Database Users

[Q] Using my Galaxy S5 G900F in Canada?

Hi all, I'm wondering if I may trouble you with a quick question.
I recently bought a Galaxy S5 (Galaxy S5 G900F) in the hopes to have it future proof as I move to Canada next year and would like to have a solid phone for about two - three years. I'm based in Ireland at the moment and wondering can the phone be used in Canada without issue?
I was looking at a phone company (Koodo) who offer great rates and once I inputted my IMEI it stated my phone wouldn't work on their network.
Surely the S5 would work on any network throughout the globe? Last year my Note 3 worked perfectly in America and it was an international edition also.
Is this a hardware issue (radios) or software (were a simple flash of a different rom could fix)?
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards

gbyrne2011 said:
Surely the S5 would work on any network throughout the globe?
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Click to collapse
Okay, let me ask you this question. If the S5 should work around the world.. why does Samsung have a dozen S5 variants?
Figured it out yet? Ironically the hardware is capable of supporting all GSM and LTE bands world wide. But Samsung endeavors to sell their phones for higher prices in more affluent countries. And carriers don't want to make it easy for you to jump ship and sign your phone up to another network. So they have artificial restrictions in the firmware and other measures e.g. region locking, SIM locks, to limit what you can do. They have to allow enough compatibility that you could usually roam when traveling. But not complete compatibility or you might buy a cheaper S5 from another country. Or change carriers willy nilly.
Yup, great system.
And so it is for your phone. It will work most of the time in Canada. But it isn't 100% compatible and you may find that it can't operate on the necessary bands in fringe areas or for niche carriers.
Most of the bands are the same between the S5 900F (yours) and the S5 900W8 (Canada)
The differences, I believe are:
2G: same for both
3G: Most bands are the same. But you have B8(900) in place of Canadian band B4(1700 aka AWS)
4G: Most bands are the same. But you have B5(850), B20(800) instead of Canadian bands B4(1700 aka AWS), B17(700)
In the case of Fido, their site says:
Fido said:
Things to Know
Your device must be compatible with the Fido network, which uses GSM, UMTS, HSPA and HSPA+ at 850 MHz and 1900 MHz and LTE at 2100 MHz and 2600 MHz. If you are unsure of how to check the frequencies your device supports, try the manufacturer's official website and search for the specifications for your particular phone/smartphone model;
If your device is currently locked, it needs to be unlocked by the carrier you bought it from;
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It appears to me that your phone supports all of the Fido bands. And most, but not all of the bands on other Canadian carriers. I don't believe that your phone will work at all on niche carriers Wind or Mobilicity.
.

fffft said:
Okay, let me ask you this question. If the S5 should work around the world.. why does Samsung have a dozen S5 variants?
Figured it out yet? Ironically the hardware is capable of supporting all GSM and LTE bands world wide. But Samsung endeavors to sell their phones for higher prices in more affluent countries. And carriers don't want to make it easy for you to jump ship and sign your phone up to another network. So they have artificial restrictions in the firmware and other measures e.g. region locking, SIM locks, to limit what you can do. They have to allow enough compatibility that you could usually roam when traveling. But not complete compatibility or you might buy a cheaper S5 from another country. Or change carriers willy nilly.
Yup, great system.
And so it is for your phone. It will work most of the time in Canada. But it isn't 100% compatible and you may find that it can't operate on the necessary bands in fringe areas or for niche carriers.
Most of the bands are the same between the S5 900F (yours) and the S5 900W8 (Canada)
The differences, I believe are:
2G: same for both
3G: Most bands are the same. But you have B8(900) in place of Canadian band B4(1700 aka AWS)
4G: Most bands are the same. But you have B5(850), B20(800) instead of Canadian bands B4(1700 aka AWS), B17(700)
In the case of Fido, their site says:
It appears to me that your phone supports all of the Fido bands. And most, but not all of the bands on other Canadian carriers. I don't believe that your phone will work at all on niche carriers Wind or Mobilicity.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your reply. I figured it would be something to do with the radio.. Will check the bands for the network Koodoo, if it falls in ok and I can find a firmware to flash which hopefully should do the trick. Hell I might even just sell before I go, make it easier.
Cheers

gbyrne2011 said:
Will check the bands for the network Koodoo
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Click to collapse
Koodo is a secondary brand of Telus.
They use 3G 850 CLR/1900 PCS
And 4G /LTE 1700/2100 (and possibly 700 in the future)
You are missing their 1700 LTE band, sometimes referred to as AWS. So you will have to find out how extensively they use that band and whether it is a sole frequency in any areas.
.

