Related
Hi all,
After sorting through xda for a few hours and pouring through the wiki entry and LTE references, I have come to the conclusion that I'm utterly confused about LTE compatability.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_G2#Network_compatibility
Is LTE compatibility so bad that you cannot easily move between countries and still get LTE coverage? Is it foreseeable that this will continue for a long time?
I'm living in NZ right now, and spend quite a bit of time in the United States, so I'm looking for the best LG G2 model to bridge the gap. Near as I can find, I think it will be the Canadian D803 since it covers LTE bands 4,7,and 17. NZ and Australia seem to be going for bands 7 and 8, and the US seems be in 4 (except sprint), and 2 and 17 (except verizon and sprint), with ATT alone on 5 and Verizon alone on 13. Al least according to the wiki for the G2 versions for the US linked above.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands#Deployments_by_region
Is this data correct?
Am I also correct in reasoning that the D802 'global' version in supporting bands 1, 3, 7, 8, and 20, would not get and LTE support in the US? Has anyone tried this yet?
Thanks for the help and sorry if I missed an existing discussion on this.
Kia Ora mate.
The information i believe is correct regarding the D802. I pulled one from mobicity.co.nz. Was recently in the US with a Vodafone HTC One tri-band i purchased from clove.co.uk. (same freqs) With a T-Mobile prepaid simm i was not able to pull any LTE in San Francisco or Manhattan. That said the H band was plenty fast enough (compared to slow as sht NZ anyway) so i wasn't unhappy to not get LTE, but i understand, if you have it why not get it!
The LTE rubbish is reminding me of 3G/H issue where phones came in tri-band with 4 GSM bands to cover all. Its only since the Quad-bands have appeared that the 'portability' problem has gone, now with LTE its all back to sht again! to many bands. I notice one model at least (one from expansys.co.nz) of the Galaxy Note 3 has a massive list of LTE frequencies which of course is the only way phones going forward are going to meet international travellers expectations and capture sufficient LTE bands to be useful and portable. sigh. back to 'come on you plonkers sort it' level of deployment for our phones..
I'd personaly lean towards getting the more international (D802) model and take what you get from the provider of choice in the states. No way i'd want a verizon, at, or tmob purchased model; what with all the bollocks poor yanks have to put up with - stick to international versions.
thats my opinion anyway. good luck bro.
WuZhiHe said:
Hi all,
After sorting through xda for a few hours and pouring through the wiki entry and LTE references, I have come to the conclusion that I'm utterly confused about LTE compatability.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_G2#Network_compatibility
Is LTE compatibility so bad that you cannot easily move between countries and still get LTE coverage? Is it foreseeable that this will continue for a long time?
I'm living in NZ right now, and spend quite a bit of time in the United States, so I'm looking for the best LG G2 model to bridge the gap. Near as I can find, I think it will be the Canadian D803 since it covers LTE bands 4,7,and 17. NZ and Australia seem to be going for bands 7 and 8, and the US seems be in 4 (except sprint), and 2 and 17 (except verizon and sprint), with ATT alone on 5 and Verizon alone on 13. Al least according to the wiki for the G2 versions for the US linked above.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands#Deployments_by_region
Is this data correct?
Am I also correct in reasoning that the D802 'global' version in supporting bands 1, 3, 7, 8, and 20, would not get and LTE support in the US? Has anyone tried this yet?
Thanks for the help and sorry if I missed an existing discussion on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologies if this has been covered, or if this is the wrong place to post--I've searched and have been unsuccessful in finding an answer so I figured I'd ask myself.
Is the G935FD (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Duo dual sim) variant fully compatible with AT&T? That is, will it work with enough LTE bands such that I should expect fast enough data throughput? I know that it wont be able to access all AT&T LTE bands, but for practical purposes, will this phone work? It seems to be selling relatively cheaply on eBay, so before pulling the trigger I figured I would just double check that it will work. I don't care so much about having multiple sim cards, I mostly just want a cheap(er) phone.
