[Q] Enabling all of I9000 quad WCDMA bands - Galaxy S I9000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi fellas,
I was wondering if enabling all WCDMA bands 850, 900, 1900, and 2100 of our i9000 phones would produce any bad effects or would deteriorate our phones or its parts?
I tried to enabled them in *#2263# and they seem to be persistent so i believe they are active. It was initially set as 900/1900/2100.
Looking forward for replies

if you bought i9000T it's supposed to work with 850 what the others can't, that's from what I know..

I'm just not sure if it is really functioning or how to verify if the phone is really using the 850 or 900 wcdma band, or both (together with 2100 and 1900). AFAIK, wcdma's requirement is that at least 2100 is enabled, paired with another supporting band either 1900, 900, or 850. (tho just 2100 solo will also work but not as best if without another band to use)
I'm also wondering, if the original i9000 can support quad GSM and quad WCDMA, why is it that it is only set as tri-WCDMA only?
I guess my only concern is that if the phone's antenna system will be damaged if i enable quad band WCDMA (if it is really using it)

Folks,
If you have checked with the Service manual and Schematics, some variants of Samsung Galaxy S lack the required PAM for the UMTS Band VIII (900) operation physically, while some lack the required PAM for the UMTS Band V (850) operation. Sure, we can flash it with the corresponding modem.bin, toggle "WCDMA 900 (FDD VIII)" and/or "WCDMA 850 (FDD V)" with our targeted Galaxy S variants in the Band Selection menu but it does not mean they will actually work in the "Quad-band WCDMA" as we would like.
Try to hook one up with a set of signal isolation box, signal generator and analyzer (R&S, Agilent, etc.), then you will find out our Galaxy S is capable of "Quad-band WCDMA" or not for sure. DO NOT get confused with the "Quad-band GSM"... "If it can do quad-band in 2G, then why not in 3G?" BECAUSE the it is handled by another set of PAM and FEM.
Nevertheless, most of us are doing fine in the EURO/RoW regions where most 3G networks are deployed in the UMTS Band I (2100). Unless we are heading to the rural or specific areas where only has got the 3G service in the UMTS Band VIII (900) only (AND we apparently must use the 3G service at the same time).

thanks howipig, very nice answer

Project1.exe said:
thanks howipig, very nice answer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Project1.exe,
No problem but I wish someone out there can make our dream come true by adding the right PAM and SAW filters for the "extra" 3G band support

i'm thinking if it would be possible to extract files from, say, a Rogers (Canada) SGS for the 850, and combine them with euro for 900. I'm actually using XWJV1 (leaked gingerbread) and I got excited cause I see both options.

Project1.exe,
Like I have mentioned before, the software is just part of the puzzle. We can toggle all 3G bands showing in the Band Selection menu. In fact, I have played with a modified Galaxy Tab that even has UMTS Band IV (AWS) selected too! But in reality, it never works on the AWS band. The PHYSICAL hardware is the key. Without the right components, we are not going to make it happen.

howipig said:
Folks,
If you have checked .... UMTS Band VIII (900) operation physically, ... the same time).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heh sorry, missed that one.
Thanks again howipig

Related

Question on purchasing a Tilt

Ok well I am considering purchasing a unlocked AT&T Tilt, but I have been reading a bit about the 3G. Currently I am a T-Mobile customer and have read they will be operating on a different band frequency for their 3G. T-Mobile will be using 1700/2100MHZ while AT&T operates on 1900/2100MHZ. Will the 3G on the phone still be compatible?
Please someone clear this up
Appreciate it
Kaiser uses (under the Band options for the phone settings)
GSM (So gprs, edge) 850, 900, 1800, 1900.
UMTS (3G, HSPDA where available) 800, 850, 1900, 2100.
So it would be partially compatible, but only on 1900 cells, not the 1700 ones. These might co-exist like in the UK where some operators use all the frequencies for better bandwidth, or they might not. I'd check with T-Mobile what frequencies are operating in the areas you'll use the phone.
Well I live in the US and they still have not rolled out the 3G network here, they said sometime by summer. So if they use 2100 then the 3G still should be able to work? Since they still will be using the frequency except the 1900.

[Q] Change Galaxy S modem to US Frequencies?

