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Hey guys..my friend who hooked me up with my original N1 gave me an HD2 and another N1...when I put an ATT sim in it I get the ATT logo for service and I also have 3G. My question is what model phone do I have?
thanks.
harsaphes said:
Hey guys..my friend who hooked me up with my original N1 gave me an HD2 and another N1...when I put an ATT sim in it I get the ATT logo for service and I also have 3G. My question is what model phone do I have?
thanks.
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if you get 3G with the N1 with ATT sim, then it is the ATT branded one; it wasn't made specifically for ATT (i believe it was made for one of the Canadian provider), which is compatible with the ATT 3G
btw, you have a great friend to hook you up with 2 N1 and a HD2; you should hook me up with one
thanks for the quick reply...and yes, she is a great friend.
harsaphes said:
and yes, she is a great friend.
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Future wife
jblazea50 said:
if you get 3G with the N1 with ATT sim, then it is the ATT branded one; it wasn't made specifically for ATT (i believe it was made for one of the Canadian provider), which is compatible with the ATT 3G
btw, you have a great friend to hook you up with 2 N1 and a HD2; you should hook me up with one
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No, the N1 that works on AT&T was made specifically for AT&T.
The HD2 that works on AT&T was made for Telstra... or you are thinking of any 3G phone made for Rogers.
jblazea50 said:
if you get 3G with the N1 with ATT sim, then it is the ATT branded one; it wasn't made specifically for ATT (i believe it was made for one of the Canadian provider), which is compatible with the ATT 3G
btw, you have a great friend to hook you up with 2 N1 and a HD2; you should hook me up with one
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Click to collapse
pjcforpres said:
No, the N1 that works on AT&T was made specifically for AT&T.
The HD2 that works on AT&T was made for Telstra... or you are thinking of any 3G phone made for Rogers.
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You're both wrong? The Nexus One was made and sold unlocked, it has the bands 850/1900 which at&t and some canadian providers use, not specifically made for one carrier or another
https://www.google.com/phone/choose?hl=en&gl=US&s7e=
http://www.bing.com/search?q=nexus+one+for+at&t&src=IE-Address
How am I wrong? The AT&T compatible Nexus One was approved by the USA FCC, with the specific intent of it being sold as the AT&T compatible Nexus One. It does happen to work with other carriers, just as the T-Mobile version works with other carriers as well.
But there is no reason they would pay the money to get it approved by the USA FCC if it wasn't being sold specifically for AT&T customers.
As well, the Nexus One is made and sold unlocked with the option of T-Mobile 3G bands or AT&T 3G bands... those bands happen to work with other carriers as well, such as T-Mobile working with a Canadian carrier as well, just as AT&T works with another Canadian provider, plus both phones work with any carrier outside the North America... so was the T-Mobile version made for O2? Was it made for Vodafone? No, it was made for T-Mobile, just as the AT&T banded device was made for AT&T, and just happens to have carry over support for other carriers.
pjcforpres said:
https://www.google.com/phone/choose?hl=en&gl=US&s7e=
http://www.bing.com/search?q=nexus+one+for+at&t&src=IE-Address
How am I wrong? The AT&T compatible Nexus One was approved by the USA FCC, with the specific intent of it being sold as the AT&T compatible Nexus One. It does happen to work with other carriers, just as the T-Mobile version works with other carriers as well.
But there is no reason they would pay the money to get it approved by the USA FCC if it wasn't being sold specifically for AT&T customers.
As well, the Nexus One is made and sold unlocked with the option of T-Mobile 3G bands or AT&T 3G bands... those bands happen to work with other carriers as well, such as T-Mobile working with a Canadian carrier as well, just as AT&T works with another Canadian provider, plus both phones work with any carrier outside the North America... so was the T-Mobile version made for O2? Was it made for Vodafone? No, it was made for T-Mobile, just as the AT&T banded device was made for AT&T, and just happens to have carry over support for other carriers.
