Finally decided to get a T-Mobile US TP2
Q0. Other than the looks, what else is different between the International Unbranded HTC TP2 and the US T-Mobile TP2
Q1. I've been told the US 3G bands are different from the Asian / UK 3G bands. The Asian bands if I'm not mistaken are "HSDPA 900 / 2100". Can anybody cite the US bands? Also I know that 2100 is common for both US and UK... will that be enough to use 3G in Asia?
Q2. Obviously I would need to get the phone SIM unlocked. For once I couldn't find anthing on XDA to unlock the TP2. Any light on that would be great
Q3. I noticed that Hard-SPL is now available for TP2. I'm assuming that means I can flash it with any ROM. Would doing that automatically unlock the phone to be used with any SIM?
Need answers to these real fast guys... got a good deal on eBay.
0. mostly looks and 3g bands
1. tmobile 3g is strictly for tmobile 3g. anywhere else and its edge for you
2. no free sim-unlocker yet
3. Hardspl is for flashing roms...completely separate from sim cards
Oh man... that sux. I was really hoping that atleast one of the T-mobile bands would be compatible with the Asian 3G bands. Do you have any idea what bands T-Mobile operates on?
HSPA/WCDMA
1700/2100 MHz
Note the 2100 band is part of AWS which means it's not compatible with Asia 2100. T-Mobile 3G requires both 1700 and 2100 to operate. One band is upload and one is download.
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
What exactly is the AWS?
leepriestenator said:
What exactly is the AWS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Advanced Wireless Service, which utilizes band IV (1710-1755 out; 2110-2155 in) for CDMA, UMTS, and LTE
Anyone knows is this phone (USA T-Mobile) works in Europe??
It 100% works on GSM and EDGE (2G and 2.5G)
As for 3G, I assume it may work on the 2100 band in Europe (does anyone know enough to clarify on that). However your operator in Europe may work on another band than 2100, since there are two 3G bans in Europe. Generally operators used 2100 first and then subsequent licenses were other bands. So in Norway, I know both 3G carriers use 2100 exclusively, but you should check with your carrier and clarify that T-Mobile USA supports the EU 2100 band and not just AWS (which is a mix of 1700 and 2100).
Thanks for quick reply. 3G works on WCDMA standard? If it is so, my operator use 2100 mhz so maybe it will be working, it will be my first 3G phone so I'm not sure what I suppose to check.
I found this:
http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/T-Mob...1;jsessionid=2085F63B05DB5B6FFA511D3C33A9EE69
According to this site TMobile touch pro 2 phone use Bands: 1 (2100) & 4 (AWS 1700/2100).
Band 1 is Europe standars so I hope it will be wroking.
I let you know when I get the phone.
Any particular reason you are getting the USA T-Mobile version and not the EU version or one from a local carrier?
Also the T-Mobile version is locked, so you will need to unlock it using the tools on this site.
If you get 3G or not should be pretty obvious. If an H or 3G icon appears, you have 3G. Otherwise if the data icon shows E or G then its only getting 2G.
the main reason is the price
tmo $450 vs eu $650
Yes main reason is the price. I get this phone for 270$ in my country it coasts about 550$. I know I must unlock it but first I must get it to my hand.
Will I be ok travelling with this phone to Europe and Canada and getting 3G? Will the bands work? If not, is there something that can be done to make it work? I'm abot to get one and would like to confirm.
Thanks.
tinpanalley said:
Will I be ok travelling with this phone to Europe and Canada and getting 3G? Will the bands work? If not, is there something that can be done to make it work? I'm abot to get one and would like to confirm.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the t-mobile rhodium supports UMTS 1700 and UMTS 2100 so if canada and/europe use those bands for UMTS (3G) then yes it will work. If not, the device is quad band GSM so no problem using voice and EDGE for data.
