Develop Bugs

Question: SGN CDMA Hardware Vs. GSM Hardware - Difference? - Testing

Ok,
I've been looking for an official spec data sheet on the CDMA and GSM Versions of SGN. Thus far I am unable to find it - I've found the generic spec thus far but nothing in detail.d
Verizon is sending me a new SGN This week and Im going to flash GSM Radio's to CDMA Phone (Yes, I know you dont need to say it) I am taking a gamble that the SGN is a Quad band phone like Rezound. (It has the menu interface for GSM both 3g and 4g) - Personally I would like to see the ability to use CDMA or GSM (Pick on boot or within the ROM) Similar to 4g/3g Swapping.
Let me know If I sound nuts.

Nuts.
But if it would work you'd be called a genius and loved like Einstein in your avatar.

Im thinking it's gonna brick the device but im not worried about that.
Anyone else think its gonna brick the device?

Super nuts. I hope it doesn't brick it but just brakes the radios. Good luck man.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Ok, I just Flashed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20312089&postcount=6
It didn't brick the device (I assume because its radio only and not the BaseBand)
Gonna reflash my Hybrid 4.0.4 Radio to make sure all is well
Then reflash this and flash a GSM baseband/bootloader
IMO I call BullSh*t to Verizons Non-world phone idea. I think they pushed the phone out so fast that it was built on a universal hardware platform and the software is the limiting factor.

Ok, Flashed the Standard Euro Baseband XXKK6 - No luck on signal or getting IMEI off the phone now.
Gonna run to Tmobile and get a New Simcard for my extra account. At this point I am assuming the sim lock is blocking any efforts to use the GSM Bands.

Atlantian said:
Ok,
I've been looking for an official spec data sheet on the CDMA and GSM Versions of SGN. Thus far I am unable to find it - I've found the generic spec thus far but nothing in detail.d
Verizon is sending me a new SGN This week and Im going to flash GSM Radio's to CDMA Phone (Yes, I know you dont need to say it) I am taking a gamble that the SGN is a Quad band phone like Rezound. (It has the menu interface for GSM both 3g and 4g) - Personally I would like to see the ability to use CDMA or GSM (Pick on boot or within the ROM) Similar to 4g/3g Swapping.
Let me know If I sound nuts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Atlantian said:
Im thinking it's gonna brick the device but im not worried about that.
Anyone else think its gonna brick the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're stupid. You cant accomplish anything with this. It will NEVER work on a GSM network dude. Just buy a goddamn GSM version. You think you're just some pioneer that's going to crack this, as if its not widely known that the phones are physically different? It doesn't have the proper GSM radios in it...
You're just going to brick it. Before you do, why not just sell it and donate the money to charity. Money better used...

Is this a joke..?
So by your logic I can put a Verizon LTE sim card in my GSM nexus and achieve LTE speeds? Since you know, the hardware is the same.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Is there any LTE enabling hacks for T999? T-Mobile USA

I've read YES, I've read NO...?
Is there anyway to enable and use LTE on the T999 on T-Mobile?
T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-T999 Tapatalk 2

Try going to Canada that's the only place that uses the same LTE frequency that T-Mobile will be using. Might work like the Nexus 4
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

The T-Mobile network does not have LTE rolled out yet, but the hardware does support LTE.
I'm sure the way to enable LTE will include flashing a new radio, though I'm not aware of any that will enable LTE without bricking the phone or killing data communication on the SGH-T999 specifically.
Edit: So far it would seem that the LTE supposedly in this phone doesn't run on the same frequency spectrum that T-Mobile plans to use for LTE.

