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Hi, i've just moved to san francisco recently and i wanna get a new phone with contract. I know nexus is the best right now but which model should i choose? And i wont be buying an unlocked gsm gnex.
Will thank every post with useful opinions!
Thanks
I believe it was Tech TV, but when the iPhone 4 first came out for Verizon, they did a side-by-side comparison of the AT&T model & the Verizon model in San Francisco. They went to various locations around San Francisco testing signal strength, web page load times, uploads/downloads, etc and I recall that all but 1 of the tests came out as Verizon being the winner.
As far as the Galaxy Nexus goes, obviously, you can acquire it for either service. The plus with Verizon is you get 32GB rather then 16GB, although the battery drain is faster(with LTE on) and I believe Verizon's plans are still the most expensive also. Personally, I'm only on Verizon because I've got the no-longer-offered 'unlimited data' otherwise I'd say bye and go to AT&T or T-Mobile. I kinda miss having a GSM phone due to the ease in phone swapping + worldwide functionality(switching to other providers).
voxigenboy said:
I believe it was Tech TV, but when the iPhone 4 first came out for Verizon, they did a side-by-side comparison of the AT&T model & the Verizon model in San Francisco. They went to various locations around San Francisco testing signal strength, web page load times, uploads/downloads, etc and I recall that all but 1 of the tests came out as Verizon being the winner.
As far as the Galaxy Nexus goes, obviously, you can acquire it for either service. The plus with Verizon is you get 32GB rather then 16GB, although the battery drain is faster(with LTE on) and I believe Verizon's plans are still the most expensive also. Personally, I'm only on Verizon because I've got the no-longer-offered 'unlimited data' otherwise I'd say bye and go to AT&T or T-Mobile. I kinda miss having a GSM phone due to the ease in phone swapping + worldwide functionality(switching to other providers).
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So verizon lte is faster? And if i go to another country with a verizon locked gnex i cant use my gnex? That sucks. Now im more confused.
welcome
I have vzw and it works heat for me. art just hot a signal boots in ad a few months ago but VZW is still faster
Sent from GALAXY NEXUS
Thank if helped
craze96 said:
Hi, i've just moved to san francisco recently and i wanna get a new phone with contract. I know nexus is the best right now but which model should i choose? And i wont be buying an unlocked gsm gnex.
Thanks
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Click to collapse
Confused ... You are saying you won't be buying an unlocked gsm nexus and asking whether att or Verizon? Currently the nexus is available only on Verizon. If you want att, you have to buy the unlocked gsm gnex and you have no other option.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
kirdroid said:
Confused ... You are saying you won't be buying an unlocked gsm nexus and asking whether att or Verizon? Currently the nexus is available only on Verizon. If you want att, you have to buy the unlocked gsm gnex and you have no other option.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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Ill wait till it comes to atnt... Anyone can answer my question above?
Oh 1 more thing i love developing my phone (rooting, flashing n etc,) so which one should be best? I really in need a response. Ill thank every useful posts
National coverage and network: Verizon is the best. I'm happy with AT&T since it has decent coverage in major metros and I can tolerate a dropped call here and there. So if your job depend on phone calls and need network everywhere you go, Verizon is better.
International usage: ATT since you can easily swap sim cards. Some Verizon phones are world phones but I believe nexus is not.
Data speeds: nexus is lte on Verizon so it has faster data speeds compared to gsm model. Generally Verizon lte has much better coverage than att. Att just got started on lte. But att hspa speeds are more than enough. I easily get anywhere between 3 - 5 Mbps average speeds on att which is more than enough for me.
Phone choices: I love the fact that I can import unlocked phones and just pop a sim to get it working on att. But if you only buy contract phones then both network has good phone options.
Also on modding with nexus no issues, otherwise both network force manufacturers to lock bootloader. But nowadays it has gotten better with manufacturers providing option to unlock bootloaders after the device is released in a few weeks.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
kirdroid said:
National coverage and network: Verizon is the best. I'm happy with AT&T since it has decent coverage in major metros and I can tolerate a dropped call here and there. So if your job depend on phone calls and need network everywhere you go, Verizon is better.
International usage: ATT since you can easily swap sim cards. Some Verizon phones are world phones but I believe nexus is not.
Data speeds: nexus is lte on Verizon so it has faster data speeds compared to gsm model. Generally Verizon lte has much better coverage than att. Att just got started on lte. But att hspa speeds are more than enough. I easily get anywhere between 3 - 5 Mbps average speeds on att which is more than enough for me.
Phone choices: I love the fact that I can import unlocked phones and just pop a sim to get it working on att. But if you only buy contract phones then both network has good phone options.
Also on modding with nexus no issues, otherwise both network force manufacturers to lock bootloader. But nowadays it has gotten better with manufacturers providing option to unlock bootloaders after the device is released in a few weeks.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the lengthy response i wanna get the at&t coz its cheaper. Also i dont often call or need an internet that fast that but i think i need to wait 2 more months to have it with contract. About the modding, is one faster than the other?
