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So before i rooted my droid incredible my service was perfectly fine and after i put 2.1/3.0 rom on my phone, my service started to fall back and function when it wants to. I was wondering if the reason behind this was because i rooted my phone before Verizon came up with their 4g service and maybe it has made some sort of interference. Any help? thanks.
It would help to know which ROM you flashed...
Im almost positive an RUU would do you wonders.
If you used an EVO based 2.1/3.0 ROM and did a *228 that might be your culprit.
I would make a nandroid and then perform an RUU.
Hope this helps.
humm im running an evo 3d based rom and radio and i did a *228 it runs without issue. And i have checked on someone running a phone on stock and on a inc based rom/radio mine actualy has better signal than they do...
There have been many reports of people getting this kind of issues poping up it is due to several factors many areas had altell/cellular one towers that now belong to verizon and had to be given to at&t per the terms of the fcc laid down. Add to that a nation wide upgrade for all towers and there are some wonky issues poping up. Best thing to do would be to call verizon and report the issue of getting a bad signal in an area you previously got better signal. They could be unaware of damage to a tower or someone might be operating illegal equipment in the area...
Why would AT&T want Verizon's towers? One is GSM one is cdma.
That was part of the deal verizon had to make to buy altell. Towers with certain criteria had to be sold to at&t some were altell towers some were verizon towers. But at&t gained them and had to retrofit them to run gsm. Customers of altell in the areas that had to be sold to at&t got sold to at&t as well. Though the merger did give them an out if they did not want to go to at&t or verizon.
I currently am running an optimized shift rom. I did a *228 and the same issue is occurring but i have noticed my calls and text messages seem to go through just fine but when i surf the browser, it will not connect 98% of the time.
jazy123 said:
I currently am running an optimized shift rom. I did a *228 and the same issue is occurring but i have noticed my calls and text messages seem to go through just fine but when i surf the browser, it will not connect 98% of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might have better luck with an AOSP ROM or a non-3.0 Sense ROM.
3.0 are probably the heaviest/loaded ROM's.
The issue seems like your regular signal is fine but 3G is lacking? Try downloading speedtest.com and see the results.
Also 4G in no way interferes with 3G unless they are doing work on a nearby tower, that may temporarily degrade your 3G performance.
I flashed Evolution 2 with no problems and followed the instructions to a tee. The only thing I haven't done is the cache wipe. The problem I am having so far is with the radio. I get no data and a data packet roaming message from the status bar. I can only get data working is if I flash the Telus modem prepped for ICS. I had similar problems as well with other roms and I'm guessing the radio rom that only plays nice with Telus is their modem. Am I wrong? If so any suggestions? I'm on the Telus network if it helps
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Weaponx525 said:
I flashed Evolution 2 with no problems and followed the instructions to a tee. The only thing I haven't done is the cache wipe. The problem I am having so far is with the radio. I get no data and a data packet roaming message from the status bar. I can only get data working is if I flash the Telus modem prepped for ICS. I had similar problems as well with other roms and I'm guessing the radio rom that only plays nice with Telus is their modem. Am I wrong? If so any suggestions? I'm on the Telus network if it helps
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, first things first: do the cache wipe, and use the script provided with the ROM for it. Trust me, it won't delete any of your data, it's perfectly safe. (I speak from experience) The only thing you will notice is that your phone will take a really long time to boot immediately after the wipe. That's expected, let it be.
To your question:
It makes no sense to me why using TELUS' radio on TELUS should be the only way for your phone have data. I can't test this for you as I am not a TELUS client, but I have used the TELUS modem on Rogers and Mobilicity without any trouble at all. The one thing I can think of that may do this is your modem's band settings: the ROM comes with a modem for T-Mobile, which uses a different frequency for its data network. This is how you (try to) fix this:
Go into the Phone application and dial the following:
*#*#2263#*#*
Upon hitting the last * you will see the service menu for the phone, allowing you to set which bands the phone will be looking for for a network. Then press (3) for GSM and then (5) for GSM 850/1900. This should do it for TELUS. If this doesn't work, try using (3) for GSM and then (7) for GSM ALL, or if all else fails, just go into the menu and set (1) for full Automatic.
Another thing, though: I don't understand why you would want to use the T-Mobile radio, when the TELUS one gives you something all of us here can only wish for: presence on two networks at the same time. You can be riding an elevator or take your time in the parking lot without loosing data even for a second! This radio is meant for the TELUS network, and is giving you the best possible experience on it. If it works for you, my advise is to stick with it. The T-Mobile one isn't a step up for you.
