Develop Bugs

[Q] Why use WiFi where LTE is faster?

I just got a Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 (had HTC Evo 3D before). I always used to use WiFi in my office with the Evo 3D since it was faster. Now I have a super fast LTE connection in the office -- isn't it better to use that (Sprint = unlimited data) and leave the WiFi off there?

CMeys said:
I just got a Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 (had HTC Evo 3D before). I always used to use WiFi in my office with the Evo 3D since it was faster. Now I have a super fast LTE connection in the office -- isn't it better to use that (Sprint = unlimited data) and leave the WiFi off there?
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LTE might not be as reliable as WiFi (it will depend on location and the building) plus LTE is a bigger battery drain then WiFi.
Generating random authentication keys

jamcar is right. I would have said battery drain first then reliability.

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There is also a sticky thread regarding LTE you may want to post in
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and kennyglass123 strikes again..

Because you're limited to lTE areas, and wifi would be consnistent and less battery drain. I don't have lte in my area yet, but i can pull 35mb down on my 5ghz band, so i'm not complaining.

Hmmm what about the fact that not everyone has unlimited data:banghead:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app

People keep saying LTE uses more battery than Wifi, but that is the opposite of my experience. Those of you posting that should post some proof of those claims.

Brava27 said:
Hmmm what about the fact that not everyone has unlimited data:banghead:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
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This is the Sprint section, so all of us have unlimited data.

[Q] LTE Clarification please

I've been seeing a lot of LTE buzz going around in the tmo GN2 forums and I want to get some clarification.
My understanding is that there are two versions of the T-Mobile Galaxy Note II: SGH-T889 and the SGH-T889V, with the latter being LTE-enabled. I have the SGH-T889. The buzz leads me to believe that the regular SGH-T889 does have dormant LTE capabilities which can be activated by flashing the newest radio. Is this true? Or is it only the SGH-T889V that has LTE?
I purchased this phone fully expecting zero LTE capability. All I really wanted was ~15Mbps, and HSPA+ typically delivers between 13-18Mbps depending on recenption in my area, so I'm pretty satisfied. However, I believe T-Mobile does have LTE in my area, so if my phone does have LTE capabilities that can be activated, that would be a nice bonus.

jerm1027 said:
I've been seeing a lot of LTE buzz going around in the tmo GN2 forums and I want to get some clarification.
My understanding is that there are two versions of the T-Mobile Galaxy Note II: SGH-T889 and the SGH-T889V, with the latter being LTE-enabled. I have the SGH-T889. The buzz leads me to believe that the regular SGH-T889 does have dormant LTE capabilities which can be activated by flashing the newest radio. Is this true? Or is it only the SGH-T889V that has LTE?
I purchased this phone fully expecting zero LTE capability. All I really wanted was ~15Mbps, and HSPA+ typically delivers between 13-18Mbps depending on recenption in my area, so I'm pretty satisfied. However, I believe T-Mobile does have LTE in my area, so if my phone does have LTE capabilities that can be activated, that would be a nice bonus.
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Flash the radio
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jerm1027 said:
I've been seeing a lot of LTE buzz going around in the tmo GN2 forums and I want to get some clarification.
My understanding is that there are two versions of the T-Mobile Galaxy Note II: SGH-T889 and the SGH-T889V, with the latter being LTE-enabled. I have the SGH-T889. The buzz leads me to believe that the regular SGH-T889 does have dormant LTE capabilities which can be activated by flashing the newest radio. Is this true? Or is it only the SGH-T889V that has LTE?
I purchased this phone fully expecting zero LTE capability. All I really wanted was ~15Mbps, and HSPA+ typically delivers between 13-18Mbps depending on recenption in my area, so I'm pretty satisfied. However, I believe T-Mobile does have LTE in my area, so if my phone does have LTE capabilities that can be activated, that would be a nice bonus.
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889 is tmo, 889V is americas hat (canadian)
You are correct in believing that 889 has dormant lte capabilities.
Search for teshs thread and upgrade ur modem.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=37329397
[ROM][STOCK][4.1.2][T889] XXDMA6 || Deodexed & Odexed, Rooted, Busybox [01/28/13]
Sent from my SGH-T889 using XDA Premium HD app

Thanks for the clarification! Will flash the newest modem.

