Database Users

[Q] Using the phone on another carrier

I am planning to buy MT4G, unlock it and use it on another carrier with compatible frequencies of course. Will I be still able to get updates using for example a wifi connection? or should I download updates manually? Is there something that I will lose when I use the phone on another carrier ?

I don't know if you mean overseas or in any place other than the U.S. but the only "compatible" carrier for this phone besides T-Mobile is AT&T. The reason why compatible is in quotes is because yes the phone would function and make calls on that network, but you will lose 3G and HSPA+ service as AT&T's equivalents operate on a different and incompatible spectrum.
I would also assume that you would not receive OTA updates either.

unremarked said:
I don't know if you mean overseas or in any place other than the U.S. but the only "compatible" carrier for this phone besides T-Mobile is AT&T. The reason why compatible is in quotes is because yes the phone would function and make calls on that network, but you will lose 3G and HSPA+ service as AT&T's equivalents operate on a different and incompatible spectrum.
I would also assume that you would not receive OTA updates either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overseas, on a network that is compatible with regard to GSM/ UMTS frequencies. So the only way to get updates is to download them from forums like this one?

raeef said:
Overseas, on a network that is compatible with regard to GSM/ UMTS frequencies. So the only way to get updates is to download them from forums like this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know for absolute certain, but I'm 95% sure you wouldn't recieve OTA since it goes out over the network your phone is connected to.
You can usually snag the update from here, but unfortunately, a lot of people didn't run aLogcat to log the download and get the link. Including myself, though I'm trying now with my second device.

unremarked said:
I don't know for absolute certain, but I'm 95% sure you wouldn't recieve OTA since it goes out over the network your phone is connected to.
You can usually snag the update from here, but unfortunately, a lot of people didn't run aLogcat to log the download and get the link. Including myself, though I'm trying now with my second device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another question, does anyone know if this device works on UMTS band I 2100 ( 2100/1900)? I really can't make up my mind because it's not clear on T mobile website. It says UMTS 1700/2100/AWS and this looks like it's referring only to UMTS IV

raeef said:
Another question, does anyone know if this device works on UMTS band I 2100 ( 2100/1900)? I really can't make up my mind because it's not clear on T mobile website. It says UMTS 1700/2100/AWS and this looks like it's referring only to UMTS IV
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is compatible with almost every gsm band the specs are:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA/HSUPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
In the US most carriers are using GSM 850/1900 and 3G 1700/2100 you will only get OTA from T-mobile in the US if you are using their cellphone service or you can hope and wait for the update to show up here on XDA in the forum.
http://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html
In Israel where I am, and England, France and Germany etc. the bands are
2G 900/1800 and 3G 2100
so you should have no problem using 3G or even 3g+ "4G" on this phone if your cell provider offers it. But it may require an advanced sim card or signing up for a special data service.
Dont get confused by the various terms (UMTS EDGE HSPA etc.) a phone that is guad-gsm and tri-3G will run the data services just fine but T-mobile will tell you we dont guarantee the data capabilities outside of our network... because they dont want lawsuits

mo976 said:
The phone is compatible with almost every gsm band the specs are:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA/HSUPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
In the US most carriers are using GSM 850/1900 and 3G 1700/2100 you will only get OTA from T-mobile in the US if you are using their cellphone service or you can hope and wait for the update to show up here on XDA in the forum.
In Israel where I am, and England, France and Germany etc. the bands are
2G 900/1800 and 3G 2100
so you should have no problem using 3G or even 3g+ "4G" on this phone if your cell provider offers it. But it may require an advanced sim card or signing up for a special data service.
Dont get confused by the various terms (UMTS EDGE HSPA etc.) a phone that is guad-gsm and tri-3G will run the data services just fine but T-mobile will tell you we dont guarantee the data capabilities outside of our network... because they dont want lawsuits
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I am a telecom engineer so I know about the terms. You didn't get my question about the bands. Look here for example support.t-mobile.com/doc/tm24233.xml?&A2L.SERVICE=FeatureSummary
The listed Bands: 1 (2100) and 4 (AWS 1700/2100)
and that clearly shows that G2 supports 2 UMTS bands , 1 and 4
1 is 2100 paired with 1900 ( EU)
4 that is used by T mobile in the US.
So I am confused because on this page mytouch.t-mobile.com/mytouch-4g-features#/specs-and-manualsthey listed the bands like this
Bands 1700/2100/AWS that's why it's not clear for me if MT4G supports UMTS I or not.

