Database Users

[Q] regarding sudden network changes and lack of LTE

Hi All. Ive looked around but haven't seen a similar issue to mine, but it might not be a "bad" issue..not sure...here goes!
Samsung galaxy s4. Fido (Canada) so equivalent to the AT&T version.
The top of my S4 has what network i am on. Sometimes it says "3g", sometimes "h+" (i am guessing HSPA) and sometimes "4G" (i am guessing LTE but i am not certain)
Never does my phone give me an icon of "LTE", and i am in an LTE zone in Montreal. Ive done multiple speedtests, and when its on "4G" i get good speeds between 20 and 50 mbps down
My question : Is the S4 supposed to say "LTE" and i am not getting it for some reason?
Or
Does "4G" actually mean LTE?
If anyone knows or has experience in this i would really appreciate the help and clarification
ps. I just upgraded to an S4 from my 2009 Iphone 3gs, and im so happy
ALex

I Like Good Food said:
Hi All. Ive looked around but haven't seen a similar issue to mine, but it might not be a "bad" issue..not sure...here goes!
Samsung galaxy s4. Fido (Canada) so equivalent to the AT&T version.
The top of my S4 has what network i am on. Sometimes it says "3g", sometimes "h+" (i am guessing HSPA) and sometimes "4G" (i am guessing LTE but i am not certain)
Never does my phone give me an icon of "LTE", and i am in an LTE zone in Montreal. Ive done multiple speedtests, and when its on "4G" i get good speeds between 20 and 50 mbps down
My question : Is the S4 supposed to say "LTE" and i am not getting it for some reason?
Or
Does "4G" actually mean LTE?
If anyone knows or has experience in this i would really appreciate the help and clarification
ps. I just upgraded to an S4 from my 2009 Iphone 3gs, and im so happy
ALex
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Click to collapse
I just got my s4 today from rogers in Ontario, it does say LTE at the top, hasn't ever dropped to 3g or anything else yet. Make sure you have a LTE micro sim, i had to get a new one as the one in my iphone 4s was not LTE.

Dillinger05 said:
I just got my s4 today from rogers in Ontario, it does say LTE at the top, hasn't ever dropped to 3g or anything else yet. Make sure you have a LTE micro sim, i had to get a new one as the one in my iphone 4s was not LTE.
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I do have a micro lte sim. Thank you for your reply I'll call fido soon and see what's up. I am afraid they will not know though.

I Like Good Food said:
I do have a micro lte sim. Thank you for your reply I'll call fido soon and see what's up. I am afraid they will not know though.
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You might want to make sure your "APN" is correct for LTE connections in your area. You can use google or the forums search function to learn more about what your APN should be if it isn't already correct.

scott14719 said:
You might want to make sure your "APN" is correct for LTE connections in your area. You can use google or the forums search function to learn more about what your APN should be if it isn't already correct.
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Ive looked around the forums and i beleive i have the correct APN (Fido LTE). Looking around other settings, under "network mode" the icon i have selected is "LTE/GSM/WCDA (auto connect)"
I guess now i am more at the stage of defining the various icons. Ive found many definitions on XDA but these definitions are all for various roms.
for instance:
Originally Posted by BNaughty http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31827119
AOSP ROMs will always be G, E, 3G, H, H+, 4G
G - GPRS
E - Edge
3G - 3G
H - 3.5G down
H+ - 3.5 G up/down
4G - LTE
in other pages ive seen H+ mean 4g, and LTE meaning LTE.
So a more specific question now.
According to Android 4.2.2 (android 4+ anyways, should be the same) with touchwiz, what do the icons correspond to?
According to the samsung SGH I337M manual:
E refers to connection/communication with the edge network.
3G refers to connection/communication with the UTMS network.
H+ refers to connection/communication with HSPA or HSPA + network.
LTE refers to connection/communication with an 4G LTE network.
Issue is that i get an icon that is not on this list. I get an icon that says simply "4G"
Not sure what this icon refers to..possibly LTE, possibly HSPA+? I called samsung canada, and they dont seem to know either...neither does fido, but im not surprised.
again if anyone knows, i would appreciate it

