Database Users

Old Phones and HSPA+

Considering HSPA+ is still only a 3g network, should phones that had 3g capability be able to take advantage of HSPA+? I mean when T-Mobile upgraded their old 3g to HSDPA/HSUPA, every phone got the boost.
And why do phones that are cable of utilizing HSPA+ need a sim card that supports HSPA+

yourlife said:
Considering HSPA+ is still only a 3g network, should phones that had 3g capability be able to take advantage of HSPA+? I mean when T-Mobile upgraded their old 3g to HSDPA/HSUPA, every phone got the boost.
And why do phones that are cable of utilizing HSPA+ need a sim card that supports HSPA+
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I work Tmo Retail. All 3g Tmo phones can utilize the HSPA+ network. The difference with the newer MT4G and G2 is that they can handle higher speeds depending on your area.
For instance, the Samsung Vibrant can handle up to 7.2 mbps while the G2 can do 14.4. In Los Angeles, I get around 4-5 megs on HSPA+ so both phones would be about the same speeds. However, I've heard in other areas in the country, some people have reached 8-12 mbps with HSPA+. In that case, the higher speed capabilities would make a difference.
Hope that answers your question!

hukkguai said:
I work Tmo Retail. All 3g Tmo phones can utilize the HSPA+ network. The difference with the newer MT4G and G2 is that they can handle higher speeds depending on your area.
For instance, the Samsung Vibrant can handle up to 7.2 mbps while the G2 can do 14.4. In Los Angeles, I get around 4-5 megs on HSPA+ so both phones would be about the same speeds. However, I've heard in other areas in the country, some people have reached 8-12 mbps with HSPA+. In that case, the higher speed capabilities would make a difference.
Hope that answers your question!
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Click to collapse
So you're saying that once the average speeds for HSPA+ are say 8mbps that my phone will be capped at 7.2 mbps, but if the average speeds are currently under 7.2 that I would be completely capable of having the same speeds as a phone equipped for HSPA+?

Atrix Signal: cell data/3G/H+

iv owned my atrix for around a year now and iv always had a small problem but just brushed it off my shoulder asif its how the phone should be, although this may be on my carriers side of things.
Im in the uk and i get signal from T-mobile and Orange as there the same company and share satellites but iv always noticed my phone signal status is really missleading, this is how it goes
normal full bars
full bars with 3G next to them
full bars with H next to them
when on the normal full bars i can barely make a call or send a text, after a few retrys it eventually gets there but otherwise says there is no network, so why is it saying i have normal cell data?
then when im on 3G which is supposed to be a half decent data transfer rate, i can call and text perfectly fine but if i try to open a webpage or facebook/twitter, it takes a painfully long time asif to say the 3G is actually cell data or something, its that slow i give up if i see 3G on my phone that means to me that its unusable for anything other than calls and texts...
then theres H+ which is lightning fast.... calls and texts once again are perfect, and when i load a webpage or facebook its faster than my wifi at home... the problem is i rarely even get this H signal unless im around a built up area like a city centre...
what im trying to get at is that although my phone is labellingg the signal as certain things it seems to be getting mixed up?
normal bars fells like it should be "no signal"
3G feels like it should be "normal cell signal"
and H feels like it should be "3G"
im not sure if i get 4G over here in england aswell before anyone asks but my H is alot faster than the 3G on my friends iphones, my friend who also has a sony xperia S also has this same confusing problem..
iv always just wondered why they seem to be labelled wrong, or is 3G just awfully slow and cant handle todays smartphones data?
any answers and discussion would be helpfull.. thanks

Hi, can I just clarify with you which device you have?
Do you have an Atrix 4G from AT&T or do you have an Atrix from Orange/Tmobile/Simfree?
First of all, you should not get confused with the term 4G.
AT&T use the term 4G incorrectly. Their network is HSPA+, which they call 4G.
In the UK, all of the networks are now also using HSPA+.
Another point, if you have a EUROPE model Atrix (Not Atrix 4G) you have more 3G frequencies available to you i.e 900mhz (disabled on Atrix 4G).
You should also be getting the following symbols on your phone (check to see if you have disabled 2G)
G, E, 3G, H (or H+, I have the sim free, it has H instead of H+)
Let me just term everything for you simply:
GSM aka 2G, normally all calls go on this when enabled:
G = GPRS. About 32kbps
E = EDGE. In theory 236kbps but never seen this speed.
UMTS aka 3G
3G = 384kbps theoretical maximum
HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA/HSPA+ aka 3.5/3.75G
HSDPA/HSUPA or HSPA as its also known = Max theoretical speed 14.4mbps
HSPA+ = The upgraded version of HSPA, also described by the USA as 4G. Theoretical maximum 42mbps (which uk networks are supposed to be rolling out at the moment)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths

tehrules said:
Hi, can I just clarify with you which device you have?
Do you have an Atrix 4G from AT&T or do you have an Atrix from Orange/Tmobile/Simfree?
First of all, you should not get confused with the term 4G.
AT&T use the term 4G incorrectly. Their network is HSPA+, which they call 4G.
In the UK, all of the networks are now also using HSPA+.
Another point, if you have a EUROPE model Atrix (Not Atrix 4G) you have more 3G frequencies available to you i.e 900mhz (disabled on Atrix 4G).
You should also be getting the following symbols on your phone (check to see if you have disabled 2G)
G, E, 3G, H (or H+, I have the sim free, it has H instead of H+)
Let me just term everything for you simply:
GSM aka 2G, normally all calls go on this when enabled:
G = GPRS. About 32kbps
E = EDGE. In theory 236kbps but never seen this speed.
UMTS aka 3G
3G = 384kbps theoretical maximum
HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA/HSPA+ aka 3.5/3.75G
HSDPA/HSUPA or HSPA as its also known = Max theoretical speed 14.4mbps
HSPA+ = The upgraded version of HSPA, also described by the USA as 4G. Theoretical maximum 42mbps (which uk networks are supposed to be rolling out at the moment)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahhh i see thanks for clearing it up! well i have an unbranded motorola atrix from england so it must not be a 4G but i do get H+ signal
would there be any reason for 3G being slow then?

3g is umts and as already stated above, that's 384kbps = 48KByte/s which is very slow for todays standards. It's like isdn speed, not even dsl...

crnkoj said:
3g is umts and as already stated above, that's 384kbps = 48KByte/s which is very slow for todays standards. It's like isdn speed, not even dsl...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ISDN would actually be 2x dialup aka about 112kbps so a bit slower than that. Just fyi.

i live in the dominican republic and i only get H. how do i get H+?... whenever i try to access my 4g settings gives me the error "the application settings com.android.settings"

catillito said:
i live in the dominican republic and i only get H. how do i get H+?... whenever i try to access my 4g settings gives me the error "the application settings com.android.settings"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to System Settings, About, Status and look at Mobile Network Type. HSPA:10 is the fastest the Atrix supports and is not Evolved HSPA (H+). I was thinking the same as you on this until I researched. My only wish is the we had an indication of all the different HSDPA speeds in the status bar without having to look at the mobile network type. Remember, your provider you not support HSPA:10.
Take a look at the following If you want to read up a little bit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1912716
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

Are these speeds LTE level?

I know T- mobile is rolling out their 1900mhz band across the US this year, and in the last few days I've noticed much better signal strength and I just ran a speedtest and was very impressed by the results. I've had better upload results but this is by far the fastest upload speeds I've seen on the mobile data network.
Showed the 'H' icon next to the signal bars, I wonder if our phones will ever show 'LTE'?
I know I'm getting 4G but never says 4G. Always just 'H'.
Anyway, here's a screen if the results:
http://db.tt/V0IaSyjO
Close to 20Mbps!

Haha, I, as well as many others in this forum have been getting 20-25 off HSPA 42. There is an internal setting in the Nexus 4 to enable LTE, and if you connect to LTE, it shows the appropriate symbol, too. Currently, the flavor of LTE that the Nexus likes is only available in Canada (and maybe other places, but not US yet as far as I know), but it's starting to get deployed in the US via T-Mobile. It started off in Las Vegas and Kansas, or will be starting off, so if you're not in either of those places, you probably don't have LTE.

AW: Are these speeds LTE level?
Look under Settings-About the phone- status, there you can see the type of connection
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Its always gonna say h. There are ROMS that replace the icon with a 4g icon but most of them leave them as is. That doesnt mean your not getting 4g , plus those speeds look very good to me
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

Those speeds are excellent for 4g, but with lte you're going to see upload speeds as fast as your download speeds.

yahoowizard said:
Haha, I, as well as many others in this forum have been getting 20-25 off HSPA 42. There is an internal setting in the Nexus 4 to enable LTE, and if you connect to LTE, it shows the appropriate symbol, too. Currently, the flavor of LTE that the Nexus likes is only available in Canada (and maybe other places, but not US yet as far as I know), but it's starting to get deployed in the US via T-Mobile. It started off in Las Vegas and Kansas, or will be starting off, so if you're not in either of those places, you probably don't have LTE.
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Click to collapse
All good to know.
I'm in Seattle regularly, which was one if the first places T-Mobile rolled out their 1900mhz LTE service, do how do I turn on this internal setting you mentioned?
Thanks.