Thank you for the detailed response. It is very appreciated. The reason I used the T Mobile modem was that it was the one provided in TDJ's link and I thought it might be more "compatible" with the T-Mobile leak. I didn't know about the advantage that the Telus modem provided. Could you explain what is meant by prescence on two networks? Either case the Telus modem has been very stable thus far and I think I'll keep using it for now.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Well, this flavour of the Galaxy S2 is not meant for TELUS. It is meant for T-Mobile, an AWS carrier. This phone cannot work very fast on TELUS as it does not support its data network fully. Worse still, last Q4 this phone was pitched against Rogers' LTE flavour of the S2, the Skyrocket, whose ICS leak we were running until recently. TELUS had to beef it up beyond the 14Mbps possible with HSPA so that it would compete.
So, they loaded it up with a state-of-the-art HSDPA radio, which allows it to aggregate signal from two HSPA towers to get its speed edge. I don't think this is done very often, if at all: it's quite remarkable TELUS did that. In a nutshell, your phone can sit on two cellular networks at the same time, the 850Mhz and the 1900Mhz one, and aggregate them to give you the theoretical 28Mbps. Still not LTE, but in the ballpark. You own a T989D, where the D stands for dual towers, and the 850Mhz band means you can stream music uninterrupted while walking into an elevator and then out again.
So that's it, in a nutshell. If I were on TELUS, I would be running this radio as well, up until the day I can replace it with another TELUS radio.
Hello,
For people having problems With the TMO Radio on Telus.
The Tmo radio sucks on Telus it will break Data connection, so use the Telus radio. But you can not flash over TMO ICS Rom with the Telus RIL files, it will break signal all together.
If you are already using a TMO ICS rom use one of the Telus radios in the Nexusmod thread with the system folder removed or remove the system folder before you flash the radio.
If your getting ready to flash an Ics rom and your on Telus radio, skip the flashing radio step. I hope that helps.
Though I heard rumors that the Telus radio doesnt quite work perfectly with the TMO leak
If we could use this thread for problems with Telus users using the leak that would be great
After flashing the Telus modem with the RIL file removed, ie installing the modem from the Nexus Mod thread in the dev section, this Rom has definitely more stable data connection. There are still some random drop outs but not as often as the TMo radios. Actually I have flashed many of the ICS leaks and there has, in my experience, data drop outs with any TMo modem on the Telus network. I'm very happy thus far with Evolution 2. There are occasionally some app crashes and camera glitches but overall nothing deal breaking. Amazing job on this ROM.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Do you think this could cause a phone force close with the Virgin Mobile network?
EDIT: Yep. That was the problem. Thank you guys so much, I've been stressing for days... The Telus radio fixed everything.
Working for me here. I'm not sure if my speeds are where they should be though, as in they seem to be half of what they should be. This leads me to think that the phone might only be seeing and connecting to one tower instead of two for the HSPA. My baseband shows up as Unknown too, so I'm not sure if that is a big deal or not.
I am a Telus user and to be honest found my quickest speeds with the Blaze ics modem, but I live in a rural area. I am trying the UVCL8 modem now and it is okay. I was getting some data roaming errors with this one, but it seems to have smoothed itself out. The Telus & Tmobile radios as I understand it are supposed to both supposed to support HSPA+ or a theoretical maximum of 42mpbs. I would confirm all of your apn settings and make sure they are all fine.
Striker333 said:
I am a Telus user and to be honest found my quickest speeds with the Blaze ics modem, but I live in a rural area. I am trying the UVCL8 modem now and it is okay. I was getting some data roaming errors with this one, but it seems to have smoothed itself out. The Telus & Tmobile radios as I understand it are supposed to both supposed to support HSPA+ or a theoretical maximum of 42mpbs. I would confirm all of your apn settings and make sure they are all fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bizarre. I just tried the Blaze modem and had extremely slow speeds on speedtest. Like 1 mpbs, whereas I had at least 10 with Telus' modem. It isn't like I was getting slow slow speeds or anything I guess. Just kind of strange.
Striker333 said:
I am a Telus user and to be honest found my quickest speeds with the Blaze ics modem, but I live in a rural area. I am trying the UVCL8 modem now and it is okay. I was getting some data roaming errors with this one, but it seems to have smoothed itself out. The Telus & Tmobile radios as I understand it are supposed to both supposed to support HSPA+ or a theoretical maximum of 42mpbs. I would confirm all of your apn settings and make sure they are all fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
curious, where in canada you living? I'm on vancouver island and I kind of get junk speeds
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using XDA
So, I thought I would ask here. I can't find a lot of information on the problem. There are sites that have contradicting information in google results, but mostly, nothing consistent. Hoping at least here I can get a why or a how to fix it.
So, as the title suggests, I have a Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus L700 running Slimkat with Android 4.4.2 build 4 official. I think there's an update to that rom, but at this point I don't think the rom has anything to do with the issue. All roms have the issue.
So the issue in question. Sprint rolled out LTE 4G in my area but my nexus never gets it. I know we have 4g because my Galaxy Tab 3 picks it up all the time. When I look at the tab, the network is listed as LTE:14. However, no matter what I try, the nexus will only ever pick up CDMA - EvDo rev A. This is a 4G phone and I'm using the GJ04 LTE/CDMA radios, but I never get 4g. I get 3G just fine. For whatever reason, it's like the LTE radio on this nexus never bothers to activate.
