Currently I have the Note 2 with AT&T. I will be upgrading to the Note 3 when it comes out. However, I am not sure which version of the Note 3 to get. Should I get the International version or the AT&T version. I think the international version has the Samsung CPU and the AT&T version has the Snapdragon 800. Would the international version work with AT&T LTE cellular? Would the international version work with T-Mobile LTE cellular (just in case I want to switch)?
Which one would give better battery and faster speed/graphics?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the international version will only run on AT&T 3G. I am in the camp that prefers the Snapdragon 800 to the revised Exynos 5, too. I'd opt for the AT&T version (Although personally I'm giving T-Mobile a shot this time around)
The N3 will be my first "carrier" phone on AT&T in two years. I'm not thrilled and depending on what it's like using it I may sell it on eBay and get a HSPA Octa. Here's my thinking:
Pros
I've been fine with HSPA+ on my previous phones and use to pay $10 a month for unlimited data through the "non-smartphone" loophole that applied to phone's AT&T didn't recognize. That party's over. So now I'm paying for LTE and not able to use it. So with AT&T's N3 I'll finally get what I'm paying for and even get LTE-A when they start to roll it out; supposedly this year.
The international N3's are insanely expensive. Negri and NewEgg have the Octa's at $779 and up. On Next it's $35 a month, I have no contract commitment beyond the phone's payoff, and I can sell it on eBay if I want something new.
Service and repair. Whether through Asurion or SquareTrade getting a carrier phone repaired/replaced is easy compared to jumping through hoops to get an international version (non-warranted and non-supported by Samsung in the U.S.) repaired.
Cons
God knows what AT&T's done with the s/w. We know there will be tons of their specific bloatware. That doesn't concern me because it can be disabled and with 32GB of NAND the space it takes up isn't a big deal. My big concern is their modifying, neutering, or completely removing some of Samsung's stock apps and features. I can't root my phones because I connect to secure networks so I'm pretty much stuck with what comes out of the box. I'm scared at what's coming out of AT&T's box.
I loved being able to use any multi-CSC ROM on Samfirmware or Samsung-Updates to keep my unrooted phone always current. I've probably had a dozen updates on my N7100. Now I'll be dependent on AT&T. That alone could end up pushing me to an international Octa N3. Also, to support the new features of Knox, Samsung's seriously altered and locked down the bootloader. So who knows what impact that'll have even on international N3's when it comes to updates via Odin. I used to root my phone when I wanted to do someting to it (EG: Google Wallet) and then unroot afterward and run Triangle Away. That ship sailed mid-year and with the Knox enhancements isn't coming back.
AT&T's modified radio may be crappy and I travel a lot internationally. Also I'm guessing on Next the device can't be unlocked until it's paid off. The only reason this is acceptable in my case is I'm getting a 3G (Octa) Note 10.1 2014 which has a dialer and I can use it in situations I need to pop in another carrier's SIM and/or the AT&T radio isn't working well.
Dev support is going to be limited on the AT&T N3's compared to the international versions. It'll probably still be strong but not as simple, timely, and robust. It doesn't apply to my un-rooted situation but something for people to consider.
The moment I find a S-800 international device that's quad-band GSM/UMTS and supports AT&T's LTE bands I'll buy it and sell my AT&T version. So far the EU and Latin American versions of the N3 don't support AT&T's LTE bands. The UK N3's LTE bands haven't been announced yet but I don't have high hopes. There's a chance a Canadian carrier will leave their version of the N3 unmolested and with the same model number as the international version and that it would support AT&T's LTE bands. That would allow it to be flashed like a non-carrier Samsung phone via Odin (with the possible exception mentioned above) and still get LTE on AT&T. Same thing for Claro in Puerto Rico. I'm not sure about the flash part but even an unmolested Canadian or Pueto Rican N3 with AT&T's LTE bands might end up being better than whatever AT&T does to their version.
All just my opinion of course.
