For some weird reason, ever since i got my GS3, i lost LTE. Its odd because i come straight from the skyrocket so i already had the lte data. But since i got the GS3, my phone can only connect to 4G (NO, 4G is not LTE, its H+). So i called rogers tech support, i spent about 4 hours with them, making tests, getting transfered to level 2, then to customer service to make sure i had an lte data plan...finally they told me your phone is broken to get a new one. So i go to rogers, they give me a brand new GS3, same damn thing...only getting 4G. We tried 3 different sim cards, nothing.
Then i call back rogers, they transfer me to the "above level 2" which they told me is the master departement. They guy tells me they will emulate my sim card in their lab with a GS3 they have...but nothing. All settings seemed right, APN and everything was good, so they finally opened a master ticket.
But for some reason, i dont beleive i'll get a call back anytime soon, so anybody might have any suggestions?? I'l fully stock, not yet rooted
Try performing a manual network search, then select Rogers to have it manually "Register" on the network.
For some odd reason, I had the same problem as yours, but after manually registering, LTE was back on, I switched it back to Auto after
check the sim card, there is also a chance that they gave you a 4g sim card and not an LTE one (bell did this to me)
If its LTE then go to the dialer and press *#2263# choose LTE and then LTE all (when you are in an LTE area) when it connects to LTE data do the same thing again but select automatic.
evilgabbie said:
Try performing a manual network search, then select Rogers to have it manually "Register" on the network.
For some odd reason, I had the same problem as yours, but after manually registering, LTE was back on, I switched it back to Auto after
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tried it...no success
y2whisper said:
check the sim card, there is also a chance that they gave you a 4g sim card and not an LTE one (bell did this to me)
If its LTE then go to the dialer and press *#2263# choose LTE and then LTE all (when you are in an LTE area) when it connects to LTE data do the same thing again but select automatic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
euff yeah, i think i would have checked for the lte sim card in the first place. As i said, we tried 3 different ones.
ill try that thx
Well selecting lte bands manually didnt work.
so then the sim does say LTE on it and not something like 4g? outside of manually selecting and waiting. I'm not sure what else. Maybe try getting them to give you a different sim and test in person. wish i could be of more help.
So i go to rogers, they give me a brand new GS3, same damn thing...only getting 4G. We tried 3 different sim cards, nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already said that when they gave me the phone we tested 3 different sims. Same result. The only way i could isolate the problem is to have a person with a working GS3 on rogers give me their sim
I have never seen LTE when passing through an LTE area. Often I get knocked down to Edge while in Vancouver. No LTE where I live, bus something seems wrong. I was thinking of shutting off the 3g in network settings to see if that helps.
I am new to Rogers and not use to getting bumped down to Edge, as Telus only has a 4G network. Does this happen regularly, or is it a phone issue?
Anyway to activate 3G? Phone won't work on AT&T's 4G LTE. Only works on 3G !
AT&T says they have an LTE problem. My phone is the only one out of 4 on the
same acct. (all LTE) that doesn't work. Crazy!
Already had a Galaxy S3 I747 that did the same thing. No VM or rec'd a few hours
later & no Texts (but if I have texts out there not rec'd., I can send myself a text & everything
comes in) all of this on 4g & sporadic receipt of calls. AT&T says its a system problem not the phone.
AT&T put the phone on 3G it works, but their system keeps tossing it back to 4g LTE! AT&T no fix for it yet.
OS 4.0.4
I717UCLF6
Kernel 3.0.8
IMM76D.UCLF6
Rooted
Do you have an LTE sim card?
Check your APN setting. It should be "pta" for access point name.
At&t LTE isn't a complete network. There's only one tower in my area that is LTE. And they do have system problems that can last for days.
Good question on the SIM Card. It has no identifying markings on it, as in the old cards used to have 3G on them. It looks like the old AT&T SIM CARD. If the LTE is the smaller SIM card, the answer is no.
My Galaxy S3 had the smaller card & still had the same problems. Right now (in settings... Mobile Network type) the phone jumps from UMTS
to HSPA:11 yet my wife's S2 reads LTE & no problems. Any phones out there that have the option of turning off 4G LTE besides the IPHONE?
APN is pta & problems since NOV. but just found out end of March it is an LTE problem after I began to contact the ppl at the top of the ladder at AT&T. Techs that I spoke with don't have a clue!