What i've tried to fix this:
1. Different radios. I've tried them all, from FC02 to GJ04.
2. Different roms. Same issue on all roms. Doesn't appear to be a custom rom issue.
3. Doing the data settings to LTE only. This doesn't stick, it just goes back to CDMA. I'm told this is by design due to 4g being data only mode.
I don't know what else I can try. Sprint's only answer is to blame it on the custom rom. Which I can't necessarily blame them for, it did void my warranty, but even with the stock rom I still get no LTE.
Any ideas?
Well for sure one thing is to flash the stock rom and see if you get the lte connections.
second, try someone else sim and see if that fixes the issue.
Sprint Galaxy Nexus getting no 4g inside coverage area
I am having the same issue as the first post and have tried all of the same troubleshooting tactics with no prevail. I am currently running LiquidSmooth v3.1 4.4.4 KK baseband GJ04. I have contacted sprint and they are of absolutely zero help. Not only am I having 4g connection issues but I can barely receive 3g. I am located literally in what sprint considers one of their best 4g coverage areas in my area yet haven't been able to connect once. Please any help or insight as to a solution would be greatly appreciated.
Hi folks,
I've got a T-mo M919, with MDL bootloader, which I use on ATT. I bought the phone after comparing the hardware and seeing all the same bands needed for ATT are supported on the TMo phone (but, not quite 100% the other way around).
Anyway, the phone works fine... calls get through, texts work, data speeds are the same as the S4 I337 (ATT variant) I was using before. My question is less functional and more cosmetic.
I've noticed that the LTE signal indicator is usually pretty low. Don't think I've seen it report all 4 bars... ever! It's usually showing LTE with 1-3 bars. This is in places I would get pretty much full signal, on the ATT phone.
Since my T-mo phone is on MDL, pre-Knox, and has an older LTE radio version, while the ATT phone I had (still have... gonna sell it!) is NC1 and thus has a later LTE radio version, would this explain the difference?
I've flashed the NB4 modem onto the phone (the modem.bin file only!) and didn't notice any difference, but I understand this is just for GSM. I get full bars on GSM (before and after flash).
Since the phone works fine, I am not too concerned, but it sort of bugs me that it shows such "low" signal. Is there some calibration I should run or something?
Marc
What build are you running?
Currently on Dirty Unicorns 7.8 but saw the same thing when I was on 4.2.2 MDL TMobile Samsung stock.
It is interesting. Here in my office I get between 1and 3 bars but no dropouts or anything noticed so far. Here it was 3-4 bars solid with the ATT S4. We have repeaters throughout the building for great coverage.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Having low bars is normal.
It's the towers, not us.
Sometimes I'd say a custom rom shows what your actually getting more accurately.
I'm on the latest cm nightly. Nb4 modem flashed as you described.
But, I'd expect to see more bars on 4.4.2. Stock.
But, there wouldn't be any difference in actual call quality, etc.
---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 PM ----------
Maybe you could used xposed to change or remove the offending task bar icons.
Frankenscript said:
Currently on Dirty Unicorns 7.8 but saw the same thing when I was on 4.2.2 MDL TMobile Samsung stock.
It is interesting. Here in my office I get between 1and 3 bars but no dropouts or anything noticed so far. Here it was 3-4 bars solid with the ATT S4. We have repeaters throughout the building for great coverage.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your at&t device was on official KitKat then that's why, signal bars are reported higher in KitKat, but not on aosp/cm ROMs, they will show your true strength.. Best thing to do is to compare your dBm strength to another at&t device on their network
Thanks everyone! At the end of the work day I realized I had my ATT phone with me in my computer bag. So, I first observed the T-Mobile phone for a few minutes in a few locations on my desk. Over that time the signal ranged from -89 db to -94 db, with most readings between -91 and -93.
I then swapped the SIM card into the ATT S4, and observed it for a similar time in the same locations. It ranged from -91 to -96, with most readings between -92 to -94. So, basically identical, maybe a db or two weaker reading.
Then I figured out how to get my work-issued iPhone 5S to give me readings (field test mode... seriously! ) and it ranged from -93 to -97 with most readings between -92 and -95.
I repeated the test here at home, where the readings range from -99 to -104. Same pattern of Tmobile S4 phone ever so slightly better reception than ATT S4 and ever so slightly better than iPhone.
So, my concern that perhaps the TMobile antenna was not as good for ATT as the native ATT phone has been disproven, and as the wise readership here has counseled, it's all in how the various Stock or custom ROMs report the signal.
Issue resolved.. Thanks for your input!!
Marc
I was having the same thoughts last week. Bought a M919N (MetroPcs) and odined with T-Mo stock. After root, recovery and roming, my signal was low. I usually get full bars on my i337, but only got 2-3 on this one. I changed my preferred network to 3G, then back to LTE. Getting full bars in my house ever since.