fffft said:
Koodo is a secondary brand of Telus.
They use 3G 850 CLR/1900 PCS
And 4G /LTE 1700/2100 (and possibly 700 in the future)
You are missing their 1700 LTE band, sometimes referred to as AWS. So you will have to find out how extensively they use that band and whether it is a sole frequency in any areas.
.
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Click to collapse
Thanks very much for all your help fffft, it's much appreciated.

Possible Band Unlock

One of the mods linked this snapdragon based band unlock on the front page.
It's a thread for a sony phone, but it's claimed that this will work (or should work) with any snapdragon chip with root. Has anyone tried this or attempted any similar methods on the LG G3?
I'm interested in the 1700mhz umts (hspa+) (aka AWS band), i'm guessing since the tmobile G3 and the wind S5 both use the the same s801 and have the same AWS band i'm after makes me assume this is probly a software limitation or what do you guys think?
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/remove-band-restrictions-qualcomm/

it's possible change the Moto G4 plus XT1642 LTE frequency ?

i need the band 4(aws) but the XT1642 just have LTE bands 01/05/07/08/19/20/28
have any way to change or chose the bands? or its hardware
Thanks

I am also wondering about this. Someone please give it a productive thought.

Any ideas on this? I've read about this method http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro...ad-progress-please-leave-im-updating-t2871269 and it should work with the Qualcomm Proccessor of the Moto G4 plus, but I don't know the code to activate the Diag.

Hardyblack said:
Any ideas on this? I've read about this method http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro...ad-progress-please-leave-im-updating-t2871269 and it should work with the Qualcomm Proccessor of the Moto G4 plus, but I don't know the code to activate the Diag.
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Click to collapse
There are limitations because of the hardware bits (RF amps) that are missing. For example if the radio works on LTE band 17 (DL 740Mhz, UL 710MHz), then it might be tricked to work in LTE band 12 (DL 737.5MHz, UL 707.5MHz), they are "close enough" to work.
Also I had a Alcatel phone that was sold by T-Mobile with one of the existing bands (LTE 5) de-activated because it was not used by T-Mobile. After unlocking the phone (legally) it would still work poorly on AT&T network - and then I was able to activate that band by using the above software - because the needed RF amps where already present inside.
LTE band 4 AWS is a special animal, the DL and UL frequencies are VERY far apart. Not matching anything else, so even if we can program the radio to work in those bands, the output RF amps will just not be able to perform.
List of frequencies: http://niviuk.free.fr/lte_band.php

SoNic67 said:
There are limitations because of the hardware bits (RF amps) that are missing. For example if the radio works on LTE band 17 (DL 740Mhz, UL 710MHz), then it might be tricked to work in LTE band 12 (DL 737.5MHz, UL 707.5MHz), they are "close enough" to work.
Also I had a Alcatel phone that was sold by T-Mobile with one of the existing bands (LTE 5) de-activated because it was not used by T-Mobile. After unlocking the phone (legally) it would still work poorly on AT&T network - and then I was able to activate that band by using the above software - because the needed RF amps where already present inside.
LTE band 4 AWS is a special animal, the DL and UL frequencies are VERY far apart. Not matching anything else, so even if we can program the radio to work in those bands, the output RF amps will just not be able to perform.
List of frequencies:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love to say that I understood you but I'm very ignorant about bands and frequencies.
I read that the QC SnapDragon 617 has a X8 LTE Modem (can't link because I'm new, but it's on the QC webpage) which has the Snapdragon Global All Mode, and it's supposed to support band 4 AWS. I don't know if that helps with the output RF amps, or I'm totally doomed.