I'm leaning towards either international or T.mobile or Canadian version. The att s4 can't be bootloader unlocked and new update patched the root. I'd hate to not have options on such a power device that I could potentially last for a couple years.
I had the note 1,note2,and now using the galaxy mega until the note 3 hits the shelf.I'm up in the air as well in deciding whether to keep my at&t note 3 or sell it and go international.I'd rather keep the at&t note 3,but who knows if were going to be up ****s creek with no root,are how long or ever going to get root method.I guess I can deal with no roms,but no root forget it
I thought that the international N3 (9005) with the SnapDragon 800 would be compatible with AT&T's LTE bands, no? Wasn't this mentioned during the presentation last week about the N3 supporting global LTE bands? Couldn't one just buy/import an international 9005 which was released in a country whose LTE bands match that of AT&T? Would this work?
I guess we'll know soon, but my own need would be for a variant which supports my home UK 4G network (EE most likely) plus USA AT&T LTE for when I'm in the states. Preferably bought in the UK for my UK carrier because of the discounts.
I thought the release event said they were going to support all bands in one device, but I've no idea if that's actually going to be true of the version you get at your local phone shop.
Andre
hockeyfan said:
I thought that the international N3 (9005) with the SnapDragon 800 would be compatible with AT&T's LTE bands, no? Wasn't this mentioned during the presentation last week about the N3 supporting global LTE bands? Couldn't one just buy/import an international 9005 which was released in a country whose LTE bands match that of AT&T? Would this work?
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I heard the same thing too.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
I've beeing researching for hours, and accordung to multiple sites, like this one the international N9005 version will support LTE 2100/1800/850/1600/800MHz (Bands 1,3,5,7,20). This does not include AT&T, whose LTE network operates on bands 4 (1700Mhz) and 17 (700Mhz). I hope these frequencies vary by region, like many sites mention, but I have my doubts we'll get lucky to see international N9005 with LTE bands 4 or 17.
Here is a list of countries, which has partial LTE band overlapping with AT&T. None of these support both, bands 4 and 17, which is what AT&T uses:
Argentina - 4
Colombia - 4
Ecuador - 4
Paraguay - 4
Peru - 4
Uruguay - 4
Canada - 4
Puerto Rico - 17
Since Note 3 has LTE radio, capable of supporting up to 6 bands, the only hope is that one of these carriers will pick up a version, where the other missing band is tossed in without any real purpose behind it, just to keep things interesting. For example, AT&T branded GN3 needs only these 2 LTE bands, and yet the device is LTE penta band.
Also, keep in mind we dont even know what band will AT&T use next year, when LTE-A goes live. I believe AT&T owns spectrum in 1900Mhz and 2100Mhz areas, and in the process of acquiring more.
EDIT: I'd like to clarify my statement about GN3 radio supporting 6 LTE bands. What I meant is some carriers will offer a version, which has up to 6 LTE bands enabled simultaneously. The actual hardware capability of Qualcomm's RF360 Front End solution is universal 2G/3G/4G support - the radio is capable of operating on *all* LTE frequencies.
So I am planning on pre-ordering the N9005. My problem is that I travel frequently between the states and Europe. So I either get LTE here or in Europe.
I have always gotten the international versions for my other devices (S2,Note2,S3,note 10.1 3g). But since I spend most of the year in the states I wanted to get the AT&T LTE version.
However, I don't really want the AT&T firmwares, so I was wondering if I could flash an international firmware on the AT&T unlocked note 3? One of the reasons for this is I know that for instance you could not do tethering without rooting your phone (I am planning on rooting mine) on your AT&T handheld.
I know it's not a big deal, but I want my phone to have the international firmware of my choice, not AT&T's. Thank you
AT&T / T-Mobile compatibility
I would like to know the answer to this as well. Here are the two versions I am eyeing:
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32GB LTE (AT&T) (Unlocked)
SKU SMGALNTEAUB
3G/4G bands 1900, 2100, 850
LTE Bands 1700, 1900, 2100, 700, 850
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32GB LTE (N9005 - International) (Unlocked)
SKU SMGN9005UB
3G/4G bands 1900, 2100, 850, 900
LTE Bands 1800, 2100, 2600, 800, 850, 900
Was hoping one of the versions would work on both AT&T and T-Mobile....
