Related
A question came up on the us forum for Defy about the different software builds until finally a Moto-mod came in with this. It's intriguing in that apparently the Defy has all band capability, but the software build limits the choice. Here's the quote:
"Each Blur Version for the Defy is all Carrier and Regional Specific like for instance For US T-Mobile Customers its 3.6.19.0 however for UK T-Mobile Users I think the latest version is 2.51 Other parts of europe are using 2.34 without MotoBlur and so on and so fourth, the main difference is Carrier installed apps and the confusing part, from what i've expierenced with the phone, Its the first phone i've ever seen with a software controlled universal radio supporting all bands, however its software tells it which band to use, for instance if you 2.21 and 2.51 UK versions are using UMTS 900/2100 where US's 3.6.190 is using AWS 1700/2100. there are ways if you look to obtain version 2.51.1 however this isn't the place to look on instructions on how to do it because its against the forum rules, is unsupported and with 2.51 if for whatever reason you wanted to downgrade you couldn't unfortunatly."
WHAT.
Software defined radio?
If this is for real the hackers SHOULD REALLY HAVE A FIELD DAY with this phone.
It's a shame they're too busy with the Samsungs and HTCs of the world..
There's quite a difference between true software defined radio (most radios these days are sort of there, as they are most commonly some embedded chip with custom firmware but nothing like a Linux kernel) and being able to switch frequencies to be used
nupi said:
There's quite a difference between true software defined radio (most radios these days are sort of there, as they are most commonly some embedded chip with custom firmware but nothing like a Linux kernel) and being able to switch frequencies to be used
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not an expert, but the basic thrust of this was that all Defy phones are identical and capable of all frequencies, but the firmware defines which can be used. Therefore it seems -- to this novice mind -- that change the firmware change the phone.
The other, related issue is the frustration of some Euro phone owners who really know nothing about differences in 3G frequencies. buy a phone and presume they can use them in the US (as one can with an iPhone). Those of us who prowl these forums are basically smart enough to know that before you buy a phone we have to be sure we can actually use it -- but 90% of buyers buy a phone presuming they can.
Okay well can someone on the forum test this out? You'd need the ability to try and access both sets of frequencies.
Example: You're in Australia and you have a Defy from Telstra which you've also unlocked. Your stock firmware supports 850/AWS/2100. You should be able to get an 850 MHz signal from Telstra's NextG network. Now, if you put in an Optus SIM and visit an area with 900 MHz 3G coverage but not 2100, you'll find the phone drops to EDGE or gets no signal.
So at this point, take a nandroid backup, and flash a 900/2100 firmware or replace the radio files with ones from such a firmware. Now repeat the same test... does it successfully register on Optus at 900 MHz?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Radio issues...
Strictly on the band issue, I don't think they are that apart. A good radio would be able to handle it without being full SDR.
I agree partly on the point that these radios are somehow SDR for they do change the frequencie ranges by changing firmware.
A full SDR would be able to change even to CDMA or something else, not only the band!
If you want to challenge someone for doing something about it, ask for a full tri-band version of the Defy radio! (That I would ask for too!)
I intend to use my Defy originally 850/1900 over a 2100 network.
Well that's is my humble guess.
KMur said:
A full SDR would be able to change even to CDMA or something else, not only the band!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, as if you go into the INFO menu and select "set preferred network type" one choice (which it will not allow) is CDMA. But it's there.
Which version of the Defy is UMTS 850/1900? I thought there was only 850/1700/2100 and 900/2100.
Also, pretty much all Androids have CDMA as a listed option, not because they're compatible, but because it's a testing menu that was designed to be applicable to a wide variety of phones.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Forgive a relative noob, but are Desire GSM and Desire CDMA ROMs different? I have an Incredible but am trying to index Desire ROMs for http://www.heylisten.org/ROMs/android and don't know whether to categorize them differently. The Inc, of course, along with almost everything else, has only one version, so there's no question there, but I'm stumped on the Desire. I don't want to confuse anyone, but I don't want to force users to reflash unnecessarily. Thanks in advance for answers!
