Database Users

3G Networks hardware LOCKING to each carrier by HTC

Among those of you with a deap knowledge of the inner working of HTC phone for 3G networks.
Is HTC doing something to phones for each carrier to lock the phone to a specific carriers 3G network and no other.
I'm asking because I was talking with a freind of mine who was given a HD2 as a part of a promotion for use on AT&T 3G network (850/2100). He uses T-Mobile and tried to get it to work with his T-Mobile SIM with no success. He also told me he had a conversation with someone from HTC that told him that he would no beable to get his HD2 to work on T-Mobile because the hardware will not work with T-Mobiles 3G network (1700/2100).
If this is the case does anyone know if it changable, is it a Firmware issue that can be changed or is it like hard wired physically?
Then the question is if we are buying these phone, some through contracts others outright, do we want to told whos service we have to use!!
Lets have some good discussion...

there are billions of threads on this.
3g is radio/hardware dependent. he'll unfortunately be stuck on EDGE.

He will have no issues using the phone with T-mobile usa. He will not get 3G because of the bands. He will just have edge. But calls, mms, text, email, and internet will all function properly.

Clarify this please
I bought my HTC HD2 in USA (unlocked) and here in Peru, where I live, I cannot get it to work with 3G. If I lived in USA, is there a way to know with what carrier I would get 3G ?

alejo1575 said:
I bought my HTC HD2 in USA (unlocked) and here in Peru, where I live, I cannot get it to work with 3G. If I lived in USA, is there a way to know with what carrier I would get 3G ?
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So you are on Claro in Peru?
For 3G you need a phone with 3G 1900 support. If it is the T-Mobile version, that would have 3G on 1700/2100 bands which would be no good. If you got an AT&T handset (850/1900) it would work for 3G for you.
You need to understand what 3G support your version of the phone has. For example mine (Telstra Australia) is 850/2100 - which would not be able to pick up 3G in your network - however it works excellent with Telstra (850) in Australia and currently working well with StarHub (2100) in Singapore.
Your phone is quad band - but that is GSM quadband not 3G - it is 3G dual band and that is what is important for your connection.
***
Edit:
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UMTS_networks for list of 3G networks...

Yeah ...bad news
tallmantim said:
So you are on Claro in Peru?
For 3G you need a phone with 3G 1900 support. If it is the T-Mobile version, that would have 3G on 1700/2100 bands which would be no good. If you got an AT&T handset (850/1900) it would work for 3G for you.
You need to understand what 3G support your version of the phone has. For example mine (Telstra Australia) is 850/2100 - which would not be able to pick up 3G in your network - however it works excellent with Telstra (850) in Australia and currently working well with StarHub (2100) in Singapore.
Your phone is quad band - but that is GSM quadband not 3G - it is 3G dual band and that is what is important for your connection.
***
Edit:
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UMTS_networks for list of 3G networks...
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Click to collapse
Hi tallmantim ....
Thanks for your response. Yeah, today I did my homework and found that my HD2 has UMTS (HSDPA) 900 - 2100 bands, a fact that is not good because Claro and Movistar in Peru operated the 850 - 1900 bands for 3G.
Question: is there a HD2 version with 850 - 1900 band ????

alejo1575 said:
Hi tallmantim ....
Thanks for your response. Yeah, today I did my homework and found that my HD2 has UMTS (HSDPA) 900 - 2100 bands, a fact that is not good because Claro and Movistar in Peru operated the 850 - 1900 bands for 3G.
Question: is there a HD2 version with 850 - 1900 band ????
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Click to collapse
No, but the Telstra HD2 will pick up the 850MHz signals where they exist. There is no HD2 with the 1900MHz UMTS band at the moment

lude219 said:
there are billions of threads on this.
3g is radio/hardware dependent. he'll unfortunately be stuck on EDGE.
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Click to collapse
Would you mind pointing me in the direction of those BILLIONS of threads.
I've done searchs on hardware dependents, radio/hardware dependents, 3G radio.
There are so many way that is topic could be listed.
I'm finding nothing but my thread now just as before.

