Im going to buy a Galaxy S4 full price. I noticed Tmobile has dropped it down to $579 for the M919 model. But I also noticed on amazon I can get the unlocked S4 I9505 for around $600
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00BV1NKCW/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new
Is there any downfall in performance or network compatibility issues with getting an unlocked phone vs using a phone that is already set to work with that provider ?
I'm with Tmobile but I leave the country about twice a year. That's why I was looking at the GT-19500 on amazon. Is it also a better phone in general compared to the M919 ? what would I be gaining or losing by getting the M919 other than the factory unlocked feature already there from Samsung.
I have had both. There is way more development for the M919 because it can use any I9505 rom or any other carrier's rom as well. The google ROM was ported over before the official device was even shipping from the play store lol. The i9500 has some potential but has hit some brick walls in development. The M919 can be unlocked for free on here, making it as versatile as the I9500 in terms of global use.
KillaHurtz said:
I have had both. There is way more development for the M919 because it can use any I9505 rom or any other carrier's rom as well. The google ROM was ported over before the official device was even shipping from the play store lol. The i9500 has some potential but has hit some brick walls in development. The M919 can be unlocked for free on here, making it as versatile as the I9500 in terms of global use.
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I agree I purchased a gt i9500 (dont have a choice thats all there is in my country) and I regret it lol As soon as I see a gt i9505 I will buy it or exhange my phone with it + money
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 2
KillaHurtz said:
I have had both. There is way more development for the M919 because it can use any I9505 rom or any other carrier's rom as well. The google ROM was ported over before the official device was even shipping from the play store lol. The i9500 has some potential but has hit some brick walls in development. The M919 can be unlocked for free on here, making it as versatile as the I9500 in terms of global use.
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Hy! You say that i can put on my m919 any Samsung galaxy S4 official roms?
I've got a Canadian i337m and hardware wise is the same as m919 and i9505. I use Intl ROMs and tmo ROMs only cause all the ROMs in my forum are for crappy at&t phones with all their hacked up crap. That forum is a joke!
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I'm going to buy the S4 in a few weeks, and I can't decide which one to choose, especially after google released the one running vanilla android.
The international, i9500 exynos variant is the best one, I think, as its the international version and it might get more dev support.
on the other hand, the i9505 snapdragon variant is more reliable when it comes to dev support, as qualcomm does release the source code for its SD600 processor.
The google edition, as its going to support LTE, i think will be based on the i9505, as our dear Samsung very conveniently disable the LTE radios on its exynos processors.
So I am confused which one to buy.
If i get the i9505 (snapdragon), would i be able to flash an AOSP/AOKP rom perfectly, without any issues? Like will I be able to switch between AOSP and touchwiz without any hassle? and as the google edition will have the same chipset, would i be able to run rock solid and bug free aosp roms on it? (i honestly am more inclined towards touchwiz than aosp/aokp, but i dont mind switching for some time)
Also, I heard that i9500 has a better camera sensor, and has slightly better battery life than i9505. Is that true?
And qualcomm is going to release the snapdragon 800 within a couple of months, and i dont want to buy a phone for about $800 (nearly 50k in rupees here in India) only to realize that my latest gadget is now obsolete. I have already experienced that with my iPad 3 .
I'll be moving to USA in august for college, and honestly, i dont think LTE would be much use to me as 3G is more than enough for my needs. Plus LTE is a huge battery hog.
Also, as our dear Samsung does not release source code for exynos, more CM/AOKP/PA devs will move towards the i9505, and with that logic, the i9500 should get more support from devs working on TW based roms, like salesale and :indie: (I love neatrom on my S2).
So which one should I get?
P.S. Only the i9500 version is available in India, I'll have to get the i9505 from amazon if I end up buying that.
Just be careful what bands the phone supports. I think if you in the States it would be wise to get your carrier branded version
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium HD app
Obagleyfreer said:
Just be careful what bands the phone supports. I think if you in the States it would be wise to get your carrier branded version
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium HD app
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as both the i9500 and i9505 are unlocked and unbranded, I think I'll go for either of them, as they will be compatible with all bands worldwide, not only US and India. Also, I prefer not to be tied to a network with a contract. (I'm more of a free bird )
But the question that remians in, which one should I go for? The i9500, the i9505, or the stock google edition?