Well, the international version won't work on either, you need the 1700/2100 (I.e. 1700) band for the international version to work on either networks, and that's missing from the international version. So I want to know the downsides of getting the att version.
sharl1987 said:
Well, the international version won't work on either, you need the 1700/2100 (I.e. 1700) band for the international version to work on either networks, and that's missing from the international version. So I want to know the downsides of getting the att version.
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Not trying to start an argument or anything but just wondering, are you positive about that? The international version has the 2100 band as well as the 850 band and I have read in multiple places, as well as hearing during the Samsung unveiling that it would work on AT&T LTE...
Maybe I'm just confused?
bekyndnunwind said:
Not trying to start an argument or anything but just wondering, are you positive about that? The international version has the 2100 band as well as the 850 band and I have read in multiple places, as well as hearing during the Samsung unveiling that it would work on AT&T LTE...
Maybe I'm just confused?
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Since I am new here, I can't post any links still, but if you go to newegg dot com or to negrielectronics dot com you can see the specs for the international version, they are missing the 1700 band.
bump
bekyndnunwind said:
Not trying to start an argument or anything but just wondering, are you positive about that? The international version has the 2100 band as well as the 850 band and I have read in multiple places, as well as hearing during the Samsung unveiling that it would work on AT&T LTE...
Maybe I'm just confused?
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Like the other user said you need the 1700 band to get AT&T LTE frequency. The 850 band is for H+ at&t so yes the international version will only work on at&t H+.
What Samsung probably meant by " it will work on all networks" is that they will support all LTE networks if you buy the correct model for your network.
sharl1987 said:
I know it's not a big deal, but I want my phone to have the international firmware of my choice, not AT&T's. Thank you
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You should only get the AT&T variant if you prove that LTE is faster than HSPA+ in your area. Either use your current phone or use one at an AT&T store and turn off LTE. Run a speed test, turn LTE back on and run the test again, and compare.
It's possible to some international ROMs on carrier branded devices, but not all are compatible. At the VERY least, you'll have to manually configure the AT&T APN, you may also have to manually re-flash radios in order to connect to AT&T towers.
Some crafty devs have made an Aroma installer to do all this stuff while it loads their ROM:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2324565
Just know that you're in for a bit more tinkering if you plan on going this route. But there's no reason to go through all the trouble if there isn't LTE in your area or it currently runs poorly.
Lets hope it wont be bootloader locked
daraj said:
Lets hope it wont be bootloader locked
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Not that it's ANYTHING close to official, but the link in the second post shows it's not.
docnok63 said:
Not that it's ANYTHING close to official, but the link in the second post shows it's not.
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Im pretty sure by Unlocked they mean Sim Unlocked( u can use on other networks). There is no AT&T units that we know of to confirm whether its bootloader locked or not, but we are only assuming based on recent at&t attempts to lock down their devices.
daraj said:
Im pretty sure by Unlocked they mean Sim Unlocked( u can use on other networks). There is no AT&T units that we know of to confirm whether its bootloader locked or not, but we are only assuming based on recent at&t attempts to lock down their devices.
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You're probably right. I think the AT&T will be bootloader locked as well based on the S4 being locked down.
Doesn't atnt need 700 band for lte also?
@rbiter said:
Doesn't atnt need 700 band for lte also?
Yes I believe at&t operates on both 700/1700 bands for LTE
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daraj said:
Doesn't atnt need 700 band for lte also?
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@rbiter said:
Yes I believe at&t operates on both 700/1700 bands for LTE
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Actually, according to AT&T's website and to their phones' specs, you don't need the 700 band, just the 1700/2100 (I.e. 1700) band.
