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Alright so I've been looking around on various Android forums and people seem to be very upset that there is no CDMA variant of the Nexus 4 announced so far. Coming from the Sprint/Verizon Galaxy Nexus, I am glad that they're not bothering this time around because CDMA goes against what the Nexus brand stands for, openness.
These carriers are very self-contained. You can only purchase phones to use on their network from them. Want a unlocked phone? You're out of luck BUT you can purchase the phone from their website off contract or you can go and get one from eBay or Craigslist. Because of this, the carriers have manufacturers by the balls, especially when it comes to updating phones. Want to get an update? You'll have to wait until these carriers "inspect" the update to ensure that it is not "harmful to the network" and all that PR crap they go on and on about.
Anyways, CDMA would mean that Google/LG would have to make a 4G LTE variant since these carriers only sell 4G phones now and Google doesn't seem too happy about how the CDMA variants of the GNex turned out last time. The updates were untimely to say the absolute least and the battery life was horrendous. I'm sure that the guys at Google had one hell of a time disputing against the crapware that Verizon/Sprint wanted to put on their phones so they could get a quick buck from Blockbuster and whatever other useless advertisements and applications they put on there now days.
If you want a Nexus phone, jump over to another carrier. I'm finally going over to T-Mobile and I'm getting unlimited data/text and a hundred minutes (which won't be used because I use GrooVe for voice over data/WiFi) for $30 a month. The entire move is going to cost me less than $400 and I'm sure you all have phones that you could sell to get over here. It really is the better move and the HSPA+ is amazingly fast without the battery drain.
My only option for a carrier is Verizon or sprint. At&t and T-Mobile only have gprs where my grandparents live, and I need internet for work. I'm upset there isn't a CDMA variant.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I'm pretty excited about making the move to GSM and prepaid service. Any smartphone I've ever had was either Sprint and now Verizon. I can't even get an hour and a half of on-screen time with my Verizon gnex. It'll constantly switch from 3g to LTE and most of the time get stuck in the middle, looking for signal and draining the battery, it's horrendous.
I'm glad that there isn't a CDMA variant because CDMA is dead-end technology, and anything that brings about its demise sooner is a good thing IMO. Whatever the original technical merits were that CDMA held over GSM have pretty much become nonexistent as I understand it, and you give up the huge advantage of being able to easily switch carriers without purchasing a new phone. Anyone who's spent time outside the US and in an open GSM phone system knows how nice it is to be able to switch carriers at will.
But also Google's rationale for not including LTE makes a lot more sense with no CDMA variant. As the OP mentioned, a CDMA variant would absolutely HAVE to have LTE. Verizon's EV-DO network is still Rev. A, right? That's disgustingly slow in today's day and age, and while it makes sense that the CDMA carriers would have skipped over later revisions of EV-DO and go straight to LTE, it also means they're in an "LTE or bust" situation right now. GSM networks have a much better upgrade path, and 42mbps HSPA+ is more than fast enough for just about anything you'd want to do on a phone.
Personally I'm happy with the decision, because as a GSM user I see no need to frantically jump on the LTE bandwagon. I'd much rather take better battery life and a lower phone cost than have a transmission standard that is overkill for the vast majority of phone applications forced down my throat.
You all don't remember that GSM Nexus devices always come out first. CDMA phones will most likely come out months later, and with higher storage to generate buzz. Google knows better than to shut out ~20 million subscribers.
I'm pretty confident they are offering such low priced unlocked phones to try and get as many people into their ecosystem as possible. Ignoring CDMA users is not consistent with that, so just like before, it'll likely be 1 to 5 months before we see 32gb CDMA phones later on.
disynthetic said:
You all don't remember that GSM Nexus devices always come out first. CDMA phones will most likely come out months later, and with higher storage to generate buzz. Google knows better than to shut out ~20 million subscribers.
I'm pretty confident they are offering such low priced unlocked phones to try and get as many people into their ecosystem as possible. Ignoring CDMA users is not consistent with that, so just like before, it'll likely be 1 to 5 months before we see 32gb CDMA phones later on.
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While I get where you're coming from, I completely disagree. Of course, I'm with a GSM carrier (and always have been), so I couldn't care less if they come out with a CDMA Nexus 4. Then again, I'm one of those people that don't believe the Galaxy Nexus offered by Verizon and Sprint was an actual Nexus device. If a phone's updates are coming from a carrier and not straight from Google...that's not a true Nexus and, frankly, you get what you deserve for thinking it is (in general terms...I'm not talking about you specifically).
I think all the reasons listed earlier are correct. I think Google got a bad taste in their mouths from having the carriers (re: Verizon and Sprint) dictate to them what they were going to do instead of the other way around. I also agree that CDMA is a dying technology and I'm also all for anything that bring that about faster. Wireless companies in the US need to get their #[email protected]% together and agree on a standard. All this GSM/CDMA/LTE crap is just confusing to consumers (not to me, but to uneducated consumers).
I firmly believe, though, that if you want a Nexus phone you need to get with a GSM carrier. Period. If by some miracle Google does release a CDMA version of the Nexus 4 later, I'll still believe you don't have a "true" Nexus phone. Only when the carriers have their hands off the updates can you actually make me believe a CDMA Nexus is a "real" Nexus.
I've been looking at the pre paid services but I have two lines since I pay for my mothers phone.
With the 1000 minute family plans it ends up making more sense for me to go that route since I'd get 2 free galaxy S2's.. One for her and I'd sell the other + my Sprint Galaxy s2 on eBay for my N4...
