Switching Providers - One (M8) Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile and wondering if I need to flash the T-Mobile radio/firmware to get better signal. The phone is originally from AT&T so currently has their radio and firmware installed. Now that I'm on T-Mobile, do those need to be changed as well?
Thanks for your assistance!

blumenthala said:
I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile and wondering if I need to flash the T-Mobile radio/firmware to get better signal. The phone is originally from AT&T so currently has their radio and firmware installed. Now that I'm on T-Mobile, do those need to be changed as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you search around (I think the AT&T M8 section) its been discussed a couple times.
My takeaway, is that it isn't necessary to change the radio baseband in your case:
For LTE, the T-Mob version supports bands 4 and 17; both of which are already supported by your current AT&T radio (and then some).
For 3G, T-Mob uses 850 and 1900, again both of which are already supported by your current AT&T radio. The T-Mob version M8 also supports 3G on the AWS band (1700/2100). At one time, AWS was the predominant band T-Mob used for 3G, but not longer. My understanding, T-Mob refarmed all their AWS to use for LTE (Band 4); so 3G AWS support is no longer needed or useful.
Now all of the above is just my understanding from the comments on the forums; namely from an owner of the AT&T version M8 that is using his phone on T-Mob (plus device specs, carrier info online, etc.). I don't personally use T-Mob as my carrier.

Related

Is the Rhodium UMTS radio *ONLY* dual-band?

I.e. the T-mobile USA version is 1700/2100MHz for UMTS, the Wiki shows international versions seeming to be 900/2100MHz, will AT&T be 850/1900MHz and lose the 2100MHz UMTS band? or is it possible for the Rhodium radio to do tri-band UMTS (e.g. 850/1900/2100MHz)?
Sure looks like GREAT upgrade from the Tilt/TyTNII - but I really want tri-band UMTS to get full AT&T 3G support *and* Japan functionality.
Sigh.
Richard
I'm sure it will retain 2100MHz, the last 3 generations have.
rsolomon said:
I.e. the T-mobile USA version is 1700/2100MHz for UMTS, the Wiki shows international versions seeming to be 900/2100MHz, will AT&T be 850/1900MHz and lose the 2100MHz UMTS band? or is it possible for the Rhodium radio to do tri-band UMTS (e.g. 850/1900/2100MHz)?
Sure looks like GREAT upgrade from the Tilt/TyTNII - but I really want tri-band UMTS to get full AT&T 3G support *and* Japan functionality.
Sigh.
Richard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ATT version better be triple band 850/1900/2100MHz on the 3G band; or otherwise a lot of international customers are going to pass on this upgrade and either retain their ATT Tilt, or switch to the Iphone that DOES support all 3 frequencies. For me a dual band ATT would translate into a NO GO. As simple as that.
witschey said:
The ATT version better be triple band 850/1900/2100MHz on the 3G band; or otherwise a lot of international customers are going to pass on this upgrade and either retain their ATT Tilt, or switch to the Iphone that DOES support all 3 frequencies. For me a dual band ATT would translate into a NO GO. As simple as that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm right there with you, but not seeing any other tri-band radio versions doesn't bode well IMNSHO....and I seem to recall that AT&T has had several other non-tri-band UMTS phones.
Richard