I am thinking of getting the verizon right now. Anymore inputs?
verizon has double data right now so I would jump on it quick
Sent from GALAXY NEXUS
Thank if helped
An entire forum of developers and not one comment about ATT in SF? Amazing!!
TO the OP, other than the above comment regarding National Coverage (verizon is better), which is true, let me speak specifically to SF:
DO NOT get ATT! The network is embarrassing bad in SF, and while I have been outside of SF for about a year now, I am sure others can speak to this. TO be fair, when I left they were investing a few million to patch it up but I am not sure where that was left. I had to move to Verizon for this simple reason alone. There was a reason it was so bad. All the Iphone users during commute hours and the network was not up to par. Lots of anger....
Verizon was great once i switched.
mattwill1 said:
An entire forum of developers and not one comment about ATT in SF? Amazing!!
TO the OP, other than the above comment regarding National Coverage (verizon is better), which is true, let me speak specifically to SF:
DO NOT get ATT! The network is embarrassing bad in SF, and while I have been outside of SF for about a year now, I am sure others can speak to this. TO be fair, when I left they were investing a few million to patch it up but I am not sure where that was left. I had to move to Verizon for this simple reason alone. There was a reason it was so bad. All the Iphone users during commute hours and the network was not up to par. Lots of anger....
Verizon was great once i switched.
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Click to collapse
Im officially getting a verizon nexus when they are open. There is only 1 thing that im concered about. I am here for college and ill return back to my country for a couple of months on summer break. But its ok i think... Ill use my dhd in there thx for the responses guys!
Kryptonian_Knight said:
verizon has double data right now so I would jump on it quick
Sent from GALAXY NEXUS
Thank if helped
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Click to collapse
I know about that offer. Thanks for answering though
mattwill1 said:
An entire forum of developers and not one comment about ATT in SF? Amazing!!
TO the OP, other than the above comment regarding National Coverage (verizon is better), which is true, let me speak specifically to SF:
DO NOT get ATT! The network is embarrassing bad in SF, and while I have been outside of SF for about a year now, I am sure others can speak to this. TO be fair, when I left they were investing a few million to patch it up but I am not sure where that was left. I had to move to Verizon for this simple reason alone. There was a reason it was so bad. All the Iphone users during commute hours and the network was not up to par. Lots of anger....
Verizon was great once i switched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was surprised as well and yes you are right AT&T service is terrible in San Francisco.
I had AT&T since the first iPhone and just recently switched. AT&T was great at home and where I work but was simply infuriating when I would be in the city.
There are still some low speed areas on Verizon in SF but I have had much better luck.
Cnet covered this and did a video on it
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20030274-233.html
Verizon is better
Hi,
I just received an unlocked International Galaxy Note II in the US. Ordered from Handtec in the UK, and the phone appears to be the French model. I have observed what I think is a problem when trying to use the phone on T-Mobile USA.
I put my T-Mobile USA SIM card in the phone, and the phone thinks I am roaming. Uhhhh no. It's a T-Mobile USA SIM card on the T-Mobile USA network. It is NOT roaming. Now, it probably doesn't have any impact beyond the "R" notifier, and a "Roaming" page which shows up on TouchWiz, but it DOES make me feel very uneasy. I have to enable "Data use while roaming" to be able to use data while on my home network!! It's crazy!
To those who will point out, yes, I know that T-Mobile USA has their 3G currently on the AWS 1700/2100 band, which the Note II does not support. I am therefore using EDGE with this phone. (Yes the data speeds suck, but T-Mobile's refarming will make this problem go away in the next few months). Even though I am on EDGE, I am not "roaming" unless the Note II's definition of roaming is different from mine. I am still on the home network, regardless of whether I am on 2G or 3G.
Has anyone else seen a problem like this?
If I can't figure this out in the next day or two, I may return the Note II and just wait another month or so for the T-Mobile US version. (Probably that's what I should do anyway, but I figured the GT-N7100 would get more developer support).
Hope someone can help!
Thanks!
Edit: I forgot to add - I also have and unlocked international Note 1 GT-N7000 and an unlocked iPhone 4. Neither possess the T-Mobile USA 3G band, and neither of which show roaming when I'm using T-Mobile USA. So, either T-Mobile did some funky network work today which changed something, or there is something different (and possibly a bug) about how the Galaxy Note II determines if it's roaming.
Unfortunately I cannot be of any assistance to your issue, just wanted to comment however. I find it very odd that ALL Note II's don't work on every frequency. Bear with me, I'm under the impression that they are identical hardware wise, every version. So, maybe it's a simple matter of flashing a different radio.img? Not that there are any available currently, but there will be shortly. I hope (think) it will be similar to the ATT Note on Tmo. Hopefully it works out better though. We still don't know if the Tmo Note II will be HSPA+42 or not, but it will support next years Tmo LTE.
