[RESOLVED] Kyocera Torque - Does It Support GSM Networks? - Networking

Ever since my Samsung Rugby Smart... broke (don't ask how)... I have been on the hunt for a different rugged Android that comes with a relatively low price tag that supports T-Mobile either natively or through carrier unlocking. Recently the Kyocera Torque caught my eye at a Sprint store. The specifications of the phone were pleasing to me, and I saw listed on sites like eBay that a used condition Torque would be going for around 70-80 bucks. While talking to a Spint representative, pretending I was actually going to buy the phone and/or a Sprint plan, I asked him if the Torque had a SIM card slot and if it was compatible with GSM networks, such as T-Mobile (my actual carrier). He confidently gave a YES to both of my questions (he also said that in order for the phone to become unlocked, I'd need to use Sprint for 2 years and then cancel the plan and request phone unlock-age through them. No way I am getting Sprint for 2 years just for a Torque to be unlocked. Besides, there are unlocking websites which claim they will unlock this phone. Also, he probably assumed I was going to buy the phone from Sprint themselves. No way I'd ever do that! XD )
Here's where the confusion comes in. When I look online at phone specification websites like GSMArena, it states that the phone is NOT COMPATIBLE with GSM networks, and has a NON-REMOVABLE SIM card.
I am getting two different answers and I don't know which one to believe. If anyone knows the TRUE answer to this SIM card slot and GSM network compatibility conundrum, I would appreciate that they share the answer. I am excited about this phone, and if it really does support USA domestic GSM networks and all that, then I'd be buying this phone very soon.
Oh, and one more thing. Besides compatibility with GSM Networks, if this phone does support GSM, I'd also like to know if it supports high-speed data such as GPRS, HSPA, or anything like that. I have an HTC Rezound right now, and while it does support GSM Networks, it only gets 2G (EDGE) through T-Mobile. So support of 3G, and possibly beyond that, is another main factor that I would like to know about the Kyocera Torque, as it is actually one of the main reasons why I'm looking for an upgrade.

interesting

I talked to the Sprint guy again, and he took the phone apart and showed me the SIM slot. It was a Micro SIM I believe (the size right below Mini). The guy said it would work on international GSM networks, but if it was fitted with a SIM card for a United States GSM network, it would just say the phone is network-locked.
I guess the question is now this: is there a hack to "allow" or "force" the Torque to work with US GSM networks, similar to the hack for the Motorola Photon 4G (another phone I am looking into buying) that allows it to do just that?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA Free mobile app

jasonmerc said:
I guess the question is now this: is there a hack to "allow" or "force" the Torque to work with US GSM networks, similar to the hack for the Motorola Photon 4G (another phone I am looking into buying) that allows it to do just that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope. and best to just avoid kyocera phones completely. kyocera is a turd of a company. they lock down the bootloader and never issue major updates. for example, the torque won't ever see kitkat. and since they lock the bootloader, you can't install a custom recovery, or a 3rd party rom.

[Duplicate post. Sorry about that...]

x000x said:
nope. and best to just avoid kyocera phones completely. kyocera is a turd of a company. they lock down the bootloader and never issue major updates. for example, the torque won't ever see kitkat. and since they lock the bootloader, you can't install a custom recovery, or a 3rd party rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up about Kyocera being a locked bootloader turd of a company XD. Now I'll be sure to avoid them in the future. No longer interested in the Hydro Life anyway, got an LG L90 for $48 and have CM11 on it already
Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app

Interesting thing about the torque, it is one of sprints few water resistant phones, and also has the loudest speaker phone they make in my opinion. I just bought one as a spare phone for $50. Great to keep by the pool.

cfclay said:
Interesting thing about the torque, it is one of sprints few water resistant phones, and also has the loudest speaker phone they make in my opinion. I just bought one as a spare phone for $50. Great to keep by the pool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, it is a nice phone... except for their stubbornness about completely locking the device down. if they would actually make an effort to keep their phones updated i would not complain about it too much. but the fact that they lock it down AND never keep the phone updated beyond minor things is inexcusable.

Related

HTC Hero130 (Telus Version)