Very excited about moving back to T-mob after being on Sprint with **** service in my area for almost a year.
Please use the rant thread here or post in one of the review threads.
General section is for news/tips/tricks/guides/etc, not really for everybody to create a new thread every time they have a thought on this and that.
Closed
Every GALAXY launch we go through the same BS. No 32GB option available, and this time no GOLD or BLUE color options available. Why? Why? Why? Is it really that difficult to include all the colors with 32GB? Now those of us who want to get the phone on launch are once again screwed just like we were last year and the year before on 32gb of storage. Of course I take all this back if the unlocked variant offered AT&T LTE support; which it doesn't by the way. Why am I not surprised? The 16gb S5 will have about 10GB of user storage.
I am so fed up with this type of BS. AT&T is, unfortunately, the only carrier that works well in my area. T-Mobile is spotty with lots of EDGE. If only their service was on lower spectrum, I'd be all over them.
Anyone else feeling just as frustrated with this mess we endure every year.
I totally agree, but the ATT S4 did come with a 32Gb. I am using it right now. I wish Sammy would up them all to 32Gb and an option for 64Gb. 16Gb is too small with how large touchwiz is with each revision. No way I will go back to only 16Gb on board.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
16GB is never an issue with me, regardless of the device. It's more than enough for my needs, considering I have maybe 2-4 very small games on my devices at any given time. What does piss me off is the lack of all the colors. I wanted the blue model, but of course, that's not possible...for whatever idiotic reason. I just said screw it and preordered the black. I guess I'll just buy a different back cover down the road.
karmuh said:
16GB is never an issue with me, regardless of the device. It's more than enough for my needs, considering I have maybe 2-4 very small games on my devices at any given time. What does piss me off is the lack of all the colors. I wanted the blue model, but of course, that's not possible...for whatever idiotic reason. I just said screw it and preordered the black. I guess I'll just buy a different back cover down the road.
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16GB may not be an issue for everyone, but why can't they just give the customer the choice at pre-launch? I have no problem paying more for storage. Why does Apple sell every color and size up front from day 1? That's what I don't get. Since they are dying so much to be like Apple, then why can't they at least do that?
MattMJB0188 said:
16GB may not be an issue for everyone, but why can't they just give the customer the choice at pre-launch? I have no problem paying more for storage. Why does Apple sell every color and size up front from day 1? That's what I don't get. Since they are dying so much to be like Apple, then why can't they at least do that?
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Agreed -- it really doesn't make any sense at all. All model options should be available from day 1, no exceptions. That's one thing Apple does an excellent job at. They announce their devices and the same day you can start preordering any color/storage model, assuming the stock is available, of course. It pissed me off even more, because we had to wait this long after the S5 announcement to just preorder it...and then we don't have all the options available? Very annoying.
karmuh said:
Agreed -- it really doesn't make any sense at all. All model options should be available from day 1, no exceptions. That's one thing Apple does an excellent job at. They announce their devices and the same day you can start preordering any color/storage model, assuming the stock is available, of course. It pissed me off even more, because we had to wait this long after the S5 announcement to just preorder it...and then we don't have all the options available? Very annoying.
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+1, Samsung never have full availability of their models. Either they announce a color but don't have it or announce a 64 GB version and don't have it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
barondebxl said:
+1, Samsung never have full availability of their models. Either they announce a color but don't have it or announce a 64 GB version and don't have it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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Yeah I know. Its ridiculous. I don't know why I had such high hopes for them to turn around and launch the S5 differently than before.
MattMJB0188 said:
I am so fed up with this type of BS. AT&T is, unfortunately, the only carrier that works well in my area. T-Mobile is spotty with lots of EDGE. If only their service was on lower spectrum, I'd be all over them.
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I know it doesnt help right now, but i recall reading on Engadget recently that T-Mobile is claiming that all of their 2g areas will be upgraded to 4g by 2015 or early in 2015. That should open up more options for you and countless others.
cloudraker said:
I know it doesnt help right now, but i recall reading on Engadget recently that T-Mobile is claiming that all of their 2g areas will be upgraded to 4g by 2015 or early in 2015. That should open up more options for you and countless others.
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That will help, but a major problem T-Mobile has it that their frequencies don't reach as far as AT&T's and therefore you get EDGE. T-Mobile has all their towers upgraded in my area to HSPA+ and some with LTE, but since those signals don't travel as far, it always turns into EDGE. They need to shut EDGE down entirely and use only H+.
New TouchWiz is just over 8 gigs of space, I've been told the 16gb version will have about 7 gigs of usable storage. I'm waiting for the 32gb version to come to AT&BS I guess a little later this year.
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This is why I am thinking of passing on s5 and going to HTC one m8. I checked out the phone at AT&T and very impressed with it plus it comes in 32gb at AT&T as default. Tired of Samsung Bs. They will release a 32gb version on AT&T 6 months down the road or never.
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sabre31 said:
This is why I am thinking of passing on s5 and going to HTC one m8. I checked out the phone at AT&T and very impressed with it plus it comes in 32gb at AT&T as default. Tired of Samsung Bs. They will release a 32gb version on AT&T 6 months down the road or never.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Yea. With the S4 I think they announced the 32GB version about 2 weeks after the 16GB went on sale; ultimately screwing anyone who wanted one because their return policy was up.
I actually ordered the 16GB because I never have come close to filling the internal storage I was just pissed its not an option. I just really wanted the blue. **** like that pisses me off. I am sure if AT&T gets the 32GB it will only come in black. I wanted white this time.