So, as of now, this is a little bit of a disappointment for Tmo customers looking for the N7100. Hope you can find a workaround for at least HSPA+21 soon :good:
ccampbell1 said:
Hi,
I just received an unlocked International Galaxy Note II in the US. Ordered from Handtec in the UK, and the phone appears to be the French model. I have observed what I think is a problem when trying to use the phone on T-Mobile USA.
I put my T-Mobile USA SIM card in the phone, and the phone thinks I am roaming. Uhhhh no. It's a T-Mobile USA SIM card on the T-Mobile USA network. It is NOT roaming. Now, it probably doesn't have any impact beyond the "R" notifier, and a "Roaming" page which shows up on TouchWiz, but it DOES make me feel very uneasy. I have to enable "Data use while roaming" to be able to use data while on my home network!! It's crazy!
To those who will point out, yes, I know that T-Mobile USA has their 3G currently on the AWS 1700/2100 band, which the Note II does not support. I am therefore using EDGE with this phone. (Yes the data speeds suck, but T-Mobile's refarming will make this problem go away in the next few months). Even though I am on EDGE, I am not "roaming" unless the Note II's definition of roaming is different from mine. I am still on the home network, regardless of whether I am on 2G or 3G.
Has anyone else seen a problem like this?
If I can't figure this out in the next day or two, I may return the Note II and just wait another month or so for the T-Mobile US version. (Probably that's what I should do anyway, but I figured the GT-N7100 would get more developer support).
Hope someone can help!
Thanks!
Edit: I forgot to add - I also have and unlocked international Note 1 GT-N7000 and an unlocked iPhone 4. Neither possess the T-Mobile USA 3G band, and neither of which show roaming when I'm using T-Mobile USA. So, either T-Mobile did some funky network work today which changed something, or there is something different (and possibly a bug) about how the Galaxy Note II determines if it's roaming.
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That happened to me as well using my International Galaxy S3, I dug into it for about a month and trust me, it's something with the phone detecting that it can't connect to the HSPA+ bands it supports, and when it "defaults" down to EDGE it considers it "Roaming". Stop digging for answers, I was at it for weeks, this is the reason.
You wont get charged for roaming or anything though, so use EDGE until T-Mobile's refarming finally happens; I waited for 2 months and nothing, so I jumped ship and got Straight Talk. I use over 15 GB of data a month, no throttling, $45 bucks. :good:
Hope this helps, because NO ONE gave me a straight answer, Dont even bother calling T-Mobile, they're of absolutely no help. I flashed all sorts of custom ROMs, Kernels, Network Tools, Diagnostics, etc. trying to figure it out. It's just the way these Samsung phones (GT-I9300 and N7100 by the looks of it) work when their 3G/HSPA+ bands are not supported.
Cheers!
farfromovin said:
Unfortunately I cannot be of any assistance to your issue, just wanted to comment however. I find it very odd that ALL Note II's don't work on every frequency. Bear with me, I'm under the impression that they are identical hardware wise, every version. So, maybe it's a simple matter of flashing a different radio.img? Not that there are any available currently, but there will be shortly. I hope (think) it will be similar to the ATT Note on Tmo. Hopefully it works out better though. We still don't know if the Tmo Note II will be HSPA+42 or not, but it will support next years Tmo LTE.
So, as of now, this is a little bit of a disappointment for Tmo customers looking for the N7100. Hope you can find a workaround for at least HSPA+21 soon :good:
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farfromovin,
I agree it's a complete pain why one model can't work worldwide - or even between carriers in one country, the US!! I'm not sure that all the revisions are the exact same hardware though. Certainly the different revisions will support different LTE bands from one another, different 3G bands (ie T-Mobile USA) and even different technologies (VZW, Sprint, US Cellular CDMA). Whether there is one uber radio chip that's the same in all versions, with different bits enabled here and there, I don't know. I would doubt that a chip currently exists to support all GSM, UMTS, LTE and CDMA bands in the one, but you never know.
I really cannot wait (getting super sick of it) until T-Mobile's 1900MHz refarming, and finally all UMTS/HSPA phones will work on pretty much any UMTS/HSPA network worldwide. But just as we finally get 3G harmony, LTE comes along with a zillion different bands, and we're back to where we were at the start of GSM, and the start of UMTS - all over again.
As far as getting the GT-N7100 to work on T-Mobile AWS bands - unless the radio supports that band somewhere, and can be enabled by some hacky flashing, I don't think there's much chance. I followed a thread for a while which was trying to do that for the original GT-N7000 and it ended up nowhere unfortunately.
I'd be very, very surprised if the T-Mobile US official Note II did not support DC-HSPA +42. Given how TMO pushes that, I don't think they'd sell a phone without it these days. I'm kind of surprised the GT-N7100 doesn't have it, to be honest, but I guess it's not yet that widespread, and most carriers will bypass it to go to LTE.