Yes the X8 Modem supports the bands. But it needs something else to work. Those bits are soldered on the US version and not on the EU one. Similar, on the EU one there is band 20 that is not present on the US hardware.

A way to enable more LTE bands to ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KL)

Hello to all,
I have a ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KL). Asus support said me that is a Taiwanese version.
The issue is that is not working with LTE network in my country, only with 2G and 3G. Here is used AWS1 that is the same AWS band 4 (1700/2100 MHz) 1700 for uplink and 2100 for downlink. Asus support said me that I have nothing to do since is a hardware issue because the antenna doesn't work in 1700/2100.
Is there a way to know if this handset could be enabled to work with LTE AWS Band 4?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Regards

First thing first, I'm sorry if my reply did not help you, and this is based on my limited understanding...
Simple answers would be nothing, nothing you can do if this is "hardware" limitation as asus told you.
Now the explanation, note that I'm not knowledgeable about this thing, so I don't think could give a meaningful explanation.
From what I've read, LTE, on different country use different band (1700, 2100, etc). And by that, just say *not the real reason, just play along with it*, "device built by limiting hw capabilities to certain band, to work on region A, because that device didn't meant to work/used outside region A" . This might the reason, you could see asus with WW or TW variant. They limit the device hardware to work only with certain band range.
This is hardware, not software/firmware (if you compare it to like some "unlocked provider device") . So you can't do anything about it.
This is like, using CDMA phone with GSM card, they work at different band. AFAIK it didn't work, cmiiw.
Oh, IIRC, old phone (before Android born) mostly have triband (GSM) you might won't be able to use your device outside your country. Then, newer phone, till now, use quad band to support usability around the globe. cmiiw
I hope you get what I'm trying to say there~
I don't know what it mean about LTE aws 1 / aws 4, I don't think this is just band length (1700/2100).
# sorry for my bad english
Sent from my ASUS_Z00RD using XDA Labs

LG V20 VS995 in the UK?

I'm in the UK and about to buy a LG V20 VS995 from Hong Kong off of Ebay. Pretty sure I've checked the available frequencies here especially the 800 & 900MHz bands as these are the ones which travel the furthest and are able to penetrate buildings better than the higher frequencies. I've attached a table of the main UK networks and what bands they use. So can anyone let me know I've got this right before I purchase. Many thanks

Hi
I am in the UK also and currently using O2 with no problems. I have also used an EE SIM again with no problems. The only thing you need to be aware that the VS995 will not pick up the SIM APNs automatically, at least that is what I found, so you will need to find the APN for whichever network you use. There are off-line APN finders you can find via Google. Hope this is of some help.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk

Ferg8080 said:
I'm in the UK and about to buy a LG V20 VS995 from Hong Kong off of Ebay. Pretty sure I've checked the available frequencies here especially the 800 & 900MHz bands as these are the ones which travel the furthest and are able to penetrate buildings better than the higher frequencies. I've attached a table of the main UK networks and what bands they use. So can anyone let me know I've got this right before I purchase. Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, the LG V20 VS995 doesn't support ALL the bands used in the UK. It doesn't support one of the LTE bands used by Vodafone - the 2100Mhz band. So if you're on the Vodafone network, you may find that 4G/LTE speeds might be slightly slower.
I got all of this information from frequencycheck.com and it's usually where I get all my information on the bands that smartphones support.
The best option if you want to get a V20 that supports ALL bands in the UK (at this current time), is the LG V20 H990DS (Taiwanese Version).
That is the variant that I own and it supports every single band used in the UK.
The only other variant that supports all bands is the LG V20 H990N (Hong Kong version), but it only has Cat6 capability as opposed to the H990DS's Cat12 capability. Therefore, the maximum speed you'll be able to get is 300Mbp/s on the H990N - whereas on the H990DS you can get up to 600Mbp/s.
I got this information from techwalls.com/lg-v20-model-numbers-differences/
I hope that helped.