Yeah AT&T waited 2 weeks on purpose so you couldn't return the 16gb version. I bet they will pull something similar now. Hoping that somebody is desperate to open another line or pay full price to get it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Same thing with last year. 64GB M7 cost the same as a 16GB S4.
Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
Equally as important as the space issue is the "download booster" feature, which is disabled on all the demo devices that are popping up in AT&T stores. I'm going to wait for the actual devices to ship to customers before passing judgment because floor models definitely do have things disabled sometimes. That said, it certainly shouldn't shock anyone that AT&T would want this disabled. Years of history support the idea that they don't want people using their network, and they push people toward WiFi whenever possible. I can just see some corporate goon in a boardroom breaking out in a cold sweat over the idea of people accidentally using download booster and going over their data plans because they didn't realize what they were doing.
Let us not forget this is also the same carrier who disabled installation of non-market APKs on their early Android devices, shipped the Note 2 without the multi-window functionality until enough people raised hell, and removed the Knox security app from the Note 3. This says nothing of the fact that they still manage to get their paws into Nexus devices, successfully getting Google to code in an exception that disables tethering on the Nexus 7 if you have an AT&T SIM card in it. There's no account check or anything else. If you have an AT&T SIM card in your Nexus 7, the tethering option disappears. End of story. Not even Verizon does that. Also, does anyone remember how, for the longest time, AT&T made both Apple and Google disable video chat in Facetime and Hangouts over HSPA+ and LTE, forcing you to use WiFi?
So far, I'm leaving my preorder intact, but if my device doesn't have the download booster feature, I'm returning it. Every time I decide to give a carrier-branded device a chance, it seems I get let down. Even with Nexus devices, AT&T finds a way to let me down (thus why I have my N7 on Verizon). I'm trying to give AT&T the benefit of the doubt on the download booster, but I'm not at all optimistic. :/ I mainly stick with AT&T because they're basically the only choice if you want to use unlocked Nexus and/or GPE devices and still have Verizon-like coverage.
oldblue910 said:
Equally as important as the space issue is the "download booster" feature, which is disabled on all the demo devices that are popping up in AT&T stores. I'm going to wait for the actual devices to ship to customers before passing judgment because floor models definitely do have things disabled sometimes. That said, it certainly shouldn't shock anyone that AT&T would want this disabled. Years of history support the idea that they don't want people using their network, and they push people toward WiFI whenever possible. I can just see some corporate goon in a boardroom breaking out in a cold sweat over the idea of people accidentally using download booster and going over their data plans because they didn't realize what they were doing.
Let us not forget this is also the same carrier who disabled installation of non-market APKs on their early Android devices, shipped the Note 2 without the multi-window functionality until enough people raised hell, and removed the Knox security app from the Note 3. This says nothing of the fact that they still manage to get their paws into Nexus devices, successfully getting Google to code in an exception that disables tethering on the Nexus 7 if you have an AT&T SIM card in it. There's no account check or anything else. If you have an AT&T SIM card in your Nexus 7, the tethering option disappears. End of story. Not even Verizon does that. Also, does anyone remember how, for the longest time, AT&T made both Apple and Google disable video chat in Facetime and Hangouts over HSPA+ and LTE, forcing you to use WiFi?
So far, I'm leaving my preorder intact, but if my device doesn't have the download booster feature, I'm returning it. Every time I decide to give a carrier-branded device a chance, it seems I get let down. Even with Nexus devices, AT&T finds a way to let me down (thus why I have my N7 on Verizon). I'm trying to give AT&T the benefit of the doubt on the download booster, but I'm not at all optimistic. :/ I mainly stick with AT&T because they're basically the only choice if you want to use unlocked Nexus and/or GPE devices and still have Verizon-like coverage.
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Well said. Personally, I have never used a Nexus device. I have heard bad things about LG's nexus. But I guess it wouldn't be fair of me to judge that device without actually using it. Samsung's TW provides me with exactly what I need. I love the look and a lot of the features. Like you, and as I have already stated, I will keep my pre-order intact and wait until I actually get the device to see for myself if the feature has been disabled or not.
If they do, in fact disable download booster, I probably will go with the international variant. No carrier branding whatsoever. I believe its the same case as in the past. NO LTE, but 21mbps HSPA+ which is fine for my needs. I think loosing LTE may be worth getting an untouched/non-carrier branded Samsung phone. NO limitations, no nothing. Having the ability to have a custom recovery and kernels would be a deal breaker alone. We already know the AT&T S5 will have a locked down bootloader.
One thing I am looking forward to with the AT&T S5 is its support for carrier aggregation. I live in the Chicago land area (one of AT&T's first LTE-A markets). So I am dying to see how much faster my speeds will be.
oldblue910 said:
Equally as important as the space issue is the "download booster" feature, which is disabled on all the demo devices that are popping up in AT&T stores. I'm going to wait for the actual devices to ship to customers before passing judgment because floor models definitely do have things disabled sometimes. That said, it certainly shouldn't shock anyone that AT&T would want this disabled. Years of history support the idea that they don't want people using their network, and they push people toward WiFI whenever possible. I can just see some corporate goon in a boardroom breaking out in a cold sweat over the idea of people accidentally using download booster and going over their data plans because they didn't realize what they were doing.
Let us not forget this is also the same carrier who disabled installation of non-market APKs on their early Android devices, shipped the Note 2 without the multi-window functionality until enough people raised hell, and removed the Knox security app from the Note 3. This says nothing of the fact that they still manage to get their paws into Nexus devices, successfully getting Google to code in an exception that disables tethering on the Nexus 7 if you have an AT&T SIM card in it. There's no account check or anything else. If you have an AT&T SIM card in your Nexus 7, the tethering option disappears. End of story. Not even Verizon does that. Also, does anyone remember how, for the longest time, AT&T made both Apple and Google disable video chat in Facetime and Hangouts over HSPA+ and LTE, forcing you to use WiFi?