Looking for a radio to get LTE band 2 on T-Mobile US

I have a T-Mobile branded M8 rooted, unlocked bootloader, and S-Off. I live out in the sticks and can only get 1900mhz LTE band 2 on my wife's S4 however, my M8 doesn't see band 2 because of the radio firmware.
Is there a radio firmware from another GSM M8 variant that I could flash to my T-Mobile branded M8 that would get me the 1900mhz LTE band 2?
Are you using the phone on a different carrier besides T-Mobile? If so, which carrier?
Also, Band 2 looks like its 1900 MHz, and band 4 corresponds to 1700 MHz (also known as AWS). So not clear which band you are looking for: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks
No. I am on T-Mobile US.
Sorry, I meant band 2 (1900mhz). Corrected in the OP.
barcodelinux said:
No. I am on T-Mobile US.
Sorry, I meant band 2 (1900mhz). Corrected in the OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really odd that the T-Mobile US variant doesn't include a band that T-Mob uses. But based on specs listed online, this is the case (doesn't support 1900 MHz Band 2 for LTE): http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_(m8)-6074.php
AT&T or Developer's Edition radios may be your best bet (AT&T uses 1900 for LTE).
barcodelinux said:
I have a T-Mobile branded M8 rooted, unlocked bootloader, and S-Off. I live out in the sticks and can only get 1900mhz LTE band 2 on my wife's S4 however, my M8 doesn't see band 2 because of the radio firmware.
Is there a radio firmware from another GSM M8 variant that I could flash to my T-Mobile branded M8 that would get me the 1900mhz LTE band 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like you and I are in the same boat. I was dumfounded when I found out a LTE capable phone I purchased from T-Mobile is not able to get LTE due to an unsupported band.
In any case, I have a similar post over in the [Q&A] [RADIO] Q&A HTC One M8 Radio collection for different model Models/CID's. See http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/help/qa-htc-one-m8-radio-collection-models-t2941210/page6
One guy mentions the AT&T radio would probably work but I would lose 3G connectivity in some areas. I'm going to have to look into that a little deeper.
Please update me if you find a solution and let me know how things work out. I'll do the same.
fyrcap100 said:
One guy mentions the AT&T radio would probably work but I would lose 3G connectivity in some areas. I'm going to have to look into that a little deeper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right. It occurred to me that the AT&T version lacks the AWS band (Band 4, or 1700/2100MHz), which T-Mob uses for HSPA+ (3G) in many areas. Its somewhat of an oddball band, meaning its not used in many places aside from T-Mob US, so its pretty rare to have this built into any radio that is not specifically T-Mob.
redpoint73 said:
That's right. It occurred to me that the AT&T version lacks the AWS band (Band 4, or 1700/2100MHz), which T-Mob uses for HSPA+ (3G) in many areas. Its somewhat of an oddball band, meaning its not used in many places aside from T-Mob US, so its pretty rare to have this built into any radio that is not specifically T-Mob.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a PITA. Why didn't TMO just go ahead and put LTE Band 2 in the phone in the first place. They knew they were pushing LTE in that band so why handcuff their customers. You can't make this stuff up!
Thanks for the information you have provided. It really is eye-opening. I'm still in the buyers remorse period as far as this phone is concerned and could return it. The problem is I don't know what phone to get without spending twice the money at this point. That is unless I want to move of an iPhone (Boo!!).
What a tangled web!
redpoint73 said:
That's right. It occurred to me that the AT&T version lacks the AWS band (Band 4, or 1700/2100MHz), which T-Mob uses for HSPA+ (3G) in many areas. Its somewhat of an oddball band, meaning its not used in many places aside from T-Mob US, so its pretty rare to have this built into any radio that is not specifically T-Mob.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does the developer version support the AWS band?
fastbyte27 said:
So does the developer version support the AWS band?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know for sure but there is a 2014 article on Phandroid that states the Developer Edition is basically an unbranded version of the AT&T phone. So logic would say that if the AT&T version doesn't support it then the Developer Edition wouldn't either.
http://phandroid.com/2014/03/26/htc-one-m8-developer-edition/
fastbyte27 said:
So does the developer version support the AWS band?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dev Edition does not support AWS for HSPA+ (3G), according to this: https://support.t-mobile.com/message/359612
---------- Post added at 09:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 AM ----------
fyrcap100 said:
I don't know for sure but there is a 2014 article on Phandroid that states the Developer Edition is basically an unbranded version of the AT&T phone. So logic would say that if the AT&T version doesn't support it then the Developer Edition wouldn't either.
http://phandroid.com/2014/03/26/htc-one-m8-developer-edition/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was my original understanding as well, and for the most part true. However, its been pointed out on XDA (and specs online agree) that the Dev Edition is missing LTE Band 7, which the AT&T version does support. A minor difference that won't affect most folks (AT&T doesn't use that band), but a difference nonetheless.

Which HSPA/UMTS band does the M9 unlocked US version support?