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maybe you are not aware of how the FCC testing process goes, but there are phones that are never even sold in the USA, like euro phones, or phones from the far east, that still go thru FCC testing, yet they dont even have the proper bands for the USA 3G networks.
so the nexus one was not specifically made to be released for ATT. i dont know where you're getting that info.
pjcforpres said:
https://www.google.com/phone/choose?hl=en&gl=US&s7e=
http://www.bing.com/search?q=nexus+one+for+at&t&src=IE-Address
How am I wrong? The AT&T compatible Nexus One was approved by the USA FCC, with the specific intent of it being sold as the AT&T compatible Nexus One. It does happen to work with other carriers, just as the T-Mobile version works with other carriers as well.
But there is no reason they would pay the money to get it approved by the USA FCC if it wasn't being sold specifically for AT&T customers.
As well, the Nexus One is made and sold unlocked with the option of T-Mobile 3G bands or AT&T 3G bands... those bands happen to work with other carriers as well, such as T-Mobile working with a Canadian carrier as well, just as AT&T works with another Canadian provider, plus both phones work with any carrier outside the North America... so was the T-Mobile version made for O2? Was it made for Vodafone? No, it was made for T-Mobile, just as the AT&T banded device was made for AT&T, and just happens to have carry over support for other carriers.
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You're confusing "compatible" and "designed for".
Carrier 1 uses Frequency X
Carrier 2 uses Frequency Y
Just because a phone that works with frequency X doesn't mean it was created solely for carrier 1.
GSM is an "open" network unline sprint's and verizon's CDMA networks.
Take "world phones" as an example, they work on Carrier 1 and 2, but it wasn't designed specifically for either.
There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HW-wise in Nexus that is carrier-specific.
Nobody makes a phone for a specific carrier, carriers only brand phones. Phone is made for a range of networks, and Nexus has 2 options, basically - because it utilizes 1 of 2 chips, either QSD8650, or QSD8250, and those are adjusted for different ranges (specifically 850/1900/2100 or 900/AWS/2100). On the Google choice screen, read: "Compatible with XXXXXXXX".
There's 2100 coverage in most of the world, so both versions of Nexus can be used outside Americas and have a high probability of getting 3G signal, since they both support it. In Americas the common system appears to be 850/1900, though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UMTS_networks
I am not confusing anything. The Nexus One with AT&T 3G banding was made with the purpose of fulfilling Google's desire to have a Nexus One with AT&T 3G banding. Or, in other words, they made it to be the AT&T version of the Nexus One. Hence, there being hundreds of news articles and even threads on this very site using the termonology "AT&T version".
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=AT&T+nexus+one&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
Also, from Google's official statement on the matter:
"starting today, an additional version of the Nexus One is available from the Google web store that is compatible with AT&T's 3G network. This new model can be purchased as an unlocked device without a service plan."
http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/48920-google-touts-att-compatible-nexus-one
Why would they announce that they now have a version that works with AT&T 3G if it wasn't meant for AT&T?
At&t uses those bands, those bands do not belong to At&t. That's the difference.
The way to tell if your phone is the T-Mobile or AT&T version is by looking at the part number on the back of the phone.
P/N: 99HKE002-00 for the T-Mobile version
P/N: 99HKE007-01 for the AT&T version
Hope that helps!
JCopernicus said:
At&t uses those bands, those bands do not belong to At&t. That's the difference.
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I understand what you guys are saying, the Nexus One wasn't made specifically for any carrier, and that isn't what I am saying or did say. What I am saying is that they did actively think about which 3G bands were included in the device... and decided they wanted to make one with AT&T banding as well, and when they released it they announced they had just released their AT&T 3G compatible Nexus One, and thus it seems fair to say (and not a stretch of words, unless we want to be anal about it), that Google made it for AT&T... perhaps saying "Google made it for AT&T's 3G network" is more complete and better, but that is a potential meaning from my original statement and so forth.
And technically AT&T owns the rights to those bands in the United States. Since you like to be super specific and technical with your semantics, figured I would add that in.
They own their towers, they don't own the bands of gsm technology, those are licensed out to them.
