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3G or 64K which is better & Why

Ok I have read about better reception and such with the 3G SIM card. But is it really better then the 64K ???
What is the difference between them and why is one better then the other.
Thanks

New to this forum so I'd like to say hello, on another side I'd also love to hear user input on this one. It's seems to be a touchy subject can't really get a straight answer on this one...

I have a 64k 3G sim card in mine,so go figure! lol If you look at the back of your sim, it may say 3G on it already! I couldn't get an answer from them regarding the diffs in them,but was told by the csr that it would only be a possible issue in 3G only areas.As of right now,there are no 3G only areas!
Hope this helps......Later
stainlesspc said:
Ok I have read about better reception and such with the 3G SIM card. But is it really better then the 64K ???
What is the difference between them and why is one better then the other.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

The 3G cards are necessary to access UTMS/HSPDA speeds when on the network. However, most markets don't have 3G access yet (though at present time, Cingular is still shooting for most markets by the end of 2006).
The 3G cards actually don't work well with some phones, but the 8125 is not one of the problem phones. LG C1500, Nokia 3220 are the ones that come to mind as problem phones for 3G cards.
I have never noticed a difference in my reception since going from a 2.5G to 3G card (they're both actually 64k, but I knew what you meant). However, the 3G cards are theoretically a little better at connecting to the newest upgraded towers.
In other words, if you have a 2G/2.5G 64k card, I wouldn't worry too much about upgrading to a 3G card unless you're in one of these markets. http://cingular.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=pageB
But upgrading to a 3G card costs you nothing and shouldn't have any negative affects at all for 8125 users. Hope this helps!

djaladin said:
The 3G cards actually don't work well with some phones, but the 8125 is not one of the problem phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually 8125 has big problem with 3G cards - it eats those 3G cards very often. Hence, Cingular/HTC has to come up with a new Radio ROM update to solve the problem a few months back.

Not in TN or areas I go so I guess I will wait.
Thanks

stainlesspc said:
Ok I have read about better reception and such with the 3G SIM card. But is it really better then the 64K ???
What is the difference between them and why is one better then the other.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3G SIM cards are newer. They have newer provisioning information on them.
With an old card, provisioning information can be outdated and there is also the possibility of card damage. A lot of "power users" swap SIMs between devices on a fairly regular basis and as such run the risk of a static discharge. A damaged SIM can work "partially" and be the source of much frustration.
If you have an "odd" problem with your phone that defies diagnosis checking it with a new SIM never hurts.

oh.

My question is regarding the UTMS/HSPDA aspect. I have an 8125. My understanding is even though I have a 3G SIM, when the towers are upgraded in Pittsburgh I will not be able to take advantage of the higher speeds. I had a Cingular Store rep tell me the 8125 is a 3G phone. I keep hearing its not. Would love a better answer.

There are many "versions" of 3G (thank the marketing gods).
Pretty much all phones on the market use 3G voice.
When we talk about 3G in here, we're talking about 3G data.
3G data is UTMS.
In this regard the 8125 (Wizard) is NOT 3G. It only supports up to EDGE Class 10. The Universal is 3G data capable, but that's a different device.

My 8125 was an upgrade and it came with a new 3G SIM. When I got the phone I just moved the old 64K SIM from my SMT 5600 to the 8125. It has been working fine since. Today, just for the heck of it I called Cingular and asked them to swap my SIM to the new 3G SIM that came with the phone. It took about 10 minutes over the phone to do the swap. I have an unlimited data plan on my 8125, a 3G SIM, and I am in a 3G or UMTS market. I wonder if I would be able to get UMTS speeds if I put my SIM in an UMTS card like the Sierra Wireless 860.

If your device supports 3G data (UTMS) and you are in a Cingular market that supports it and you have the 3G SIM card, and you are paying for data, then yes, you would be able to get 3G data speeds.

No 3G ?

Hi,
I am new user and want to get the HTC Touch Diamond 2 ( Topaz ) next week. My current provider is AT&T.
I found some decent deals on eBay, but one seller wrote back saying that this phone is 100% working with AT&T and I only have to switch my SIM card out. Except for 3G....... he said, 3G won't work.
So my question is : Why would 3G not work ? Is this a phone normally used for other providers or is the 3G just turned off ? If so, can 3G be turned on easily via a hack or something ? I don't get it.
Thanks for helping.
JCE

**search**

the phone is 3G capable but I dont think the providers support it in your country.

