Hello,
I currently have US Cellular and i have great service in my area. My girlfriend wants to switch to US Cellular also due to the fact that in our area T-Mobile sucks. She currently has a Vibrant and wants to switch but doesnt want to pay big bucks for another android phone similar to the vibrant. So i suggested unlocking the phone and putting the service on the vibrant. The only problem is i dont think US Cellular uses sim cards. I currently have a samsung acclaim and it does not haev a sim card. So what i was wondering is if i am able to switch my services over to her phone even tho i dont have a sim card?
Thanks in advance,
Jacob
T-Mobile = GSM (digital Antenna digital frequency)
US Cellular = CDMA (Analog frequency with simulated digital properties) TDMA (straight up old school analog, Think... Radio)
CDMA networks keep all your information sever side, whereis a GSM network uses your SIM Card to Identify you.
You should be able to get a phone from any of the following Carriers (as long as it is not imei Locked (reported as stolen)
Sprint CDMA/PCS 1900, 2100
Verizon CDMA 800, 1900, 2100
Alltel CDMA 800, 1900
Regional Carriers Technology Bands
Metro PCS CDMA 800, 1900
U.S. Cellular CDMA 800, 1900
Edge Wireless CDMA 800, 1900
more information
U.S. Cellular is a large multi-regional carrier offering service in 155 markets - in 26 states - across the country. The company primarily uses CDMA technology, and also provides legacy TDMA service. Most coverage is cellular-band (800 MHz), with some PCS (1900 MHz) areas in the Central region.
(so what this means is check your local area for Coverage and make sure the CDMA phone you purchase supports BOTH 800/1900 Frequencies.
Related
I don’t know how to find out what band my smartphone uses. It’s T-Mobile, so it should sell in US, where GSM band’s 1900. But my T-mobile was in box, designed especially for Russia. The letters are in Russian, a GSM band indicated on the box in big black font is 900\1800.
But device information tab in WM 2003 displays "Hardware Version: PW 10B1" (as far as I understand that means 1900 band). In spite of this on the back of my device is a sticker with PW10A2 sign. Where's the truth?
Maybe my device uses 1800 frequency?
But anyway in the band selection tab there's only 2 bands 800 and 1900 (
If my device supports 1800 band, how can I activate it?
The seller’s support tells T-mobile MDA supports 1800… But they can’t explain how to enable it.
I don't know whether connected my second problem with previous. I think it is.
Sometimes my device doesn't find network after it lost it. Example: after leaving an underground subway station. To find a network I have to turn the phone off and then to turn it on.
My radio version is T310. If this problem doesn't connected with the first, maybe I just should change a radio version to a newer one?
The sticker tells the truth normally. Are you going in to bootloader to choose your band?
How can I choose GSM band through boot loader?
Enter bootloader by holding power button while pushing stylus in reset hole, when bootloader appears push the button below antenna, you will then have all gsm options, choose 900/1800.
You may be S O L!!!
You better hope your XDA is not a 900/1800 MHz one otherwise you're going to be SOL unless you plan on living overseas because here in North America, the wireless carriers like AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless LLC and T Mobile USA use EDGE/GSM/GPRS on the 850 and/or 1900 MHz GSM aka Next Generation network. 900/1800 MHz GSM is used overseas and is considered the international GSM bandwidths. Cheers!
You may be S O L!!!
You better hope your XDA is not a 900/1800 MHz one otherwise you're going to be SOL unless you plan on living overseas because here in North America, the wireless carriers like AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless LLC and T Mobile USA use EDGE/GSM/GPRS on the 850 and/or 1900 MHz GSM aka Next Generation network. 900/1800 MHz GSM is used overseas and is considered the international GSM bandwidths. Cheers!
Hey guys, I just got my new HTC hero. I'm with AT&T now and having the unlimited 3G data plan. I setup the configurations of APN settings as following:
Access point: wap.cingular
Username: [email protected]
Password: CINGULAR1
But I only see an "E" at the connection status which I believe indicates EDGE. Can anyone tell me how to get 3G work on this device?
Thanks a lot!!!
I didn't realise the hero was out in the us yet but if it is i don't know why and if it isn't out its because i don't think it surpports american 3g networks i think you can only get 2g.
Yes I got this phone out of the US.
So you mean there's no way at all to get 3G to work on this phone with AT&T or any other carriers?
In its current state the phone does not support the AT&T bands for 3g.
There are rumors of an AT&T version coming October 11th, that would support 3g.
European/Asian version of this phone does not work with US 3G. AT&T's 3G network requires the bands 850 & 1900, while T-mobile's 3G requires the bands 1700 & 2100. European/Asian version supports only the bands 900 & 2100.
Does this mean T-mobile 3G may work on this phone?
T-Mob's 3g should connect to this phone, if you could find a signal, haha.
http://www.androidauthority.com/index.php/2009/07/03/htc-hero-approved-by-the-fcc-with-att-3g/
Neither T-Mobile US nor AT&T will work with this phone for 3G. The only version of this phone that exists at the moment supports ONLY European 3G. There are rumors of the device coming to AT&T, but nothing confirmed. IF that happens, the new phones would work, but that wouldn't change the fact that the device you have will still only function on Edge.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's true.
It's actually Sprint pal. Also, there was a picture for Tmobile also (this appears to be a rumor).
T-Mob uses the 2100 spectrum so i dont see why it wouldnt work.
And a CDMA and a GSM (With AT&T 3g bands) has gone through the FCC recently.
RBFG said:
T-Mob uses the 2100 spectrum so i dont see why it wouldnt work.
And a CDMA and a GSM (With AT&T 3g bands) has gone through the FCC recently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it won't work with t-mobile USA's 3G network.
Yes, T-mobile in Europe use the 2100 band for 3G so the Hero works. But T-mobile USA use 1700 and 2100 bands for 3G, and you need a phone that support BOTH bands to connect to its 3G network.
Unfortunately, unless T-mobile USA decides to carry this phone (and they have already said that they wouldn't), there won't be a version of Hero that support its 3G network. This is because T-mobile USA is the only carrier in the world that uses the 1700 band for 3G. You may ask why T-mobile uses different bands for 3G in different countries. This is more of a regulatory decision than a business decision. If you are interested, go read about those FCC spectrum auctions.
All in all, European/Asian version of the Hero won't work with any 3G network in the US. The product id of the European/Asian Hero is HERO100, it supports only the bands 900 and 2100 for 3G. There will be a North American version with product id HERO130 that supports the bands 850 and 1900. It will be released either on AT&T or on the Canadian carrier Rogers, because only these two carriers use these bands for 3G. Currently it is not know whether it will be on AT&T or Rogers, but that latter is more likely IMO. Finally, there will be a CDMA version, with product id HERO200, for Sprint. This is more or less confirmed to be coming in October.
T-mobile US 3G uses 1700 for down and 2100 mhz for uplink. So 2100 alone isn't enough as you need both directions to connect.
tsekh501 said:
No, it won't work with t-mobile USA's 3G network.
Yes, T-mobile in Europe use the 2100 band for 3G so the Hero works. But T-mobile USA use 1700 and 2100 bands for 3G, and you need a phone that support BOTH bands to connect to its 3G network.
Unfortunately, unless T-mobile USA decides to carry this phone (and they have already said that they wouldn't), there won't be a version of Hero that support its 3G network. This is because T-mobile USA is the only carrier in the world that uses the 1700 band for 3G. You may ask why T-mobile uses different bands for 3G in different countries. This is more of a regulatory decision than a business decision. If you are interested, go read about those FCC spectrum auctions.
All in all, European/Asian version of the Hero won't work with any 3G network in the US. The product id of the European/Asian Hero is HERO100, it supports only the bands 900 and 2100 for 3G. There will be a North American version with product id HERO130 that supports the bands 850 and 1900. It will be released either on AT&T or on the Canadian carrier Rogers, because only these two carriers use these bands for 3G. Currently it is not know whether it will be on AT&T or Rogers, but that latter is more likely IMO. Finally, there will be a CDMA version, with product id HERO200, for Sprint. This is more or less confirmed to be coming in October.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! That was very informative, although it totally crushed my dreams of owning a Hero while remaining on the T-Mobile network.
Looking for any insight to using the SGS2 on TMo and getting anything better than EDGE speeds.
As I understand it (via wikipedia) TMo has these bands:
[TMobile USA] owns licenses to operate a 1900 MHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) PCS (Personal Communications Service) digital cellular network and a 1700 MHz/2100 MHz UMTS AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) digital cellular network that cover areas of the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It provides coverage in areas in which it does not own radio frequency spectrum licenses via roaming agreements with other operators of compatible networks.
And then from Samsung's website:
Network
HSPA+ 21Mbps/ HSUPA 5.76Mbps
EDGE/ GPRS Class 12
Quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Quad band UMTS 850/900/1900/2100
So, what gives? Seems like the 2100 UMTS service should match up between the two. Is this an issue because TMo is somehow blocking the use of the unbranded phone on their system? If so, and on a much more advanced level, I'd think there'd be a way to make TMo think I'm using the PoS smartphone they gave me to use on their system... or am I smokin' that crackberry?
Needs both 1700 and 2100 if I remember correctly.
gmstrollo said:
Looking for any insight to using the SGS2 on TMo and getting anything better than EDGE speeds.
As I understand it (via wikipedia) TMo has these bands:
[TMobile USA] owns licenses to operate a 1900 MHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) PCS (Personal Communications Service) digital cellular network and a 1700 MHz/2100 MHz UMTS AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) digital cellular network that cover areas of the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It provides coverage in areas in which it does not own radio frequency spectrum licenses via roaming agreements with other operators of compatible networks.
And then from Samsung's website:
Network
HSPA+ 21Mbps/ HSUPA 5.76Mbps
EDGE/ GPRS Class 12
Quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Quad band UMTS 850/900/1900/2100
So, what gives? Seems like the 2100 UMTS service should match up between the two. Is this an issue because TMo is somehow blocking the use of the unbranded phone on their system? If so, and on a much more advanced level, I'd think there'd be a way to make TMo think I'm using the PoS smartphone they gave me to use on their system... or am I smokin' that crackberry?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One is up and the other is down so you need both 1700 and 2100 to use T-Mobile's data network. No version of the SGS2 any where in the world supports T-Mobile's AWS bands. T-Mobile's getting a dual-core version of the Infuse in September that supports their bands.
BarryH_GEG said:
One is up and the other is down so you need both 1700 and 2100 to use T-Mobile's data network. No version of the SGS2 any where in the world supports T-Mobile's AWS bands. T-Mobile's getting a dual-core version of the Infuse in September that supports their bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HERCULES..
pachi72 said:
HERCULES..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the chance of one of those "Hercules"...SGS2 by another name apparently...having an antenna board that will drop into another SGS2?
I see a lot of brilliant software hacks and tweaks around here. Don't see a lot in the hardware realm, tho (like a new antenna board, for instance.) Is this not the place for that or is that at a completely unrealistic level of development?
gmstrollo said:
What's the chance of one of those "Hercules"...SGS2 by another name apparently...having an antenna board that will drop into another SGS2?
I see a lot of brilliant software hacks and tweaks around here. Don't see a lot in the hardware realm, tho (like a new antenna board, for instance.) Is this not the place for that or is that at a completely unrealistic level of development?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need an antenna engineer with a test chamber to tune the antenna. A lot of factors play into more than just fitting into it. You might have to play with different patterns depending on how much different the overall phone mechanics and materials are from Hercules to the SGS2.
Hello everyone,
"The LTE standard can be used with many different frequency bands. In North America, 700 and 1700 MHz are planned to be used; 800, 1800, 2600 MHz in Europe; 1800 and 2600 MHz in Asia; and 1800 MHz in Australia. As a result, phones from one country may not work in other countries. Users will need a multi-band capable phone for roaming internationally." (en.wikipedia.org)
So far, I have not heard of any LTE cell phone able to adapt to this multi-frequency international situation.
Even within the USA, it does not seem possible for an unlocked LTE cell phone which has been bought through one carrier to be used with another one.
Well, it should be possible !
After all, LTE is an international standard supporting all frequency bands, flexible bandwidth and both FDD and TDD duplexes ...
So it might not be that difficult to make these phones be able to use different LTE frequencies.
All radio systems can easily scan the whole spectrum in order to settle on the next available or desired channel. Another example, on Android Gingerbread phones :
"Settings-->Wireless & Networks-->Mobile Networks-->Network Operators--> Search Network" shows you all the mobile carriers available in your area, offering you the possibility to manually register on a specific network.
All this means that it should be technically possible to buy an unlocked LTE cell phone in the US for example, buy a sim card in another country where the LTE frequency is different, and everything should work fine, maybe with some software tweak.
Has anybody tried this already ?
I have looked for days now across multiple forums to get some insight on this issue:
I want to use my Thunderbolt in Thailand. Haven't found any threads that speak of success, only conjecture that it won't work.
Homework I've done (unless i understand it incorrectly):
- Verizon 3G operates on the 850 / 1900 mhz cdma band. Radio Frequency Summary
" The following is a list of known frequencies which Verizon employs in the United States:
Frequencies used on the Verizon Network
Frequency Protocol Class
850 MHz 1xRTT/EV-DO/eHRPD 3G
1900 MHz 1xRTT/EV-DO/eHRPD 3G
700 MHz LTE 4G
1700/2100 MHz(AWS) LTE 4G"
- Truemove, a popular mobile company in Thailand has early links to Verizon and their 3G service operates on the 850mhz wcdma band
"What should I do if I want to use TrueMove 3G service but I don’t have a 3G 850 MHz mobile phone?
Basically, it’s not that all mobile phones work on any band. Each 3G compatible mobile phone supports different bands. For example, if you have a 3G 2.1 GHz or 900 MHz or 2G mobile phone, you will not be able to use TrueMove 3G service because TrueMove offers 3G service on 850 MHz band.
If you want to enjoy TrueMove 3G service, it is recommended that you buy a 3G WCDMA 850 MHz mobile phone or visit any True Shops and ask for a 3G compatible mobile phone. True Shops also sell different smartphones that support different mobile platforms e.g. iPhone 3G/3GS, BlackBerry Bold 900/Bold 9700 and Motorola Milestone."
- I spoke with verizon after reading other forums about 'unlocking' thunderbolts and was told that the thunderbolt comes unlocked, so unlocking wouldn't be necessary anyway.
- Lastly, it seems that many people have successfully put a 3G SIM into a 4G SIM slot on there phone and received 3G service.
....So what am I missing? What would prevent me from being able to use my Thunderbolt in Thailand for simple 3G service if the carrier (Truemove) works on cdma based bands? What extra might I have to do to get it to work?
PS: Sorry I can't insert the links directly in the post. Not allowed since this is my first post.
Thanks for any help