Yes, google made a concious decision to make that phone compatible with at&t, but that's not the same are making the phone FOR at&t.
pjcforpres said:
I understand what you guys are saying, the Nexus One wasn't made specifically for any carrier, and that isn't what I am saying or did say. What I am saying is that they did actively think about which 3G bands were included in the device... and decided they wanted to make one with AT&T banding as well, and when they released it they announced they had just released their AT&T 3G compatible Nexus One, and thus it seems fair to say (and not a stretch of words, unless we want to be anal about it), that Google made it for AT&T... perhaps saying "Google made it for AT&T's 3G network" is more complete and better, but that is a potential meaning from my original statement and so forth.
And technically AT&T owns the rights to those bands in the United States. Since you like to be super specific and technical with your semantics, figured I would add that in.
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Well it was also made for the Canadian and some South American carriers. People in the USA will call it the AT&T version, people in Canada will call it for whatever carriers they have.
I think he is maybe not quite into the world of cell phones as some of us are, so when you look at it from that perspective you would think that Google made it "for ATT." That's not really the case though.
JCopernicus said:
They own their towers, they don't own the bands of gsm technology, those are licensed out to them.
Yes, google made a concious decision to make that phone compatible with at&t, but that's not the same are making the phone FOR at&t.
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I am just baffled... You don't think AT&T owns the rights to use the frequencies they are running on? Why does the FCC auction off frequencies then? Who are they auctioning them off to? What is being auctioned off? Nothing? Is it just a big sham?
And FYI, GSM and CDMA can run on the same frequencies, there is not point to even mentioning that they don't own those bands of gsm technology... the technology aspect is whether they decide to use gsm or cdma to broadcast over those frequencies, it has nothing to do with buying gsm specific.
Also, it is fair to say, like I already explained, that they made the AT&T banded device for AT&T in that they actively decided to make a Nexus One that works with AT&T. Sure, semantically speaking, it isn't perfect... but based off what Google themself said at the launch (We are proud to announce the AT&T compatible version of the Nexus One) it is easy to see that was their driving force, not Telstra.
Dude, I guess you're one of those that don't ever read what others write, and definitely don't open links.
Go to the previous page, open the Wiki link to the list of UMTS networks, and look carefully at the "Americas" section. What will you find there?
Ah, yes. ALMOST EVERY CARRIER IN YOUR HALF OF THE GLOBE IS USING THOSE FREQUENCIES.
Then, perhaps, you should think again, why did Google choose the frequencies as they did. Or actually, you might understand that the only thing Google chose is Qualcomm's CPU to power the phone, and this CPU just "happens" to come in 2 versions, each supporting different bands, one optimized for Americas and one for Eurasia, both including the world's most common 2100MHz band (the choice of band support can be seen in any device using Snapdragon chipset, as far as I've checked). AT&T happens to use the same bands as 80% of Americas' providers use, so?
Maybe now the "driving force" is a bit clearer.
Oh well, wasted enough time trying to explain the obvious.
Jack_R1 said:
Dude, I guess you're one of those that don't ever read what others write, and definitely don't open links.
Go to the previous page, open the Wiki link to the list of UMTS networks, and look carefully at the "Americas" section. What will you find there?
Ah, yes. ALMOST EVERY CARRIER IN YOUR HALF OF THE GLOBE IS USING THOSE FREQUENCIES.
Then, perhaps, you should think again, why did Google choose the frequencies as they did. Or actually, you might understand that the only thing Google chose is Qualcomm's CPU to power the phone, and this CPU just "happens" to come in 2 versions, each supporting different bands, one optimized for Americas and one for Eurasia, both including the world's most common 2100MHz band (the choice of band support can be seen in any device using Snapdragon chipset, as far as I've checked). AT&T happens to use the same bands as 80% of Americas' providers use, so?
Maybe now the "driving force" is a bit clearer.
Oh well, wasted enough time trying to explain the obvious.
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So you think it is obvioud Google had HTC make a Nexus One with the 850/1900 3G banding because they wanted to appease Rogers and Telstra? You have got to be kidding me. What sort of business sense does that make?
Hey, forget about AT&T and its 100 million customers, and that they are located in our home market, we want to make sure we make the Canadians and their 20 million customers happy.
I bet it is real nice to be so naive and caught up in "semantics" to believe such real world flawed ideas.