rikstar555 said:
Hi, the LG V20 VS995 doesn't support ALL the bands used in the UK. It doesn't support one of the LTE bands used by Vodafone - the 2100Mhz band. So if you're on the Vodafone network, you may find that 4G/LTE speeds might be slightly slower.
I got all of this information from frequencycheck.com and it's usually where I get all my information on the bands that smartphones support.
The best option if you want to get a V20 that supports ALL bands in the UK (at this current time), is the LG V20 H990DS (Taiwanese Version).
That is the variant that I own and it supports every single band used in the UK.
The only other variant that supports all bands is the LG V20 H990N (Hong Kong version), but it only has Cat6 capability as opposed to the H990DS's Cat12 capability. Therefore, the maximum speed you'll be able to get is 300Mbp/s on the H990N - whereas on the H990DS you can get up to 600Mbp/s.
I got this information from techwalls.com/lg-v20-model-numbers-differences/
I hope that helped.
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Click to collapse
I'm not really sure that's true according to gsmarena it does support band 4(1700/2100) admittedly that's not the same as 1(2100). I'm sorry but in my ignorance I don't know . Maybe someone who is more enlightened could tell us what the difference is. See here.
Also the bit about the Cat 6, 9, 12 with LTE does not really bother me. For the VS995 it's LTE-A (3CA) Cat12 600/150 Mbps but for the H990N it's LTE-A (2CA) Cat6 300/50 Mbps. Now I ask you is anyone on this planet going to realistically even touch or even dream of a download speed of 300Mbps on a mobile network. I'm not even remotely getting this on my home fibre and we're watching UHD movies!!

Did find this
LTE Band 1: This is one of the paired bands that was defined for the 3G UTRA and 3GPP rel 99.
LTE Band 4: This LTE band was introduced as a new band for the Americas at the World (Administrative) Radio Conference, WRC-2000. This international conference is where international spectrum allocations are agreed. The downlink of band 4 overlaps with the downlink for Band 1. This facilitates roaming.
I guess I'll soon find out, not sure how though

Ferg8080 said:
Did find this
LTE Band 1: This is one of the paired bands that was defined for the 3G UTRA and 3GPP rel 99.
LTE Band 4: This LTE band was introduced as a new band for the Americas at the World (Administrative) Radio Conference, WRC-2000. This international conference is where international spectrum allocations are agreed. The downlink of band 4 overlaps with the downlink for Band 1. This facilitates roaming.
I guess I'll soon find out, not sure how though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be on the safe side, I would just go for the H990N or H990DS. You also don't get the horrible, disgusting Verizon watermarks and logos (software and hardware) if you go with either of the H990 variants. But if you're not going to be using Vodafone, it doesn't really matter - because Vodafone is currently the only UK network that uses B1(2100) for 4G/LTE. Have you already ordered the phone?

i have a h990n in the uk all networks with full 4g

Don't buy CDMA phones for use on GSM carriers, or phones not specific to your region! Though nearly all CDMA phones from Sprint and Verizon in the USA support GSM protocols like 2G: GSM, 3G: UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+, and some LTE bands, they are not always accessible. VS995 doesn't support Vodafone UK's LTE B1. I ran into problems with invalid sims and poor coverage because not all bands were unlocked by Verizon. If you want a V20 save the hassle and buy a GSM unlocked V20: US996, H990, H910 (won't get OTA, so flash H915 KDZ), H915, H918.
More info: https://www.frequencycheck.com/countries/united-kingdom

