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What's the differences between the two, if any?
I've been contemplating whether or not I should get the GSM version or CDMA. Are there any major differences between the two?
Sent from the future.
If you're on sprint, you kind of need to change to Verizon if you want the CDMA version. CDMA also has LTE aka true 4G, so speed will probably be better. VZW also has further reaching 3G coverage than AT&T, generally. On top of this, in my experience VZW's customer service is great, but everyone's mileage varies there.
The GSM version is not "official" for the US - you will have to pay full retail price on one ($600-ish) and sign up with tmobile or att to use it. No carrier subsidy.
Without further information about you, it's hard to say anything more.
I think the op was asking about the hardware spec. CDMA version has bigger battery and twice the storage space.
Does this mean that the Verizon version will not work on at&t? Or have slower speeds?
thanks. I wasn't referring to carrier information, though. I meant as far as hardware and software.
Did android 4.1 come with the Verizon version as promised?
Sent from the future.
SocialReject said:
thanks. I wasn't referring to carrier information, though. I meant as far as hardware and software.
Did android 4.1 come with the Verizon version as promised?
Sent from the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon comes with 4.0.1 with a small update leading it to 4.0.2
ootz0rz said:
Does this mean that the Verizon version will not work on at&t? Or have slower speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, verizon version will not work on ATT.
In the US is very simple. Two types of radios: CDMA and GSM.
Verizon and Sprint use CDMA.
ATT and TMO use GSM.
The smaller carriers generally use either CDMA or GSM and piggy back off the larger carrier towers.
Hopefully android devices which have hardware and software capable of using both radios will arrive and it'll become less of an issue, but as of now, the galaxy nexus is either GSM or CDMA, but not both.
Hope that helps!
How about in the UK? Is there only one of these versions? And how do I find what version I have?
UK is gsm
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
ZPrimed said:
If you're on sprint, you kind of need to change to Verizon if you want the CDMA version. CDMA also has LTE aka true 4G, so speed will probably be better. VZW also has further reaching 3G coverage than AT&T, generally. On top of this, in my experience VZW's customer service is great, but everyone's mileage varies there.
The GSM version is not "official" for the US - you will have to pay full retail price on one ($600-ish) and sign up with tmobile or att to use it. No carrier subsidy.
Without further information about you, it's hard to say anything more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE IS NOT true 4G.
There is no True 4G in the US.
Google the definition of 4G.
Hi everybody, I have a verizon Galaxy Nexus I understand it's a CDMA, is there any hardware differences between this and a GSM one? or is only software? will this device work on a GSM network if I flash a GSM Rom on it?
thanks for your help!
jhonyDroid said:
Hi everybody, I have a verizon Galaxy Nexus I understand it's a CDMA, is there any hardware differences between this and a GSM one? or is only software? will this device work on a GSM network if I flash a GSM Rom on it?
thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't even think about flashing a GSM rom on it.
mudferret said:
Don't even think about flashing a GSM rom on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your answer!
I thought it was some kind of adventurer try to mix roms but can you tell me what would happen by doing this? and, is there any way to get this CDMA phone work on a GSM network?
best regards!
jhonyDroid said:
Hi everybody, I have a verizon Galaxy Nexus I understand it's a CDMA, is there any hardware differences between this and a GSM one? or is only software? will this device work on a GSM network if I flash a GSM Rom on it?
thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your CDMA version has a CDMA radio, a LTE radio, and antennas tuned to the correct LTE and CDMA frequencies used by Verizon.
The GSM version has a GSM radio with antenna turned to all common GSM frequencies.
The radios and antenna hardware are completely different in these versions and so by this fact the firmware (the software or flash able 'radio') is 100% different. Flashing the wrong one can cause all kinds of issues from not working until reflashing the correct ones yo bricking your radio (depending on how the firmware is flashed, size differences, etc.)
CDMA and GSM and LTE are all very different. LTE is based off GSM which is why you have a SIM card in LTE (though CDMA can have SIM cards if that is how the company set it up, which also is why without the SIM card you can't use your CDMA parts either).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
jhonyDroid said:
I thought it was some kind of adventurer try to mix roms but can you tell me what would happen by doing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will destroy your phone. It won't work ever again.
is there any way to get this CDMA phone work on a GSM network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. It's a hardware issue that can't be fixed with software.