This is the official reply from HTC when asked:
Dear ....,
I understand that you would like to know if your T-mobile Mytouch 4G device can use the 2100 MHZ band over in Europe for 3G. I do apologize your device is not compatible with the 2100 MHZ back over in Europe for 3G service. I do apologize for all the inconvenience that this may cause you.
To send a reply to this message or let me know I have successfully answered your question log in to our ContactUs site using your email address and your ticket number .....
Sincerely,
Victor
HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

raeef said:
Actually I am a telecom engineer so I know about the terms. You didn't get my question about the bands. Look here for example support.t-mobile.com/doc/tm24233.xml?&A2L.SERVICE=FeatureSummary
The listed Bands: 1 (2100) and 4 (AWS 1700/2100)
and that clearly shows that G2 supports 2 UMTS bands , 1 and 4
1 is 2100 paired with 1900 ( EU)
4 that is used by T mobile in the US.
So I am confused because on this page mytouch.t-mobile.com/mytouch-4g-features#/specs-and-manualsthey listed the bands like this
Bands 1700/2100/AWS that's why it's not clear for me if MT4G supports UMTS I or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AWS is the data delivery method used only by Tmo in the US. So the 4G service may not work outside the US but according to the phone specs it states that it supports UMTS and GPRS/EDGE so it should support 3G UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ and gprs/edge for 2G everywhere. Ill test my HD (from England) when I get to new york in a day or so and see if I can get proper 3G speeds.
Todays smartphones are designed to be used worldwide with full service as much as possible.

AWS is just another name of UMTS band IV. This is the only UMTS band the MT4G supports, so you'll be able to use it for 3G on carriers that use this band. You can see the list of bands and operators that use them here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands
In short, outside of the US, Canada, and Chile you're out of luck for 3G. You'd be able to use 2G fine though.

athakur999 said:
AWS is just another name of UMTS band IV. This is the only UMTS band the MT4G supports, so you'll be able to use it for 3G on carriers that use this band. You can see the list of bands and operators that use them here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands
In short, outside of the US, Canada, and Chile you're out of luck for 3G. You'd be able to use 2G fine though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is really confusing, look at this page http://support.t-mobile.com/doc/tm24243.xml?&A2L.SERVICE=FeatureSummary

mo976 said:
AWS is the data delivery method used only by Tmo in the US. So the 4G service may not work outside the US but according to the phone specs it states that it supports UMTS and GPRS/EDGE so it should support 3G UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ and gprs/edge for 2G everywhere. Ill test my HD (from England) when I get to new york in a day or so and see if I can get proper 3G speeds.
Todays smartphones are designed to be used worldwide with full service as much as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Frequency bands differ for different technologies on the same phone. For example there are 2 versions of Nexus one one for ATT and one for T mobile although they work on GSM level because the support both GSM bands on T mobile and ATT but not the UMTS bands on both networks. UMTS and GSM frequencies are not necessarily the same for each network and most probably they won't be the same. In my country we licensed 3G services ( UMTS) on 2100 band or UMTS 1 . GSM on 900 and 1800 only.

Can someone provide me with the FCC id from the back of the phone ?
I tired to search for it on the web but I don't think what I found was the correct one.

Update
I went to T-mobile store today, the guy was helpful and he printed out the official full technical specifications for the device that he pulled out and here what I got:
3G/UMTS Bands
Band I / UMTS2100 Yes
Band II / 1900 No
Band IV 1700/2100/AWS Yes
Band V/850 No
Band VII/ 900 No
The page was titled " Enablers" and listed specs for GSM and UMTS bands with their features. So I think this ends it for me, it does support both bands I and IV.

mo976 said:
AWS is the data delivery method used only by Tmo in the US. So the 4G service may not work outside the US but according to the phone specs it states that it supports UMTS and GPRS/EDGE so it should support 3G UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ and gprs/edge for 2G everywhere. Ill test my HD (from England) when I get to new york in a day or so and see if I can get proper 3G speeds.
Todays smartphones are designed to be used worldwide with full service as much as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it work with you in 3G speed in England ?

Good luck but I've taken my nexus one all over the planet... you'll get 3g in the countries listed above plus Japan (softbank only) but I haven't gotten 3g anywhere else....
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

raeef said:
I am planning to buy MT4G, unlock it and use it on another carrier with compatible frequencies of course. Will I be still able to get updates using for example a wifi connection? or should I download updates manually? Is there something that I will lose when I use the phone on another carrier ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@OP: have you gotten the MT4G to work with UMTS Band I frequencies?