CDMA and GSM are different types of mobile networks. Because of their different way of functioning, phones need have specific hardware and drivers to be able to use the network. That said, a CDMA phone will not function using a GSM network and vice-versa. Usually, networks are GSM (all over Europe, and I don't think there is any country in the world which has only CDMA networks). The only CDMA's I know of are USA's Sprint and Verizon, though I don't know much about Asia and Canada.
The ROM's are different when it comes to the radio, and a bad radio WILL brick the device, so you should definitelly state which one are for CDMA and which for GSM (there's a chatch here: since a lot of the Disire's are GSM, you could specify all ROM's are for GSM, unless stated they're for CDMA).
Hi. I recently bought an Xperia Play from eBay but I later discovered that it is an R800i model and not compatible with Telstra NextG (850mhz band I beleive) so I am stuck using older GSM networks (no regular 3g out here) meaning I rarely get any signal (at least when I'm at home). Is the hardware between models identical meaning it is possible to flash to an R800a ROM or official Telstra ROM (whatever its called) to fix this? I searched the forums and google but I couldn't find an R800a ROM, is there a reason for this? Can it be done yet? Let me know
The hardware radio is different, i/a roms will flash fine between the two because at this stage radios are not being flashed..
Sorry for the bad news
Sent from my R800i using XDA Premium App
Oh well thanks anyway...I might have to switch to optus or something then...
Reviving this thread instead of starting a new one.
Is there a way to change the radio of a R800i to support Tesltra's NextG? I swapped radios all the time on my Desire and am wondering if the same is possible on the Play...
Look up all the bands for the different play versions, flash the firmware that has it if there is one?
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
no, you cant, r800i has an 900mhz radio and r800a is 850mhz, you can buy a telstra xperia play at kmart atm for $200 telstra locked prepaid.
Most of the roms i use my r800a are actually r800i roms but they offer better market support, so its best to use them, imo.
Hey Maelstrom, but when you change your rom to a 800i, does your frequency changes to 900mhz?
No, the Radio isn't touched when u change roms, if it was flashed with a 900mhz radio the radio would just not work until you flashed it with the correct 850mhz software.
Consider the R800a and r800i firmware completely interchangeable for the most part, but as I mentioned earlier, market support is better on the r800i roms, so that's why I use it.
Hello fellow Canadian GSIII owners: please see below and note which forum you should be looking in for ROMs for your devices:
AT&T forum: SGH-I747 (AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus and SaskTel)
T-Mobile forum: SGH-T999 (T-Mobile, Wind, Mobilicity and Videotron)
Sprint forum: SPH-L710 (Sprint only)
Verizon forum: SGH-I535 (Verizon only)
Developers, please put carrier support in the title of your threads. Thank you!
---------------------------------------
Hello XDA,
Can we please get an android development forum for Rogers, Bell, Telus and Wind? Rogers/Bell/Telus phones are SGH-I747M and the Wind version is the SGH-T999, but they all have different basebands and stock ROMs. Trying to put Canadian threads in AT&T and Sprint forums will result in a big mess.
Alternatively, instead of separating by carrier, separate by model number. Keep all the I747 development threads in one forum and T999 threads in another. Then people can put the carrier into the title of the post.
Just something to think about.
Thanks!
I agree. But AFAIK, the Wind/Mobilicity/Videotron S3 is the same as T-Mobile's, not Sprint's.
TLS2000 said:
I agree. But AFAIK, the Wind/Mobilicity/Videotron S3 is the same as T-Mobile's, not Sprint's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed it is. I stand corrected.
TLS2000 said:
I agree. But AFAIK, the Wind/Mobilicity/Videotron S3 is the same as T-Mobile's, not Sprint's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and the Rogers is the same as AT&T's
historically Rogers and AT&T have been interchangeable in almost every aspect on all the devices they shared. Rogers uses the exact same frequencies as AT&T, and the devices are the same aside from some minor differences in bloat, lte toggle, and native wifi tether
What about the Telus, does that fall under at&t also?
Thanks
I agree very hard to follow on what is for which phone, not going to take any chances until things are a little more clear. Still have the old S1 to mess with.
rail205 said:
What about the Telus, does that fall under at&t also?
