Did t-mobile finally switched their 3g/4g frequencies to use any compatible ATT device? if,so, can I use my unlocked i747 with tmo 4g prepaid plan?
As I understand it, an AT&T phone won't be able to take advantage of T-Mobile's HSPA+ 42Mbps even if they have switched. T-Mobile's network is a work in progress, there's not telling if they have or have not. Try finding a coverage map?
Medlock87 said:
As I understand it, an AT&T phone won't be able to take advantage of T-Mobile's HSPA+ 42Mbps even if they have switched. T-Mobile's network is a work in progress, there's not telling if they have or have not. Try finding a coverage map?
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Actually, it's a little more complicated than that. What T-Mo is going through is a two step process: first, 'refarming' (which will reallocate AWS (EDGE) channels to LTE Band 4, and also turn on the AT&T access), and then next year rolling out their LTE. AT&T phones use the same channels/bands, so the refarming is all that's necessary to access HSPA+; unfortunately, the refarming is going on now and isn't complete in more than about 12-15 markets. However, my home market (Chicago) is listed as "promised" but changing by the day, and I am now routinely getting the magic 4G light on my status bar (however, not in farther out suburbs and the like). This is in contrast to just a month ago, where it only seemed to work in the Loop. So, in other words, check with (ahem) sources around the Web that are doing a good job of tracking what markets are being worked on and which ones are live. If you're not in a major metropolitan area, you'll probably have a wait. I just got the phone November 9th, and for this market, it's been pretty much perfect timing.
Related
I currently have a GSM Galaxy Nexus with a T- Mobile Prepaid Data plan ($30 - 5GB). I love the phone and service but I do live in an area were if I leave the city my signal drops to EDGE or nothing at all. I have been thinking about trying AT&T instead to help with reception issues.
Will switching to an AT&T plan help out with roaming? I check with T-Mobile and my current plan does not have roaming included.
Also, building penetration is extremely poor. Outside I can get between 5-6 mbps down and up. Going inside drops performance down to 1.5-2 mbps down and up. Is this a T-Mobile specific issue? Will switching to AT&T help with building penetration?
Building penetration is a gsm thing. Switch to CDMA if you want better penetration. Gsm goes further from the tower but is less effective through buildings
It actually has more to do with the spectrum you're using rather than CDMA vs. GSM. AT&T has deployed their 800mhz spectrum across much of the US and if you're using it rather than the 1900mhz spectrum they also use, your service will be better when in buildings. Also, GSM 3G is a WCDMA technology which makes the GSM vs. CDMA argument a moot point.
tizio13 said:
I currently have a GSM Galaxy Nexus with a T- Mobile Prepaid Data plan ($30 - 5GB). I love the phone and service but I do live in an area were if I leave the city my signal drops to EDGE or nothing at all. I have been thinking about trying AT&T instead to help with reception issues.
Will switching to an AT&T plan help out with roaming? I check with T-Mobile and my current plan does not have roaming included.
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Well, the reason why your T-Mobile plan doesn't have roaming is because its Prepaid. Prepaid plans (with any carrier) very very very rarely include roaming. If you were to go to a full-price AT&T (proper) service, you'll be paying 3-4x as much as your Prepaid T-Mobile account, but yes you'll get better coverage.
If you simply choose to go to an AT&T MVNO Prepaid account (such as Straight Talk), you'll probably get better coverage (AT&T footprint is larger), although you don't get roaming still. It really does depend on your area and what carriers offer good service. In reality, AT&T could be just as bad as T-Mobile in your area.
Also, building penetration is extremely poor. Outside I can get between 5-6 mbps down and up. Going inside drops performance down to 1.5-2 mbps down and up. Is this a T-Mobile specific issue? Will switching to AT&T help with building penetration?
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It's because T-Mobile runs HSPA+ on AWS, which is 1700/2100mhz. The higher the frequency, the harder time it has getting through walls, hills, etc.. AT&T won't be dramatically better, as it runs on 850mhz & 1900mhz, so you'll still be relying on high mhz spectrum. It'll never fare inside buildings as well as Verizon and AT&T's LTE rollout, which is in the 700mhz band.
timgt said:
Building penetration is a gsm thing. Switch to CDMA if you want better penetration. Gsm goes further from the tower but is less effective through buildings
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Actually, it just depends on the frequency its running on...
timgt said:
Building penetration is a gsm thing. Switch to CDMA if you want better penetration. Gsm goes further from the tower but is less effective through buildings
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Click to collapse
lol, wrong. T-Mobile's 3G is on a higher frequency. (band IV)
To the OP: T-Mobile postpaid can sometimes roam on AT&T. Prepaid does not. Such is life with T-Mobile USA.
