I've got an unlocked AT&T Galaxy SIII, and I only get Edge for my data connection. Do I need to flash a T-Mobile radio? APN settings look okay, as far as I can see.
Also, can I flash a T-Mobile ROM and use Wifi calling, or is that asking too much?
I searched and couldn't find anyone asking these questions in the Q&A forum....
there are already like 3 threads below this one concerning the 3g/4g topic on a att sg3 working on tmobile. No it will not work because att sg3 does not support the aws tmobile frequencies. you will only be able to get edge. NOW if it were a tmobile sg3 on att then it would work.
All the threads I could find in this form on my search went the other way: T-Mo phone on AT&T.
Does anyone actually know whether a T-Mobile modem on an AT&T phone would work or not? I looked at the main board in my phone, and it's labelled with both SGH-I747 and SGH-T999, which makes me think the internals are fully identical.
I'd like to know this too! I also have an AT&T Galaxy SIII and was seriously considering moving to T-Mobile because of the new unlimited data plan they were going to start offering on 9/5. I had also looked through this forum, and could only find questions of the situation the other way around, T-Mob GSIII phone on AT&T network.
Basically, was wondering:
- is there a hardware limitation that APN settings and/or installing a new modem will not get me good data speeds?
- would I need to burn a new modem?
- I'm assuming at minimum I'd need new APN settings, and am assuming T-Mobile would be able to help with that. Right?
Thanks, really interested in being able to do this!
---------- Post added at 03:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 PM ----------
Hey oblib - looks like there's an unfortunate hardware limitation we won't be able to get around: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771021
oblib__ said:
All the threads I could find in this form on my search went the other way: T-Mo phone on AT&T.
Does anyone actually know whether a T-Mobile modem on an AT&T phone would work or not? I looked at the main board in my phone, and it's labelled with both SGH-I747 and SGH-T999, which makes me think the internals are fully identical.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you see that the boards were labelled the same?
AFAIK, the radio's are different and flashing a T-mobile modem could possibly brick your device. It would be much easier to buy a T999 and use it on T-Mobile (it'll even work on AT&T 3G if you want to switch back, no LTE though).
The SoCs are different. Flashing a T-Mobile modem will not give you T-Mobile HSPA.
Looks like I didn't take any pictures of that side of the phone while I had it open, and I'm not eager to pop it open again. It definitely listed both models on the PCB. If I'm remembering correctly, it's on the same side as the SIM and SD card slots, so it's just matter of removing the back plate to see it, no more disassembly than that.
joshnichols189 said:
The SoCs are different. Flashing a T-Mobile modem will not give you T-Mobile HSPA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have part numbers for the two? According to wikipedia, they are the same Snapdragon S4 MSM8960. I just find it hard to believe that they would be different, though if they have the same pinout, that would explain the markings on my PCB.
This has been rehashed countless times. They are not the same phone. If the phones were the same, people would not be in here asking if they were the same. The MSM8960 comes in more than one flavor, with different modem parts. Yes, the CPU's are the same, but the MODEMS ARE DIFFERENT. It is an S4 Qualcomm part that comes in many different configurations. Instead of just reading until you get to some information that reinforces your preconceived notion, try reading a little further into the links at the bottom of the page and elsewhere. Seriously, if you really really don't think that Qualcomm would make different versions of the same chip, or configure them differently for the hundreds of different customer requirements, then fine, don't believe me, but it defies logic. Sorry about being an ass.
oblib__ said:
Looks like I didn't take any pictures of that side of the phone while I had it open, and I'm not eager to pop it open again. It definitely listed both models on the PCB. If I'm remembering correctly, it's on the same side as the SIM and SD card slots, so it's just matter of removing the back plate to see it, no more disassembly than that.
Do you have part numbers for the two? According to wikipedia, they are the same Snapdragon S4 MSM8960. I just find it hard to believe that they would be different, though if they have the same pinout, that would explain the markings on my PCB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-Mobile version uses an MSM8260a. This SoC is the Krait with an adreno 225 GPU and no LTE. The MSM8960 has all three.
Sent from my SGH-T999
joshnichols189 said:
The T-Mobile version uses an MSM8260a. This SoC is the Krait with an adreno 225 GPU and no LTE. The MSM8960 has all three.
Sent from my SGH-T999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the useful response. For those looking for even more detail, here's a link: http://www.qualcomm.com/sites/default/files/common/snapdragon-specs-06.07.12.pdf
According to that the MSM8960 (chip in I747?) has a "World Mode" modem, while the MSM8260a has a UMTS modem.
Edit: Ah, and I see both of you have answered this question before, which I would have found if I searched on MSM8260a. The threads have been dead for over a week, so I'm not surprised I missed them, but thanks for answering the same questions again.