First off - I Private Messaged a couple of people about this, but realized that I should have just posted this in the forum. So, my apologies for anyone seeing this a second time.
I've been getting all sort of conflicting information about the Hero 130 (The Telus one) and which UMTS bands it supports.
Most of the information I see at places like PDADB says that it's UMTS enabled for 850/1900 only, which are the North American bands. FCC reports and the Telus user manual show testing for WCDMA (UMTS) 850/1900 only.
However, HTC's Canada Hero website (http://www.htc.com/ca/product/herotelus/specification.html) says "Dual Mode UMTS" and lists frequencies for US (850/1900), EU/Asia (900/2100) and Telstra (850/2100). Two HTC support techs from their website also confirm that the Hero 130 supports UMTS for US EU/Asia and Telstra, but it feels like they are just regurgitating information from the extremely vague website.
The device is a quad-band worldwide device. These are the bands the device is capable of using:
Europe/Asia
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (900/2100MHz for EU/Asia)
North America
850/1900
Telestra
850/2100
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900Mhz)
If the bands you are needing are any of these then the device should work.
Kay
HTC Technical Support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone with a HERO130 actually gone overseas and seen if you get UMTS/3G to work overseas - or has seen anything that conclusively and definitively proves if it does or does not work?
Thanks!
I'm wondering the same thing. I'd like to get the Telus one and use it here on AT&T 3g in the states... anyone know if that is possible?
The Telus version of the HTC Hero (aka HERO130 or A6265) definitely supports ATT's 3G bands. It's been confirmed via the FCC documentation as well that 850/2100 is supported. T-Mobile's 1700MHz is not supported.
My question is specifically in regards to the European/Asian (900/1900MHz) bands. HTC's confirmed that it does support by phone, but I'm still a little dubious. However, I'm ordering one and am going to give it a test!
Stay Tuned!
itpromike said:
I'm wondering the same thing. I'd like to get the Telus one and use it here on AT&T 3g in the states... anyone know if that is possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. It is possible. I've got the Telus Hero, unlocked and running on the Rogers network. HSDPA/3G works fine on Rogers. North American radio bands for 3G are supported with this hardware.
BlueHawk said:
Yes. It is possible. I've got the Telus Hero, unlocked and running on the Rogers network. HSDPA/3G works fine on Rogers. North American radio bands for 3G are supported with this hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! How difficult is the unlocking process?
I just thought about something. I'm used to the iPhone where you have to root your phone to unlock it for other carriers. Is the way it work with the HTC Hero and the like is that you just pay full price for the phone ($499) and it comes unlocked already? No tinkering needed?
itpromike said:
Awesome! How difficult is the unlocking process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The unlocking process is not painful at all, but it costs you $20-25. When you insert a non-Telus sim into the device and power it up, it will tell you that you are using the wrong sim and ask you to enter the unlock code. The unlock code is specific to the IMEI of you phone, so they can't be shared. They can be purchased on eBay for slightly more than $20.
Note that you cannot unlock your phone by flashing a custom ROM. So unless you figured out the magic formula for generating these unlocking code (different for each device and different for each carrier), you have to pay for it one way or another.
tsekh501 said:
The unlocking process is not painful at all, but it costs you $20-25. When you insert a non-Telus sim into the device and power it up, it will tell you that you are using the wrong sim and ask you to enter the unlock code. The unlock code is specific to the IMEI of you phone, so they can't be shared. They can be purchased on eBay for slightly more than $20.
Note that you cannot unlock your phone by flashing a custom ROM. So unless you figured out the magic formula for generating these unlocking code (different for each device and different for each carrier), you have to pay for it one way or another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I buy the full priced ($499) phone from Telus, then I have to buy the unlock code from Ebay? Hmm... I feel leery about buying something like this from Ebay. Is there an official channel I can buy an unlock code from?
itpromike said:
So I buy the full priced ($499) phone from Telus, then I have to buy the unlock code from Ebay? Hmm... I feel leery about buying something like this from Ebay. Is there an official channel I can buy an unlock code from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I paid mine for the full price too, but this doesn't make the phone automatically unlocked. Telus enters an exclusive contract with HTC to be the sole carrier of this phone in Canada (at least for now), and they have every right to make sure that an average-joe, who knows nothing about unlocking, who wants this phone have to go to them, with or without contract. Exclusive dealings are extremely common in cell phone industry, and they are not free for the carrier.
I doubt Telus would unlock the phone for you. In the US, T-Mobile will unlock their phones for you a few months into the 2-year contract, may be Telus will do the same, if you signed a contract with them that is.
I just went to eBay and notice that there are now many sellers selling Telus Hero unlock code, and some are selling for as low as $13. I bought mine from a seller called cellfservices, it is not the cheapest but it worked (and it took them about an hour after the sales to send me the code).
mobileincanada.ca seems to be one that is very popular for unlocking, $20cdn, and they usually send unlock code very fast (within 5 minutes)
all right people.
I am here to bust the myth.
Telus hero does not have asian HSPA band.
I have two heros: GSM and Telus.
Tested location: Taiwan.
Telus hero with Taiwan sim card = GPRS only, no 3G connection.
GSM hero = 3G connection.
Telus hero does not have dual model 3G, period.
So which do I get for AT&T
Ok so I'd like one of these WITH 3G connection on AT&T so which one would I get to make this happen? I'm leaning toward the Telus model from what I've been reading but if anyone can confirm or deny this, that would be great. Also once I have it and it's been unlocked, then what do I tell AT&T? Just order a second line with a data plan? Won't they ask me what type of phone is this for or how should I do this?
itpromike said:
Ok so I'd like one of these WITH 3G connection on AT&T so which one would I get to make this happen? I'm leaning toward the Telus model from what I've been reading but if anyone can confirm or deny this, that would be great. Also once I have it and it's been unlocked, then what do I tell AT&T? Just order a second line with a data plan? Won't they ask me what type of phone is this for or how should I do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Telus Hero is the only current Hero model that will work with 3G/HSDPA in North America. The European Hero will only use Edge for Data - it doesn't support the North American radio bands. The Sprint model only supports CDMA.
Do you need a second line? Are you planning to run two cell phones? If not, just switch your current AT&T SIM into the Hero and get a data plan for that SIM/line.
I do plan on running a second line yes. I have an iPhone 3GS as my main phone and I am planning on using the Hero to play around with as my second phone. The hero is a decent phone and fun to flash and play around with etc... but I couldn't ever really use it as my main phone. I definitely couldn't give up my iPhone 3GS for an Android phone just yet there are still some refinements that Android as a mobile OS needs to undergo and still some refinements that HTC needs to bring to the SenseUI as well. I rely too heavily my phone and it doing what I need it to do as fast as possible. I did have the Sprint Hero for a month before I took it back, I just didn't like it... it was slow, laggy, and some of the things I wanted to do with the phone that I was just so used to doing on my iPhone either couldn't be done OR had to be done in a way that didn't make very much logical or design sense. I had a lot of those 'why can't I just press this to make it do that?' moments or 'why the heck would they put this menu under here?' moments. Anyhow with that being said, Hero and Android are still fun platforms to play with and flash and try different settings and home screens and different ROMS etc so I'm going to get another one but this time on AT&T so I can use voice and data at the same time (one of the things I hated about having the Hero on spring was the inability to use data and voice at the same time as well as how slow sprints data was compared to AT&T)... but I wouldn't want a phone that I flashed and played around with so much to be a phone I relied on for mission critical work.
So what's the best way of going about this? What type of line should I order from AT&T? What should I ask for when i call or go into the store to get another line? Any suggestions?
I just got my Telus Hero last week, and coming from a 3G iphone, this blows it away. Not sure about the 3GS as it is a faster processor..... Also better than the Tilt 2. Love it. Just waiting on Eclair to get Google Navigation and other goodies...
Broken said:
I just got my Telus Hero last week, and coming from a 3G iphone, this blows it away. Not sure about the 3GS as it is a faster processor..... Also better than the Tilt 2. Love it. Just waiting on Eclair to get Google Navigation and other goodies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the iPhone 3G (I have both a 3G and 3Gs) and the Hero are pretty comparable. Browsing the web (which I do a lot) is faster on the 3G but the loading of applications etc... are pretty much the same. This is stock to stock so no modding on either phone. The scrolling on the 3G is much smoother than a stock Hero. I know that there are ROMS that make the device faster which is the only reason I'm even rethinking about getting one. The 3GS however is just no contest. But I've pretty much had all the fun I can out of the iPhone; not talking about the the apps as there are so many apps to choose from and a lot of them are awesome and fun to use, but with modding the phone itself and playing around with the OS etc I've done all I can do with the iPhone and want something new to play with...
itpromike said:
So what's the best way of going about this? What type of line should I order from AT&T? What should I ask for when i call or go into the store to get another line? Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tell them you have an existing phone so you want a new SIM and to purchase a plan for a smartphone (data and voice plan) - they can advise you on deals and packages then. The carrier should never care about the phone - it's not like they make money on it - they usually subsidize the manufacturer for a unit anyway, in a profit sharing deal. The only thing the carrier is really interested in is the data and voice carriage charges.
i would just tell them you want to add a line for regular phone with unlimited data. that way you dont have to pay extra for the smart phone data. unless of course its cheaper and you can just for like ten dollars make your smart phone data plan you have now a family unlimited
BlueHawk said:
Just tell them you have an existing phone so you want a new SIM and to purchase a plan for a smartphone (data and voice plan) - they can advise you on deals and packages then. The carrier should never care about the phone - it's not like they make money on it - they usually subsidize the manufacturer for a unit anyway, in a profit sharing deal. The only thing the carrier is really interested in is the data and voice carriage charges.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would not be the best option. If you are going to add a line, figure out which phone they are giving away for free they you can get the biggest profit by flipping on eBay. Most likely the Solstice.
This way you can get away with the cheaper non-smart phone data plan and get about $200 back by selling the "free" phone they give you.
Can anyone confirm if the telus hero ships with the updated faster firmware? Thanks.

