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Guys, I need help understanding whether or not the phones branded and sold by AT&T and T-Mobile are really the same hardware or not.
I'm in the U.S. I have a carrier-unlocked M9 originally sold by AT&T that is running the Developer's Edition ROM which I flashed via the DE RUU. I decided to get a plan on T-mobile temporarily so I could compare them to AT&T as far as performance and coverage is concerned. The phone recognized the new SIM and prompted me to select my carrier, which I did (T-mo) and I had good voice service, LTE coverage, etc. All sounds good so far, right?
Well, I was at work the other day and my friend has the S6 on T-mobile which he got from T-mobile. So we each did an LTE speedtest while we were both standing in the same spot and his speeds were consistently faster than mine. There was enough of a difference that it was obvious, meaning, like, if I was getting 20MBps down, he was getting 30. Or if I was getting 30MBps down he was getting 40. Something like that.
So, what is your opinion? Is the S6 just built with a faster set of hardware? Or, could my M9 not be 100% compatible with all of T-Mo's LTE bands? I am not that familiar with the subtle differences between these two carriers but clearly the M9 was able to recognize each carrier at least well enough to prompt me to select the right Carrier when the SIM is changed. I am currently under the impression that HTC makes phones for North America and not necessarily any carrier-specific variants (unless like, in order to support carriers using CDMA vs GSM.) Does anyone have more specific details?
If it matters, we're in the Denver, CO market.
If anyone knows of an app that can report on the current LTE status and give you the specific band you're leveraging, please LMK as that'd also be very useful.
cheers.
mrbillishere said:
Guys, I need help understanding whether or not the phones branded and sold by AT&T and T-Mobile are really the same hardware or not.
I'm in the U.S. I have a carrier-unlocked M9 originally sold by AT&T that is running the Developer's Edition ROM which I flashed via the DE RUU. I decided to get a plan on T-mobile temporarily so I could compare them to AT&T as far as performance and coverage is concerned. The phone recognized the new SIM and prompted me to select my carrier, which I did (T-mo) and I had good voice service, LTE coverage, etc. All sounds good so far, right?
Well, I was at work the other day and my friend has the S6 on T-mobile which he got from T-mobile. So we each did an LTE speedtest while we were both standing in the same spot and his speeds were consistently faster than mine. There was enough of a difference that it was obvious, meaning, like, if I was getting 20MBps down, he was getting 30. Or if I was getting 30MBps down he was getting 40. Something like that.
So, what is your opinion? Is the S6 just built with a faster set of hardware? Or, could my M9 not be 100% compatible with all of T-Mo's LTE bands? I am not that familiar with the subtle differences between these two carriers but clearly the M9 was able to recognize each carrier at least well enough to prompt me to select the right Carrier when the SIM is changed. I am currently under the impression that HTC makes phones for North America and not necessarily any carrier-specific variants (unless like, in order to support carriers using CDMA vs GSM.) Does anyone have more specific details?
If it matters, we're in the Denver, CO market.
If anyone knows of an app that can report on the current LTE status and give you the specific band you're leveraging, please LMK as that'd also be very useful.
cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in a nutshell T-mobile branded phones use an AWS band that is not present on the AT&T and Developer edition phones
This AWS band is a 3G+ or 4G band that is faster than some LTE signals in certain markets.
The big factor in doing Speedtest.net is are you both connecting to the same server for the test
go to settings and change server to say Atlanta (comcast) and see if you both get different speeds
I am using an att branded s9 on t mobile. I have successfully flashed to t mobile firmware, so wi fi calling works. When I compare the bands supported there are many differences between the two phones.
(https://www.techwalls.com/samsung-galaxy-s9-sm-g960-g965-model-number-differences/)
Is there any practical difference in the performance of these phones on t mobile network?
joelcop said:
I am using an att branded s9 on t mobile. I have successfully flashed to t mobile firmware, so wi fi calling works. When I compare the bands supported there are many differences between the two phones.
(https://www.techwalls.com/samsung-galaxy-s9-sm-g960-g965-model-number-differences/)
Is there any practical difference in the performance of these phones on t mobile network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and it also will depend on where you live. Some T-Mobile bands are not supported on the ATT version of the phone, so it's possible your signal/data could be weaker or slower depending on what the strongest bands are in the area. The ATT version also does not support the 600mhz band which is T-Mobile's new "big thing" they are rolling out. But if your phone is working and you are happy with it everywhere you go, I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe you can find someone with a Tmo S9 and just do some speed test/signal strength comparisons based on where you are.