T-Mobile HSPA not support i747 right now.
oblib__ said:
I've got an unlocked AT&T Galaxy SIII, and I only get Edge for my data connection. Do I need to flash a T-Mobile radio? APN settings look okay, as far as I can see.
Also, can I flash a T-Mobile ROM and use Wifi calling, or is that asking too much?
I searched and couldn't find anyone asking these questions in the Q&A forum....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile uses a frequency for their 3g and 4g network that only T-Mobile branded phones have. Any other GSM phone will never get 3g or 4g on T-Mobile network unless it supports the T-Mobile band, which I believe is 1700MHz. It's limited by hardware. Nothing you can do to the phone will give you the 3g/4g you have to have a T-Mobile branded device.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
elesbb said:
T-Mobile uses a frequency for their 3g and 4g network that only T-Mobile branded phones have. Any other GSM phone will never get 3g or 4g on T-Mobile network unless it supports the T-Mobile band, which I believe is 1700MHz. It's limited by hardware. Nothing you can do to the phone will give you the 3g/4g you have to have a T-Mobile branded device.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not completely true. Since The Galaxy SII and the Galaxy Note (AT&T) have software radios, you can flash a radio from the TMO GSII and get 4G on TMO. I was running mine and many customers of mine like that for months until i switched phones.
Making your AT&T i747 GS3 work on T-Mobile 4G (without rooting)
oblib__ said:
I've got an unlocked AT&T Galaxy SIII, and I only get Edge for my data connection. Do I need to flash a T-Mobile radio? APN settings look okay, as far as I can see.
Also, can I flash a T-Mobile ROM and use Wifi calling, or is that asking too much?
I searched and couldn't find anyone asking these questions in the Q&A forum....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works fine for me, the area i'm in does not support 4G on the 1900MHz frequency so I can definitely confirm my stock non-rooted AT&T i747 galaxy SIII is working on T-Mobile USA's 4G data network. I've uploaded a video to youtube of how to get this to work, should also work for the AT&T i317 note II as well. I can't post links on here I guess so just type my youtube username and search my videos.
youtube username: 6italia0
Video title: How to get AT&T gs3 i747 to work with Tmobile 4G (no root!)
6italia0 said:
It works fine for me, the area i'm in does not support 4G on the 1900MHz frequency so I can definitely confirm my stock non-rooted AT&T i747 galaxy SIII is working on T-Mobile USA's 4G data network. I've uploaded a video to youtube of how to get this to work, should also work for the AT&T i317 note II as well. I can't post links on here I guess so just type my youtube username and search my videos.
youtube username: 6italia0
Video title: How to get AT&T gs3 i747 to work with Tmobile 4G (no root!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you just got it to work because T-Mobile launched 1900Mhz 4G starting 2013?
doutlaw said:
I think you just got it to work because T-Mobile launched 1900Mhz 4G starting 2013?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive got a friend whos got this working, im gonna try and let you know!
I just picked up a t-mobile sim on ebay for a florida trip in a few weeks. Im hoping to get the $3 a day plan for my unlocked Galaxy s3 and hoping to get 1900mhz 4g service.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2
Same with the s2 flash an tmobile radio combo on the skyrocket and get 4g but with the s3 might be different
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
IT CAN WORK (see details!)
elesbb said:
T-Mobile uses a frequency for their 3g and 4g network that only T-Mobile branded phones have. Any other GSM phone will never get 3g or 4g on T-Mobile network unless it supports the T-Mobile band, which I believe is 1700MHz. It's limited by hardware. Nothing you can do to the phone will give you the 3g/4g you have to have a T-Mobile branded device.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is NOT TRUE, please be careful when making such "absolute" statements -- I just got a ATT i747 from craigslist, and it DOES work with the $30 Walmart plan - on 4G and LTE (depending on location).
The TRUE ANSWER IS -- IT DEPENDS -- if you live in an area that was recently upgraded to LTE (in my area was 02/13), you can get LTE/4G since t-mobile added support for it on 700 MHz (band 4) AWS (unverified - source: youtube video named "Tmobile 4G on att i747 gs3 data fix". Sorry I am not allowed to post web-links yet).
Anyway, I DO get 4G/LTE, I guess I was lucky
momchi said:
This is NOT TRUE, please be careful when making such "absolute" statements -- I just got a ATT i747 from craigslist, and it DOES work with the $30 Walmart plan - on 4G and LTE (depending on location).
The TRUE ANSWER IS -- IT DEPENDS -- if you live in an area that was recently upgraded to LTE (in my area was 02/13), you can get LTE/4G since t-mobile added support for it on 700 MHz (band 4) AWS (unverified - source: youtube video named "Tmobile 4G on att i747 gs3 data fix". Sorry I am not allowed to post web-links yet).