HTC Trophy on Sprint?

So I see that it is possible to unlock cdma Android phone for other carriers but I am wondering you can do it with the WP7 devices, I don't want the Arrive because of the keyboard. I am just curious so any help would be appreciated. Sorry if i posted this in the wrong forum but I thought this would be a development question.
63 views and no replies, I guess I will write this off and wait until Sprint releases new WM7 phones, they are supposedly looking at the fall.
There are some listings on eBay purporting to sell unlock codes for the HTC Trophy. Some have already sold and the buyers have left positive feedback for the seller indicating success. Here (link) is the one I found, and I have no affiliation with the seller, eBay, etc. and cannot speak if this is legitimate or not. But apparently, it is possible.
Sprint as of current, will not allow any non Sprint branded phones on to their network. Even if you unlock the device, if it is not Sprint branded, and the ESN is not in their database, they will not allow it on their network.
I just don't get why people would prefer to have the SparkW (VZW Trophy) on Sprint vs the GoldC (HTC Arrive). The Arrive is made out of a nice metal, feels just like a Touch Pro2 but nicer... and its screen is only ever so slightly smaller then the Trophy. The Trophy, I got that thing in a tank of a case just so I know its in my pocket (I HATE small phones).
If anything I can't understand why Verizon didn't get GoldC or ask for a "GoldW" variant with World phone...
@MyNamesTheDoctor's You can't swap Sim cards to Sprint, Sprint is CDMA and doesn't use SIM cards. Due to Sprint's policies.... well.. only an illegal option is available to put the phone on Sprint.
Putting GoldC onto Verizon could probably be done legally, with a custom rom with Sprint software installed, and passing it threw Verizon's program to get the ESN/MIED added to their database... if they still do that. I can't wait for LTE to be the standard, then we won't have these issues with phones and everyone can have a SIM card.. and porting can be done with a simple unlock.
This really should be in Q&A though.
deleted
inteller said:
thanks for reminding me why I stick to GSM carriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If AT&T was worth a damn where I live, I would be back on them. They have poor coverage here though, so I am almost forced to use Verizon, which works wonderfully I have to say.
For me, Verizon has the best voice service in the area... while AT&T covers the area slightly better, Verizon has 3G data EVERYWHERE (they are 100% 3G), while AT&T has HSPA+ only closer to to Erie, and 1X in the rest of northwest PA.