What I can't figure out is why out of 4 phones on the plan, I'm the only one with problems. If it were "just" a system problem it would logically affect all phones. Yet AT&T says it's an anomally with my line.
Wondering if another phone & new number would rectify it? lol
Try sim card swapping with a phone that reaches LTE network.
Hello all, so I recently consulted your fine website about purchasing the Optimus G to use on T Mobile here in Pittsburgh. It seemed to me that people were able to get HSPA+21 and LTE on the phone in the right circumstances, and that was good enough for me. So I bought the phone, unlocked it through cellunlocker.com and everything seemed to be going smoothly. I punched in the standard fast.tmobile.com APN address and I got 4G HSPA+ right away. I then proceeded to drive into downtown Pittsburgh, which now has T Mobile LTE, to see if it would connect. It didn't connect and stayed on HSPA. At that point I drove out of the city and went back down to EDGE and my phone no longer connected to HSPA anymore, only EDGE, until I went into my Mobile Network settings and selected the carrier directly. So I went into T Mobile to ask why my phone won't automatically connect to the most OPTIMUM speed and he couldn't figure it out. As a last ditch effort, we switched SIM cards and my phone automically jumped to LTE and his was stuck on HSPA. So hey, we figured it must be the SIM card keeping me from LTE. He gave me a new card, and it was on LTE until I left the store's broadcast radius. From then on, same story. The phone seems to pretty frequently get stuck on EDGE speeds and I contantly have to go and manually set the network to get HSPA+. What's more, I can't seem to get LTE under any circumstances. Can somebody out there please tell me what's going on? Do I have a defective phone with confused radios? Is T Mobile having a hard time syncing with my AT and T device? Do I need to do something with my APN or Mobile Network settings? Does this have anything to do with the way I unlocked the phone? Is it because the LGOG shares radios for LTE and HSPA or something that it won't default to LTE when it's around? I love absolutely everything about this phone and would like to keep it, but if it keeps behaving like this and won't even give me LTE or consistent HSPA+ then I might as well just get a crappy LG Optimus L9 that at least was designed for the network. Any insight you guys can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!
Here are my current APN settings in case that has anything to do with it:
APN: fast.t-mobile.com
Proxy: Not Set
Port: Not set
Username: Not Set
PAssword: Not set
MMS Proxy: Not set
MMS Port: Not Set
MCC: 310
MNC: 260
Authntification: Not set
APN Type: Not Set
Network Operator: Automatically select
Try flashing the 33-84 radio: http://www.mediafire.com/download/wec8eeext05x8ge/LTEhybrid33-84.zip
That's what I use to flash my LGOG. That's from the Nexus 4 radio thread, and from T-Mobile N4 devices. I was able to add a different APN for AT&T easily, maybe can do the same for your T-Mobile.
- Combines the latest .84 radio from T-Mobile N4 and .33 LTE support.
- The N4 Radio thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2087227
I see. Well seeing as I'm kind of a noob at this your post intimidates me a bit. How dangerous is it to put these N4 radios onto an LGOG? Will I risk bricking this thing or losing signal forever if I screw it up? Also, I'm assuming that the device must be rooted to do this? Also, if you think it's safe to try is there a thread or something that you can link detailed instructions for? I've never done anything like this in my life...I felt like a rebel just unlocking my phone! Thanks!
acshaffe said:
I see. Well seeing as I'm kind of a noob at this your post intimidates me a bit. How dangerous is it to put these N4 radios onto an LGOG? Will I risk bricking this thing or losing signal forever if I screw it up? Also, I'm assuming that the device must be rooted to do this? Also, if you think it's safe to try is there a thread or something that you can link detailed instructions for? I've never done anything like this in my life...I felt like a rebel just unlocking my phone! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not dangerous if you use TWRP. Just make a backup of your current stuff, and if it doesn't work can just restore. It won't hard brick your phone. And I've had it flash on more than one rom so far.
Root needed?
zymphad said:
Not dangerous if you use TWRP. Just make a backup of your current stuff, and if it doesn't work can just restore. It won't hard brick your phone. And I've had it flash on more than one rom so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Will the phone need to be rooted for that app to be used for the radio ROM? That's probably a silly question to ask on this website especially...but there it is.
