when i bought my G2 i was told i could keep using my old sim card from my G1. my G2 average network speed is like average 500-800kb/s, sometimes 1200kb/s, rarely from 2300-3000kb/s, and every blue/red/black moon it will hit slightly more than 4000kb/s. i live in LA and work in Beverly Hills, so im covered.
i know bandwidth can affect the speeds, but i'd expect to get on average at least above 1200kb/s. my question is could my sim card be having any negative effect on my speeds? should i put in the new one?
oh yeah and i have not recieved the OTA yet either.
The thing is that HSPA+(pseudo "4G") isn't available everywhere. You're probably only on HSDPA which is quite a bit slower than HSPA+.
I don't think changing your sim card would affect your speeds at all, because the sim card doesn't interpret or recieve any data from the cell towers (correct me if I'm wrong)
It just says "HI I'M MIKE'S PHONE AND MY PHONE NUMBER IS XXX-XXX-XXXX AND HERE'S ALL MY INFO"
^_^
thanks for the reply!
i checked the coverage maps and according to them my area is covered. what can i do to get those speeds? i dont think ive ever been on hspa+
IMO I don't think their coverage map is that accurate. For example my house apparently has HSPA+ according to them. However no phones (tried on AT&T and T-Mo) are able to get very good signal at all, with my G2 unable to get data at home. However if I walk to the end of my street I am able to just barely get HSPA+.
Just goes to show: Not everything on the internet is true. XD
ibemad1 said:
Just goes to show: Not everything on the internet is true. XD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not ?
I have a bad feeling about that email I sent with all my bank details to the guy from Nigeria who I was helping transfer some money
changing ur sim would help if u are getting poor signal/coverage and thats only if you are using a very old simcard such as ones from voicestream. also does your G2 banner (when u pull down for notification alert) say T-Mobile | Get More? if it does you may need to update ur sim and it will remove that and just say T-Mobile.
For what it's worth, my SIM card is about 8 years old and I get some really nice speeds with my G2. So I'd say it has very little to do with your SIM card.
The only thing that matters is the radio that the phone supports, the sd doesn't matter. Go into teting via dial pad(*#*#4636#*#*) and force the network type you want.
Just for the hell of it I called T-Mobile today and activated the new SIM that came with my G2. The one I was using was from two phones ago when I had my Sidekick. But even with that SIM card I was getting exceptional speeds. I've been using it for weeks in my G2.
I also told T-Mobile to make sure my web was provisioned with the newest plan.
I haven't used data much since then, because it was only a few hours ago and I use WIFI at home. But if I notice a big difference I'll post here.
I would say that you probably just have a very busy network in your area. Data speeds depend a lot on how many people are using the network in your area. Or maybe just the towers aren't fully upgraded yet.
apprecaite all the help!
my sim card isnt that old, its the same one that came with my g1, which i bought in 2009. i talked to a rep earlier today, he said it might affect the speeds because they made new sim cards this year? idk cause then the rep im talking to now says it has no efffect. i think im just gonna cahnge the sim just cause i want to, if it actually makes any difference ill let you guys know
ok i just changed the sim card, and the speeds did actually improve. aside from that, accoding to the speedtest results, im now actually connecting to hspa+, before all it would say is cell, now it says umts sometimes. overall seems like an improvement
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
steviewevie said:
It's not ?
I have a bad feeling about that email I sent with all my bank details to the guy from Nigeria who I was helping transfer some money
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah me too only it was a pretty white girl from Ghana....wondered why so many women that look like college cheerleaders are there clearing up their father's Estate......hmmmm.
Related
I recently purchased a G2 and was wondering if there is any benifit in activating the new simcard? I live in an area where 3G is everywhere but inside the city limits. I used to work at At&t way back when it was Cingular and I briefly remeber telling people something about upgrading to the 64 or 128 bit simcard (can't remember for sure). I have been using the same simcard for two+ years. If I travel to area's outside the city, I can use 3G speeds.
Your Knowledge is greatly appriciated.
slim
Why not?
You have nothing to loose!
...and I'm nearly certain it doesn't give you any extra benefit; I've had my SIM Since, the T-Mo Wing[?]
& Its still Going Strong!
Just replace it the sim technolgy has been the same for several years but if its real old the new 4g network might suffer a bit but still won't be to bad but it comes with a new one so just update it. Make sure that you back up any contacts you may have saved on it first though
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
I called a T-mo rep about it and he said the sim cards have a expeiry date based on network transitions. He told me to activate the new sim simply because it was able to "recognize" more available bandwidth and that it did not expire from transitioning from umts,hsdpa,and hspa+ quickly where as he said mine would. (I find this bogus because my voicestream SIM card still worked)
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
I personally think that T-Mo are talking BS. I'd be happy to be wrong if someone can provide proof that they're actually correct on this issue.