---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------
siberslug said:
LTE IS NOT true 4G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure it is. Just like EDGE is "officially" 3G whenever carriers think it's in their marketing interest to say so. No one owns the term "3G" or "4G" so there's no such thing as "true" or "official". It is certainly marked performance advance over HSPA+, with real world LTE uplink speeds higher than HSPA downlink. It's at least as big of a jump from EDGE to UMTS (200kbps to 600kbps) was.
If you're referring to LTE Advanced, expect that technology to be labelled 5G when it hits the carriers. Why? Why the hell not? It's just a stupid marketing gimmick. Most consumers don't even know what the hell it means, with something like 70% of the population thinking that the iPhone 4/4S has 4G. Mo G's mo money.
Just to go along with what you are saying, the ITU changed it so that the current "4G" techs such as LTE, WIMAX, and HSPA+ are considered 4G.
I'm getting ready to deploy, and I was curious if you can convert the Verizon Nexus to run on GSM/international networks. If yes, how?
sorry
there is no way my friend. i just got back from deployment. I was in the same boat as you. sell that g nex my friend, and get the gsm one. i found one by going on ebay, searching for guys selling one close to me and off to buy it locally so you're not waiting on shipping. or put on craigslists for a trade for the gsm version, u never know.
Yep, what he said was right - you can't convert it over. The Verizon one has a CDMA antenna and all the other networks require the GSM antenna (why couldn't they have both!! probably for this reason..). And even if the other networks used CDMA, they have to specifically accept your phone into their network (some kind of CDMA authentication thing, whereas GSM accepts everything it can talk to).
So flashing a GSM baseband to the CMDA phone will not work?
NO! Do not flash a GSM baseband on your nexus. The VZW nexus doesn't have any of the GSM radios or frequencies and wont work.
Unfortunately the GN only comes with either GSM or CMDA/LTE. It may be worth looking into getting a global phone that supports both CDMA and GSM.
Masoa said:
So flashing a GSM baseband to the CMDA phone will not work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As already stated, definitely never do this.
Hey guys, I have a very simple noob questions, please don't flame me. I did try to search and I looked through faq's.
Can I use an AT&T I747 S3 on the Verizon CDMA Network? Will LTE work, only EDGE, any data? I would assume if so, it would requiring rooting. Any advice you could provide with be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for you time!
As far as I know, GSM phones will not work on any CDMA network at all.
Try to trade your phone for a Gsm version on CL.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
suprtrukr425 said:
As far as I know, GSM phones will not work on any CDMA network at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under the assumption that this model had a cdma radio along with the gsm. Is this not accurate?
Verizon = no sim card = most likely no
no... cdma and gsm are completely different technology
Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and help issues go in Q&A
Thread moved
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
filipinowise said:
Try to trade your phone for a Gsm version on CL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heisenberg420 said:
Verizon = no sim card = most likely no
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an AT&T phone, so it has a GSM radio and micro SIM card slot in it already.
The VZW S3 can and has been used as world phone. It has both GSM and CDMA radios in it. I was hoping that this was the case with this phone as well. I am thinking now that they may only share the LTE 700 MHz Class for 4G.
crixley said:
no... cdma and gsm are completely different technology
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know they are different radios, but thanks for the response.
Heisenberg420 said:
Verizon = no sim card = most likely no
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
slightly incorrect.
Verizon 3G = no SIM card
Verizon LTE = yes SIM card
and to answer your question, no.
i moved from Verizon to AT&T, and i had the Verizon Galaxy Nexus at the time. even tho it took a SIM card for LTE, i could not use it on AT&T for their LTE. i also asked Verizon at the time if i had the GSM Galaxy Nexus, if i could use it on Verizon, and they told me 'no'.
Jordan. said:
I have an AT&T phone, so it has a GSM radio and micro SIM card slot in it already.
The VZW S3 can and has been used as world phone. It has both GSM and CDMA radios in it. I was hoping that this was the case with this phone as well. I am thinking now that they may only share the LTE 700 MHz Class for 4G.
I know they are different radios, but thanks for the response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only carriers that in know of that use CDMA worldwide are Verizon and Sprint. That being said, in order for Verizon's phone to work outside of the US it has to have GSM radios. Since AT&T phones already run on GSM, there would be no need for a new set of radios to go abroad. If I am not mistaken, CDMA is patented so you can count on it not being on any phone not from either Verizon, Sprint, or a smaller pre-paid service that runs off of their towers.
My S3 mini broke. Now I thought to get an S4 mini, but I can't figure out which one would be the right one.
