One version for US and Rest-of-World this year? - Google Pixel 2 XL Questions & Answers

We know 1st gen Pixel has two version: NA and RoW(Rest of world) , but i found UK and AU store website which should be the "RoW version" has exactly the same radio band support as as US store version .
So this year Pixel 2 seems only have one version for all ? or is it just wrong info on the spec page? I'm confused.

It's the same version sold worldwide.

its good if it is, as then everyone gets all the bands so you can travel anywhere with the phone. seems only difference will be project-fi in the US using an esim.

It's cheaper for the to make only one version for everyone
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

Yes, of course it's cheaper to make only one version, but so far no company managed to integrate support for 21 LTE bands and all possible carrier aggregation combinations used in US/EU/Asia.
Not even Apple (who like to save cost more than any other company I have dealt with).
It all results in extra antennas and radio front-end components that need extra space and cost extra money.
Congratulations to Google/Qualcomm/LG/HTC if they actually managed it this time

Last year I bought the US version which didn't work well with my China Telecom... I'm glad this year they only make one model to fit all...

Yep, one stop international device shopping is the best way to go...

okgnew said:
Yes, of course it's cheaper to make only one version, but so far no company managed to integrate support for 21 LTE bands and all possible carrier aggregation combinations used in US/EU/Asia.
Not even Apple (who like to save cost more than any other company I have dealt with).
It all results in extra antennas and radio front-end components that need extra space and cost extra money.
Congratulations to Google/Qualcomm/LG/HTC if they actually managed it this time
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The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 has 43 International LTE bands including all the US ones
The OnePlus 5 does too

FMXP said:
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 has 43 International LTE bands including all the US ones
The OnePlus 5 does too
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Does it also support all possible carrier aggregation band pairings?

kEvinErd said:
Does it also support all possible carrier aggregation band pairings?
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okgnew said:
Yes, of course it's cheaper to make only one version, but so far no company managed to integrate support for 21 LTE bands and all possible carrier aggregation combinations used in US/EU/Asia.
Not even Apple (who like to save cost more than any other company I have dealt with).
It all results in extra antennas and radio front-end components that need extra space and cost extra money.
Congratulations to Google/Qualcomm/LG/HTC if they actually managed it this time
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Click to collapse
The Pixel 2 XL supports 4G pretty much anywhere in the world.
Carrier-aggregation might be another story though, the USA and EU models might differ in what bands they can combine.
Google hasn't mentioned what bands are supported for C-A so we don't know yet. If anyone was thinking about getting the phone in the USA I'd hold of for just a bit until it's been clarified.

I live in Japan and was waiting for Pixel 2 for ages, was super disappointed that they are not only failing to sell this here, but didn't include the appropriate bands for Japan. Bands 1/3 will work and you'll just have **** coverage if you're in a basement or out in the country, which is good enough I guess for a tourist. I ended up buying last year's Pixel after waiting a year for the 2.
I just came across this today after digging for info on the Pixel v1 I just got. Not sure if I'll be more or less annoyed if I find out the Pixel 2 really does secretly support other bands.
Edit: Bands 19 & 21 are what I need to full coverage.

discoltk said:
I live in Japan and was waiting for Pixel 2 for ages, was super disappointed that they are not only failing to sell this here, but didn't include the appropriate bands for Japan. Bands 1/3 will work and you'll just have **** coverage if you're in a basement or out in the country, which is good enough I guess for a tourist. I ended up buying last year's Pixel after waiting a year for the 2.
I just came across this today after digging for info on the Pixel v1 I just got. Not sure if I'll be more or less annoyed if I find out the Pixel 2 really does secretly support other bands.
Edit: Bands 19 & 21 are what I need to full coverage.
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Usually I use this website to check for phone's coverage: http://willmyphonework.net/

jerryhou85 said:
Usually I use this website to check for phone's coverage: http://willmyphonework.net/
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Thanks - but I know what bands I need and I know what the Google reports the phone as having.
The issue is there's a dependency between what GCF reports and what Google claims.

discoltk said:
Thanks - but I know what bands I need and I know what the Google reports the phone as having.
The issue is there's a dependency between what GCF reports and what Google claims.
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Click to collapse
You mean possibly Google has disabled some bands?

jerryhou85 said:
You mean possibly Google has disabled some bands?
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Yes that seems to be a possibility. So, they may be able to be enabled with a different modem firmware if so, though I don't want to get back into the constantly fighting to keep my phone updated with unsupported software.