Found much conflicting info on HSPA band support for the US unlocked/developer model.
htc.com says it supports 3G UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz. But is also says it supports 4G LTE: FDD: Bands 1,3,5,7,8,20,28, which is COMPLETELY wrong so i don't know if to trust htc.com.
Can anyone confirm the UMTS band support for this device? I am most interested in 900mhz UMTS because of trips to New Zealand where 900 mhz UMTS is often used.
Thanks!
Bump.
urushiol said:
Found much conflicting info on HSPA band support for the US unlocked/developer model.
htc.com says it supports 3G UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz. But is also says it supports 4G LTE: FDD: Bands 1,3,5,7,8,20,28, which is COMPLETELY wrong so i don't know if to trust htc.com.
Can anyone confirm the UMTS band support for this device? I am most interested in 900mhz UMTS because of trips to New Zealand where 900 mhz UMTS is often used.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really dont know about it, but as far as i know you can flash radio bands anyways, so look for it on the web or this site, i use dev with no prblems at all in mexico with LTE. =D
Bump.
LLegion said:
Really dont know about it, but as far as i know you can flash radio bands anyways, so look for it on the web or this site, i use dev with no prblems at all in mexico with LTE. =D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that really true?
I am looking into getting the HTC One M9 through AT&T but may switch to T-Mobile in the future.
As such I want a phone that fully supports both networks ...
I found a thread that it is supposedly possible to flash the AT&T phone to support developer ROMs but I can't find any information whether it is possible to also change band support. According to GSM Arena the AT&T version of the phone also supports LTE band 4 and 12 (needed for T-Mobile) but it doesn't support VoLTE on band 12, nor does it have 3G AWS (1700/2100), though of course there is a T-Mobile version of the phone WITH support for all of those.
Can I simply flash my phone so that I can (a) use CM13/AOSP roms and (b) so that the radio uses the proper AT&T or T-Mobile bands and tech?
andTab said:
Is that really true?
I am looking into getting the HTC One M9 through AT&T but may switch to T-Mobile in the future.
As such I want a phone that fully supports both networks ...
I found a thread that it is supposedly possible to flash the AT&T phone to support developer ROMs but I can't find any information whether it is possible to also change band support. According to GSM Arena the AT&T version of the phone also supports LTE band 4 and 12 (needed for T-Mobile) but it doesn't support VoLTE on band 12, nor does it have 3G AWS (1700/2100), though of course there is a T-Mobile version of the phone WITH support for all of those.
Can I simply flash my phone so that I can (a) use CM13/AOSP roms and (b) so that the radio uses the proper AT&T or T-Mobile bands and tech?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WELL I DONT BELIVE cm13/AOSP WOULD BE BEST OPTION I FLASHED DVEELOPER 2.11 AND OVER IT VIPERONE 3.5.0 (WWE BASE 2.10) ANS WORKS FINE, AFAIK.... TELCEL BANDS (MEXICO) ARE FULLY COMPATIBLE AND PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS ATT, ACTUALLY I FOLLOWED IN THE HTC M9 THREAD HOW TO CHANGE MY PHONE (ATT) TO DEVELOPER EVEN WHEN I HAVE TELCEL AND IT WORKED!!! =D YOU SHOULD HAVE NO ISSUE.
LLegion said:
WELL I DONT BELIVE cm13/AOSP WOULD BE BEST OPTION I FLASHED DVEELOPER 2.11 AND OVER IT VIPERONE 3.5.0 (WWE BASE 2.10) ANS WORKS FINE, AFAIK.... TELCEL BANDS (MEXICO) ARE FULLY COMPATIBLE AND PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS ATT, ACTUALLY I FOLLOWED IN THE HTC M9 THREAD HOW TO CHANGE MY PHONE (ATT) TO DEVELOPER EVEN WHEN I HAVE TELCEL AND IT WORKED!!! =D YOU SHOULD HAVE NO ISSUE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I am asking is very different: AT&T and T-Mobile DO NOT use the same bands (e.g. AWS for T-Mobile) nor the same tech (VoLTE on band 12)
OHH I SEE SORRY, WELL WHATEVER, YOU CAN FLASH RADIO BANDS AS WELL AND SUPPORT OTHER CARRIERS, JUST read here... http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/general/recovery-flashable-radio-zip-t3122983
---------- Post added at 02:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:42 PM ----------
andTab said:
What I am asking is very different: AT&T and T-Mobile DO NOT use the same bands (e.g. AWS for T-Mobile) nor the same tech (VoLTE on band 12)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and also check it on here... https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=32827
andTab said:
What I am asking is very different: AT&T and T-Mobile DO NOT use the same bands (e.g. AWS for T-Mobile) nor the same tech (VoLTE on band 12)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and also check it on here... https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=32827
---------- Post added at 03:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:47 PM ----------
andTab said:
What I am asking is very different: AT&T and T-Mobile DO NOT use the same bands (e.g. AWS for T-Mobile) nor the same tech (VoLTE on band 12)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and also check it on here... https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=32827