I recently got the S5 on sprint and im beyond disappointed with sprints new spark and lte network out here in NY. Im considering going to Tmobile since there lte speeds are crazy good and connection is steady out here. My question is can i get my phone unlocked and bring my sprint version phone over to Tmobile? I was told by a Tmobile rep that my phone would go down to 2g speeds and its not guaranteed to even get lte. Which i find hard to believe since since my phone has the option to also go on GSM/UMTS. Whats your guys thoughts on this?
darknatas said:
I recently got the S5 on sprint and im beyond disappointed with sprints new spark and lte network out here in NY. Im considering going to Tmobile since there lte speeds are crazy good and connection is steady out here. My question is can i get my phone unlocked and bring my sprint version phone over to Tmobile? I was told by a Tmobile rep that my phone would go down to 2g speeds and its not guaranteed to even get lte. Which i find hard to believe since since my phone has the option to also go on GSM/UMTS. Whats your guys thoughts on this?
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Bump
19 25996965
darknatas said:
Bump
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Sprint phones cant work with T-Mobile, Sprint blocks other US GSM carriers from using their phone.
Sprint phones can only be used outside of the states
Vlade12 said:
Sprint phones cant work with T-Mobile, Sprint blocks other US GSM carriers from using their phone.
Sprint phones can only be used outside of the states
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So even if i get the phone unlocked i wont be able to use it on tmobile?
darknatas said:
So even if i get the phone unlocked i wont be able to use it on tmobile?
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Click to collapse
Correct. Sprint uses different frequency ranges, so unlocked or not it's just not going to communicate.
ATT and T-Mobile work due to the overlap. In fact, for a while there ATT was going to purchase T-Mobile before the FCC put a halt to that.
Glad too as T-Mobile is now shaking up the market and forcing (encouraging?) Verzion and ATT to try and adopt similar measures in order to maintain customer base.
Vlade12 said:
Sprint phones cant work with T-Mobile, Sprint blocks other US GSM carriers from using their phone.
Sprint phones can only be used outside of the states
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Click to collapse
I dont think this is correct. Albeit S5 is a different phone, but I unlocked 4 SPH-L720 S4's from Sprint to Tmobile no problem using the following thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2530610
If S5 could use the same methods, you would get 3G and HSPA+ on the Sprint S5 using a TMobile SIM.
I was able to get LTE using a TMobile SIM on a Sprint S4 by using DFS to edit the NV to enable AWS 1700 LTE Band in NV items, then flashing the TMobile HOS and MODEM bin files - along with copying the *ril*.so libraries to the system/lib directory. This ultimately allowed me to select the LTE/WCDMA/GSM option in Mobile Networks.
Not many people know about this but I found it in an i337 thread on how to unlock AWS on a S4.
bcas9472 said:
I dont think this is correct. Albeit S5 is a different phone, but I unlocked 4 SPH-L720 S4's from Sprint to Tmobile no problem using the following thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2530610
If S5 could use the same methods, you would get 3G and HSPA+ on the Sprint S5 using a TMobile SIM.
I was able to get LTE using a TMobile SIM on a Sprint S4 by using DFS to edit the NV to enable AWS 1700 LTE Band in NV items, then flashing the TMobile HOS and MODEM bin files - along with copying the *ril*.so libraries to the system/lib directory. This ultimately allowed me to select the LTE/WCDMA/GSM option in Mobile Networks.
Not many people know about this but I found it in an i337 thread on how to unlock AWS on a S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you can get full speeds on gsm networks with the sprint version? in the US or out?
Is that right?
bcas9472 said:
I dont think this is correct. Albeit S5 is a different phone, but I unlocked 4 SPH-L720 S4's from Sprint to Tmobile no problem using the following thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2530610
If S5 could use the same methods, you would get 3G and HSPA+ on the Sprint S5 using a TMobile SIM.
I was able to get LTE using a TMobile SIM on a Sprint S4 by using DFS to edit the NV to enable AWS 1700 LTE Band in NV items, then flashing the TMobile HOS and MODEM bin files - along with copying the *ril*.so libraries to the system/lib directory. This ultimately allowed me to select the LTE/WCDMA/GSM option in Mobile Networks.