Also make sure the device is unlocked if you plan to put another carrier's SIMcard in the device.
tinpanalley said:
Will I be ok travelling with this phone to Europe and Canada and getting 3G? Will the bands work? If not, is there something that can be done to make it work? I'm abot to get one and would like to confirm.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about Canada...but TmoUSA 3G bands are different than Euro-3G.
Unrelated, but worth mentioning: the T-Mobile USA international roaming charge for data is steep -- $15/megabyte.
If you got a Euro sim card that would fix the $, but not the radio (for 3G).
The T-Mobile version supports AWS and 2100 3G so works fine in Europe and most other locations. Had 3G T-Mobile and 3G Orange in the UK, but I would suggest a local SIM too. For the UK, both T-Mobile UK prepaid and Virgin UK prepaid work in a locked T-Mobile TP2 or get it unlocked for more choices.
jamssx said:
The T-Mobile version supports AWS and 2100 3G so works fine in Europe and most other locations. Had 3G T-Mobile and 3G Orange in the UK, but I would suggest a local SIM too. For the UK, both T-Mobile UK prepaid and Virgin UK prepaid work in a locked T-Mobile TP2 or get it unlocked for more choices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You used a T-Mobile USA version of the TP2 in Europe and had a usable 3G data connection?? Hmmm...that's the first I've read of this.
If this is well-known (and if so, maybe I'm just clueless ) can you provide a link to more discussion, that is...uhh...evidence...of it? Not about what bands the USA version supports -- I know that part -- but other reports/disucssion of it actually working.
On the other hand, are there any reports of a Euro-TP2 that can work on 3G bands in the USA?
USA TMO TP2 will work on TMO 3G in USA. It may also work on WIND Mobile for 3G data here in Canada, not sure about voice as they are using some strange network setup.
As the phone is UMTS 2100 capable, it will get 3G data and voice in most places in Europe and Asia.
quid246 said:
USA TMO TP2 will work on TMO 3G in USA. It may also work on WIND Mobile for 3G data here in Canada, not sure about voice as they are using some strange network setup.
As the phone is UMTS 2100 capable, it will get 3G data and voice in most places in Europe and Asia.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried a TmoUSA TP2 in Europe or Asia -- yourself -- and accessed 3G data?
I'm still doubtful, but I actually hope I'm wrong 'cause I'd love to be able to get 3G data on my TmoUSA TP2 while traveling in Europe...as long as I get a Euro sim card. Otherwise, faster data just means more roaming-$$.
MCbrian said:
Have you tried a TmoUSA TP2 in Europe or Asia -- yourself -- and accessed 3G data?
I'm still doubtful, but I actually hope I'm wrong 'cause I'd love to be able to get 3G data on my TmoUSA TP2 while traveling in Europe...as long as I get a Euro sim card. Otherwise, faster data just means more roaming-$$.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the specifications. It supports both 1700 and 2100 UMTS. That means it will work in Europe. ALL Touch Pro 2's have 2100MHz UMTS and quadband GSM, every single one of them, including the CDMA ones. The carrier specific ones add certain bands.
European Touch Pro 2s have UMTS 900
CDMA Touch Pro 2s have CDMA bands
T-Mobile USA has 1700MHz AWS band
AT&T has 850/1900MHz UMTS
TP2 overseas vs versions
I believe, as I've use phones often in the US and overseas, that T-mobile uses 1700 UMTS in the US, but that their TP2 is also 2100 UMTS. Just as At&t Tilt uses 850 & 1900 UMTS (At&t requires both frequencies), but also has 2100 UMTS. As such, both should work in most European, African and Asian countries (verizon and sprint you,re mostly screwed).
I believe the older Tytn II (tilt) was sold world wide as a 850/1900/2100 phone, so you could basically buy it anywhere and use it here on At&t only for 3g or T-mobile Edge only. Unfortunately, the TP2 is sold mostly as a 900/2100 UMTS worldwide outside the US, so you are stuck buying the US versions that correspond to the US networks. The bonus of the At&t tilit 2 version is that it is 850/1900/2100, so it will work almost anywhere. The drawback of the T-mobile TP2 is that 1700 is used by almost no one and while you can use it in most of the aforementioned places, you can't use it in the Americas outside the US & Canada.