I got the update by only using my friend's t-mobile sim card, I think I got it via wifi since he doesn't have data plan.
unremarked said:
I don't know if you mean overseas or in any place other than the U.S. but the only "compatible" carrier for this phone besides T-Mobile is AT&T. The reason why compatible is in quotes is because yes the phone would function and make calls on that network, but you will lose 3G and HSPA+ service as AT&T's equivalents operate on a different and incompatible spectrum.
I would also assume that you would not receive OTA updates either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

modem hack for Chinese OPO to enable 3G

I thought I might post this in its own thread as it might save people time when they get their Chinese OPOs and notice WCDMA doesn't work..
For all those who don't know, the Chinese OPO does not support WCDMA/FDDLTE in its stock software configuration. You need to swap out the modem to a hacked modem in order to get the feature to work.
I believe the modem attached was pulled from a Find 7, I've tested it, it works. It has been running pretty well for the last week or so but I'll have to test it over the coming weeks to see how reliable it is. They claim 2G/3G but no 4G. 3G/2G works.
hacked modem
http://pan.baidu.com/s/1bnAeztt (run through google translate)
For further info (google translate required) :
http://www.oneplusbbs.com/thread-304186-1-1.html

can you please explain step by step procedure for same?

so your saying that the chinese and world versions of the opo are the same hardware wise and its just a software modem difference?

Deadpool253 said:
Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have chinese OPO using on T-Mobile in Hungary. 2G/3G/4G are working out of the box, just for you information.

So for three in the UK the Chinese opo might not work at it's best?
Edit: did some research for myself and it will work fine.

As I saw in one of threads on OPO forums it was explained that chinese version do not support only WCDMA band 4.
According to the wiki (UMTS_frequency_bands) this band is used only by following operators:
North America: USA(T-Mobile US, Cincinnati Bell, i wireless), Canada (Eastlink, Mobilicity, Vidéotron, Wind Mobile)
Latin America: Chile(VTR, Nextel), Colombia(TIGO, Movistar), Uruguay(Ancel), Perú(Movistar, Nextel)

The question is can the modem be flashed to support missing WCDMA band 4?

I just flashed the modem on my Chinese OPO and it works flawlessly with China Unicom's 4G service.

Has anyone tried to flash the CM11S factory image and see if that radio activated the bands? The CM11S factory image includes radio images, and I believe is flashed together as a whole.

Yes. Would like to know if the 1700 and 2100 frequency are activated after flashing the modem.

All-
This is the hacked modem for China OPO that supports China Unicom networks.
I have made cwm zip for easiler install as CM would override the modem during OTA upgrades.
This modem comes from the chinese oneplus forum. See link: http://www.oneplusbbs.com/thread-429139-1-1.html
Code:
http://speedy.sh/ddWNw/OPOHackedModem.zip
I have tried other networks with the modem from the ColorOS or CM rom, seems there is no restriction on WCDMA for other networks.

sasalove said:
All-
This is the hacked modem for China OPO that supports China Unicom networks.
I have made cwm zip for easiler install as CM would override the modem during OTA upgrades.
This modem comes from the chinese oneplus forum. See link: http://www.oneplusbbs.com/thread-429139-1-1.html
Code:
http://speedy.sh/ddWNw/OPOHackedModem.zip
I have tried other networks with the modem from the ColorOS or CM rom, seems there is no restriction on WCDMA for other networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few things,..
1. I've been lead to believe from various sources that the Intl. and Chinese versions of the OPO are in fact almost identical hardware wise.
see: http://www.gizchina.com/2014/06/12/differences-international-chinese-oneplus-one/
2. I don't have a 4G subscription in China so I cannot confirm whether or not it works with this modem hack.
3. I bought my Chinese OPO from a reseller here in China on Taobao. When I received it I immediately flashed it over to CM11s and subsequently had no 3g (I use WCDMA network China Unicom FYI) for a few days until I found the hacked modem on the Chinese OPO forums. As for those of you who are not in China, I've heard that many Int. resellers will complete this process for you so you won't need to do any flashing yourself, but I can't generalise for all of the sellers out there.
4. I cannot confirm is whether or not this is only some kind of restriction for Chinese wcdma networks (China unicom). I haven't as yet taken my OPO out of this country and tried an international sim card so that is yet to be determined.
ThExSenatoR> I'm curious about your phone configuration perhaps you could post which modem version you use printed from the about screen??
sasalove> are you saying that the Chinese OPO will work outside of China on other wcdma networks but will not work inside China on China Unicom with the stock modems from coloros and CM?
can anybody who uses China unicom on 4g confirm which modem you use and if you also had to flash a different modem in order to access the service?