Thanks
I agree very hard to follow on what is for which phone, not going to take any chances until things are a little more clear. Still have the old S1 to mess with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T, Rogers, Bell and Telus have the same phone, the SGH-I747. But just because it's the same hardware does not mean it's the same software. It may or may not have different basebands and certainly has different carrier customizations. As Pirateghost mentioned, AT&T removes some features in its ROM (software), the most important being, at least for me, the ability to tether. So if you flash a rooted AT&T ROM on your Canadian device, it will most likely work but you will lose features(!) That's why we need to be very clear about what carrier each ROM is for. Furthermore, if you flash the wrong baseband (i.e. flash a Rogers baseband on a Bell phone), your phone may not work as a phone or it may connect to the wrong network and you will be charged roaming fees. At the moment, I can see that AT&T has a different baseband version from Bell, but Rogers and Bell seem to have the same baseband version. Are they interchangeable? I have no idea. Anyway, it's better not to mix these things up. That's why separate forums are a great idea.
As a SaskTel customer coming from the international i9000, these forums are very confusing and not very organized. I would definitely support more organization.
I guarantee that you won't roam on the other carrier if you flash the wrong baseband (Telus/Bell/Rogers). They don't have roaming agreements in place to allow that. That's why you won't get service with Rogers in some areas where Bell does have service.
TLS2000 said:
I guarantee that you won't roam on the other carrier if you flash the wrong baseband (Telus/Bell/Rogers). They don't have roaming agreements in place to allow that. That's why you won't get service with Rogers in some areas where Bell does have service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is how it was with the i9000. If I flashed the wrong baseband (for example, a US modem that did not support 850 band), I would just have no reception when I left the city.
Sasktel, Bell, Rogers, Telus all have the AT&T version with tethering left in.
Jsick said:
That is how it was with the i9000. If I flashed the wrong baseband (for example, a US modem that did not support 850 band), I would just have no reception when I left the city.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. Either way, flashing the wrong baseband is a bad idea.
Pirateghost said:
and the Rogers is the same as AT&T's
historically Rogers and AT&T have been interchangeable in almost every aspect on all the devices they shared. Rogers uses the exact same frequencies as AT&T, and the devices are the same aside from some minor differences in bloat, lte toggle, and native wifi tether
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except this time around, it seems that there is a slight difference between the two in terms of software, and enough so that I've read posts of people having issues when using at&t based stuff on their rogers phones.
ootz0rz said:
Except this time around, it seems that there is a slight difference between the two in terms of software, and enough so that I've read posts of people having issues when using at&t based stuff on their rogers phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been here before with the vivid, skyrocket, and the one x. You can ignore anything I say but I HAVE dealt with this stuff before.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
So is it safe to say that you can flash the Stock Rom or Custom ROMs for T-Mobile T999 on Wind Mobile's T999V. And at most you lose Roaming and/or a few features?
I already see that there is one or two ROMs that are confirmed for multiple carriers.
A dedicated Canadian Forum is a great idea! There is so much information floating around out there with the multiple variations of the sgs3.
Pirateghost said:
I've been here before with the vivid, skyrocket, and the one x. You can ignore anything I say but I HAVE dealt with this stuff before.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a Rogers user (and relatively new to Android) it freaks the hell out of me to flash custom ROMs based on the AT&T version, because I'm sure I *will* lose tethering and the ability to turn off LTE.
That's the stupid thing - it'd be rather simple to have subforums dedicated to the canadian devices, because the software is different (not only the bloatware, but apparently some more stuff too) and the baseband is also different, which could lead to problems down the line, no?
TimeKillr said:
As a Rogers user (and relatively new to Android) it freaks the hell out of me to flash custom ROMs based on the AT&T version, because I'm sure I *will* lose tethering and the ability to turn off LTE.
That's the stupid thing - it'd be rather simple to have subforums dedicated to the canadian devices, because the software is different (not only the bloatware, but apparently some more stuff too) and the baseband is also different, which could lead to problems down the line, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a rom is done the right way you won't lose any functionality. You can't honestly believe that at&t users don't want those features. I prefer to build all my roms from a rogers base for the simple reason that it is less work for that functionality.