Check out this handy wiki UMTS page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Deployed_UMTS_networks
Just a note, I almost always pick up a pay as you go sim in other countries- much cheaper and very little hassle. Worth it for anything over a week stay. Maybe not as much so in some of Western Europe.
drjby4 said:
I believe, as I've use phones often in the US and overseas, that T-mobile uses 1700 UMTS in the US, but that their TP2 is also 2100 UMTS. Just as At&t Tilt uses 850 & 1900 UMTS (At&t requires both frequencies), but also has 2100 UMTS. As such, both should work in most European, African and Asian countries (verizon and sprint you,re mostly screwed).
I believe the older Tytn II (tilt) was sold world wide as a 850/1900/2100 phone, so you could basically buy it anywhere and use it here on At&t only for 3g or T-mobile Edge only. Unfortunately, the TP2 is sold mostly as a 900/2100 UMTS worldwide outside the US, so you are stuck buying the US versions that correspond to the US networks. The bonus of the At&t tilit 2 version is that it is 850/1900/2100, so it will work almost anywhere. The drawback of the T-mobile TP2 is that 1700 is used by almost no one and while you can use it in most of the aforementioned places, you can't use it in the Americas outside the US & Canada.
Check out this handy wiki UMTS page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Deployed_UMTS_networks
Just a note, I almost always pick up a pay as you go sim in other countries- much cheaper and very little hassle. Worth it for anything over a week stay. Maybe not as much so in some of Western Europe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct. Apparently they are only able to have 3 3G frequencies (though NTT DoCoMo is currently working on a chip that can handle 8 frequencies!)
At first Europe only used 2100MHz 3G and AT&T had set up on 850MHz/1900MHz. Since those were the only 3 bands, HTC would put all three of those bands in its phones up to the Tilt (Kaiser). Once they made the Raphael though, there was 900MHz 3G in Europe and T-Mobile had chosen the AWS band.
Since they can apparently only put 3 bands in, and Europe now needed two for 900MHz/2100MHz, they could no longer put but of AT&T's frequencies in. So they must have just dropped them.
The AT&T version (FUZE) has 850MHz/1900MHz and also has 2100MHz, which is the dominant band for 3G in Europe. I am not sure if they are using 900MHz there yet, but they decided that was more important to put in the European ones than AT&T's bands.
T-Mobile's 3G phones get AWS and 2100MHz. I think AWS might use 2 of the bands because it is split on 1700MHz and 2100MHz (but a different 2100MHz apparently, maybe low 2100MHz vs high, I'm not sure)
petard said:
Check the specifications. It supports both 1700 and 2100 UMTS. That means it will work in Europe. ALL Touch Pro 2's have 2100MHz UMTS and quadband GSM, every single one of them, including the CDMA ones. The carrier specific ones add certain bands.
European Touch Pro 2s have UMTS 900
CDMA Touch Pro 2s have CDMA bands
T-Mobile USA has 1700MHz AWS band
AT&T has 850/1900MHz UMTS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't just support 1700 and 2100, it uses both to work: 1700 for up/send and 2100 for down/receive. So, how does the Tmo USA radio cope without 1700 band for up/send when it's expecting it?
petard said:
T-Mobile's 3G phones get AWS and 2100MHz. I think AWS might use 2 of the bands because it is split on 1700MHz and 2100MHz (but a different 2100MHz apparently, maybe low 2100MHz vs high, I'm not sure)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, the full story (?) is that T-Mobile uses 1700+2100 (up/down) in the USA (which is what I already understood/knew) and in addition to that pair there's a separate slightly-different 2100 band that's used outside the USA? -- That, I didn't know.