Not many people know about this but I found it in an i337 thread on how to unlock AWS on a S4.
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Click to collapse
Has anyone comfermed this? To my knowledge the Sprint/Verizon phones are not cross compatable with AT&T and T-mobile. Some verizon phones are the exception but basicily its a no go from CDMA phone to GSM tech.
confirm
i can confirm the sprint s4 does work on tmobile with a bit of editing and following the gsm domestic tutorial on xda, however this part about the modem.bin and hlos isnt confirmed and i have done this and ended up hard bricking my devices and had to jtag to repair them. ive tried many times and always bricked so i say no go.
this forum is for the sprint s5 and i would hope we can find a loophole to get it gsm unlocked. any ideas? ive tried a few things but no luck
Theres alot of incorrect information here. The latest Sprint phones using sim cards ARE ABLE to use T-Mobile and AT&T as long as GSM is in the hardware. I dont own the S5 but for those blinding others with frequency talk I'm tired of seeing, read it and weep:
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=4408
Sprint S5 supports GSM. Now of course no LTE on T-Mobile due to the lack of the 1700 frequency,
but your 4G will be fine. Depending on where you live, you may not even care about LTE over 4G.
Sure, Sprint locks the darn thing up to avoid it getting into the hands of other domestic carriers, but
just as the Sprint Note 3 and my Sprint LG G2, a workaround has been invented. For the G2 it was as
"borrowing" the stock T-Mobile LG G2 firmware and tweaking it to boot up on our LS980. We have
about 3 different tastes of working unlocked roms, not only sticking to T-Mobile, but other carriers
reported working such as Metro PCS and AT&T. So my guess is that the S5 may need a similar
treatment, nobody wants Sprint honestly. The first 14 days (brought in my own LG Optimus G LS970)
I was with them service was glorious here in NYC. But after the 14 day "trial period" ended I was
DAMNED into horrible service, constant 3G instead of 4G, etc. Thanks to refusing to make payments
due to the disgusting service, my GS4's IMEI is basically crap, so I sold it in the same week I got it.
I should have never swapped it out for the LG OG...
Honestly, I'll thank every OP I see that "unlocks" the Sprint version of any phone for domestic GSM
use. Their silly Sprint Spark is useless, why introduce something new when they dont even have full
4G coverage here in the USA? And their agents sound like "AI" controlled cyborgs: "Oh we're sorry to
hear that, your zone is scheduled to be recieving 4G soon." Yeah right. I feel sorry for those who suffer
in other states.
ANYWAYS sorry for drifting off topic. The recap here is that the Sprint S5 IS capable of domestic GSM with some modding.
And also that I hate Sprint.
Any Updates on this
Does anyone have any news on this? I have a S5 from sprint and want to use it with tmobile or other gsm carrier. any1 have any updates on the UCCI deal i read about somewhere? I have the spc phone is rooted what do i need to do? cant bring up the service menu to change things there.. kind a lost pls help
..
lease has anyone found a solution for enabling aws bands on galaxy s5? i have the at&t active version unlocked and rooted using on tmobile but i get only edge :/
What is the verdict? Is there anyone who knows you can use it on any network? I am getting mine tomorrow and am unlocking it. Is there a way to test if they will work on any network? I have many sim cards from diff carriers.
..
unlock sprint
fffft said:
There have been a lot of threads about this, so clearly few are even bothering to search the forum for existing threads and the wealth of information in them.
Sprint is a CDMA system like Verizon & USC. CDMA per se is incompatible with GSM, which is what most of the world uses. The Sprint S5 only supports some of the most common GSM frequency bands and moreover will have a locked bootloader and SIM.
Sprint will not unlock the SIM (actually SPC code) to allow using it with other domestic carriers. You can find third party vendors that will "SPC unlock" your Sprint phone. But then you will find that Sprint's S5 won't support any of the LTE bands on other CDMA or GSM carriers and misses some GSM bands too.