Another bad news for Sprint users and ...

another reason to believe that Sprint GN2 may not have SIM slot.
We already know that previously Sprint Photon Q (made by Motorola) have SIM internally and unremovable. Now we know that there is another Sprint device Optimus G (made by LG) that will have the exactly similar design as far as SIM slot goes. (source here)
With the previous picture purposely a leak of Sprint GN2 device showing no SIM slot, this is likely to be a Sprint own evil doing.
And BTW I'm one very pissed about this. I 'll definitely sending a snail mail to Sprint Executive Office about how pissed I'm as a consumer regarding turning an international capable device into useless crap once the device come out. I go to Thailand every year or so to visit family member and when I am there I would definitely want to use SIM there because of the local number I can use. With unremovable SIM this is no longer possible. I'm very disappointed.
That's sucks, although I don't go over seas that much.. It would be nice to have. Tell them you Ben kohn bah and your red shirt friends don't approve of this.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Unfortunately most sprint users including myself really don't care that much although it would be great to have definitely not a deal breaker for most and most won't care. I feel your pain as I do go over seas but I don't use my sprint phone for over seas as I use my dumb phone a flip phone unlocked cheapo for traveling. But I'm in ur corner for *****in and moaning hopefully one day it will be different either way just get the damn device in stock and I'm happy
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
randy2 said:
Unfortunately most sprint users including myself really don't care that much although it would be great to have definitely not a deal breaker for most and most won't care. I feel your pain as I do go over seas but I don't use my sprint phone for over seas as I use my dumb phone a flip phone unlocked cheapo for traveling. But I'm in ur corner for *****in and moaning hopefully one day it will be different either way just get the damn device in stock and I'm happy
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears that this is the route they are going now. I wonder why that is? Does using the embedded SIM force you to use a Sprint International plan, for out of country use?
pardon my ignorance, but isn't the "international" version GSM...and sprint's, obviously gonna be CDMA? and as such, no SIM card?
---at least i've always assumed that SIM cards is something GSM phones use, while CDMA phones do not.
finalhit said:
pardon my ignorance, but isn't the "international" version GSM...and sprint's, obviously gonna be CDMA? and as such, no SIM card?
---at least i've always assumed that SIM cards is something GSM phones use, while CDMA phones do not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, but some CDMA phones have radios that support at least EDGE on GSM so you can still text and make phone calls overseas (and if you unlock, you could run them on Tmo and AT&T).
However, the question is if the radios will even support the EDGE GSM bands... probably not though.
finalhit said:
pardon my ignorance, but isn't the "international" version GSM...and sprint's, obviously gonna be CDMA? and as such, no SIM card?
---at least i've always assumed that SIM cards is something GSM phones use, while CDMA phones do not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of Verizon's LTE phones have a SIM card slot and all of their recent phones also have GSM/HSPA radios for global roaming. I believe some can even run on T-Mobile and ATT's frequencies if you are lucky. But LTE will be Verizon only.
would it be possible to flash a Verizon Note 2 to Sprint in order to have one with a SIM card?
There are so much of competition in market, they skipping features users can easily find alternative. Bad for users but too bad for manufactures. They should understand
Not sure if you saw, but someone has figured out how to remove the embedded SIM in the Photon Q and replace it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=32593285#post32593285
Yea, but whose brave soul gonna do that on not even a month old GN2. And that's beside the point. Seriously, to me it seem like it would cost the manufacturor even more to make the SIM embeded than regular one.
KB112 said:
It appears that this is the route they are going now. I wonder why that is? Does using the embedded SIM force you to use a Sprint International plan, for out of country use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my guess Is That and it decreases fraud. I.e. new accounts created simply to obtain discounted phones that can be used overseas ...then the accounts go bad
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
I mean how many sprint phones even support GSM EDGE bands?
I don't use Sprint, so I don't know for a fact, but don't their phones usually only run on CDMA (I've only ever heard of Verizon CDMA "world-phones")
I know that the old Touch Pro 2(wm6) and Photon 4G both have dual GSM/CDMA chip in them and they both have SIM slot.
whats the significance in not having a sim card cause it seems like a good thing to me. unless its like tmobile and att network where you can get gsm phones
The significant isn't about whether it have SIM or not. I mean for most people in the US I think we can get by w/o it. I mean it's like once every year or two that people would go outside the country and can make use of it. So it wouldn't be like a final decision whether to get one w/ or w/o SIM. And you are right there are also AT&T and T-mobile. But I can say the for some people it's about the network in their local, while for other it may simply be about not going back to the service they have bad experience with. To me it's about cost, since I'm a Sprint SERO Premium account owner. But very, it's more about why walking the low path? The phone would have been technically capable of it, the chipset, modem, antana support it. This is more about why purposely redesign it to lock it down to a specific network, greed, basically.
someone0 said:
I know that the old Touch Pro 2(wm6) and Photon 4G both have dual GSM/CDMA chip in them and they both have SIM slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Sprint HTC Touch Pro 2 most certainly had a SIM card slot. I had a few of them before making the jump to android with my EVO 4G. It was a nice feature to have on a "Business" phone, which is what the TP2 was geared towards. The productivity of the Note 2 also can be geared for Business users, a SIM slot would be of great use.
Ohh okk that makes sense. Cause I never go out of the country so its not that big of a deal for me. But I guess I'd you travel a lot it would be better to have one
Sent From My HTC EVO 3D
00mred00 said:
my guess Is That and it decreases fraud. I.e. new accounts created simply to obtain discounted phones that can be used overseas ...then the accounts go bad
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DING DING DING!! Bingo
Frustrating
eurominican said:
DING DING DING!! Bingo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently Verizon figured out how to do it properly as they previously have had CDMA, but now allow removable SIM cards for their LTE world-phones. Sprint is now the only provider that locks their phones down like this- it's very frustrating. I am paying for a brand new device that is inherently compatible as a world-phone, but I must buy a separate device to use over seas so that I don't get raped with Sprint's international calling/data plans. RIDICULOUS! These kind of tactics are out of the apple playbook- limit the options of your customers, so you can squeeze em.