I am using a plan in the US, ultra mobile, which is on the T-mobile network I think. I also often use my cellphone
abroad with other sim cards. I've seen that there is a 16GB version available - SCH-I435 from Verizon.
I can't figure out what bands this phone uses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S4_Mini has no info on the bands.
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SCH-I435ZKAVZW-specs says:
LTE: Bands 4/13 CDMA 1x/EVDO Rev A. 850/1900 MHz.
Are there any other 16GB versions? What about root/rom? Any significant differences? Which would you recommend?
Its more like do you want LTE or 3g support, any international unlocked version will support all bands
Afaik verizon its CDMA and dont use a sim card therefore can't switch sim
fburgos said:
Its more like do you want LTE or 3g support, any international unlocked version will support all bands
Afaik verizon its CDMA and dont use a sim card therefore can't switch sim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. That would be bad. So the verison one can not switch SIM? Which means it can't be used in europe?
This post implies that there is some kind of SIM on the SCH-I435. But I don't exactly understand what works and what doesn't.
ghostwheel said:
I see. That would be bad. So the verison one can not switch SIM? Which means it can't be used in europe?
This post implies that there is some kind of SIM on the SCH-I435. But I don't exactly understand what works and what doesn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well Im really not sureim not in the us, but I remember a friend had a Verizon phone and can't be enabled in my country because didn't have Sim slot and all carriers have Sim buy was months ago that could have changed
If the info is of any help, I have a GT-I9195 model (currently connected to Spark, NZ) that claims to have 16G of memory and, in this case at least, is unlocked. It takes a mini-SIM, but that's not unusual now days.
Given that most phones in NZ are sold unlocked and people expect to be able to swap SIMs from one phone to another as well as take their current phones to another network, I'm guessing it supports most bands.
Mike_NZ said:
If the info is of any help, I have a GT-I9195 model (currently connected to Spark, NZ) that claims to have 16G of memory and, in this case at least, is unlocked. It takes a mini-SIM, but that's not unusual now days.
Given that most phones in NZ are sold unlocked and people expect to be able to swap SIMs from one phone to another as well as take their current phones to another network, I'm guessing it supports most bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I'll get that model then.
Hello, I bought from eBay Htc one m9 and today I have got the phone and I found that's is an M9w model.
I can't find any info about this model so I thought maybe some one here knows..
Thanks.
enablee said:
Hello, I bought from eBay Htc one m9 and today I have got the phone and I found that's is an M9w model.
I can't find any info about this model so I thought maybe some one here knows..
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's China version. You can see CID is HTCCN_701. Can use wcdma/FDD LTE/TD LTE(Band 39 is not support).
Use 810 Ver 2.0.:silly:
oliver962464 said:
It's China version. You can see CID is HTCCN_701. Can use wcdma/FDD LTE/TD LTE(Band 39 is not support).
Use 810 Ver 2.0.:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, this is a GSM version isn't it?
Is it safe to put a international (401) or unlocked (617) ruu?
shaqman89 said:
So, this is a GSM version isn't it?
Is it safe to put a international (401) or unlocked (617) ruu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. As far as I can tell the m9w is gsm only.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
Yes. As far as I can tell the m9w is gsm only.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This somewhat gets me confused.
I bought a used one with s-off condition, and found it was using stock marshmallow sprint firmware (651).
If it's gsm only, then wouldn't it have an issue with sprint firmware,which is for CDMA?
After reading a lot, I was under the impression that you can't switch firmwares between gsm and CDMA.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
shaqman89 said:
This somewhat gets me confused.
I bought a used one with s-off condition, and found it was using stock marshmallow sprint firmware (651).
If it's gsm only, then wouldn't it have an issue with sprint firmware,which is for CDMA?
After reading a lot, I was under the impression that you can't switch firmwares between gsm and CDMA.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yikes - pretty sure you can't, and that trying is a great way to brick your device. I'd guess that the model you have is somehow a CDMA version. Perhaps you could post some device information for us to research to help you determine exactly what you've got?
computerslayer said:
Yikes - pretty sure you can't, and that trying is a great way to brick your device. I'd guess that the model you have is somehow a CDMA version. Perhaps you could post some device information for us to research to help you determine exactly what you've got?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I also thought that should be the case as well.
Anyway, this is from fastboot.