So far, I'm leaving my preorder intact, but if my device doesn't have the download booster feature, I'm returning it. Every time I decide to give a carrier-branded device a chance, it seems I get let down. Even with Nexus devices, AT&T finds a way to let me down (thus why I have my N7 on Verizon). I'm trying to give AT&T the benefit of the doubt on the download booster, but I'm not at all optimistic. :/ I mainly stick with AT&T because they're basically the only choice if you want to use unlocked Nexus and/or GPE devices and still have Verizon-like coverage.
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Well said. Unlocked devices in the USA pretty much only fully support AT&T frequencies. Sure they may be unlocked, but use any other carrier and you'll end up losing out on one to numerous frequencies.
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SolarTrans said:
Well said. Unlocked devices in the USA pretty much only fully support AT&T frequencies. Sure they may be unlocked, but use any other carrier and you'll end up losing out on one to numerous frequencies.
Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
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I can't speak for all unlocked devices, but every Nexus device with a cellular radio fully supports all bands for both AT&T and T-Mobile. In addition, the Nexus 5 fully supports all Sprint CDMA and LTE bands, and the 2013 N7 has full Verizon LTE support.
On the GPE side, you're right. The Moto G and both generations of the HTC One lack support for HSPA+ on the AWS/1700 MHz band, which T-Mobile requires for any area not refarmed to use HSPA+ on the PCS/1900 MHz band.
That said, all GPEs fully support T-Mobile LTE.
Sent from my Z Ultra Google Play Edition using Tapatalk
oldblue910 said:
I can't speak for all unlocked devices, but every Nexus device with a cellular radio fully supports all bands for both AT&T and T-Mobile. In addition, the Nexus 5 fully supports all Sprint CDMA and LTE bands, and the 2013 N7 has full Verizon LTE support.
On the GPE side, you're right. The Moto G and both generations of the HTC One lack support for HSPA+ on the AWS/1700 MHz band, which T-Mobile requires for any area not refarmed to use HSPA+ on the PCS/1900 MHz band.
That said, all GPEs fully support T-Mobile LTE.
Sent from my Z Ultra Google Play Edition using Tapatalk
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Yeah that's true I forgot about T-Mobile. Nexus 5 did it right with good carrier support. GPE supporting T-Mobile and AT&T is nice, but nowhere near ideal. Case in point the M8 unlocked and Dev editions only support AT&T. Also, I think the unlocked iPhones support all the US carriers (99% sure).
Point is, to my knowledge, unlocked device support in the USA is like this (greatest adoption to least):
1. AT&T
2. T-Mobile
3. Sprint (very little support)
4. Verizon (pretty much nothing)
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i'm confused, why doesn't everyone that want bigger memory space to just spend 35 dollars on amazon and get a 64GB micro card? that'd what i did so now when i get my AT&T S5, I'll have a total of 70 GBs free space....
i think you guys are crying way too much about this 16GB deal.
I've reached the end of my patience with phones purchased from AT&T and their (lack of) upgrades. So I'm considering buying a new Samsung S& edge unlocked (SM-G935F) from an eBay seller. I have some questions about this process. I looked online but didn't find answers to my questions. If there's an online resource, feel free to redirect me.
Assumptions:
1) I'm satisfied with AT&T as a carrier.
2) Customer in good standing. No contract commitments.
3) I have as S6 with working AT&T nano-sim.
4) I'm fine purchasing for cash. I'm not interested in AT&T's Next plans.
Questions:
1) Do I simply move the sim to the new phone? Is any registration of the new phone/IMEI required with AT&T? Do I have to setup a new APN? Does call forwarding function the same?
2) Are there any features I lose vs. an AT&T branded phone? Samsung Pay? Any others?
3) AT&T uses LTE bands 2,4,5,17. So does the SM-G935F. So I should get the same LTE performance I would get with an AT&T branded phone, right?
4) How do I get system updates? With an AT&T branded phone, I get them OTA thru Settings>About Device>Software Update. How does this work with an unbranded phone when Samsung releases an update?
5) Do I get any support of the phone from AT&T or Samsung? No warranty, correct?
6) Are there any other pluses or minuses to this approach.
I will be going this route for the S7 as well. It's an expensive option but at least I won't have AT&T crapware and faster updates.
In my experience with previous unlocked phones, the SIM card can just be inserted into the new phone and it will automatically configure the data, mms, and voicemail settings.
Provided the phone you are purchasing supports the required LTE bands, there should be no difference in speed.
There will be no support from AT&T and the warranty is not valid within the U.S.
AFAIK Samsung Pay does not work on the international versions in the U.S. This is what will suck because I happen to like Samsung Pay.
AFAIK, your understanding is correct on all your points. I have an unlocked US Cellular moto e that I use as an alternate to my S6, I swap my SIM back and forth with no issues, and there is no official ATT support for the version of moto e that I have, so I can't imagine you'd have any issues getting the phone up and running. You may have to manually enter your APN, but that info is widely available and it's easy to do. Not sure how updates would work.
Only other consideration is that the int'l version uses an Exynos processor rather than the Snapdragon in the ATT version. From the reviews I've seen, the exynos beats the snapdragon slightly in performance and battery life. It's likely going to make development of custom ROMs for the S7 considerably slower than if it were snapdragon based though. However, the locked bootloader on the ATT one will = zero development unless it gets unlocked (I'm guessing that's very unlikely). So this probably doesn't matter too much.