[Q] 4G vs hsdpa in status bar

I have just tried a 4g Sim in my note 3 the status bar shows an h which is what it has always showed. It never showed 3g just h.
If I am connected to 4g what should that bar show an l for late or 4g?
I am in the UK and currently with three but testing ee's 4g service.
Thanks

wingnutLP said:
I have just tried a 4g Sim in my note 3 the status bar shows an h which is what it has always showed. It never showed 3g just h.
If I am connected to 4g what should that bar show an l for late or 4g?
I am in the UK and currently with three but testing ee's 4g service.
Thanks
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You get a HSDPA+ signal if you're not in a 4G area, I am in the same boat, I am also with Three (waiting for their 4G service to come out before deciding weather to switch).

androidlover287 said:
You get a HSDPA+ signal if you're not in a 4G area, I am in the same boat, I am also with Three (waiting for their 4G service to come out before deciding weather to switch).
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Cool but on 4G what should the status bar say?
On 3G it shows H rather than 3G so I don't know what it will show when correctly connected to 4G.
Thanks

It will show 4g.. see attached..
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

androidlover287 said:
You get a HSDPA+ signal if you're not in a 4G area, I am in the same boat, I am also with Three (waiting for their 4G service to come out before deciding weather to switch).
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Three are piggybacking on EE's network for LTE, I am with them also, and EE have the fastest bands currently. So I expect the LTE to be spot on. Currently their signal strength has gotten really poor, I am hoping it's because they are swapping the bands to jump on EE.

radicalisto said:
Three are piggybacking on EE's network for LTE, I am with them also, and EE have the fastest bands currently. So I expect the LTE to be spot on. Currently their signal strength has gotten really poor, I am hoping it's because they are swapping the bands to jump on EE.
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Where did you hear that? As far as I'm aware, Three are building their own LTE network, though some of it will be spectrum acquired from EE.
Three did share it's 3g network with TMo/EE, but I've not heard that this is the case for 4g.
Regards,
Dave
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

foxmeister said:
Where did you hear that? As far as I'm aware, Three are building their own LTE network, though some of it will be spectrum acquired from EE.
Three did share it's 3g network with TMo/EE, but I've not heard that this is the case for 4g.
Regards,
Dave
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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I first read it on a Three web forum, I was quizzing them about how the signal strength had suddenly gotten super poor. Can't remember which site it was I scoured so many as it was and still is annoying that signal barely goes over 2 bars even in a big city (Leeds)
As for the spectrum, they purchased some from EE but are running on their network bands (only intial start up maybe?) - EE 4G goes live here (York) this month and Three goes live January. So close together would assume that the starting of it would be on EE's spectrums until further?

radicalisto said:
I first read it on a Three web forum, I was quizzing them about how the signal strength had suddenly gotten super poor. Can't remember which site it was I scoured so many as it was and still is annoying that signal barely goes over 2 bars even in a big city (Leeds)
As for the spectrum, they purchased some from EE but are running on their network bands (only intial start up maybe?)
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The spectrum they bought from EE was in the 1800MHz band - the very same band than EE's LTE sits in.
So no. I don't think they will be using EE's network at all.
Regards,
Dave
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Three are not piggybacking on EE's network, they merely acquired some of the 1800Mhz spectrum from EE (That EE was forced to sell by OFCOM to get the go-ahead for their early 4G Rollout), supposedly Three got it for free as well. Three also acquired some 800Mhz spectrum during the auction, so they have both.
As far as I understand, Three aren't allowed to use all of the 1800Mhz spectrum they acquired until September 2015, but they can use 2x10Mhz of it now. I don't know which of the two blocks they're using for their current rollout, or if they're using both.
Never mind all of that, you should see 4G in the status bar if you're on 4G. Make sure you go into the settings and set the Note to connect to LTE/WCDMA/GSM services - my Three Note 3 didn't originally have that option and when it recently appeared, it was still on WCDMA/GSM.

Who is using the 910C/F on AT&T

IS anyone actually using he 910F/C on AT&T and getting LTE speeds? I see a lot of theory and band matching but I am not sure band numbers are the end all in different countries. Before I pay $800 for a US version I want to be sure I HAVE to in order to get LTE Speeds on an unlocked device

tbong777 said:
IS anyone actually using he 910F/C on AT&T and getting LTE speeds? I see a lot of theory and band matching but I am not sure band numbers are the end all in different countries. Before I pay $800 for a US version I want to be sure I HAVE to in order to get LTE Speeds on an unlocked device
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I'm using N910C on AT&T. LTE works, at least where I'm at (Ohio). It works out of the box for me while others say they have to call AT&T to have them provision your account with new IMEI.