Actually its probably best. I checked my old sim card with the new sim card and the copper connector on the back is different from the new and old sim cards. Plus after activating the new one, I didn't have hiccups transfering from E to 3G to H whereas before it would randomly drop from H to E. But thats for me.
Just got mine on today from the retail store the guy activated a new Sim card for me and my data speed is terribly slow it doesn't even seem like it's 3g . Any ideas why its so slow?
Sent from my SGH-T989
what phone did you have before and how much did you use your data....could be tmobile throtteling
I'm only getting about 5-6Mbps which I would get on my MT4G... but it's the service in this area, not the phone's fault
HOWEVER
I am getting such bad upload speeds it's puzzling.. giving the phone time to adjust, I'll test again tomorrow because for some reason anytime I change phones the data connection seems to act weird the first day..
The phone in my store which is in a 42mbps area gets 15mbps with every test I did.
I'm getting 8 - 12 Mbps avg.
Just did a test right now and got 10,390 kbps using a 1MB file.
Seems pretty much the same as my HD2.
Remember that HSPA+ speeds are theoretical, the chances of you reaching those speeds are slim.
ok so after two t mobile calls and numerous network resets im getting absolutely ****ty speed test results. the browsing is ok but seems to be really laggy. hmm..
also noticed under settings/aboutphone/signal/MobileNetworkType i get UMTS and it will switch to HSPA randomly. could this be the reason? or should it say HSPA+? can someone verify this?
You won't get 4G speeds everywhere.
im aware of this..
i had a sgs4g which i lost 2 weeks ago and it was nothing like this.
it feels like my connection is capped at 56k
It could be the network, there could just be a lot of congestion. It happens to me sometimes too, one day I'll get 12mbps & the next I won't be able to get over 5. Try your sim in another phone if you can & see if you get the same results.
i used to get anywhere from 5mbps to 15mbps with the sgs4g.
im ashamed to say that i am getting half a mbps. lol
Speeds suck near Phoenix 2.4mbps
i talked to t mobile couple days ago, the technical support had to issue a ticket in order for it to get resolved. the lady said that my Internet should be back to speed in 3 days! Its not phone related its definitely a network glitch of some sort because i am getting 60 kbits. My very first bill cycle is days shy from being over and yet i have not been able to use 4g speeds.. even edge speeds is faster than what i am getting. I believe i shouldn't be held responsible to pay the web data portion of my bill for this month. its only fair.
Try this (if you haven't already).
Pull up your dialer, then dial
*#*#4636#*#*
Select "phone information"
Scroll to the bottom and select
Either "WCDMA Preferred" or "WCDMA Only".
This can be changed from the network settings also. However, I had ****ty data speeds at first too and, for some strange reason, the two menus did not match up... Using the dialer method it was on GSM and inexplicably went back to GSM on its own a couple times.
Hate to say... But if tmo says they are filing a ticket, most of the time the rep just exhausted what their knowledge or troubleshooting is telling them to do and a ticket doesn't change anything.
The GS2 should unquestionably whip the MT4G, HD2, SENSATION as well as most other phones in data speeds, consistently. I can say this from personal experience.
Interested to know how it turns out for you.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
data speeds are eye popping!
This phone is great! I'm getting a whopping 60kbps/30kbps. We really standing still now! Tmo tech say everything is fine on there end so back to the store I go.
Sounds like your throttled, or your stuck in gsm/edge mode. Check to see also if your on gsm/wcdma, thts what it should be on. You could be on 2g/gsm setting. I put mines on tht setting from time to time.
Sent from planet neblon in the 2nd region of the samsung989 galaxy
i feel your pain, t-mobile can be very spotty in some places. I dont think its my phone!!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA Premium App
LpSk8r said:
Sounds like your throttled, or your stuck in gsm/edge mode. Check to see also if your on gsm/wcdma, thts what it should be on. You could be on 2g/gsm setting. I put mines on tht setting from time to time.
Sent from planet neblon in the 2nd region of the samsung989 galaxy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the same thing but tmo said I'm not throttled. gsm/wcdma(auto) is checked.
Thank for the advice though.
Edit: I put the Sim back in my vibrant and the speeds are the same. So I'm going with bad Sim or they are throttling me and don't know it. To be continued.
So they put in a work order and said they will get back to me within 72hrs. If it's not fixed I'm going to sprint. Tried the Sim in the amaze and sgs2 in store same speeds. Funny thing one of the questions asked while filling out the work order "do you tether?" Lol. Of course not.
