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galaxy note 2, International or AT&T ?

i had a galaxy note 1 from att, but i sell it, in order tu buy a new galaxy note 2, but i don't know which to pick, the international one, or the AT&T variant.
What are the best choice?, and why?
hope you can help

omar_alex01 said:
i had a galaxy note 1 from att, but i sell it, in order tu buy a new galaxy note 2, but i don't know which to pick, the international one, or the AT&T variant.
What are the best choice?, and why?
hope you can help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should read this thread.

I went with the International version for several reasons, some of which may not apply in your case:
1. It was cheaper.
2. It has the FM radio, whereas U.S. versions do not.
3. I am using AT&T as my carrier via Straight Talk, which does not have LTE support, so while having an LTE model may result in potentially higher resale down the line, it offers no immediate benefits to me personally.

International.
$579 today.
HSPA+ is fast enough for Netflix HD streaming, which is fast enough for me. LTE is neat, but drains battery and you are at AT&T's mercy for updates. No thanks.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Samsung...nlocked-Android-Smartphone-/321014760193?var=

so, its tru that if i use a LTE phone, in an area where there is no LTE coverage, the batery drains faster?
also, i'm from mexico, and also i have a prepaid plan, and no carrier has LTE,
i has has used AT&T phones, (galaxy s2 skyrocket, the Galaxy note i717), but now, i'm not sure about geting the att note 2, or
the international....
and what about the T-mobile version? its good enough?

Go with the international one. No LTE means longer battery. No AT&T bloatware crap. FM radio. And it's cheaper.

heavyharmonies said:
I went with the International version for several reasons, some of which may not apply in your case:
1. It was cheaper.
2. It has the FM radio, whereas U.S. versions do not.
3. I am using AT&T as my carrier via Straight Talk, which does not have LTE support, so while having an LTE model may result in potentially higher resale down the line, it offers no immediate benefits to me personally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 For all of the above. International version also receives updates from Samsung before the AT&T Note 2.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

SGN3 Variants

I'm in debate right now if I should just get the Note 3 from my carrier, T-Mobile, or should I get the international LTE model N9005. The N9005 will support the '4G' but not lte as it doesn't have the US bands. But I'm okay with that. One thing I really want is wireless charging (qi). As I currently have the GN2 from T-Mobile they disabled the hardware for wireless charging so it renders it a pain to even try and get it working. If the T-Mobile model has the qi in tact then I'd just go with that and have lte functionality. But if it doesn't have qi I'd just get the international model.
What are your speculations and opinions? I haven't been able to find anything on the other models aside from the N9000/2/5 which are 3G (octa-core), dual sim, and LTE models, respectively. But carrier specific models have no details. All of which supposedly will support qi. But will the US variants and other carrier specific models cripple us once again by removing features shown (not promised) on the international models?

I'm not sure it's been confirmed either way that the international N3 will not support AT&T's LTE bands. See here for more information...

You better get it from T-mobile, as it will use a different radio than the International version that works on ATT
I too I'm waiting for the T-mobile version release

Well I know the LTE of the international model is not supported in the US as the on lot compatible band is 2100 which 1700 or 1900 is missing for T-Mobile and AT&T, respectively so I'm thinking about getting the T-Mobile if it does come with the qi in tact. Negri has the T-Mobile version for pre-order up for $689.50.

I don't see why wireless charging is so important since you won't have that while driving and charging or at work out in the open where someone could just walk by and take the phone it would only be a convince at home.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

If you've ever used a bb bold you'd understand the convenience of just putting the phone in the charging pod. And it can be done in the dark! And how do you figure I don't have wireless charging in the car? Or at work? Just because you may not find it useful doesn't mean anyone else doesn't. Look at the forums and you'll see how popular the topic is.
By the way, bit the bullet and pre-ordered!

I am starting an Alcholics Anonymous type club for those who are trying to hold out for an unlocked special edition of the note 3, maybe a note 3 active or a flexible screen note 3, or maybe even a Google Edition Note 3. Must. Not. Click. Order.