Frankenscript said:
Thanks everyone! At the end of the work day I realized I had my ATT phone with me in my computer bag. So, I first observed the T-Mobile phone for a few minutes in a few locations on my desk. Over that time the signal ranged from -89 db to -94 db, with most readings between -91 and -93.
I then swapped the SIM card into the ATT S4, and observed it for a similar time in the same locations. It ranged from -91 to -96, with most readings between -92 to -94. So, basically identical, maybe a db or two weaker reading.
Then I figured out how to get my work-issued iPhone 5S to give me readings (field test mode... seriously! ) and it ranged from -93 to -97 with most readings between -92 and -95.
I repeated the test here at home, where the readings range from -99 to -104. Same pattern of Tmobile S4 phone ever so slightly better reception than ATT S4 and ever so slightly better than iPhone.
So, my concern that perhaps the TMobile antenna was not as good for ATT as the native ATT phone has been disproven, and as the wise readership here has counseled, it's all in how the various Stock or custom ROMs report the signal.
Issue resolved.. Thanks for your input!!
Marc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So basically the t-mobile S4 gets better reception than at&t's S4 and iphone? WIN!! Lol joke, but you're welcome! This is a common concern for people, but when you test this things it's not about how many bars you see on your status bar, but dBm strength
serio22 said:
So basically the t-mobile S4 gets better reception than at&t's S4 and iphone? WIN!! Lol joke, but you're welcome! This is a common concern for people, but when you test this things it's not about how many bars you see on your status bar, but dBm strength
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely! +1
I would say the difference in reported signal strength was marginal but pretty consistent. Interesting to note, that even with -102 db signal, iPhone was reporting 4 out of 5 bars of strength...
Frankenscript said:
Interesting to note, that even with -102 db signal, iPhone was reporting 4 out of 5 bars of strength...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah my S4 on kitkat touchwiz shows 4 out of 5 bars on a similar strength. Guess Samsung wasn't the first to do this
how do you guys get LTE speed on at&t with the t-mobile s4? I tried several ways including changing the build.prop name, model and device to at&t values.. I do get the at&t 4G bar symbol but no LTE.. any other ideas? I'm running GNF1 V3 NB4
I have been meaning to write up my experiences, but in short:
1. On stock Samsung ROM (MDL build) I plugged my ATT sim into the phone, booted, edited the APN to the ATT values, and set the preferred mode to LTE. Done. LTE speeds (for me, 5-25 Mb/sec same as the ATT phone).
2. In Dirty Unicorns ROM I just selected the pre prepared ATT APN and made any edits to match my settings I usually use. Made sure LTE was preferred mobile mode and boom it works.
I think you have a ROM config issue. Are you set on that ROM or willing to try others? Best of luck.
Marc
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Frankenscript said:
I have been meaning to write up my experiences, but in short:
1. On stock Samsung ROM (MDL build) I plugged my ATT sim into the phone, booted, edited the APN to the ATT values, and set the preferred mode to LTE. Done. LTE speeds (for me, 5-25 Mb/sec same as the ATT phone).
2. In Dirty Unicorns ROM I just selected the pre prepared ATT APN and made any edits to match my settings I usually use. Made sure LTE was preferred mobile mode and boom it works.
I think you have a ROM config issue. Are you set on that ROM or willing to try others? Best of luck.
Marc
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so basically you're saying that I should go back to stock and after changing the apn it should be good? also, I would prefer TW for now, I might switch to cm later, but is GNF1 not good for LTE if i'm on at&t? any other suggestions?
Right. On stock rom, it should work fine after you edit the APN and change the preferred mode. If you want to stay on TouchWiz, a great rom I used on the atT phone was Goldeneye. Meanwhile I really like the dirty unicorns ROM on my phone. I am using version 7.8 and it is a a weekly build from August 10th or 12th I think. I haven't tried the new version 7.9.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Ok ill try and update. Do I need to install the at&t version of that rom or t-mobile?
My technique is to match the phone hardware during install, to make sure nothing like modules / radios gets messed up. Then manual APN and preferred mode edits which are easy.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Frankenscript said:
My technique is to match the phone hardware during install, to make sure nothing like modules / radios gets messed up. Then manual APN and preferred mode edits which are easy.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just flashed to stock now.. i get the at&t settings automatically but still no LTE.. are you using any different apn settings? you mind sharing your settings?
nir360 said:
I just flashed to stock now.. i get the at&t settings automatically but still no LTE.. are you using any different apn settings? you mind sharing your settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use exactly these from the All Things ATT thread, which match my stock ATT phone.
Name: ATT Phone
APN: phone
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Not set
Password: Not set
Server: Not set
MMSC: http://mmsc.mobile.att.net
MMS proxy: proxy.mobile.att.net
MMS Port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410
Authentication type: None
APN Type: default,mms,supl,hipri
APN protocol: IPv4
APN Roaming protocol: IPv4
Turn APN on/off: APN turned on
Bearer: Unspecified
Mobile Virtual Network Operator Type: None
Mobile Virtual Network Operator Value: Not set
In some ROMs the last two don't show up, in which case I just skip them.