[Q] Is my two day old Nexus 4 obsolete already?

So, received my Nexus 4 two days ago. My AT&T sim card is arriving today. I have not turned the phone on (just letting it charge) or paid my bill yet. Will the phone work on AT&T's 4G LTE network, or do I misunderstand its hardware capability?
Rumors along the following lines started floating around yesterday:
"On February 25th Straight Talk will be unavailing a revamped website experience, along with several new mid and high end phones and a new procedure for acquiring and activating AT&T sim cards. The new Straight talk sim cards will work on AT&T 4G LTE networks. You will also be able to view call history and other information if you have a Straight Talk account. For the first time Straight Talk will also allow certain smart phones to be used on their $30 plan and will be expanding the plan to offer more voice minutes (1500) text (2000) and data (300 MB). Enjoy and remember, you heard it here first."
If true, it makes sense that the Straight Talk AT&T sim supply is being depleted.
First, AT&T sims are no longer available on the Straight Talk web site.
Secondly, I saw this post regarding the sims:
"Walmart.com, the only place that's selling the ST SIMS, are running out. Orders are being limited to 2 and they're out of the Micro SIMS now. So you might want to get yours while you can. I've read the forum for the last few months after getting my Nexus 4, my first smartphone believe it or not. Just thought I'd finally post something."
Finally, I also emailed Straight Talk regarding the sim issue:
Please be informed that we are still able to activate the AT&T Bring
Your Own Phone (BYOP) SIM cards. However, the BYOP AT&T SIM cards are
not available for online purchase in our website at this time. They are
available for purchase on the Wal-Mart website (www.walmart.com) and
from participating Wal-Mart retailer stores nationwide. Our records also
indicate that AT&T service is provided in the zip code <removed>. Please be
advised that we have not received any feedback about AT&T canceling
their contract with our service.
for LTE check HERE
should give you some basic info
aaronrw said:
for LTE check HERE
should give you some basic info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's even worse.......that would mean that my operating system is obsolete and I can't ever upgrade if I want LTE. From what I am coming to understand is that not all the LTE circuitry is in the phone anyway (like amplifiers for instance) so it would not work properly anyway, and the phone was never certified for LTE so I guess that is why they removed the capability in software.
yes. every device is obsolete the moment it hits retail. there's always something better in development.
btw, there are a few things I should clear up:
1. the radio/baseband is NOT the operating system. it only provides reception to the device.
2. android is not an operating system. it is random optional memory, or a firmware, if you prefer to look at it like that.
3. just use the old radio and the newest version of android together. the only change wiith the new radio is they killed band 4 so you can't connect to lte. I'm coming from a nexus s 4g, and I never updated my radio for the whole life of the device until about 3 months ago. the only thing it affects at all is your voice/data signal. Your phone wouldn't ever know the difference, unless they start making radio updates mandatory.....then you can start crying about losing lte. and I'll be right next to you with a tissue in my hand, as well.
pjc123 said:
So, received my Nexus 4 two days ago. My AT&T sim card is arriving today. I have not turned the phone on (just letting it charge) or paid my bill yet. Will the phone work on AT&T's 4G LTE network, or do I misunderstand its hardware capability?
Rumors along the following lines started floating around yesterday:
"On February 25th Straight Talk will be unavailing a revamped website experience, along with several new mid and high end phones and a new procedure for acquiring and activating AT&T sim cards. The new Straight talk sim cards will work on AT&T 4G LTE networks. You will also be able to view call history and other information if you have a Straight Talk account. For the first time Straight Talk will also allow certain smart phones to be used on their $30 plan and will be expanding the plan to offer more voice minutes (1500) text (2000) and data (300 MB). Enjoy and remember, you heard it here first."
If true, it makes sense that the Straight Talk AT&T sim supply is being depleted.
First, AT&T sims are no longer available on the Straight Talk web site.
Secondly, I saw this post regarding the sims:
"Walmart.com, the only place that's selling the ST SIMS, are running out. Orders are being limited to 2 and they're out of the Micro SIMS now. So you might want to get yours while you can. I've read the forum for the last few months after getting my Nexus 4, my first smartphone believe it or not. Just thought I'd finally post something."
Finally, I also emailed Straight Talk regarding the sim issue:
Please be informed that we are still able to activate the AT&T Bring
Your Own Phone (BYOP) SIM cards. However, the BYOP AT&T SIM cards are
not available for online purchase in our website at this time. They are
available for purchase on the Wal-Mart website (www.walmart.com) and
from participating Wal-Mart retailer stores nationwide. Our records also
indicate that AT&T service is provided in the zip code <removed>. Please be
advised that we have not received any feedback about AT&T canceling
their contract with our service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't get it, what the heck is straight talk? and how is your phone obsolete?
That's the basic gist of any product these days.
Now with the Nexus 4, that made it even a bit worse since it didn't come with the hardware needed to work. Then again having LTE is such a big deal to you then guess you bought the phone without doing any research.
hp420 said:
yes. every device is obsolete the moment it hits retail. there's always something better in development.
btw, there are a few things I should clear up:
1. the radio/baseband is NOT the operating system. it only provides reception to the device.
2. android is not an operating system. it is random optional memory, or a firmware, if you prefer to look at it like that.
3. just use the old radio and the newest version of android together. the only change wiith the new radio is they killed band 4 so you can't connect to lte. I'm coming from a nexus s 4g, and I never updated my radio for the whole life of the device until about 3 months ago. the only thing it affects at all is your voice/data signal. Your phone wouldn't ever know the difference, unless they start making radio updates mandatory.....then you can start crying about losing lte. and I'll be right next to you with a tissue in my hand, as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clearing that up. But is the LTE crippled by missing components like I have read, or is that another falacy?
shotta35 said:
Then again having LTE is such a big deal to you then guess you bought the phone without doing any research.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I knew that LTE was not listed in the specs for the device before I bought the device. It was the very recent software update that concerned me, and yes again, they have every right to totally disable LTE in the future if they so choose. It was a lot cheaper than the Galaxy S III, so it is a gamble. Thanks for your constructive answer by the way.
pjc123 said:
Thanks for clearing that up. But is the LTE crippled by missing components like I have read, or is that another falacy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
crippled?!?!?! hahahaha!!! what you read were reviews immediately after the phone launched where it waspointed out that the lte chip is present, but no one was connecting. the only thing that could be construed as 'crippled' is the fact that it can only connect to band 4 lte. but if you use band 4, you would never know anything was different.
Just sign up with a carrier that uses band 4 lte and you'll be fine. None in the US currently do, but tmobile is going to launch theirs soon, and it will be band 4. I've also heard rumors of users getting lte working on at&t, but since my hatred for at&t runs deep, I wouldn't even consider using them, so I never paid attention to how it's done.
hp420 said:
crippled?!?!?! hahahaha!!! what you read were reviews immediately after the phone launched where it waspointed out that the lte chip is present, but no one was connecting. the only thing that could be construed as 'crippled' is the fact that it can only connect to band 4 lte. but if you use band 4, you would never know anything was different.
Just sign up with a carrier that uses band 4 lte and you'll be fine. None in the US currently do, but tmobile is going to launch theirs soon, and it will be band 4. I've also heard rumors of users getting lte working on at&t, but since my hatred for at&t runs deep, I wouldn't even consider using them, so I never paid attention to how it's done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. This is my first smartphone, and I am trying to read up on the technology on several forums as fast as possible, so excuse my lack of knowledge. I have been supporting Linux for 10 years, so quite honestly my first priority is to root the device and install Busybox so I have a portable device with command line access via wifi with the most Linux commands available to all of my Linux servers at home, especially my Raspberry Pi for a project that I am building. Also hoping for Ubuntu on Android for this phone (Actually would prefer Red Hat/Centos/Fedora for Android). Second priority is phone calls. Third priority is data (HPSA+, 3G, 4G, etc.). I figure what I would have to pay for a camera, GPS, etc., as standalone devices, of which I own none, this is a fantastic deal.
hp420 said:
yes. every device is obsolete the moment it hits retail. there's always something better in development.
btw, there are a few things I should clear up:
1. the radio/baseband is NOT the operating system. it only provides reception to the device.
2. android is not an operating system. it is random optional memory, or a firmware, if you prefer to look at it like that.
3. just use the old radio and the newest version of android together. the only change wiith the new radio is they killed band 4 so you can't connect to lte. I'm coming from a nexus s 4g, and I never updated my radio for the whole life of the device until about 3 months ago. the only thing it affects at all is your voice/data signal. Your phone wouldn't ever know the difference, unless they start making radio updates mandatory.....then you can start crying about losing lte. and I'll be right next to you with a tissue in my hand, as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is android NOT an OS???
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
hp420 said:
crippled?!?!?! hahahaha!!! what you read were reviews immediately after the phone launched where it waspointed out that the lte chip is present, but no one was connecting. the only thing that could be construed as 'crippled' is the fact that it can only connect to band 4 lte. but if you use band 4, you would never know anything was different.
Just sign up with a carrier that uses band 4 lte and you'll be fine. None in the US currently do, but tmobile is going to launch theirs soon, and it will be band 4. I've also heard rumors of users getting lte working on at&t, but since my hatred for at&t runs deep, I wouldn't even consider using them, so I never paid attention to how it's done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is crippled. There is no amplifier.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
joshnichols189 said:
It is crippled. There is no amplifier.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sigh. There is an amplifier and all the hardware necessary to connect to and use LTE if your carrier uses band 4. Plenty if canucks have been doing it for months.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
shultz11588 said:
How is android NOT an OS???
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
by definition, that's how.
wikipedia said:
An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
android is not software, but rather firmware
wikipedia said:
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provides the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. Software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wikipedia said:
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is the combination of persistent memory and program code and data stored in it.[1] Typical examples of devices containing firmware are embedded systems (such as traffic lights, consumer appliances, and digital watches), computers, computer peripherals, mobile phones, and digital cameras. The firmware contained in these devices provides the control program for the device. Firmware is held in non-volatile memory devices such as ROM, EPROM, or flash memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Notice the bold in the last quote? This is the defining difference.
hp420 said:
by definition, that's how.
android is not software, but rather firmware
Notice the bold in the last quote? This is the defining difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you interpret and connect the two definitions like that, then iOS, Windows Phone 8, etc., none of them are OSes. If someone load an OS onto a ROM, it automatically becomes NOT an OS? Firmware contains program code, and part of the code can be the OS. Firmware and OS are not mutually exclusive. An OS is defined by its functionality, not where or how it is stored.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
hp420 said:
by definition, that's how.
android is not software, but rather firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed and ran android on my laptop. So how does that fit with your clever definition!!
An OS is not defined by the media it is on, you can run Linux off a USB stick,its still an OS.
Your interpretation of that definition is wrong, you have decided to just force it to fit in with your incorrect understanding
Also correct me if I am mistaken but the radio is also what starts the boot process? I read somewhere that it is the first thing to load and bootstraps in the rest of the OS? So it does a bit more than just provide reception.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