With some testing, I'm quite confident to conclude the restriction for 3G is on China Unicom only. I got my CMHK and one2free sim to confirm it. I can use 3G and 4G without issue in HK.
I occasionally travel to mainland and I got both China Mobile and China Unicom 3G sim. Only the hacked modem got China Unicom 3G and meanwhile the CM modem cannot connect to the TD-SCDMA for China Mobile.
I'm still waiting for my 4G China Mobile to test TD-LTE...
So in any case, I decide to flash this hacked modem, as it seem to work for all to date...
---------- Post added at 01:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 PM ----------
If anyone got some time to test out the difference in modem versions as well as for rolling back, here you go!
Code:
http://speedy.sh/3DuFz/CMModem.zip
Code:
http://speedy.sh/DvQpu/ColorOSModem.zip
Code:
http://speedy.sh/ddWNw/OPOHackedModem.zip

Verizon?
Will this work on Verizon? CDMA bands 4 and 13, 3g.
Thanks!

shwise said:
Will this work on Verizon? CDMA bands 4 and 13, 3g.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The modem that come with CM11 should have WCDMA band 4 (1700 MHz) and should also have LTE band 4 (1700 MHz) and band 17 (700b MHz). According to the spec, the difference is supporting TD-SCDMA band 34 (2010-2025 MHz) / TD-LTE for band 39 (1900 MHz) for China. Other than that the spec matches both side.
Therefore, if anyone need band 4 and band 17, they should use the modem that come with CM11 which lack in the Chinese modems.
Connectivity [CM]
GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz
WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/8
LTE: Bands: 1/3/4/7/17/38/40
Connectivity [ColorOS]
GSM：850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
TD-SCDMA：1880-1920 (39) / 2010-2025 (34)
WCDMA*：2100 (1) / 1900 (2) / 850 (5) / 900 (8)
TD-LTE：2570-2620 (38) / 1880-1920 (39) / 2300-2400 (40)
FDD-LTE*：2100 (1) / 1800 (3) / 2600 (7)

sasalove said:
With some testing, I'm quite confident to conclude the restriction for 3G is on China Unicom only. I got my CMHK and one2free sim to confirm it. I can use 3G and 4G without issue in HK.
I occasionally travel to mainland and I got both China Mobile and China Unicom 3G sim. Only the hacked modem got China Unicom 3G and meanwhile the CM modem cannot connect to the TD-SCDMA for China Mobile.
I'm still waiting for my 4G China Mobile to test TD-LTE...
So in any case, I decide to flash this hacked modem, as it seem to work for all to date...
---------- Post added at 01:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 PM ----------
If anyone got some time to test out the difference in modem versions as well as for rolling back, here you go!
Code:
http://speedy.sh/3DuFz/CMModem.zip
Code:
http://speedy.sh/DvQpu/ColorOSModem.zip
Code:
http://speedy.sh/ddWNw/OPOHackedModem.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate for clearing that up for me! So it seems that this restriction is only for China Unicom, why might that be I wonder? to my knowledge, It's not like the Chinese OPO's are being sold by China mobile directly...
I'd still like to test out 4G for China Unicom but I would like to find a cheap deal to do it. I can never seem to fully understand the mobile plans in China anybody got any suggestions as to how I might find a plan with a decent amount of data (at least 300mb) for less than 100yuan a month ??

sasalove said:
The modem that come with CM11 should have WCDMA band 4 (1700 MHz) and should also have LTE band 4 (1700 MHz) and band 17 (700b MHz). According to the spec, the difference is supporting TD-SCDMA band 34 (2010-2025 MHz) / TD-LTE for band 39 (1900 MHz) for China. Other than that the spec matches both side.
Therefore, if anyone need band 4 and band 17, they should use the modem that come with CM11 which lack in the Chinese modems.
Connectivity [CM]
GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz
WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/8
LTE: Bands: 1/3/4/7/17/38/40
Connectivity [ColorOS]
GSM：850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
TD-SCDMA：1880-1920 (39) / 2010-2025 (34)
WCDMA*：2100 (1) / 1900 (2) / 850 (5) / 900 (8)
TD-LTE：2570-2620 (38) / 1880-1920 (39) / 2300-2400 (40)
FDD-LTE*：2100 (1) / 1800 (3) / 2600 (7)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are we certain that the Chinese OPO has the EXACT SAME hardware as the international OPO sold by One plus?
I remember reading people claiming either side.
Just want to make sure that they indeed have the exact same hardware ie. Radio/modem and just need to have different ROM/modem firmware flashed to enable different bands ie. Band 4 (1700) in my case.