Code:
(bootloader) kernel: lk
(bootloader) product: htc_himawhl
(bootloader) version: 1.0
(bootloader) imei: 3572xxxx453xxxx
(bootloader) version-main: 3.41.651.21
(bootloader) boot-mode: download
(bootloader) version-baseband: [email protected]
(bootloader) version-bootloader: 1.0.0.0000
(bootloader) mid: 0PJA20000
(bootloader) cid: SPCS_001
I'm aware that mid and cid could be changed using fastboot commands, but I never heard about changing the product field if this is really m9w version.
Anyway, I checked the imei with the box, and it matches.
The label on the box says it's m9w.
If i checked based on active bands, it is a cdma phone with only sprint 4g bands available, but going by imei (checked on imeidata.net), I got the bands are supposed to match witth the international model. I don't know how reliable that site is, though.
Code:
GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GSM 900, GSM850 (GSM800), LTE FDD BAND 1, LTE FDD BAND 20, LTE FDD BAND 28, LTE FDD BAND 3, LTE FDD BAND 5, LTE FDD BAND 7, LTE FDD BAND 8, LTE TDD BAND 38, LTE TDD BAND 40, LTE TDD BAND 41, WCDMA FDD Band I, WCDMA FDD Band II, WCDMA FDD Band V, WCDMA FDD Band VIII
Would that data be sufficient to see anything strange?
A little digging turns up that sprint spark is the most likely carrier using td-lte.
Cdma devices dont have a sim while gsm devices do. That's why you can't xflash. M9 gsm sort of does both.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
A little digging turns up that sprint spark is the most likely carrier using td-lte.
Cdma devices dont have a sim while gsm devices do. That's why you can't xflash. M9 gsm sort of does both.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if I'm not following entirely.
So you are saying that it is possible for m9w to be flashed using sprint firmware which would explains my case above?
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
shaqman89 said:
Sorry if I'm not following entirely.
So you are saying that it is possible for m9w to be flashed using sprint firmware which would explains my case above?
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends.
If your network is "sprint" then you need to check if the phone has a sim card port. If it does then you have a gsm phone. If not then it's cdma.
Sprint also does gsm phones but the question is "how do you know if the firmware you're downloading is cdma or gsm?". Because you CANNOT cross flash a cdma firmware to a gsm device or vice versa.
So, presuming you DO have a sim card port it's gsm for sure so you can treat it as a generic gsm device BUT sprint are known for making their devices difficult to work with, but that could be cdma devices.. So yes, with gsm you should be able to mess with it to flash stuff but make sure you make a backup the very second you get into TWRP (everything except data) and, if you can, make the files available to flippy for others to recover their devices (your contribution for the help you have had and will get?). I can host the files forever on my gdrive with my m9 backup if needed and flippy will add them to his help thread in the general section.
So, by common locigal deduction, we don't know for sure but now you know how to tell if it is gsm or cdma but still be careful with firmwares as one mistake = a doorstop.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shaqman89 said:
Thanks. I also thought that should be the case as well.
Anyway, this is from fastboot.
I'm aware that mid and cid could be changed using fastboot commands, but I never heard about changing the product field if this is really m9w version.
Anyway, I checked the imei with the box, and it matches.
The label on the box says it's m9w.
If i checked based on active bands, it is a cdma phone with only sprint 4g bands available, but going by imei (checked on imeidata.net), I got the bands are supposed to match witth the international model. I don't know how reliable that site is, though.
Would that data be sufficient to see anything strange?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For what it's worth, the SKU you're software is reporting is 651 - that's definitely a CDMA version (Sprint).
shivadow said:
It depends.
If your network is "sprint" then you need to check if the phone has a sim card port. If it does then you have a gsm phone. If not then it's cdma.
Sprint also does gsm phones but the question is "how do you know if the firmware you're downloading is cdma or gsm?". Because you CANNOT cross flash a cdma firmware to a gsm device or vice versa.
So, presuming you DO have a sim card port it's gsm for sure so you can treat it as a generic gsm device BUT sprint are known for making their devices difficult to work with, but that could be cdma devices.. So yes, with gsm you should be able to mess with it to flash stuff but make sure you make a backup the very second you get into TWRP (everything except data) and, if you can, make the files available to flippy for others to recover their devices (your contribution for the help you have had and will get?). I can host the files forever on my gdrive with my m9 backup if needed and flippy will add them to his help thread in the general section.