Sadly,they drop the LTE band39 support this year, Living in China , and this is one of the bands China Mobile use in my city. B3/B38/B40/B41 are the other bands China Mobile using. So it should be some coverage problem especially in tunnel or subway.

Related

Which Model/Where to Buy Cheapest for AT&T?

So I want to buy this phone straight out. AT&T is charging more than other carriers, should I just buy the T-Mobile version? Do I have any other options for where to buy or which model to buy?
The T-Mobile version will be locked to T-Mobile, and AFAIK, unless you have a T-Mobile account, they won't unlock it for you.
Plus, it looks like the the T-Mobile phone lacks at least two LTE bands that AT&T runs (and vice versa).
I am in the same boat, and for now I see the choice as between buying the AT&T phone (leather) through BestBuy and collecting their $100 gift card for the final cost of $669-100=569, or buying the unlocked international version at ebay (currently $605) or amazon ($655), which has all the advantages of not being a carrier version, but also lacks one of AT&T's bands (30). Plus, there are risks associated with buying a $600+ phone from companies you don't know.
Quite a few people from here have ordered their phones from ebay, so I'm hoping they have a good experience, so I can jump on the bandwagon.
Makster said:
The T-Mobile version will be locked to T-Mobile, and AFAIK, unless you have a T-Mobile account, they won't unlock it for you.
Plus, it looks like the the T-Mobile phone lacks at least two LTE bands that AT&T runs (and vice versa).
I am in the same boat, and for now I see the choice as between buying the AT&T phone (leather) through BestBuy and collecting their $100 gift card for the final cost of $669-100=569, or buying the unlocked international version at ebay (currently $605) or amazon ($655), which has all the advantages of not being a carrier version, but also lacks one of AT&T's bands (30). Plus, there are risks associated with buying a $600+ phone from companies you don't know.
Quite a few people from here have ordered their phones from ebay, so I'm hoping they have a good experience, so I can jump on the bandwagon.
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Good to know I'm not in this boat alone lol. How much do you know about the band its lacking and how that may affect signal?
I wanted T-Mobile for that brown leather.... But it makes sense that you'd need an account lol.
I just looked at specs for the two models:
AT&T Model H810, bands 2,4,5,7,17,30.
T-Mobile Model 811, bands 2,4,5,7,12
International Model H815, bands 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20,28
So, the TMO model lacks AT&T's bands 17&30, and the International one only lacks 30. I really have no idea how wide-spread those bands are, and how much we would lose by not having them.
Makster said:
I just looked at specs for the two models:
AT&T Model H810, bands 2,4,5,7,17,30.
T-Mobile Model 811, bands 2,4,5,7,12
International Model H815, bands 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20,28
So, the TMO model lacks AT&T's bands 17&30, and the International one only lacks 30. I really have no idea how wide-spread those bands are, and how much we would lose by not having them.
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Appreciate you looking that up. That's some good info. I was gonna research when I got a chance later tonight lol. I did read earlier that if you get the tablet from ATT you can get an LG tablet with 2 yr contract for $0.99... That's kinda cool? I don't have a tablet so it'd be neat to have one haha.
HaVoK C89 said:
Appreciate you looking that up. That's some good info. I was gonna research when I got a chance later tonight lol. I did read earlier that if you get the tablet from ATT you can get an LG tablet with 2 yr contract for $0.99... That's kinda cool? I don't have a tablet so it'd be neat to have one haha.
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The small print on that tablet is that you have to put it on that 2 yr contract for $10/mo.
I don't need an LTE-enabled tablet bad enough to pay $240.99 for it. It might be a good tablet, but I doubt it's that good.
Plus, I am going to pay full price for the phone mostly to be free. Why would I tie myself to a contract for a tablet?
I'm in the same boat, sort of. I'd like to avoid a carrier version and was set on the International but now don't know how that one missing band will affect service.
Question though, if I have a carrier model and get it unlocked to use with another carrier, I'm guessing I'm still stuck with the previous carrier's bloat and start up screen, correct?
Makster said:
The small print on that tablet is that you have to put it on that 2 yr contract for $10/mo.
I don't need an LTE-enabled tablet bad enough to pay $240.99 for it. It might be a good tablet, but I doubt it's that good.
Plus, I am going to pay full price for the phone mostly to be free. Why would I tie myself to a contract for a tablet?
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Haha you make a good point!
Well I can't be 100% sure on the info I'm reading.... But it looks like Band 30 is either a 3g band or a lower mhz LTE band. I can't find much, or I may not be using the right "key words".
Sammae7 said:
Question though, if I have a carrier model and get it unlocked to use with another carrier, I'm guessing I'm still stuck with the previous carrier's bloat and start up screen, correct?