There is a newer hacked modem available. The author states the modem is based on CM12S while supporting all 3G/4G in China. Another user claims to test all of the network modes.
Original Link: http://www.oneplusbbs.com/thread-392257-1-3.html
User confirming all network modes: http://www.miui.com/thread-1832939-1-1.html
Code:
http://speedy.sh/vnvZQ/CMHackModem.zip
:good:

dhaub said:
A few things,..
1. I've been lead to believe from various sources that the Intl. and Chinese versions of the OPO are in fact almost identical hardware wise.
see: http://www.gizchina.com/2014/06/12/differences-international-chinese-oneplus-one/
2. I don't have a 4G subscription in China so I cannot confirm whether or not it works with this modem hack.
3. I bought my Chinese OPO from a reseller here in China on Taobao. When I received it I immediately flashed it over to CM11s and subsequently had no 3g (I use WCDMA network China Unicom FYI) for a few days until I found the hacked modem on the Chinese OPO forums. As for those of you who are not in China, I've heard that many Int. resellers will complete this process for you so you won't need to do any flashing yourself, but I can't generalise for all of the sellers out there.
4. I cannot confirm is whether or not this is only some kind of restriction for Chinese wcdma networks (China unicom). I haven't as yet taken my OPO out of this country and tried an international sim card so that is yet to be determined.
ThExSenatoR> I'm curious about your phone configuration perhaps you could post which modem version you use printed from the about screen??
sasalove> are you saying that the Chinese OPO will work outside of China on other wcdma networks but will not work inside China on China Unicom with the stock modems from coloros and CM?
can anybody who uses China unicom on 4g confirm which modem you use and if you also had to flash a different modem in order to access the service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm China Unicom 4g is working with the hacked modem.

sasalove said:
There is a newer hacked modem available. The author states the modem is based on CM12S while supporting all 3G/4G in China. Another user claims to test all of the network modes.
Original Link: http://www.oneplusbbs.com/thread-392257-1-3.html
User confirming all network modes: http://www.miui.com/thread-1832939-1-1.html
Code:
http://speedy.sh/vnvZQ/CMHackModem.zip
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers mate! On another note, can anyone confirm what their wifi/cellular peformance is like with either the original or hacked modems? Since I've pretty much only used the hacked modem (the one I posted at the start of the thread), I can add that performance wise, it's significantly worse than my computer and old iPhone 5 when using the wifi from my bedroom. Where I sit in my bedroom I get consistent full reception on my computer and used to get the same on my iPhone 5, on my OPO I get 1 or 2 bars at most irrespective of whether or not I use 2.4ghz or 5ghz...
Anyone else experience similar?

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

Differences between A320F/DS, A320F, A320FL and Usability in the United States?

Hi,
So, I'm interested in getting a cheap 4.7" Android phone to use in the United States and sometimes in Canada. I zeroed in on the Galaxy A3 2017. The model that works best in North America is the A320Y, but so far I've only been able to find it online at some store in New Zealand. Since finding the answer to the question, Will shipping the device from NZ to the United States cost customs fees (and if so, how much)? is a question harder to answer than the question, Where is Jimmy Hoffa?, I've begun considering getting one of the models listed in the title of this thread.
But there's a problem. Those models in the title don't work on US LTE. Actually, according to frequencycheck.com, the A320FL has one LTE band (Cricket/AT&T) and the other models have none of the LTE frequency bands. I wonder if frequencycheck.com is accurate. I'm also wondering if there are other differences between those models. I'm also wondering what happens if I put a Cricket SIM inside these phones. Even though frequencycheck.com says I will get no LTE bands, will putting a Cricket SIM inside suddenly activate an LTE band?
The other question I was wondering: Do I even need LTE if I don't care much about download speed? Maybe HSPA+ or whatever it is will be good enough? If I don't have LTE, will I get less reception indoors or outdoors, or will I get the same exact reception/coverage but just be relegated to 3G/4G/HSPA+ service? What is the benefit of LTE besides data speed?
Finally, which one of these models has the most ROM support? Can they all be bootloader unlocked?
I know I'm asking a whole bunch of questions at the same time. Sorry. I appreciate any help I can get with this!