patato21 said:
Don't buy CDMA phones for use on GSM carriers, or phones not specific to your region! Though nearly all CDMA phones from Sprint and Verizon in the USA support GSM protocols like 2G: GSM, 3G: UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+, and some LTE bands, they are not always accessible. VS995 doesn't support Vodafone UK's LTE B1. I ran into problems with invalid sims and poor coverage because not all bands were unlocked by Verizon. If you want a V20 save the hassle and buy a GSM unlocked V20: US996, H990, H910 (won't get OTA, so flash H915 KDZ), H915, H918.
More info: https://www.frequencycheck.com/countries/united-kingdom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had a look at the above link and have got the following compatibility
GSM: 2G, 2.5G 100% (2/2)
UMTS: 3G, 3.5G, 3.5G (4G speed) 100% (2/2)
LTE: 4G 75% (3/4)
So I'm chuffed especially after reading this concerning the band/frequency I'm missing...
2.6GHz frequency band
The 2.6GHz band is the other frequency which was auctioned by Ofcom and it’s essentially the opposite of the 800MHz band. So it’s not great at travelling over long distances, meaning that masts need to be closer together to deliver reliable coverage and as such it’s not so suited to rural areas.
It’s also not all that adept at penetrating walls so indoor signal on the 2.6GHz band won’t always be perfect.
But on the other hand with 35MHz blocks available it has a high capacity. So it can cope with thousands of simultaneous connections, which in that sense makes it a good fit for cities and other busy areas.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered the phone and hope to get it in the next couple of weeks and I will post back my experiences. I ended up getting it at a good price too

Stransky said:
Hi
I am in the UK also and currently using O2 with no problems. I have also used an EE SIM again with no problems. The only thing you need to be aware that the VS995 will not pick up the SIM APNs automatically, at least that is what I found, so you will need to find the APN for whichever network you use. There are off-line APN finders you can find via Google. Hope this is of some help.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiousity were you able to update from Nougat to Oreo? I had a quick preliminary look and didn't see any straightforward method via official channels.

Ferg8080 said:
Out of curiousity were you able to update from Nougat to Oreo? I had a quick preliminary look and didn't see any straightforward method via official channels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, very few American V20 users have been able to update to Oreo as the providers have not released Oreo for the phone. To keep ahead with security updates I use a custom Rom on my V20 (Alpha Rom ) but you need to have the Bootloader unlocked and the phone rooted to use it. Hope this offers some clarity.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk

Stransky said:
No, very few American V20 users have been able to update to Oreo as the providers have not released Oreo for the phone. To keep ahead with security updates I use a custom Rom on my V20 (Alpha Rom ) but you need to have the Bootloader unlocked and the phone rooted to use it. Hope this offers some clarity.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will probably stick with the stock ROM for a while until I'm settled in with the phone. Has choosing the Alpha rom negatively affected the performance of the camera or sound quality at all?
Some of the reasons for getting this phone is the renowned DAC and the camera esp in manual mode (apparently auto could be disappointing).

Ferg8080 said:
Will probably stick with the stock ROM for a while until I'm settled in with the phone. Has choosing the Alpha rom negatively affected the performance of the camera or sound quality at all?
Some of the reasons for getting this phone is the renowned DAC and the camera esp in manual mode (apparently auto could be disappointing).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No negative affects. Alpha Rom is actually based on the last stock Rom from Verizon with some modifications.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Stransky said:
No negative affects. Alpha Rom is actually based on the last stock Rom from Verizon with some modifications.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay thanks for all your help. I'm expecting to get my phone sometime before Christmas
Just looked at the delivery estimate and it was anywhere between Sept 4th and October??th and it was ordered about 10 days ago. I guess it's to be expected coming from Hong Kong.
:good:

Stransky said:
No, very few American V20 users have been able to update to Oreo as the providers have not released Oreo for the phone. To keep ahead with security updates I use a custom Rom on my V20 (Alpha Rom ) but you need to have the Bootloader unlocked and the phone rooted to use it. Hope this offers some clarity.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well picked up my new V20 VS995 today and before I launch myself head long into customising it I've posted some questions in the main thread here I would really appreciate any help you might be able to give. I was going to post it here but I thought that would be unfair to load you with a barrage of questions.
The whole process seems so much more complicated than with my Note 4 and I there is a lot less handholding esp with the AΩ ROM'S initial post. For a relative novice it seems an absolute minefield.