It's also important to set the preferred mode to LTE.
Marc
Hi everyone,
A month or so ago I got sick of the locked bootloader of the ATT I337 variant of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The early firmware versions on this phone (before MK3) had boot loaders that while locked, could be worked around with known exploits, allowing proper recovery installations like TWRP and CWM, and full ROM installations and custom kernels. Alas, starting with MK3, the bootloaders were locked up tightly. The only recovery possible was SafeStrap, which only supports the use of Touchwiz ROMs. My phone was NC1, so for me it was only Safestrap-compatible ROMs.
I had heard that some people with ATT service used the M919, but I couldn't find a decent thread that talked about the specifics, to give me assurance that everything would work OK. But it seemed like a good bet, so I bought one off Swappa. The phone has worked great for me with no problems or limitations whatsoever. I decided to post a description of my experiences to help others that may be interested in doing like I did.
Using the phone, stock, on ATT:
My phone came SIM unlocked, and from what I've read many of them are this way. All I had to do was insert my SIM card, boot the phone, and it found the network. However, to get it to work, I had to replace the T-Mobile APN information with suitable ATT APN. The settings are here, but for convenience the settings are as follows:
1. Go to Settings > Wireless and Networks > More Settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names
2. Click the "+" at the bottom
3. Enter settings from one of the configurations below
4. Click "menu" button and "SAVE"
LTE Configuration
Name: ATT Phone
APN: phone
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Not set
Password: Not set
Server: Not set
MMSC: http://mmsc.mobile.att.net
MMS proxy: proxy.mobile.att.net
MMS Port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410
Authentication type: None
APN Type: default,mms,supl,hipri
APN protocol: IPv4
APN Roaming protocol: IPv4
Turn APN on/off: APN turned on
Bearer: Unspecified
Mobile Virtual Network Operator Type: None
Mobile Virtual Network Operator Value: Not set
Note that the last two settings were not visible on my phone on 4.2.2, so just ignore them.
You may also need to go into the Prefered Network Type and set it to LTE... mine stuck on 4G until I remembered to do this step. After this, it worked fine on LTE networks.
If yours comes without being SIM-unlocked, this thread is the best resource I've found for methods to do the unlock procedure. There's also this thread.
Rooting & Custom ROMs:
My M919 came from a vendor that sells a lot of refurbs from T-Mobile. I lucked out and got one that has the MDL bootloader, which is fully unlocked and knox-free. If I had gotten a later one, such as the NB4 that is probably most common now, it would have had the unlocked boot loader but would have the knox counter. There's no known way to remove knox, so flashing a custom boot loader on MK2 and later versions of the M919 will irreversibly trip the knox counter, which is generally reported to void any warranty on the phone. See this great thread on knox, if interested.
Anyway, my goal was to install custom ROMs, so after I was satisfied the phone was working well on the ATT network, I flashed TWRP recovery to it via ODIN. There was no need to pre-root the phone to do this. I just put it into download mode and flashed TWRP. I used 2.7.1.0 although there are newer versions (2.8.0.1 is latest as of this writing).
I had no need of a backup, as I hadn't done much setup on the phone, and I could always flash the original firmware from the Mega links.
I used the Dirty Unicorns ROM, and flashed it according to the Dev's instructions.
I eventually updated to the NB4 GSM modem (the modem.bin only), but was careful not to mess with the LTE modem that is paired with the bootloader (wifi/sound problems happen if you flash an unmatched LTE modem). Here's the thread that describes how. I didn't notice any particular improvement in the use of the phone, but the phone works pretty well in most places I find myself.
Here is a thread I did comparing signal strength bars from phones which may be of interest if you feel your custom ROM "isn't getting good signal." It's mostly that AOSP reports lower bars for any given signal strength versus Touchwiz (or iPhone for that matter).
Since I'm using a ROM that is already rooted, I didn't have to perform a root procedure on my phone, but here is a thread discussing rooting 4.4.2, and an earlier thread with a wealth of information about rooting and such.
I hope this collection of links and experience information is helpful to someone out there. This community has been such a great resource to me in my use of Android devices, I wanted to give back a little, even if it is just putting some experiences together with handy links.
So for any of you out there with ATT devices, thinking of coming over to T-Mobile to get unlocked boot loaders, I can confirm my experience was a pleasant one, and all is working well on ATT with the "T-Mobile" M919 S4.
I did the same thing, though I came from a i9505 with LTE channels that are not compatible with US channels. I bought a new M919 from amazon for $429. So far the phone works with my Straight talk sim running on ATT network. I get good LTE signal.
Only problem I have noticed is the battery drains a lot faster on the M919 compared to my i9505. They both ran unrooted TW 4.4.2 when I did the test.