[Q] So confused with all the variants

Hi, I've been a S4 user and a very intrigued reader on this website. XDA has taught me many great things about my Sprint S4. I'm now ready to make the leap to the Note 4 and I'm so confused with all of the different models available.
Here's what I want the phone to do:
- I live in the US, and I would like to set up the phone on the Straight Talk or AT&T network and I obviously want to take advantage of the fastest speeds Straight Talk/AT&T offers.
- I am traveling to England in the Summer for a month and I would like the phone to work on one of their networks. (I would like to have 4G, but if 3G is the only compatible band than that's fine, as long as I'm getting some sort of data).
- I travel to Canada on a monthly basis and I would like my Note 4 to be able to run on the Rogers Network and utilize the fast speeds Rogers offers.
Basically, which Note 4 model will satisfy my needs? I just want to take advantage of the fastest bands available in these places. I've been leaning towards the N910H because my understanding is that it is compatible with all of my above requirements. Is this true? If not, which model should I be look at?
Thank you!

stevenrp said:
Hi, I've been a S4 user and a very intrigued reader on this website. XDA has taught me many great things about my Sprint S4. I'm now ready to make the leap to the Note 4 and I'm so confused with all of the different models available.
Here's what I want the phone to do:
- I live in the US, and I would like to set up the phone on the Straight Talk or AT&T network and I obviously want to take advantage of the fastest speeds Straight Talk/AT&T offers.
- I am traveling to England in the Summer for a month and I would like the phone to work on one of their networks. (I would like to have 4G, but if 3G is the only compatible band than that's fine, as long as I'm getting some sort of data).
- I travel to Canada on a monthly basis and I would like my Note 4 to be able to run on the Rogers Network and utilize the fast speeds Rogers offers.
Basically, which Note 4 model will satisfy my needs? I just want to take advantage of the fastest bands available in these places. I've been leaning towards the N910H because my understanding is that it is compatible with all of my above requirements. Is this true? If not, which model should I be look at?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't say for certain about Rogers Canada, but the US T-mobile variant- SM-910T- is what I have, and you should look into it. Maybe someone with Rogers can chime in about that.
It's 100% compatible with AT&T's fastest LTE bands and most 4G GSM bands used in Europe. It has an unlocked bootloader for easy rooting/ROM-flashing. There is an awesome XDA section devoted to it with some great ROMs and other tweaks. Of course, the major benefit is that if you stroll into a T-mobile store any buy one, it will have a warranty and service options if something were to possibly be wrong with it. Now, you'll need to get the phone SIM-unlocked either through T-mobile directly or an online sim-unlocking service (~ $20-30)
If you wanna spend less in the States, the 910T sells on craigslist, swappa, ebay, etc in pretty large numbers and it's very easy to obtain one in mint condition for a lot less than retail. Obviously, make sure that the device has a good IMEI through swappa.com before buying it used.
I find that lots of people buy the Note 4 and decide to sell it after a while- either they prefer something smaller, or an iPhone, or any number of other reasons like wanting extra cash, but there's tons of em on craigslist here in Chicago.
I bought a Sprint Note 4 in perfect condition from a guy for $350 the other week. Not saying you will necessarily have that type of luck, but just something to ponder.

i use 910U on rogers and AT&T gophone. also used it in the UK, most of europe and asia. this is an exynos taiwan variant with LTE. may not give you the fastest speeds everywhere but its awesome.

In the UK we get the Snapdragon 910F, but the 910H looks good according to the bands I've seen online (I don't know if they're correct mind!)
In the UK different networks use different bands (900, 1800, 2100, etc) for 3G; with some of the bands being shared amongst companies these days. Ideally you want a device that supports 900Mhz UTMS, and the 910H supports the band. The 900Mhz band has better indoor coverage than the higher frequencies as well.
Again 4G is on different bands depending on your provider, but the networks share most of the spectrum at the moment to reduce costs. I believe 4G is on 800, 1800, and 2600Mhz
i use 910U on rogers and AT&T gophone. also used it in the UK, most of europe and asia. this is an exynos taiwan variant with LTE. may not give you the fastest speeds everywhere but its awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IDK about LTE, but phones for China/HK will work on our 3G networks. I've tried a few 3G iphone knockoffs and had no issues.

Does ATT Prepaid/Cricket version have both GSM LTE Band 12 & 17?