I just got this phone and I'm loving it..came from the gs3. I was looking for a thread like this...hoping for a way to unlock the aws band..will root and flash tarp and try this tonight.
Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 4
---------- Post added at 10:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:12 AM ----------
Twrp** darn auto correct..lol
Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 4
I don't get lte at all with the FAST apn, I get very fast h+ with epc.tmobile.com. It all depends on your area though, if your tmo towers are refarmed for the correct band that our att phones support.
Sent from my LG Optimus G using Tapatalk 4
Jakeroxs said:
I don't get lte at all with the FAST apn, I get very fast h+ with epc.tmobile.com. It all depends on your area though, if your tmo towers are refarmed for the correct band that our att phones support.
Sent from my LG Optimus G using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So this modem works on our LG optimus g?
Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 4
would like to know if there's any update, thank you!
I have almost exact same problem. T-mobile lte not working for me, always getting the hspa+. I went to store and asked for a replacement sim card, then bang, lte shows up with the new sim card. Right after I walked out of the store and left in about 1 minute it's gone, forever. I'm not able to pick up any lte signal anymore. When I put this sim card in my ogp, it fires up lte right away.
I have read in another post people reporting they get lte with unactivated sim card but it went right away when they activated it. Really hope someone to explain for us how this situation is happening.
Thank you for all your great work.
---------- Post added at 02:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------
I couldn't edit my last post so I'm putting a new reply to add some info.
Both my og and ogp have the same apn settings. I tested them using the same sim card.
I just put another unactivated sim card in the og and surprisingly it picks up lte immediately. I don't want to activate this sim card right now so I can't tell if it would go away if I activate it. I hope this info would help a little bit.
qwertyegg said:
would like to know if there's any update, thank you!
I have almost exact same problem. T-mobile lte not working for me, always getting the hspa+. I went to store and asked for a replacement sim card, then bang, lte shows up with the new sim card. Right after I walked out of the store and left in about 1 minute it's gone, forever. I'm not able to pick up any lte signal anymore. When I put this sim card in my ogp, it fires up lte right away.
I have read in another post people reporting they get lte with unactivated sim card but it went right away when they activated it. Really hope someone to explain for us how this situation is happening.
Thank you for all your great work.
---------- Post added at 02:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------
I couldn't edit my last post so I'm putting a new reply to add some info.
Both my og and ogp have the same apn settings. I tested them using the same sim card.
I just put another unactivated sim card in the og and surprisingly it picks up lte immediately. I don't want to activate this sim card right now so I can't tell if it would go away if I activate it. I hope this info would help a little bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Help! I have the exact same problem. I have a brand new att lg optimus g and unlocked it. Popped in the sim and bam LTE! Ran a bunch of speedtests, drove to my friends house and it switched to 4g and hasn't come back. The guy at tmobile wasn't sure. ...any help ? I'm going to root this and try flashing a new rom...maybe radio?
Seems to be an issue with this device, perhaps it's doing something to the SIM cards (who the hell knows) because mine did/does the exact same thing, and here's my particular example:
When I first got this LGOG last Sunday (8 days ago) I put my T-Mobile microSIM in it (one of the TM9190 series SIM cards) and got LTE off the bat without any issues. I kept the stock ROM on here for the first day or so and never had any issues and then I got into doing the typical root/unlock bootloader/install recovery/backup stock ROM/flash custom ROM/etc routine and even after that I was still able to get LTE working almost immediately.
A few days ago I noticed that the LTE wasn't being picked up, and it hasn't since. I've flashed several radios for testing (.33, .48, .33-.84 hybrid, etc) and the ones that are LTE ready still didn't get LTE so I just flashed the whole thing back to complete JB stock (JZO54K, the last available LG build) and even that didn't help - I've yet to see LTE show up in any respect at all with that SIM card.
Now the interesting part:
I have another microSIM that had prepaid service a few months back, bought it at the same time as the one I use for my primary service - they were on sale from T-Mobile online for $.99 each so I got two and kept the other one around just to have it.
