Hi All
hoping you can give some advice here, I'm currently with vodafone Australia and looking at buying a diamond.
Currently they are available locally as the Telstra HTC touch diamond (competing network) or via grey import models.
I understand through numerous threads that there is no quad band model as yet and that telstra uses 3g on the 850mhz band, i think but am not sure that vodafone uses 2100mhz for 3g.
I'm confused as to which handset im better off with the telstra one or a grey import.
To make it more confusing I'm going to USA and Sth America, shortly and want to make sure it roams on 3g.
HELP!!!!
no-one even has an opinion?!?
After scouring the rest of the 'net it appears that;
telstra uses 850mhz hsdpa,
vodafone and optus uses 2100mhz umts,
optus will launch 900mhz hsdpa in the near future.
I gather from this that no matter which australian carrier network i use i will not be able to use one carrier or another does someone have any further insight on this?
I think I read on Whirlpool that the Telstra handsets should work on any network - except Optus' 900mhz.
Im with Telstra (work sim), so just went with the Telstra handset.
I've got a Virgin sim I could try in it if you'd like?
that would help . . . cheers
It cant do any harm... I guess my real issue is that I want to make sure I'm getting the highest possible data speeds in whatever country I'm in and I'm not sure what difference there is between the carrier frequency's being used. I get the general impression that only telstra has 7.2mps (theoretical) speed at present, but if i go with a handset that doesnt support 900mhz and i end up with 2100mhz am i missing out on vodafone hsdpa......
im consfused
I was in the same boat when trying to figure out which Diamond to get. I jumped ship and ordered a DIAM130 (Telstra ver.).
Its my understanding that the Optus 900MHz UMTS will be for use in regional areas, whereas 2100MHz for metropolitan. A quick search of the net also indicated that 2100MHz is the dominant UMTS band throughout most of the world, with the exception of the U.S. which uses 850/1900 I believe. So I figure the DIAM130 would be the best bet if you want some sort of 3G connection whatever country you may be in.
If I'm mistaken, can someone please correct me...
EDIT: Looking back at your posts, I'm not sure if you realise this, but the DIAM100 is 900/2100 MHz UMTS and the DIAM130 is 850/2100 MHz UMTS.
Yep, I think the Helstra one with 850mhz/2100mhz looks like the best bet. It would seem that all the carriers in Oz use the 2100mhz in the cities and 850mhz or 900mhz in rural areas.
The US and Sth.America seem to use 850mhz and Europe uses 900mhz/2100mhz.
The whole reason this came up was about 2 weeks ago I went into a Helstra shop and HTC had a marquis with their own staff, they actually stated do not buy a Helstra handset wait until October 1 when the other networks will have quadband handsets. I put this down to them not knowing what they were talking about.
I cant wait any longer though and I think I'm off to JB HiFi to pickup a telstra one, whirlpool forum users have been picking them up for between $750 and $800.
I bought my Diamond from JB (telstra phone bought outright) and I use it with voda prepaid.
I can access the GSM network fine and their 3G network as well. But I force my phone to use GSM only, apparently 3G drinks more battery power.
I am on the vodaphone network ( work). I bought a diamond from a H/K supplier & have never had anytrouble using the 3g network in any of the main capital cities.
Unless you intend to use 3g A LOT in the country areas of australia, then a presumably cheaper grey import DIA 100 will do the trick.
only would suggest that you upgrade to one of the great ROMS available on this site from the generous chefs!
sorry but i think telstra are ripping off the aussie customers with the 130 model.
I have a DIAM100, it works on all networks in Australia including Telstra NextG (yes it DOES work on 850MHz HSDPA). I currently use the phone on the 3 network which use 2100MHz and get very good speeds (in excess of 3.5mbps).
Hi poedgirl,
noticed your'e using an older radio version than whats currently available.
at the risk of telling you to suck eggs, i would suggest you try the 1.00.25.08 Radio rom as the increase in signal phone strength & GPS strength was unbelievable!
thats assuming you are located in Sydney
This Post in the ROMs section pretty much covers which models you can use or will need on the various AU networks.
There are 3 3G Network Frequencies in AUS
850 MHz (NextG) - DIAM130
900 MHz Optus - DIAM100, DIAM110, DIAM200, DIAM300
2100 MHz Optus, Vodafone, Three, Telstra(use Three's) - DIAM100, DIAM110, DIAM200, DIAM300, DIAM130
ALL Diamonds have the 2100MHz frequency!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a grey import DIAM100 running on Three and it has not missed a beat.
poedgirl said:
I have a DIAM100, it works on all networks in Australia including Telstra NextG (yes it DOES work on 850MHz HSDPA)..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just out of interest how were you able to determine this?
poedgirl said:
I have a DIAM100, it works on all networks in Australia including Telstra NextG (yes it DOES work on 850MHz HSDPA). I currently use the phone on the 3 network which use 2100MHz and get very good speeds (in excess of 3.5mbps).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry to disappoint, I used to think the same, but see this and this You are right - it uses HSDPA, but only on the 2100 network, outside of that network the phone will show "E" for "edge" .(which is GPRS).