How is your battery so far? On my i9505, it drains about .5 to 1% per hour. On my M919 it drains 2.5% and higher. This is with google+ and all other bloatwiz disabled.
One other thing: Before buying the M919, I compared the frequency bands it is capable of receiving, to ensure it had all the same ones that that were in the I337. Wikipedia has a useful comparison chart, but there are other comparisons out there too. I found this from several sources:
The AT&T variant is model SGH-i337 with the following compatible bands:
GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS850 (B5), UMTS1900 (B2), UMTS2100 (B1), LTE700 (B17), LTE1700/2100 (B4)
The T-Mobile variant is model SGH-m919 with the following compatible bands:
GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS850 (B5), UMTS900 (B8), UMTS1700/2100 (B4), UMTS1900 (B2), UMTS2100 (B1), LTE700 (B17), LTE850 (B5), LTE1700/2100 (B4), LTE1900 (B2)
So, the T-Mobile has a bit more band range than the ATT version, but contains all the necessary ATT bands.
Regarding battery: On my I337, fully debloated with GoldenEye, I had about 0.3% per hour battery drain (wifi/cell enabled). I hadn't done much customization myself, but GoldenEye was by default pretty battery-thrify in terms of default settings.
When I was on M919 4.2.2 stock, not rooted, wifi/cell on, I had drain about 1.0%. After moving to Dirty Unicorns ROM (4.4.4) it's about 0.8% per hour, but I've done NOTHING to improve battery usage, and DU isn't by default as thrifty as GoldenEye was. I'm sure I can review the settings and go through the "Insane battery life" thread and get down to around where I was on the I337/GoldenEye... it's just a matter of taking the time.
For me, I get through the work day with 75% left on my phone most of the time, and top it off overnight, so I'm not that worried about the details enough to spend the time optimizing it.
Marc
The more LTE bands and the unlocked bootloader were the reasons I bought the M919 against the ATT variant too. I am really happy with my i9505 but I thought I was missing out on the faster LTE signals. I think my faster battery discharge is attributed to poor LTE signal in my bedroom. Thanks for starting the thread. I am sure it will help others trying figure out which one is the better model, and M919 it is.
I had my phone SIM unlocked from T-Mobile and have been on AT&T for the past 4 months. When I started out I was on 4.3 and had absolutely fantastic service. Until about 2 months ago when I randomly decided to update to 4.4.2 and had that update virtually ruin the phone for me. I became one of the lucky recipients of constant random connection loss that gives no indication that it has happened. The only way to get signal back from this is to reboot the phone. From what I've read it is a network switching issue of some sort and thus far the only way to have the phone work for an extended period of time is to put it in GSM only mode, which basically locks me to EDGE speeds. The phone will not lose connection in GSM mode. I have gotten a new SIM card and also tested the SIM in a Windows phone and have no issues. So it's almost certainly tied to the phone and not specifically AT&T, however I wonder if it has anything to do with having a T-Mobile phone on AT&T. I have links to a couple threads on the issue, but I cannot post outside links yet.
I have researched as much as I can and tried quit a few different things to alleviate the problem. My KNOX flag is tripped, so any warranty service is unlikely. I have tried multiple custom ROMS, from TW to AOSP. One AOSP ROM seems to be able to reconnect to 4G after a few minutes of losing the signal, but the loss of signal is anywhere from 5-10% of the time, which is pretty poor considering I'm within line of sight of the cell tower I'm connected to.
I am currently on a 4.4.4 AOSP ROM, with the NH7 Baseband. I've thought about and tried to research a bit about flashing a different modem, but haven't seen any solid information on if I can do that safely being on 4.4.4. At this point I'm personally out of ideas for what to do about this. I don't have too many options other than AT&T at the moment, so my goal is to continue to stick with them and keep moving forward to resolve this phone's issue.
Punkamonk said:
I had my phone SIM unlocked from T-Mobile and have been on AT&T for the past 4 months. When I started out I was on 4.3 and had absolutely fantastic service. Until about 2 months ago when I randomly decided to update to 4.4.2 and had that update virtually ruin the phone for me. I became one of the lucky recipients of constant random connection loss that gives no indication that it has happened. The only way to get signal back from this is to reboot the phone. From what I've read it is a network switching issue of some sort and thus far the only way to have the phone work for an extended period of time is to put it in GSM only mode, which basically locks me to EDGE speeds. The phone will not lose connection in GSM mode. I have gotten a new SIM card and also tested the SIM in a Windows phone and have no issues. So it's almost certainly tied to the phone and not specifically AT&T, however I wonder if it has anything to do with having a T-Mobile phone on AT&T. I have links to a couple threads on the issue, but I cannot post outside links yet.
I have researched as much as I can and tried quit a few different things to alleviate the problem. My KNOX flag is tripped, so any warranty service is unlikely. I have tried multiple custom ROMS, from TW to AOSP. One AOSP ROM seems to be able to reconnect to 4G after a few minutes of losing the signal, but the loss of signal is anywhere from 5-10% of the time, which is pretty poor considering I'm within line of sight of the cell tower I'm connected to.