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Yep.
Unless you root and debloat it, but that very ability is more likely to come to non-carrier versions, which are not bloated in the first place.
Sammae7 said:
I'm in the same boat, sort of. I'd like to avoid a carrier version and was set on the International but now don't know how that one missing band will affect service.
Question though, if I have a carrier model and get it unlocked to use with another carrier, I'm guessing I'm still stuck with the previous carrier's bloat and start up screen, correct?
Click to expand...
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Correct on that. At least till you root/ROM it!
I think I'll stay away from rooting and romming for a bit. I bricked my three month old LG G3 romming it and had to rebuy a new one last month. So when I get the G4, I'll have two G3's which look brand new but one is a paperweight.
Sammae7 said:
I think I'll stay away from rooting and romming for a bit. I bricked my three month old LG G3 romming it and had to rebuy a new one last month. So when I get the G4, I'll have two G3's which look brand new but one is a paperweight.
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Lol I understand. That's a pretty cool looking paperweight! But yea, international versions don't come with much bloat at all.
That's my main attraction to it. I'm picky about my phones and hate branding and bloat. Looks like the International model lacks bands with both my current carrier (AT&T) and the carrier I may be jumping to (Verizon).
Now I'm stuck between two rocks and a hard place. I can either chance it with the International, go for the AT&T model knowing I may be dropping them in a few months, or just wait it out until I switch carriers.
HaVoK C89 said:
So I want to buy this phone straight out. AT&T is charging more than other carriers, should I just buy the T-Mobile version? Do I have any other options for where to buy or which model to buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makster said:
I just looked at specs for the two models:
AT&T Model H810, bands 2,4,5,7,17,30.
T-Mobile Model 811, bands 2,4,5,7,12
International Model H815, bands 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20,28
So, the TMO model lacks AT&T's bands 17&30, and the International one only lacks 30. I really have no idea how wide-spread those bands are, and how much we would lose by not having them.
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Click to collapse
LTE band 30 is upcoming, and not yet deployed. Chances are good that unless you live in the downtown area of a major city you probably will be moved onto the next device by the time you need band 30. Also, band 17 is AT&T's primary LTE band, so you probably don't want to get a device for AT&T without band 17. Stick with the AT&T version or the international. You can probably find the brown leather backplate by itself without buying a T-Mobile G4 that's missing the most important LTE band.
http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/atts-summer-lte-expansions-plans-2-3-ghz-wcs-lte-band-30-is-coming/
stl-soldier said:
LTE band 30 is upcoming, and not yet deployed. Chances are good that unless you live in the downtown area of a major city you probably will be moved onto the next device by the time you need band 30. Also, band 17 is AT&T's primary LTE band, so you probably don't want to get a device for AT&T without band 17. Stick with the AT&T version or the international. You can probably find the brown leather backplate by itself without buying a T-Mobile G4 that's missing the most important LTE band.
http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/atts-summer-lte-expansions-plans-2-3-ghz-wcs-lte-band-30-is-coming/
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Awesome info! Thank you do much! Band 30 sounds like the real deal when it comes to speed lol. Might be worth it to stick with a more expensive ATT model... I love me some fast Internetz...
HaVoK C89 said:
Awesome info! Thank you do much! Band 30 sounds like the real deal when it comes to speed lol. Might be worth it to stick with a more expensive ATT model... I love me some fast Internetz...
Click to expand...
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If you happen to be in an area that gets band 30, you should have incredible speeds until more devices are released that support it. It's just part of the consideration. I figure my speeds are fast enough for now, and it could be a year or more before band 30 is even up in my home area. I'm on AT&T and have the international version. I'd rather have the guaranteed unlocked/rooted international version than pay a lot more for the AT&T variant which might be locked for months. Whatever you do, just don't get the T-Mobile. Other than that, you can't really go wrong.
Sammae7 said:
That's my main attraction to it. I'm picky about my phones and hate branding and bloat. Looks like the International model lacks bands with both my current carrier (AT&T) and the carrier I may be jumping to (Verizon).
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Actually, if you are planning on going to Verizon, you don't really have a choice: You need to get the Verizon version.
Both AT&T and international G4's are GSM-only phones and will not work with Verizon.