If that's the explanation, that makes sense. But confusing that there's 2 different 2100 bands...
I may have to use some frequent-flyer miles and go check it out...
MCbrian said:
So, the full story (?) is that T-Mobile uses 1700+2100 (up/down) in the USA (which is what I already understood/knew) and in addition to that pair there's a separate slightly-different 2100 band that's used outside the USA? -- That, I didn't know.
If that's the explanation, that makes sense. But confusing that there's 2 different 2100 bands...
I may have to use some frequent-flyer miles and go check it out...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to Wikipedia, UMTS Band I (commonly known as 2100MHz) uses 1920 - 1980 for uplink and 2110 - 2170 for downlink while UMTS Band IV (AWS, 1700MHz) uses 1710 - 1755 for uplink and 2110 - 2155 for downlink.
Band II (1900MHz) uses 1850 - 1910 for uplink and 1930 - 1990 for downlink and band V (850MHz) uses 824 - 849 for uplink and 869 - 894 for downlink. The uplink and download for these are close, unlike bands I and IV.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands
I just assume they are only able to have 3 different frequencies since I have yet to see a UMTS phone with 4 frequencies. But as I wrote this, I'm not too sure because there were phones with Band I, Band II, and Band IV which would mean that there are chips capable for 4 different frequencies? Who knows, maybe someone with actual technical knowledge about this can say.
Also according to that page, there are five different UMTS bands deployed across the world. A bit of a pain. That is more then GSM ever had and who knows if it will grow to even more. LTE also will be coming in before GSM is phased out, so we are going to have to have phones that have GSM, UMTS, AND LTE. GSM will be no problem, quadband has been standard for a while, but having a phone that has both your carriers UMTS and LTE frequencies is going to be tough unless you buy it from your carrier.
What they should have done is just used the band names, and not their frequencies. It would be much easier to know that Europe runs on band I and T-Mobile USA runs on band IV and the T-Mobile Rhodium supports both Band I and Band IV.
I'm trying to buy a GS3 from T-Mobile, but I need it to have AWS 1700/2100, because I'm on Wind Mobile in Canada. But looking on eBay it shows the GS3 to be GSM with no 1700 AWS frequencies. Although, GSM arena does show the following frequencies for the T-Mobile T999:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
But on TMobile's website it doesn't list 1700/2100 AWS, but it does show Band IV (AWS) which I believe is supposed to be 1700/2100 AWS. This is how it shows on the T-Mobile website:
Band (frequency): 850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz;UMTS: Band I (2100);UMTS: Band IV (AWS);UMTS: Band V (850)
But on ALL eBay listings it doesn't list Band IV (AWS) or 1700/2100 AWS. It shows the following:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100
Can someone clarify if the T-Mobile version really has the 1700/2100 AWS frequencies? Appreciate all the help.
Yes. T-Mobile uses the 1700/2100 bands for Their HSPA+ network. It should work fine for you.
Throwing bricks since 2008.....and proud of it.
Babydoll25 said:
Yes. T-Mobile uses the 1700/2100 bands for Their HSPA+ network. It should work fine for you.
Throwing bricks since 2008.....and proud of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the OP's point was that all eBay listings have the phone listed as: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100
If indeed all eBay listings show this, then those phones would not work on Wind. There is no 1700 in that frequency band description. So unless all these eBay sellers got the specs wrong (which would be a really big coincidence) or if indeed TMobile has more than one version, then those Tmobile USA branded phones will not work on Wind Mobile.
Update: I just took a quick look on eBay and all listings do indeed list the phone specs without the AWS 1700 spectrum. But Tmobile's website does show the UMTS Band IV listed in the GS3 specs. And Band IV is another name for AWS 1700/2100. But hey, if every eBay listing is not listing the AWS 1700 spectrum in the specs, then maybe T-Mobile does indeed have 2 different models.