If you are talking about AT&T in the USA, yeah 3G doesn't seem to work for me. I think the specific atenna range for 3G is not the one AT&T uses. I might be wrong though and just haven't seen a 3G link since its rare in my area and I don't use data that much. The best I can get is Edge.

supreme_one333 said:
If you are talking about AT&T in the USA, yeah 3G doesn't seem to work for me. I think the specific atenna range for 3G is not the one AT&T uses. I might be wrong though and just haven't seen a 3G link since its rare in my area and I don't use data that much. The best I can get is Edge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
America doesn't use the same 3G frequencies.., Europe 900/1200. America 850/whatever else. These phones are Euro 3G frequencies only so the best you'll get is GSM, which is quad band (i.e. work everywhere).
If you're cool with that that's fine, but when my phone drops from 3G to GSM I find it pretty unbearable (think dial up days).

jce2005 said:
Hi,
I am new user and want to get the HTC Touch Diamond 2 ( Topaz ) next week. My current provider is AT&T.
I found some decent deals on eBay, but one seller wrote back saying that this phone is 100% working with AT&T and I only have to switch my SIM card out. Except for 3G....... he said, 3G won't work.
So my question is : Why would 3G not work ? Is this a phone normally used for other providers or is the 3G just turned off ? If so, can 3G be turned on easily via a hack or something ? I don't get it.
Thanks for helping.
JCE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunatley I don't think our phones support it. Here is my original post with the same question from May:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=512828

[Q] About htc vivid and new Sim's

I just got an HTC Vivid in the mail today and i have an old Cingular Sim card that's capable of achieving the H+ technology in for example the htc inspire. Now since i live in Portland and there is no LTE yet only H+ why when i put my card in it will make and receive calls and texts but not let me connect to data. Note this is stock ics that the phone was shipped with.
My question is why cant my old Sim work if it can use H+ on my inspire but not on my vivid and also whats different about the newer Sim's then older ones?

Vicpdx18 said:
I just got an HTC Vivid in the mail today and i have an old Cingular Sim card that's capable of achieving the H+ technology in for example the htc inspire. Now since i live in Portland and there is no LTE yet only H+ why when i put my card in it will make and receive calls and texts but not let me connect to data. Note this is stock ics that the phone was shipped with.
My question is why cant my old Sim work if it can use H+ on my inspire but not on my vivid and also whats different about the newer Sim's then older ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this has been asked before and it seems to have something to do with how new your sim card is...mine didnt have to be changed but provisioned for lte
and some have had to have theirs replaced.. here is the thread that it was it was talked about in
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420310
hope you find what you was looking for

Vicpdx18 said:
I just got an HTC Vivid in the mail today and i have an old Cingular Sim card that's capable of achieving the H+ technology in for example the htc inspire. Now since i live in Portland and there is no LTE yet only H+ why when i put my card in it will make and receive calls and texts but not let me connect to data. Note this is stock ics that the phone was shipped with.
My question is why cant my old Sim work if it can use H+ on my inspire but not on my vivid and also whats different about the newer Sim's then older ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Vivid defaults to using the pta APN. The old SIM cannot connect to pta. You can manually make a legacy APN for wap.cingular or phone which will let you connect, but that's inadvisable.
I'd presume that the reason that a new SIM is required is because you're moving from a 3G technology to a 3-4G bridge technology. I don't know if you have the original Cingular GSM "64k SmartChip", but I had to upgrade that when I first got a 3G enabled phone.

Aus_Azn said:
The Vivid defaults to using the pta APN. The old SIM cannot connect to pta. You can manually make a legacy APN for wap.cingular or phone which will let you connect, but that's inadvisable.
I'd presume that the reason that a new SIM is required is because you're moving from a 3G technology to a 3-4G bridge technology. I don't know if you have the original Cingular GSM "64k SmartChip", but I had to upgrade that when I first got a 3G enabled phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh i see yea i actually had the Cingular raising the bar one with the orange man logo on it also had blue orange and white color and it shows a 3G in flames. is that the original one?