Reviving my own thread here, but I need some LTE clarification, part 2.
So, I'm in San Jose, which is suppose to be one of T-Mobile's LTE markets, and I have the latest modem (UVBMB4) running Sons of Android build 4. My network mode is set to "LTE/GSM/WCDMA", but I don't see any indication that I'm connected to LTE. My status icon is still H/H+, but one of the known issues is that the icon can be "wonky". Is there anyway to confirm wether or not I am connected to LTE?

jerm1027 said:
Reviving my own thread here, but I need some LTE clarification, part 2.
So, I'm in San Jose, which is suppose to be one of T-Mobile's LTE markets, and I have the latest modem (UVBMB4) running Sons of Android build 4. My network mode is set to "LTE/GSM/WCDMA", but I don't see any indication that I'm connected to LTE. My status icon is still H/H+, but one of the known issues is that the icon can be "wonky". Is there anyway to confirm wether or not I am connected to LTE?
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if you get lte is will show 4g in the status bar since ur on cm

deeznutz1977 said:
if you get lte is will show 4g in the status bar since ur on cm
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I don't see 4G, just H/H+. Any idea what I'm doing wrong here?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda-developers app

jerm1027 said:
I don't see 4G, just H/H+. Any idea what I'm doing wrong here?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda-developers app
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Click to collapse
Nothing you don't have lte where your at
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

deeznutz1977 said:
Nothing you don't have lte where your at
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
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I find that hard to believe. Again, San Jose is suppose to have LTE, and it has been reported to reach Fremont, which is 20 minutes from where I live in (North) San Jose.
One thing I've noticed, if I have the LTE option enabled, I'll lose all data connection after the phone sleeps a while. In order to restore data, I have disable LTE, and reset the radio (enable then disable Airplane mode).
I'm fairly convinced it's a software bug or configuration issue, but I suppose I could be in an LTE dead-zone. I also doubt that, since I live in a fairly open area, and cell phone reception has never been an issue for me, not CDMA, GSM, HSPA, or WiMAX, which was notorious for spotty reception. Not to mention, according to OpenSignal, it works down the street from where I live.
http://opensignal.com/reports/t-mobile-lte-rollout/

Why dont you go/call near by tmobile store and check.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

jerm1027 said:
I find that hard to believe. Again, San Jose is suppose to have LTE, and it has been reported to reach Fremont, which is 20 minutes from where I live in (North) San Jose.
One thing I've noticed, if I have the LTE option enabled, I'll lose all data connection after the phone sleeps a while. In order to restore data, I have disable LTE, and reset the radio (enable then disable Airplane mode).
I'm fairly convinced it's a software bug or configuration issue, but I suppose I could be in an LTE dead-zone. I also doubt that, since I live in a fairly open area, and cell phone reception has never been an issue for me, not CDMA, GSM, HSPA, or WiMAX, which was notorious for spotty reception. Not to mention, according to OpenSignal, it works down the street from where I live.
http://opensignal.com/reports/t-mobile-lte-rollout/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because they say you have LTE in your area doesn't mean it's fully up and operational just yet. T-mobile is still working on getting ALL the towers upgraded for LTE. Give it time and you'll probably see LTE start popping up more and more.
And before you make comments about how they should have been prepared blah blah blah; go check the LTE thread because it's been done MANY times.

[Q] HSPA+ speed goes down after LTE launch

Dont know If anyone noticed this. I live in wash dc and 3 days ago LTE went live here. The thing is this though: I have a galaxy s3 with tmobile which supports hspa+ 42MB but not LTE and before the greatest LTE lauch here I was having like 21MB/s down and 3MB/s up on HSPA+ network. However after the LTE lauch my speeds on HSPA+ network went way down to constant 8MB/s down and 2.2MB/s up no matter what time u do the test no matter what server u use. I just hope this is not just another Tmobile trick to force me to update to an LTE ready device to be able to access higher speeds after I just got the not LTE ready galaxy s3. Can anyone in an LTE area confirm this?

My speeds are a little slower
And I'm getting more 3g and less HSPA
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

It all depends on spectrum licenses in your area. Where T-Mobile has to refarm their spectrum for LTE it will cut HSPA down to 21mbps.

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Well now that sucks. So my speeds go down when they turn on LTE? How lovely...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

I think the problem is stemming from excess bandwidth consumption by those markets that have LTE and people with Note IIs ready to use it. The backhaul needs to be increased. Just like what happened when they launched UMTS... Give it some time. Or go get an LTE phone.