In spite of all the flashing I've done in the past few days, with like 5 ROMs tested, a kernel or two, and maybe 7 flashes back to pure stock using LGNPST and the LGE970AT-01-V20j-310-410-MAR-08-2013 ROM (the stock one), after all that flashing torture I put this LGOG through, as soon as I put that other SIM card in it - which is not active at this time - and powered up the phone I got an LTE signal right off the bat without a problem. Had already made the APN changes to fast.t-mobile.com so they just kicked right in and wham, 4G LTE right there on the status bar.
And yes, the SIM cards are the same "series" (?!?!) with TM9190 imprinted on both of them - they also have the same code on the front side (620048) and their serial numbers are just a few digits off in sequence - like I said, I bought both of them with the same order so, it stands to reason they'd be from the same batch.
Loaded a few web pages on the T-Mobile prepaid billing site (it's what comes up when you insert a prepaid already activated but not presently in use SIM, very limited but it does work), checked the system stats, everything showed me I was connected to T-Mobile with their LTE service, this phone, and that other SIM card including the status bar icon being the traditional 4G LTE one (big 4, little G, little LTE under it).
Then I rebooted the phone and that was that, the LTE capability just up and vanished like a fart in the wind, and I've done most everything that I could do - including reading a few hundred posts in two dozen threads - to get it functional again and it just doesn't work anymore.
I suppose it's not a big deal to me since T-Mobile's HSPA+ is fine with me, I regularly pull in 10-15Mbps on a speed test in various locations (was out earlier today testing stuff in the eastern parts of Vegas), but I am somewhat pissed that I am unable to get that LTE functionality working again.
Tried:
- a complete stock flash, several times, of the AT&T JB ROM, no dice
- all the currently available LTE-capable radios, no dice
- an AT&T SIM but it's not provisioned so it doesn't work at all (T-Mobile doesn't do that, hrmmm... their SIM cards work months later even after the number has been assigned to another customer, go figure)
- all the hidden menu options (3854#*970#, WCDMA automatic, tried forcing LTE only, several other things), no dice
- tried manually setting LTE only with *#*#4636#*#* using custom ROMs, no dice
- adding the LTE enabling lines to build.prop, no dice
Nothing works, so I'm only left to conclude that either a) T-Mobile is doing something funky (highly unlikely), b) something is borked with the phone (potentially true), or maybe c) the phone is doing something to the SIM cards after a reboot or any change in the network mode from LTE to anything else (leaning towards this possibility more).
I can't explain it, I can't figure it out, and I can't get LTE working anymore but as I said, the HSPA+ is enough for me as here at home the LTE signal is somewhat weak (1-2 bars at best whereas HSPA+ pulls in 5 bars and a -61dB signal almost constantly).
I wish I could figure it out because I'd like to do more testing with LTE enabled but apparently once LTE gets disabled for whatever reason after having it actually working, not once but twice now it just dies and never becomes possible again.
Stranger things I suppose...
If anyone does ever figure this fiasco out, post whatever solution you came up with or discovered so the rest of us can give it a shot as well 'cause I'd love to be able to enable LTE if I so chose. This is pretty frustrating in the long run - if it never ever worked at all that would be one thing, but having it work then suddenly just disappear never to work the same again, that's just pooched.
Slightly off-topic, but how's the battery life compared to AT&T? Or, in general, is it okay?
br0adband said:
Seems to be an issue with this device, perhaps it's doing something to the SIM cards (who the hell knows) because mine did/does the exact same thing, and here's my particular example:
When I first got this LGOG last Sunday (8 days ago) I put my T-Mobile microSIM in it (one of the TM9190 series SIM cards) and got LTE off the bat without any issues. I kept the stock ROM on here for the first day or so and never had any issues and then I got into doing the typical root/unlock bootloader/install recovery/backup stock ROM/flash custom ROM/etc routine and even after that I was still able to get LTE working almost immediately.
A few days ago I noticed that the LTE wasn't being picked up, and it hasn't since. I've flashed several radios for testing (.33, .48, .33-.84 hybrid, etc) and the ones that are LTE ready still didn't get LTE so I just flashed the whole thing back to complete JB stock (JZO54K, the last available LG build) and even that didn't help - I've yet to see LTE show up in any respect at all with that SIM card.
Now the interesting part:
I have another microSIM that had prepaid service a few months back, bought it at the same time as the one I use for my primary service - they were on sale from T-Mobile online for $.99 each so I got two and kept the other one around just to have it.