plat_ said:
The T-Mobile network does not have LTE rolled out yet, but the hardware does support LTE.
I'm sure the way to enable LTE will include flashing a new radio, though I'm not aware of any that will enable LTE without bricking the phone or killing data communication on the SGH-T999 specifically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Says who? I really think people should just drop this subject. And every thread started needs to be closed. There are plenty of threads about this
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

plat_ said:
The T-Mobile network does not have LTE rolled out yet, but the hardware does support LTE.
I'm sure the way to enable LTE will include flashing a new radio, though I'm not aware of any that will enable LTE without bricking the phone or killing data communication on the SGH-T999 specifically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you support this info?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Samsung says the tmobile s3 is capable of the lte... tmobile says its not... ill trust the people who actually made the phone
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

woostar88 said:
Can you support this info?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@woostar88
I've spent probably two hours in the last few days purely searching and reading whatever specs I can grab, including for FCC ID A3LSGHT999. Every time I'm sure, something knocks me back down to unsure status. It's especially confusing when Samsung, the maker of the phone and the Snapdragon platform it runs on, says it does support LTE - then T-Mobile comes in and says nope (and that it's based on the Snapdragon MSM8260 instead? wtf?).
While they are contradicting their hardware vendor, they have support reps saying both yes and no. No wonder nobody knows anything,
but I'm determined now.
Unfortunately for me I'm not as privy as I should be to the massive amount of terminology and mobile spectrum standards that have been bestowed upon us, but a little more research should bring me up to speed.
My answer until I have a better one is that yes it very much is an MSM8960, and yes, it does support LTE.
No, the LTE this hardware supposedly supports is not using the same frequency spectrum that T-Mobile in the US eventually will (like snoopy1e11 said in this thread).

Please post questions in Q&A
Thread moved
Moderator

clninja said:
Samsung says the tmobile s3 is capable of the lte... tmobile says its not... ill trust the people who actually made the phone
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course T-Mobile says it doesn't support LTE. They'll do what they did with the Vibrant. Sell a boat load of them and then release a slightly updated version with full LTE radio. I trust Samsung before TMO anyday.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda premium

newageoutlaw said:
Of course T-Mobile says it doesn't support LTE. They'll do what they did with the Vibrant. Sell a boat load of them and then release a slightly updated version with full LTE radio. I trust Samsung before TMO anyday.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For all of you saying it's going to support lte, and that our chip is the same as att, answer me this:
Why can we not unlock our device, place a att SIM card into it, register it on att network, and access lte on att network? If all our devices have that same chip that supports lte as you all are claiming, why can't we do this?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

elesbb said:
For all of you saying it's going to support lte, and that our chip is the same as att, answer me this:
Why can we not unlock our device, place a att SIM card into it, register it on att network, and access lte on att network? If all our devices have that same chip that supports lte as you all are claiming, why can't we do this?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your first three points have no influence from the chip design; The (in)ability to unlock a device is controlled by software, the (in)ability to use a SIM card from another provider (which is generally the exact same hardware) is controlled by software, and the (in)ability to register it to another provider's network is controlled by software, as long as the hardware radio chipset can speak the network's frequency and mobile protocol.
I don't know off-hand why it won't connect to AT&T's LTE. I'm also not an electronics expert but I can imagine that these chipsets can be controlled with firmware to restrict the frequencies the radio may generate or receive, effectively locking it to a provided number of frequencies assigned to the mobile operator.

elesbb said:
Says who? I really think people should just drop this subject. And every thread started needs to be closed. There are plenty of threads about this
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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100% agreed.
The best arguments for and against have already been made. All i see this doing is mirroring all other threads on the same topic. Tempers may flare, infractions might be made, all because no one wants to be wrong and cant wait a year or two when the subject actually becomes relavent.
Search and read. Hint: general section.
It can be disabled on both the hw and sw side. In the end it doesn't matter because the T999 was never certified/cleared by the FCC for LTE. So they'd either have to go back through the process or be fined for breaking the law.
I'm convinced it won't happen, but to each his own opinion.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

The only reason that the tmobile t999 has any LTE files in it is because all the carriers have the same base rom then stack their crap on top of it! I know how to read code and if you break down most of the apps in the phone they will have provisions for all carriers, not just tmobile. Tmobile doesnt even have LTE towers yet so the answer is still no

evil1art said:
The only reason that the tmobile t999 has any LTE files in it is because all the carriers have the same base rom then stack their crap on top of it! I know how to read code and if you break down most of the apps in the phone they will have provisions for all carriers, not just tmobile. Tmobile doesnt even have LTE towers yet so the answer is still no
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In a few select places, T-Mo has LTE. In fact, they'll be sharing towers with Verizon.
But, the true answer to whether or not the T999 can get LTE or not is, gram crackers and apple juice. Yep.