There will also be no Voice over LTE (HD voice ) on the international version should that be a priority for you
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VoLTE would be nice. Any idea when AT&T plans to make that available for non-iPhones?
How are software updates delivered?
VoLTE is available on certain phone already. S6 and others support it. Depends on your area, so you will have to check the map.
iceman4357 said:
VoLTE is available on certain phone already. S6 and others support it. Depends on your area, so you will have to check the map.
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Yes but only on AT&T branded Android phones and iphones. The OP was speaking of an unbranded international version Galaxy S6 S7 which does not support volte
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I'm the OP. It appears that AT&T-branded S7's support VoLTE (HDVoice) as does (somewhat to my surprise) my S6, though I've never been aware of it based on any calls I've made or received. HDVoice appears to be available throughout my SF Bay Area. But, if I understand correctly, this would be a feature I would lose with an unbranded international phone (or, presumably, with an unlocked phone from, say, T-Mobile with an AT&T sim). Correct?
What about features that AT&T removed? Like download booster, simple sharing, and smart manager? These appear to be Samsung additions that were removed from AT&T-branded S6's. Would they be available on an unlocked, unbranded international version? (I'm not sure I would use these, but it's annoying to have them stripped by the carrier.)
And the remaining question that I haven't heard an answer to: how do I get upgrades? OTA (from who)? Download from somewhere & install with Smart Switch (or some other software)? Something Else?
Thanks for your help so far.
If I remember correctly you can download updated ota just like you do now. It just comes from Samsung not at&t.
All the carrier bloat is gone, and all factory apps will be there because there is no one to strip it from the phone.
BUT
If you buy an unlocked t-mobile phone you will have to Odin the updates. I used a verizon s4 with t-mobile I had to manually update everything myself through XDA and odin.
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I sold my S6 Edge in December and swapped it with a Tmobile unlocked S6 Edge and what a good decision. Got my Marshmallow update this week and the phone felt new again. So much quicker and boosted my Antutu scores too.
8 year AT&T customer and I'm not coming back. LTE speeds and signal is great with Tmobile and unlimited video streaming.
https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p Starts at $449. Monthly updates. Easy rooting. Easy everything. Great phone.
Came back here to see if any progress made on S6 bootloader unlock and/or rooting (for a friend), and saw this.
Switched to a Nexus when the Nexus 5 came out. I will never, ever, buy a non-Nexus phone ever again. You should be in full control of whatever hardware you buy. Control should never be dictated by a carrier.
Just thought I'd toss in my own perspective (from a former original Galaxy S then S3 owner). Never had any issues at all with my Nexus 5 or 6P. If you have the money, you won't regret a 6P purchase.
If you don't have that kind of money, I think the 4th Gen Moto G (soon to be released, leaks everywhere this week) will probably be the strongest choice.
Pig Vomit said:
https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p Starts at $449. Monthly updates. Easy rooting. Easy everything. Great phone.
Came back here to see if any progress made on S6 bootloader unlock and/or rooting (for a friend), and saw this.
Switched to a Nexus when the Nexus 5 came out. I will never, ever, buy a non-Nexus phone ever again. You should be in full control of whatever hardware you buy. Control should never be dictated by a carrier.
Just thought I'd toss in my own perspective (from a former original Galaxy S then S3 owner). Never had any issues at all with my Nexus 5 or 6P. If you have the money, you won't regret a 6P purchase.
If you don't have that kind of money, I think the 4th Gen Moto G (soon to be released, leaks everywhere this week) will probably be the strongest choice.
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Except there's no Smart Stay or Samsung Pay, both features I use and rely on. I'd buy an unlocked Samsung before a a Nexus.
I ordered a T-Mobile sim to test out the carrier where I live, I need to unlock my AT&T S6 Edge first but after that I plan on getting the new Nexus and selling my S6. I simply can't take AT&T's horrible service anymore.
I'm the OP and am back to report. I bought an S7E (G935F) on Amazon (from one of their Marketplace sellers), complete with Prime 2-day free shipping (& no tax). All works as expected:
1) dropping in my old AT&T SIM works fine. No need to call AT&T. No need to configure APNs. Voice calls, SMS, MMS, and LTE data all seem to work correctly. My LTE connection appeared to be on Band 2 in my area.
2) Of course, no AT&T crapware. Features deleted by AT&T are available (download booster, simple sharing, etc.) and work correctly. The Samsung-bundled Microsoft apps (and free 100GB OneDrive) are present.
3) OTA system software updates appear to be available, but there haven't been any.
4) Mine came with Arabic (?!) (and English) printed instructions but the phone sets up fine in English. The (apparently original, sealed) box included a European (Type-C) 2 pin power adapter (with a European-to-US adapter packed separately).
The only unexpected things I've encountered are:
1) changing the VoiceMail configuration. VM works (calls forward to VM as expected and I can retrieve VMs both by calling and using Visual VM app). The only thing I so far unable to do is CHANGE the VM configuration. I can't change the number I forward to (like Call Forward Always to another number, like a colleague). I get a Network Error message when loading the Phone/More Settings page or trying to set a new number. My wife has an AT&T LG G3 that has exactly the same problem. The HTC One M8 (where the S7E SIM came from) VM configuration worked correctly. But an AT&T Samsung S6 works correctly. I haven't found a way around this for any of the phones. I'm wondering if this is some kind of security provision (so that I can't "borrow" your SIM and change the call forwarding to re-route your incoming calls).