In spite of all the flashing I've done in the past few days, with like 5 ROMs tested, a kernel or two, and maybe 7 flashes back to pure stock using LGNPST and the LGE970AT-01-V20j-310-410-MAR-08-2013 ROM (the stock one), after all that flashing torture I put this LGOG through, as soon as I put that other SIM card in it - which is not active at this time - and powered up the phone I got an LTE signal right off the bat without a problem. Had already made the APN changes to fast.t-mobile.com so they just kicked right in and wham, 4G LTE right there on the status bar.
And yes, the SIM cards are the same "series" (?!?!) with TM9190 imprinted on both of them - they also have the same code on the front side (620048) and their serial numbers are just a few digits off in sequence - like I said, I bought both of them with the same order so, it stands to reason they'd be from the same batch.
Loaded a few web pages on the T-Mobile prepaid billing site (it's what comes up when you insert a prepaid already activated but not presently in use SIM, very limited but it does work), checked the system stats, everything showed me I was connected to T-Mobile with their LTE service, this phone, and that other SIM card including the status bar icon being the traditional 4G LTE one (big 4, little G, little LTE under it).
Then I rebooted the phone and that was that, the LTE capability just up and vanished like a fart in the wind, and I've done most everything that I could do - including reading a few hundred posts in two dozen threads - to get it functional again and it just doesn't work anymore.
I suppose it's not a big deal to me since T-Mobile's HSPA+ is fine with me, I regularly pull in 10-15Mbps on a speed test in various locations (was out earlier today testing stuff in the eastern parts of Vegas), but I am somewhat pissed that I am unable to get that LTE functionality working again.
Tried:
- a complete stock flash, several times, of the AT&T JB ROM, no dice
- all the currently available LTE-capable radios, no dice
- an AT&T SIM but it's not provisioned so it doesn't work at all (T-Mobile doesn't do that, hrmmm... their SIM cards work months later even after the number has been assigned to another customer, go figure)
- all the hidden menu options (3854#*970#, WCDMA automatic, tried forcing LTE only, several other things), no dice
- tried manually setting LTE only with *#*#4636#*#* using custom ROMs, no dice
- adding the LTE enabling lines to build.prop, no dice
Nothing works, so I'm only left to conclude that either a) T-Mobile is doing something funky (highly unlikely), b) something is borked with the phone (potentially true), or maybe c) the phone is doing something to the SIM cards after a reboot or any change in the network mode from LTE to anything else (leaning towards this possibility more).
I can't explain it, I can't figure it out, and I can't get LTE working anymore but as I said, the HSPA+ is enough for me as here at home the LTE signal is somewhat weak (1-2 bars at best whereas HSPA+ pulls in 5 bars and a -61dB signal almost constantly).
I wish I could figure it out because I'd like to do more testing with LTE enabled but apparently once LTE gets disabled for whatever reason after having it actually working, not once but twice now it just dies and never becomes possible again.
Stranger things I suppose...
If anyone does ever figure this fiasco out, post whatever solution you came up with or discovered so the rest of us can give it a shot as well 'cause I'd love to be able to enable LTE if I so chose. This is pretty frustrating in the long run - if it never ever worked at all that would be one thing, but having it work then suddenly just disappear never to work the same again, that's just pooched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for posting your experiences. I've had the exact same problem, though I've never been able to get LTE working at all with my phone. I'm planning on taking a trip to a T-Mobile location within the next few days and see what they can do. Maybe they'll let me try putting my SIM in some of their display phones to see if I can get an LTE connection. Then at least I could probably rule out the SIM as the problem.
643121 said:
Thanks for posting your experiences. I've had the exact same problem, though I've never been able to get LTE working at all with my phone. I'm planning on taking a trip to a T-Mobile location within the next few days and see what they can do. Maybe they'll let me try putting my SIM in some of their display phones to see if I can get an LTE connection. Then at least I could probably rule out the SIM as the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure that your phone has the fast.t-mobile.com APN info in place (just create a new APN with that info if needed, maybe call it T-Mobile LTE and see what happens. My guess is if they put a new unused SIM into your phone it'll most likely kick into 4G LTE right from the start (as long as the APN is in place) and then at some point it'll switch to HSPA+ and it'll never go back like it has for those of us that have noticed it.