Nor can you use custom ROMs, kernels or recoveries in the normal manner due to the locked bootloader. You could probably use the Verizon Safestrap method to emulate a limited palette of custom ROMs, but you would have to do your due dilligence there and look into the details.
In short, if you jump through enough hoops, you can use a Sprint S5 on another carrier like TMobile. But it will always be marginal. You won't get LTE data speeds, you will see more congestion than those using native handsets, due to your reduced number of bands. And you may have no coverage at all in some fringe areas served by a TMB band that your handset doesn't have.
.
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The limitation of what "bands" the radio will cover are software defined. if you look around. you can find a way to modify those defined rules.
to allow it to use 1700 LTE. although the legality may be questionable as the FCC approval for that model was not tested with the LTE. The baseband chip/radio still supports the band with the software changes
..
impossible
fffft said:
There have been a lot of threads about this, so clearly few are even bothering to search the forum for existing threads and the wealth of information in them.
Sprint is a CDMA system like Verizon & USC. CDMA per se is incompatible with GSM, which is what most of the world uses. The Sprint S5 only supports some of the most common GSM frequency bands and moreover will have a locked bootloader and SIM.
Sprint will not unlock the SIM (actually SPC code) to allow using it with other domestic carriers. You can find third party vendors that will "SPC unlock" your Sprint phone. But then you will find that Sprint's S5 won't support any of the LTE bands on other CDMA or GSM carriers and misses some GSM bands too.
Nor can you use custom ROMs, kernels or recoveries in the normal manner due to the locked bootloader. You could probably use the Verizon Safestrap method to emulate a limited palette of custom ROMs, but you would have to do your due dilligence there and look into the details.
In short, if you jump through enough hoops, you can use a Sprint S5 on another carrier like TMobile. But it will always be marginal. You won't get LTE data speeds, you will see more congestion than those using native handsets, due to your reduced number of bands. And you may have no coverage at all in some fringe areas served by a TMB band that your handset doesn't have.
.
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What in the heck? Who fed you this bologna? Do you work for Sprint? Cause I have various complaints for you if you do. My SPRINT G2 running a T-Mobile G2 stock rom which is unlocked DOMESTICALLY works perfectly fine with T-Mobile's 4G. I don't think many people care about LTE, getting off of Sprint alone is a huge leap for mankind (in this case G900P owners). And as it was mentioned, there are ways to get that nice LTE band for various devices with simple mods, problem is that it is NOT widely recognized yet and very few people know that the possibility exists because of various misleading posts that "its all in the hardware" and fingers being pointed at Qualcomm's techniques. Yes there is a possibility for a domestic unlock, sure there might not be LTE for it, but most people will be content with the fact that they can use their expensive locked down phone with another carrier. Honesty Sprint devices would be better off being sold for less than carriers that actually DO allow domestic unlocks. Why do we pay over half a "K" for a phone that in reality we do not completely have full rights over? Why do other carriers alow domestic unlocks and Sprint wants to be greedy and lock in all of their customers with shady contracts and decieving bills?
Thats why many of us including myself would be beyond grateful if we even get some 3G with another carrier. We have CDMA capabilities, we have GSM capabilities, all we need is some sort of domestic unlock.
There is NO third party unlock code of any sorts that will unlock a phone that is unlocked OTA. Check around for many posts from various foreign users who have gotten stuck with a useless Galaxy S5 that can only be used with wifi thanks to Sprint. Is it their fault? No. It is purely Sprint's fault for being so damn greedy. Thankfully I am hearing news that by February of 2015 all devices will be GSM and have the capabilities to be unlocked for domestic use.
Custom roms, honestly most of us are just unsatisfied with the average and like to go to the unique side. But is Cyanogenmod going to allow us to use Air Gestures and all the other cool features of the S5? Not really. Custom kernels would be nice, but many people only seek then in order to overclock their device, which this device is in particular really doesn't need any more added power (or battery drain) than it already has. Optimization tweaks might be worth it but I dont see it helping. If someone could fix the delayed multitasking transitions (switching from one app to the other at times is delayed a second or two) or the crashing browser without custom roms or kernels, then it is best not to waste time on the development of such things. But then again there are those who prefer stock android in combination with other features such as the AMOLED screen technology, but it is best to look for another device.