I had that one, they gave me a new SIM at Best Buy.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using XDA

Yeah. It doesn't cost anything to get a new SIM. I had to get one for my daughter's phone.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium

Vicpdx18 said:
oh i see yea i actually had the Cingular raising the bar one with the orange man logo on it also had blue orange and white color and it shows a 3G in flames. is that the original one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, that's a 3G-enabled SIM card. It works on UMTS and HSPA, unlike the 64K SmartChip (the GSM SIM) that I had from when EDGE was the best thing since sliced bread. That's why you never needed to upgrade your SIM when faux-G hit on the Inspire.
When I upgraded to the SYNC (see sig), that was right before Cingular was bought by ATT. I had to get a new SIM at that point, and they gave me the one you describe. I had to get another one when I got the Shine, as the contacts on it had corroded (or something; the card refused to read); that time, I got one that said AT&T on it (it was a palette swap of the Cingular card). I was still forced to upgrade yet again when I got the Vivid.

im just going out on a limb here, but i would say it has to do with the apn settings since you have an old cingular sim in a new phone im guessing the apn has been updated for new technology advancements

jenkem110 said:
im just going out on a limb here, but i would say it has to do with the apn settings since you have an old cingular sim in a new phone im guessing the apn has been updated for new technology advancements
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
APN settings are stored in the ROM, not the SIM. The SIM authenticates you with the APNs that it is provisioned for.
Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using XDA Premium App

I work for At&t, they lie about their data speeds. So basically, the phone might display H+ when your signal is really strong on 3G networks; the OTA updates on the Inspire wanted to make you feel like you were part of the fastest network At&t had to offer at the time. So if you didn't have a 3G sim, you were robbing yourself on speed capabilities, maybe barely but none-the-less. But Cingular SIM cards can only connect to 3G speeds at max. In other words, you're at the max speed for 3G which prompted the phone to display an H+ icon. The Vivid is an LTE capable phone and needs a SIM card with LTE capabilities in order for data to work, even though the new SIMs will also work on 3G, but not the other way around on cingular sims. Oddly enough, you will see a 4G icon when you're maxed out on HSDPA even though you may not be on true LTE networks...as is the case where I live. Hope this wasn't too confusing

akafarmer said:
I work for At&t, they lie about their data speeds. So basically, the phone might display H+ when your signal is really strong on 3G networks; the OTA updates on the Inspire wanted to make you feel like you were part of the fastest network At&t had to offer at the time. So if you didn't have a 3G sim, you were robbing yourself on speed capabilities, maybe barely but none-the-less. But Cingular SIM cards can only connect to 3G speeds at max. In other words, you're at the max speed for 3G which prompted the phone to display an H+ icon. The Vivid is an LTE capable phone and needs a SIM card with LTE capabilities in order for data to work, even though the new SIMs will also work on 3G, but not the other way around on cingular sims. Oddly enough, you will see a 4G icon when you're maxed out on HSDPA even though you may not be on true LTE networks...as is the case where I live. Hope this wasn't too confusing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your explanation wasn't confusing IMO. Their rationale is just plain stupid.
Gotta love America and its false advertising.
Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using XDA Premium App

Reply
I see what you mean everyone yea i actually went in the other day to a store and got a new one for LTE even though there is no LTE in Oregon yet. But i do understand because i did use my Cingular Sim in my vivid and calling/texting did work fine just the data did not work so pretty much for faster internet you need a Sim card that can be provisioned for LTE is what im hearing. Also for the newer tech you need a new one

You can add another APN setting very easily until you can get a new LTE provishoned SIM....THE NEW APN will give you 2g, 3g, HSPA+, Text and Voice....then when you get the new LTE Sim...you can go back and set it to the APN that is named pta....
Let me know by replying if you need the settings for the wap.congular APN and I will post...
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium

Response
maddie01 said:
You can add another APN setting very easily until you can get a new LTE provishoned SIM....THE NEW APN will give you 2g, 3g, HSPA+, Text and Voice....then when you get the new LTE Sim...you can go back and set it to the APN that is named pta....
Let me know by replying if you need the settings for the wap.congular APN and I will post...
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you should post it just for anyone who needs it. I actually got an LTE Sim not to long ago so im good on that front.

Thanks!!!
akafarmer said:
I work for At&t, they lie about their data speeds. So basically, the phone might display H+ when your signal is really strong on 3G networks; ..........................................................................................
Oddly enough, you will see a 4G icon when you're maxed out on HSDPA even though you may not be on true LTE networks...as is the case where I live. Hope this wasn't too confusing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for telling us what many of us probably suspected. I have always thought that most of what we are told is just "marketing hype" until proven otherwise. Much like the burger commercials tha make the subject look soooo tantalizing and huge when in fact it might taste great but is not THAT large.
It is nice to have someone on the inside share "reality" with us!!!

[Q] LTE sim card, any benefit?