I'm fairly convinced that the G935F will work based on a few other threads I came across on XDA and Reddit. Just looking for confirmation that the G935FD works and works well. Anyone have experience to share here?
Cheers and thanks in advance.
I have two international G935F's, one G935FD and one G935F, both on AT&T. Also an AT&T S6. I haven't had any issue with LTE. All give comparable speedtest results and all are using LTE Band 2 in my area (SF Bay area). I think they may be missing Band 30 but I don't know where that is used. The app LTE Discovery will show what band you are using. Things that don't work on the international phones for me are AT&T HDVoice (VoLTE) and AT&T Video calling. I also believe that if AT&T ever offers Voice over WiFi, that won't work either. These weren't issues for me. I was not expecting Samsung Pay to work but was surprised that it worked on the G935FD. Further investigation revealed that it was the CSC and image. I was able to download different images and got it working on the G935F as well. There's a thread on Samsung Pay on Int'l phones that discusses this if it matters to you. I think when you buy an international phone (G935F/FD) you don't know what CSC you'll get. I don't think the seller can tell without going thru setup and running a utility (I used Phone Info) to reveal the CSC/image. Everything else seems to work the same as the AT&T-branded versions.
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?
I'm really tempted to return my SD S8 and get an Exynos.
I had an Exynos S7 before and signal coverage was absolute **** in my area. Even though all 3 T-Mobile bands were supported, it was just ****. The speeds were **** and the experience was ****.
It's a lot better on my T-Mobile S8 but that flashing itch is still there, I don't want this locked bootloader.
Has the Exynos S8 improved any?
Interceptor777 said:
I'm really tempted to return my SD S8 and get an Exynos.
I had an Exynos S7 before and signal coverage was absolute **** in my area. Even though all 3 T-Mobile bands were supported, it was just ****. The speeds were **** and the experience was ****.
It's a lot better on my T-Mobile S8 but that flashing itch is still there, I don't want this locked bootloader.
Has the Exynos S8 improved any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bands vary by region. The UK and I'm guessing EU versions don't support Band 12 which is T-Mobile's low frequency bands. Low frequency helps with distance and obstructions. That would explain why you got ***** performance. You need an Exynos device with band 12 if one exists.
In terms of carrier vs. Exynos my UK S8 gets better LTE speeds than the AT&T branded S8 I was using on their network for two weeks before its UK replacement arrived. The only AT&T band the EU phones don't have is band 30 which is high frequency and not widely deployed so not as necessary as band 12 on T-Mobile.
BarryH_GEG said:
Bands vary by region. The UK and I'm guessing EU versions don't support Band 12 which is T-Mobile's low frequency bands. Low frequency helps with distance and obstructions. That would explain why you got ***** performance. You need an Exynos device with band 12 if one exists.
In terms of carrier vs. Exynos my UK S8 gets better LTE speeds than the AT&T branded S8 I was using on their network for two weeks before its UK replacement arrived. The only AT&T band the EU phones don't have is band 30 which is high frequency and not widely deployed so not as necessary as band 12 on T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had all the bands that T-Mobile needed. 2, 4 and 12 and were all functioning. Speeds and signal were still ****. I just want to know if anyone is having issues with the S8.
Interceptor777 said:
I had all the bands that T-Mobile needed. 2, 4 and 12 and were all functioning. Speeds and signal were still ****. I just want to know if anyone is having issues with the S8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having the 950FD on T-mobile and not noticing any issues. The only issue I've encountered is mms while roaming but that's because no Wi-Fi calling.
TehPirate_ said:
Having the 950FD on T-mobile and not noticing any issues. The only issue I've encountered is mms while roaming but that's because no Wi-Fi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you getting band 12 with t-mobile?
Where did you purchase your 950fd from and what region is it?
Thanks
talroot said:
Are you getting band 12 with t-mobile?
Where did you purchase your 950fd from and what region is it?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have all T-mobiles bands, including 12 and 66.
I purchased it from an eBay seller and country of origin is Singapore.
TehPirate_ said:
I have all T-mobiles bands, including 12 and 66.