After searching and running into various answers (and perpetual confusion), I'm confused about which S5 I should purchase. I would much rather buy an international version from a seller on eBay if I can get LTE bands in the states. I've freed myself from carrier devices for almost two years now and the thought of going back is awful (even though I probably will if I have to). Anyway, can someone give me a clear answer. Which variant do I need to buy?
jtc276 said:
After searching and running into various answers (and perpetual confusion), I'm confused about which S5 I should purchase. I would much rather buy an international version from a seller on eBay if I can get LTE bands in the states. I've freed myself from carrier devices for almost two years now and the thought of going back is awful (even though I probably will if I have to). Anyway, can someone give me a clear answer. Which variant do I need to buy?
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Bump
jtc276 said:
After searching and running into various answers (and perpetual confusion), I'm confused about which S5 I should purchase. I would much rather buy an international version from a seller on eBay if I can get LTE bands in the states. I've freed myself from carrier devices for almost two years now and the thought of going back is awful (even though I probably will if I have to). Anyway, can someone give me a clear answer. Which variant do I need to buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get an accurate answer from Samsung. Or Carrier X, win a prize.
Samsung doesn't want you buying a lower priced phone from another country, it cuts into their quarterly profit results and they actively deter so called grey market sales in a number of ways. Nor will carriers make it easy for you to jump ship. So easily accessible and accurate information is difficult to come by.
As far as I can tell, the S5 hardware is release 10 compliant. Meaning that baring artificial firmware restrictions, the S5 in your hand is capable of working on all of the GSM and LTE frequencies in use or in the process of being deployed, worldwide.
If you are not relying upon a subsidized handset or can find the right deal, I'd suggest purchasing the TMobile variant (SM-G900T) for use on ATT. The TMobile S5 works on ATT LTE, has the substantial advantage of an unlocked bootloader & has more accessible bands, an advantage for roaming on other networks.
AFAIK, the TMobile variant supports all of the ATT bands. You'll find posts agreeing with me and posts disputing this. All I can tell you is that there are a lot of misinformed people and I haven't seen anyone credibly dispute it. The specs say that it should work, there are lots of reports of it working and firsthand I've seen good data speeds; 50+ Mbps speeds in some ATT cities.
If you were looking at some specific Ebay auction and /or specific international model, you didn't spell that out nor give us any specifics so it's impossible to give you useful advice on that point. Many of the international variants have firmware restrictions supporting HSPA+ and not "ATT" LTE.
The best advice of course is always caveat emptor.
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fffft said:
Get an accurate answer from Samsung. Or Carrier X, win a prize.
Samsung doesn't want you buying a lower priced phone from another country, it cuts into their quarterly profit results and they actively deter so called grey market sales in a number of ways. Nor will carriers make it easy for you to jump ship. So easily accessible and accurate information is difficult to come by.
As far as I can tell, the S5 hardware is release 10 compliant. Meaning that baring artificial firmware restrictions, the S5 in your hand is capable of working on all of the GSM and LTE frequencies in use or in the process of being deployed, worldwide.
If you are not relying upon a subsidized handset or can find the right deal, I'd suggest purchasing the TMobile variant (SM-G900T) for use on ATT. The TMobile S5 works on ATT LTE, has the substantial advantage of an unlocked bootloader & has more accessible bands, an advantage for roaming on other networks.
AFAIK, the TMobile variant supports all of the ATT bands. You'll find posts agreeing with me and posts disputing this. All I can tell you is that there are a lot of misinformed people and I haven't seen anyone credibly dispute it. The specs say that it should work, there are lots of reports of it working and firsthand I've seen good data speeds; 50+ Mbps speeds in some ATT cities.
If you were looking at some specific Ebay auction and /or specific international model, you didn't spell that out nor give us any specifics so it's impossible to give you useful advice on that point. Many of the international variants have firmware restrictions supporting HSPA+ and not "ATT" LTE.
The best advice of course is always caveat emptor.
.