Thanks timn2087, that what I thought. I suspect the Telstra branding and web interface can lead you to believe you are on the Telstra NextG network, regardless of whether you are connecting with a phone capable of 850MHz or 2100MHz. My DIAM100 (Same hardware) on 3 behaves exactly as you describe when it roams onto Telstra GSM displaying "E" for "edge".
i bought the helstra one
well i just went for it, and bought the diam130. ive gone the hardspl, radio 05, swift rom. all seems to working.
got if for $760 outright at jb hifi pitt st mall sydney store. no stress haggle said to the guy whats the best price he said $800 i said how about $760 he goes "done".
thanks for all your help everyone
logger said:
Thanks timn2087, that what I thought. I suspect the Telstra branding and web interface can lead you to believe you are on the Telstra NextG network, regardless of whether you are connecting with a phone capable of 850MHz or 2100MHz. My DIAM100 (Same hardware) on 3 behaves exactly as you describe when it roams onto Telstra GSM displaying "E" for "edge".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
correct. The DIAM130 on Next G will show a 3G icon whenever it is on 850 Mhz, occasionally this icon changes to "H" HSDPA when a data connection is active.
timn2087 said:
sorry to disappoint, I used to think the same, but see this and this You are right - it uses HSDPA, but only on the 2100 network, outside of that network the phone will show "E" for "edge" .(which is GPRS).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, for one, the phone gets a HSDPA signal in Mandurah - where there is no 3 coverage (only ever get Telstra roaming there if you're with 3). Also, as others have said, if you are on 3's network, the network shows up as "3Telstra", which it does not on mine.
I have a Note 2 that I bought from AT&T. I want to upgrade to the note 3 but I want the N9005 version because I believe that it will be able to use G4 LTE signal from AT&T. The only place that I can buy the unlocked N9005 version is at Negri Electronics. However it only sell the 16 gb version and I want the 32 gb version. Is there any other place in the U.S.A that sells the N9005 unlocked version?
Earthbrain said:
I have a Note 2 that I bought from AT&T. I want to upgrade to the note 3 but I want the N9005 version because I believe that it will be able to use G4 LTE signal from AT&T. The only place that I can buy the unlocked N9005 version is at Negri Electronics. However it only sell the 16 gb version and I want the 32 gb version. Is there any other place in the U.S.A that sells the N9005 unlocked version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is such a thing like a 16gb note 3. At least not yet.
xclub_101 said:
I don't think there is such a thing like a 16gb note 3. At least not yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://negrielectronics.com/phones/android-mobile-c-67.html
According to the above link...the 16 gb version does exist.
Does the n9005 model have AT&T LTE for sure?
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Earthbrain said:
I have a Note 2 that I bought from AT&T. I want to upgrade to the note 3 but I want the N9005 version because I believe that it will be able to use G4 LTE signal from AT&T. The only place that I can buy the unlocked N9005 version is at Negri Electronics. However it only sell the 16 gb version and I want the 32 gb version. Is there any other place in the U.S.A that sells the N9005 unlocked version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before committed to pay big $ for the phone ... check out this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2457964
I'd buy what you're looking for in a heartbeat - if it existed. So far it doesn't. At least not ln any of the N3's for the UK, EU, or Latin America that have been announced. The Korean S-800 SGS4 supports AT&T's bands so their N3 probably will also. But the Korean phones have funky TV h/w and a funky MMS system that's different than Western versions. Rogers' (Canada) version will be compatible with AT&T LTE and may be closer to "virgin" than AT&T's version. The challenge is warranty service both because you'd have to send it to Canada for repair (assuming Rogers' services a phone for a non-subscriber) and because Knox prevents resetting the warranty status if a non-standard ROM's been flashed. Speaking of which, you'd probably only be able to flash Rogers' ROMs via Odin unless their N3 was a "pure" i9505 capable of using international ROMs.
And as someone above mentioned there's some question as to what "unlocked" means with the N3 as there are now regional limitations on top of carrier's locking phones to their networks.
If I find a true international N3 that works on AT&T's LTE that's not regionally SIM locked I'll let you know. Until then I'm sticking with AT&T's version and hoping they haven't molested it too badly.
Thread cleaned.
Lets knock off the keyboard hero stuff and get back on topic.
The N9005 doesn't work on AT&T LTE, it is missing bands 700/1700
designgears said:
The N9005 doesn't work on AT&T LTE, it is missing bands 700/1700
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will the N9005 work on the Rogers network in Canada? I have no idea what these bands and frequencies mean, I just know that I need LTE to work.
choch69 said:
Will the N9005 work on the Rogers network in Canada? I have no idea what these bands and frequencies mean, I just know that I need LTE to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't just say "N9005" and expect to get an answer. "N9005" refers to generic Snapdragon 800 LTE capable version of GN3, but each country and carrier in the world has different LTE bands enabled in that Snapdragon's SoC radio. Find your Rogers here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks
It operates on bands 4 and 7 - none of the Euro countries' carriers work on band 4, as you can see from the list. AT&T USA, T-Mobile USA and Rogers CA should be LTE cross compatible in most coverage areas, but not all.
If you buy N9005 version with unlocked bootloader - later, when someone makes Odin compatible with GN3 you will be able to flash Roger's LTE modem firmware to your N9005, no matter which country it is from and what LTE bands it currently has enabled
]
Okay well I was looking to buy an unlocked N9005 from the UK. Since none of the euro countries work on band 4, what about band 7? Do both bands need to be working in order to get LTE? The problem with buying this in my country is that there wont be a 64gb option available.
choch69 said:
]
Okay well I was looking to buy an unlocked N9005 from the UK. Since none of the euro countries work on band 4, what about band 7? Do both bands need to be working in order to get LTE? The problem with buying this in my country is that there wont be a 64gb option available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some carriers, which operate on dual band LTE use one band for upstream, and the other for downstream. If that is the case with Rogers you will have to have a phone with both bands enabled, to get LTE service from Rogers. However, even if that is not the case and both bands 4 and 7 are independent - Rogers has towers all over Canada, and in some regions those towers will operate on band 4, in other regions it will be band 7 and in some places towers will support both. By getting a phone that supports only band 7 you will greatly reduce your LTE coverage area. What percentage of Rogers' network uses what band - those details are publicly available, so you can either Google it or just call Rogers and ask. I would recommend against getting a phone, that supports only band 7, unless you plan on flashing Roger's modem to it later.