I am currently on a 4.4.4 AOSP ROM, with the NH7 Baseband. I've thought about and tried to research a bit about flashing a different modem, but haven't seen any solid information on if I can do that safely being on 4.4.4. At this point I'm personally out of ideas for what to do about this. I don't have too many options other than AT&T at the moment, so my goal is to continue to stick with them and keep moving forward to resolve this phone's issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried flashing the full NH7 firmware and making sure you are on NH7 bootloader as well?
serio22 said:
Have you tried flashing the full NH7 firmware and making sure you are on NH7 bootloader as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before I installed a custom recovery I flashed the Official Stock 4.4.4 via ODIN (Downloaded from sammobile) as I had been rooted and couldn't OTA update. I don't recall verifying the boot loader, but I would assume that it was NH7. It honestly got worse in 4.4.4. In 4.4.2 it seemed drop connection every 12-36 hours, whereas on 4.4.4 it will take anywhere from minutes to a few hours, but it's never lasted more than 12.
Go into terminal emulator and type this: getprop ro.bootloader and make sure you have NH7 if not flash firmware again.. If you do have NH7 I would flash firmware again anyway and use stock for a while to see if the issue persists on stock as well.. Maybe other M919 users on at&t can chime in on this
@Punkamonk,
Since lots of ATT network users use the M919 version of the phone (because the ATT version has a locked bootloader), and this problem isn't a general thing that affects us all, I'd say it's something with your phone. Once you've ensured you are fully on the NH7 bootloader so that you don't have to worry about mismatched bits and pieces, as serio22 said run stock for a while. Doublecheck your APN settings (see all things att thread and my first post) to make sure they match what is needed for ATT... and be sure your preferred network mode is set to LTE. I'd also be curious to get some signal strength readings (in db) from the status screen.
My M919 is still on the MDL bootloader, and thus the MDL LTE modem (LTE modem is paired to the bootloader), but I use the NB4 GSM modem (baseband). For the record, I didn't see any improvement when I flashed the NB4 GSM modem replacing the MDL GSM modem. So I have no plans to flash the NH7 modem.... everything is working fine for me so I'm not messing with anything.
If stock, with ATT APN, and you keep losing network, I would start to suspect a problem with the phone hardware.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes!
Marc
Frankenscript said:
@Punkamonk,
,,,,,,,If stock, with ATT APN, and you keep losing network, I would start to suspect a problem with the phone hardware.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes!
Marc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on the NH7 Bootloader.
I was stock 4.4.4. for about a week before I flashed a custom recovery for the first time and started trying custom ROMs . I had rooted 4.4.2 only after having major issues with losing connection. When I upgraded to 4.4.4, with hopes that the issue would be fixed, I left it completely unrooted and stock and lost connection within a few hours. APN settings have been check and rechecked quite a few times, as well as being re-setup with AT&T Customer support.
During the time that the phone actually works and connects properly, it works great. I had installed stock 4.4.4, confirmed it working at home, traveled to work, had it work there for an hour or so, and eventually have it lose connection and have to reboot to restore it. The phone will also work consistently in GSM only mode, but being locked to 2G speeds is almost pointless. There are AT&T cell towers directly next to my home and my work, so lack of reception isn't the issue.
I'm almost tempted to transfer to T-Mobile again and see if I still have the issue on their network. However, T-Mobile doesn't have service inside my home OR at my job, so being able to identify an issue with reception would be extremely difficult. I feel like it's not specifically a hardware issue as there are enough near exact reports of the same issue with the same bandaid solution (GSM only mode) remedying the problem.
Sounds to me like a glitch in the LTE modem that could be either hardware or firmware related. It may seem extreme, but you could always buy another m919 off swappa, use for a while (stock), and see if the problem follows. Recoup most of cost by selling one of the phones after sorting the problem out. If it does, you've ruled out the phone a hardware and software and can then start fighting with ATT over an LTE service issue in your area.
This kind of thing would drive me insane... Spending some $ to figure it out conclusively would be worth it to me, but I'm not sure how many would similarly prioritize this kind of troubleshooting.
Marc
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
I thought of another test you could do. It is known that mismatching the LTE modem (non-hlos.bin) with the rest of the firmware causes problems with sound / WiFi.
As a short term test, what if you flashed the full MDL LTE / GSM modem package (non-hlos.bin and modem.bin) to your phone. This would cause the problems above but would let you test LTE signal retention on the older firmware. If the problem is solved you will eliminate hardware and network issues from consideration.
Once test is complete you can Odin back.