I was wondering if anybody knew whether or not the ATT prepaid/Cricket version of this phone had both LTE Bands 12 and 17 or if the carriers lock the phone down to disable them, I thought the VZ version had those but apparently it doesn't plus i couldn't root so i returned it. It is difficult to find consistent info when a phone has so many versions and i don't want to $pend for the unlocked version... I am trying to prepare and see if Worst Buy has one of those old phone promots with a $50 bonus

definitive FACTS on all s8 variants

I bought a Verizon SM-G950UZKAVZW direct from Samsung. I thought that I was buying a phone that I could take to any carrier. I'm hearing that might not be true. Does anyone have definitive, confirmed specs ie supported radio bands on all of the carrier variants as well as the upcoming intl version? Also I heard other reports that the hardware is identical and it's firmware that is limiting the phones. Not sure if that is true either. Samsung was absolutely not helpful.
Bottom line I need to know:
1 if I keep the SM-G950UZKAVZW, will I be able to use it with other carrier networks?
2 if I can use the SM-G950UZKAVZW with other carriers, what actions (if any) would I need to take to do that? (Other than swapping a sim card)
3 would the phone I currently possess be limited in any way if I were to use it with other carriers? (Limited is defined here as "performing differently in contrast to that carriers native S8 model variant") if so, specifically how would it be limited?
4 if I were to purchase an unlocked international model once it becomes available, would that phone be limited in any way when used on any US carrier? (Limited is again defined here as "performing differently in contrast to that carriers native S8 model variant") if so, specifically how?
If you aren't sure, please don't reply. There's plenty of people documenting their best guess already. I'm looking for the straight story.
Thanks for reading!

All of Verizon phones are Sim card unlocked and since there is really only 1 version of the S8/S8+ in the US (with different model #'s corresponding to the different carriers) using the phone on another carriers network is not going to be an issue. All you need to do is insert the sim card in.
http://www.gottabemobile.com/how-to-unlock-the-galaxy-s8/
As a quick note, if you have a Verizon Galaxy S8 congratulations. Your phone is already unlocked. Verizon Wireless no longer locks phones, regardless of what you might hear from friends or family. Simply drop a T-Mobile or AT&T SIM card in a Verizon model and it works. It may require manually configuring the APN settings though, so keep that in mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ONLY exception that might be would be Sprint since they are CDMA as well, but who really wants to go from Verizon to Sprint?????
All 4 Major US(and subsequent sub carriers) are receiving the same version of the phone(meaning same internals). From my understanding, inserting the carriers Sim card into the verizon phone just means you start going at that point and have access to all the carriers bands
If you got an international version, it most likely would be powered by an Exynos CPU vs the Snapdragon 835 so there would be some performance differences (typically Exynos models perform marginally better based on previous history)
If you're looking for a US unlocked model - wait until next month
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...-unlocked-galaxy-s8-plus-pricing-release-date

I appreciate your clear response! Would it be accurate to say that I will have just as much freedom to hop from one carrier to another using the phone I have, as opposed to purchasing the upcoming US unlocked variant?
Also, I have heard the same thing about the hardware, that all of the carrier variants are the same physical model. But some folks, including the Samsung tech support rep I spoke to (unfortunately that probably doesn't mean a whole lot) seem to think that the carrier firmware is limiting the radio bands. Do you know this to be false?

I have the Verizon version and works fine on Tmo out of the box. Have to use Verizon update software through Windows though. OTA's will never come through.

I am using Verizon GS8 on att, it works but I only get HSPA mostly. No LTE, so band is definitely capped by firmware.
I didn't have any issue receiving ota with att sim in vzw gs8

I saw a review that said the s8 gets locked to the first carrier sim it accepts. Can someone confirm swapping sims of different carriers works?

Whanksta said:
I am using Verizon GS8 on att, it works but I only get HSPA mostly. No LTE, so band is definitely capped by firmware.
I didn't have any issue receiving ota with att sim in vzw gs8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried going into the network band menu and locking it to one of the AT&T LTE bands?
This still works on the S8 (found this on the S7 and used it to lock my S7 to band 4 for Tmobile)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tm...ng-network-t3331555/post65722081#post65722081

ElBeaner said:
Have you tried going into the network band menu and locking it to one of the AT&T LTE bands?
This still works on the S8 (found this on the S7 and used it to lock my S7 to band 4 for Tmobile)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/tm...ng-network-t3331555/post65722081#post65722081
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am unable to access the service menu via the S7 method