Not a big deal for me - I have great T-Mobile coverage - but certainly it's not good enough for people who don't spend a significant amount of time in densely-populated metropolitan areas.
Has anyone else found the following web site with instructions on setting up a 4G/3G/Edge switch on the Web
(Do a search to find the link)
I tired it and was able to get the switch, but I have not been able to try it on 4G(LTE) yet as I do not have LTE reception where I live and only have 3G (the phone says 4G, but I know it is 3G+) but will try it at work tomorrow where I can actually get LTE.
But one thing I noticed is that I cannot get EDGE service where I live. I heard that AT&T wanted to get rid of 2G (EDGE). Have they done that already?
Hre is the link:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/nokia-lumia-900-gets-edge-3g-4g-toggle/
Im not sure what you mean about trying it on 4G... the only choices are 4G (LTE) 3G or edge so you get one of the 3.
In my LTE market when I choose 4G I get LTE.
hx4700 Killer said:
Hre is the link:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/nokia-lumia-900-gets-edge-3g-4g-toggle/
Im not sure what you mean about trying it on 4G... the only choices are 4G (LTE) 3G or edge so you get one of the 3.
In my LTE market when I choose 4G I get LTE.
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On AT&T, there are 4 types of data. 2G/EDGE, 3G, "4G"/3G+/HSPA+ and LTE.
We all know about 2g and 3g, but many people like you don't know about the difference between "4g" and LTE.
This whole thing was started by T-Mobile, because this was the early days of LTE, and Sprint was advertising it's WiMax network as 4G, T-Mobile decided to use a technology called HSPA+ and brand it as 4G. Initially, AT&T scolded T-Mobile for this move, but as soon as it was decided HSPA+ could be considered 4G, AT&T rapidly built up a network of this, almost as large as their 3G network.
HSPA+ is basically a faster version of 3G, hence why it's often called 3G+. However, AT&T tries to advertise it as 4G so they can boast they have the largest 4G network, even though Verizon leads the charge with the most LTE sites. HSPA+ is a bit faster than 3G, but doesn't hold a candle to LTE. However, it does have it advantages, such as being compatible on the iPhone 4S, and unlike Verizon, on AT&T, if you loose LTE coverage, you can fall back on HSPA+, where as on Verizon you fall back on their CDMA network (Which is still slower than AT&T's GSM network).
So over all it's good and leads to faster overall experience, unless of course you're in LTE coverage 24/7, then it doesn't matter that much. My (and others) only problem with this is AT&T branding it as 4G, which tricks consumers.
These days, both AT&T and T-Mobile branded devices display "4G" for *any* UMTS connectivity, instead of 3G/H.
It's lame.
My 900 has this switch in the settings without the need for any hacks
you hit #data# and then hit the ... button at the bottom and set up the toggle between speeds. Then restart the device, go under settings>cellular> select data speed.
With this device's data speed selection, 2G= edge, 3g= HSPA+/UTMS, 4G= LTE. Eventhough ATT modified the registry so that UTMS shows 4G at the top of the device, when you select 3G in the speed selection, you are only making the phone connect to HSPA+/UTMS
hx4700 Killer said:
Hre is the link:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/nokia-lumia-900-gets-edge-3g-4g-toggle/
Im not sure what you mean about trying it on 4G... the only choices are 4G (LTE) 3G or edge so you get one of the 3.
In my LTE market when I choose 4G I get LTE.
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Hey, they stole my article that I originally posted on Mobility Digest. (www.mobilitydigest.com). They even took my screen shot. I purposely took that shot when my phone was showing "G". Oh well. Btw, it does work.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express
Before anybody says anything on this matter and so your opinion is not biased from the title, heres a short video showcasing T-mobiles HSPA+ against ATT's LTE on their respective GSIII's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia5iBxqsjW8&feature=player_embedded#!
As you can see from that video, or if you skipped it, Tmobile's current Data network was toping around 11mbps while ATT's LTE was pretty behind at 5mbps. Thats only download speeds, and upload speeds were in favor of ATT's LTE but download is more important than upload in my opinion. At the same time though if a user is receiving better download speeds on their HSPA+ network, would it matter if they won't be able to link into the LTE network in the future?