Cheers!
Ars-Hexis said:
That happened to me as well using my International Galaxy S3, I dug into it for about a month and trust me, it's something with the phone detecting that it can't connect to the HSPA+ bands it supports, and when it "defaults" down to EDGE it considers it "Roaming". Stop digging for answers, I was at it for weeks, this is the reason.
You wont get charged for roaming or anything though, so use EDGE until T-Mobile's refarming finally happens; I waited for 2 months and nothing, so I jumped ship and got Straight Talk. I use over 15 GB of data a month, no throttling, $45 bucks. :good:
Hope this helps, because NO ONE gave me a straight answer, Dont even bother calling T-Mobile, they're of absolutely no help. I flashed all sorts of custom ROMs, Kernels, Network Tools, Diagnostics, etc. trying to figure it out. It's just the way these Samsung phones (GT-I9300 and N7100 by the looks of it) work when their 3G/HSPA+ bands are not supported.
Cheers!
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Click to collapse
Hey Ars-Hexis,
Thanks so much for the reply. I googled about the same issue on the i9300 as you mentioned - and sure enough a couple of threads on androidcentral, and tmobile support - and all with pretty much a bunch of people going "what?" I think you're right, and this is either some crazy change which Samsung has made to the "S3" generation of phones, or it's an unintended bug which was introduced. I contacted Samsung support on twitter but I'm sure they'll tell me to go away since this is an international model and not sold or supported in the US.
I would love to have this properly reported to Samsung though because it is NOT correct behaviour, and I'm sure it does not meet the 3GPP standard behaviour. These phones' definition of "roaming" is frankly wrong. It's possible they know about the bug but don't care about it too much, because it only affects the minority of importers or travelers, and then only on the very few networks which use AWS band for 3G.
The phone and data works fine of course, so it's really a cosmetic annoyance. However, if I was actually outside TMO's network without knowing it (maybe camping on to some network on the Canadian border or something) then I'd never know if I was actually roaming or not. So the phone's roaming indicator, by being permanently false, is useless in the times when I'm actually roaming. Since this is not a likely scenario for me to be on the Canadian border and roaming onto an AWS-only network any time soon, I'll not worry too much about it.
Yes, I'm really sick waiting on this refarming. It's a huge undertaking of course, so I understand why. I do have a Straight Talk AT&T SIM which I got for my Galaxy Note 1, however I don't use it often for several reasons: haven't ported my number to it, am wary about data throttling or cut-off, and I find the data hit or miss on Straight Talk anyway. I heard stories about people being warned or cut off after 100MB in any day, but if you're saying 15GB and no throttling, it may be something I want to put to the test!
Thanks a lot for your reply! It's nice to know I'm not crazy!
Cheers!
ccampbell1 said:
Hey Ars-Hexis,
Thanks so much for the reply. I googled about the same issue on the i9300 as you mentioned - and sure enough a couple of threads on androidcentral, and tmobile support - and all with pretty much a bunch of people going "what?" I think you're right, and this is either some crazy change which Samsung has made to the "S3" generation of phones, or it's an unintended bug which was introduced. I contacted Samsung support on twitter but I'm sure they'll tell me to go away since this is an international model and not sold or supported in the US.
I would love to have this properly reported to Samsung though because it is NOT correct behaviour, and I'm sure it does not meet the 3GPP standard behaviour. These phones' definition of "roaming" is frankly wrong. It's possible they know about the bug but don't care about it too much, because it only affects the minority of importers or travelers, and then only on the very few networks which use AWS band for 3G.
The phone and data works fine of course, so it's really a cosmetic annoyance. However, if I was actually outside TMO's network without knowing it (maybe camping on to some network on the Canadian border or something) then I'd never know if I was actually roaming or not. So the phone's roaming indicator, by being permanently false, is useless in the times when I'm actually roaming. Since this is not a likely scenario for me to be on the Canadian border and roaming onto an AWS-only network any time soon, I'll not worry too much about it.
Yes, I'm really sick waiting on this refarming. It's a huge undertaking of course, so I understand why. I do have a Straight Talk AT&T SIM which I got for my Galaxy Note 1, however I don't use it often for several reasons: haven't ported my number to it, am wary about data throttling or cut-off, and I find the data hit or miss on Straight Talk anyway. I heard stories about people being warned or cut off after 100MB in any day, but if you're saying 15GB and no throttling, it may be something I want to put to the test!
Thanks a lot for your reply! It's nice to know I'm not crazy!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there! Sorry I hadn't answered in such a long time. We'll actually I've found that the S3 (sold it) and the Note 2 (own it) some how cannot be tracked for data usage correctly by straight talk. It's quite interesting... I ported my number over from T-Mobile, so if you have an S3 with a T-mobile prepaid sim... I think you have nothing to lose! I'm in Dallas and regularly get around 3-4Mbits/S during high usage hours and 6-7Mbits/S after 7 pm when network usage goes down.