I'm getting as high as 13mbps and almpst 2 upload speed. My g2x got half of that at best most of the time...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Hello
Located in NYC
I was at the T-Mobile Retail store to test the Galaxy S2's speedtest.net.
The speed I got from it was in between 9 Mbps - 15 Mbps.
However, I tried my own S2 and I am only getting 3-4Mbps
??? Hmmmmm how did that happen???
I called 611 to troubleshoot the issue, however the rep told me that it could be their network.
I asked if my old SIM has anything to do with it, she said the SIM does not matter.
Sigh... just wondering what you guys in NYC is getting
Thanks
In RI i get 14-18.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
You need to use the sim that comes with the phone. Its an updated sim for this phone
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
clninja said:
You need to use the sim that comes with the phone. Its an updated sim for this phone
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. I will try to call 611 asking for a free SIM. That stupid rep did not allowed me to get a free SIM.
Some stores have 3G cell sites built into them, which will give the phones in the store faster speeds than just outside the store.
I tested the phone with old sim card in NYC back in Dec. In chinatown it avg. 18-21mbps in Brooklyn was much slower, 5-8mbps. I got it used so no updated sim card that came with it. Now back in Puerto Rico where im now, its 8-10mbps. Im guess some part in NYC takes advantages of new HSDPA+ and some parts not.
Time of day, network traffic, signal strength, apps running on your phone, the cell site itself...these are all variables that can cause variance in data speeds.
personally, i think the Speedtest.net app itself is buggy. I can be in the same spot, run 3 tests, and get 3 different results. I've also run tests with the same type of phones sitting next to each other, and get completely different results.
Not all sites are pushing out the same speeds. Some may be pushing 42mb/s, while others may still be doing 21mb/s, and there are probably even some 7.2mb/s sites in "4G" cities. You can probably drive down the street and get a drastically different result.
Although the SIM that came in the box is new, you shouldn't see drastic changes in your old SIM vs the new one unless your old SIM was more than 2 years old. T-Mobile updated their SIM cards a few years back to better connect with the 3G/4G network. The SIM that came in the box (GBA SIM) is required for the Wi-Fi Calling, but that's it.
I live in Brooklyn, and my new white SG2 should be coming via UPS tomorrow (hopefully early in the day!). Will post results after I get the phone. Question - if the phone comes with its own new SIM, how do I get my info/acct transferred to the new SIM? Can I do this over the phone or do I need to go into a TMO store? In the meantime I can just pop in my old SIM and use it right away, correct?
Also, FWIW, on my MT4G I always get consistently faster speeds in Manhattan vs. Brooklyn. In my apartment I usually float around 3-5 mbps. I'm hoping I'll pick up a little extra with the SG2 but who knows...not a big issue though since when at home I usually hook up to the wifi.
You definitely need the new Sim. And that broad on the customer line lied. The Sim DOES matter.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
cs378 said:
Hello
Located in NYC
I was at the T-Mobile Retail store to test the Galaxy S2's speedtest.net.
The speed I got from it was in between 9 Mbps - 15 Mbps.
However, I tried my own S2 and I am only getting 3-4Mbps
??? Hmmmmm how did that happen???
I called 611 to troubleshoot the issue, however the rep told me that it could be their network.
I asked if my old SIM has anything to do with it, she said the SIM does not matter.
Sigh... just wondering what you guys in NYC is getting
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get 9-15 in nyc all day long. Must be your location or your sim.
clninja said:
You need to use the sim that comes with the phone. Its an updated sim for this phone
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not true at all. I am on the $30 prepaid plan and used the sim that came with some cheap phone and I can easily hit 12-15mbps however Wi-Fi calling doesn't work. Please don't spread false facts. Yes, there's an updated sim but rarely ever will it make a difference except where I mentioned.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Here is proof of that.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
@Sunsean, if you are coming from a mt4g, you probably don't have any info on your sim card. Just in case, you cab throw the old Sim in your galaxy, go to contacts > menu > import/export > import from Sim card. Then call customer care (or go into a store) to have your new Sim that came with the phone activated.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Just called Tmobile customer service and the guy got me a free new Sim card. I still have not gotten the Sim yet, but will update on the result. this new customer service guy did mention that the new Sim should improve the 4g service.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
cs378 said:
Hello
Located in NYC
I was at the T-Mobile Retail store to test the Galaxy S2's speedtest.net.
The speed I got from it was in between 9 Mbps - 15 Mbps.
However, I tried my own S2 and I am only getting 3-4Mbps
??? Hmmmmm how did that happen???