This not quite correct. A band, by definition includes both the up and downstream frequencies. Only one band is used at a time. Rogers happens to use band 4 and band 7. One is not reliant on the other. If you are in an area with band 7 coverage (most of Rogers LTE coverage has both) you will be able to use a N9005.
Apo11on said:
Some carriers, which operate on dual band LTE use one band for upstream, and the other for downstream. If that is the case with Rogers you will have to have a phone with both bands enabled, to get LTE service from Rogers. However, even if that is not the case and both bands 4 and 7 are independent - Rogers has towers all over Canada, and in some regions those towers will operate on band 4, in other regions it will be band 7 and in some places towers will support both. By getting a phone that supports only band 7 you will greatly reduce your LTE coverage area. What percentage of Rogers' network uses what band - those details are publicly available, so you can either Google it or just call Rogers and ask. I would recommend against getting a phone, that supports only band 7, unless you plan on flashing Roger's modem to it later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
omegacell said:
This not quite correct. A band, by definition includes both the up and downstream frequencies. Only one band is used at a time. Rogers happens to use band 4 and band 7. One is not reliant on the other. If you are in an area with band 7 coverage (most of Rogers LTE coverage has both) you will be able to use a N9005.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're correct by claiming each band is self contained and and can carry both, upstream and downstream. However, each carrier owns only a small portion of the spectrum in the bands they operate on, and some carriers do practice using a single band for one way traffic only, in an effort to ease the network congestion and load balancing. I'm not saying it's Rogers - I have no information on that particular carrier, but some carriers do do that. I'm just saying for carriers, who use such practice, in order to get LTE service your phone's modem must have both bands enabled, otherwise it won't register with the network and you won't get LTE service at all.
Apo11on said:
you're correct by claiming each band is self contained and and can carry both, upstream and downstream. However, each carrier owns only a small portion of the spectrum in the bands they operate on, and some carriers do practice using a single band for one way traffic only, in an effort to ease the network congestion and load balancing. I'm not saying it's Rogers - I have no information on that particular carrier, but some carriers do do that. I'm just saying for carriers, who use such practice, in order to get LTE service your phone's modem must have both bands enabled, otherwise it won't register with the network and you won't get LTE service at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP needs to take into consideration that If he buys from an online retailer an international unit, this unit will need to be activated in its intended region before he can use it in the states.
Apo11on said:
you're correct by claiming each band is self contained and and can carry both, upstream and downstream. However, each carrier owns only a small portion of the spectrum in the bands they operate on, and some carriers do practice using a single band for one way traffic only, in an effort to ease the network congestion and load balancing. I'm not saying it's Rogers - I have no information on that particular carrier, but some carriers do do that. I'm just saying for carriers, who use such practice, in order to get LTE service your phone's modem must have both bands enabled, otherwise it won't register with the network and you won't get LTE service at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never heard of that. Seems like a problematic setup since the RF properties of bands can vary so much. Seems like you would get in a situation where you have up but not downstream or vice versa.
Yes, you would need a N9005 from Asia, not Europe as those are region locked.
omegacell said:
Yes, you would need a N9005 from Asia, not Europe as those are region locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a link for a source, where you got that information from? Or better yet - list of countries/markets, where GN3 will not be region locked?
Apo11on said:
Do you have a link for a source, where you got that information from? Or better yet - list of countries/markets, where GN3 will not be region locked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Email me or hit me me up through my site. We're a retailer/wholesaler, not sure if I'm allowed to post about that since it would be "advertising".
omegacell said:
Email me or hit me me up through my site. We're a retailer/wholesaler, not sure if I'm allowed to post about that since it would be "advertising".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is a valuable information, which a lot of people, watching this thread could use, not just me. I don't think it will be considered as advertising. People in this thread are looking to buy international GN3, which will work on AT&T in US. If the phone is region locked then it won't work. Therefore, listing the countries, where there is no region lock would be very much relevant to this topic.
Apo11on said:
that is a valuable information, which a lot of people, watching this thread could use, not just me. I don't think it will be considered as advertising. People in this thread are looking to buy international GN3, which will work on AT&T in US. If the phone is region locked then it won't work. Therefore, listing the countries, where there is no region lock would be very much relevant to this topic.[/QUOTEN
N9005 from HK or Singapore (perhaps others too) will work.
The South American N9000 are region locked to South American, North American, carribean etc. SIM cards (western hemisphere).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...tmctr=(not provided)&__utmv=-&__utmk=63603752
It's been figured out, I speculated it was possible, and it is!
Preamble
Hi everyone. As we know, the C6603 (all country versions) can be swapped with the radios from the ZL. This allows you to get LTE on Rogers and Fido in Canada, and I assume would work for other carriers as well in other parts of the world. (this is due either to unlocking frequencies, or unlocking channels on those frequencies.)
The radio HARDWARE is the same. *(?!? is it?) From what I understand the baseband chip in ALL the devices is a:
Qualcomm MDM9215M
which fully supports all the bands we can possibly use. Meaning, this device CAN use UMTS 4 1700/2100 for T-Mobile and Wind and Telus etc etc.