There have been 2 occasions over the past 2 months where I'm throttled for like an hour and suddenly it gets uncapped on its own (?!?!?) lol. Last month I used about 25 GB... It's insane. Btw, if you if get throttled for real (happened to me once), you can just call them and say your "Internets is slow" (act technologically challenged) and they'll reset it.
Ah 1 last thing: I got the at&T ST sim card when I switched.
Cheers!
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
I just got my International Note 2 today, and I am using it on the T-Mobile network also. I am seeing that I am roaming but my data is off and I am just using wifi. I have turned off my phone and back on again and its still showing. But after reading this whole thread I am getting that is a bug or something along those lines is that correct? Thanks.
I really need to know
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
roaming
I am on prepaid tmobile and I have Roaming sign only in areas where I used to loose signal with my old phone . Basically when I go in Garage underground my signal starts getting weaker and weaker and then roaming kiks in and signal is up all the way . T-mobile does not charges for local roaming . If you use USA tmobile and you are in usa you are fine . My texts and voice are still the same rate for me . When I had Chinese rom it was showing all the time , now I flashed German t-mobile and R shows only sometime , but it does not bother me .
Hope this helps .
I too have a Note II (GT-N7100) I purchased in Thailand in December. I use it on the T-Mobile network and have the same issues with the "R" symbol. I am located in Tampa Bay area, Florida.
T-Mobile was indicating to me in January that this was an issue in weaker signal areas for their data network as they prepare to refarm it. Don't know if this explanation is entirely accurate, but I find in my local area that the R symbol goes away in certain areas and it behaves "normally". This includes the area where my T-Mobile office is located. It seems to be somewhat of a patchwork network, and for some reasons certain areas cause it to go into the Roaming mode.
I was just on a trip with stops in Los Amgeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia and noted the same behavior in some of those cities: Getting normal signal indications in some places, and Roaming in others.
Hi guys!
Okay so more rather to cater to my burning curiosity of how the T-Mobile Varient would do with HSPA+ 42 and the 1700/2100 I went down this morning grabbed a white version and came home and did some test. And here's what I've found.
#1) The T-Mobile Variant of the Note 2 is Made in CHINA! While the N7100 is made in Korea
#2) The T-Mobile Variant had worse download speeds where I live and testing the HSPA+ speeds in my house resulted in the unlocked N7100 beating it on the 1900mhz band. (Keep in mind I only get HSPA+ On t-Mobile near my house all other are's that were tested I have edge on the N7100 they are still refarming.
#3) So I took it upon myself to see is the T-Mobile branded version actually faster? I drove around for about 10-20 miles stopping in different area's and testing, The highest I've Gotten with it was 15mbps down. However I was not able to compare it to the N7100 in the same exact location because that area is not yet refarmed. However Comparing it side by side the N7100 at home the N7100 had the edge in download speeds which was funny to me.
Besides that fact, the N7100 is fully unlocked and no bs from T-mobile on it and the instant I used the T-Mobile version I wanted the N7100 back. So Moral of the story for me was that is it worth getting the T-Mobile version? If your on the Re farmed network I'd say no get the N7100 instead no bloatware faster updates, Speeds won't vary much, and You can tether devices without rooting!
Good to hear others thinking along these same lines. Guess it really depends on whether tour city is being refarmed.
I live in Memphis, and I've heard rumors that we're getting / already have the 1900 band. Guess I might need to find a good way to test before hand.
km
Nyxagamemnon said:
Hi guys!
Okay so more rather to cater to my burning curiosity of how the T-Mobile Varient would do with HSPA+ 42 and the 1700/2100 I went down this morning grabbed a white version and came home and did some test. And here's what I've found.
#1) The T-Mobile Variant of the Note 2 is Made in CHINA! While the N7100 is made in Korea
#2) The T-Mobile Variant had worse download speeds where I live and testing the HSPA+ speeds in my house resulted in the unlocked N7100 beating it on the 1900mhz band. (Keep in mind I only get HSPA+ On t-Mobile near my house all other are's that were tested I have edge on the N7100 they are still refarming.
#3) So I took it upon myself to see is the T-Mobile branded version actually faster? I drove around for about 10-20 miles stopping in different area's and testing, The highest I've Gotten with it was 15mbps down. However I was not able to compare it to the N7100 in the same exact location because that area is not yet refarmed. However Comparing it side by side the N7100 at home the N7100 had the edge in download speeds which was funny to me.
Besides that fact, the N7100 is fully unlocked and no bs from T-mobile on it and the instant I used the T-Mobile version I wanted the N7100 back. So Moral of the story for me was that is it worth getting the T-Mobile version? If your on the Re farmed network I'd say no get the N7100 instead no bloatware faster updates, Speeds won't vary much, and You can tether devices without rooting!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So would you be able to tell me if the T-mo Note and the N7100 are exact the same dimensions/shape. I want to buy a case for the T-mo version but I think all the ones on ebay are for the N7100. Maybe you can switch out battery covers to see if they fit. Thanks!