I purchased it from an eBay seller and country of origin is Singapore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which seller please, if you don't mind me asking.
talroot said:
Which seller please, if you don't mind me asking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
never-msrp. They strive for 5 star rating and go above and beyond to help you the best they can.
TehPirate_ said:
never-msrp. They strive for 5 star rating and go above and beyond to help you the best they can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.
---------- Post added at 10:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 AM ----------
Is it the dual sim exynos model?
Is it possible to install Tmobile Rom on Exynos S8???
I need WiFi Calling but want to root. My snapdragon doesn't have root and who knows when it will come.
bighit101 said:
Is it possible to install Tmobile Rom on Exynos S8???
I need WiFi Calling but want to root. My snapdragon doesn't have root and who knows when it will come.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't install a snapdragon based Rom on an exynos based phone. You can flash a CSC that enables Wi-Fi calling in the exynos phone with root. Search the forums, there's been a couple posts about it for the S8
Hey everyone,
I read for hours but unfortunately I haven't been able to find the solution.
So I bought a Galaxy S4 GT-I9515 in Europe and I'm not able to get any speeds higher than 2g on my USA 4g T-mobile plan.
The network mode is set on auto connect (LTE/WCDMA/GSM). I tried setting up a t-mobile 4g APN but it won't accept it (it pops back to standard after a few seconds..)
The simcard does work at 4g on another phone.
I rooted it with chainfire autoroot but this made no difference.
Anyone have a clue? At least 3g would be nice and should be possible..
Does the gt-9515 support the carrier's 3g and 4g frequencies?
Hey, thanks for thinking along..
According to frequencycheck.com, yes (both 3g and 4g).
Also, the t-mobile store didn't make notice of this being a problem. They were horribly incompetent though (just googling everything..) But you'd think they would at least check that much.
The I9515 won't get LTE in Europe as bands 2, 4, 12, and 17 aren't used there. The best you can do is HSPA (3.5G in the US) for data. If you're not getting at least HSPA the local carrier may have throttled you.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
The I9515 won't get LTE in Europe as bands 2, 4, 12, and 17 aren't used there. The best you can do is HSPA (3.5G in the US) for data. If you're not getting at least HSPA the local carrier may have throttled you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I put the simcard in my old phone (moto G 1st gen) it makes an LTE connection so I'm not throttled.
I downloaded an app called LTE Discovery which doesn't read an LTE connection but says HSPA: -75.0 dBm is available.
With an internet speed test I'm only getting 770 Kbps however.
Oh, and I'm in Las Vegas currently (not in the middle of nowhere before anyone asks.. )
It's about the same speed in the Bay-area.
I misread your initial post. The fact you're not picking up LTE in Las Vegas means something else is wrong. In fact it makes me wonder if you even have an I9515. Kindly enter download mode and read off the model number please?
If things are as I suspect they are, then you're actually in possession of an I9505. My comments in my earlier post regarding LTE still apply, except it's the phone lacking the US bands instead of lacking European bands.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
That you were experiencing this in the US wasn't apparent from your posts. The fact you're not picking up LTE in Las Vegas means something else is wrong. In fact it makes me wonder if you even have an I9515. Kindly enter download mode and read off the model number please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, I mentioned the US T-mobile plan but forgot to clearly mention where the problem was occurring/where I want to use the phone (which I bought in the Netherlands). Just to be clear: I am in the USA and that's where I intend to use it.
ODIN MODE
Product Name: GT-I9515
Ok...I'm really confusing myself. For some odd reason I had the Straight Talk S4 in mind. LOL.
The I9505 and I9515 have the same bands: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 20. You won't get LTE in the US on this device and are limited to HSPA here. Fortunately, HSPA is fast enough for multimedia, so unless T-Mobile is repurposing its 3G network for LTE you should see about 4 or 5Mb a second.
Thanks for analyzing, you seem to know a lot about this.
However, the primary problem is I'm not reaching any HSPA speeds either.
I know a lot about this, as I have an I9505 and live in the US.
The phone is working properly, so speed issues are carrier related. And it's not uncommon. I've had it happen myself, on AT&T towers.