Globespy said:
All good to know.
I'm in Seattle regularly, which was one if the first places T-Mobile rolled out their 1900mhz LTE service, do how do I turn on this internal setting you mentioned?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile isn't rolling out LTE on 1900mhz. That's just 3G.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

joshnichols189 said:
T-Mobile isn't rolling out LTE on 1900mhz. That's just 3G.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Interesting, I've received different information. I've spoken with level 3 tech support numerous times about the roll out of their 1900mhz band during 2013 across the US, and they confirmed that their version of LTE will use the 1900mhz frequency (which, incidentally is the most highly used global frequency for high speed data - I'm a British and Australian Citizen as well as US Citizen and use my phones worldwide). The 700mhz frequency is for Verizon LTE phones, so T-Mobiles decision to run 1900mhz will mean that AT&T customers can move to T-Mobile with their existing phones
Their current 3G and 4G runs on 1700mhz - of course your phone will only get 4G if it's hardware capable of 4G.
Here's an article that will explain it all for you:
http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/4GNetworkEvolutionVendorsSelected

Uhh
Globespy said:
Interesting, I've received different information. I've spoken with level 3 tech support numerous times about the roll out of their 1900mhz band during 2013 across the US, and they confirmed that their version of LTE will use the 1900mhz frequency (which, incidentally is the most highly used global frequency for high speed data - I'm a British and Australian Citizen as well as US Citizen and use my phones worldwide). The 700mhz frequency is for Verizon LTE phones, so T-Mobiles decision to run 1900mhz will mean that AT&T customers can move to T-Mobile with their existing phones
Their current 3G and 4G runs on 1700mhz - of course your phone will only get 4G if it's hardware capable of 4G.
Here's an article that will explain it all for you:
http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/4GNetworkEvolutionVendorsSelected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't need an article.. T-Mobile is deploying band 4 LTE over 1700/2100mhz frequencies. The 1900mhz band is being refarmed to HSPAP which will allow AT&T users to use HSPAP on T-Mobile. This also allows T-Mobile to stop using 1700/2100 for HSPAP since they will be using it for LTE.
If you are calling T-Mobile and expecting their "level 3 tech support" to know anything, you're doing it wrong.
Also the article you posted even proves my point.. "Refarming 1900mhz for '4G HSPAP'"
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

joshnichols189 said:
Uhh
I don't need an article.. T-Mobile is deploying band 4 LTE over 1700/2100mhz frequencies. The 1900mhz band is being refarmed to HSPAP which will allow AT&T users to use HSPAP on T-Mobile. This also allows T-Mobile to stop using 1700/2100 for HSPAP since they will be using it for LTE.
If you are calling T-Mobile and expecting their "level 3 tech support" to know anything, you're doing it wrong.
Also the article you posted even proves my point.. "Refarming 1900mhz for '4G HSPAP'"
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your clarification. Good to know that we will get LTE regardless as the phone supports all those bands.
And, yes their tech support had been I'll informed before.... I was hoping that since several different people had said the same thing that there was consistency... Seems consistently crap information. However, 1700mhz currently is 4G, so moving it to 1900mhz is to improve signal strength through buildings etc right?
I've since looked at comparisons between HSPA+ and LTE... seems that LTE has a significant edge uploading, not that great of a difference download (especially as download speeds are often limited by the site you visit, regardless of how fast your carrier speed).
I'm sure I'll be happy with HSPS+ as I rarely upload much more than photos I take on my phone camera, and current 4G is plenty sufficient as it is..

[Q] Feedback required from Virgin Mobile Canada Galaxy S4 Users

Hey folks,
I am currently using an unlocked S4 from Wind Mobile on the Virgin Mobile network. It is technically the T-Mobile variant - SGH-M919V.
In comparison, the Virgin/Bell S4 is the SGH-I337.
My phone usually stays on LTE but it tends to revert to 3G in some areas, but never on 4G or H+. I had thought that the bands were compatible on the virgin mobile network, which brings me to my question.
Does your S4 ever revert to 4G or H+ when not on LTE? If that is the case, I am thinking of trading my Wind S4 for the Virgin/Bell S4.
Appreciate your feedback.
Thank you.