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Click to collapse
I just bought the T-Mobile variant (900T) which I'm hoping was the best choice. The international models that I could have bought on eBay (900F,H, I) were missing at least one AT&T LTE band.
Hey guys!
im from israel, been using NEXUS phones for the last 2 years or so and i saw this phone and knew i must have it (ffs 3,900mAh)
but then i saw it says "Verizon" everywhere, which i know is a cell provider in the US.
so does that mean that Motorola made a phone that is for ONE CELL PROVIDER IN THE WORLD?
some poeple have been writing things about "open GSM" or something? will there not be an unlocked version?
ty
Caniv said:
Hey guys!
im from israel, been using NEXUS phones for the last 2 years or so and i saw this phone and knew i must have it (ffs 3,900mAh)
but then i saw it says "Verizon" everywhere, which i know is a cell provider in the US.
so does that mean that Motorola made a phone that is for ONE CELL PROVIDER IN THE WORLD?
some poeple have been writing things about "open GSM" or something? will there not be an unlocked version?
ty
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Click to collapse
The Droid series of devices has traditionally been Verizon Wireless exclusives dating back to the original Motorola Droid, to answer your question it is made exclusively for Verizon. Will there be a unlocked version eventually, most likely there will be. This being said you could purchase one for full retail price and by Verizon's Device Unlocking policy "We do not lock our 4G LTE devices, and no code is needed to program them for use with another carrier", however there is no guarantee it will work with the radio bands your carrier operates at.
shimp208 said:
The Droid series of devices has traditionally been Verizon Wireless exclusives dating back to the original Motorola Droid, to answer your question it is made exclusively for Verizon. Will there be a unlocked version eventually, most likely there will be. This being said you could purchase one for full retail price and by Verizon's Device Unlocking policy "We do not lock our 4G LTE devices, and no code is needed to program them for use with another carrier", however there is no guarantee it will work with the radio bands your carrier operates at.
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wow thank you for the awesome detailed answer.
so they CLAIM i could just buy a Verizon version and put my sim card inside and it SHOULD work?
also when u say "no gumtree it'll work with the radio bands" , do u mean these (for nexus 5 for example
"HSDPA 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 900 - North American version
LTE 700 / 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - North American version"
and if so, if i can CHECK with my provider what 'radio brand' they work at, and the Turbo has that band, theres really no reason for it not to work, right?
As a former VZW indirect rep, I can tell you that yes, it is possible to unlock the phone, and use a foreign sim in it, you would have to call VZW Tech Support, and have them unlock it on their end, before being able to take it to another carrier. When the device is released, or open for pre-order, they will list the CDMA/GSM/LTE bands that it will work on, listed in the specs on their website. A lot of VZW customers do travel abroad, therefore, the devices do have to work, and obviously, most of the world is on GSM. Hope this helps.
Hi everyone, did our phone always have support for 2.5ghz 5g? I saw an article listing our phone as compatible for it. Sure enough our phone on the TMobile website has the band listed.
I could've swore when I did my research before buying this phone I never saw it and was prepared to buy a new phone once there's enough coverage.
Or did they sneak it in an update, I remember one of our previous update had a 5g band update and thought that was pretty nice of them, but recall that it was for a different band.
sushi143 said:
Hi everyone, did our phone always have support for 2.5ghz 5g? I saw an article listing our phone as compatible for it. Sure enough our phone on the TMobile website has the band listed.
I could've swore when I did my research before buying this phone I never saw it and was prepared to buy a new phone once there's enough coverage.
Or did they sneak it in an update, I remember one of our previous update had a 5g band update and thought that was pretty nice of them, but recall that it was for a different band.
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Click to collapse
I can't remember if they activated it yet, but it will support it once T-Mobile has it launched.
5g band n41 arrived in update a couple months ago. bands n2 and n66 came with the update around june 1
Our phones are in great shape for Day 1 in August and all the network upgrades for B41/n41 and dynamic spectrum sharing for n2 and n66 that is currently ongoing.
We're missing n5, which says a lot about T-Mobile's plans (or lack thereof) for the B26/n5 spectrum if Dish doesn't want it. As for n12, it still doesn't exist beyond 3GPP documents.