The secret is the amplifier chips. If the c6603 has the amplifier chips physically that the c6602 does we should be able to do the same trick that was done on the nexus 4. A modification of the build.prop may allow for AWS networks to work on our c6603. We can only hope. Partial support to at least use the AWS bands should be possible for the 6603. You would have to do the same thing that was done for the google nexus 4. Essentially,
#!/sbin/sh
echo "telephony.lteOnGsmDevice=1" >> /system/build.prop
echo "ro.telephony.default_network=9" >> /system/build.prop
echo "ro.ril.def.preferred.network=9" >> /system/build.prop
And then flash. Obviously requires a rom cook and root. If any intrepid developers wants to give this a shot, I suggest using the 6606 baseband, as it seems to be both a 6602 and 6603. The 6616 is essentially the same as the T-Mobile phone but with Canadian channels.
Why I care
When the Z first came out, I knew I needed to have it. By a terrific stroke of luck a local had bought an unlocked international Belgum phone off ebay and decided he wanted the S4 instead. He was selling it for hundreds below the MFG price on Kijiji. I immediately bought it. I love the phone, but I can only get 3g, as I am with Telus, and the phone "doesn't support" officially, AWS on Telus. Works with HSPA+ for whatever reason though, on non aws bands.
New knowledge not currently found on the forum
Bell uses AWS on HSPA+ as well as LTE. So does Telus, and Wind. (and Tmobile in the US)
Historically, only the C6602 has the frequencies needed for the other carriers. Bell, in Canada, recently released the C6616.
(LTE compatibility AWS, 700 MHz HSPA/UMTS compatibility 850/1900/1700/1900/2100 MHz GPRS/EDGE compatibility 850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
The question with no answer.
The question is: Can I apply the Baseband file from the Bell C6616 phone to get AWS 1700/2100 hspa/LTE on a C6603?
NEW!
Note: I'm not rooted, nor am I bootloader unlocked. Neat, eh?
Here's what basebands I've tried so far: (c6603 Generic BE, .67, 4.2.2)
c6506 US .434, c6506 US 0.423 - both work perfectly on 4.2.2, no issues. On Telus you can only see Telus, and AT&T, sometimes Rogers.
c6606 - Phone boots, unusable. Random reboots, locks up immeditely after swipe to unlock. Simply flashed baseband back to c6506. - This may be because I was using a 4.1.2 rom. I'm going to re-investigate.
c6616 - Phone boots, slightly usable. Random reboots, even in airplane mode. System.process freezes but eventually unlocks. If you screenlock, you need to reboot. Flashed it back to c6506 (probably due to 4.1.2 again)
ZL c6502 .434 global unbranded - Phone boots. RADIO SHOWS - (!!!) Phone completely usable. OMG I CAN SEE BELL 3g and ROGERS LTE (which is 2600mhz!). Something interesting is going on here, but it's not unlocking any additional bands in reality. The *#*#service#*#* menu shows the same frequencies available - but there's CERTAINLY some modification to the ranges in the bands. For those of you using .434 c6506, switch to c6502 global, you might get better speeds. Woot!
Z c6602 .67 Works. 2g, 3g bands including LTE (on 2600 only I'm sure) available but only on Rogers my home network, Telus, comes up as 3g H+. Cannot see Wind but that might be due to not having a wind Sim at the moment T-Mobile comes up as 2g only. I believe it uses umts 4 for 3g/4g. Essentially the same as c6506.
c6606 0.191 - phone slightly usable. Still has issues with random reboots. Won't go into info or network menu at all. This sounds like mismatched build.prop... this might be possible. Exciting.
MORE MAGIC FOUND. The info menu (*#*#4636#*#*) *#*#info#*#* allows you to swap country mode frequency ranges (including an UNKNOWN range on)!! This greatly impacts the available networks you see when you scan for networks in the phone. With USA selected I do NOT see T-Mobile, for example, when previous I did. Needs more playing.
Here's what I found out:
ahassouna said:
carefull not to brick your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, I really know what I'm doing here. I'm doing a baseband only flash.
Looking into flashtool, the recognition=C6602,C6603,C6606,C6616,L36h,yuga keys exist. Meaning, flashtool SHOULD see the c6616 in the list, but yes, it doesn't. (?!?!)
I recently grabbed C6506_10.3.1.A.2.67_Generic US, and it works flawlessly as thje previous c6506 basebands on 6603's did. On Fido, it'll give me LTE, obviously, but that's due to 2600 I'm sure. but only gives me 3g (hspa+) with Telus. (non aws).
According to the service menu, The phone only supports the following, even with the 6506 baseband flashed (screenshot is from my phone just now):
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
note: LTE_BC1,LTE_BC3,LTE_BC5,LTE_BC7,LTE_BC8,LTE_BC20, which is:
1 Up: 1920 - 1980 Down: 2110 - 2170
3 Up: 1710 - 1785 Down: 1805 - 1880
5 Up: 824 - 849 Down: 869 - 894
7 Up: 2500 - 2570 Down: 2620 - 2690
8 Up: 880 - 915 Down: 925 - 960
20 Up: 832 - 862 Down: 791 - 821
AND YET, the T-Mobile C6506 is supposed to support:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
Okay. So if that is the case... HOW IN THE HECK are some of you people getting LTE on Bell?
Bell's (and Rogers/Fido, Telus/Koodo) LTE network uses Band 4 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS 1700/2100 MHz: actually 1710–1755/2110–2155) in most coverage areas and Band 7 (2600 MHz) in a few areas.
Wind's and Telus's is 1700/2100 (AWS1) only. THE ONLY WAY I can see this working is because bell/rogers has UMTS 2600 in the GTA. HOWEVER: Why weren't we getting LTE (data only) in the first place on the 6603? It supported LTE 2600 from the start. It's a very good question, and one that could be because of the sub channel bands used for LTE on HSPA+. What's interesting, is that since this phone supports Band 3 and Band 1, you can SEE the LTE/HSPA+ AWS1 network, but it doesn't stay connected (Because you can't split negotiation bands... UNLESS, you could limit one antenna to one and one to the other (not sure it's possible)).