New SM-g935fd owner in USA confused

I caveat by saying the forum would not let me post anywhere but the general forum right now so that's why I'm posting here.
I've read a bunch of conflicting threads and info lately but nothing concise in regards to what I'm trying to do and need some help.
This is my first ever android phone. I'm coming from an iPhone 6 as a heavy business user. WiFi Calling is extremely important because my house has terrible cell reception. I recently purchased an SM-G935FD (duos phone) and I'm a USA AT&T customer. I rooted the phone day one but had not yet swapped the SIM card. I chose the DUOs because I do quite a bit of international travel and I liked the hardware of the XYNOS platform better than snapdragon. Unfortunately I didn't realize or suspect that WiFI calling would potentially become a problem. I could care less about Samsung or Apple Pay for that matter, nor do I really care about Voltos. But wifi calling is a deal breaker.
I rooted the phone, and I put flash fire on there but really don't know how to use it. I found some people saying that my phone can accept both the SM-G935F firmwares and FD firmwares, but others who were skeptical. And people saying that there were firmwares that did have wifi calling enabled and others who said no.
At the moment I am back on the iPhone 6 because the Samsung is useless to me until I figure out how to get wifi calling enabled on there.
So... I'm confused. IS there a firmware I can flash my rooted unlocked S7 that will enable this? How exactly do I go about doing that with either flash fire or smart switch? I looked, but I am having difficulty finding a guide on doing this. The phone is already a paperweight, but I don't want to brick it as well lol.
Thanks for the help.
Usaf-lt-g said:
I caveat by saying the forum would not let me post anywhere but the general forum right now so that's why I'm posting here.
I've read a bunch of conflicting threads and info lately but nothing concise in regards to what I'm trying to do and need some help.
This is my first ever android phone. I'm coming from an iPhone 6 as a heavy business user. WiFi Calling is extremely important because my house has terrible cell reception. I recently purchased an SM-G935FD (duos phone) and I'm a USA AT&T customer. I rooted the phone day one but had not yet swapped the SIM card. I chose the DUOs because I do quite a bit of international travel and I liked the hardware of the XYNOS platform better than snapdragon. Unfortunately I didn't realize or suspect that WiFI calling would potentially become a problem. I could care less about Samsung or Apple Pay for that matter, nor do I really care about Voltos. But wifi calling is a deal breaker.
I rooted the phone, and I put flash fire on there but really don't know how to use it. I found some people saying that my phone can accept both the SM-G935F firmwares and FD firmwares, but others who were skeptical. And people saying that there were firmwares that did have wifi calling enabled and others who said no.
At the moment I am back on the iPhone 6 because the Samsung is useless to me until I figure out how to get wifi calling enabled on there.
So... I'm confused. IS there a firmware I can flash my rooted unlocked S7 that will enable this? How exactly do I go about doing that with either flash fire or smart switch? I looked, but I am having difficulty finding a guide on doing this. The phone is already a paperweight, but I don't want to brick it as well lol.
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u need to go read over the custom roms and recoverys forum for the s7 edge.
ecg803 said:
u need to go read over the custom roms and recoverys forum for the s7 edge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I think I got it figured out. I changed the CSC using TWRC over to an att USA CSC and that seems to have at least enabled the menus for this functionality. I haven't moved the SIM back over there to test it though.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would move this thread to the AT&T specific section. My understanding is that specific drivers are needed to do WiFi calling on AT&T and it's not baked in and the model you bought is not sold in the states whether it's sim unlocked or not. Also, why would you root/jailbreak a phone running an OS that you have no real experience with? If you can't get it to work then I'd return it and either buy the AT&T version outright an have them unlock it for you or go to Best Buy, Amazon or Samsung themselves and buy the single sim unlocked version. You may still have issues with that unlocked version if AT&T's Wifi calling is as locked up as I remember. T-Mobiles wifi calling works with your handset but it also has oddities such as the TMO sim must be in sim slot 1 to work. Because that model is not normally used with U.S. carriers .. they kinda don't give a crap about it so the work is on you.
Since this is your first Android phone .. I don't want you to think this is a problem with the OS or even with Samsung. It's just how things work. Apple allows carrier specific network files to be pushed to iOS where that's not the case with Android. I think maybe backup and stop hacking on things would be a good piece of advice. Take it for what it is. I just would like to prevent another iOS switcher from running around saying Android suck because things didn't go the way they thought would.
Cheers.
aergern said:
I would move this thread to the AT&T specific section. My understanding is that specific drivers are needed to do WiFi calling on AT&T and it's not baked in and the model you bought is not sold in the states whether it's sim unlocked or not. Also, why would you root/jailbreak a phone running an OS that you have no real experience with? If you can't get it to work then I'd return it and either buy the AT&T version outright an have them unlock it for you or go to Best Buy, Amazon or Samsung themselves and buy the single sim unlocked version. You may still have issues with that unlocked version if AT&T's Wifi calling is as locked up as I remember. T-Mobiles wifi calling works with your handset but it also has oddities such as the TMO sim must be in sim slot 1 to work. Because that model is not normally used with U.S. carriers .. they kinda don't give a crap about it so the work is on you.