The google edition will be based on i9505, so on one hand i'll recieve updates as soon as they are released, but would i be able to switch between AOSP roms and TW-based roms?
diwakarchopra said:
as both the i9500 and i9505 are unlocked and unbranded, I think I'll go for either of them, as they will be compatible with all bands worldwide, not only US and India. Also, I prefer not to be tied to a network with a contract. (I'm more of a free bird )
But the question that remians in, which one should I go for? The i9500, the i9505, or the stock google edition?
The google edition will be based on i9505, so on one hand i'll recieve updates as soon as they are released, but would i be able to switch between AOSP roms and TW-based roms?
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I just received my i9500 a week ago and I am lovin it! The phone is one heckuva beast and I have yet to run into any problems with it. Also a heads up, I've heard TouchWiz runs smoother on the i9500 than the i9505 as it is optimized for it better. The camera is definitely one of this phone's highlights and I can say for myself that I see the differences in camera sensors/image quality between the two.
Sorry for the late reply, I was busy with my high school finals!
And thank you all for your opinions, but im still pretty much confused on which one to go for. the i9500 or thr i9505?
As I said before, the variant needs to be GSM, and only two networks in the US offer GSM: AT&T and T-Mobile.
I'll be moving to West-Lafayette, Indiana in a couple of months, therefore, I need to know which one of the two (AT&T and TMobile) would support the GS4 properly. I dont care about 4G LTE as HSDPA+ is fast enough for me, but I've heard that some frequencies don't work properly on those networks, resulting in poor reception and slow data transfer speeds.
So, it would be really helpful is someone could point me in the right direction, should I go for i9500 or i9505? I'm a bit more inclined towards i9500.
Thanks in advance!
Go for the one with Samsung's modified version of Android. Don't wait for the Google Edition. The advantage with this one is as soon the Google Edition drops, there will be AOSP ROMs for the Samsung edition S4 but the vice-versa won't be true.
echenze said:
Go for the one with Samsung's modified version of Android. Don't wait for the Google Edition. The advantage with this one is as soon the Google Edition drops, there will be AOSP ROMs for the Samsung edition S4 but the vice-versa won't be true.
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That's all fine, but now I'm asking which one should I go for? the i9500 (Exynos) or the i9505 (snapdragon)? I'm not sure which one would work better in Lafayette Indiana on AT&T or T-Mobile (in terms of network coverage, 3G download/upload speeds etc)
Hello, I recently found a phone on Kajiji because I am leaving soon and needed it since my old one broke. Usualy I order my phones off Hi-moible. He told me it was unlocked so I assumed it was the international version,. I ended up with a 1337m, I am dissapointed since alot of the roms are only for that model. I was wondering as to why this is the case arent both phones identical in terms of hardware? How do you convert one to the other ?
Nanafy said:
Hello, I recently found a phone on Kajiji because I am leaving soon and needed it since my old one broke. Usualy I order my phones off Hi-moible. He told me it was unlocked so I assumed it was the international version,. I ended up with a 1337m, I am dissapointed since alot of the roms are only for that model. I was wondering as to why this is the case arent both phones identical in terms of hardware? How do you convert one to the other ?
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That would be the Canadian Model. I believe if its unlocked it should still work, and the international Model is the one that actually has the least customization in terms of ROMS i believe mostly because of the Exynos processor. The I337M is the Snapdragon model which is the same Hardware as the US models. I use an I337M and load AT&T and T-Mobile roms all the time. Just make sure you choose T-Mobile Kernels for your device if using custom ROMS that arent T-Mobile based.
Monkz said:
That would be the Canadian Model. I believe if its unlocked it should still work, and the international Model is the one that actually has the least customization in terms of ROMS i believe mostly because of the Exynos processor. The I337M is the Snapdragon model which is the same Hardware as the US models. I use an I337M and load AT&T and T-Mobile roms all the time. Just make sure you choose T-Mobile Kernels for your device if using custom ROMS that arent T-Mobile based.
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2166
This phone the I9505 Why can i not use roms from this thread ?
I dont understand its unlocked and its the same phone what is the actual complication ?
Hi, so this may sound like a stupid question, but I have searched and searched via google even, and I don't know if im searching the terms incorrectly, or getting incorrect information...
I want to buy a Carrier-Free, Bloatware Free Galaxy S4 (Or 5 when it comes out, or even an HTC One)
I want to use it on AT&T GoPhone with LTE.
I see the different variants only working with AT&T 2G/3G or only H+, or only LTE.
When looking for a bloatware, and carrier free S4, what model should I be looking at?
Thanks in advance!