They don't. (well they have 16gb and 32gb versions but, that's irrelevant to this discussion) Ebay sellers often cut and paste descriptions in their listings leaving people confused
T-Mobile uses the 1700/2100 bands. I should know, not only do I have THAT version of the SGSIII....but it must have those bands to get HSPA+ on T-Mobile's network. That's one of the reasons AT&T and most, international versions of phones (One X tegra 3 version comes to mind), ONLY GET EDGE.
The other option is that the listing is for the international SGSIII which IS NOT compatible with T-Mobile's HSPA+ network.
Throwing bricks since 2008.....and proud of it.
band 7 2600 Supported by i337 and m919 band 7 used in Europe and Canada
The i337 (AT&T model) does the same LTE bands as the T-Mobile model. It only lacks AWS HSPA+ (3G), which the mod in this thread enables. I would have gotten the M919, but T-Mobile doesn't sell the 32GB model, plus AT&T variants are generally cheaper.
No model sold in the US (including the i9505G Google Edition) will do 800 or 2600 MHz. The i337M does though (Rogers Canada). Europe uses completely different LTE frequencies than the US.[/QUOTE] END QUOTE
-------------------------------------------------------
Worldwide LTE distribution chart via "en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks"
Freq #
Vodafone Germany Germany 800 20 FDD September 2010 [296][290]
Vodafone Germany Germany 2600 7 FDD August 2013 [297][298][290] Network covers centres of major cities.
M919 Specs ".samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SGH-M919ZWATMB-specs"
Frequencies and Data Type LTE: Bands 1/2/4/5/7/17; HSPA+/UMTS: 850/AWS/1900/2100MHz; GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
I337 Specs "samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SGH-I337ZWAATT-specs"
Frequencies and Data Type LTE: Bands 1/4/7/17; HSPA+/UMTS: 850/1900/2100MHz; GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
The m919 according to this supports 2 and 5 bands that the i337 does not, i am new to this but as i said i picked this phone for international use aswell and would like to know the truth. But according to my information, Vodaphone in Germany uses to main bands 7 and 20. 7 Being the one that the US variant could receive.
since the I337 is basically the same in Canada, i looked up Bell
Bell :
Bell Canada 1700 4 FDD September 2011 [75][76]
Bell Canada 2600 7 FDD March 2012 [77] available in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Toronto for additional bandwidth.
Both 4 and 7 are support by both devices, since 7 is on freq 2600mhz in Canada and is the same I337 as AtnT would it not be right to assume that the phone could get band 7 in europe? It is true that AtnT does not use those bands in the US but that does not mean the phone cannot support them. Furthermore i picked the M919 because of its native AWS support and the 30$ 5GB 4GLTE Tmobile Plan BOYA talk about savings..... I am curious to know if im correct, my research lends me to think I am. Europe uses mostly band 3 and 7! 7 Being the one you want!
Specs for Bells S4
bell.ca/Mobility/Products/Samsung-Galaxy-S4/Specifications.tab
LTE compatibility
700/AWS/850/1900/2100/2600 MHz
HSPA/UMTS compatibility
850/1900/2100 MHz
GPRS/EDGE compatibility
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
They list there LTE in MHz but i believe 2600 IS band 7 which the US variants support. My confusion is that AWS is listed in there LTE part and in the US its under the HSPA part. A little clarification and first hand experience with internation use of US variant S4s would be great for poeple who have trouble getting good information from the other side of the world!!
Worst case tho im sure you can always get texting and calling and stick to Wi-Fi while travelling, but to us super-users, thats like going back to dial up.
Lol why are you copying and pasting my posts? As for your question, AWS is used for LTE on T-Mobile (and in very few areas by AT&T, which is why their devices also do AWS LTE). However, AT&T requests that AWS HSPA+ be disabled on their devices because they only use 850/1900 MHz for HSPA+ and it would only benefit those looking to switch to T-Mobile if they left that 1700 MHz band activated.