theisdept said:
a freind of mine who was given a HD2 as a part of a promotion for use on AT&T 3G network
[...]
Then the question is if we are buying these phone, some through contracts others outright, do we want to told whos service we have to use!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Erm, so AT&T gives a phone, for promotion of their service, and at the same time they should allow you to use another network? You've got too much hope there...

alejo1575 said:
Hi tallmantim ....
Thanks for your response. Yeah, today I did my homework and found that my HD2 has UMTS (HSDPA) 900 - 2100 bands, a fact that is not good because Claro and Movistar in Peru operated the 850 - 1900 bands for 3G.
Question: is there a HD2 version with 850 - 1900 band ????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea my friend my phone is , and i am here with t mobile suffering from same problem like u , i bought that phone which is compatible with Asia , not here in usa
is there way to exchange??
mine is
Network HSPA/WCDMA:
900/2100 MHz
Up to 2 Mbps upload and 7.2 Mbps download speeds
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
(Band frequency, HSPA availability, and data speed are
operator dependen)

egypro said:
is there way to exchange??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exchange your phone for cash
exchange that cash for a phone that supports the correct bands.

i think tmous Hd2 does 3g over 850/1900

check the screen shots. I'm not sure but when i choose wcdma and 850/1900 band it says tmobile3g. maybe it is labeling it wrong? although i also ran some tests vs my iPhone 3gs and the speeds are similar, with the hd2 leading. i am in the baltimore/dc area. please confirm or disprove.
my next step is to get my brother to have tmo unlock the hd2
thanx.

Trust on this it is not ATT band 3g you're getting, WCDMA is the AWS band that Tmo gets in the 1700/1900 range but it's not the same as ATT.

That settings page has been around since the age of Tilt (Kaiser). They have basically been using the same settings page all this time where they list all of the possible band settings. But if you don't have the necessary hardware, you won't be able to receive/send signal on those frequencies.

chrisrj28 said:
Trust on this it is not ATT band 3g you're getting, WCDMA is the AWS band that Tmo gets in the 1700/1900 range but it's not the same as ATT.
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1700/2100, not 1700/1900 if it had a 1900 band I think ATT could get it.

Bell's Vibrant is tri-band HSDPA!

Alright, I saw it on the box, so I can confirm with certainty: Bell's Vibrant is tri-band HSDPA 850/1900/2100. I think I'm gonna get me one right away. (Might it be smarter to wait for deals from FS?)
Before seeing it on the box, noone could confirm that: I had called Bell tech support (highest tier), Samsung Canada tech. support, noone! I just can't believe how incompetent these guys (and gals) can be! Samsung tech support didn't even know what HSDPA is! Go figure! Who pays these guys?

yes 3 band data as mentioned above
and quad band voice 850/900/1800/1900
who cares about the voice, the 850/1900/2100 range is what we wanted anyways
now i can go to Brazil visit my >beeep< or go to europe and still have good data reception (using local sim cards of course)

Is the bell's vibrant different from t-mobile's???

felipehcampos said:
Is the bell's vibrant different from t-mobile's???
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Yes, it's a full-on I9000 complete with FFC and physical Home button.

confused about Bell's Vibrant 2G and 3G networks
For reference the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S has:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
What about Bell's Samsung GT-I9000M Galaxy S Vibrant? Which 2G Network? Which 3G Network?
I'm asking that because I'm confused:
Aqua1ung said:
Alright, I saw it on the box, so I can confirm with certainty: Bell's Vibrant is tri-band HSDPA 850/1900/2100
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Click to collapse
But both Best Buy and Future Shop says "3G 900/1900/2100" for Bell's SGS specs?!
AllGamer said:
yes 3 band data as mentioned above
and quad band voice 850/900/1800/1900
who cares about the voice, the 850/1900/2100 range is what we wanted anyways
now i can go to Brazil visit my >beeep< or go to europe and still have good data reception (using local sim cards of course)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it like AT&T's (and supposedly Rogers') Samsung i897 Captivate:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
Does that means Bell's SGS has GSM quad band built-in? But Bell's network is CDMA, not GSM?!
It's a pretty big deal if it has 2G GSM network compatibility, because as you said that means it's possible to use it with both European and Canadian cell phone carriers (once unlocked).
The 3G 850 / 1900 is necessary for Canada, and 2100 for France but that's assuming you stay in big cities where 3G networks are deployed. But what about going to the countryside? In that case we need to rely on the GSM 2G networks to get voice and data connection, am I right?