Bump
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
i9505
I'm assuming you live in the US since you are talking about AT&T LTE , Only possible answer i can get for you is to get the i9505 (No contract) & then rooting it and removing all the bloatware you do not like.
i9500 does not have LTE therefore i9505 is the most suitable for you
Alternatively You can get i9505 and install a custom rom which basically removes much of the unwanted apps & even then if you want to remove some more bloatware you can always do that.
You will get full and better support in this XDA forum 100% dedicated to AT&T Galaxy S4.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att
great isn't it?
lolo9393 said:
You will get full and better support in this XDA forum 100% dedicated to AT&T Galaxy S4.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4-att
great isn't it?
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Unfortunately, that's not what I'm looking for. I am not looking for the AT&T variant of the s4, since I would like a carrier free phone. Hence why I was posting in this forum and not the AT&T.
ExjeetzZ said:
I'm assuming you live in the US since you are talking about AT&T LTE , Only possible answer i can get for you is to get the i9505 (No contract) & then rooting it and removing all the bloatware you do not like.
i9500 does not have LTE therefore i9505 is the most suitable for you
Alternatively You can get i9505 and install a custom rom which basically removes much of the unwanted apps & even then if you want to remove some more bloatware you can always do that.
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So the i9505 is an unlocked version? Do the unlocked phones also come with bloatware?
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
justinisloco said:
Unfortunately, that's not what I'm looking for. I am not looking for the AT&T variant of the s4, since I would like a carrier free phone. Hence why I was posting in this forum and not the AT&T.
So the i9505 is an unlocked version? Do the unlocked phones also come with bloatware?
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
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I think every S4 is coming with bloatware. Root and remove the bloatware is the only way to get rid of it.
What do you mean with unlocked? The bootloader? In this case you have to look for a I-9505 with android 4.2.2 and firmware older than mh5. (Germany) every newer firmware has a locked bootloader.
I've been lurking around the forums for about a week now and thanks to the folks who contribute, I've been able to root, carrier unlock (tested to work with AT&T and Tmo), and side load a few ROMs on my I337 without bricking or even tripping KNOX. So again, thanks to all who contributed to those tutorials!
Unfortunately, the phone I bought came with MK2 pre-installed and since I'm a noob I wasn't aware of the limitations of this version until after reading these forums. You guys have saved me from bricking my phone though!
So my question... Do any of the other US variants of the S4 (aside from the I9505G) have similarly locked down bootloaders like the I337 (assuming latest OTA has been applied)? I'm gathering from various posts that AT&T was the only carrier implementing such nonsense. I'm asking because it seems like other models (M919, I545, and L720) sell for less on eBay and I'm considering selling my pristine I337 for another model. I want to make sure I don't end up with similar restrictions if I make such a move.
Secondly, can either the L720 or the I545 be unlocked to work with Tmo and AT&T in the US? I assume they all have the same radios, maybe just a firmware lock on frequencies?
The locked down bootloader should be only AT&T and Verizon.
The I545 should work on Tmobile and AT&T. . The L720 will not work on Tmobile or AT&T due to it being CDMA.
If you're liking for something you can rom and root easily and isn't carrier locked consider the nexus 5. I love it no carrier bloat and no gimmicky stuff you'll only use once.
Sent from my Nexus 5
I strongly agree with "jd1639"
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Kaze105 said:
The locked down bootloader should be only AT&T and Verizon.
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Good to know. Thanks!
Kaze105 said:
The I545 should work on Tmobile and AT&T. . The L720 will not work on Tmobile or AT&T due to it being CDMA.
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I understand that Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, Tmo and AT&T use GSM. But phone wise, don't all four US carrier S4 variants contain the same radios? Did Samsung actually yank CDMA radios from the GSM variants and vice versa? just looking for clarification.
Let me ask another way... if you guys were to recommend an S4 for US GSM networks that could be "easily" ROM'd/root'd at will, which would you suggest?
I've considered the Nexus 5 very heavily, but I prefer the hard buttons on the S4 because they seem to leave a bit more screen real estate than the soft buttons on the N5. I'm somewhat trying for an N5 like experience on the S4. Yeah, I want to have my cake and eat it too.
Rickerdo said:
Good to know. Thanks!
I understand that Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, Tmo and AT&T use GSM. But phone wise, don't all four US carrier S4 variants contain the same radios? Did Samsung actually yank CDMA radios from the GSM variants and vice versa? just looking for clarification.