No, you'll need to go with a carrier like T-Mobile who support the same frequencies as the international version (I assume, I haven't checked them recently).
T-Mobile has a 2100 MHz band but it's paired with 1700 MHz for AWS so I'm not sure if that would actually work.
The 1900 MHz band would get reception from AT&T, although only in areas where they're using 1900, probably in the city.
That's just for 3G though. If you don't need 3G then T-Mobile and AT&T are both GSM carriers.
you will have 2g coverage with at&t and tmobile, and some 3g with at&t, when you have wcdma 1900 coverage... that's about it
I suck at knowing these radios. But, if you are visiting friends, what you can try to do is borrow their sims from different carriers for 5 minutes and see what works in the area(s) you visit. Just an out of the box thought.
AT&T is using 850/1900MHz 3G/UMTS bands (if i'm not mistaken),
i9000 international version supports 3G/UMTS 900/1900/2100 MHz, 850MHz not included.
so I think you are not able to use the 3G network, but the GSM should be working find although it's much slower.
Yup
That's why us USA folks have to wait for either a USA or Australian Variant of the device.
Thanks a lot for all your replies! I was hoping Samsung would be lazy and build the same radio in all of it's devices. Guess I was wrong. Still, thanks a lot, I'll see how well it works with 2G.
Is there still no way to change the UMTS band on European Galaxies so they work in the US?
Nope. You would have to hardware mod the phone.
They already do on 1900 att and thats that
quaker5567 said:
Is there still no way to change the UMTS band on European Galaxies so they work in the US?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my i9000M
I know this is an old thread, but I was looking for information about what modems are for what phones and came across it and thought that as an AT&T customer, I should clarify some information.
Most of AT&T 3G network uses 1900 MHz. AT&T is also "overlaying" 850 MHz over their existing 1900 MHz to increase capacity. There may be some 850 MHz only locations, but I am not aware of any. For the most part, if your phone supports UMTS1900, you should be able to get 3G anywhere that AT&T's map shows 3G availability.
nkrick said:
I know this is an old thread, but I was looking for information about what modems are for what phones and came across it and thought that as an AT&T customer, I should clarify some information.
Most of AT&T 3G network uses 1900 MHz. AT&T is also "overlaying" 850 MHz over their existing 1900 MHz to increase capacity. There may be some 850 MHz only locations, but I am not aware of any. For the most part, if your phone supports UMTS1900, you should be able to get 3G anywhere that AT&T's map shows 3G availability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you bought a i9000m from canada. you can use UGKC1 or UGJL2 modem to enable 850
im currently on at&t using i9000m with ZSJPG modem with 850mhz enabled
Just 1900Mhz isn't all that great, kinda slow and spotty. Don't get me wrong, it's usable, but 850 is significantly faster/better at least where I live.
I have an I9000M but occasionally use a modem without 850, and it's not as good.
While there are roundabout ways to get 850 on other modems, I usually use one of the Bell ones like JL2 or KC1.
I am using jl2. kc1 did not work reliably with my microcell and would instead keep trying to pull in weak signal thus sucking battery. As for 850mhz only.. most of the I93 corridor on new England is 850mhz only.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
Frostshock said:
T-Mobile has a 2100 MHz band but it's paired with 1700 MHz for AWS so I'm not sure if that would actually work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not paired. It's a single band that uses 1700 MHz for upload and 2100 MHz for download. Just like the international 2100 Mhz band uses 2100 MHz for download and 1900 MHz for upload.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands
So just to clarify, my stock i9000m, running 2.3.3 and UGKG3 will get 3G in southern California on both the 850 and 1900 bands? UGKG3 can use both bands?
Sent from my GT-I9000M using xda premium

[Q] help me choose please!

Should I buy a captivate or a i9000 galaxy s?
It is for the use in the netherlands but I heard the captivate had some more specs..
Thanks in advance!
Galaxy S and captivate are pretty similar.
i9000 has front camera (if you use it), physical back button, better support (more users) and you are more likely to have warranty support in the Netherlands.
i897 IMHO looks better and is heavier (feels more expensive). Also it comes in 16gb (i9000 comes in 8gb/16gb) and has lots of AT&T crapware on it....easy enough to remove...but you have to do it
Take the one you like the looks of better.
I really like the looks of the captivate but I am worried that it's going to have 3g network problems here..
If I would import the phone, would it work perfect with the signal here to?
snaai8 said:
I really like the looks of the captivate but I am worried that it's going to have 3g network problems here..
If I would import the phone, would it work perfect with the signal here to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue will be the 900 band will be missing in the Captivate which is where a lot of carriers have 3G in Europe. In the US, it will work fine. i9000x 3G won't work in 850Mhz markets.
Captivate runs on the following data bands:
3G (850/1900/2100 MHz) <-AT&T works fine.
Galaxy i9000x runs on:
2G - GSM 850/900/1800/1900
3G - HSDPA 900/1900/2100 <- Missing 850 for AT&T
Vibrant
3G - HSDPA 1700/2100
If you seriously want a world phone for data, there is only one in the market at the moment that I'm aware of. It's the Sony Xperia X10a. It's a dual mode phone and uses GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA 800/850/1900/2100.
I'm a complete dummy in this subject so here comes the stupid questions..
What would happen if I tried using it in my country?
I'm using a omnia 2 now with:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
So if I tried using the captivate, would my 3g be gone?
EDIT:
I was looking through the specs at the AT&T site and it said:
GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G UMTS/HSDPA (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)
So according to these specs it says that it also has a 900mhz frequention.
EDIT2: Vodafone in my area (my carrier) uses 2100 as 3g band and gsm 900/1800.
I foung this info using gsmworld
can someone please explain it to me?
Ik need to choose before friday!