Anyone else using this phone on att? All of the negative reviews on amazon are people claiming that they dont get lte with this version.

Using 910c and getting lte

Decided to go with T Mobile Note 4, Easier to sell if it does not work with LTE.

Just ordered an N910C, and plan on using it on AT&T. I live in Missouri, and will report how it does. All of the bands are there. So I don't see why it wouldn't.

sireniankyle said:
Just ordered an N910C, and plan on using it on AT&T. I live in Missouri, and will report how it does. All of the bands are there. So I don't see why it wouldn't.
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What did you find out? I'm trying to decide which model to get also LTE in AT&T Los Angeles, specifically if N910U will work.

bruce7373 said:
What did you find out? I'm trying to decide which model to get also LTE in AT&T Los Angeles, specifically if N910U will work.
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So I have had it for a couple weeks. At first I was disappointed to learn that I did not have LTE. My download speed seemed low, the icon only showed 4G, and "LTE Discovery" showed LTE, but no band. I spent a couple hours on the phone with AT&T troubleshooting, went to a corporate store to get a new sim, and nothing worked.
HOWEVER, I put my phone into service mode at my house. You enter service mode by entering "*#0011#" into your phone dialer. Once in here, it said that I was connected to LTE band 17. So I went to another city praying that band 4 would be there, because then both LTE bands would be confirmed. Boom band 4 shows up in service mode, too.
So after quite a while of testing, I can confirm LTE connectivity for AT&T on the N910C for both band 17 and 4. I also learned that I was speed testing during prime time hours. So my tower was congested, and that was why the speeds were low. The icon didn't show, because there doesn't seem to be an LTE icon in the system.
On the topic of the N910U, though, I was pretty sure that it was a 3G only device. I may be wrong, and will look into it.
UPDATE: From what I have found, the N910U supports the following bands: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,28. AT&T uses 4 and 17. So the device only has 1 of 2 LTE bands. So theoretically, you could connect to LTE in a band 4 area, but I also found some reports on XDA of AT&T's towers only handing down HSPA+ even in those areas. You can join that discussion HERE. Hope this helps.

G935FD duos (dual SIM) - no LTE on T-Mobile in the US

My S7 Edge G935FD (dual SIM international version) gets only "4G" on T-Mobile in the San Francisco Bay Area, and never "LTE". Is this a "4G vs. LTE" naming issue, or does it lack the band T-Mobile requires for LTE? It also gets "H+" often, in the same location that my old S5 had full bars LTE.
Speed tests with the SpeedSpot app range from 17Mbps to 33Mbps down, and 3.75 to 7.5Mbps up on "4G", but only 5Mbps down and 1Mbps up in H+ areas.
I bought it from tropical_mobile on eBay.

I think 4g and lte are the same..

kvsandeepreddy said:
I think 4g and lte are the same..
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Just naming issue with international version.

@kvsandeepreddy is right.
LTE means LongTermEvolution which is the so called 4th generation of Mobile Networks. So LTE is 4G
1G = Analog mobile Network, I think
2G = GSM and EDGE
3G = UMTS and HSDPA
4G = LTE

FD version is released for asian countries... back in india we use 4g instead of lte

Poorer connectivity on S7 than S5
kvsandeepreddy said:
FD version is released for asian countries... back in india we use 4g instead of lte
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Well, that means that the S7 dual-SIM gets poorer reception than my old single-SIM S5:
In the same spot in the building (at my work desk), I'd get full LTE bars on the old S5, but only H or H+ at best on the new S7 Edge dual SIM. In practice this means ~6x slower downloads and ~7x slower uploads. Pretty ****ty.

dandv said:
Well, that means that the S7 dual-SIM gets poorer reception than the old S5:
In the same spot in the building (at my work desk), I'd get full LTE bars on the old S5, but only H or H+ at best on the new S7 Edge dual SIM. In practice this means ~6x slower downloads and ~7x slower uploads. Pretty ****ty.
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Phone being a dual sim doesnt usually affect the sig al strength.. maybe the inbuilt receiver in s7 edge is defective.. heard some other people complaining about the signal strength too

dandv said:
Well, that means that the S7 dual-SIM gets poorer reception than the old S5:
In the same spot in the building (at my work desk), I'd get full LTE bars on the old S5, but only H or H+ at best on the new S7 Edge dual SIM. In practice this means ~6x slower downloads and ~7x slower uploads. Pretty ****ty.
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No that's not what it means. The g935fd version is meant to be able to switch to any international firmware version. There are several different modems for each region. You are going to just have to flash different modems in Odin and see which one works best for your region. This does not trip knox or void warranty as long as you do it right because you are flashing official modems. As I said in the other thread you were in, do your research.

