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Question for people who bought Z Play directly from Motorola in the US

I'm curious to know what model people received direct from Moto in the US. My Z Play was given as a gift and bought from Best Buy, but it's XT1635-02, which I keep reading is an International model.
For those in the US that bought direct from Motorola, what's your model number?

mostcallmerob said:
I'm curious to know what model people received direct from Moto in the US. My Z Play was given as a gift and bought from Best Buy, but it's XT1635-02, which I keep reading is an International model.
For those in the US that bought direct from Motorola, what's your model number?
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The same XT 1635-02...

I ordered my Moto Z Play Droid direct from Motorola, and got model number XT1635-01

XT1635-01 is the Verizon US variant, XT1635-02 is the US AND international varaints, XT1635-03 is the chinese variant. XT1635-02 can be either dual or single sim, and only differs in the software channels(retus, reteu, retla, etc). I think XT1635-03 is dual sim only, but im not sure. If you want to confirm your device is for the US market, go to settings > About phone and check the software channel which should read retus.

Seems silly that they would use the same model number for different regions with different band support. Confusing

catpunt said:
Seems silly that they would use the same model number for different regions with different band support. Confusing
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All XT1635-02 variants support the same GSM bands. XT1635-03 supports the chinese WCDMA bands and probably some GSM bands. XT1635-01 supports US CDMA bands and some GSM bands. Arguably motorola probably just disabled the CDMA and WCDMA bands on the XT1635-02 so that people would actually buy the phone from verizon as opposed to buying it from the manufacturer. Which verizon made a deal with them to try and grab more customers by saying "Look at this innovative new phone! Only here at Verizon!" as is clearly obvious by the phone being exclucive for a few months before international release.

jon7701 said:
All XT1635-02 variants support the same GSM bands. XT1635-03 supports the chinese WCDMA bands and probably some GSM bands. XT1635-01 supports US CDMA bands and some GSM bands. Arguably motorola probably just disabled the CDMA and WCDMA bands on the XT1635-02 so that people would actually buy the phone from verizon as opposed to buying it from the manufacturer. Which verizon made a deal with them to try and grab more customers by saying "Look at this innovative new phone! Only here at Verizon!" as is clearly obvious by the phone being exclucive for a few months before international release.
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Perhaps, but that doesn't support why the Europe and USA versions of the unlocked XT1635-02 have different band support. Seems like this wouldn't have anything to do with Verizon exclusivity, and if the hardware support is there, why not make all bands available for true world support?

catpunt said:
Perhaps, but that doesn't support why the Europe and USA versions of the unlocked XT1635-02 have different band support. Seems like this wouldn't have anything to do with Verizon exclusivity, and if the hardware support is there, why not make all bands available for true world support?
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Checking motorola's site on the band support, XT1632-02 retus supports UMTS band 1700, reteu does not, however reteu support LTE bands 25 and 41, while retus does not. One of the reasons companies love proprietary software is because they can get away with doing things they dont want you to know about. Motorola can disable select bands on different variants and knows you have no way of enabling them (or even knowing if you can) since you do not have access to their source code. I cannot say for 100% sure that every variant supports the same bands hardware wise, but it would cost motorola more money to manufacture the phone with 3 or 4 different radios than it would be to just include 1 radio and then disable what they dont want you to access. The support I have that they do use this practice is because all XT1635-02 still have the pins for a second sim even on the single sim models. This would reduce manufacturing costs by skipping an unneeded step of seperating the phones between dual and single sim. On the Moto X Play some people were even able to activate the second sim on single sim only models. If you were around during the Nexus 4 era, Google intentionally disabled 4G LTE on that phone for seemingly no reason. Devs were able to figure that out and were able to unlock the 4G LTE capabilities. About Verizon exclucivity, if motorola disables the CDMA bands on their international model, you have to buy your phone from verizon if you want to use it on verizon. Lenovo (Motorola) has had big success with verizon exclucives from their droid series and they want to keep it that way. So in order to make costumers keep buying Droid phones they make it so that you have buy from verizon if you want CDMA support or you're SOL. This also allows verizon to lock down what CDMA carriers the phone can be used on (Which currently is only verizon AFAIK). Why they dont just enable all bands on all models is a good question, but once again it could have to do with the Verizon exclucivity because remember the verizon model was the first to be released. You had to buy the phone from verizon or motorola in order to get it which helps the Droid series sell. Releasing the phone 3 months later with global support could hurt the Droid series and potentially piss of customers.