I called 611 to troubleshoot the issue, however the rep told me that it could be their network.
I asked if my old SIM has anything to do with it, she said the SIM does not matter.
Sigh... just wondering what you guys in NYC is getting
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tge same problem..used to get around 12 to 14 now less than 1 mbps....nd i havent even hit half if my data limit yet!
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
I get surprisingly good speeds around 68th & 2nd, usually 12+mbps. From what I understand, the upload speeds for 4G seem to be capped at 1.7mbps? Can somebody please confirm for me? Thanks in advance.
I also live in New York city. HSPA+ is superb here. In the Bronx I get an average of 9 to 14 mbps down. And I'm on an older sim card, so be exact, the one that came with my mytouch 3g. Now that's an old sim.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
abrown0809 said:
I also live in New York city. HSPA+ is superb here. In the Bronx I get an average of 9 to 14 mbps down. And I'm on an older sim card, so be exact, the one that came with my mytouch 3g. Now that's an old sim.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the sim card from my Sidekick LX now THAT'S an old sim.
abrown0809 said:
I also live in New York city. HSPA+ is superb here. In the Bronx I get an average of 9 to 14 mbps down. And I'm on an older sim card, so be exact, the one that came with my mytouch 3g. Now that's an old sim.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Midtown Manhattan. Hit 13mbps on a umts network here. All my hspa+ speeds were 12ish mbps. Using the sim that came with the phone.
Sent from my Hercules using XDA App
7-14 in the eastcoast for me and 12-22 in the west coast
I've been running the Speed Test app and I was getting crazy high ping (1,500+) consistently and getting between 7Mbps-9Mbps download with around 1.5-1.9Mbps upload. I was using my old SIM card from my N1. I live in a "Very Good 4G" coverage area.
I went to a T-Mobile store today and got a new SIM card to see if that was the issue. My ping DRASTICALLY decreased (88-90) but my download/upload speeds also took a hit (5-7Mbps down and 1-2Mbps up).
Talking to the rep got me absolutely no where. She insisted because its not a T-Mobile phone, I won't get 4G or very high speeds. I insisted it is equipped with HSPA+21 and should be getting better speeds. She said there was nothing she could do and I should call Google...
Are 9Mbps an "acceptable" speed or should I try calling T-Mobile technical support and have them troubleshoot it?
(I changed radios from stock shipped from Google to the newest US one last night).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Pretty sure I responded to your other topic about this in a different thread w/ a long explanation so I'll give you the condensed version here:
Those speeds are completely normal for a T-mobile phone with a 21mbps HSPA+ radio. I would never expect to consistently see 9mbps on this device. If you regularly get 5-7mbps with good pings and can get upwards of 9mbps in off-peak times I'd say you're right on spot with everyone else.
I would never expect a random CS/store rep to be able to distinguish what kinds of speeds you'll get on an unlocked device. They know about the phones they offer directly and are supposed to indicate that they don't support or troubleshoot non-T-Mobile devices. When you buy unlocked you deal with it yourself. Of course you know that it has a 21mbps HSPA+ radio, so why argue? T-Mobile is not discriminating against your phone because its unlocked. They give you the full pipe just as if it was any other T-Mo phone. They deliver the speed to the SIM, you choose the device. As long as the SIM isn't faulty and your APN's are fine (default should be OK), you're getting max speed for you device/area.
Thank you for your response. I apologize, I must not have seen your response in the other thread. I understand buying unlocked means you deal with it yourself, I came from the Google store unbranded N1. The only reason I stopped in the store was to replace my SIM card, in case it was faulty. I just decided to ask her about it and she more or less was just trying to sell me the One S instead of answering my questions.
Anyway, I called technical support and was lucky enough to land a rep who I could barely understand *shrugs*. Out of the 12 minute call I only understood that I won't get 4G because its not a T-Mobile phone and my account was not updated to reflect the new phone (IMEI) and with that change I should expect better network performance.
Thank you for your detailed response though, I appreciate it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Hello all.
It appears we can expect the transition for 3g data on the 1900 MHz PCS band sometime between now and the end of the year as T Mobile is really looking to deploy LTE in 2013.
So, we (T Mo USA customers) all learned the hard way that we needed an older model micro SIM in order to get data on our phone.
Does anyone know if we will need a newer micro SIM (actually-the current micro SIM provided by T Mobile for the One S) to access the 3g data once it has been deployed?
What do you opine? Any insight would be great.
Thanks!
Shouldn't need to. Some places already have the 1900Mhz deployed as test beds and I haven't heard anything about needing a new sim.