Anyone know OnePlus's plans for OP3 phone in other international markets?

I was on a chat session last night with a OnePlus sales rep. He had informed me that there were 'plans' to release another variant of this phone, potentially to cater to the AUSTRALIAN, or other international markets.
This is good news, should it come true, for fans of this phone who don't own the device; as it's severely lacking bands on its 3G/4G radio.
This phone has fantastic specs at a good price. The only thing preventing a purchase from the majority of the southern hemisphere (there's actually a BIG market there, OnePlus :cyclops, is the unnecessary blocking or availability of more 3G and 4G LTE bands. In Australia, band 28 / 700Mhz is commonly used for the fastest 4G connections with the premium carrier int his county (Telstra) and there's others for different AUS carriers also not supported. A massive blunder in my book.
Does anyone have any more information on their plans or availability? I couln't get anything out of the guy because he was 'not a developer'.
RoOSTA
roosta said:
I was on a chat session last night with a OnePlus sales rep. He had informed me that there were 'plans' to release another variant of this phone, potentially to cater to the AUSTRALIAN, or other international markets.
This is good news, should it come true, for fans of this phone who don't own the device; as it's severely lacking bands on its 3G/4G radio.
This phone has fantastic specs at a good price. The only thing preventing a purchase from the majority of the southern hemisphere (there's actually a BIG market there, OnePlus :cyclops, is the unnecessary blocking or availability of more 3G and 4G LTE bands. In Australia, band 28 / 700Mhz is commonly used for the fastest 4G connections with the premium carrier int his county (Telstra) and there's others for different AUS carriers also not supported. A massive blunder in my book.
Does anyone have any more information on their plans or availability? I couln't get anything out of the guy because he was 'not a developer'.
RoOSTA
Click to expand...
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May be he was talking about Oneplus 3T...
ram4ufriends said:
May be he was talking about Oneplus 3T...
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Could be. Only "rumoured" specs out there. Would make sense if its a phone released in the next 20 days. Probably KNEW the information but was cautious about giving it out.
Intriguing.
RoOSTA
Is this the only phone we're potentially dealing with though, the OP3T in next 2-3 months?

Does North American Pixel phone work with LTE frequencies in Europe?