I too was sitting on the fence on whether to pick the the N7100 or T-mobile's handset. I eventually chose the latter for the following reasons. It may not necessarily apply to everyone. I'm not an engineer so I don't know much about technical details but I am very logical in understanding how things work:
1) Tmo has done a fairly good job on refarming the 1900 band for hspa+ and true enough you will get speeds >10mbps. I previously tested this service on an international SGS2 and international GN1. And that was using a prepaid sim. So clearly international versions of samsung will have hspa+ service IF there is coverage. However as to date, we still have to see consistent and widespread coverage of hspa+ on the 1900 band. Who's to say that by year's end the refarming would have been completed to a satisfactory level as promised by T-mobile? What if coverage would still be practically the same in YOUR area? What if completion simply means additional cities/towns but your area basically has already been refarmed to completion. I feel that will be the case with MY area. It's still really "wait and see" for the refarming project. While with the t-mo variant you get consistent hspa+ ALREADY, NOW and greater coverage simply because they have been designed to work with the existing hspa+ AWS bands of Tmo. 1900 hspa+ is just additional for the Tmo variant.
In my case, I use my home wifi. So that situation negates the 4G coverage comparison between the 2 .
I'm curious as to what your home speed differences were? Was it that significant to outweigh the benefit of more consistent hspa+ coverage outside your home? I understand your mobile tests showed Tmo's variant to be the winner by "default". Meaning N7100 didn't have a chance to even compete. That alone is enough for me to chose Tmo's.
2) N7100 has a 21mbps hspa+ radio. Tmo's variant has a 42mbps radio. Although I am not seeing speeds proportionate to the advertised 42mbps radio in my area. I believe some folks around the US have demonstrated 20-30mbps on Tmo's network. Just scourge the net for those blogs and anecdotes. Obviously the 42mbps radio is required for those speeds. I guess it will all depend on the location and if 42mbps hspa+ is enforced on the surrounding towers.
3) re: bloatware - They don't bother me much. However for the tinkerers out there, this may be a deal breaker. But I am certain there is always a way around this for the advanced users.
4) N7100 doesn't have an LTE radio. Tmo's variant potential has this feature. That adds a little future proofing value to it. Check engadget's latest review of Tmo's variant. To quote:
"Also, according to the T889's FCC application, the device includes support for LTE bands 4 (AWS) and 17, though this particular set of radios is currently locked on T-Mobile. We're hoping the AWS LTE band will be enabled for us as soon as the network is ready to push ahead with its next-gen technology, but we haven't heard any official word from Magenta about this. Regardless of what happens, we wouldn't put it past hackers Android programming aficionados to come up with a way of taking advantage of this."
Regardless, by the time LTE would be fully and satisfactorily enforced, we all would have probably moved on to another device.
trojanlawyer said:
So would you be able to tell me if the T-mo Note and the N7100 are exact the same dimensions/shape. I want to buy a case for the T-mo version but I think all the ones on ebay are for the N7100. Maybe you can switch out battery covers to see if they fit. Thanks!
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They are the same damn phone except for the International version is made in Korean (says on label) and the U.S. variants are made in China (again, on the label) but the specs are the same as far as the meat and bones and the accessories will all work together just like the Galaxy S 3.... I have both a T-mobile (which I picked up today) Titanium color and An International Note in white and my T-mobile is performing a tad quicker as far as benchmarks but that really does not mean much... As far as where it's made.... I, personally, don't care cause they are both the same phone and qc for Samsung (in general) is the same across the board. I almost want to keep the T-mobile AND the International but I don't know if my budget will like that although I did get the International N7100 for $589.99 plus $12.00 back in ebay bucks so I can't complain on the price! The T-mobile was $688.00 OTD when I purchased it today but the HUGE difference is that the T-mobile will work on HSPA+ networks with both T-mobile and AT&T (if unlocked) and the International is edge on T-mobile(nothin you can do)... So I have more options as far as Pre-paid services and I can obtain insurance or a warranty without a problem in the US with the T-mobile version also... Another big plus! The International version is nice because it has hardly any bloat and it gets updates quickly! Who knows when we will see multitasking on the T-mobile version although they aren't as bad as some networks for updates... My opinions on the two versions....
EDIT: What he said above.... LOL He beat me to it! **I also notice on the T-mobile version that when you go to the dialer and press *#0*# there are more test options....??**
Hi all, here's a map you should all have bookmarked and contributed to:
http://www.airportal.de/
Quick comment - checked back of my phone and it says made in Korea . My model jumber is SGH-T889v. Thanks!
Aren't the white ones made in Korea?
Kawaisa - I have the titanium grey - the SGH-T889v I have is the Canadian variant.