This was confirmed by a tmobile spokesman. I just thought people should know, as this should play a role into people's buying decision. I have not bought mine yet and tried to on the first day but it was sold out. I am waiting for the next batch on the 27th.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57460125-94/t-mobiles-pricier-samsung-galaxy-s3-will-not-get-lte/
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/06/t-mobile-samsung-galaxy-s3-skips-lte-party/
ATTs LTE is WAY faster than tmobile's HSPA+, that was either a faulty unit, or a terrible area. My girlfriend is on an ATT Note and she gets an easy 55MBPS down...
I don't care about LTE, I mean TMobile isn't even getting it till like mid 2013 right? and 11mbps is fine for me, I don't know who actually uses faster data than 11 to 15 (I actually get 15mbps down on tmobile where I am).
This is a complete non-issue for most people I think.
Okay, so I have my Galaxy Note 2 and here is the problem. I'm ONLY getting edge data. Now according to Wikipedia TMo's HSPA/HSAP+ runs on the 1900MHz band (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Mobile_USA#Radio_frequency_spectrum_chart) which the phone is suppose to support. I assume I got the international version, though I got it from Newegg.com and it came with a US Charger and everything.
Can anyone help with this, is there a way to fix it, via any rooting means, etc? I'm ungoddly disappointed as I use my phone a LOT...i can't even use maps because I'm getting like 20K/s on Edge and that's just disgusting.
Unfortunately for you my friend the phone needs to support the 1700/2100 aws band. The international version that you have does not support it.
The best you can hope for is for tmobile to get there 1900 spectrum refarmed in your area to hspa+.
If I were you I would try sending the phone back and just get the Tmobile version when it's released tomorrow.
The only other option would be to sign up with at&T. You will get hspa speeds with them. Or buy the straight talk at&t SIM.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
busab said:
Unfortunately for you my friend the phone needs to support the 1700/2100 aws band. The international version that you have does not support it.
The best you can hope for is for tmobile to get there 1900 spectrum refarmed in your area to hspa+.
If I were you I would try sending the phone back and just get the Tmobile version when it's released tomorrow.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
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Well.......damn...I can't afford to buy the phone straight out, I bought this one from Newegg using my bill me later credit card. So I didn't have to pay anything down either....this actually blows.
Is the wiki completely wrong? It says the 1700/2100 band is for LTE starting 2013. But the 1900MHz band began service in 2011. So are some areas of the US on 1900 and others on 1700/2100 still? Is there some where you can find out what band your area is on if that's the case?
Thanks for the update, btw.
Kaanha said:
Well.......damn...I can't afford to buy the phone straight out, I bought this one from Newegg using my bill me later credit card. So I didn't have to pay anything down either....this actually blows.
Is the wiki completely wrong? It says the 1700/2100 band is for LTE starting 2013. But the 1900MHz band began service in 2011. So are some areas of the US on 1900 and others on 1700/2100 still? Is there some where you can find out what band your area is on if that's the case?
Thanks for the update, btw.
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There are only like 3 cities where the 1900 band will get HSPA+ on T-mobile.
Right tmobile is currently updating the 1900 band to hspa+. It is live in some areas like Las Vegas and parts of new york, while it is still in testing in many other areas across the country.
If you are not getting hspa+ speeds in your area I think it's safe to say it's not available in your area just yet.
This website shows areas where hspa+ has been spotted. But not officially live so they may not be available 100% of the time.
http://www.airportal.de/
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
Well this makes me kind of sick to my stomach. I'll have to decide what I want to do. They are planning on rolling out LTE in 2013...so...maybe HSPA+ will be moved to 1900MHz soon. Because I'm really loving this phone and don't really want to give it back and not be able to afford the official TMo version.
Choices Choices....
I'll have to see what Tmobile will let me do as well. Guess this is the price you pay for trying to keep up >.>
T-mobile claims the 1900 mhz refarming would be completed by the end of 2012. Check airportal.de (sorry noobs can't post outside links) to see if you are near any refarmed areas then test just to see if the hspa+ radio is working on your Note 2. I get 7-11mbps DL and 2-3 mbps UL on my Note 1 when there is hspa+ coverage.
I'm waiting to for the T-mo version to launch which is what I'll probably get. I believe it will have a faster hspa+ radio at 42mbps compared to the the international version's 21mbps. And possibly future proofed with LTE.
Baratheonist said:
T-mobile claims the 1900 mhz refarming would be completed by the end of 2012. Check airportal.de (sorry noobs can't post outside links) to see if you are near any refarmed areas then test just to see if the hspa+ radio is working on your Note 2. I get 7-11mbps DL and 2-3 mbps UL on my Note 1 when there is hspa+ coverage.