jon7701 said:
Checking motorola's site on the band support, XT1632-02 retus supports UMTS band 1700, reteu does not, however reteu support LTE bands 25 and 41, while retus does not. One of the reasons companies love proprietary software is because they can get away with doing things they dont want you to know about. Motorola can disable select bands on different variants and knows you have no way of enabling them (or even knowing if you can) since you do not have access to their source code. I cannot say for 100% sure that every variant supports the same bands hardware wise, but it would cost motorola more money to manufacture the phone with 3 or 4 different radios than it would be to just include 1 radio and then disable what they dont want you to access. The support I have that they do use this practice is because all XT1635-02 still have the pins for a second sim even on the single sim models. This would reduce manufacturing costs by skipping an unneeded step of seperating the phones between dual and single sim. On the Moto X Play some people were even able to activate the second sim on single sim only models. If you were around during the Nexus 4 era, Google intentionally disabled 4G LTE on that phone for seemingly no reason. Devs were able to figure that out and were able to unlock the 4G LTE capabilities. About Verizon exclucivity, if motorola disables the CDMA bands on their international model, you have to buy your phone from verizon if you want to use it on verizon. Lenovo (Motorola) has had big success with verizon exclucives from their droid series and they want to keep it that way. So in order to make costumers keep buying Droid phones they make it so that you have buy from verizon if you want CDMA support or you're SOL. This also allows verizon to lock down what CDMA carriers the phone can be used on (Which currently is only verizon AFAIK).
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Thanks for the detailed info.
One weird thing is this: according to http://willmyphonework.net/ the unlocked USA version of the Moto Z Play has partial T-Mobile 3G and 4G support, while the unlocked Europe version has partial T-Mobile 3G support and full 4G support. However the unlocked Mexico version apparently has full 2G/3G/4G support. ??? Sounds like the USA version is actually the worst in terms of band support for T-Mobile.

catpunt said:
Thanks for the detailed info.
One weird thing is this: according to http://willmyphonework.net/ the unlocked USA version of the Moto Z Play has partial T-Mobile 3G and 4G support, while the unlocked Europe version has partial T-Mobile 3G support and full 4G support. However the unlocked Mexico version apparently has full 2G/3G/4G support. ??? Sounds like the USA version is actually the worst in terms of band support for T-Mobile.
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Funny enough on their motorola's own website, they say the US version only has partial support for AT&T and full support for T-Mobile. https://www.motorola.com/us/carrier-compatibility I guess we'll never know whats going through the minds of the people at Lenovo. I also added a bit to my previous post about the global bit of your question.

Something to remember is that for most handset manufacturers, the carrier is their customer, not you. When handset manufacturers have a new phone to sell, they hand-make some prototypes and hawk them around the carriers (networks). If the network likes it, they will usually say "I'll only take it if it has this, this and this, and has that, that and that removed". Manufacturer then does some horse trading, hence "that would be uneconomic to remove from hardware, but we can disable it in the firmware".
Eventually they reach agreement and the network says "deal, I'll take 500,00" (for example) and agrees the payment. It's those advance payments (or borrowing against them) that fund the cost of production, and hopefully leave some profit left over for the manufacturer. This is why what the networks want always takes precedence - international unlocked sales are always a complete unknown, and usually a very small part of total sales. For most handset manufacturers, it's those exclusive deals with networks that keep the lights on. Only the iPhone ever bucked that trend, by being seen as a single product with such high demand that it gave the manufacturer more power than the networks. Android phones are divided between lots of different models and multiple manufacturers, which means that the manufacturer's bargaining power for a single model is very limited.