Since this is your first Android phone .. I don't want you to think this is a problem with the OS or even with Samsung. It's just how things work. Apple allows carrier specific network files to be pushed to iOS where that's not the case with Android. I think maybe backup and stop hacking on things would be a good piece of advice. Take it for what it is. I just would like to prevent another iOS switcher from running around saying Android suck because things didn't go the way they thought would.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok slow down. I don't think any of that at all regarding saying or
Thinking android sucks nor would I make such a conclusion. Lol. Also couldn't put the thread there, wouldn't let me create a thread over there (said im "too newb")
I'm a LONG time older comp sci major who works for a software company and has been doing consulting for a number of years. All day every day I deal with every software imaginable. It just HAPPENS that this is my first android phone, and Therefore is not that familiar to me yet. The only reason I had an iPhone and idevices (all jailbroken) in the first place was because at the time, my company was locked to Apple mobile devices. I'm actually simultaneously working with piemessage to try and get a VM up and running to allow me to use iMessage on Android
Also I understand their may be some nuisances of screwing with other packages and drivers. I did do the CSC update and that "enabled" at least the menus and the ability to turn the features On. Whether or not it's working, I have no idea. Without a SIN card inserted however, I was able to place a cal using google hangouts dialer without any issue whatsoever, but as that is a different app then the actual phone dialer... I'm not sure if that proves anything. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but making a wifi cal through Hangouts Dialer connected to my google voice number without a SIM card inserted is different than dialing a number using the phone app.
Unfortunately, the only real way for me to test it, is to take the SIM back out of my iPhone, call att again and have them switch the IMEI again. At least google voice wouldn't configure properly until I did that and it took forever to get the call forwarding reset. And my problem is I'm going on a business trip tomorrow and don't have the time to be swapping SIM cards back and forth.
Maybe I'll just put it in letter without calling AT&T and see if it works anyways. Are there any prevalent icons up at the top to indicate it's a wifi call being made vs a cell call?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Usaf-lt-g said:
Ok slow down. I don't think any of that at all regarding saying or
Thinking android sucks nor would I make such a conclusion. Lol. I'm a
LONG time older comp sci major who works for a software company and has been doing consulting for a number of years. All day every day I deal with every software imaginable. It just HAPPENS that this is my first android phone, and Therefore is not that familiar to me yet. The only reason I had an iPhone and idevices (all jailbroken) in the first place was because at the time, my company was locked to Apple mobile devices. I'm actually simultaneously working with piemessage to try and get a VM up and running to allow me to use iMessage on Android
Also I understand their may be some nuisances of screwing with other packages and drivers. I did do the CSC update and that "enabled" at least the menus and the ability to turn the features On. Whether or not it's working, I have no idea. Without a SIN card inserted however, I was able to place a cal using google hangouts dialer without any issue whatsoever, but as that is a different app then the actual phone dialer... I'm not sure if that proves anything. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but making a wifi cal through Hangouts Dialer connected to my google voice number without a SIM card inserted is different than dialing a number using the phone app.
Unfortunately, the only real way for me to test it, is to take the SIM back out of my iPhone, call att again and have them switch the IMEI again. At least google voice wouldn't configure properly until I did that and it took forever to get the call forwarding reset. And my problem is I'm going on a business trip tomorrow and don't have the time to be swapping SIM cards back and forth.
Maybe I'll just put it in letter without calling AT&T and see if it works anyways. Are there any prevalent icons up at the top to indicate it's a wifi call being made vs a cell call?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, ya never know what folks know.
I've just encountered a lot of folks who are smart techies who have used iPhones for a long time and Android frustrates them and then they freak out. My bad. I apologize.
I still think you need to check the AT&T specific section. I've read that the proper support for AT&T's wifi calling isn't baked into AOSP like T-Mobile has theirs baked in. This could have changed but I don't think so. The other calls ie. Hangouts, Google Voice and Skype aren't controlled by AT&T so I would assume they'd work regardless. The wifi calling registers with AT&T's servers/routers ... what they require for this handshake I'm not entirely sure. I know that when I tried it out using my Nexus 6P it didn't work out of the box but I didn't spend a lot of time on it either.
Ah. I get you about the business trip thing. It's why I bought the unlocked S7E .. I have to swap to often when traveling. I did this after I bought the version you have. I found that 1 sim slot would do LTE/3G/2G and the other was stuck on 2G only and that it would random switch from sim 1 to sim 2 when I was in the States with my personal TMO sim and my work AT&T simcard. It was too irritating so now I just expense the TMO account and gave back the AT&T sim. Not an option for everyone .. I get that.
Also, I did read that AT&T likes to jack folks around on speed when it's not one of their phones and there is a fix involving the EMEI number being changed in your account .. I can't remember where on XDA I found that trick but I'm sure a search will find it for you.
Hope you get it working. The S7E is a nice phone.
Safe travels. Cheers.
hey go check out sac23 rom it is USA att ported note 7 rom. It has wifi calling.
ecg803 said:
hey go check out sac23 rom it is USA att ported note 7 rom. It has wifi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good call. Just loaded it, will test wifi calling.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What was your result? I'm in the same boat, thought this model would be useful for business trips. Also need Wi-Fi calling at home, but no dice.

Categories

Resources