That's seems to be the ONLY reason it works on Bell/Rogers in some cases with the 6506 2600mhz baseband. You're not getting true AWS with that flash (which can be for hspa+ or LTE). Also, the c6616 appears to be a more complete radio that would literally work on every single network in Canada and the USA, being the "ultimate LTE" Xperia Z. The c6602 Internal Storefront phone is the closest original thing, to that I would imagine.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I did try the T-Mobile 6606 baseband on the phone. It causes a soft lock after booting sadly (which does get into the OS, but it locks up and goes black once it's there.), and you have to flash back to either 6506 radio or stock to get it to stay stable.
So no, I do not believe this phone can be "told" to use AWS, regardless of what baseband file you stick in it. Now I'm not so sure. The same thing that was done on the Nexus 4 should work here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure it will work at all, apologies if this has been explored. The phone only supports limited UMTS bands. In particular, it would need to say UMTS 4, 9 or 10 in that list, I think.
Originally Posted by kingvortex View Post
The C6602 does not have an LTE capable radio. I'm not sure where you heard that it does, but that information is incorrect. There is no way for you to use LTE on your device, no matter which baseband you may flash.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
This is correct, sort-of. It turns out that the radio hardware chips themselves are actually the same, but the unit is missing the physical amplifiers for the frequencies you would unlock, making them impossible to use. It's the c6603 radio hardware that has euro LTE. However, the 6602 is supposed to support AWS in some fashions. If you flash the baseband from the bell Z, you may be able to use AWS 4, because it's not just the frequencies that you make available, it's the CHANNEL SET.
In summary a "baseband" is three things
1) radio driver
2) frequency range list
3) channel range list
In theory (logically), the baseband from the "unbranded sony store" phones of each hardware model variant should have all the carrier frequencies of the local area.
So, if you're from Germany, flashing a the Sony "carrier unbranded" baseband from the local model variant should allow you to be all all carriers in that region because it would be in Sony's best interest to sell an unlocked phone in that region in that way.
It gets dicey when you bring a phone from another country as I did, into a country that uses different radio frequencies and channels for the same wireless protocol types. It's complicated and has to do with the radio telecom standards differing in every country. True "World Phones" are really uncommon but we're getting more standardized every year.
I still own my Z but I also have a Z1. The Z1 is a LOT more compatible (every carrier in my area) because it's designed to work with local frequency sets. All I had to do on it was flash the Sony official firmware and baseband, and I could get LTE on every carrier.
lhun said:
Preamble
Hi everyone. As we know, the C6603 (all country versions) can be swapped with the radios from the ZL. This allows you to get LTE on Rogers and Fido in Canada, and I assume would work for other carriers as well in other parts of the world. (this is due either to unlocking frequencies, or unlocking channels on those frequencies.)
The radio HARDWARE is the same.
Why I care
When the Z first came out, I knew I needed to have it. By a terrific stroke of luck a local had bought an unlocked international Belgum phone off ebay and decided he wanted the S4 instead. He was selling it for hundreds below the MFG price on Kijiji. I immediately bought it. I love the phone, but I can only get 3g, as I am with Telus, and the phone "doesn't support" officially, AWS on Telus. Works with HSPA+ for whatever reason though.
New knowledge not currently found on the forum
Bell uses AWS on HSPA+ as well as LTE. So does Telus, and Wind. (and Tmobile in the US)
Historically, only the C6602 has the frequencies needed for the other carriers. Bell, in Canada, recently released the C6616.
(LTE compatibility AWS, 700 MHz HSPA/UMTS compatibility 850/1900/1700/1900/2100 MHz GPRS/EDGE compatibility 850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
The question with no answer.
The question is: Can I apply the Baseband file from the Bell C6616 phone to get AWS 1700/2100 hspa/LTE on a C6603?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only way to find out is to flash the baseband and see what happens, if not you can always flash back to stock C6603 baseband.
wright_ac said:
Only way to find out is to flash the baseband and see what happens, if not you can always flash back to stock C6603 baseband.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough. I didn't know I was wondering into uncharted territory.
Does anyone have a FTF of the bell stock firmware?
lhun said:
Fair enough. I didn't know I was wondering into uncharted territory.
Does anyone have a FTF of the bell stock firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so I have the FTF of the C6616. Flashtool completely ignores it as if it doesn't exist. What gives?
lhun said:
so I have the FTF of the C6616. Flashtool completely ignores it as if it doesn't exist. What gives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
carefull not to brick your phone
ahassouna said:
carefull not to brick your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, I really know what I'm doing here. I'm doing a baseband only flash.
Looking into flashtool, the recognition=C6602,C6603,C6606,C6616,L36h,yuga keys exist. Meaning, flashtool SHOULD see the c6616 in the list, but yes, it doesn't. (?!?!)
I recently grabbed C6506_10.3.1.A.2.67_Generic US, and it works flawlessly as thje previous c6506 basebands on 6603's did. On Fido, it'll give me LTE, obviously, but that's due to 2600 I'm sure. but only gives me 3g (hspa+) with Telus. (non aws).
According to the service menu, The phone only supports the following, even with the 6506 baseband flashed (screenshot is from my phone just now):
note: LTE_BC1,LTE_BC3,LTE_BC5,LTE_BC7,LTE_BC8,LTE_BC20, which is:
1 Up: 1920 - 1980 Down: 2110 - 2170
3 Up: 1710 - 1785 Down: 1805 - 1880
5 Up: 824 - 849 Down: 869 - 894
7 Up: 2500 - 2570 Down: 2620 - 2690
8 Up: 880 - 915 Down: 925 - 960
20 Up: 832 - 862 Down: 791 - 821
AND YET, the T-Mobile C6506 is supposed to support:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
Okay. So if that is the case... HOW IN THE HECK are some of you people getting LTE on Bell?