Hi everyone, my network has recently upgraded and has LTE sim cards available. I know the n7000 is not a LTE device but is there any benefit to using the LTE card? Just curious as it is a microsim and I would need to get a sim adapter to work in the n7000.
Thank you for any insight!

Since the Note doesnt support LTE, i very much doubt the "LTE" sim card will make any difference.
But if they are being offered to you for free, take it. its not gonna make your phone self-destruct or anything

my friend has an lte phone. the intenet is very fast but he said he wouldnt buy again an lte phone because its unnecessary.

well when i run it with basic settings its ok but when i add the att pta settings to mine it does run much faster.... you do have to have att's system thinking you have an att note and not the international one. might not be lte speed but mine goes pretty fast...

if you get an LTE sim card in Note 1, you are cued up to get LTE service when you switch your phone to an LTE phone.
I'm thinking of getting one. $9 for the card, I cue myself up for LTE when I get an LTE capable phone. In the meantime, I still get the same quota of 6gb for the same price but now I have LTE.

kawgirlval69 said:
well when i run it with basic settings its ok but when i add the att pta settings to mine it does run much faster.... you do have to have att's system thinking you have an att note and not the international one. might not be lte speed but mine goes pretty fast...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What speed do you get? I get on average 11-12mbs on hsdpa +. More than happy.
from the man hiding in your attic....

Where are you and what carrier to get 11mbps on HSPA+? Im in UK on 3 and get 8.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

a little story from my country, in Indonesia, if we not in big city, like jakarta, yogyakarta, or bali, it's only get EDGE signal man, it's suck(sorry).. if i can get the HSDPA signal for a while, it really make me happy, and after that or you go to another place or go iside house, you go back to EDGE.......
I wonder how fast LTE is, and network on your country, someday maybe, thanks for reading..

I'm not into lte, at least not now since lte coverage is limited to a few cities in my country (Switzerland) and the prices are still far too high. Maybe in a year or so when the coverage will be better.
Back on topic: No yiu wont benefit from a lte capable sim card if your phone does not support lte.
Sent from my revived Galaxy Note

howard bamber said:
What speed do you get? I get on average 11-12mbs on hsdpa +. More than happy.
from the man hiding in your attic....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well my sim gives the cingular 410 apn stock when sim inserted and it gets 4-6mbps... when i change it to pta settings i get 13-17mbps... it works because att's comps show me having the att ver. when it shows unkown it doesnt go any faster than the 410.... and no i didnt steal a imei... just made a dummy that att comps like and think is a working 717...

Cricket, Att Will this work?

Hi all, will this phone work on ATT and or Cricket? Is it a GSM phone? Will it get 4G if so? Thanks!!!

i have the mix on Cricket since December, it's on H+ most of the time and some times 4g depends on your location I guess, so it works on cricket and I'm not complaining on internet speed

vvette said:
Hi all, will this phone work on ATT and or Cricket? Is it a GSM phone? Will it get 4G if so? Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use it on Straight Talk (the AT&T sim). I live in Springfield Missouri and normally get LTE everywhere I go. The only real issue I have is when I do happen to lose LTE (receive/make a phone call, lose LTE in one particular room at my work, etc) it will stay on H+/3G until I go into settings and toggle between 3G then back to LTE again. Sucks, but not that big a deal since Straight Talk basically caps speed around 7-10 megs and H+/3G pretty much handles that speed anyway. But I haven't really had that many issues.

Mine is on Cricket and running fine in the Des Moines, IA area. I have a few hiccups here and there, but nothing drastic.

I have it with Att and works great always on Lte (tucson,Az). I get the hd voice and video calling as well. Only complain is I cant wait for mix 2 lol.

Straight talk ATT sim LTE all the time I live south of Chicago

jaime4272 said:
i have the mix on Cricket since December, it's on H+ most of the time and some times 4g depends on your location I guess, so it works on cricket and I'm not complaining on internet speed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you make that work ? i have a doogee mix FOB from chinaland and a cricket sim in it but it keeps saying no data at all any help please ?

spydergt said:
How did you make that work ? i have a doogee mix FOB from chinaland and a cricket sim in it but it keeps saying no data at all any help please ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you cheap apn settings?

yea
yea i even took it into a cricket store and had a csr check it , the apn settings are all correct, the sim card works , i put it into a tablet i had from a while ago with a data card , it works , the tablet has 4g data , but if i put that sim card into the doogee mix , nothing , im gonna attempt to return the phone since i cant use it