I believe only Sprint uses the 700 band for lte
Edit: I looked at the AT&T website again, I believe they plan on using the 700 band in the future, but they are not utilizing it now. I might be wrong, so don't take my word for it.
sharl1987 said:
Actually, according to AT&T's website and to their phones' specs, you don't need the 700 band, just the 1700/2100 (I.e. 1700) band.
I believe only Sprint uses the 700 band for lte
Edit: I looked at the AT&T website again, I believe they plan on using the 700 band in the future, but they are not utilizing it now. I might be wrong, so don't take my word for it.
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Actually FCC just approved AT&T's purchase of 700 Mhz spectrum so they will utilize the said band for LTE and Wimax possibly
http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=187&p=231
sharl1987 said:
So I am planning on pre-ordering the N9005. My problem is that I travel frequently between the states and Europe. So I either get LTE here or in Europe.
I have always gotten the international versions for my other devices (S2,Note2,S3,note 10.1 3g). But since I spend most of the year in the states I wanted to get the AT&T LTE version.
However, I don't really want the AT&T firmwares, so I was wondering if I could flash an international firmware on the AT&T unlocked note 3? One of the reasons for this is I know that for instance you could not do tethering without rooting your phone (I am planning on rooting mine) on your AT&T handheld.
I know it's not a big deal, but I want my phone to have the international firmware of my choice, not AT&T's. Thank you
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May I ask why t-mobile's unlocked note 3 is not in your list? It appears it will work equally well on AT&T, and there's a much greater chnace of it having an unlocked bootloader. There aren't as many 4G frequencies, so maybe LTE when you're abroad won't always work, but if you want to flash ROMs then an unlocked bootloader is important!
I am in a similar situation to you, and I was planning to go with T-Mobile unlocked. Part of me wants to forget LTE and go with the Exynos, but I fear dev support will be limited.
Thanks for the thread and discussion OP and everyone, because I do not want to regret my choice!
On an unrelated note (no pun intended) - does anyone have experience with Negri electronics? It looks like AT&T will probably start shipping their Notes by October 1st, if not sooner. Do you think Negri will be in the same timeline?
Komodo Rogue said:
May I ask why t-mobile's unlocked note 3 is not in your list? It appears it will work equally well on AT&T, and there's a much greater chnace of it having an unlocked bootloader. There aren't as many 4G frequencies, so maybe LTE when you're abroad won't always work, but if you want to flash ROMs then an unlocked bootloader is important!
I am in a similar situation to you, and I was planning to go with T-Mobile unlocked. Part of me wants to forget LTE and go with the Exynos, but I fear dev support will be limited.
Thanks for the thread and discussion OP and everyone, because I do not want to regret my choice!
On an unrelated note (no pun intended) - does anyone have experience with Negri electronics? It looks like AT&T will probably start shipping their Notes by October 1st, if not sooner. Do you think Negri will be in the same timeline?
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If I get the t-Mobile version then i wouldn't have 4G nor 3G in Europe. Europe mostly operates on the 1900 band for 3G(or at least where I travel to), and T-Mobile's phones don't support this.
As for negrielectronics.com, there was a review of the website by another member, look for it
docnok63 said:
You're probably right. I think the AT&T will be bootloader locked as well based on the S4 being locked down.
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I agree. FWIW, I remember reading a few month ago that AT&T released a semi-official statement (it may have been a tweet, or a response to an online article) that all of their android phones will ship with locked bootloaders from now on. Maybe if Samsung really pushed at&t to keep them unlocked, or at least offer a path to unlock (a la HTC's dev program), then it could happen... but I bet Samsung is happy the bootloader is locked; even though they ship the international model unlocked, I imagine they would prefer if it too was locked, but they don't have a convenient excuse outside of the US, where they can just blame AT&T. I LOVE samsung hardware, but looking at exynos documentation and other policies, they don't seem to welcome tinkering.
sharl1987 said:
If I get the t-Mobile version then i wouldn't have 4G nor 3G in Europe. Europe mostly operates on the 1900 band for 3G(or at least where I travel to), and T-Mobile's phones don't support this.