Bell's (and Rogers/Fido, Telus/Koodo) LTE network uses Band 4 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS 1700/2100 MHz: actually 1710–1755/2110–2155) in most coverage areas and Band 7 (2600 MHz) in a few areas.
Wind's and Telus's is 1700/2100 (AWS1) only. THE ONLY WAY I can see this working is because bell/rogers has UMTS 2600 in the GTA. HOWEVER: Why weren't we getting LTE (data only) in the first place on the 6603? It supported LTE 2600 from the start. It's a very good question, and one that could be because of the sub channel bands used for LTE on HSPA+. What's interesting, is that since this phone supports Band 3 and Band 1, you can SEE the LTE/HSPA+ AWS1 network, but it doesn't stay connected (Because you can't split negotiation bands... UNLESS, you could limit one antenna to one and one to the other (not sure it's possible)).
That's seems to be the ONLY reason it works on Bell/Rogers in some cases with the 6506 2600mhz baseband. You're not getting true AWS with that flash (which can be for hspa+ or LTE). Also, the c6616 appears to be a more complete radio that would literally work on every single network in Canada and the USA, being the "ultimate LTE" Xperia Z. The c6602 Internal Storefront phone is the closest original thing, to that I would imagine.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I did try the T-Mobile 6606 baseband on the phone. It causes a soft lock after booting sadly (which does get into the OS, but it locks up and goes black once it's there.), and you have to flash back to either 6506 radio or stock to get it to stay stable.
So no, I do not believe this phone can be "told" to use AWS, regardless of what baseband file you stick in it.
Unless of course, someone can provide a baseband that "unlocks" UMTS 4, 9 or 10... And, that the radio is physically capable of doing it.
lhun said:
Preamble
Hi everyone. As we know, the C6603 (all country versions) can be swapped with the radios from the ZL. This allows you to get LTE on Rogers and Fido in Canada, and I assume would work for other carriers as well in other parts of the world. (this is due either to unlocking frequencies, or unlocking channels on those frequencies.)
The radio HARDWARE is the same.
Why I care
When the Z first came out, I knew I needed to have it. By a terrific stroke of luck a local had bought an unlocked international Belgum phone off ebay and decided he wanted the S4 instead. He was selling it for hundreds below the MFG price on Kijiji. I immediately bought it. I love the phone, but I can only get 3g, as I am with Telus, and the phone "doesn't support" officially, AWS on Telus. Works with HSPA+ for whatever reason though.
New knowledge not currently found on the forum
Bell uses AWS on HSPA+ as well as LTE. So does Telus, and Wind. (and Tmobile in the US)
Historically, only the C6602 has the frequencies needed for the other carriers. Bell, in Canada, recently released the C6616.
(LTE compatibility AWS, 700 MHz HSPA/UMTS compatibility 850/1900/1700/1900/2100 MHz GPRS/EDGE compatibility 850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
The question with no answer.
The question is: Can I apply the Baseband file from the Bell C6616 phone to get AWS 1700/2100 hspa/LTE on a C6603?
Has anyone tried the 6602 baseband only on the 6603? My goal is to get AWS frequencies. I don't care about LTE.
I'm not sure it will work at all, apologies if this has been explored. The phone only supports limited UMTS bands. In particular, it would need to say UMTS 4, 9 or 10 in that list, I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As i see from different firmwares, some overlay applications might deny to use some of capability of phone.
In over my firmware testing experience, some off firmwares prevent to use single 3g, and some of them prevent to use mixed network.
You must sure you have totally generic firmware. Try to delete all overlay apks, those might restrict you to configure network coverage.
PS:
I'am going to flash C6606 fw 10.3.1.E.0.191 to my 6603 afew later.
eryen said:
As i see from different firmwares, some overlay applications might deny to use some of capability of phone.
In over my firmware testing experience, some off firmwares prevent to use single 3g, and some of them prevent to use mixed network.
You must sure you have totally generic firmware. Try to delete all overlay apks, those might restrict you to configure network coverage.
PS:
I'am going to flash C6606 fw 10.3.1.E.0.191 to my 6603 afew later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Eryen, thanks for replying!
If you read through my post, I tried that and it did not work. Gets to the OS and locks up. However, we're just swapping signed basebands. We need to figure out which radio hardware they're using to see what it's capable of, and perhaps, we can start making custom unlocked drivers.
eryen said:
As i see from different firmwares, some overlay applications might deny to use some of capability of phone.
In over my firmware testing experience, some off firmwares prevent to use single 3g, and some of them prevent to use mixed network.
You must sure you have totally generic firmware. Try to delete all overlay apks, those might restrict you to configure network coverage.
PS:
I'am going to flash C6606 fw 10.3.1.E.0.191 to my 6603 afew later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, that's a pretty amazing thought. I might try that, would of course require root, I would imagine.
NEW!
Note: I'm not rooted, nor am I bootloader unlocked. Neat, eh?