2) When I view my AT&T account online, the picture of the phone changed from it's previous model (HTC One M8) to Device Unknown. A minor detail, to be sure, but curious.
So, after a week, I would not hesitate to do this again in the future.
Glad It Worked out For you, I considered an unlocked model but don't want to loose HD Voice and wifi calling (once it arrives). I personally can hear an incredible differnce with HD voice enabled. couldnt care less about it, but video calling would also be lost with unlocked varient.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using Tapatalk
You are correct & I neglected to mention that HDVoice, WiFi Calling, and Video Calling are absent in the International version. It would be nice to have those, but not critical for me. Voice, in general, is less and less important for me. There is video call button in my dialer but it doesn't appear to do anything useful, at least that I've been able to uncover. I have HDVoice on my AT&T S6 and in the few instances that I've had a potential HDVoice call (to a friend's AT&T S7E), I frankly couldn't detect a noticeable difference. I don't know how to see an indication of whether a call is HDVoice or not.
jc95 said:
You are correct & I neglected to mention that HDVoice, WiFi Calling, and Video Calling are absent in the International version. It would be nice to have those, but not critical for me. Voice, in general, is less and less important for me. There is video call button in my dialer but it doesn't appear to do anything useful, at least that I've been able to uncover. I have HDVoice on my AT&T S6 and in the few instances that I've had a potential HDVoice call (to a friend's AT&T S7E), I frankly couldn't detect a noticeable difference. I don't know how to see an indication of whether a call is HDVoice or not.
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Click to collapse
On AT&T with an international version you typically loose the HDvoice, Wifi calling and video calling. I have seen people on Verizon with unlocked phones (Galaxy series, htc 10, 6P) that report you can use those features on their network. I think the ideal situation is to have an unlocked phone on Verizon at this point.
OP again with an update... Got a 2nd G935F for wife. Running G935FXXU1APD with AT&T SIM. Call forwarding worked fine on this one. (Not sure why it doesn't work on my other one.) Also, sideloaded Samsung Pay & Samsung Pay Framework from APK Mirror. Installed and works fine. So my list of things that don't work is just HD Voice, WiFi calling and Video calling.
OP again. I'm now more confused. I now have 2 unlocked S7 Edge (one G935F and one G935FD). Both unlocked. Both using AT&T sims. Identical software on both. On the FD, things work better than I was expecting: Samsung Pay works. I can add cards and use it to pay. I can also change the Call Forwarding settings (in particular CF All). But the 935F can't add a card to Samsung Pay (server connection error) and I can't change the CF settings. There are a number of online references complaining about server connection error and many seem related to device encryption (can't add cards to encrypted devices). I also have an S6 that's working with SPay and was encrypted with Lollipop. With Marshmallow, the Lock Screen settings have changed and it's no longer encrypt/decrypt device, only Require screen lock to decrypt data when device turned on. There doesn't seem to be an obvious way to decrypt a Marshmallow device. But even with this set, I can add cards to me S6 and S7E (FD), but not my S7E (F).
I suppose I should be grateful that SP works at all on one of my unlocked S7Es. But it's frustrating to have them behave differently.
This phone sounds amazing, but theres some conflicting information i've heard on it from multiple different sources.
1. Does the phone work on verizon? My current phone plan is on verizon, and it would be so much easier to just change out phones rather than move my entire wireless company to get this phone. I've heard that it does and it doesn't. Is it the chinese versions that don't? I'm american, so do the versions sold in America work with verizon? I went to my local verizon store, and they said it wouldn't, but the lady had to look it up on her phone but the article she saw might have been talking about the tencent version or something.
2. If it doesn't work on verizon, what other network would work better? I've heard that T-Mobile wouldn't work well for this phone, so maybe AT&T? Again, I would greatly prefer to just stick with Verizon.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE answer my questions, I've asked these questions in multiple places but no one has answered a reliable answer in any of them.
JegusChrist said:
This phone sounds amazing, but theres some conflicting information i've heard on it from multiple different sources.
1. Does the phone work on verizon? My current phone plan is on verizon, and it would be so much easier to just change out phones rather than move my entire wireless company to get this phone. I've heard that it does and it doesn't. Is it the chinese versions that don't? I'm american, so do the versions sold in America work with verizon? I went to my local verizon store, and they said it wouldn't, but the lady had to look it up on her phone but the article she saw might have been talking about the tencent version or something.
2. If it doesn't work on verizon, what other network would work better? I've heard that T-Mobile wouldn't work well for this phone, so maybe AT&T? Again, I would greatly prefer to just stick with Verizon.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE answer my questions, I've asked these questions in multiple places but no one has answered a reliable answer in any of them.
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Click to collapse
No on Verizon. Yes to tmobile and att. Chinese and international versions have different lte band support. Talk to your local tmobile and att reps to see which bands you need and verify on the Asus site for rog phone 2.
A few users here say they got it working on Verizon as a data only device, and it does support their LTE bands. For calls, they mostly use Google Voice but one buys a cheap subscription on an AT&T MVNO for calls.
It doesn't have band 71 support for TMO, which could make coverage an issue. AT&T has the best support from what I've seen.
Something else to note is this is not VoLTE certified in the U.S. It can only make calls on the GSM networks, and those will be shutting over the next few years. If you plan to keep the phone long term, expect to lose the ability to make any phone calls. You could move to Google Voice at that point, but you'd still be left with no 911 access. Asus has so far indicated they have no plans to certify it for VoLTE in the U.S. (even other region versions that do have VoLTE wouldn't be able to use it here).