As for negrielectronics.com, there was a review of the website by another member, look for it
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Darn... but maybe when LTE becomes more prevalent in europe, they'll use some of the same bands as the t-mo version?
I had an HTC One X on AT&T, and eventually a clever dev found a way to get root access and partially unlock the bootloader, but it was such a hassle. For developers, I'm doubt it seemed very hard, but for me, getting it unlocked, and then updating ROMs, flashing radios, boot images, older firmware, newer firmware, trying to find out what was causing a bootloop... It wasn't even worth the headache, I should have just kept it stock (and stock AT&T is pretty terrible when you've been using cyanogenmod for three years). I bought a Nexus 4 soon after, I never want to deal with all that nonsense again!
If only I could wait a couple of months to see what the developer/bootloader situation looks like, I'd probably get the AT&T version if a relatively safe and easy bootloader unlock exploit is found, but I'm too eager to wait, so unless someone miraculously finds an exploit by October 1st, I'm probably going international or t-mobile. It seems like international is the safest bet: 3G coverage everywhere and good support (unless exynos drives everyone away), but I live in DC and the LTE speeds are incredibly good. It's a tough choice!
Komodo Rogue said:
I agree. FWIW, I remember reading a few month ago that AT&T released a semi-official statement (it may have been a tweet, or a response to an online article) that all of their android phones will ship with locked bootloaders from now on. Maybe if Samsung really pushed at&t to keep them unlocked, or at least offer a path to unlock (a la HTC's dev program), then it could happen... but I bet Samsung is happy the bootloader is locked; even though they ship the international model unlocked, I imagine they would prefer if it too was locked, but they don't have a convenient excuse outside of the US, where they can just blame AT&T. I LOVE samsung hardware, but looking at exynos documentation and other policies, they don't seem to welcome tinkering.
Darn... but maybe when LTE becomes more prevalent in europe, they'll use some of the same bands as the t-mo version?
I had an HTC One X on AT&T, and eventually a clever dev found a way to get root access and partially unlock the bootloader, but it was such a hassle. For developers, I'm doubt it seemed very hard, but for me, getting it unlocked, and then updating ROMs, flashing radios, boot images, older firmware, newer firmware, trying to find out what was causing a bootloop... It wasn't even worth the headache, I should have just kept it stock (and stock AT&T is pretty terrible when you've been using cyanogenmod for three years). I bought a Nexus 4 soon after, I never want to deal with all that nonsense again!
If only I could wait a couple of months to see what the developer/bootloader situation looks like, I'd probably get the AT&T version if a relatively safe and easy bootloader unlock exploit is found, but I'm too eager to wait, so unless someone miraculously finds an exploit by October 1st, I'm probably going international or t-mobile. It seems like international is the safest bet: 3G coverage everywhere and good support (unless exynos drives everyone away), but I live in DC and the LTE speeds are incredibly good. It's a tough choice!
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Can't be better said.... There are so many in the same boat.....
Want att network but also need a bootloader unlocked device....
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
This seems like a dumb question, but I'm trying to figure out if an unlocked Moto X off of the Motomaker site will fully work on AT&T. I know Motorola sells the "T-Mobile" version as the unlocked one on their site, which is why I put both in the subject. I can't tell by the specs I'm finding if the unlocked version will work or not, and I'm not real familiar with the exact bands needed on Tmobile and AT&T (we just switched from being long time Verizon users). Any help would be appreciated as I'm supposed to pick it up today from another guy!
jntdroid said:
...I'm trying to figure out if an unlocked Moto X off of the Motomaker site will fully work on AT&T...
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Yes.
dew.man said:
Yes.
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Thanks - so if you're paying full retail, there's really zero reason to get the AT&T version vs. the unlocked version off of the motomaker site, it would seem anyway...
jntdroid said:
Thanks - so if you're paying full retail, there's really zero reason to get the AT&T version vs. the unlocked version off of the motomaker site, it would seem anyway...