Can someone link me to the best modem to used on the dual sim model in the states?

Which modem did you end up using? I am also wondering which version is best in the US.

ChristopherXDA said:
Which modem did you end up using? I am also wondering which version is best in the US.
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Wondering if you ever solved this issue. I would like to also buy this version and use it on band 12 with TMO.

chatchatchat said:
Wondering if you ever solved this issue. I would like to also buy this version and use it on band 12 with TMO.
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I'm just using the UAE firmware that the duos came with. It's updated with the June security patch. Only issue I've had is slower than normal download and upload speeds on at&t. It's not that big of a deal, just annoying. I think it has more to do with atts provisioning on their network. I'll post a solution if I figure it out, whether it's a different csc, apn settings or some device setting on my account.

4G is called LTE in USA. If you are getting 4G. That means you are getting LTE.
Cheers.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

thunderroid said:
4G is called LTE in USA. If you are getting 4G. That means you are getting LTE.
Cheers.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
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Yes, you are correct. However, I should have clarified that my statement is based on connection speed tests not on network symbols in notification bar. My slower speeds are in comparison to other 4g devices being tested in the same location on the same network.

ChristopherXDA said:
Yes, you are correct. However, I should have clarified that my statement is based on connection speed tests not on network symbols in notification bar. My slower speeds are in comparison to other 4g devices being tested in the same location on the same network.
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Yep. I can confirm the same thing. I have 2 s7 edges. One is a DUOS and the other is AT&T branded. Tested both repeatedly and found that the AT&T branded device is getting way faster speeds than the DUOS. In my particular area the AT&T phone was reaching up to 60 Mbps while the DUOS was only hitting 30-40 Mbps. Very curious on how to fix this since this phone has all the necessary bands to support LTE in the states.

midnight101 said:
Yep. I can confirm the same thing. I have 2 s7 edges. One is a DUOS and the other is AT&T branded. Tested both repeatedly and found that the AT&T branded device is getting way faster speeds than the DUOS. In my particular area the AT&T phone was reaching up to 60 Mbps while the DUOS was only hitting 30-40 Mbps. Very curious on how to fix this since this phone has all the necessary bands to support LTE in the states.
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Click to collapse
At least you're getting that. My speed tests are consistently in the .72 to 5 Mbps range on the DL and 1-7Mbps on the upload, which is basically about half to a third of what my other AT&T devices are getting in the same location at same time.

ChristopherXDA said:
At least you're getting that. My speed tests are consistently in the .72 to 5 Mbps range on the DL and 1-7Mbps on the upload, which is basically about half to a third of what my other AT&T devices are getting in the same location at same time.
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Wow your right that is abysmal. Have you tried installing LTE Discovery and comparing the two devices? Check to see if they are connecting to the same towers.

midnight101 said:
Yep. I can confirm the same thing. I have 2 s7 edges. One is a DUOS and the other is AT&T branded. Tested both repeatedly and found that the AT&T branded device is getting way faster speeds than the DUOS. In my particular area the AT&T phone was reaching up to 60 Mbps while the DUOS was only hitting 30-40 Mbps. Very curious on how to fix this since this phone has all the necessary bands to support LTE in the states.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not just the bands. AT&T is known for prioritizing their branded phones vs. BYOD phones. It's done by EMEI ... they have a list of all their branded models in a DB and they get priority. TMO doesn't much care. I tested my Duos yesterday and TMO gave me 59.4/12.8 network transfer. It's as good as my 6P. My AT&T sim is in sim1 and is restricted to 2G which is fine since I need calls and texts only from it since it's a work #.
And it does support most of AT&T's bands except band30 which is really new. 4G everywhere else is LTE here as was said in other responses in this thread. It's most likely AT&T deprioritizing the phone as it's a BYOD.
---------- Post added at 02:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------
chatchatchat said:
Wondering if you ever solved this issue. I would like to also buy this version and use it on band 12 with TMO.
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Click to collapse
It doesn't have band 12 so I'd save your money. Band 12 is just the deeper penetration 700mhz anyway which around me (SF area) can't be found. My Nexus 6P which has band 12 never connects to anything but band 4 .. ever.