I'm pretty sure the M919 should fully support the 850 and 1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA bands, also you'd never see 3G or be able to do voice calls and texts without them.
I just got my SGH-I337M from Virgin yesterday and it definitely reverts to H+. So far it seems that it reverts from LTE to H+ after the phone has been sitting a while, and then if I start using the data it will kick up to LTE (probably doing that to save battery instead of keeping LTE on all the time?).
Who knows what could be going on with your unit. That is a Wind unit right? Maybe the software is different. One thing I know is that ROMs can show 3G/4G/H/H+ differently. Have you done a speed test while it is showing 3G? If it is true that you are falling all the way down to basic 3G/UMTS and not getting HSPA/HSPA+ then your speeds should be limited to less than 0.5 Mbps I think.

Thanks for the quick reply.
I managed to run a couple of speedtests when not on LTE. And they were around 2 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up. I don't think those are necessarily H+ speeds. But it's decent enough. Maybe then the reason I am seeing 3G is because of the way the ROM chooses to display non-LTE connections.
I double checked the supported bands, and it is true that the Wind S4 (T-Mobile variant) not only supports all the bands that the Bell/Virgin S4 does but the additional AWS band as well.
Is there a way for me to force the H+ connection on the phone, just to see that it works? Or should I possibly flash the modem/radio from the virgin/bell ROM?

Open up the Testing Menu, go into Device Info and see what it says for Network Type.
Make sure your wifi is off and hit "Run ping test" as few times and look at what it changes to.
HSPAP:15
HSPA:11
HSUPA:10
If you see these then it's fine, just icons are different.

Solved!
Okay,
I did a few things to verify that despite the phone showing 3G, it is in fact on 4G or H+ when not on LTE.
I went into ServiceMode by entering *#2263# in the Phone Dialer.
I forced non-LTE connections by changing the automatic preference to WCDMA 850 and WCDMA 1900 respectively.
These are the 2 bands that are 4G or H+ for Bell and Virgin Mobile Canada.
Then I ran speedtests to a close by server and got around 7 Mbps down and 3 Mbps, which are definitely 4G/H+ speeds.
Also, following @ChronoReverse advice, I found that the network type was in fact HSPAP: 15 and HSPA: 11 (screenshots attached).
So, in conclusion I can rest my obsessive personality and accept the fact that the phone is in fact capable & is running on 4G networks. It's a ROM thing I suppose.
Or in other words, the Galaxy S4 from Wind Mobile (or T-Mobile) is completely capable of running on Virgin Mobile Canada, Bell Canada, Rogers networks with full support of LTE and 4G/H+.
Embarrassed to say what a small little 3G icon does to a person these days!
Thanks for all the help!

Switch to H+ for faster data speeds in U.S.A

I'm currently on x829 USA variant of the Le Max 2. I've noticed that for me switching to H+ gives way faster data speeds. I'm in USA on Metro PCS. I'm using t.mobile apns. Just thought I would let some people know, depending on your area H+ may bring faster data speeds. I've noticed this on all Roms. I guess it depends on your location and where the cell towers are located and traffic congestion. What are your thoughts?

Bottom is LTE with great upload speeds. Top is H+ with better download speeds. Basically when I switch to H+ I can stream Instagram videos no problem without loading. It totally depends on the area your in as well I know.

H+ is 3G HSPA+, it is much slower than 4G LTE.
my area the (t-mobile) LTE network speed is over 100mpbs all the time ....

allrockedout said:
I'm currently on x829 USA variant of the Le Max 2. I've noticed that for me switching to H+ gives way faster data speeds. I'm in USA on Metro PCS. I'm using t.mobile apns. Just thought I would let some people know, depending on your area H+ may bring faster data speeds. I've noticed this on all Roms. I guess it depends on your location and where the cell towers are located and traffic congestion. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It just mean your area LTE is bad.

cgigate said:
H+ is 3G HSPA+, it is much slower than 4G LTE.
my area the (t-mobile) LTE network speed is over 100mpbs all the time ....
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Click to collapse
?!?! This sounds insane! What's the trick? Do you bribe T-Mobile in your area with cookies?!

Max speed of H+ is 63 Mbps. LTE is much faster but it depends on your area coverage.