That's one way to look at it I guess. If you get 1900 Mhz at your house and don't want to use your wifi, ok. I would take the Tmo version with wifi calling app and HSPA+42 radio with next years LTE bands built in and just run a debloated stock rom when they start popping up here (or pull your own bloat out using TB). I got one today at Tmo, rooted it, uninstalled a bunch of garbage, and am really happy with the device. The only thing I "want" is the TV animation when shutting the screen off lol. Oh, and I don't like the boot audio either of the SGH-T889, but that will change in a week or so when ROM's start getting released To each there own, although I'd bet the N7100 will get superior dev support...
Kawaisa said:
Aren't the white ones made in Korea?
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I would like to know too. Does anyone have the White US version and where it was made?
I have the white where i can check that
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
AndroidNoober said:
I have the white where i can check that
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
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Behind the phone, under the battery in the back. Thanks.
Tmo white note 2 is Made in china
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
I'm going to receive my T-Mobile Note2 in a few days and I chose it pretty much for the same reasons as what had already been stated.
I am not based in the US..but I'm based in the Philippines and will just unlock my Note2. I got it through Wirefly so the price difference really did sway me to get it over the international variant. I also like that it is LTE capable so at least it's future proof somehow.
I am very capable of tinkering with phones so I can easily get rid of bloat and such.
My main concern is the amount of dev support this would be getting. I would imagine that due to the similar hardware, porting ROMs meant for international version would be relatively easy.
I'm wondering though if I could just flash an international based ROM straight away since I don't intend to use this with TMO anyway so I can live without sms/call/data of TMO as long as it can still somehow work with my international SIM and the phone still fully function.. I don't want to wait for updates via carrier.
I've read several of you are talking about uninstalling bloatware, wouldn't this hinder in the OTA update process (we should get one soon for the multi-window feature) whenever it gets pushed out. I thought it was best to disable or freeze the apps through TB rather than uninstalling it, could someone clarify that for me?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
GN2 TMo on ATT with 3G speeds?
shojus said:
They are the same damn phone except for the International version is made in Korean (says on label) and the U.S. variants are made in China (again, on the label) but the specs are the same as far as the meat and bones and the accessories will all work together just like the Galaxy S 3.... I have both a T-mobile (which I picked up today) Titanium color and An International Note in white and my T-mobile is performing a tad quicker as far as benchmarks but that really does not mean much... As far as where it's made.... I, personally, don't care cause they are both the same phone and qc for Samsung (in general) is the same across the board. I almost want to keep the T-mobile AND the International but I don't know if my budget will like that although I did get the International N7100 for $589.99 plus $12.00 back in ebay bucks so I can't complain on the price! The T-mobile was $688.00 OTD when I purchased it today but the HUGE difference is that the T-mobile will work on HSPA+ networks with both T-mobile and AT&T (if unlocked) and the International is edge on T-mobile(nothin you can do)... So I have more options as far as Pre-paid services and I can obtain insurance or a warranty without a problem in the US with the T-mobile version also... Another big plus! The International version is nice because it has hardly any bloat and it gets updates quickly! Who knows when we will see multitasking on the T-mobile version although they aren't as bad as some networks for updates... My opinions on the two versions....
EDIT: What he said above.... LOL He beat me to it! **I also notice on the T-mobile version that when you go to the dialer and press *#0*# there are more test options....??**
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Besides unlocking a TMo note 2, did you have to do anything else to make it work on 3G on ATT? Did you actually test that it would work on ATT 3G or this is just a guess based on specs?
dont be mad now that the cat is out of the bag that tmobile galaxy note 2 has LTE
RE: Bloatware
its called root and titanium backup if you want the Tmo version and no bloatware. root is achievable on the Tmo Note 2, along w/CWM. i am sticking w/the stock rom since i plan to use S-Pen quite a bit. we'll see as the weeks go by and roms start to appear.
i went the tmo vs international due to that 1900 isn't in my area yet and won't be until end of year and our version as prev noted does have the LTE hardware and cheaper than importing an unlocked phone. has anyone noticed VERY slow A-GPS lockons when in doors? my gnex was freakin instant indoors.
Can anyone else post what color they have and where it was Made?
I was reading that the international ones have Made in Korea, Made in China, and Made by Samsung.
Thanks.
Hey All
Current Verizon M8 (rooted to GPE) user and I'm considering jumping to T-Mobile. I've loved the M8 and would intend on going with that device again if we make the switch. Planning on doing a Test Drive to get a feel of the network coverage in my area (Morris County, NJ).
Should all go well with that test, anything I should take into consideration with the T-Mobile version of the M8? Anything to be concerned with (rooting again, network radio capabilities, features, etc.)? Any past experiences of others switching to make note of?
Edit: Also, any success with using a Verizon M8 on the T-Mobile network? I'm savvy enough to make root-based mods if necessary. Wouldn't mind buying out the rest of my Verizon EDGE value on the phone to keep what I have.
Thanks for any input!