All this info is about LTE bands. I am curious about HSPA/UMTS bands. I would like to know what it supports out of the box, not what I can with mods.
Thanks!
urushiol said:
All this info is about LTE bands. I am curious about HSPA/UMTS bands. I would like to know what it supports out of the box, not what I can with mods.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m9-6891.php
Google is your friend.
And in case you didn't notice: I was asking about AWS and VoLTE since LTE bands are the same.
urushiol said:
All this info is about LTE bands. I am curious about HSPA/UMTS bands. I would like to know what it supports out of the box, not what I can with mods.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-mobile version of the M9 supports the most bands. The AT&T and Developer Edition are identical and are missing some bands needed for t-mobile LTE (Volte) support in some areas. Flashing different radios will not enable bands the phone does not have. Theirs more information in the T-mobile M9 forums
http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/general/how-to-change-network-bands-gsm-devices-t3135401
http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmo...-1-32-617-30-dev-edition-rom-tmobile-t3078315
andTab said:
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m9-6891.php
Google is your friend.
And in case you didn't notice: I was asking about AWS and VoLTE since LTE bands are the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I have checked GSM arena, plus anything else I could find on google. I don't see a listing for the unlocked/developer edition on this page. I see EMEA, Verizon, ATT and T-mobile.
And yes, sorry, I didn't realized there was an AWS for HSPA, i was just thinking about band 4 LTE on ATT which I think is AWS.
clsA said:
The T-mobile version of the M9 supports the most bands. The AT&T and Developer Edition are identical and are missing some bands needed for t-mobile LTE (Volte) support in some areas. Flashing different radios will not enable bands the phone does not have. Theirs more information in the T-mobile M9 forums
http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/general/how-to-change-network-bands-gsm-devices-t3135401
http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmo...-1-32-617-30-dev-edition-rom-tmobile-t3078315
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.
That's what I figured.
Sadly that means I won't get this phone.
Bump. Hoping someone can find a straight answer have been on the phone twice with HTC, even they can't provide a straight answer. I ever addressed them on twitter. No luck. Thanks in advance.
Bump!
Bump
urushiol said:
Found much conflicting info on HSPA band support for the US unlocked/developer model.
htc.com says it supports 3G UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz. But is also says it supports 4G LTE: FDD: Bands 1,3,5,7,8,20,28, which is COMPLETELY wrong so i don't know if to trust htc.com.
Can anyone confirm the UMTS band support for this device? I am most interested in 900mhz UMTS because of trips to New Zealand where 900 mhz UMTS is often used.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's pretty difficult to find out info on band support, and I have no idea why. It should be readily available...
Anyway, have a look at this: http://wireless.fcc.gov/hac_documents/150813/9135276_21.PDF
Based on that, there are four models sold in the U.S., which are:
0PJA100 (which appears to be the AT&T version)
0PJA120 (which appears to be the TMO USA version)
0PJA200 (which appears to be the Sprint version)
0PJA300 (which appears to be the Verizon version)
The AT&T model supports the following: UMTS 850MHz, 1900MHz and 2100MHz.
Now, that said, if you look on AT&T's site, they list their model as 0PJA110, so obviously either the FCC site is wrong or the AT&T site is wrong.
I happen to have the 0PJA110 model, which is also the Rogers model (so it would make sense that the AT&T version is 0PJA110 because Rogers and AT&T generally have the same devices, and their networks are generally the same frequencies). Based on HTC Canada's site, the Rogers model supports UMTS 850MHz, 1700MHz, 1900MHz and 2100MHz.
Now, for the assumption: From what I have read (but I haven't personally confirmed), the unlocked and developer models are the same as the AT&T model. If that is indeed the case, then you have your answer: No UMTS 900MHz support the unlocked and/or developer models (in fact, not UMTS support on any U.S. model).
efrant said:
Anyway, have a look at this: http://wireless.fcc.gov/hac_documents/150813/9135276_21.PDF
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this is a delayed followup, but I wanted to say thanks for this. I finally got HTC to confirm that UMTS 850MHz, 1700MHz, 1900MHz and 2100MHz are the official specs for the US unlocked edition(which, oddly, is marked 0PJA110 on the back).
I am pushing them for a refund for false advertising. I was so concerned that these specs could be wrong before I purchased the phone, that I did a chat with HTC and they assured me the correct specs were UMTS 850MHz, 900MHz, 1700MHz, 1900MHz and 2100MHz. Once they confirmed these specs for me, I purchased the phone. Now they confirm they told me wrong. Very frustrating experience.
I am waiting to hear back about getting a refund. I am hoping the come through, this is crazy.