Don_Perrignon said:
In a few select places, T-Mo has LTE. In fact, they'll be sharing towers with Verizon.
But, the true answer to whether or not the T999 can get LTE or not is, gram crackers and apple juice. Yep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're way off... Verizon and T-Mobile are two completely different technologies when it comes to their towers.. unless there is no difference in GSM lte versus cdma lte,
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

elesbb said:
You're way off... Verizon and T-Mobile are two completely different technologies when it comes to their towers.. unless there is no difference in GSM lte versus cdma lte,
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know, as everyone else, that one is GSM and another is CDMA.
But, fact is that T-Mobile are Verizon are swapping frequencies with one another. What I'm confused about is if this means they're literally using the same towers or if each carrier has so many licenses of certain frequencies and now they're giving up some of those licenses.
I'm confused.
But, what I do know is that:
1. The two are swapping frequencies with one another.
2.Verizon does use GSM LTE.
3. Gram crackers and apple juice determine whether or not the T999 can get LTE.

Don_Perrignon said:
Yes, I know, as everyone else, that one is GSM and another is CDMA.
But, fact is that T-Mobile are Verizon are swapping frequencies with one another. What I'm confused about is if this means they're literally using the same towers or if each carrier has so many licenses of certain frequencies and now they're giving up some of those licenses.
I'm confused.
But, what I do know is that:
1. The two are swapping frequencies with one another.
2.Verizon does use GSM LTE.
3. Gram crackers and apple juice determine whether or not the T999 can get LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its simply a spectrum swap. They're not using each others towers. At least not for anything other than roaming services. Tmobile and Verizon will both be able to use this to provide better and more widely available service and coverage to more people. But they will be using tbe newly aquired spectrum on their own towers and equipment. Not each others.
Its one if the conditions Verizon agreed to for FCC approval. Tmobile swaps a small bit of their licensed spectum along with "cash and other concessions" in exchange.
Good for Verizon, good for Tmobile, good for consumers is the reason the FCC made it a condition. Thats how I understand it anyway.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

DocHoliday77 said:
Its simply a spectrum swap. They're not using each others towers. At least not for anything other than roaming services. Tmobile and Verizon will both be able to use this to provide better and more widely available service and coverage to more people. But they will be using tbe newly aquired spectrum on their own towers and equipment. Not each others.
Its one if the conditions Verizon agreed to for FCC approval. Tmobile swaps a small bit of their licensed spectum along with "cash and other concessions" in exchange.
Good for Verizon, good for Tmobile, good for consumers is the reason the FCC made it a condition. Thats how I understand it anyway.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
So, then it's a matter of each carrier having so many licenses to certain spectrums... Like I have 600,000 licenses of something and you have 700,000 of another and we give each other 300,000? Is that kind of what's going on here?

Sort of, but Im not sure it works entirely like that.
I do know that Tmobile received enough to support approximately 60 million new customers in 15 of the top 25 markets, while Verizon received enough to support 22 million, plus cash and such.
I don't really know how the licensing works, but I don't think it goes by the number of users or anything like that, but by frequency ranges. Id imagine theres more to it than just you give me x and I give you y though.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Such hostility in here over a easy to answer question.
In short:
No there is not a way to enable it, as it has not been implemented by t mo just yet.
Yes it will require a radio update.
Yes the s3 (even the t mo version) is LTE capable.
Was that it or did I miss another question?

Tmobile note 2 on AT&T?

My wife and I are considering taking our tmobile phones over to AT&T. There both unlocked... Note 2 & sg3. Question I have is would I have to flash AT&T modems and roms to be able to fully utilize the new network? Just don't want to end up with bricks. AT&T already told me both devices unlocked will work fine on the network.

