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?
Click to expand...
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;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
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.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for all your help fffft, it's much appreciated.

International Stravel Support

Does anyone have experience taking the Verizon Galaxy S7 Edge overseas? Or know what international frequency bands it supports?
I'll be traveling soon to Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany). Curious if I'll be able to get LTE with local carriers there.
Thanks!

Look at product>specifications here
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/SM-G935VZKAVZW
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

echelon333 said:
Does anyone have experience taking the Verizon Galaxy S7 Edge overseas? Or know what international frequency bands it supports?
I'll be traveling soon to Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany). Curious if I'll be able to get LTE with local carriers there.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im currently in London from Arizona and service sucks... if I am not on a WiFi the phone wont ring... and even tho it says 4G LTE my data is non existent... it switches back and forth all the time from EE to E UK to Searching... and it drains the battery like crazy... hope you have better luck in German, France and die Schweitz...

SysCrasher13 said:
Im currently in London from Arizona and service sucks... if I am not on a WiFi the phone wont ring... and even tho it says 4G LTE my data is non existent... it switches back and forth all the time from EE to E UK to Searching... and it drains the battery like crazy... hope you have better luck in German, France and die Schweitz...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dumb suggestions but:
Make sure your in global mode in settings > mobile networks > network mode.
Make sure your APN is correct for your SIM (I assume your using a local Sim).
Make sure to turn off advanced calling so the phone isn't stuck to stay on LTE during calls.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Global LTE band chart for the S7 Edge
_Dennis_ said:
Look at product>specifications here
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/SM-G935VZKAVZW
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I did some digging and found and charted the specs for the Verizon, AT&T, and France S7 Edge models. You can see the details in the attached Excel spreadsheet. Hope this is helpful for you guys planning a trip or traveling. Got the French specs from the Samsung France website.
The Verizon model is missing a few LTE bands that the French model has: 1, 12, 17, 25, 26, 28
I found this detailed LTE chart for France. Looks France mainly uses 3, 7, 20, and 28 -- so the Verizon model covers three of the four.
There's also this global LTE band chart, and this LTE chart for Europe.
Quick LTE band primer based on what I've learned:
LTE bands all have a number and a corresponding frequency. This list seems standardized worldwide. So for example band 1 is 2100, band 2 is 1900. In my Excel those are represented as B1(2100) and B2(1900). On the different web pages I link to, sometimes they refer to the bands just by number, and sometimes just by frequency, and sometimes both. But be careful, there are multiple bands with the same frequency number, but they are not the same -- for example both band 2 and band 25 are 1900.
I hope this helps others with your travels!
Anyone who has used the S7 in other countries (either Verizon SIM or a local carrier SIM) please do share your experience!
P.S. For those of you like me who have a spouse with an iPhone (ugh), Apple has a helpful chart of their LTE compatibility.

Frequency band issue on axon 7 a2017u - please help friends!!!

hi friends I bought an axon 7 on amazon, the model number is a2017u.
I checked with sims from 2 major carriers in my country and first issue is frequently I am getting no service warning and literally I cannot use the phone for call and sms for daily use. Throughout the day it mostly says no service.
Next issue is phone is not support 3g band and it should as the spec says. Will explain later on this post please keep read on.
before I purchasing I asked clearly on amazon answers whether this support in my country, sri lanka the answers were yes it should work in my country.
And also, I have checked the frequency bands in my country and the model above whether they are compatible each other.
Supported bands by the phone model a2017u as official ZTE site mentioned are: (check the specification section in
• GSM/EDGE:B2/3/5/8
• CDMA BC0/1/10
• UMTS/HSPA: B2/B5/B4/B1/B8
• LTE: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B17/B7/B3/B1/B20/B29/B30/B25/B26/B41
• 2CA: B2+B4, B2/4+B12, B2/4+B29, B2/4+B5, B41+B41, B25+B25
In gsm arena also here are the bands support by usa model above
• 2G bands - CDMA 800 / 1900 - USA
• 3G bands - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - A2017G, USA
• 4G bands - LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 29(700), 30(2300), 41(2500) – USA
In sri lanka support bands are
• 2G capabilities - GSM 900, GSM 1800
• 3G capabilities - UMTS 2100
• 4G capabilities - LTE 1800
With all the above verified information, can some of you who actually familiar with these technical stuff, confirm this phone should work in my country?
Because when I contacted official zteusa online chat they say my country may not support even I clearly explain that if the band is support it should work but they are not very supportive and they end up saying the same thing again and again.
I spent over more than 400 usd for the phone with shipping and clearance and everything and now I cannot use the phone for my daily use. And on the otherside zte support team is not supportive while I am going with the facts.
Please some experts here help me how to solve this situation. The frequency bands doesnot depend on the country right ? if the same band 2100 support for 2 different countries then it should work like the same isn’t it ? not just for USA right ?
And “No Service” status of the sim that i am getting frequently almost every time also due to that frequency band thing or hardware defect of the phone ? any thoughts ?
please clarify someone who know these stuffs well.
Please help friends I am really tired of this situation looking for answers. Sadly there is no official agent for zte brand in our country. So I am stuck here. With all the facts above phone should work in my country right?

bump

anyone to help please ?