I also made the switch to t mobile from verizon. My first and only phone I have owned is the HTC Oe m8. The phone staright from TMobile came full of bloatware. 10+ apps of non sense. Coming from ios i had never rooted or unlocked a bootloader. I have to say it was super easy. TMobile does take awhile to realease updates but converting over to developer edition can take care of all that.
SiK TL said:
I also made the switch to t mobile from verizon. My first and only phone I have owned is the HTC Oe m8. The phone staright from TMobile came full of bloatware. 10+ apps of non sense. Coming from ios i had never rooted or unlocked a bootloader. I have to say it was super easy. TMobile does take awhile to realease updates but converting over to developer edition can take care of all that.
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Tmobile updates faster than Version and att.[emoji1]
HTC One M8 from T-Mobile here. I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile a while back and was disappointed at first but T-Mobile is definitely upping their game and recently I haven't even looked back. The benefits to T-Mobile over Verizon? Much faster updates. Most devices are less locked down. Uses GSM version of the M8 (I don't believe the Verizon version is compatible but T-Mobile has a neat little monthly payment program that makes getting new phones feel easier) Did I mention the GSM M8 has a LOT more roms and support than the Verizon version? Oh, and you can get truly unlimited data without losing your ability to upgrade. And they don't throttle your data speeds like Verizon seems to do. In many areas T-Mobile has much faster 4G LTE speeds than Verizon.
But that's just everything I can tell you off the top of my head. For many devices, T-Mobile is the first to update their carrier branded devices and, in my opinion, the bloatware was never a big deal. Even found myself using most of what was provided.
At this point, I'd probably wait till the m9 if possible. If you can't, as much as I love my One, the G3 or Moto X would probably get my money on t-mobile. the M8 not having band 2 lte is a major annoyance for me.
TriBeard said:
At this point, I'd probably wait till the m9 if possible. If you can't, as much as I love my One, the G3 or Moto X would probably get my money on t-mobile. the M8 not having band 2 lte is a major annoyance for me.
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Yeah, might as well wait. I like Hima plus 5.5". I just hope when we get lollipop update will have volte.
I would only switch if you live near a major city. Since your Verizon phone will only work on Verizon bands. T-mobile has different bands. I have a Verizon m8 and am on T-Mobile. Luckily I live within 5miles of Philadelphia,PA. I also enabled bands that are locked that can be found out how to do in the Verizon forum. I have excellent reception, lte data, and WiFi calling. But I can say from past users on forums, that the reception can be dreadful if you don't live near a major city due to the band frequencies.
We have lollipop, bad thing is no volte, @at&t probably get their updates next year.lol!!!
Hi guys, hope someone who has bought an s6 edge in full without contract from T-Mobile to use on AT&T can help me out.
My reason for doing this is the unlocked bootloader from the T-Mobile version of the s6 edge and that I like AT&T service more.
It seems like I will have to buy the s6 edge in full from T-Mobile, activate service with them, then wait 45 days to request unlock code, then unlock the phone and finally put in my existing AT&T sim.
Is there a method with less hassle? I rather not pay for 45 days of T-Mobile service that I don't need plus having to wait that long just to use it on AT&T. Wondering if I can somehow use a phone unlocking service and cancel the T-Mobile service right away to avoid any monthly service fees. Any successes?
Sent from my GT-I9100
Cellularunlocker.net has not worked for anyone as of yet but it is still early.
Also, if you become a business client it will be unlocked after 14 days after purchase.
I.m T Mobile customer, but I live in Italy the most part of year, Samsung s6 edge will work on LTE in Italy too or will be like IPhone the has different frequencies
marinodoct said:
I.m T Mobile customer, but I live in Italy the most part of year, Samsung s6 edge will work on LTE in Italy too or will be like IPhone the has different frequencies
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As long as the phone is unlocked, the T-Mobile and AT&T variants should have the required frequencies for both HSPA and LTE to work in Italy.
Don't know if there is a other way. I've thought about just switching to tmobile but then I remembered how at my job I have almost no signal inside while cricket (at&t) maintains full signal of LTE without issues
osmosizzz said:
Don't know if there is a other way. I've thought about just switching to tmobile but then I remembered how at my job I have almost no signal inside while cricket (at&t) maintains full signal of LTE without issues
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You can use wifi calling to mitigate things like this (assuming you have wifi at work), T-Mobile still has issues with signal quality in some areas.
walloftext said:
You can use wifi calling to mitigate things like this (assuming you have wifi at work), T-Mobile still has issues with signal quality in some areas.
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we have wifi but its very unstable as its the guest wifi. at school i also have wifi but it's also unreliable because on average, there are bout 2K students hopping in and out of the wifi at any given moment. and i live in a wideband area so tmobile coverage is fantastic..its just once you step into them buildings. I just came from a tmobile mvno. Had tmobile coverage for 2 years.. in january i switched to cricket and in building coverage was like never before
I was thinking of doing the same also, but it looks like we're gonna have to wait