Wat I'm asking is if I can utilize the lte on the t-889 if I put it on AT&T? I found a bunch of threads with mixed responses.

fix-this! said:
My wife and I are considering taking our tmobile phones over to AT&T. There both unlocked... Note 2 & sg3. Question I have is would I have to flash AT&T modems and roms to be able to fully utilize the new network? Just don't want to end up with bricks. AT&T already told me both devices unlocked will work fine on the network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should work fine but the only problem is you wont have LTE

chousayz said:
It should work fine but the only problem is you wont have LTE
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Click to collapse
Why's that? AT&T says I will be able to use lte since my area has it. If not I probably won't do this. As I've said I've read mixed responses. Could I flash AT&T radios to utilize it?

It will give you weak service because att and t mobile run on different bands which is hardware related not software
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium

Android The Greek said:
It will give you weak service because att and t mobile run on different bands which is hardware related not software
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
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I dunno about that as many said everything works but LTE. I have also read a few that says they have LTE enabled. That's what's confusing. I may go to AT&T tomorrow and have them test a sim before I decide to switch. I assume if I change to AT&T apn ill get better 4g speed at least. The limitation your speaking to its a locked radio for the t-889 that prevents LTE from being enabled currently.

I can't quickly tell, but if it has LTE support on band 17 (700MHz) then it will work. It's a T-Mobile phone so it has support on band 4 which AT&T only uses for a very small part of its LTE network.
Like you said the radio it comes with might be locked to not allow LTE. If you can flash an AT&T radio without issue then you'd be able to see if it works.
If I were to guess I'd say it would have the right band since it's basically the same phone that AT&T sells.

Does it at least get hspa+ and 3G? I can wait for lte.

fix-this! said:
Does it at least get hspa+ and 3G? I can wait for lte.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should. Just put an AT&T SIM in and see.

petard said:
It should. Just put an AT&T SIM in and see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be going to AT&T tomorrow to test before I switch carriers.

fix-this! said:
Why's that? AT&T says I will be able to use lte since my area has it. If not I probably won't do this. As I've said I've read mixed responses. Could I flash AT&T radios to utilize it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The AT&T rep you spoke to definitely isnt informed on the hardware issue.
If you are switching over you should just sell those two phones you have and just buy new ones since its new activation Im sure you can get a good price on the phones

chousayz said:
The AT&T rep you spoke to definitely isnt informed on the hardware issue.
If you are switching over you should just sell those two phones you have and just buy new ones since its new activation Im sure you can get a good price on the phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I understand its not hardware, it's because of a radio limitation currently. Lte isn't enabled yet on the t-889. That's why I asked if I could flash a AT&T radio. As long as I get 4g and 3G ill switch. The whole point was to save $$ on buying new devices.

fix-this! said:
From what I understand its not hardware, it's because of a radio limitation currently. Lte isn't enabled yet on the t-889. That's why I asked if I could flash a AT&T radio. As long as I get 4g and 3G ill switch. The whole point was to save $$ on buying new devices.
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Click to collapse
Well please understand it's hardware. Been that way forever
Sent from my SGH-I777 running AOKP

brandonarev said:
Well please understand it's hardware. Been that way forever
Sent from my SGH-I777 running AOKP
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Well as long as I get 3G and decent hspa+ speeds ill be happy. I'll be getting the s4 anyways when it comes out. I don't have lte anyways with tmobile lol.

[Q] Anyone using the Verizon version with GSM or AWS sim cards yet?

Hey guys. I know this phone is new to verizon still but has anyone had any luck trying this out on Tmobile yet? I can't seem to find any information on there being a difference in innards between the Verizon and ATT or Tmobile variant.

I've been using it on metropcs but I can't figure out how to get mms or data faster the edge.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app

NSRpxndxhou said:
I've been using it on metropcs but I can't figure out how to get mms or data faster the edge.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll have to find a way to manually enter MetroPCS APN settings. A SIM card by itself usually only provides the most basic connection settings for a phone to use.