Same crap... If it bothers you flashes the csc

aergern said:
It's not just the bands. AT&T is known for prioritizing their branded phones vs. BYOD phones. It's done by EMEI ... they have a list of all their branded models in a DB and they get priority. TMO doesn't much care. I tested my Duos yesterday and TMO gave me 59.4/12.8 network transfer. It's as good as my 6P. My AT&T sim is in sim1 and is restricted to 2G which is fine since I need calls and texts only from it since it's a work #.
And it does support most of AT&T's bands except band30 which is really new. 4G everywhere else is LTE here as was said in other responses in this thread. It's most likely AT&T deprioritizing the phone as it's a BYOD.
---------- Post added at 02:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------
It doesn't have band 12 so I'd save your money. Band 12 is just the deeper penetration 700mhz anyway which around me (SF area) can't be found. My Nexus 6P which has band 12 never connects to anything but band 4 .. ever.
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I noticed this as well with my 6p. Supposedly band 12 was to save us all but my phone prefers band 4. I only got a glimpse of band 12 the other day then the phone switch switched back to band 4 when I toggled wifi on and off.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

LG V20 H990DS T-Mobile LTE

I just got this int'l phone off Amazon, but I CANNOT enable 4G LTE on it for T-Mobile no matter what I do. Does anyone know how I can do this, or if I can??
Thank you in advance!!

Does the DS support bands 2, 4 or 12? If not, that's why.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

darkjedi said:
Does the DS support bands 2, 4 or 12? If not, that's why.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
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According to this site, it does.
Also, I actually got this app last night and it confirms that despite what the status bar shows, I actually AM getting LTE. My area (Chicago) gets LTE Bands 2 & 4 currently from T-Mobile, but sometime before this summer (maybe sooner than later) we will finally get Band 12 as well! It's just dumb that the phone can't be more clear. My int'l Sony Xperia X Performance shows "LTE" at least for 4G LTE. THAT'S a lot better than just showing 4G for both. How am I supposed to know which one I'm in? lol I guess if I wanna know I'll have to use that app. But at least I get LTE, so that's cool.
Thanks!

Many phones outside North America don't actual say LTE in the task bar. I have the same phone and LTE shows as 4G+.
Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

Wooba99 said:
Many phones outside North America don't actual say LTE in the task bar. I have the same phone and LTE shows as 4G+.
Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk
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Wow. lol So lame. I don't mind it just saying "LTE" on my Xperia X Performance b/c at least the phrase "LTE" is there. Even 4G+ is way better than just showing 4G when it's in 4G LTE or 4G. lol But ok...........
I'm sure knowing from past experience in my area that the only time I'm really getting just 4G it only lasts for a short time anyway. But I saved like $200 buying the int'l version, plus it has B&O Certification where the U.S. version doesn't, so I guess that makes it worth it? (assuming that certification really means it ACTUALLY sounds better? lol)
Thanks Wooba!

RockStar2005 said:
Wow. lol So lame. I don't mind it just saying "LTE" on my Xperia X Performance b/c at least the phrase "LTE" is there. Even 4G+ is way better than just showing 4G when it's in 4G LTE or 4G. lol But ok...........
I'm sure knowing from past experience in my area that the only time I'm really getting just 4G it only lasts for a short time anyway. But I saved like $200 buying the int'l version, plus it has B&O Certification where the U.S. version doesn't, so I guess that makes it worth it? (assuming that certification really means it ACTUALLY sounds better? lol)
Thanks Wooba!
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It only says 4G when on LTE. HSPA+ and HSPA are both shown as H, and UMTS is shown as 3G. Atleast on my H990DS.

Yeah, i have the 990ds and I travel to Chicago, i live in Charlotte now, often to visit family and friends (I'm from Chicago) and LTE shows as 4G on those phone.