jon7701 said:
Funny enough on their motorola's own website, they say the US version only has partial support for AT&T and full support for T-Mobile. https://www.motorola.com/us/carrier-compatibility I guess we'll never know whats going through the minds of the people at Lenovo. I also added a bit to my previous post about the global bit of your question.
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Are you saying the info on the moto site isn't 100% correct? I wanted to get one of these for AT&T but it shows it is only somewhat compatible compared to Tmobile i
also see no checkmark by republic wireless, but I know for a fact RW is selling them on their website, and there is even a RW promo taking place in a few days with the z play

x000x said:
Are you saying the info on the moto site isn't 100% correct? I wanted to get one of these for AT&T but it shows it is only somewhat compatible compared to Tmobile i
also see no checkmark by republic wireless, but I know for a fact RW is selling them on their website, and there is even a RW promo taking place in a few days with the z play
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I have AT&T and am having no issues with signal. I get EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, and LTE. I actually get better signal on AT&T than I did on verizon on my Moto X Pure (AT&T also costs me almost 3x less as well ). AT&T uses LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 17, and recently (from what ive heard) 12. XT1635-02 retus supports all of those bands (it lists supported bands on the box).

What's the difference in moto z play and moto z play droid?

Is there any difference in performance of this devices or any other differences?

The Z Play Droid is a Verizon phone and supports CDMA, but it can't be rooted. Motorola won't unlock the bootloaders of VZ phones, afaik.

timster01 said:
The Z Play Droid is a Verizon phone and supports CDMA, but it can't be rooted. Motorola won't unlock the bootloaders of VZ phones, afaik.
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Oohk thanks for help

(your service provider) + Z play

Hello. I have a question about quality of service and Z play. I live in the USA and want a modernish phone with an unlocked bootloader. Doesn't seem too much to ask right? I have to buy the phone... Should be able to do what I want with it.... Right?
Will a sprint Z play work?

in the US that topic is very complicated. There are variants at least for sprint and verizon. Then there is an unlocked GSM version which supports bands from all major carriers, but not all of them. Then there are features like VoLTE that will only work e.g. with a Verizon variant with a Verizon SIM. So which variant is for you depends on which carrier you want to use and what special functions the carrier variants have. So a sprint Z Play will work if Sprint has a good coverage at your place. There is a thread at motorolas forum you might want to read to, there are some differences explained by a moderator:
here, starting from the 10th post.

How to use Verizon service on unlocked Sprint z2 force? Preferably also with Volte.

I bought a Moto z2 force (Sprint), and I'm wondering how well will Verizon service work? Will HDvoice work, and what's the coverage difference?
Will I have to flash a different baseband?
My goal is to have this phone on Verizon And rooted.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Check your Hardware Specs.
James Renshaw I said:
I bought a Moto z2 force (Sprint), and I'm wondering how well will Verizon service work? Will HDvoice work, and what's the coverage difference?
Will I have to flash a different baseband?
My goal is to have this phone on Verizon And rooted.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Just bought this Phone yesterday so I will know more later. Check your radio spec's for this phone as a lot of carrier specific devices are built around their spec's. (radio freq, bands used, coding, timing, etc). My Htc is considered a world phone but is missing some Verizon bands that would limit it's use on their network (special features for one band, LTE was another band)
Would probably been easier to just by that Verizon model and Unlock/root/Mod it.
But easy is no fun and that is why we are here.
If You do get it working on V, let us know what you did to get there and how is performance. Good luck
ADD-ON:This might help with radio question. to new to post link:gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_z2_force-8693.php#sprint

Which G7 ThinQ Variant Should I Buy?

I *will* root it (lots of experience with other manufacturers devices), and flash whatever (firmware, etc.) in order to get it to work on an MVNO (currently using USMobile for old phone).
* Would like it to work on a Verizon-capable MVNO.
* T-Mobile is a distant second choice, but still acceptable in my location.
I see that these are available, but with flashing I know that many limitations can be avoided (of course the hardware/radio/frequency bands dictate).
A nice comparison (brief below) from gsmarena.com with the EM, ULM, and VLM variants selected https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.ph...ne2=9115&idPhone3=9115#g710em,g710ulm,g710vmp
G710EM - Global market
G710EMW - China, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong
G710EAW - Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore
G710ULM - USA, unlocked model
G710VMP - Verizon
G710PM - Sprint
G710AWM - Canada
The ULM and the VMP variants show no differences in frequency bands, and the EM one shows more frequency bands.
I've spent a *lot* of time trying to figure this out (hours and hours, maybe I'm too thick? or can't see the forest for the trees), but am still confused.
Any help is much appreciated.