gaelynx said:
It's a pretty big deal if it has 2G GSM network compatibility, because as you said that means it's possible to use it with both European and Canadian cell phone carriers (once unlocked).
The 3G 850 / 1900 is necessary for Canada, and 2100 for France but that's assuming you stay in big cities where 3G networks are deployed. But what about going to the countryside? In that case we need to rely on the GSM 2G networks to get voice and data connection, am I right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually that's why for some people like myself the 850 is a pretty big deal, so that we can get 3G on the country side, otherwise we'll only get Edge or 2G

gaelynx said:
But both Best Buy and Future Shop says "3G 900/1900/2100" for Bell's SGS specs?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3G 900 in the specs must be wrong. Only Australia, New Zealand and maybe Iran use that band (src). And Future Shop is a sub-division of Best Buy so maybe that why they both have the same error?
AllGamer said:
actually that's why for some people like myself the 850 is a pretty big deal, so that we can get 3G on the country side, otherwise we'll only get Edge or 2G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So 3G 850 and 1900 are enough to cover cities and countryside for voice+data in Canada? There is no CDMA technology in the Bell Vibrant?
And we have a good 3G coverage for worldwide use thanks to the popularity of the 2100MHz band.
Some part of the countryside in France (including where my family lives) doesn't have 3G coverage. So I would like to know the 2G Network capabilities of the Bell Vibrant.
if it has Quad-band GSM then its only difference with the I9000 is the 850 3G band instead of the 900 3G band?! and the difference with the Samsung i897 Captivate is the external design and the front camera?
After additional google-ing I found an official news from Samsung (June 30th) that says:
The first Samsung Galaxy S™ device to launch in Canada will be the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant™ and it is scheduled to launch this summer on Bell Mobility’s state-of-the-art HSPA+ network – the fastest and largest wireless high-speed network in Canada.
Canadian consumers can anticipate the release of additional Galaxy S™ smartphones throughout the rest of 2010.
[..]
Network: HSPA/Quad Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and I could find one confirmation on XDA (without source):
Croak said:
Quad band GSM and 850/1900/2100 UMTS.
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So that means the Bell Vibrant doesn't relies on Bell's CDMA network, only on its HSPA+ network.
I see no point in waiting for Rogers to release the Captivate, unless we don't mind the lack of Front Facing Camera and prefer the other external design...

the Canada version of Vibrant operates at all those bands on both 2G and 3G also for Voice, so you got it all covered.
the only thing left is to get it unlocked after you buy it.
it is also compatible with the i9000 firmware upgrades without any changes

SGS & ATT

I'm looking to possibly get this as my 1st android phone - but I would like to be sure that you can get 3g on ATT in the US.
Any confirmation would be helpful.
thanks.
Edit: NM I found out the sad news

You're missing the point. GSM quad band is for 2G service only. In order to get AT&T's 3G service, you will need both 850 and 1900 UTMS/WCDMA band support. Obviously the current spec is for use outside of North America. If and when Samsung descides to bring it into NA, it has to add either AT&T's 3G band support or T-Mo (1700/2100) 3G band support.
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Just for reference.

yes you can get the i9000m version and you get full 3G coverage on both 850 and 1900 bands
don't get the i9000 version as that is only 900 and 1900 bands

kheavy said:
Just for reference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need BOTH (850 and 1900) to get 3g. You can get 3g with just 1900mhz, but it's definitely preferable to have 850mhz and 1900mhz.
So get the i900m.

true and not true
only having 1900 band have a disadvantage
specially when you go underground or into buildings and areas outside of the big cities

AllGamer said:
true and not true
only having 1900 band have a disadvantage
specially when you go underground or into buildings and areas outside of the big cities
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Click to collapse
What do you mean true and not true? If you read what I said, I am agreeing with you Did you not read my "but...." part?
You can get AT&T 3g with JUST 1900mhz. I didn't say it was great, but nonetheless you can still get it.