Try this ( http://willmyphonework.net/ ) site.

minighost said:
hi friends I bought an axon 7 on amazon, the model number is a2017u.
I checked with sims from 2 major carriers in my country and first issue is frequently I am getting no service warning and literally I cannot use the phone for call and sms for daily use. Throughout the day it mostly says no service.
Next issue is phone is not support 3g band and it should as the spec says. Will explain later on this post please keep read on.
before I purchasing I asked clearly on amazon answers whether this support in my country, sri lanka the answers were yes it should work in my country.
And also, I have checked the frequency bands in my country and the model above
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No service warning: bad reception area or defective phone, you need to go close from any cellular tower and check there.
Is your phone in and out of 3g band?
Is your phone in and out LTE band?
Read above.
You do a great job searching for bands and carriers from your country, I bet for a defective device. Sorry

Altomugriento said:
No service warning: bad reception area or defective phone, you need to go close from any cellular tower and check there.
Is your phone in and out of 3g band?
Is your phone in and out LTE band?
Read above.
You do a great job searching for bands and carriers from your country, I bet for a defective device. Sorry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi mate first of all thanks for the reply.
i checked 4g and its working but in my country there is no much coverage. so 3g is wt we have to use mainly here. and 3g band is not working. but specs says otherwise.
can you confirm if band support as an example 3g - 2100 band in here and USA then the phone should work in both countries without any issues right ?
and no service thing is appear most of the time in daily basis and time to time appear actual service provider name and signal bar but mostly saying no service. this cause the GSM band right ?
i dont have much technical knowledge in that area. thats why i need to confirm this mate. bz zteusa site support team seems like not taking the responsibility here. so i have to go with the confirmed facts u knw. thanks again for the support mate.

bump

You can change sim card
Or:
do a full factory reset to the terminal
Stop asking for a magic trick, that's not going to happen.
This is simple: put another sim card, or do a full reset. It's a basic thing.
You choose the wrong phone if in your country the cellular signal is weak. Do you want an advice? Return the phone and ask for a refund.

Try to flash A2017G bootstack provided by DrakenFX
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/rom-guide-updates-to-stock-files-via-t3469484
(Of course, before that you have to unlock bootloader, instal twrp... all guild can be found around xda)

XT1644 Greece GSM Bands?

I have an XT1644 and I am going to Greece in September. My carrier (cricket wireless) is able to add international calling and data for a low-cost fee for the time I am over there. My question is, will my phone work on the bands within Greece or will I need to get a new phone for the time I am over there and then switch back? I couldn't find any answers on this while looking on the forums.
and Moto g4 plus on the frequency check website looks like it would work without a problem on 2/3 bands. Is this true?
Based on my phone specs listed and the bands from the link above It seems it will work but I do not want to be stranded without data when I get over there. :fingers-crossed:

From what I can tell, your XT1644 should work in Greece Your device has support for LTE 3 and 7 (1800 MHz, 2600 MHz) though is missing LTE band 20 (800 MHz) as you've noted. Seems that most carriers have support for bands 3 and 7 so it looks like you'll get LTE (hopefully a nice signal in the region you're in). A useful website for seeing which carriers will play nice with your device is: http://willmyphonework.net/
Seems that most of the 4G/LTE operators (e.g. Cosmote, Frog, Vodafone and Wind) there have decent coverage of Greece (from their coverage maps).

Well it looks like I read the agreement wrong for Cricket. It is from the US to that country. My phone will work but I will have to get a temporary card from Greece in order for it to work. Any suggestions on that one?

Get a local SIM card like Vodafone. They constantly have deals for new customers, offers for higher data. I think it is something like 20 Euros.
Lack of band 20 is not important, Vodafone in EU have a strong H/H+ (3G) network usually in the rural areas (where LTE 20 might be deployed) and the G4 Plus has all the needed bands for that.
PS: I am returning from Romania now, where with Vodafone and equivalent of $20, by playing with the offers, I had 44GB of data for my vacation. Plus 900 phone minutes with US. In Romania, the 3G speeds where around 19/5 Mbps, on 4G (they don't display LTE) I had speess up to 66/22Mbps.

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).