TiTiB said:
I *will* root it (lots of experience with other manufacturers devices), and flash whatever (firmware, etc.) in order to get it to work on an MVNO (currently using USMobile for old phone).
* Would like it to work on a Verizon-capable MVNO.
* T-Mobile is a distant second choice, but still acceptable in my location.
I see that these are available, but with flashing I know that many limitations can be avoided (of course the hardware/radio/frequency bands dictate).
A nice comparison (brief below) from gsmarena.com with the EM, ULM, and VLM variants selected https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.ph...ne2=9115&idPhone3=9115#g710em,g710ulm,g710vmp
G710EM - Global market
G710EMW - China, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong
G710EAW - Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore
G710ULM - USA, unlocked model
G710VMP - Verizon
G710PM - Sprint
G710AWM - Canada
The ULM and the VMP variants show no differences in frequency bands, and the EM one shows more frequency bands.
I've spent a *lot* of time trying to figure this out (hours and hours, maybe I'm too thick? or can't see the forest for the trees), but am still confused.
Any help is much appreciated.
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If you want to root your phone, then you should steer clear of the T-Mobile variant. Till this day they still haven't unlocked the phones bootloader. You can buy any variant you want, just not the T-Mobile version.

billclintonwong said:
If you want to root your phone, then you should steer clear of the T-Mobile variant. Till this day they still haven't unlocked the phones bootloader. You can buy any variant you want, just not the T-Mobile version.
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Great info, thanks! For clarity, do you mean the ULM model? iirc it's the one with the T-Mobile bands; not sure of the ones for the Asian markets, but I'm pretty sure they don't have compatible radios for the U.S.
I'm actually going with the Samsung A70; mostly for screen size, partly because of my familiarity with Samsung devices—both good and bad. Unfortunately, it seems I'm passing on a great phone in the G7 ThinQ, but will be back if the A70 thing doesn't work out.
Thanks again

billclintonwong said:
If you want to root your phone, then you should steer clear of the T-Mobile variant. Till this day they still haven't unlocked the phones bootloader. You can buy any variant you want, just not the T-Mobile version.
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How do you unlock the Canadian one? I see no info on that one anywhere. All guides refer to the European one.

Noboty said:
How do you unlock the Canadian one? I see no info on that one anywhere. All guides refer to the European one.
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You can't, LG only allows limited number of specific models to be bootloader unlocked, see list here:
https://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev?categoryId=CTULRS0703

Hi,
im on the same boat as to which version to buy and whats suitable for the UK carriers.
What is the difference between the ULM/TM versions as it seems these are the only ones on fleabay that i have an option to buy! Do we stay away from the both versions or can we buy the ULM?
cheers

LG G7 ThinQ G710ULM or LG G7 ThinQ Verizon G710VMP or LG G7 ThinQ G710PM...the latter being the cheapest out of the 3 options.
Which one is best to buy for Virgin UK carrier?
Also, which phone would you choose between the LG G7 and the LG v30+???
Cheers

Anyone?

no one?

do i need to create my own thread?

Nenhuma.

billclintonwong said:
If you want to root your phone, then you should steer clear of the T-Mobile variant. Till this day they still haven't unlocked the phones bootloader. You can buy any variant you want, just not the T-Mobile version.
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Click to collapse
That stinks, I'm on T-mobile and want VoLTE and VoWifi as options, and as I understand it these will only work on LGs with carrier branded firmware that supports it. I've heard some variants can be flashed to others. Can, say, a VZ or AT&T variant be flashed with T-mobile's firmware and work properly?

Dishe said:
That stinks, I'm on T-mobile and want VoLTE and VoWifi as options, and as I understand it these will only work on LGs with carrier branded firmware that supports it. I've heard some variants can be flashed to others. Can, say, a VZ or AT&T variant be flashed with T-mobile's firmware and work properly?
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No not with t mobile firmware you would never want to do that. There is almost 100% some way to do it with root

antintin said:
No not with t mobile firmware you would never want to do that. There is almost 100% some way to do it with root
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What do you mean? Make volte and vowifi work with a different carrier firmware using root? I'm under the impression that's not possible, or at least it hasn't been with other phones.