Anyway, I DO get 4G/LTE, I guess I was lucky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize you resurrected an old thread, and responded to a post that was made a year ago??? Long before LTE rolled out. At the time of his post, he was 100% correct.
I dont think this is the intended way to get your 10 posts btw. There are plenty of recent issues to respond to. Thx.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Hi,
Based on the wikipedia page, the AT&T doesn't support AWS frequencies in HSPA+ but it does support those frequencies in LTE. So I'm assuming the underlying hardware is actually the same, just no AWS HSPA+ support in the firmware.
Has it been proven (or disproven) that the hardware is the same? I've seen a lot of discussion but can't find a clear answer.
Similarly has anyone got an AT&T Note 2 working on T-Mobile (or tried and failed)?
^^^ a user already tried to flash t-mo radio on ATT's i317 and reported unable to get signal. 2G data works on unlocked i317. we still have discussion going on : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2049970&page=2
I would expect it takes more than just changing the radio. Something has to control the radio and the ATT ROM doesn't know about the necessary mode. Can the entire firmware be changed to T-mobile? That's what I'd try if I had more experience and could safely do such things! I don't know if flashing a T-mobile ROM changes everything over to stock T-mobile configuration....if it does that should work if the hardware is indeed the same.
Thanks for pointing out the other thread. Might as well continue the discussion there since you guys have started already.
A couple of questions...
I'm thinking about a Galaxy S3, and had a few questions. Looks like there are a bunch of different variants, and I'm not sure of the differences (or if it matters). I'm using simple mobile, and am looking at both the t999 and I747 for AT&T. Any significant differences? Are they both sim unlockable? Anything else I need to be aware of?
nola mike said:
A couple of questions...
I'm thinking about a Galaxy S3, and had a few questions. Looks like there are a bunch of different variants, and I'm not sure of the differences (or if it matters). I'm using simple mobile, and am looking at both the t999 and I747 for AT&T. Any significant differences? Are they both sim unlockable? Anything else I need to be aware of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Id suggest the T999L. (Its the only one they sell now). It is compatible on more frequencies/bands than the I747, and if you use it on T-Mobile's networks, it has the potential of being twice as fast as the I747. (I747 I believe can only work on the slower of the two LTE bands used, while the T999L can work on both).
They are both unlockable, but the T999L was patched against our unlock method prior to its release. So you either have to get the code from the carrier who sold it to you, or pay someone $5-10 online to do it for you.
DocHoliday77 said:
Id suggest the T999L. (Its the only one they sell now). It is compatible on more frequencies/bands than the I747, and if you use it on T-Mobile's networks, it has the potential of being twice as fast as the I747. (I747 I believe can only work on the slower of the two LTE bands used, while the T999L can work on both).
They are both unlockable, but the T999L was patched against our unlock method prior to its release. So you either have to get the code from the carrier who sold it to you, or pay someone $5-10 online to do it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Looks like the T999L is going for > $100 more than the other 2 on ebay. Not worth it to me. Also have no idea what speeds simple mobile provides. Any difference between the standard T999 and I747? Are you saying that the I747 has LTE capabilities, but the standard T999 doesn't?
That is correct. The T999L replaced the original T999 when T-Mobile rolled out LTE. None of their devices were LTE capable before, because they couldn't use it.
I will say that the I747 using LTE on T-Mobile s networks, may still not get quite as good as even the old T999, if your in an area that has hspa+42. No idea about simple mobile and what they use though.personally, I think either T999 variant will be superior to the I747 when on T-Mobile networks. There are threads where people are trying to force the I747 to use different frequencies because they want better speeds than what they are getting.
And again, there's just no way to know for sure with SM.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
OK. Doing some more research--lots of info out there. Seems that the difference between the T999 and i747 is that the T999 has support in the 1700 band for HSDPA, while the i747 has LTE capability. It appears that T-Mobile is migrating away from the 1700 band in favor of LTE. This chart includes LTE coverage for a bunch of cities, including pretty much anywhere that I spend significant time.
This article indicates that SM should operate on LTE. So, from this info it looks like the i747 might actually be the better option--although I think that either one will work fast enough for my needs. Basically, most anything faster than EDGE is fine for me.
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nola mike said:
OK. Doing some more research--lots of info out there. Seems that the difference between the T999 and i747 is that the T999 has support in the 1700 band for HSDPA, while the i747 has LTE capability. It appears that T-Mobile is migrating away from the 1700 band in favor of LTE. This chart includes LTE coverage for a bunch of cities, including pretty much anywhere that I spend significant time.
This article indicates that SM should operate on LTE. So, from this info it looks like the i747 might actually be the better option--although I think that either one will work fast enough for my needs. Basically, most anything faster than EDGE is fine for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a bit of an update. Got the 747. Getting 9 mbps download speed, which is the same as my wife on the t mobile network (I don't know if hers is lte or not). So, success.