Mr_Mooncatt said:
A few users here say they got it working on Verizon as a data only device, and it does support their LTE bands. For calls, they mostly use Google Voice but one buys a cheap subscription on an AT&T MVNO for calls.
It doesn't have band 71 support for TMO, which could make coverage an issue. AT&T has the best support from what I've seen.
Something else to note is this is not VoLTE certified in the U.S. It can only make calls on the GSM networks, and those will be shutting over the next few years. If you plan to keep the phone long term, expect to lose the ability to make any phone calls. You could move to Google Voice at that point, but you'd still be left with no 911 access. Asus has so far indicated they have no plans to certify it for VoLTE in the U.S. (even other region versions that do have VoLTE wouldn't be able to use it here).
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I'm not exactly the best at phone lingo, i just stumbled across this website while looking up things about the phone.
That being said, can you tell me whether or not the phone is worth it? It seems like theres wayy too many disadvantages to this phone, and that kinda bugs me. I've been wanting this phone for a while, so I'd much rather get this than anything else.
If it's not really worth it, can you mention any other phones that are similar? mainly one that can emulate games just as good if not better than the ROG 2?
"Is it worth it?"
That is such a loaded question if you're in the U.S. That's something you'll have to decide for yourself based on your needs. If it had VoLTE here, then it would be worth every penny. All I can say is that for me, it isn't worth it. Yes, you get a ton of value for the phone. I'm on Verizon and would've been ok switching calls and texts to Google Voice. I also planned to keep it long term, likely after the GSM network shutdowns. I also drive for a living, hauling hazardous materials. So in my case, the inability to make a 911 call once those networks shut down is a very big concern. For me, that one reason alone is why I've decided to hold off on it.
On the flip side, if you don't have a problem with the 911 issue, or plan to switch phones in a year or two anyway, then this may very well be worth it in your case.
As for other options, I think the Nubia Red Magic 3s is likely the closest in terms of features and performance. It's not quite as bleeding edge as the ROG 2, but it's also a lot cheaper and has VoLTE calling. The Razer Phone 2 is another known option, but it's a generation older too and support may be questionable (rumor has it there may not be a Razer 3). I don't know a ton about either phone other than what I've read on their specs.
I checked the US Samsung website and confirmed that the S21 had a working eSIM before buying - but, of course, it doesn't.
I understand there is the eSIM hardware on the phone, but Samsung has disabled it.
Is there any way to get it working - or, if I want an eSIM, I need to sell the S21 on Swappa and buy a Pixel?
For now there isn't a way to get it working on Snapdragon models, there have been workarounds but it needs Root and even once accomplished features like VoLTE and Wifi Calling don't work. Samsung claims a future update will enable it, but they said the same thing about the S20, one year later, still no update.
I have Exynos model, when I try to scan the arcade for the e-sim it says I might contact the operator... My operator says it's not supposed to work...
It seems that it depends on the region. I have an Exynos model in Europe and I successfully activated the old/new eSIM by using carrier´s app.
buddy66 said:
It seems that it depends on the region. I have an Exynos model in Europe and I successfully activated the old/new eSIM by using carrier´s app.
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Correct. It’s a US thing. The wireless carriers in the US have not allowed Samsung to enable it. Currently eSIMs in the US are only supported on Apple devices, while some also support Pixel devices.
US carriers have a long history of disliking eSIMs becuase they fear they will make it easier for subscribers to switch carriers.
works fine on my UK unlocked s21 ultra
in fact thats the only one i use atm
T-Mobile uses eSim on a few devices but not many.
myphone12345 said:
Correct. It’s a US thing. The wireless carriers in the US have not allowed Samsung to enable it. Currently eSIMs in the US are only supported on Apple devices, while some also support Pixel devices.
US carriers have a long history of disliking eSIMs becuase they fear they will make it easier for subscribers to switch carriers.
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It's time we begin legal action against the carriers over this -- massive class action lawsuit that benefits Android users from the past 10 years.
I'm prepared to start contacting congress over this trash.
The iPhone gets to get away with this, no questions asked, because it is the plurality of the US market and the carriers dare not mess with daddy-Apple with $2T market-cap which is 10x the market-cap of any one of these damn carriers.
With Android OEMs, because they're weak and atomized, they have to cave into these carriers or risk reducing over-the-counter sales at carriers' shops.
Most of congress uses iPhones and doesn't care that they're supporting a bigger monopoly than Microsoft ever was.
Apple's influence is so pervasive that it's getting kind of ridiculous and annoying now.
Think Different foreal -- reduce your purchasing of Apple products, I certainly have.
T mobile now 20 getting esim capability in latest update:
New update brings eSIM functionality to T-Mobile’s Galaxy Note 20
Samsung had started rolling out the March 2021 security patch to the unlocked variants of the Galaxy Note 20 last ...
www.sammobile.com
ekerbuddyeker said:
T mobile now 20 getting esim capability in latest update:
New update brings eSIM functionality to T-Mobile’s Galaxy Note 20
Samsung had started rolling out the March 2021 security patch to the unlocked variants of the Galaxy Note 20 last ...
www.sammobile.com
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I wonder if that means they'll disable the physical SIM, LOL.
Just for kicks I chatted with Scamsung Canada support online... asking why the Canadian product page advertises eSIM support when it's not there...
"Oh we're not responsible for what carriers do"
nixnixnixnix4 said:
It's time we begin legal action against the carriers over this -- massive class action lawsuit that benefits Android users from the past 10 years.