I live in KC and have not experienced any drop. My market and towers were confirmed by tmo to be running both.

The issue really is how good your PCS (1900) coverage is... The refarming will slide the AWS HSPA to 1900 to make room for LTE. This will cause problems in markets that don't have full PCS licenses or decent PCS coverage. And obviously indoor speeds will be slower when on PCS due to building penetration.

I also remember reading that part of the reason T-Mobile's HSPA+ was so fast was the fact that it uses one frequency for upload and the other for download, whereas PCS just uses one frequency for both. So I guess we will be as average as the rest now?

No data rate change here
jcbofkc said:
I live in KC and have not experienced any drop. My market and towers were confirmed by tmo to be running both.
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Same for LV. I have not noticed any major drop in data speed.

Testing Tmobile with unlocked S3

Hey All,
I've placed a Tmobile sim in my Att unlocked GS3. Ive seen many posts stating that the Att version wont get 4g on tmobile but 4g works fine for me; regularly I can get 5 to 10mb downloads. My issue though is that Im sometimes dropping from 4g to 2g/Edge then back to 4g. Should my phone be dropping to 3g instead ? Im quite shocked when it happens since I usually had strong 4g not far away at all.
Is the general consensus to to simply get a Tmobile device instead of bringing something from at&t? I really dont want to root the phone or flash roms at this point since Im just testing out the service.

goon3r said:
Hey All,
I've placed a Tmobile sim in my Att unlocked GS3. Ive seen many posts stating that the Att version wont get 4g on tmobile but 4g works fine for me; regularly I can get 5 to 10mb downloads. My issue though is that Im sometimes dropping from 4g to 2g/Edge then back to 4g. Should my phone be dropping to 3g instead ? Im quite shocked when it happens since I usually had strong 4g not far away at all.
Is the general consensus to to simply get a Tmobile device instead of bringing something from at&t? I really dont want to root the phone or flash roms at this point since Im just testing out the service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are in a refarmed market from the sound of it. The reason you go from 4g to EDGE is because the refarmed spectrum is most likely not through your entire coverage area.
T-Mobile uses the 1700 band, which at&t does not support, as their primary 4G deployment. This is why it is always recommended to get a T-Mobile S3.
That said, there is a firmware image for at&t's GS3 that unlocks T-Mobiles AWS band not just for 4G but for LTE as well. It is in the at&t forum - you will have to read the entire thread to get the relevant files and information on how to do it. Note that this CAN brick your phone permanently so only attempt it if you are willing to take that chance and you are familiar with download mode and ODIN.
The upside of using that hack is that the T-Mobile S3 doesn't support LTE at all.
Sent from my SGH-T999

Thanks for the clarification and info about the hack. Assuming I get a Tmobile device, should I expect to see a 3g icon instead or would it still say 4g?

goon3r said:
Thanks for the clarification and info about the hack. Assuming I get a Tmobile device, should I expect to see a 3g icon instead or would it still say 4g?
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Click to collapse
It'll say 4g.. A 4g icon really means 3g/h+ and a 4g lte icon means lte
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Thanks!

Here is the link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771021&page=25 Start reading from post #246

[Q] Galaxy S3 4g question

I can't find an answer on this subject, so forgive me if it has been answered.
I have the older version of the Galaxy s3 from t-mobile that doesn't get LTE . I know that LTEis available in my area, if I root my phone, can I get access to LTE instead of just 4G, or am I stuck with 4g/3g forever?
Thank you!

Nope, the original T999 is not capable of LTE. That's why they had to release a new model. It was either that or stop offering the S3 at all, which wouldn't make for a very good business decision. But if you happen to be in a market where they upgraded to hspa+42, you will be able to get very close to, sometimes better than LTE speeds. If not then it's just hspa+21, which most would agree is still very good for mobile data!
Sent from my SGH-T999V using Tapatalk 4

t3tr1s_ said:
I can't find an answer on this subject, so forgive me if it has been answered.
I have the older version of the Galaxy s3 from t-mobile that doesn't get LTE . I know that LTEis available in my area, if I root my phone, can I get access to LTE instead of just 4G, or am I stuck with 4g/3g forever?
Thank you!
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Click to collapse
No, your phone doesn't have the hardware to support LTE. Therefore, you're limited to HSPA+ unless you get the T999L.

I'm not sure why LTE is so highly valued. I download 1-1.8 MB/s on HSPA. Yes, megabytes.