AT&T m8

Will I lose any lte band support if I convert to tmobile?
Yes, flashing T-Mob US (I assume you mean US, since you are talking AT&T) firmware or RUU will change band support, and you will lose some LTE bands.
According to the specs on GSMarena, with the T-Mob firmware, you will have support for LTE bands 4 and 17; and will lose support for 2, 5, and 7.
What bands do you need, and what carrier are you using?
Tmo USA
What if I merely flash a tmobile based rom
PunishedSnake said:
Tmo USA
What if I merely flash a tmobile based rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just flashing the ROM, you won't change the band support.
But again, I'm curious what carrier you are actually using the phone on?
redpoint73 said:
Just flashing the ROM, you won't change the band support.
But again, I'm curious what carrier you are actually using the phone on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tmobile USA
I installed insertcoin and used the tmobile setting hopefully it works
PunishedSnake said:
Tmobile USA
I installed insertcoin and used the tmobile setting hopefully it works
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should work fine.
Being on T-Mob US, and using AT&T radio baseband (part of the firmware that determines band support) should be fine for the most part. Reason I say this is:
1) ATT radio supports the same LTE bands as the T-Mob radio (4 and 17), and then some.
2) ATT radio is missing HSPA (3G) Band 4 (AWS). This used to be the band most widely used by T-Mob for 3G. But my understanding, is that they are well underway in migrating 3G service to 1900 MHz (Band 2) which is supported by the ATT radio.
3) The only "negative" to staying on the ATT radio, that I can see, is that if you happen to be in area where T-Mob is still using AWS for 3G , and you don't have LTE service in that area, either. In that instance, your data will drop down to EDGE (2G). I don't really have an idea of how widespread this situation may be; but I have a feeling its relatively small.
redpoint73 said:
Should work fine.
Being on T-Mob US, and using AT&T radio baseband (part of the firmware that determines band support) should be fine for the most part. Reason I say this is:
1) ATT radio supports the same LTE bands as the T-Mob radio (4 and 17), and then some.
2) ATT radio is missing HSPA (3G) Band 4 (AWS). This used to be the band most widely used by T-Mob for 3G. But my understanding, is that they are well underway in migrating 3G service to 1900 MHz (Band 2) which is supported by the ATT radio.
3) The only "negative" to staying on the ATT radio, that I can see, is that if you happen to be in area where T-Mob is still using AWS for 3G , and you don't have LTE service in that area, either. In that instance, your data will drop down to EDGE (2G). I don't really have an idea of how widespread this situation may be; but I have a feeling its relatively small.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea thats why I got an unlocked ATT m8 instead of a tmobile one for the extra lte bands. I have yet to run into band 2 lte and all the aws hspa has been reused for lte. Luckily.

Does my device support AT&T LTE?

I have a m8 asia version.
rooted, unlocked with a custom rom.
This is my phone spec with the supported freqs:
https://goo.gl/HLiiF2
Am I able to use at&t's 4G LTE service?
If not, what's the max I got with this phone?
If it's below a H+ I might consider buying a new one..
Thanks for the help!
I don't think the link you posted is specific to the Asia M8 (does not list the proper LTE bands for the Asia version - and band support varied by version). It lists the LTE bands for the EMEA version. I think the following has the proper bands for the Asia version: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_(m8)-6074.php
In either case, the bands listed (either on your link, or the one I posted) do not include any of the LTE bands used by AT&T. AT&T uses LTE bands 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), and 17(700)
Support of all the bands (2, 4, 5 and 17) is needed to ensure LTE service in all regions serviced by AT&T (what band they use, varied by locality). So just missing one of the bands can be a problem. And your phone doesn't support any of the bands used by AT&T!
It very unusual for phone versions intended for other (foreign) regions to support all the AT&T bands. So when purchasing a new phone, its best to look at models intended for use on AT&T.
Note, that with s-off ($25 by sunshine is the only way) you can flash the AT&T baseband radio, which in theory changes the band support. However, its still not guaranteed that you will still get LTE on AT&T's network with an M8 "converted" in such a way. We've seen reports of folks getting s-off, and flashing the "proper" radio, only to fail getting LTE on their local carrier. I haven't seen a satisfactory explanation of this, or a fix, unfortunately.
So its an endeavor which costs money, and may ultimately not work. So if you have the option to do so, I would recommend to return the phone, and get another model that supports AT&T's bands out of the box (for the M8, that would be an AT&T branded version, or US Developer's Edition).

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