To answer some:
That website appears to be accurate. Doesn't only list AT&T for a320fl once expanded.
As for SIMs activating bands, I haven't seen it on Samsung, only RRC Release, VoLTE, LTE CAT, maybe individual CA combos. The disabled bands are shown as CAL_DEFAULT vs CAL_PASS. Guess it's like Snapdragon.
HSPA+ vs LTE
The range of 3G/4G is close with the same frequency, but 4G performs better at cell edge (low signal).
Speed (anyway)
Well, 3G is usually given its own spectrum at first, then the 2G is refarmed into 3G. Today, 3G gets refarmed to 4G. This leaves 3G with a small amount of spectrum, it becomes prone to interference. It's bit like multiple tv/fm stations on the same channel number. Other 'tv/fm stations' have to be filtered out by the phone, this lowers the speed. 4G gets some too, along with echoed complex signals, but it gets less.
3G supports up to 5MHz per carrier, 4G up to 20MHz. 3G can have carrier aggregation, so 5+5+maybe 5. Expect up to 2 carriers (not every combo) on 4G, unless a specific SIM is detected in specific phone models. Along with that, 4G can have better spectral efficiency.
If you are going with 3G(HSPA, sometimes called '4G') anyway, you should know that there are these states (usually called fast dormancy) to save power.
DCH = Full speed.
FACH = Up to 32kbps. 4kB/s. Maybe RRC Release downgrade is visible (H+ to H).
PCH = No data.
Anything below is further away from data.
For high performance, keep the speed above 4kB/s, at the cost of battery. LTE has a faster start.
Sometimes, the speed is simply constrained by backhaul, the internet access that goes to the tower.

Thanks. So, to your knowledge, the F and F DS variants shouldn't work on LTE in the United States? I was in a live chat session with someone on Samsung's UK website and she said that the F variant would work on LTE in the United States. I then sent them an email to confirm and they replied with:
As per our resources from our technical review, the following Network is available in our Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) for the US.
Network
Band: Quad
GSM 850: YES
GSM 900: YES
GSM 1800: YES
GSM 1900: YES
UMTS 2100: YES
GPRS: YES
4G: YES
HSDPA: YES
Works in the US: YES
I replied to ask them why frequencycheck.com lists no LTE frequencies in common for the F variant on AT&T. I'm so confused.

sm-a320f / sm-a320f/ds
According to every other (not alternating) source the LTE band 2 and band 5 is supported in the US (and the entire spectrum of these bands). So, it supports some bands. Check if the signal of those bands (for your mobile network operator) are available in your location. Ask again, specifically for band 2 LTE(4G).

Will it work in Australia on Telstra?

Hello everyone!
I live in Australia, and have just ordered this phone in India, who is supposed to bring it to Australia next week.
The box says 'Indian sim only'. But when I asked the Samsung customer care and looked into some other sources, people say that after using it on an Indian sim for 10-15 mins, it'll work on other networks too. The bands are supported though.
I'm really confused, whether to keep it or return it. Please suggest! Thanks in advance.

https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...m-td-lte-128gb-samsung-m307/telstra-australia
I do not know how accurate is above information because from other source seems Telstra Au uses more frequencies
https://www.whistleout.com.au/Mobil...nJczYWP8cUPDqJ8YucWnA1Mnnxor8DGDNYbT-jiKyYepW
Supported bands from Sammobile
https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/galaxy-m30s/specs/#SM-M307F
From above seems following bands are supported:
900MHz (B8)
1800MHz (B3)
2100MHz (B1)
2600MHz (B7)

Thanks @pabgar for the info. I think the bands are supported. It's the regional lock I'm worried about. Because the box says Indian sim only. And there are confusing facts over the internet. Some say it won't work outside India, but others say that after using it on Indian sim and making a call for 10-15 minutes registers in on the Indian carrier, then it works on other networks too. Band compatibility:
https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/AU/samsung-galaxy-m30s

I remember the Australians telling me Band 28 was necessary for good service within Australia.

Indeed B28 is low 700MHz band applied in rural areas because of long range from BTS

It works!
Happy to report that it works well on Telstra, and in Australia.