Hello, I have a Verizon phone, which I unlocked and I am using with MetroPCS sim card. Everything works except I don't have 4G. I have internet but not 4G. Some ideas how I can fix that and actually use the 4G? Thanks!

dohcvtec said:
Hello, I have a Verizon phone, which I unlocked and I am using with MetroPCS sim card. Everything works except I don't have 4G. I have internet but not 4G. Some ideas how I can fix that and actually use the 4G? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no fix. The m7vzw does not get the receive the proper frequency for it. Verizon blocks some radio frequency bands. ****in verizon.

Can't blame Verizon for not allowing other frequencies they don't use on their phones. They have the phones made for their service. So why can't they have it their way?

Actually, I can blame them. It isn't like they give you the phone free. We pay for them. It would be nice if they stopped modifying them to prevent them from using all the functions built into the standard model. Not just radio bands, but the FM radio also. And the fact you can't use htcdev is also BS.

ccarr313 said:
Actually, I can blame them. It isn't like they give you the phone free. We pay for them. It would be nice if they stopped modifying them to prevent them from using all the functions built into the standard model. Not just radio bands, but the FM radio also. And the fact you can't use htcdev is also BS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at the flip side, if you were the carrier wouldn't you have a hard time diagnosing phones...lets say you have 100 different roms. It would be a nightmare to do tech support for a ROM that was not built by them, hence the lock down (look @ Apple). Although you pay for the phone, there should be some type of baseline quality control over the network that Verizon needs to have over their phones. Its like saying you're paying for a Ferrari but you hate the MPG so you want to do an engine swap to a civic engine to achieve 40-50 mpg. Yes, is it possible to do it...maybe...but you wouldn't get the same performance you would expect from a Ferrari.
Yes, I totally hate the fact that you can't use HTCDev, thankfully I was lucky enough to have been one of the few people who was able to use HTC Dev before they blocked the numbers for Verizon. I think they should allow HTC Dev but allow the typical one year warranty on the hardware only...but that's only wishful thinking...=(

T-Mobile to Verizon?

If I unlocked my phone, would I be able to keep my GS3 and switch to Verizon service?

Paulx777 said:
If I unlocked my phone, would I be able to keep my GS3 and switch to Verizon service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope need a CDMA phone
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

Actually yes you should be. Yes this is a surprise. But Given Quad band it seems to work. Unlock the phone, test with a ATT sim to make sure it indeed is. Then try Verizon Sim.
You may have to reboot couple of times. Also may need to go into Settings>Advanced > Networks > Search for a Network Operator.
The wording may be different on your Rom.

Perseus71 said:
Actually yes you should be. Yes this is a surprise. But Given Quad band it seems to work. Unlock the phone, test with a ATT sim to make sure it indeed is. Then try Verizon Sim.
You may have to reboot couple of times. Also may need to go into Settings>Advanced > Networks > Search for a Network Operator.
The wording may be different on your Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had heard that this was the case- good to know if I should ever decide to jump ship to Verizon. I think many people (including myself) got used to hearing in the past that this was not possible due to Verizon phone being CDMA & not using SIM cards, but I guess this is changing with newer phones that support more bands...

Perseus71 said:
Actually yes you should be. Yes this is a surprise. But Given Quad band it seems to work. Unlock the phone, test with a ATT sim to make sure it indeed is. Then try Verizon Sim.
You may have to reboot couple of times. Also may need to go into Settings>Advanced > Networks > Search for a Network Operator.
The wording may be different on your Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rcsrich said:
I had heard that this was the case- good to know if I should ever decide to jump ship to Verizon. I think many people (including myself) got used to hearing in the past that this was not possible due to Verizon phone being CDMA & not using SIM cards, but I guess this is changing with newer phones that support more bands...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still need a CDMA capable phone.. There is phones that can do both I understand that, the Verizon s3 has gsm capabilities for example and I have personally seen it working with simple mobile, but I highly doubt the T-Mobile s3 supports CDMA.. I don't think quad band has anything to do with it to be honest, but no problem if I get proven wrong, we can all learn something
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

The OP can surely try and post the results.
I do belive T-Mo version of S3 does match VZW Version at least in this aspect.