So, by common locigal deduction, we don't know for sure but now you know how to tell if it is gsm or cdma but still be careful with firmwares as one mistake = a doorstop.
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint-branded M9s are always CDMA devices. Since LTE exists CDMA phones use sim cards as well. Please be carefull with such posts as the one I quoted. People might think they own a GSM device although they don't.
Flippy498 said:
Sprint-branded M9s are always CDMA devices. Since LTE exists CDMA phones use sim cards as well. Please be carefull with such posts as the one I quoted. People might think they own a GSM device although they don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, not 100% true at all. Sprint have sprint spark which is td-lte and uses gsm devices. I did extensive research into it last night.
If the cdma phones use simcards then those devices are gsm. Cdma devices are tuned at the factory for specific networks hence the lack of simcard slot. Simcards support gsm and the m9 with a sim doesn't support cdma but instead wcdma along with all the gsm bands too.
So I'm willing to bet a testicle. You?.
Beamed in by telepathy.
In short, I think this means, sprint is giving me a hard time lol.
So, just to summarize:
- From the box and imei, it seems I have m9w model (GSM)
- According to firmware, and available bands, I have sprint network (CDMA)
- Judging by the availability of a sim card slot (the provider I am using is GSM), it's definitely GSM capable.
So, going for that, it seems that it really is a CDMA model, just with different brandings?
Am I right?
As for the backup, I don't mind sharing it, though I don't see much benefit, since I have tried a sprint RUU, and it works fine.
I also used ViperOne and using only Sprint kernel would make it be able to recieve network signal.
So, I think it's safe to say that the one I am using one of Sprint variant, so I should be careful when cross-flashing.
CMIIW.
@shivadow:
Link #1
SIM cards: Before the advent of 4G LTE, the obvious difference between GSM and CDMA devices were with regards to the SIM card.
[...]
You may have noticed the latest smartphones intended for CDMA networks also coming with SIM card slots, to take advantage of the network’s 4G LTE capabilities. While GSM and CDMA devices cannot be interchanged even now, and will never be cross-compatible, that won’t make a difference as we continue to make a push towards 4G LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link #2
Many Sprint and Verizon phones now have SIM cards, but that isn't because of CDMA. The SIM cards are generally there for Sprint's and Verizon's 4G LTE networks, because the LTE standard also uses SIM cards. The phones may also have SIM slots to support foreign GSM networks as "world phones." But those carriers still use CDMA to authenticate their phones on their own home networks.
[...]
The problem is, they're turning it on in different frequency bands, with different 3G backup systems, and even, in the case of the new Sprint Spark network, using an LTE variant (TD-LTE) that doesn't work with any other U.S. carrier's phones. There are very few phones that support all of the carriers' LTE bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link #3 (and Link #4 for comparison)
OEM ID: 0PJA20000
Supported Cellular Networks: CDMA800 (BC0), CDMA1900 (BC1/BC14)
Supported Cellular Data Links: cdmaOne, CDMA2000 1x, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Sprint M9 is not a traditional CDMA phone but that's due to LTE being a GSM technology and therefore requiring a sim card*. Nevertheless it's still CMDA enough for not being compatible with GSM firmware like the dev edition (617) or the wwe version (401). My statement is still valid. If you tell people every phone with a sim slot is a GSM device they may try to flash GSM RUUs on CDMA devices and brick their phone this way.
* Well, and because CDMA carriers probably understood that their phones need to support at least some GSM bands if they don't want to lose all customers who travel to other countries where CDMA most likely isn't supported at all.
Edit @shaqman89: Can you please take a look at the bottom of the backside of your M9? HTC engraved the model id at this place on the European WWE version. I don't know for sure but I guess that this might be the case for the other versions of the M9, as well. If you own a sprint M9 you should find "0PJA200" there. (The engraving lacks two zeros if you compare it with the MID that you get with fastboot getvar.)
Edit @shaqman89: Can you please take a look at the bottom of the backside of your M9? HTC engraved the model id at this place on the European WWE version. I don't know for sure but I guess that this might be the case for the other versions of the M9, as well. If you own a sprint M9 you should find "0PJA200" there. (The engraving lacks two zeros if you compare it with the MID that you get with fastboot getvar.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right. It's really faint and small, but there is a model id there.
It is 0PJA200. I guess that's settle it and could be hard confirmation that this is a sprint variant.