PS. Any rom dev should know better than to force a modem/radio/baseband change on their users.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk 2
BlackDino said:
Sasktel, Bell, Rogers, Telus all have the AT&T version with tethering left in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might be true but if you check your firmware versions, they aren't the same as AT&T's.
Also, I have flashed most of the international radio's on my older I9100 and never had a problem in Canada or US when travelling. They may not be customized for that country but they do work.
I PMd one of the mods with a link to this thread. There seems to be interest in a forum for Canadian carriers, so let's see if we can make it happen.
By the way thanks to everyone chiming in with their two cents. I am not a developer, and although I've been around xda a while, it was always as a user. I''ve written a guide or two on how to root and flash devices, but it was always based on other people's work. So I am learning all this as I go along.
I come from the desire z/g2 forums. G2 is t mobile, The desire z is run on multiple networks globally. Baseband are set by the phone, not the radio (I think that is the same thing as a modern?). On my Desire z running on Rogers, I flashed T-Mobile radios and international radios which worked on Rogers no problem.
Features of a rom are determined by the dev, if you don't like something, flash something else or restore your nandroid backup. Read the op and ask the dev if you are unsure about any features on a Rom.
I would think the only models that should be separated in forums are the international version, totally different processor and maybe Verizon cdma. From a sheer volume of users standpoint, further division is warranted. You think this is bad, wait until Verizon and At&t widely launch, this current setup will be complete chaos.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using XDA Premium HD app
I just got my T-Mobile variant m8 and had been sticking to the rather limited rom selection in my variants forum, but I discovered the general HTC One_m8 forum had tons of roms that supported GSM and CDMA phones. I'm feeling a bit confused, since any phone I've had previously never had been on multiple carriers. If a rom in the general android development section says it supports gsm variants ( using my brain when selecting, of course), will I be able to just change APNs to make it work with my network?
Apologies for noobiness, I'm just finding the world of roms again after my last phone had none.
themacman1000 said:
Apologies for noobiness, I'm just finding the world of roms again after my last phone had none.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not a stupid question, by any means. And the answer is not simple either.
Any ROM intended for GSM versions of the M8 should be safe to flash, and will for the most part work (and if fact may work perfectly). The hardware for all GSM versions is essentially identical aside from cosmetic differences.
However, some folks have gotten slower data speeds on ROMs not intended for their carrier. In particular, I've seen this mentioned by some folks using "international" based ROMs on the AT&T version. Your mileage may vary, and it might not be an issue for you. I don't want to discourage you from using any particular ROMs; but just want you to be aware.
Flashing the most recent radio for your carrier may or may not help, and is probably the smart move. s-off required to flash a radio manually, alternately can be installed by official OTA or RUU, and your phone may already be up to date.
In any case, stay away from ROMs intended for the CDMA versions of the M8 (Verizon, Sprint) as the hardware is actually different, and I've seen folks brick from accidentally flashing things meant for the wrong hardware version M8 (CDMA vs. GSM).
redpoint73 said:
Its not a stupid question, by any means. And the answer is not simple either.
Any ROM intended for GSM versions of the M8 should be safe to flash, and will for the most part work (and if fact may work perfectly). The hardware for all GSM versions is essentially identical aside from cosmetic differences.
However, some folks have gotten slower data speeds on ROMs not intended for their carrier. In particular, I've seen this mentioned by some folks using "international" based ROMs on the AT&T version. Your mileage may vary, and it might not be an issue for you. I don't want to discourage you from using any particular ROMs; but just want you to be aware.
Flashing the most recent radio for your carrier may or may not help, and is probably the smart move. s-off required to flash a radio manually, alternately can be installed by official OTA or RUU, and your phone may already be up to date.
In any case, stay away from ROMs intended for the CDMA versions of the M8 (Verizon, Sprint) as the hardware is actually different, and I've seen folks brick from accidentally flashing things meant for the wrong hardware version M8 (CDMA vs. GSM).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you redpoint, that helps a lot actually.
I swear I saw you on the HOXLs forums when I had that phone... Am I crazy?
themacman1000 said:
I swear I saw you on the HOXLs forums when I had that phone... Am I crazy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are those 2 things mutually exclusive?
Yes, that was me. I was on that forum a lot and maintained the Index thread.