I'm waiting to for the T-mo version to launch which is what I'll probably get. I believe it will have a faster hspa+ radio at 42mbps compared to the the international version's 21mbps. And possibly future proofed with LTE.
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Baratheonist - Are you referring to the version that's launching tomorrow? I can't get H+ to work consistently on my Note 1 (int'l unlocked) so I am looking at the T-Mo version as well.
doubledragon said:
Baratheonist - Are you referring to the version that's launching tomorrow? I can't get H+ to work consistently on my Note 1 (int'l unlocked) so I am looking at the T-Mo version as well.
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For my international GNote 1 , I get Edge speeds in my place. Doesn't matter because I use the home wifi. The nearest H+ coverage is a mile away, which I drove to, just to test H+ and it worked and was consistent. It was in a mall with a T-mobile store in it. So I guess that factors in.
Even if the GN2 launches tomorrow, I will wait and see how it turns out with other users. No reason for Tmo not to support GN2 on its 42mbps H+..
Some claim 20-27mbps DL speeds on units that support 42mbpsH+. With that speed - it's even faster than my home wifi, I don't need to look for LTE now although future proofing is very much welcome.
Baratheonist said:
For my international GNote 1 , I get Edge speeds in my place. Doesn't matter because I use the home wifi. The nearest H+ coverage is a mile away, which I drove to, just to test H+ and it worked and was consistent. It was in a mall with a T-mobile store in it. So I guess that factors in.
Even if the GN2 launches tomorrow, I will wait and see how it turns out with other users. No reason for Tmo not to support GN2 on its 42mbps H+..
Some claim 20-27mbps DL speeds on units that support 42mbpsH+. With that speed - it's even faster than my home wifi, I don't need to look for LTE now although future proofing is very much welcome.
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Thanks for the info. The Tmo store next to my office confirmed it's in stock for tomorrow. Based on those speeds I would have no hesitation switching over from VZ since I'm off contract. I'm going to attempt to stick to my plan of waiting for Nexus 4 announcement.
Dont feel bad, im stuck with GT7000 5month from now which only got 2g onTmo but good news are Tmo keep update their 1900 spectrum like the other said.All we do now is patient ..
I did contact TMo today to find out about the GNote 2 being released tomorrow. The lady told me, at my local store, the projected price point is $699, which means I'd have to put down 299 to finance it for the 24 months >.> Not exactly looking forward to that. Then I will have to call another location to request the RMA for this international unlocked one.
I've used the Note 2 today on wi-fi all day and I have to say, I truly love this phone...hence the reason I'm willing to drop the cash on it at my local store. Though this is my first Phablet, I didn't get the Note 1, simply because I wanted to see where they went with it....I see and I'm impressed, now.
Sell your N7100. You should get at least $650 and go buy the T-Mobile version.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Not gloating or nothing but i seen the note on even wirefly.com on the 23rd and still wouldnt buy it. After all the problems i have with tmobile customer service alone, i couldnt even imagine trying to get any help i wouldnt already know from their less than even sad customer service for a phone not bought directly from them. But lucky me knew that note 2 was going to be released online an hr after midnight pacific time in the u.s, and as of today i the happiest phone owner around,lol. the reason for my response, i stopped buying cell phones from anywhere but the company whom i will have service with due to the fact it's purposely not mentioned about compatibility so you have trouble returning it, cause they give you their old, " well it was in our 1000 page agreement you need a damn lawyer to go over. I also have a phone like yours but from verizon, a droid incredible 2 with many different bands, that i use once and a while for something different on my t-mo account, but once i step out the city, i cant even open something as simple as googles homepage cause i lose the 3g signal and drop to like -2g,lol. But the closer i get to the Illinois/Wisconsin border the 3g signal damn near runs on 4g speeds, and i even swear one time while driving the h symbol popped up but changed back to 3 really quick. But when im in Milwaukee, Wisconsin i get great 3g signal. Screw 2013 and waiting, just have whatever fun you can with it now via wifi seeing there will be no world after it ends on Dec 21st, 2012, lol. Edit: had to add it kind of sucked the phone was supposed to be 299.99 on tmobile which was supposed to be the highest selling price with the others projected to sell it for 199.00. But they sure as hell where happy to use us wanting this phone against us and charging 443.00 after tax just for the phone. And thats at the lowest price they possibly had on a 2yr contract.
Ive heard with root there's a mod or setting change to access Hspa+.
Anyone heard anything.
To OP...I still have my Sprint MiFi at $35/mo w/unlimited data,then
spend $30 on TMobiles prepaid plan. Doing that for now.