Let me ask another way... if you guys were to recommend an S4 for US GSM networks that could be "easily" ROM'd/root'd at will, which would you suggest?
I've considered the Nexus 5 very heavily, but I prefer the hard buttons on the S4 because they seem to leave a bit more screen real estate than the soft buttons on the N5. I'm somewhat trying for an N5 like experience on the S4. Yeah, I want to have my cake and eat it too.
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For a bit more cash they have the Google Play Edition S4 from the play store as well at $649.00
None Touchwiz OS
https://play.google.com/store/devic...oogle_Play_edition?id=samsung_galaxy_s4&hl=en
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
jball said:
For a bit more cash they have the Google Play Edition S4 from the play store as well at $649.00
None Touchwiz OS
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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I think I left out the most important part... I'm cheap, er um, I mean very frugal. My like new I337 from ebay only cost me $370, so I'm looking to replace it with something around the same price that's more "hackable". This is why the Nexus 5 looked so appealing directly from the Play store. but, again, the screen on the N5 gets robbed a bit by the soft keys.
So, I guess I'm looking at an M919 (Tmo variant) as the best bang for the buck in terms of hacking friendly S4's. Is that the general consensus?
Honestly the keys aren't that bad once you have your hands on the Nexus 5 .the lack of a menu/settings button is a bit odd but the phone makes up for it in stock smoothness
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Hello
I am from India and I've been trying to purchase a Galaxy S5 from ebay. There is one available with a trusted seller with a good price but the model is S5 Duos and model number is G900FD. I know Indian versions are supposed to be G900I. So my question is this: Will the same custom ROMs for Galaxy S5 work with Galaxy S5 duos? or is there a slight change in the source files that makes it incompatible with s5 roms and leave me at the mercy of Touchwiz forever?
BluTheCool said:
Hello
I am from India and I've been trying to purchase a Galaxy S5 from ebay. There is one available with a trusted seller with a good price but the model is S5 Duos and model number is G900FD. I know Indian versions are supposed to be G900I. So my question is this: Will the same custom ROMs for Galaxy S5 work with Galaxy S5 duos? or is there a slight change in the source files that makes it incompatible with s5 roms and leave me at the mercy of Touchwiz forever?
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DID u buy the phone? id yes how is your experience with it , please share.
No they aren't compatible. You could flash the custom roms but you won't have network signal after. Though there are a number of custom roms for the dual aim variant if you want.
BluTheCool said:
Hello
I am from India and I've been trying to purchase a Galaxy S5 from ebay. There is one available with a trusted seller with a good price but the model is S5 Duos and model number is G900FD. I know Indian versions are supposed to be G900I. So my question is this: Will the same custom ROMs for Galaxy S5 work with Galaxy S5 duos? or is there a slight change in the source files that makes it incompatible with s5 roms and leave me at the mercy of Touchwiz forever?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, If you dislike touchwiz you can still install a alternative launcher. I did not try on the GS5 but I had a GS3 before and I succefully replace touchwiz by Apex launcher. Once the alternate launcher is started you can still kill samsung one.
Has anyone bought this, I wanted to know the performance and battery backup
Sent from my SM-G900H using XDA Free mobile app
I ended buying G900F the European version, even though I'm in India. The phone performance is fine, benchmarks as per reviews. And it came with Lollipop which added some features that they havent advertised before such as 4K video recording. Getting regular OTA once per 1-2 months on average. Can't say anything about the dual sim version because I didnt buy it...
BluTheCool said:
I ended buying G900F the European version, even though I'm in India. The phone performance is fine, benchmarks as per reviews. And it came with Lollipop which added some features that they havent advertised before such as 4K video recording. Getting regular OTA once per 1-2 months on average. Can't say anything about the dual sim version because I didnt buy it...
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From where did you buy it, I am also looking good this one only bit since it is not available thinking to get the dual SIM
Also what is the battery backup you get on lollipop...
Sent from my SM-G900H using XDA Free mobile app
Was hard to obtain actually. Got it from ebay finally but its a version without warranty becuase technically its smuggled. As for battery backup, it loses 10-20% over a day without using 3g/wifi, 40-60% over a day while using either of them. The screen is absolutely brilliant.
I am also thinking of getting it from eBay which seller did u buy it from and how's the screen on time you get with it
I am returning my G900H to flipkart and would get refund, I am thinking to either get this or Xiaomi MI4
Sent from my SM-G900H using XDA Free mobile app