Here's what basebands I've tried so far: (c6603 Generic BE, .67, 4.2.2)
c6506 US .434, c6506 US .67 - both work perfectly on 4.2.2, no issues. On Telus you can only see Telus, and AT&T, sometimes Rogers.
c6606 - Phone boots, unusable. Random reboots, locks up immeditely after swipe to unlock. Simply flashed baseband back to c6506.
c6616 - Phone boots, slightly usable. Random reboots, even in airplane mode. System.process freezes but eventually unlocks. If you screenlock, you need to reboot. Flashed it back to c6506
ZL c6502 .434 global unbranded - Phone boots. RADIO SHOWS - (!!!) Phone completely usable. OMG I CAN SEE BELL 3g and ROGERS LTE (which is 2600mhz!). Something interesting is going on here, but it's not unlocking any additional bands in reality. The *#*#service#*#* menu shows the same frequencies available - but there's CERTAINLY some modification to the ranges in the bands. For those of you using .434 c6506, switch to c6502 global, you might get better speeds. Woot!
So I'm starting to think the 6603 could be hacked to get umts band 4 in the same exact way the nexus 4 was.
If I get more time I'll try this out - I would rather it be possible without root but meh.
To contribute.
I have C6602, flashed C6603 baseband, tried with 4G card in confirmed zone of 4G signal, only catching 3G.
Will try with C6502 baseband when I have again 4G card.
sipe1 said:
To contribute.
I have C6602, flashed C6603 baseband, tried with 4G card in confirmed zone of 4G signal, only catching 3G.
Will try with C6502 baseband when I have again 4G card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try *#*#info#*#* menu and changing regional setting?
lhun said:
Preamble
Hi everyone. As we know, the C6603 (all country versions) can be swapped with the radios from the ZL. This allows you to get LTE on Rogers and Fido in Canada, and I assume would work for other carriers as well in other parts of the world. (this is due either to unlocking frequencies, or unlocking channels on those frequencies.)
The radio HARDWARE is the same. *(?!? is it?) From what I understand the baseband chip in ALL the devices is a:
Qualcomm MDM9215M
which fully supports all the bands we can possibly use. Meaning, this device CAN use UMTS 4 1700/2100 for T-Mobile and Wind and Telus etc etc.
The secret is the amplifier chips. If the c6603 has the amplifier chips physically that the c6602 does we should be able to do the same trick that was done on the nexus 4. A modification of the build.prop may allow for AWS networks to work on our c6603. We can only hope. Partial support to at least use the AWS bands should be possible for the 6603. You would have to do the same thing that was done for the google nexus 4. Essentially,
#!/sbin/sh
echo "telephony.lteOnGsmDevice=1" >> /system/build.prop
echo "ro.telephony.default_network=9" >> /system/build.prop
echo "ro.ril.def.preferred.network=9" >> /system/build.prop
And then flash. Obviously requires a rom cook and root. If any intrepid developers wants to give this a shot, I suggest using the 6606 baseband, as it seems to be both a 6602 and 6603. The 6616 is essentially the same as the T-Mobile phone but with Canadian channels.
Why I care
When the Z first came out, I knew I needed to have it. By a terrific stroke of luck a local had bought an unlocked international Belgum phone off ebay and decided he wanted the S4 instead. He was selling it for hundreds below the MFG price on Kijiji. I immediately bought it. I love the phone, but I can only get 3g, as I am with Telus, and the phone "doesn't support" officially, AWS on Telus. Works with HSPA+ for whatever reason though, on non aws bands.
New knowledge not currently found on the forum
Bell uses AWS on HSPA+ as well as LTE. So does Telus, and Wind. (and Tmobile in the US)
Historically, only the C6602 has the frequencies needed for the other carriers. Bell, in Canada, recently released the C6616.
(LTE compatibility AWS, 700 MHz HSPA/UMTS compatibility 850/1900/1700/1900/2100 MHz GPRS/EDGE compatibility 850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
The question with no answer.
The question is: Can I apply the Baseband file from the Bell C6616 phone to get AWS 1700/2100 hspa/LTE on a C6603?
NEW!
Note: I'm not rooted, nor am I bootloader unlocked. Neat, eh?
Here's what basebands I've tried so far: (c6603 Generic BE, .67, 4.2.2)
c6506 US .434, c6506 US 0.423 - both work perfectly on 4.2.2, no issues. On Telus you can only see Telus, and AT&T, sometimes Rogers.
c6606 - Phone boots, unusable. Random reboots, locks up immeditely after swipe to unlock. Simply flashed baseband back to c6506. - This may be because I was using a 4.1.2 rom. I'm going to re-investigate.
c6616 - Phone boots, slightly usable. Random reboots, even in airplane mode. System.process freezes but eventually unlocks. If you screenlock, you need to reboot. Flashed it back to c6506 (probably due to 4.1.2 again)
ZL c6502 .434 global unbranded - Phone boots. RADIO SHOWS - (!!!) Phone completely usable. OMG I CAN SEE BELL 3g and ROGERS LTE (which is 2600mhz!). Something interesting is going on here, but it's not unlocking any additional bands in reality. The *#*#service#*#* menu shows the same frequencies available - but there's CERTAINLY some modification to the ranges in the bands. For those of you using .434 c6506, switch to c6502 global, you might get better speeds. Woot!
Z c6602 .67 Works. 2g, 3g bands including LTE (on 2600 only I'm sure) available but only on Rogers my home network, Telus, comes up as 3g H+. Cannot see Wind but that might be due to not having a wind Sim at the moment T-Mobile comes up as 2g only. I believe it uses umts 4 for 3g/4g. Essentially the same as c6506.
c6606 0.191 - phone slightly usable. Still has issues with random reboots. Won't go into info or network menu at all. This sounds like mismatched build.prop... this might be possible. Exciting.
MORE MAGIC FOUND. The info menu (*#*#4636#*#*) *#*#info#*#* allows you to swap country mode frequency ranges (including an UNKNOWN range on)!! This greatly impacts the available networks you see when you scan for networks in the phone. With USA selected I do NOT see T-Mobile, for example, when previous I did. Needs more playing.