All SIMs do nowadays is hold your subscriber number that gets relayed to a tower. That number is then looked up in a database to see if you meet requirements (e.g. are a paying customer, what services you have enabled, etc.).
I have an old SIM from 2007 that I am still using so I it doesn't work I'll let you know
I had no trouble going from a 2G to a 3G device with it if that helps you.
The only thing I'm worried about is if the 1900Mhz will be counted as roaming on AT&T and whether we'll have to pay extra for it.
I'm not getting data. I just got a sim card from tmobile today.
No data for me. Talked to tmobile and they said to talk to HTC.
What should i do?
Ask for an older SIM. The newer SIMs that Tmo has been using haven't worked on One Xs. Try seeing if they have any older miniSIMs and then you can cut it into a microSim.
jonshipman said:
Shouldn't need to. Some places already have the 1900Mhz deployed as test beds and I haven't heard anything about needing a new sim.
All SIMs do nowadays is hold your subscriber number that gets relayed to a tower. That number is then looked up in a database to see if you meet requirements (e.g. are a paying customer, what services you have enabled, etc.).
I have an old SIM from 2007 that I am still using so I it doesn't work I'll let you know
I had no trouble going from a 2G to a 3G device with it if that helps you.
The only thing I'm worried about is if the 1900Mhz will be counted as roaming on AT&T and whether we'll have to pay extra for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T Mobile has roaming agreements with AT&T, so I wouldn't worry about that. With regards to 3g on the 1900 MHz PCS band, it actually has nothing to do with roaming agreements via AT&T. T Mobile is actually reframing their network to allow HSPA and HSPA+ via 1900 spectrum opposed to its current structure which only supports 2g data on the same frequency.
According to T Mobile, they are refarming frequencies of their network to modernize their network; pushing 3g traffic to their 1900 MHz frequency allows them to deploy true LTE on their current 3g AWS bands (1700/2100).
My original concern was, how there is clearly an incompatibility with the newer micro SIMs and the international One X, will that incompatibility cause me to have to switch SIMs when 3g is moved over 1900? I'm not savvy enough to understand the issue between T Mo's current micro SIMs and the reasoning behind the incompatibility with the One X. I certainly don't want to miss out on faster HSPA speeds when it does take off in Boston so, I figured I would ask.
Do you have your One X set to GSM or GSM/WCDMA auto? I currently have mine set on the latter.
Thanks!
AndG404 said:
I'm not getting data. I just got a sim card from tmobile today.
No data for me. Talked to tmobile and they said to talk to HTC.
What should i do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a thread in the General section discussing this.
You should call into a local store and say you need an older micro SIM, specifically ask for a non GBA micro SIM. If your local store does not have one in stock, the rep might be nice enough to email other local reps and call you back (as they did with me) when they receive a response. Hopefully, you wont strike out. If so, you would have to eBay or Amazon your older micro SIM.
I ended up driving about 10 miles from my office to pick one up as none of the T Mobile stores closest to me (6 of them) had them in stock. When I finally got one, I had never been happier getting Edge speeds in my life, lol.
Thanks, man!
:good::good::good:
batequeixo said:
:good::good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No prob! Glad I could help
Status update...
I thought it would be courteous to update all reading this thread on my discoveries.
I've re-visited the T-Mobile store with a copy of the information found on this thread in hands, only to find that the guys working on that store are either unprepared or unwilling to help. They told me that T-Mobile only carries one type of micro sim across all their stores, they indicated they were not willing to do the legwork, very disappointing since I've been T-Mobile's customer for over 10 years.
Sounds like the alternative is to dig this special, older micro sim out of ebay or amazon, or move to another provider.
Any other alternatives?
That stinks!
Please know that I too struck out after calling 3 local stores (all within 3-5 miles). You probably got someone with less experience or perhaps you went during store peak hours. I recommend you call a branch (obviously not that one) and ask for a manager. Let the manager know that you are looking for a specific type of micro SIM, a non GBA kind. Let him or her know that you have struck via customer care and that he is your last resort as the T Mobile store closest to where you live no longer carry that SIM.
Out of all of T Mo stores that I called, only one person had no clue of what I was talking about but did get someone else on the phone for me. They all told me they no longer carried the older micro SIM.
Don't let this experience discourage you. If you want it for free, you have to call around.
Last resort would be eBay, etc.
Good luck bro!
Hey guys, im thinking of getting a One X for t-mobile and I want to know if all full size sims are non GBA. i already have a cut down full size sim so will that work in the One X on edge speeds?
Jelly: That's what I did when I first got my international HOX and it worked fine with EDGE. Please share if you start receiving 4G speeds....
Thanks,
Why dont you guys just wait till tmo announces their new htc one+?