NA (North America) Pixel's tech specs show it supports plenty of frequencies, including LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 20 which are the most common ones for LTE in EU (Europe). Despite of that, I found here opinions of this device not working in EU for LTE (unfortunately without explanation or references). So I am confused. Does anyone know more / have experience?
Because not all European carriers have all frequences working in all areas, so it may have issues with some carriers.
jerryhou85 said:
Because not all European carriers have all frequences working in all areas, so it may have issues with some carriers.
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Well... thank you for the reply... but... isn't it obvious, that phones will not work in areas with no coverage? I ques I just understand you wrong...
sirda said:
Well... thank you for the reply... but... isn't it obvious, that phones will not work in areas with no coverage? I ques I just understand you wrong...
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I have the similar question as well: we have same situation in China, some carrier has some bands and the others have the rest. I just ordered one days ago and will test it myself...
jerryhou85 said:
I have the similar question as well: we have same situation in China, some carrier has some bands and the others have the rest. I just ordered one days ago and will test it myself...
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I think you won't have any problems as long as you get the RoW (rest of the world) version. I want a phone I can use in North America and in Europe as well...
http://willmyphonework.net not sure if this will help because it doesn't really differentiate NA version from ROW, but I just put in Denmark and it said the Pixel XL would work with most carriers in Denmark.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
sirda said:
I think you won't have any problems as long as you get the RoW (rest of the world) version. I want a phone I can use in North America and in Europe as well...
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I've got the one from US Play Store, I suppose it is US version.
It seems work with most carriers in China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks
Use the above to see if (or which) carriers in your most visited destinations use the bands that the US Pixel supports.
pTeronaut said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks
Use the above to see if (or which) carriers in your most visited destinations use the bands that the US Pixel supports.
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Click to collapse
Thank you. I found out I need LTE frequencies 1, 3, 7, 20. NA Pixel lists all of them in tech specs. It means it will work? Is it really so easy to find out?
jerryhou85 said:
I've got the one from US Play Store, I suppose it is US version.
It seems work with most carriers in China.
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There are only 3 different pixel builds. Verizon, Europe and rest of world. You would have purchased rest of world from USA google play.
robber said:
There are only 3 different pixel builds. Verizon, Europe and rest of world. You would have purchased rest of world from USA google play.
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It is not EU and the rest of world. It is US and the rest of world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_(smartphone)
And it seems to me like the US version will work with majority of European carriers, even with EU LTE networks (since supporting bands # 3, 7 & 20).
Please correct me if I am wrong.

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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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).
Click to expand...
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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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Click to collapse
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).