INeedYourHelp said:
What do you mean true and not true? If you read what I said, I am agreeing with you Did you not read my "but...." part?
You can get AT&T 3g with JUST 1900mhz. I didn't say it was great, but nonetheless you can still get it.
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no not really some places dont have 1900 only 850..
but you are correct in that more have 1900 than 850.. but all new att services they are putting in for 3g are 850

lgkahn said:
but you are correct in that more have 1900 than 850..
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Click to collapse
I didn't say anything about which has more.
I am simply trying to convey the message that a phone with 1900mhz 3g can in fact connect to AT&T 3g network. I am not saying or have ever said that you can get it everywhere where AT&T provides 3g service. Jeez.

Galaxy SII working in the US

Would anyone happen to know-
if I buy a Galaxy SII from Europe, would it work in the US? specifically with T-Mobile?

As I understand it, yes. But only with the EDGE network. 3G and 4G frequencies are probably different. Could be wrong.

This is the band T-Mobile USA uses: AWS, or UTMS. I don't think it would work, seeing the Galaxy S II's specs. I believe it has to be capable of both. I think best case scenario, it works like an unlocked iPhone and you can get Edge, but not 3G, much less "4G."
While the Galaxy S II supposedly works in both bands, I believe that in order to fully function with T-mobile USA's network it has to support both at the same time. Like I mentioned before, that's called AWS, and it seems to me it would have to be explicitly written in there as a supported band.

So what other carrier would support this device?
btw, thanks for the info!

HG! said:
So what other carrier would support this device?
btw, thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has at&t's 3G bands

r4d14n7 said:
As I understand it, yes. But only with the EDGE network. 3G and 4G frequencies are probably different. Could be wrong.
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Completely wrong.
At&t uses 850 & 1900 for data.
The SGS2 has 850, 900, 1900, and 2100.
It should work on t mobile, but I don't know the network bands off the top if my head.
Sent from my Captivate.

T-Mobile uses 1700 so you wouldn't be getting 3G.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I had to post because I saw alot of misinformation.
The GS II will certainly work in the United States.
It is a Quad Band GSM phone w/ EDGE data. It will also work on the 1900 WCDMA 3G band. At&t, Telus and Bell ALL function on the 1900 WCDMA band.
So yes the GS II will work with 3g on the 1900 WCDMA band here in the states and in Canada. You only need one 3g Band either 850 or 1900 will do. Best to have both so check your coverage area. I have a Galaxy S and have constant 3.5G HSPA signal with 1900 WCDMA only band.

inurb said:
I had to post because I saw alot of misinformation.
The GS II will certainly work in the United States.
It is a Quad Band GSM phone w/ EDGE data. It will also work on the 1900 WCDMA 3G band. At&t, Telus and Bell ALL function on the 1900 WCDMA band.
So yes the GS II will work with 3g on the 1900 WCDMA band here in the states and in Canada. You only need one 3g Band either 850 or 1900 will do. Best to have both so check your coverage area. I have a Galaxy S and have constant 3.5G HSPA signal with 1900 WCDMA only band.
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Jeezus someone who actually knows that 2g and 3g bands are different.

Carne_Asada_Fries said:
T-Mobile uses 1700 so you wouldn't be getting 3G.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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I looked up the network bands. This is how it is:
Voice/calls/texts/etc. will work 100% fine on both of them.
As for 3G:
SGS2: 850, 900, 1900, 2100
AT&T uses 850 and 1900. 3G will work perfectly.
T-mobile uses 1700 and 2100. Apparently their network is retarded and you need both.
Sent from my Captivate.

Wrong again
T-Mobile uses 1700 paired with 2100 commonly referred to as 1700. A phone with 2100 will not work on T-Mobile... A phone must have 1700 to work on the T-Mobile USA 3G network anywhere in the USA. This phone will work on the 2G network and IF T-Mobile has any 1900 3G towers it could connect to those (I'm not aware of any at this time).