Marc
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Punkamonk said:
I had my phone SIM unlocked from T-Mobile and have been on AT&T for the past 4 months. When I started out I was on 4.3 and had absolutely fantastic service. Until about 2 months ago when I randomly decided to update to 4.4.2 and had that update virtually ruin the phone for me. I became one of the lucky recipients of constant random connection loss that gives no indication that it has happened. The only way to get signal back from this is to reboot the phone. From what I've read it is a network switching issue of some sort and thus far the only way to have the phone work for an extended period of time is to put it in GSM only mode, which basically locks me to EDGE speeds. The phone will not lose connection in GSM mode. I have gotten a new SIM card and also tested the SIM in a Windows phone and have no issues. So it's almost certainly tied to the phone and not specifically AT&T, however I wonder if it has anything to do with having a T-Mobile phone on AT&T. I have links to a couple threads on the issue, but I cannot post outside links yet.
I have researched as much as I can and tried quit a few different things to alleviate the problem. My KNOX flag is tripped, so any warranty service is unlikely. I have tried multiple custom ROMS, from TW to AOSP. One AOSP ROM seems to be able to reconnect to 4G after a few minutes of losing the signal, but the loss of signal is anywhere from 5-10% of the time, which is pretty poor considering I'm within line of sight of the cell tower I'm connected to.
I am currently on a 4.4.4 AOSP ROM, with the NH7 Baseband. I've thought about and tried to research a bit about flashing a different modem, but haven't seen any solid information on if I can do that safely being on 4.4.4. At this point I'm personally out of ideas for what to do about this. I don't have too many options other than AT&T at the moment, so my goal is to continue to stick with them and keep moving forward to resolve this phone's issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to do a NV Rebuild ... you can find info in the unlocking thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2283068
Frankenscript said:
I thought of another test you could do. It is known that mismatching the LTE modem (non-hlos.bin) with the rest of the firmware causes problems with sound / WiFi.
As a short term test, what if you flashed the full MDL LTE / GSM modem package (non-hlos.bin and modem.bin) to your phone. This would cause the problems above but would let you test LTE signal retention on the older firmware. If the problem is solved you will eliminate hardware and network issues from consideration.
Once test is complete you can Odin back.
Marc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hadn't tried this yet since I thought that it might cause more problems than it would help. But, since it might be able to rule out the hardware, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the advice!
Frankenscript said:
I thought of another test you could do. It is known that mismatching the LTE modem (non-hlos.bin) with the rest of the firmware causes problems with sound / WiFi.
As a short term test, what if you flashed the full MDL LTE / GSM modem package (non-hlos.bin and modem.bin) to your phone. This would cause the problems above but would let you test LTE signal retention on the older firmware. If the problem is solved you will eliminate hardware and network issues from consideration.
Once test is complete you can Odin back.
Marc
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, I hadn't gotten the chance to try this until today. I had been using a AOSP ROM and just left it in WCDMA mode and it worked fine for the time being. Now I am trying to do this, however I'm not completely sure of how to do it. I've used ODIN before, but none of the guides I've been able to find dictate exactly what I'm supposed to do having both files. I have downloaded the MDL firmware and have extracted modem.bin and NON-HLOS.bin from it. Do I flash both of them the same way, one right after the other? Or do I have to do something else?
I believe the right way to do it is find the modem package in flashable form, then flash using ODIN in one of the slots ODIN has for doing it... Someone likely has a link handy...
I ended up setting up a new T-Mobile account with their $30 prepaid plan to test if there are any issues with LTE on T-Mobile. I learned that T-Mobile has deployed LTE service in my neighborhood now and that I have very good reception if I'm not inside of my metal house. Using T-Mobile, I had been away from home all yesterday and over 12 hours, I have 0% time without signal. So, from that test I'm going to say that my issue most likely isn't an issue with the phone alone.
I put in my AT&T SIM last night and was delighted to see that it connected with LTE immediately. I've left Wifi off and have now used the phone for about 18 hours without any interruptions. I'm honestly confused as to what is going on since right before I put the T-Mobile SIM in I had tested it and lost the LTE connection within an hour. I'm home and charging the phone and everything seems to be working great. I'm stumped.
Very good troubleshooting. Your problem is a very strange one. I've never quite heard the like of it. But I'm glad that things are going well for the moment, though I don't want to jinx you.
Marc
About 36 hours into using the phone on AT&T, it went back to its same old ways. LTE stopped working and regular WCDMA worked perfectly.
However, I've been using the phone exclusively with T-Mobile for a week now and aside from actual T-Mobile coverage issues, the phone is working flawlessly. I have been traveling over a roughly 80 mile area this week and it switches modes without issue.
So, is it possible there's some sort of an issue with my account setup with AT&T? I tried to call them and explain the issue but they gave me nothing but "we don't guarantee LTE on non-AT&T branded phones". I tried to get the rep to escalate me, but she just kept reading from her script telling me more random things about how it's probably my phone's issue or an APN issue, which I'm fairly sure it isn't since it will connect to LTE and have everything working for some amount of time.
I'm kinda baffled what to do other than try and argue my way up the ladder again.