Who knows... it's probably just one of those things.
br0adband said:
Make sure that your phone has the fast.t-mobile.com APN info in place (just create a new APN with that info if needed, maybe call it T-Mobile LTE and see what happens. My guess is if they put a new unused SIM into your phone it'll most likely kick into 4G LTE right from the start (as long as the APN is in place) and then at some point it'll switch to HSPA+ and it'll never go back like it has for those of us that have noticed it.
Who knows... it's probably just one of those things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be...I've always had my settings on T-Mobile LTE, and I even called T-Mobile and confirmed every field in the settings with them. When I explained that I still couldn't get LTE, they had no other solution for me. The lady on the line didn't even know that LTE was faster than HSPA+, so I wasn't exactly expecting any sort of resolution. I think the reps in-store will be more suited to this type of issue.
I've searched and didn't find any thread with this kind of issue specifically. I have a Verizon Galaxy S4 that doesn't seem to like GSM SIM cards; it looks like it is not GSM unlocked. I have tried every trick to get it to switch to GSM but it doesn't. I have flashed the same version firmware it came with (ME7) just to be certain it's factory restored, and also updated to MK2, yet no GSM. It sees the SIM card but doesn't show a signal, even when I manually switch to GSM/UMTS. I have programmed a CDMA number on it manually then tried the GSM switch again, yet no GSM signal. It sees CDMA signal fine though and can even make calls on CDMA. I even had to check the MEID/IMEI and it came back clean so I'm just surprised at all this. I have done this before successfully on a Verizon S3 and it worked well, how come the S4 has refused to work on GSM?
Please help, anyone?
Did you input APN's?
I thought APN settings had to do with data. I will do that now. I'm willing to try anything now.
Thanks.
I am having the same issue with a couple s4s from verizon as well. Checked the IMEI/MEID and they come up clean but they will not catch a signal with a gsm SIM card. I have tried several active AT&T and T-mobile SIM cards in the phones with the same results, no service/signal. Very strange as I have never had an issue with verizon S4s working on AT&T or T-mobile. The weird thing is that with a verizon SIM they catch signal and 4G just fine. Toggled GSM/CDMA and put in APNs and still no luck. I'll keep trying to work this out but right now I am stuck.
I had the same problem here
My GT-I9505 Rom Stock 4.4.2 ZTO(Brazil) had the same problem about signal problem.
Everytime i lock my phone (turning off the screen), by the time i light it on (lock screen), immediatelly my phone turns the signal to "No service".
In this time, i need to wait 1-2 minutes to the phone turns okay. Just wait.
I search for a lot of solutions and didn't find anything.
Notice too that the problem appears only network 2-3g. 4G didn't have the problem.
I solved this problem after Lollipop update. The problem simple dissapear!
(Sorry my bad english)
purchased N9 LTE from ExpansysUSA knowing they were probably euro models. I have a tmobile data only sim and it was registered to this N9 when I got it as well. It worked and shows LTE.. Today I popped in my ATT sim and it showed LTE as well and i was pretty happy with that. i turned the device back off, popped back in the tmobile SIM and now it just shows Tmobile with full signal but DATA shows ! and wont connect to data.
I verified im still using the correct APN, even reset APN to defaults, I checked my Dialer code menu to make sure im set to LTE/GSM/CDMA preferred and it shows LTE status but then shows disconnected.
i feel like Tmobile is now blocking my Nexus 9 from connecting OR the sim has somehow messed up...
I swear i have the worst luck with tmobile sims always burning out.
OK it's working now. So weird how finicky T-Mobile sims and network connectivity are.
was it a data only sim? I got the same thing inserting my phone sim in my N9 but I believe that's because tmobile blocks tablets from working on phone sims.
I don't know about the Nexus 9, but I do know from experience the Galaxy Tab S LTE tablets cannot be used as phones on T-Mobile.
TMO will only give you a data SIM, so calls would need to be done VoIP/app based.
I'd guess the reason behind that might apply to the Nexus.
Oddly enough, TMO *used* to allow the LTE tablets to be used as phones.
But some sore loser in some forum complained about how it affected data plan pricing and so TMO clamped down on the data-only policy for tablets.
Btw, the LTE Euro Galaxy Tab S could only get HSPA/3G on TMO. LTE speeds were not possible.