I'm prepared to start contacting congress over this trash.
The iPhone gets to get away with this, no questions asked, because it is the plurality of the US market and the carriers dare not mess with daddy-Apple with $2T market-cap which is 10x the market-cap of any one of these damn carriers.
With Android OEMs, because they're weak and atomized, they have to cave into these carriers or risk reducing over-the-counter sales at carriers' shops.
Most of congress uses iPhones and doesn't care that they're supporting a bigger monopoly than Microsoft ever was.
Apple's influence is so pervasive that it's getting kind of ridiculous and annoying now.
Think Different foreal -- reduce your purchasing of Apple products, I certainly have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The government actually already warned Verizon and AT&T regarding an evil scheme they tried to concoct a few years ago with regards to eSIMs. As a result, the carriers stepped back from their plans but have not widely adopted eSIMs widely.
https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-27-doj-att-verizon-esim-investigation.html
it’s good to see that TMO will enable it in the S20.
I heard that there is new update on Note 20U U1 and esim is now enable. Hope it will be enable on S21U U1 soon
kunkun2113 said:
I heard that there is new update on Note 20U U1 and esim is now enable. Hope it will be enable on S21U U1 soon
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That's the OEM Unlocked version you're talking about right?
If so, that's fantastic.
I find it curious e-Sim functionality is such a hot topic in the US. If one leaves their coverage area often or is a business man or woman who travels frequently it's a valuable feature. Also in Europe you are more likely to leave your service provider's footprint since many countries are part of the same region. The dominant service provider's in the US offer free coverage in Mexico and Canada so where's the necessity for most US consumers and who really wants the added cost for two service providers? I'll agree it's the big carrier's who are blocking the feature but for most customers in the US it's a moot point. If on a rare occasion you need a second SIM it takes about ten seconds to swap it. No big deal.
varcor said:
I find it curious e-Sim functionality is such a hot topic in the US. If one leaves their coverage area often or is a business man or woman who travels frequently it's a valuable feature. Also in Europe you are more likely to leave your service provider's footprint since many countries are part of the same region. The dominant service provider's in the US offer free coverage in Mexico and Canada so where's the necessity for most US consumers and who really wants the added cost for two service providers? I'll agree it's the big carrier's who are blocking the feature but for most customers in the US it's a moot point. If on a rare occasion you need a second SIM it takes about ten seconds to swap it. No big deal.
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international travel for data usage . . . because roaming data speeds suck ... and you can get your account terminated if you over-use it
second line for business vs personal
a single sim is a non starter for me.
varcor said:
I find it curious e-Sim functionality is such a hot topic in the US. If one leaves their coverage area often or is a business man or woman who travels frequently it's a valuable feature. Also in Europe you are more likely to leave your service provider's footprint since many countries are part of the same region. The dominant service provider's in the US offer free coverage in Mexico and Canada so where's the necessity for most US consumers and who really wants the added cost for two service providers? I'll agree it's the big carrier's who are blocking the feature but for most customers in the US it's a moot point. If on a rare occasion you need a second SIM it takes about ten seconds to swap it. No big deal.
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Unique mobile subscribers US 2010-2025 | Statista
The statistic depicts the total number of unique mobile subscribers in the United States from 2010 to 2025.
www.statista.com
US mobile cellular subscriptions 2000-2021 | Statista
The number of mobile-cellular subscriptions in the United States increased from 2000 to 2021.
www.statista.com
Population of the United States 1610-2020 | Statista
In the past four centuries, the population of the United States has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 331 million people in 2020.
www.statista.com
In 2019, the number of mobile subscriptions in the U.S. was at 442.46 million.
In 2018, the number of unique mobile subscribers in the United States was at 278 million.
In 2020, the US had a population of ~331M.
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Even after accounting for some of the more exotic uses of cellular service, like: IoT, GPS/Cellular tracking, certain medical devices, etc., you can tell that there are more subscriptions than there are people.
So, clearly, there are many people who have 2 plans. Why? Work, usually.
Many working people are required to keep their work number active/online at all times or during set times.
Carrying 2 phones gets old really fast.
If you want Android to stand a chance against Apple's impending monopoly in the US -- you're going to need dual-SIM.
Many working people have cited Apple's iPhone dual-SIM acceptance as a reason for using iPhone.
Can someone tell me how Samsung can just not enable it and "blame the carriers" I travel a lot, and I bought it because I saw the eSIM. I don't care if the US carriers do not use the eSIM as the ones where I travel can. But because I have the US model they cannot utilize it. This makes no since to me.
ZerkerEOD said:
Can someone tell me how Samsung can just not enable it and "blame the carriers" I travel a lot, and I bought it because I saw the eSIM. I don't care if the US carriers do not use the eSIM as the ones where I travel can. But because I have the US model they cannot utilize it. This makes no since to me.
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This is going to change.
But, the reason is because the carriers have leverage over Samsung.
Many smartphones are sold through carriers.
If Samsung does not "comply" with what the carriers want, then, the carriers will simply start boosting the sales of Samsung's Android competitors like OnePlus, Pixel, etc. through subsidies and deals.
nixnixnixnix4 said:
This is going to change.
But, the reason is because the carriers have leverage over Samsung.
Many smartphones are sold through carriers.
If Samsung does not "comply" with what the carriers want, then, the carriers will simply start boosting the sales of Samsung's Android competitors like OnePlus, Pixel, etc. through subsidies and deals.
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Click to collapse
Correcta mundo , well said. However Apple never bent over for the USA carriers, I wonder why LOL JK.