Consistant 5-6 Mps
Baratheonist said:
For my international GNote 1 , I get Edge speeds in my place. Doesn't matter because I use the home wifi. The nearest H+ coverage is a mile away, which I drove to, just to test H+ and it worked and was consistent. It was in a mall with a T-mobile store in it. So I guess that factors in.
Even if the GN2 launches tomorrow, I will wait and see how it turns out with other users. No reason for Tmo not to support GN2 on its 42mbps H+..
Some claim 20-27mbps DL speeds on units that support 42mbpsH+. With that speed - it's even faster than my home wifi, I don't need to look for LTE now although future proofing is very much welcome.
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Click to collapse
They are only getting those speeds as its fairly empty at the moment
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
I'm having the same issue
Anybody wanna buy a intl note :/
I've been searching around for information, but I can't seem to find a super clear answer. Could someone educate me on the ability for the factory unlocked M8 to work on the T-Mobile network? More specifically, will I be able to continue to get their LTE service or at least their HSPA+ with this model? Thanks in advance!
Here is the link to the specific model/specs of the unlocked version.
http://shopamerica.htc.com/cell-phones/productdetail.htm?prId=42977
Reports indicate that the unlocked and developer editions use ATTs sku so you won't get AWS HSPA but you will get AWS LTE. It will work but it isn't ideal as soon as you lose LTE signal chances are much better you'll be on edge than with a tmobile branded phone. Most markets are pretty good with 1900 HSPA coverage but it's still not as good as their AWS HSPA coverage.
Alright, so here's what I can say now for at least the metro Detroit area.
1) Yes, I'm getting LTE, so woot! Hitting in the 20-28Mbs range on the speed test app. This is on part with what I was getting on my T-Mobile S4 variant.
2) Turning off LTE and switching over to GSM/WCDMA only mode via the mobile data settings pane, I'm getting around 7Mbs down. Again, on part with my area in my experience. It does look like it's switching over to HSPA, not Edge with I can totally deal with.
Now, I've not had it long enough to know how it will work in real life, but so far, so good.
Juvenall said:
Alright, so here's what I can say now for at least the metro Detroit area.
1) Yes, I'm getting LTE, so woot! Hitting in the 20-28Mbs range on the speed test app. This is on part with what I was getting on my T-Mobile S4 variant.
2) Turning off LTE and switching over to GSM/WCDMA only mode via the mobile data settings pane, I'm getting around 7Mbs down. Again, on part with my area in my experience. It does look like it's switching over to HSPA, not Edge with I can totally deal with.
Now, I've not had it long enough to know how it will work in real life, but so far, so good.
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What are the benefits of getting the Dev edition over the unlocked besides unlocked bootloader?
ILoveYouAll said:
What are the benefits of getting the Dev edition over the unlocked besides unlocked bootloader?
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That's really the only difference between the two. Since the price is the same, I don't see any reason to go for the standard unlocked. I see a lot of posts of people switching over to the regular unlocked one to get it shipped a little earlier.
kokocabana said:
That's really the only difference between the two. Since the price is the same, I don't see any reason to go for the standard unlocked. I see a lot of posts of people switching over to the regular unlocked one to get it shipped a little earlier.
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Click to collapse
Aye. This is the only reason I switched my order. I figured it was a choice between 5 minutes of work to unlock the bootloader myself or 2-4 weeks waiting for stock to roll in.
I'm okay with waiting a bit. Hopefully the first few batches will have the most defects and the one I get will be better.
Juvenall said:
Alright, so here's what I can say now for at least the metro Detroit area.
1) Yes, I'm getting LTE, so woot! Hitting in the 20-28Mbs range on the speed test app. This is on part with what I was getting on my T-Mobile S4 variant.
2) Turning off LTE and switching over to GSM/WCDMA only mode via the mobile data settings pane, I'm getting around 7Mbs down. Again, on part with my area in my experience. It does look like it's switching over to HSPA, not Edge with I can totally deal with.
Now, I've not had it long enough to know how it will work in real life, but so far, so good.
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Pretty sure you live in an area that T-Mobile has been refarming their 1700 to 1900, so you should be good with not only LTE, but HSPA+ (using the refarmed network band).
Before switching to T-Mobile late last year, I was on AT&T (in New York City). I made the jump, along with my device from AT&T, as soon as T-Mobile refarmed in my area. So I was getting both LTE and HSPA+ perfectly like before.
As long as folks live in an area that has been refarmed for the 1900 band, you'll get HSPA+. But T-Mobile has been refarming for quite sometime now their 1700 band. So HTC not fully supporting it in the unlocked model is not a huge surprise.