Nightwind Hawk said:
Yes, and it also will depend on where you live. Some T-Mobile bands are not supported on the ATT version of the phone, so it's possible your signal/data could be weaker or slower depending on what the strongest bands are in the area. The ATT version also does not support the 600mhz band which is T-Mobile's new "big thing" they are rolling out. But if your phone is working and you are happy with it everywhere you go, I wouldn't worry too much. Maybe you can find someone with a Tmo S9 and just do some speed test/signal strength comparisons based on where you are.
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Click to collapse
thanks I'll try that
I'm looking to spend on Note 10 plus 5G, currently on Verizon but the biggest question that I couldn't find the answer is if in the future, I will have to stay with Verizon forever if I want to use 5G on this phone.
Samsung released different snapdragon models for each carrier, but what if I want to switch to Tmobile or AT&T with this phone? Is there a workaround to make these phones work with different carriers, especially with 5G?
S10 5G is out for many months, but I couldn't find a thread showing portability. Although selling the phone for a discounted price and buying other one that works on different carrier is an option, looking to find if it is practical to use 5G when we switch carrier.
Thank you
Cashreedhar said:
I'm looking to spend on Note 10 plus 5G, currently on Verizon but the biggest question that I couldn't find the answer is if in the future, I will have to stay with Verizon forever if I want to use 5G on this phone.
Samsung released different snapdragon models for each carrier, but what if I want to switch to Tmobile or AT&T with this phone? Is there a workaround to make these phones work with different carriers, especially with 5G?
S10 5G is out for many months, but I couldn't find a thread showing portability. Although selling the phone for a discounted price and buying other one that works on different carrier is an option, looking to find if it is practical to use 5G when we switch carrier.
Thank you
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Click to collapse
once its sim unlicked it will workbwith other carriers.. ive tried it on multiole sims from dif carriers
The lte radios should be the same, the 5g will never work across carriers for now considering theyre taping into different spectrum. Modems and antenna designs are different between the different 5g methodology each carrier adopted.
elliwigy said:
once its sim unlicked it will workbwith other carriers.. ive tried it on multiole sims from dif carriers
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Click to collapse
That is very nice to hear. Does the phone work with other carriers once sim unlocked without changing the phone software? Does 5G work on other carriers too, if the bandwidths match? Thanks
coilbio said:
The lte radios should be the same, the 5g will never work across carriers for now considering theyre taping into different spectrum. Modems and antenna designs are different between the different 5g methodology each carrier adopted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may not understand much details of these modems, however my understanding is that there are some 5G bands common between carriers.
Verizon holds 76% of total available 28GHz spectrum bands and and 48% 39GHz 5g spectrum bands.
At&T holds 40% of 39GHz bands and Tmobile holds 12% of 28GHz bands. If I'm not mistaken the modem in Note 10 5G model supports 600MHz which is new Tmobile band. So, if Note 10 modem supports those 2 5G bands on verizon, technically it should work on at&t and t-mobile too? Although these may work in different cities as of now
Yes and no, I don't know if it has the right antennas, they matter to match the signal length and the obvious is how locked the radio is.
You forget Verizon are evil about keeping their phones there.
It could be the phone is capable but will never be able because it's a Verizon phone and they nerfed something.
coilbio said:
Yes and no, I don't know if it has the right antennas, they matter to match the signal length and the obvious is how locked the radio is.
You forget Verizon are evil about keeping their phones there.
It could be the phone is capable but will never be able because it's a Verizon phone and they nerfed something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the past we were able to unlock blocked antenna bands using Qualcomm QPST tool and hope there will be possibilities in the future. It's not that Verizon is evil, it applies to all carriers. There has been court ruled regulations that enabled users to take their device to other networks, but blocking 5G would be inconvenience to users, as we all know 5G is the future. I'm going to grab a Note 10 plus 5G for now
Cashreedhar said:
In the past we were able to unlock blocked antenna bands using Qualcomm QPST tool and hope there will be possibilities in the future. It's not that Verizon is evil, it applies to all carriers. There has been court ruled regulations that enabled users to take their device to other networks, but blocking 5G would be inconvenience to users, as we all know 5G is the future. I'm going to grab a Note 10 plus 5G for now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
technically they wouldnt be blocking anything if they just dont include the antennae/functionailt.. its then up to the user to research and purchase if it suits their needs.
Follow up:
After Verizon unlocked the phone, surprisingly 5G works with Tmobile without any modification. Of course not all the bands. Haven't had 5G signal so far and suddenly when I'm standing near a 5G antenna in downtown Manhattan, I had full signal
I have the same phone. I was not able to see 5G with TMobile or AT&T. I am also not able to get the Verizon hardware off my phone. ( boot logo, etc.) Any work arounds?
Odd. I have the 5G on VZW thats unlocked. My phone works fine with my TM SIM but does not pickup 5G even though my OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren gets 5G.
Milyenair said:
I have the same phone. I was not able to see 5G with TMobile or AT&T. I am also not able to get the Verizon hardware off my phone. ( boot logo, etc.) Any work arounds?
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Click to collapse
nope.
the n976v only has vzw and gcf csc codes on it which both use the vzw sales code n network code.. changing carriers should work but on network as the csc should recognize this and load the correct apns n such but the bootani n vzw stuff is there to stay..
Mike02z said:
Odd. I have the 5G on VZW thats unlocked. My phone works fine with my TM SIM but does not pickup 5G even though my OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren gets 5G.
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Click to collapse
not odd.. its a vzw branded 5g device.. its hit or miss on other 5g networks.. they typically use different bands and frequencies and 5g variants dont contain full csc for other carriers like the non 5g devices
So I'm having an issue, I'm trying to get my phone to work with Total Wireless but for some reason I cannot adjust the APN and they can't send me an update to my sim card. I can get the calls and text to work and it shows 4g but no data due to the incorrect APN. Its all grayed out with no way to add or configure it. The IMEI also says its not compatible with Total Wireless which is weird since all other verizon phones have worked before except this Note 10+ 5g.
CamachoDjr said:
So I'm having an issue, I'm trying to get my phone to work with Total Wireless but for some reason I cannot adjust the APN and they can't send me an update to my sim card. I can get the calls and text to work and it shows 4g but no data due to the incorrect APN. Its all grayed out with no way to add or configure it. The IMEI also says its not compatible with Total Wireless which is weird since all other verizon phones have worked before except this Note 10+ 5g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably need root
CamachoDjr said:
So I'm having an issue, I'm trying to get my phone to work with Total Wireless but for some reason I cannot adjust the APN and they can't send me an update to my sim card. I can get the calls and text to work and it shows 4g but no data due to the incorrect APN. Its all grayed out with no way to add or configure it. The IMEI also says its not compatible with Total Wireless which is weird since all other verizon phones have worked before except this Note 10+ 5g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you buy this phone? I had the same issue, when I changed the code to GCF from VZW. I had to send the phone back to Samsung, as the local samsung experience store couldn't even understand the problem. GCF is for Samsung diagnostic purposes only and they had to change the motherboard board on the phone in order to fix the issue. If your carrier 5g mmwave band is one of the band used by Verizon, you'll be able to use 5G with this phone. I was able to use 5G in NYC with TMOBILE, but not when I moved to a different state.
Mike02z said:
Odd. I have the 5G on VZW thats unlocked. My phone works fine with my TM SIM but does not pickup 5G even though my OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren gets 5G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can relate the issue you're facing. I was using this phone with TMobile 5G in NYC, but when I moved to different state, I can't get the 5G reception. In order to understand this further, you need to understand the frequencies supported by TMobile and frequencies owned by Verizon. TMobile shares one of Verizon's mmwave band (only around 25%) and these antennas are limited to only few metro cities. Even if you live in one of those big cities, you need to stand close to the 5G antenna in order to get the 5G signal. I remember that I had to stand within 50ft from the antenna in order to get 5G signal (downtown Manhattan near Meridian Lane and Water st).
So I'm new to this. Ive got a Note10+ 5G from Verizon (SM-N976V). Ported over from Verizon to At&t. Works fine accept its on 4G LTE (no 5G... the Samsung S9+ went over to 5G no issues). I am told if I flash the phone to the unlocked firmware it should get rid of the Verizon "lock" and work. I have tried this as per help form Android Central however having no success flashing... I am not exactly that savvy with this stuff... Please help
elliwigy said:
once its sim unlicked it will workbwith other carriers.. ive tried it on multiole sims from dif carriers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
elliwigy, please let me know how you got your SM-N976V to work on other carriers. I've been trying to get mine to work on Visible and I can not change the APN settings.
mbmallette said:
elliwigy, please let me know how you got your SM-N976V to work on other carriers. I've been trying to get mine to work on Visible and I can not change the APN settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can network unlock it pretty easily even if the phone isn't paid off yet. Download setedit by 4a from the play store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.paphonb.systemuituner
and change the setting "vzw_network_lock" from a 1 to a 0. You'll have to buy the expansion pack from 4a to have a foreground guardian that'll prevent it from going back to a 1.
(
https://imgur.com/qaZl4d9
)
Hello,
I have a note 10+ of US origin with snapdragon 855, I want to use it in Europe (France) in order to have the best possible network.
I installed the firmware N975U1 XAA but I don't have 4G + (I only have the LTE logo, no LTE +), a lot problem of concern for notification with my mailboxes.
So I would have liked to know if there was a more suitable firmware for France in order to have the 4G logo which replaces the LTE logo? and maybe be able to receive 4G +?
I know I cannot install the XEF firmware because the processor is not the same.
Thanks for your help
Hello ,
I'm surprise ! Your provider ? Your mobile network coverage ? If you have another mobile , full XEF , what result on the same place ? switch off !
I use the Orange network. the network is the same with another mobile except that I receive 4g + while there it is simple lte. I know there is normally lte + in us. so know if it is possible to have a firmware allowing to have 4g +. after maybe nothing to do but I receive with great difficulty the notifications gmail and other mailbox. I have however reinstalled everything several times but no change.
does anyone know if this is possible? or a tweak that allows you to do it? thank you
4G, 4G+, lte, lte+, lteA, 5G, etc, are sevice provider dependant, so, you will get what the carrier gives you, no way to obtain services that other carriers provide
I'm using a Canadian Note 10+ (N975W) here in the UK which is working flawlessly, I have full 4G+, VoLTE & WiFi calling, the only thing that doesn't work is Samsung Pay which I knew anyway, and as I use Google Pay, it isn't a issue :highfive:
Firstly search the bands that your phone uses with its model name on GSM arena, then the ones used by the carriers you'll need for both countries.
Then with the RNC mobile app or with Activity Launcher, search "hidden" and launch the one under "paramètre d'appel"
You'll be able to see what bands are actually used by your current carrier.
Since the protocol names and frequency aggregation hints are carrier specific, you may already use 4G+ without knowing.
Hello, I'm going back to the topic because I still don't have a solution at the moment. I had the opportunity to have a French Note 10 alongside with the same operator, I had the "4G +" (LTE+) logo, the speeds were tested at 300 mega / sec. With my 10+ USA rating stuck on the LTE logo I only get 50 mega / sec ...: /
according to my research this is a carrier aggregation problem.
How to unlock it?
I just tried the Canadian rom and the same, no support for LTE + or 4G +, the speeds are as low as with the US version
I need unlocked/dual sim. If I buy the UK variant, SM-F926B/DS, will it work on AT&T network? Will I get 5G/LTE? Will it update? Thanks!
It should. The spec sheets for the phone does not show any variance in the radio's and frequencies they are compatible with in regards to where it's sold other than the ROM's with the carrier configurations pre-configured.
Doesnt the US version have a mmwave 5g antenna the UK version doesn't have?
If correct, how would this affect me? Thanks!
I would be very careful. In 2020 I bought unlocked Note 20 Ultra in Czech Republic and brought it to USA to be used on AT&T network. Unfortunately the 5G bands are not compatible and I didn't get 5G at all. Otherwise the phone works fine, you get LTE speeds and little bit spotty coverage. If you can live with that, you will be ok.
I use an international note 10+ n975f in USA on ATT and my line was shutoff last month because of a new company policy that will be fully in effect Feb 2022. Only u/u1 variants will work on their network...must have volte working and be a device provided thru ATT...not imported. I recommend a different carrier.
These phones will keep working on AT&T after the 3G network shutdown
AT&T will shut down its 3G network and require HD Voice support by February 2022. Check this list to see if your phone will make the cut.
www.xda-developers.com
It sucks. They did send me a free note 9, but...I need a new carrier.
Interesting. I’m on an unlocked, dual-SIM, Note 8, N950F which came from Singapore. I don’t remember how long I’ve had it, but I think it’s been around 5 years. It’s not a 5G device, but it is 4G/LTE and supports VoLTE. I think AT&T knows about it because I think I had to provide them with a S/N, M/N, and IMEI years ago. I’d like a 5G device and this one isn’t holding a charge for a full day anymore, but otherwise works fine on AT&T for now. I’d really like to stay with an unlocked, dual-SIM.