain band, to work on region A, because that device didn't meant to work/used outside region A" . This might the reason, you could see asus with WW or TW variant. They limit the device hardware to work only with certain band range.
This is hardware, not software/firmware (if you compare it to like some "unlocked provider device") . So you can't do anything about it.
This is like, using CDMA phone with GSM card, they work at different band. AFAIK it didn't work, cmiiw.
Oh, IIRC, old phone (before Android born) mostly have triband (GSM) you might won't be able to use your device outside your country. Then, newer phone, till now, use quad band to support usability around the globe. cmiiw
I hope you get what I'm trying to say there~
I don't know what it mean about LTE aws 1 / aws 4, I don't think this is just band length (1700/2100).
# sorry for my bad english
Sent from my ASUS_Z00RD using XDA Labs
Hi,
So, I'm interested in getting a cheap 4.7" Android phone to use in the United States and sometimes in Canada. I zeroed in on the Galaxy A3 2017. The model that works best in North America is the A320Y, but so far I've only been able to find it online at some store in New Zealand. Since finding the answer to the question, Will shipping the device from NZ to the United States cost customs fees (and if so, how much)? is a question harder to answer than the question, Where is Jimmy Hoffa?, I've begun considering getting one of the models listed in the title of this thread.
But there's a problem. Those models in the title don't work on US LTE. Actually, according to frequencycheck.com, the A320FL has one LTE band (Cricket/AT&T) and the other models have none of the LTE frequency bands. I wonder if frequencycheck.com is accurate. I'm also wondering if there are other differences between those models. I'm also wondering what happens if I put a Cricket SIM inside these phones. Even though frequencycheck.com says I will get no LTE bands, will putting a Cricket SIM inside suddenly activate an LTE band?
The other question I was wondering: Do I even need LTE if I don't care much about download speed? Maybe HSPA+ or whatever it is will be good enough? If I don't have LTE, will I get less reception indoors or outdoors, or will I get the same exact reception/coverage but just be relegated to 3G/4G/HSPA+ service? What is the benefit of LTE besides data speed?
Finally, which one of these models has the most ROM support? Can they all be bootloader unlocked?
I know I'm asking a whole bunch of questions at the same time. Sorry. I appreciate any help I can get with this!
To answer some:
That website appears to be accurate. Doesn't only list AT&T for a320fl once expanded.
As for SIMs activating bands, I haven't seen it on Samsung, only RRC Release, VoLTE, LTE CAT, maybe individual CA combos. The disabled bands are shown as CAL_DEFAULT vs CAL_PASS. Guess it's like Snapdragon.
HSPA+ vs LTE
The range of 3G/4G is close with the same frequency, but 4G performs better at cell edge (low signal).
Speed (anyway)
Well, 3G is usually given its own spectrum at first, then the 2G is refarmed into 3G. Today, 3G gets refarmed to 4G. This leaves 3G with a small amount of spectrum, it becomes prone to interference. It's bit like multiple tv/fm stations on the same channel number. Other 'tv/fm stations' have to be filtered out by the phone, this lowers the speed. 4G gets some too, along with echoed complex signals, but it gets less.
3G supports up to 5MHz per carrier, 4G up to 20MHz. 3G can have carrier aggregation, so 5+5+maybe 5. Expect up to 2 carriers (not every combo) on 4G, unless a specific SIM is detected in specific phone models. Along with that, 4G can have better spectral efficiency.
If you are going with 3G(HSPA, sometimes called '4G') anyway, you should know that there are these states (usually called fast dormancy) to save power.
DCH = Full speed.
FACH = Up to 32kbps. 4kB/s. Maybe RRC Release downgrade is visible (H+ to H).
PCH = No data.
Anything below is further away from data.
For high performance, keep the speed above 4kB/s, at the cost of battery. LTE has a faster start.
Sometimes, the speed is simply constrained by backhaul, the internet access that goes to the tower.
Thanks. So, to your knowledge, the F and F DS variants shouldn't work on LTE in the United States? I was in a live chat session with someone on Samsung's UK website and she said that the F variant would work on LTE in the United States. I then sent them an email to confirm and they replied with:
As per our resources from our technical review, the following Network is available in our Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) for the US.
Network
Band: Quad
GSM 850: YES
GSM 900: YES
GSM 1800: YES
GSM 1900: YES
UMTS 2100: YES
GPRS: YES
4G: YES
HSDPA: YES
Works in the US: YES
I replied to ask them why frequencycheck.com lists no LTE frequencies in common for the F variant on AT&T. I'm so confused.
sm-a320f / sm-a320f/ds
According to every other (not alternating) source the LTE band 2 and band 5 is supported in the US (and the entire spectrum of these bands). So, it supports some bands. Check if the signal of those bands (for your mobile network operator) are available in your location. Ask again, specifically for band 2 LTE(4G).