[Q] Bad ESN's and frequencies in Australia

Hi guys,
I've had a look around and can't really find much info on bad ESN's. Most of the questions are resolved with a -"find a carrier who will reflash your phone". The phone I'm looking at is from someone who didn't pay their phone bill. If I import this phone over to Australia - what will a bad ESN do? I'm planning to buy a pre paid SIM card over here, and I'd like to put a basic Gingerbread rom on it.
I can see that a bad ESN means you wouldn't be able to use the phone on the network it was sold on, but if you unlock the phone doesn't that mean you can put on whatever carrier you'd like?
Are there any issues with doing this?
The next part of my question is about the Vibrant. From the info I've found this...
Will My SGH-t959 (Vibrant) Phone Work In Other Countries And How Do I Unlock It?
The SGH-t959 is a quad band dual mode handset. It supports GSM frequencies of 850, 900, 1800, & 1900. It supports UMTS 1700, 1900, and 2100 frequencies. There is a possibility the phone may be used with a wireless operator outside the United States however this is not guranteed. The phone has been optimized to work on the intended carrier it was designed for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what wikipedia says on Vodafone (in Oz,)
The GSM mobile service on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz covers 94.52% of the country. The 3G 2100 MHz UMTS network is available in metro areas of major cities and some larger regional centres covering 80% of the population. Expansion of the 3G UMTS network using 900 MHz to equal or surpass the GSM coverage is due to be completed by 31 August 2009 [1] [2].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will this work here? It's seems like it should? (I'm in Melbourne) I'd like the 3g to work for the internet etc.
Thanks guys.
Beumpp....
I can't guarantee it but technically according to the site below, it should work:
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Samsung-Vibrant_id4747
UMTS[3G] frequencies: 1700/2100, 2100
Optus, vodafone and three use 2100 and 900

Question about modems

So since the Galaxy S phones are more of less the same hardware-wise, (for example) can one flash a (T-Mo)Vibrant modem to a (AT&T)Captivate, and use it on T-Mo, or vice-versa?
darkfalz said:
So since the Galaxy S phones are more of less the same hardware-wise, can one flash a (T-Mo)Vibrant modem to a (AT&T)Captivate, and use it on T-Mo, or vice-versa?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can unlock the captivated to use it on t-mobile edge network but the 3g radio(hardware) on both devices are different so the answer would be no
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
What type of radio do both of the phone use? I can't seem to find a good detailed teardown for the Captivate. The Vibrant has this . And this one is either another Vibrant or the i9000.
If you look up the transceiver, it says it supports UMTS bands I-VI and VIII-X.
Wikipedia page on UMTS bands.
So the supported bands are 2100, 1900, 1800, 1700, 900, 850, 800.
AT&T uses 850 and 1900 for 3G. T-Mobile uses 1700 and 2100 for 3G.
So, if both of those teardowns I linked are Vibrants, then I still would like to find one for the Captivate. However, if one is the i9000, and the hardware is still the same, why would it not be the same in the Captivate, since the chip supports all the necessary bands?
the Captivate's hardware supports:
2G/GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
3G/UMTS: 850, 1900, 2100
the Vibrant's hardware supports:
2G/GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
3G/UMTS: 1700, 1900, 2100
AT&T uses:
2G/GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
3G/UMTS: 850, 1900
T-Mobile uses:
2G/GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
3G/UMTS: 1700, 2100
the modem.bin that you flash to the phone only controls software level access. flashing the modem.bin will not magically give you 3G access on TMO with the Captivate. Oddly, the Vibrant *does* support one of the 3G bands for AT&T (you can unlock the Vibrant, and get 3G on AT&T) but the same is not true of the Captivate with TMO. Unlocking the phone is different than flashing a modem, you can check the network unlock state with SGS tools, as I can't remember the dialer code. To use an AT&T phone on TMO, you must unlock it--either through the tools available here on XDA or calling AT&T and attempting to ask for an unlock code. But, at least with the Captivate, you will only manage to get EDGE speeds... changing the modem.bin will not alter this.
Ok, that helps. I'm not actually interested in using the Captivate on T-Mo, that was just an example. I talked to someone earlier today that has his Vibrant working on AT&T 3G, so I just figured that it went both ways.
I have yet to find a good, detailed teardown for the Captivate and am too lazy to disassemble mine...any idea as to what hardware it has, since it's not the same as the Vibrant/i9000 (which are the same according to those teardowns)?
You can have it disassembled in less than ten minutes.
newter55 said:
You can have it disassembled in less than ten minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine, I'll do it myself. And will post my finding here.

Categories

Resources