I'm not sure it will work at all, apologies if this has been explored. The phone only supports limited UMTS bands. In particular, it would need to say UMTS 4, 9 or 10 in that list, I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm deeply grateful with you and your work, i don't know if you are a developer or just a guy who got a Xperia Z and wants to enable some features that's been banned from sony and of course making us the job to reroute this, even harder than nexus 4 disabled LTE feature, i have just 1. question, i own a Xperia Z (C6602) i'm on existenz 6.6 ROM wich is based on official 4.3.
I have understood that XPERIA Z C6603 and C6602 version both bring along the exact same LTE chip BUT sony disabled this chip on C6602 version for an unkwon reason yet, i've read around so much about it, and i concluded, that the chip on C6602 was disabled by some modem modifications,
how can i enable LTE feature?
if i flash C605 modem will work and get LTE?
i am from colombia and my carrier is TIGO (german company) they uses AWS band 4 for LTE speeds
any help from you and yor knowledge, sorry if i bother you with this but i need to make clear this hole in my head once and for all dude
THANKS in advance
Thepho3nix said:
I'm deeply grateful with you and your work, i don't know if you are a developer or just a guy who got a Xperia Z and wants to enable some features that's been banned from sony and of course making us the job to reroute this, even harder than nexus 4 disabled LTE feature, i have just 1. question, i own a Xperia Z (C6602) i'm on existenz 6.6 ROM wich is based on official 4.3.
I have understood that XPERIA Z C6603 and C6602 version both bring along the exact same LTE chip BUT sony disabled this chip on C6602 version for an unkwon reason yet, i've read around so much about it, and i concluded, that the chip on C6602 was disabled by some modem modifications,
how can i enable LTE feature?
if i flash C605 modem will work and get LTE?
i am from colombia and my carrier is TIGO (german company) they uses AWS band 4 for LTE speeds
any help from you and yor knowledge, sorry if i bother you with this but i need to make clear this hole in my head once and for all dude
THANKS in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The C6602 does not have an LTE capable radio. I'm not sure where you heard that it does, but that information is incorrect. There is no way for you to use LTE on your device, no matter which baseband you may flash.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
kingvortex said:
The C6602 does not have an LTE capable radio. I'm not sure where you heard that it does, but that information is incorrect. There is no way for you to use LTE on your device, no matter which baseband you may flash.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is correct, sort-of. It turns out that the radio hardware chips themselves are actually the same, but the unit is missing the physical amplifiers for the frequencies you would unlock, making them impossible to use. It's the c6603 radio hardware that has euro LTE. However, the 6602 is supposed to support AWS in some fashions. If you flash the baseband from the bell Z, you may be able to use AWS 4, because it's not just the frequencies that you make available, it's the CHANNEL SET.
In summary a "baseband" is three things
1) radio driver
2) frequency range list
3) channel range list
In theory (logically), the baseband from the "unbranded sony store" phones of each hardware model variant should have all the carrier frequencies of the local area.
So, if you're from Germany, flashing a the Sony "carrier unbranded" baseband from the local model variant should allow you to be all all carriers in that region because it would be in Sony's best interest to sell an unlocked phone in that region in that way.
It gets dicey when you bring a phone from another country as I did, into a country that uses different radio frequencies and channels for the same wireless protocol types. It's complicated and has to do with the radio telecom standards differing in every country. True "World Phones" are really uncommon but we're getting more standardized every year.
I still own my Z but I also have a Z1. The Z1 is a LOT more compatible (every carrier in my area) because it's designed to work with local frequency sets. All I had to do on it was flash the Sony official firmware and baseband, and I could get LTE on every carrier.
kingvortex said:
The C6602 does not have an LTE capable radio. I'm not sure where you heard that it does, but that information is incorrect. There is no way for you to use LTE on your device, no matter which baseband you may flash.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it's not exactly true. There is a custom kernel mode driver that locks this radio from using the other frequency bands. It may be possible to cook a custom driver that enables them, but the amplifiers might not be there, although I suspect they are just like the Nexus 4. The reason they are strongly disabled is because enabling them in a country that uses those channels and frequencies might break their local radio telecommunications laws and it would not allow them to sell the device in the country with the radio being "un neutered". That's one of the reasons why pushing these things through the FCC can take time.
So, am I correct or not? You said I was in post #17 and not in post #18!
If it's kernel related, then surely flashing a C6603 kernel would bypass it (which it doesn't)...? Correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm only an interested amateur.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
kingvortex said:
So, am I correct or not? You said I was in post #17 and not in post #18!
If it's kernel related, then surely flashing a C6603 kernel would bypass it (which it doesn't)...? Correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm only an interested amateur.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Truth is we don't know for sure because nobody has done it, we're talking about writing a custom driver which is different.
Qualcomm MDM9215M
which fully supports all the bands we can possibly use. Meaning, this device CAN use UMTS 4 1700/2100 for T-Mobile and Wind and Telus etc etc.
The secret is the amplifier chips. If the c6603 has the amplifier chips physically that the c6602 does we should be able to do the same trick that was done on the nexus 4. A modification of the build.prop may allow for AWS networks to work on our c6603. We can only hope. Partial support to at least use the AWS bands should be possible for the 6603. You would have to do the same thing that was done for the google nexus 4. Essentially,
#!/sbin/sh
echo "telephony.lteOnGsmDevice=1" >> /system/build.prop
echo "ro.telephony.default_network=9" >> /system/build.prop
echo "ro.ril.def.preferred.network=9" >> /system/build.prop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse