hi, Does HTC Amaze international version have 4G feature in it? Because as i came to know HTC Amaze 4G was made for T-Mobile and Telus only.
hwr44ever said:
hi, Does HTC Amaze international version have 4G feature in it? Because as i came to know HTC Amaze 4G was made for T-Mobile and Telus only.
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No version of the Amaze is truly 4G. It was simply a marketing term by several North American GSM carriers so they could compete against carriers which were then beginning to deploy truly 4G LTE service. In reality, the Amaze is a 3G HSDPA+ handset that can operate at 42Mbps, which is the fastest rate any North American GSM / WCDMA carrier operates. Now all North American carriers are offering or are upgrading to 4G LTE. The other versions of the Amaze have the same capabilities, but those carriers didn't market it as 4G either because of local laws defining what can be called 4G or because their service wasn't capable of data transmission at HSDPA+ 42Mbps speeds.
I hope this clarified things.
Amaze international.
Amaze supports these radio modes:
WCDMA / HSPA+ 42 (3G / 4G)
850 Cellular / band 5 (V) Americas, Oceania, Brazil, Israel
1700 AWS / band 4 (IV) Americas
1900 PCS / band 2 (II) Americas
2100 IMT / band 1 (I) Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, Brazil, India, Israel
GSM (2G)
850 Cellular Americas, Oceania, Brazil, Israel
900 Europe, Asia, Africa
1800 DCS Europe, Asia, Africa
1900 PCS Americas
It also supports data at these speeds:
HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3448
Here's my understanding--the Amaze is technically not a 4G handset, as it supports only up to HSPA+, which is not by the standards considered 4G, but only an improvement on 3G. However, 42Mbps is a huge improvement on 3G thus giving the speed one might expect someday on a 4G network, but not providing a true upgrade path towards the standards imposed on a 4G network.
In simplest terms, the Amaze has a very fast radio, but is not technically 4G.
To complicate things, the standards have been changed to call T-Mobile's HSPA+ network a 4G network:
http://www.tmonews.com/2010/12/hspa-now-officially-4g-according-to-itu/
This doesn't yet answer your question.
In my understanding, there was no crippled version of the Amaze 4G marketed, such that ALL Amazes had ALL radio frequencies available.
So then, if your provider sends data over any of the aforementioned frequencies, you can receive it, at the speeds at which they send it providing suitable reception, and not any faster than 42Mbps.
Here is a list of HSPA+ networks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HSPA+_networks.
Someone else here can tell you if you should update your radio firmware or not.
Thanks
Odysseus1962 said:
No version of the Amaze is truly 4G. It was simply a marketing term by several North American GSM carriers so they could compete against carriers which were then beginning to deploy truly 4G LTE service. In reality, the Amaze is a 3G HSDPA+ handset that can operate at 42Mbps, which is the fastest rate any North American GSM / WCDMA carrier operates. Now all North American carriers are offering or are upgrading to 4G LTE. The other versions of the Amaze have the same capabilities, but those carriers didn't market it as 4G either because of local laws defining what can be called 4G or because their service wasn't capable of data transmission at HSDPA+ 42Mbps speeds.
I hope this clarified things.
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Click to collapse
Yeah this clarify a lot of things
Thanks for replying.
hwr44ever said:
Yeah this clarify a lot of things
Thanks for replying.
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not "true" 4g- but neither is current LTE speeds. "Official" 4G is rated for 100mbs and nobody has that.
but on my amaze, with H20 wireless $30 plan, i get 7mbs download, 1.5mbs upload. its faster then my dsl!
resinis said:
not "true" 4g- but neither is current LTE speeds. "Official" 4G is rated for 100mbs and nobody has that.
but on my amaze, with H20 wireless $30 plan, i get 7mbs download, 1.5mbs upload. its faster then my dsl!
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Click to collapse
4G stands for "4th generation" (of mobile data transmission protocols). It's not the speed that makes a device "4G" it's the technology being used. Which is why the Amaze isn't a "4G" device no matter how fast its data transfer speeds are, or how much the marketing wings of the large mobile telecom carriers try to convince the public. The Amaze achieves it's "4G" speeds using older "3G" HSDPA / UTMS / WCDMA technology. LTE however, is a "4th" gen technology. Companies which use it may not yet be able to achieve it's maximum bandwidth potential, but this doesn't make that technology any less "4G".
Related
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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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HERCULES..
pachi72 said:
HERCULES..
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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?
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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.
Ok guys I have an atrix 4g running on t-mobile. My question is why cant I get 4g/3g on this phone ? T-mobile runs on the 2100 band and the phone does support that band so why no 4g or 3g? common sense would tell me that if t-mo runs 4g on 2100 and the phone is capable of running on 2100 that it would work. have searched for a total of about 4 hours or so over the past couple days and cant find a straight answer only thing i can find is that att doesnt run on 2100 band yet the phone does. thanks in advance to anybody that can answer and taking the time to read.
are you getting H+ or H? (This is "3.5g") The Atrix 4g is not a true 4g phone.
Because the 2100 spectrum that you're using the phone on now is part of the quad-band gsm which is edge/2g. The difference lies in the bands used for 3g/4g, in which case AT&T only uses 850/1900 and tmobile only uses 1700/2100.
There is also a bunch of things that include HSPA, AWS, WCDMA, and so on and so on but I don't know enough about that to comment.
EDIT: Also, the only phones I know that can be used on both AT&T and Tmobile 3g/4g are "penta-band" phones like some European Nokia phones and the unlocked Galaxy Nexus that needs to be imported as well.
shattar01 said:
Ok guys I have an atrix 4g running on t-mobile. My question is why cant I get 4g/3g on this phone ? T-mobile runs on the 2100 band and the phone does support that band so why no 4g or 3g? common sense would tell me that if t-mo runs 4g on 2100 and the phone is capable of running on 2100 that it would work. have searched for a total of about 4 hours or so over the past couple days and cant find a straight answer only thing i can find is that att doesnt run on 2100 band yet the phone does. thanks in advance to anybody that can answer and taking the time to read.
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Click to collapse
Wcdma=utms=3g
Yes, WCDMA and AWS(1700), as far as I know, are both from UMTS and the differences in regards to 3G between AT&T and Tmobile lie in the spectrum use (850&1900 vs 1700&2100). And both AT&T and Tmobile use HSPA(+) based off their respected UMTS frequencies.
I just don't understand the "leap" in GSM technology that breaks the quad-band compatibility, that's all.
matthew5025 said:
Wcdma=utms=3g
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Click to collapse
Also I've read 850 is att's main spectrum for large areas and 900 for T-Mobile. All higher spectrums are for smaller, rural areas.
If your looking for 3g maybe find a town or, buy a dual band amplifier? That's IF they have 2100 MHz band working where you are located.
Lower bands ie 850/900 are the download streams. 1700/1900/2100 are upload streams. If I'm not mistaken
Also a T-Mobile vibrant supports att, it also has our main band, 850mhz. Again which is the main large areas, like T-Mobile 900mhz. 1700-2100mhz for att/T-Mobile range is only as good as the towns that still has that band currently operating for hspa/3g data. I've seen alot of T-Mobile phones that have 850/1900/2100, and work on att. If they were 1600/1900/2100 did not for me.
You need that lower frequencies to ensure it to work. Then....
Also for regional based frequencies...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Mobile_Telecommunications_System
That link will let you know what that all really means.
I think you are mixing up gsm and umts.
GSM = 2G/Edge
UMTS (HSPA, HSPA+, HSDPA/HSUPA, WCDMA, AWS) = 3G
Have a look here. You will see they label "3G" as "UMTS" which is HSPA/WCDMA. A little more down you can see they label their data as "HSDPA", which is download, and "HSUPA" which is upload. Further delineating the speeds they label either one as UMTS for down and Edge as up, which to me tells me they use gsm for the upload and only use UMTS for download. Either way, there is not a T-mobile phone available that can be unlocked and used on AT&T's 3G, just 2G and vice versa. As I have previously mentioned, you will need a penta-band phone for that.
Ciloteille said:
Also I've read 850 is att's main spectrum for large areas and 900 for T-Mobile. All higher spectrums are for smaller, rural areas.
If your looking for 3g maybe find a town or, buy a dual band amplifier? That's IF they have 2100 MHz band working where you are located.
Lower bands ie 850/900 are the download streams. 1700/1900/2100 are upload streams. If I'm not mistaken
Also a T-Mobile vibrant supports att, it also has our main band, 850mhz. Again which is the main large areas, like T-Mobile 900mhz. 1700-2100mhz for att/T-Mobile range is only as good as the towns that still has that band currently operating for hspa/3g data. I've seen alot of T-Mobile phones that have 850/1900/2100, and work on att. If they were 1600/1900/2100 did not for me.
You need that lower frequencies to ensure it to work. Then....
Also for regional based frequencies...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Mobile_Telecommunications_System
That link will let you know what that all really means.
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Click to collapse
And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time but it's misinformation to tell anyone that a T-mobile phone can work on AT&T 3G.
And I'll say it again, I'm not an expert so if anyone can better explain then I'm all ears (eyes).
live4nyy said:
I think you are mixing up gsm and umts.
GSM = 2G/Edge
UMTS (HSPA, HSPA+, HSDPA/HSUPA, WCDMA, AWS) = 3G
Have a look here. You will see they label "3G" as "UMTS" which is HSPA/WCDMA. A little more down you can see they label their data as "HSDPA", which is download, and "HSUPA" which is upload. Further delineating the speeds they label either one as UMTS for down and Edge as up, which to me tells me they use gsm for the upload and only use UMTS for download. Either way, there is not a T-mobile phone available that can be unlocked and used on AT&T's 3G, just 2G and vice versa. As I have previously mentioned, you will need a penta-band phone for that.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time but it's misinformation to tell anyone that a T-mobile phone can work on AT&T 3G.
And I'll say it again, I'm not an expert so if anyone can better explain then I'm all ears (eyes).
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I am just merely stating that I have a motorola defy on ATT, and it worked great for a long time with great speeds before I got a motorola atrix and infuse.
Im not saying that every tmobile phone will have working talk/text, or data for that matter. I have just posted an idea, or atleast what to look for when you are cruising for phones not labeled for your carrier.
I was getting my motorola defy with the att "grand fathered internet" for 10 dollars a month and it was about 160-420KB/s down, and 80-190KB/s up. but some phones are capable of this, others arent. I have a general idea, and have played with several different carrier cellphones and used them with att and att's 3g data.
Rogers HTC Dream (x2 of them)
Telus Milestone
Tmobile Defy
Rogers Atrix
ATT Atrix (x2 of them)
ATT Infuse
Rogers and Telus actually use the same 3G bands as AT&T so as long as those are unlocked they will work. And I'm not saying an unlocked T-mobile can't work on AT&T, because they can (they both use quad-band gsm) but you can not use an unlocked T-mobile phone an AT&T 3G. That's all I'm saying.
Now, they did make an European version of the Defy that uses the 850 3G band but not the T-mobile "branded" one.
I'm going to stick to my guns on this one because I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea about interchanging AT&T and T-mobile phones and expecting 3G service. I'm fairly certain about this and unless someone can prove otherwise that's how I will think.
Ciloteille said:
I am just merely stating that I have a motorola defy on ATT, and it worked great for a long time with great speeds before I got a motorola atrix and infuse.
Im not saying that every tmobile phone will have working talk/text, or data for that matter. I have just posted an idea, or atleast what to look for when you are cruising for phones not labeled for your carrier.
I was getting my motorola defy with the att "grand fathered internet" for 10 dollars a month and it was about 160-420KB/s down, and 80-190KB/s up. but some phones are capable of this, others arent. I have a general idea, and have played with several different carrier cellphones and used them with att and att's 3g data.
Rogers HTC Dream (x2 of them)
Telus Milestone
Tmobile Defy
Rogers Atrix
ATT Atrix (x2 of them)
ATT Infuse
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Click to collapse
---------- Post added at 08:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 AM ----------
Upon further research, I have found this article, where under certain circumstances, you can use an unlocked AT&T iPhone with T-mobile 3G:
http://www.gsmarena.com/tmobile_usa_running_1900mhz_3g_in_some_areas_iphones_invited-news-3537.php
Now, this shows that an AT&T phone can maybe use T-mobile 3G but not the other way around. Again, I'm always up for learning something new but I need references/proof.
Well I do get att 3g on the defy and vibrant. I am currently getting about 300ish KB/s on them and 600+KB/s on my attic, I'm just going with the facts. Those facts are that certain T-Mobile phones will work with Att, provided they have 850mhz band. That allows you in most towns (near me) to get 3g
False.
300KB/s is Edge speed, which is only 2G.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=107
That's why you get faster speeds on the Atrix because it actually uses 3G.
Again, both AT&T and T-mobile use quad-band GSM. Which is why you can unlock a T-mobile phone and use it on AT&T, and vice versa, but it is only 2G/Edge and NOT 3G.
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=139
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=3
Furthermore, here are the wiki pages for AT&T and T-mobile which both inlcude frequency charts outlining the technology (2G or 3G) each one uses:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT&T_Wireless
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Mobile_USA
Here are the charts:
AT&T:
Frequency Protocol Class
Frequencies used on the AT&T Network
850 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
850 MHz UMTS/HSPA 3G
1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA 3G
700 MHz LTE 4G
T-mobile:
Frequency Band Protocol
850 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
1700 MHz UMTS (W-CDMA)/HSPA/HSPA+ 4G (formerly 3G[34])
1900 MHz UMTS (W-CDMA)/HSPA/HSPA+ 4G
I check for facts and references, I'm only saying what I find in research.
Again, when unlocked, a T-mobile phone can use AT&T 2G/Edge, not 3G
Ciloteille said:
Well I do get att 3g on the defy and vibrant. I am currently getting about 300ish KB/s on them and 600+KB/s on my attic, I'm just going with the facts. Those facts are that certain T-Mobile phones will work with Att, provided they have 850mhz band. That allows you in most towns (near me) to get 3g
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hello all,
I was wondering whether it is possible to unlock the LTE radio on the Eu retail version. I think the chipset is the same and hence it does have the capability.
Thanks in advance,
Santanu Dey
Are you saying that your razr never gets 4G / HSDPA signal?
Don't you ever get the little 'H' on your connection indicator?
CheesySeb said:
Are you saying that your razr never gets 4G / HSDPA signal?
Don't you ever get the little 'H' on your connection indicator?
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Click to collapse
Not even LTE is 4G. It is called such for pure marketing speculation since LTE is still part of UMTS... it is its 8th revision, actually.
Cheesy, you should first ask your provider if they reach ~325Mbps. Vodafone, the european carrier with the best network, sells 48Mbps (HSPA++) as LTE, which isn't really.
LTE isn't yet fully ratified, actually.
Anyway, it works
For general information:
LTE is Long Term Evolution.
HSPA or High speed packet access and its derivatives are not LTE...
The modulation scheme is different as well as the coding and spectrum and Bandwidth. LTE works in 2 variations TDD and FDD, whereas HSPA/UMTS is purely FDD. Secondly, LTE works in 1.4Mhz, 5 MHz, 10Mhz , 20Mhz Bandwidth whereas HSPA/UMTS is only 5 Mhz.
Basically HSPA is a evolution of data access on UMTS network, as EDGE was in GSM network.
So , returning back to the same question..... Can we unlock LTE radio on the Razr? My operator Telia is already having commercial LTE network (300/100 Mbps DL)..
Beg my pardon I was not aware ( haven't done quite as much research as you guys it would seem ;D )
Can I just ask briefly, is LTE a cdma standard as opposed to gsm or is it something viable on both platforms?
LTE is basically a convergent network between the CDMA and the GSM domains. The radio standard has been designed in such a way that it shares the backward compatibility towards CDMA and GSM domains..."BUT".. LTE is much more bent toward the GSM/WCDMA domain than CDMA/EVDO domains,since it shares the same spectral characteristics of the UMTS networks.
WIMAX on the other hand is more bent towards CDMA/EVDO domains...
Hi guys,
I am on T-Mobile prepaid plan. I bought a Lumia 920 from Singapore few months ago in anticipation of the 1900 refarm from T-Mobile. But while the default APN profile has been updated to "T-Mobile LTE" from the carrier from months ago, the max speed I see now is 3G in Chicago. I've done some research and tried a couple of the following:
1 Added new APN under epc.tmobile.com
2 Enable ENS
3 Limit the connection speed to 3G instead of 4G
But none seems to bring me to the LTE speed. I thought maybe because LTE has not arrived in Chicago yet, but few days ago I went to one of the T-Mobile store and found that their demo Lumia 925 showed LTE. The stuff from the store said because I am using an unlocked 920, LTE is not supported. I don't think this is the right answer.
Does anyone has the same issue with your international 920 under T-Mobile in the US?
t_huankiat said:
Hi guys,
I am on T-Mobile prepaid plan. I bought a Lumia 920 from Singapore few months ago in anticipation of the 1900 refarm from T-Mobile. But while the default APN profile has been updated to "T-Mobile LTE" from the carrier from months ago, the max speed I see now is 3G in Chicago. I've done some research and tried a couple of the following:
1 Added new APN under epc.tmobile.com
2 Enable ENS
3 Limit the connection speed to 3G instead of 4G
But none seems to bring me to the LTE speed. I thought maybe because LTE has not arrived in Chicago yet, but few days ago I went to one of the T-Mobile store and found that their demo Lumia 925 showed LTE. The stuff from the store said because I am using an unlocked 920, LTE is not supported. I don't think this is the right answer.
Does anyone has the same issue with your international 920 under T-Mobile in the US?
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Click to collapse
What version you bough RM-820, 821 or 822 from Singapore. I think you have not supported LTE bands, so probably you got 821 / 822
boril said:
What version you bough RM-820, 821 or 822 from Singapore. I think you have not supported LTE bands, so probably you got 821 / 822
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Wow I just checked, it's indeed a RM 821! I did a search and found the following info from WP Central forum:
RM820 is the North American variant. Has pentaband UMTS (850/900/1700/1900/2100) and North American LTE bands.
RM821 is rest-of-world (except China). Has quadband UMTS (850/900/1900/2100) and European LTE bands.
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My understanding is as long as it supports 1900 band it can access the LTE speed on T-Mobile. That's not the case then?
t_huankiat said:
Wow I just checked, it's indeed a RM 821! I did a search and found the following info from WP Central forum:
My understanding is as long as it supports 1900 band it can access the LTE speed on T-Mobile. That's not the case then?
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Click to collapse
Just because it supports the 1900 band, does not mean that the ROM and hardware are setup to support LTE. The market the 821 was released for does not have LTE so the protocols where never implemented in that model. The 3G you see the phone operating at is the highest speed the market it came from supports. So that is the highest protocol that was installed into that model. You may want to sell it and get one of the other models.
Incompatible Bands
t_huankiat said:
Wow I just checked, it's indeed a RM 821! I did a search and found the following info from WP Central forum:
My understanding is as long as it supports 1900 band it can access the LTE speed on T-Mobile. That's not the case then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi t_huankiat,
To the extent of my knowledge, T-Mobile has only deployed LTE on the 1700/2100MHz frequency band (different from 2100MHz, that is IMT) commonly known as AWS spectrum or Band 4. The only variants of the 920 that contains these are RM-820 models. The good news is, an unlocked AT&T Nokia Lumia 920 can be used on T-Mobile's LTE network because they both use AWS spectrum to deliver LTE service. The downside is that in areas without LTE or refarmed HSPA+, your service will drop to 2G. In order to prevent these shortfalls, the only RM-820 variants that run on AWS HSPA+ are the Canadian and Developer Edition, given out at Microsoft BUILD 2012.
You may be thinking, what is with this confusion. Previously, T-Mobile USA rolled out their 3G HSPA network on AWS spectrum, because they hadn't won any PCS spectrum (1900MHz). In the Americas, AWS spectrum was not deployed as prevalent as PCS. The result, T-Mobile required special handsets to access 3G. When they transitioned over to HSPA+ and DC-HSPA+, they continued to use AWS widening the compatibility gap. After the AT&T/T-Mobile buyout fell through, T-Mobile gained PCS licenses as part of the deal. T-Mobile, shortly after, announced the jump to LTE and the refarm of HSPA+ (current 3G/4G service) to the PCS spectrum. As of now, the refarm isn't fully complete so some areas still broadcast 3G/4G on on the AWS spectrum. To add insult to injury, these areas do not have have LTE deployed either. Summing up what has been said, the best options for a seamless wireless experience is to use a Nokia Lumia 925 or find a non-AT&T RM-820. If you look on eBay, you will find a few for sale right now. I really hope this helps!
-Arekusandaa
Solarenemy68 said:
Just because it supports the 1900 band, does not mean that the ROM and hardware are setup to support LTE. The market the 821 was released for does not have LTE so the protocols where never implemented in that model. The 3G you see the phone operating at is the highest speed the market it came from supports. So that is the highest protocol that was installed into that model. You may want to sell it and get one of the other models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have done more research before I bought the phone! I did not realize 920 has so many variation even in Singapore! While I will miss the LTE, I can live with 3G speed since I don't use the phone for streaming or anything bandwidth intensive.
Arekusandaa said:
Hi t_huankiat,
To the extent of my knowledge, T-Mobile has only deployed LTE on the 1700/2100MHz frequency band (different from 2100MHz, that is IMT) commonly known as AWS spectrum or Band 4. The only variants of the 920 that contains these are RM-820 models. The good news is, an unlocked AT&T Nokia Lumia 920 can be used on T-Mobile's LTE network because they both use AWS spectrum to deliver LTE service. The downside is that in areas without LTE or refarmed HSPA+, your service will drop to 2G. In order to prevent these shortfalls, the only RM-820 variants that run on AWS HSPA+ are the Canadian and Developer Edition, given out at Microsoft BUILD 2012.
You may be thinking, what is with this confusion. Previously, T-Mobile USA rolled out their 3G HSPA network on AWS spectrum, because they hadn't won any PCS spectrum (1900MHz). In the Americas, AWS spectrum was not deployed as prevalent as PCS. The result, T-Mobile required special handsets to access 3G. When they transitioned over to HSPA+ and DC-HSPA+, they continued to use AWS widening the compatibility gap. After the AT&T/T-Mobile buyout fell through, T-Mobile gained PCS licenses as part of the deal. T-Mobile, shortly after, announced the jump to LTE and the refarm of HSPA+ (current 3G/4G service) to the PCS spectrum. As of now, the refarm isn't fully complete so some areas still broadcast 3G/4G on on the AWS spectrum. To add insult to injury, these areas do not have have LTE deployed either. Summing up what has been said, the best options for a seamless wireless experience is to use a Nokia Lumia 925 or find a non-AT&T RM-820. If you look on eBay, you will find a few for sale right now. I really hope this helps!
-Arekusandaa
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The main reason I got the phone from Singapore was because it supports 1900MHz and it's in Chicago now. But I overlooked the fact that the ROM matters too. So now I am pretty much stuck with 3G speed. It's a lesson learned, I will have to be extra careful next time when I get an unlocked phone. Thanks for your insight!
It's Not The End of the World
t_huankiat said:
The main reason I got the phone from Singapore was because it supports 1900MHz and it's in Chicago now. But I overlooked the fact that the ROM matters too. So now I am pretty much stuck with 3G speed. It's a lesson learned, I will have to be extra careful next time when I get an unlocked phone. Thanks for your insight!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, you will still be able to use their DC-HSPA+ network, where available. This technology is capable of up to 42.1Mbps theoretically. Even before T-Mobile began deploying LTE, their DC-HSPA+ network was usually testing faster than Verizon's LTE network. While you may not see LTE until you upgrade to an AWS capable handset, their "fallback" 4G should suffice.
-arekusandaa