Whanksta said:
I am unable to access the service menu via the S7 method
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok forgot you were Verizon - you have to edit a setting because they block you from that access
Try this if you're daring enough
https://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s6/general/enabling-using-servicemode-t3109579
EDIT Damn, looks like you have to be rooted first
---------- Post added at 12:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 AM ----------
Whanksta said:
I am unable to access the service menu via the S7 method
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need to wait unti the official AT&T rom is available from Smasung and then you should be able to flash it via ODIN onto the phone and get all the AT&T carrier bands

mredamon said:
I bought a Verizon SM-G950UZKAVZW direct from Samsung. I thought that I was buying a phone that I could take to any carrier. I'm hearing that might not be true. Does anyone have definitive, confirmed specs ie supported radio bands on all of the carrier variants as well as the upcoming intl version? Also I heard other reports that the hardware is identical and it's firmware that is limiting the phones. Not sure if that is true either. Samsung was absolutely not helpful.
Bottom line I need to know:
4 if I were to purchase an unlocked international model once it becomes available, would that phone be limited in any way when used on any US carrier? (Limited is again defined here as "performing differently in contrast to that carriers native S8 model variant") if so, specifically how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once it becomes available? You can buy Exynos right now from other countries. Clove in UK will region unlock the phone before shipping to you in the U.S. What needs to become available?
Don't confuse the "unlocked" S8 Samsung will sell here in the U.S. in a month or so with the Exynos international variant. The "unlocked" S8 coming to the U.S. is still the bootloader locked Snapdragon version, just without carrier branding. It will be carrier unlocked but not bootloader unlocked. If you care about rooting, TWRP, ROMs, etc Exynos is what you want.
would that (Exynos international variant) phone be limited in any way when used on any US carrier?
(Limited is again defined here as "performing differently in contrast to that carriers native S8 model variant") if so, specifically how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO, except if you are on CDMA-handicapped Sprint or Verizon. If you use Sprint or Verizon be aware Exynos doesn't have 3G CDMA bands to fall back on if you can't get LTE. For AT&T or T-Mobile, YES it has all the LTE/HSPA/GSM bands.
The "international" Exynos variant can be bootloader unlocked, rooted, etc. so tons of advantages. While it has Verizon LTE bands, there's no CDMA. This means you really need Verizon VoLTE to work and I don't have the answer to that. And if you can't get LTE signal on mobile network, you won't have any signal due to no CDMA fallback. Again, only an issue because of CDMA if you stay on Verizon instead of using AT&T or T-mobile (or their network affiliates). You seem like you want to switch to another carrier? So, go ahead and do so!
EXYNOS VARIANTS LTE BANDS:
LTE Bands: FDD: B1(2100), B2(1900), B3(1800), B4(AWS), B5(850), B7(2600), B8(900), B12(700), B13(700), B17(700), B18(800), B19(800), B20(800), B25(1900), B26(800), B28(700), B32(1500), B66(AWS- 3) | TDD: B38(2600), B39(1900), B40(2300), B41(2500)
GSM/GPRS
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
3G/HSPA
850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

ChazzMatt said:
Once it becomes available? You can buy Exynos right now from other countries. Clove in UK will region unlock the phone before shipping to you in the U.S. What needs to become available?
Don't confuse the "unlocked" S8 Samsung will sell here in the U.S. in a month or so with the Exynos international variant. The "unlocked" S8 coming to the U.S. is still the bootloader locked Snapdragon version, just without carrier branding. It will be carrier unlocked but not bootloader unlocked. If you care about rooting, TWRP, ROMs, etc Exynos is what you want. /QUOTE]
Yeah I screwed up. I did confuse them.
I'm not interested in all that rooting stuff I just want a phone that pretty much works anywhere I want to take it and if it's slower on one network than another I wanna know what I'm getting myself into.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Whanksta said:
I am using Verizon GS8 on att, it works but I only get HSPA mostly. No LTE, so band is definitely capped by firmware.
I didn't have any issue receiving ota with att sim in vzw gs8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey guys
I'm from Brazil and I wanna buy the Verizon's S8 but I'm afraid about the 4G.
I saw that this model has the Brazil LTE frequencies, but I read here that Verizon capped the band from the firmware.
Somebody knows if I could flash via ODIN the unlocked rom that will come with the unlocked version in USA and so get the LTE free to use in any place?
I don't want to assume the risk to have a top mobile phone but don't be able to use 4G.
Thank you very much guys

Hey mredamon. Did you ever get a clear response here or somewhere else about this?