Question AT&T and International/EU 9 Pro

So, I have been watching the 9 Pro as my next phone (upgrading from HTC U12+), but am really disappointed in a couple of things: (1) it appears there is no plan to certify the US version for AT&T 5G, and (2) no Astral Black for the US.
Since the 5G aspect is unlikely to change anytime soon, and AT&T 5G isn't really all that great anyway from what I hear, is there any downside to buying an EU Astral Black model and using it in the US? I'm still researching all the bands, but it appears the EU model is only missing two LTE bands in use by AT&T (Bands 29 and 30). To be fair, the US version is also missing Band 29 for the 700MHz spectrum, but does contain support for Band 30 at 2300MHz.
I'm going to log which bands are being used where I live and work but, if I will be limited to 4G/LTE anyway, I'm not seeing a downside to buying the EU version. Am I overlooking something? Any thoughts, suggestions, or input is greatly appreciated.
EU has additional options that neither the TMO or US int models have. At&t is behind on 5g deployments anyway so you shouldn't miss out on much, Verizon and TMO would've been better for that. As far as general reqs go, I don't see why not.
mawoods75 said:
So, I have been watching the 9 Pro as my next phone (upgrading from HTC U12+), but am really disappointed in a couple of things: (1) it appears there is no plan to certify the US version for AT&T 5G, and (2) no Astral Black for the US.
Since the 5G aspect is unlikely to change anytime soon, and AT&T 5G isn't really all that great anyway from what I hear, is there any downside to buying an EU Astral Black model and using it in the US? I'm still researching all the bands, but it appears the EU model is only missing two LTE bands in use by AT&T (Bands 29 and 30). To be fair, the US version is also missing Band 29 for the 700MHz spectrum, but does contain support for Band 30 at 2300MHz.
I'm going to log which bands are being used where I live and work but, if I will be limited to 4G/LTE anyway, I'm not seeing a downside to buying the EU version. Am I overlooking something? Any thoughts, suggestions, or input is greatly appreciated.
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As far as I know, no models work with att 5g.
toolhas4degrees said:
As far as I know, no models work with att 5g.
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I believe that is true - I just want to make sure I'm not inadvertently limiting myself with 4G/LTE coverage by buying the EU version. I don't really care around home/work, as there is usually wifi available. My bigger concern would be coverage in my home area that might get dropped now due to the EU version missing a band that is available on the US version. Or, perhaps when traveling if the EU version is missing bands that other networks (roaming) may use.
mawoods75 said:
I believe that is true - I just want to make sure I'm not inadvertently limiting myself with 4G/LTE coverage by buying the EU version. I don't really care around home/work, as there is usually wifi available. My bigger concern would be coverage in my home area that might get dropped now due to the EU version missing a band that is available on the US version. Or, perhaps when traveling if the EU version is missing bands that other networks (roaming) may use.
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I have dual sims, straight talk att sim and t mobile sim. Att sim works fine no drop but no 5g, simple mobile -TMobile 5g,4g, I have the Chinese varient with eu firmware
toolhas4degrees said:
As far as I know, no models work with att 5g.
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You are correct. I call ATT about once a week asking if they're going to certify/whitelist OnePlus devices. I figure the more complaints they get, the more they'll be inclined to investigate it.
To add to this, most people I speak to have never even heard of OnePlus, which makes the conversation troublesome. Be completely prepared for ATT employees to feed you bad information, say your device isn't compatible (does not have the required hardware), is inferior to Samsung/Motorola/iPhone, and try to sell you a new phone or sent you a new SIM card.
I've posted before about calling ATT. I feel everyone who has their service should call on a regular basis. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
phr0zen said:
You are correct. I call ATT about once a week asking if they're going to certify/whitelist OnePlus devices. I figure the more complaints they get, the more they'll be inclined to investigate it.
To add to this, most people I speak to have never even heard of OnePlus, which makes the conversation troublesome. Be completely prepared for ATT employees to feed you bad information, say your device isn't compatible (does not have the required hardware), is inferior to Samsung/Motorola/iPhone, and try to sell you a new phone or sent you a new SIM card.
I've posted before about calling ATT. I feel everyone who has their service should call on a regular basis. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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Click to collapse
And the strange part is they have the 9 and 9 Pro listed on their list of devices that will still work on their network (VoLTE) after they shutdown their 3G service next year. Gives me hope they will certify at some point.
I run this phone on AT&T, and while I don't get 5G speeds, I get very fast LTE+ speeds of around 200mbps.
Thanks all for the input. After some more thought, I believe I have decided on the pine green US version. It's going to be in a case anyway, and I've had very few cases that aren't black. So, if it will be black anyway due to the case, I might as well get the US version. Plus, I think the black case and green camera bump will look sharp.
Reviving an old thread, rather starting anew:
I want to get the 9 pro for T-mobile use in US. I need dual sims and want custom roms...
I saw that "toolhas4degrees" said they had a Chinese model with EU firmware. I don't know if he changed the firmware himself or what... A bit out of my capabilities.
Simply put: What would I need to do (if anything) to get the EU (LE2123) OnePlus 9 Pro to work with T-mobile?
Thanks!

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