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Technically, the AT&T version does support one additional LTE band that the TMobile and DevEdition do not. HOWEVER, I've read that that specific band is not used in the US, and my experience has been consistent in that my tmo variant always has LTE coverage whenever my AT&T iPhone does.
I'm leaving Verizon with a T-Mobile motomaker moto x which I'll try on TMs no contract plan. If it doesn't work out, I can always give ATT a try. Seems like a no-brainer to use the TM version.
dew.man said:
Technically, the AT&T version does support one additional LTE band that the TMobile and DevEdition do not. HOWEVER, I've read that that specific band is not used in the US, and my experience has been consistent in that my tmo variant always has LTE coverage whenever my AT&T iPhone does.
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Interesting - trying to dig up some info on 850. But even still, it covers all the other major ones, and worst case scenario you're falling back onto their HSPA+ which is pretty good in and of itself. I live in the DFW area, and I'm here 99% of the time. So I'm sure it won't be an issue.
jntdroid said:
Interesting - trying to dig up some info on 850. But even still, it covers all the other major ones, and worst case scenario you're falling back onto their HSPA+ which is pretty good in and of itself. I live in the DFW area, and I'm here 99% of the time. So I'm sure it won't be an issue.
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The band that the TMO moto x doesn't have is band 5 LTE I think. AT&T only uses 4 and 7 in the US. You're going to be fine getting the tmobile one no matter what GSM carrier you choose.
dew.man said:
Technically, the AT&T version does support one additional LTE band that the TMobile and DevEdition do not. HOWEVER, I've read that that specific band is not used in the US, and my experience has been consistent in that my tmo variant always has LTE coverage whenever my AT&T iPhone does.
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Actually its two LTE bands (5&7) the T-Mo and GSM Dev X lack compared to the ATT US model. But you are right, they are said to be used outside the USA only, so if you don't plan on traveling, you wont miss them.
See the discussion in this thread -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2546466
And the since the T-Mo is sim unlocked, and can be bootloader unlocked, Right, if you are paying full retail, there is no reason to buy the ATT (which is sim locked and can't unlock bootloader).
KidJoe said:
Actually its two LTE bands (5&7) the T-Mo and GSM Dev X lack compared to the ATT US model.
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Can you please provide a reference to where the AT&T model supports band 7?
Everything I've read shows 5 but not 7...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2511121
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Motorola-Moto-X_id7885
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Xt1058_Info
The hardware in the AT&T model supports LTE band 7, all XT1058s do. However last time I checked the FCC docs it wasn't approved to use it in the US. In 4.2.2 it wasn't enabled in the AT&T build, in 4.4 I believe that it is though. It is used all across Canada and in some other countries, not sure if the US will ever use it though.
dew.man said:
Can you please provide a reference to where the AT&T model supports band 7?
Everything I've read shows 5 but not 7...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2511121
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Motorola-Moto-X_id7885
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Xt1058_Info
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https://plus.google.com/114874428605785658638/posts/fkFtiVpXyHi John Renaldi of Motorola Mobility Inc. You have to scroll down as I can't seem to link to his post/followup on Nov 27.
While the TMO version does in fact have all the AT&T LTE bands (your AT&T SIM will work), the hardware itself does not contain all the same bands as the AT&T version. Our TMO version supports: LTE Band 02; LTE Band 04; LTE Band 17 and the AT&T version supports LTE Band 02; LTE Band 04; LTE Band 05; LTE Band 07; LTE Band 17
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KidJoe said:
https://plus.google.com/114874428605785658638/posts/fkFtiVpXyHi John Renaldi of Motorola Mobility Inc. You have to scroll down as I can't seem to link to his post/followup on Nov 27.
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Cool. Interesting how that's the only place it's mentioned (contrary to all the published specs). Wonder if it was just a slip up or if everybody else got it wrong!?
Oh well, like we both said, won't matter in the US
Ironically enough, I ended up disabling my LTE as HSPDA is fast enough and I get much better battery life with it off...