Flippy498 said:
@shivadow:
Link #1
Link #2
Link #3 (and Link #4 for comparison)
The Sprint M9 is not a traditional CDMA phone but that's due to LTE being a GSM technology and therefore requiring a sim card*. Nevertheless it's still CMDA enough for not being compatible with GSM firmware like the dev edition (617) or the wwe version (401). My statement is still valid. If you tell people every phone with a sim slot is a GSM device they may try to flash GSM RUUs on CDMA devices and brick their phone this way.
* Well, and because CDMA carriers probably understood that their phones need to support at least some GSM bands if they don't want to lose all customers who travel to other countries where CDMA most likely isn't supported at all.
Edit @shaqman89: Can you please take a look at the bottom of the backside of your M9? HTC engraved the model id at this place on the European WWE version. I don't know for sure but I guess that this might be the case for the other versions of the M9, as well. If you own a sprint M9 you should find "0PJA200" there. (The engraving lacks two zeros if you compare it with the MID that you get with fastboot getvar.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I owe you a testicle but I have no obligation to pay up on the clause that neither of us actually know what the hell is going on.. [emoji12]
But, what does that mean for the m9w?. Have we established that its a sprint phone and the regular firmware is ok or does it have an alter ego like jekyll and hyde?. Is there an easy way to find out if it'll be locked out, like branding etc.. Can you use any sim for any network?. A test on a 3g only network could reveal some truth?. Will the m9 take a 3g sim card?..
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
I owe you a testicle but I have no obligation to pay up on the clause that neither of us actually know what the hell is going on.. [emoji12]
But, what does that mean for the m9w?. Have we established that its a sprint phone and the regular firmware is ok or does it have an alter ego like jekyll and hyde?. Is there an easy way to find out if it'll be locked out, like branding etc.. Can you use any sim for any network?. A test on a 3g only network could reveal some truth?. Will the m9 take a 3g sim card?..
Beamed in by telepathy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The sprint phone and any GSM firmware are incompatible due to the different partition layout. The "problem" of this thread lies in the naming of the phone/thread. There are several variants called M9w which all have different MIDs (and slightly different hardware). Just like almost every GSM M9 is called M9u. That's why I prefer identifying them via the MID or their codename. The number part of the MID or the ul/uhl/wl/whl ending of the codename tell you exactly which model is lying in front of you.
Newer CDMA phones (every model that uses LTE) have some GSM frequencies enabled. On the one hand for being able to use LTE and on the other hand since many US customers who traveled to non-CDMA countries prefered GSM carriers in the US, as well, since they could keep their GSM phone whenever they left the US. Many CDMA customers had to buy a GSM phone and a sim card whenever they left the US due to the lack of CDMA on the rest of the world.
As far as I know sprint phones are sim-locked. However, you can contact sprint and request an unlock code so that non-sprint sim cards can be used, as well. Nevertheless, the sprint version doesn't support all GSM frequencies so you might not get any reception if your GSM carrier doesn't use the frequencies that are supported by the phone. That's why it's in almost every case impossible to get LTE with a non-sprint sim card on a sprint M9. (The same apllies to the verizon variant.)
So basically what you're saying is "sell the m9w and buy a wwe"?.
Beamed in by telepathy.
shivadow said:
So basically what you're saying is "sell the m9w and buy a wwe"?.
Beamed in by telepathy.
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Well, not really. There is no variant that supports every existing frequency. Therefore, the best variant for user 1 isn't necessarily the best variant for user 2, as well.
Scenario a): You live in the US
If you own a sprint sim card the sprint m9 is totally fine. If you own a verizon sim card you should get the verizon variant. If you own a t-mobile US or an AT&T sim card and rely on VoLTE you should get one of their dedicated variants. If you don't care about VoLTE but own a GSM sim card you should get either the unlocked or the dev edition (both are actually the same phone - only the CIDs differ slightly and the dev edition's bootloader is already unlocked).
Scenario b): You live outside the US
If you rely on VoLTE you should get a phone that got branded by your carrier. If you don't care about VoLTE you should get one of the unbranded versions. There is SKU 401 for Europe, SKU 708 and 709 for Asia and SKU 710 for Australia and New Zealand. They're all (the branded and the unbranded versions) the same if you look at the hardware but the firmware is optimized for the dedicated continent/country/carrier.
With S-OFF you can always convert your GSM phone from one version to another. However, the frequencies that are supported by the US GSM variants differ slightly from the ones of the rest of the world.
Tl;dr: You should always choose the variant that suits you best.