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Hi,
My brother is planning to travel across Europe and wanted to take my Nexus One along with him and there fore I had few questions
1) Can he use Nexus One GPS without a SIM Card in Europe ?
2) Does Nexus One GPS use 3G data ?
3) Do European countries offer "To Go" 3G SIM cards ?
Any alternate recommendations are welcome.
Thanks
I suspect that there is a bug that makes GPS use data when roaming even if the phone is set to not allow data when roaming. If A-GPS is turned off this should no longer be of much worry, but do pay attention to it. The reason for me suspecting this is because of a bill I got after being to Norway where small frequent packets of data was added to my bill, even though nothing else worked: no widget updates, no surfing worked, and no google maps worked (as intended and expected).
Several countries offer pay as you go SIM-cards, and I would be surprised if any of them did not include 3G. I just visited the UK and got a free SIM which I topped up with a £5 for one month "unlimited" data-plan (they have a weird concept of unlimited on the other side of the pond).
Most countries should have a decent data-plan in the £10-range, or a ceiling on data cost per day (seems that £1/day is the norm in several countries).
Do note that you might have issues in some countries obtaining a SIM-card due to registration-requirements, e.g. requiring either proof of ID or at least a residential address. YMMV. If your brother is a people-person have him ally with some of the locals to get a pay as you go-SIM through them
So I have this phone (Samsung Galaxy Exhibit II 4G) from T-Mobile, I am on the 30$ monthly 4G plan with 100 minutes of talking, 5GB of 4G and Unlimited Texting. My question is since I recently tried to unlock my phone, but not sure if it was already unlocked since I purchased it through amazon and its the prepaid version of the phone, or if the sim just needs to be unlocked, whatever the case I am traveling to Europe next year and wanted to know if I can use this phone with the networks there. I just tried today going into the Select network option under wireless and networks and after searching for some time I had a choice between T-mobile and At&t and some how I acctually was able to connect to At&t even with my T-mobile sim card in it. So does this mean I can use it in Europe and just connect to networks there that way? I know its alot of money but I will fill up my account with money forsure before I go. Is it possible?:laugh:
Call TMobile and tell them your traveling to Europe and you need your phone unlocked. They will probably want to email you the unlock code.
When you get to europe set up a service and drop in their sim card. The Galaxy Exhibit (Exhibit 2) specs say it will work in Europe however, for some unknown reason, some people have problems.
NomadSpin said:
Call TMobile and tell them your traveling to Europe and you need your phone unlocked. They will probably want to email you the unlock code.
When you get to europe set up a service and drop in their sim card. The Galaxy Exhibit (Exhibit 2) specs say it will work in Europe however, for some unknown reason, some people have problems.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply! and I acctually did that and its been 3 days since I called asking for the unlock code and they said they would email it to me but no luck yet..its strange as to why unlockcell.com or something like that didnt work...But i meen something is already unlocked if I can search and connect to other networks other than Tmobile right? I connected to At&t just by going to the select network operator in android settings..
I can switch between carriers believe that would just be considered roaming.
I used this exact phone, Samsung Galaxy Exhibit ii 4G, somewhat successfully in Europe last year. This was the WalMart phone that I paid to unlock. Here's what I experienced.
The first try was in England with the O2 network. I popped in their SIM card. While I got the phone and texts to work I never got the internet to work. For some reason it did not automatically download the APN information. I tried manually loading that information and it still never worked. While it seemed it should have had internet access, it showed data transfer at the top of the screen, it was so sloooooow that it was useless. I had purchased the SIM card at a place called Carphone Warehouse. They ended up lending us a phone for about a month so we could use the SIM. I would recommend trying a different carrier than O2 and make sure before you leave the store that it's actually working or that you can get your money back if it doesn't or that you can get a loaner phone. BTW: there isn't much 4G in Europe either.
In Germany I bought a Tmobile SIM card and it worked find.
In Italy I bought a TIM SIM card. Again it did not properly download the APN data. But with a little online searching I found the correct APN information, manually loaded it in, and it worked fine.
Data usage in England, Germany, and Italy is actually fairly reasonable. Don't even consider it in France. First it costs 15 euros just for the SIM card and data cost per mb is horrendous.
Be sure to go to an actual phone store to buy your card and not a tobacco shop. At least at the phone stores you can get help if you are having trouble.
Caryllb said:
I used this exact phone, Samsung Galaxy Exhibit ii 4G, somewhat successfully in Europe last year. This was the WalMart phone that I paid to unlock. Here's what I experienced.
The first try was in England with the O2 network. I popped in their SIM card. While I got the phone and texts to work I never got the internet to work. For some reason it did not automatically download the APN information. I tried manually loading that information and it still never worked. While it seemed it should have had internet access, it showed data transfer at the top of the screen, it was so sloooooow that it was useless. I had purchased the SIM card at a place called Carphone Warehouse. They ended up lending us a phone for about a month so we could use the SIM. I would recommend trying a different carrier than O2 and make sure before you leave the store that it's actually working or that you can get your money back if it doesn't or that you can get a loaner phone. BTW: there isn't much 4G in Europe either.
In Germany I bought a Tmobile SIM card and it worked find.
In Italy I bought a TIM SIM card. Again it did not properly download the APN data. But with a little online searching I found the correct APN information, manually loaded it in, and it worked fine.
Data usage in England, Germany, and Italy is actually fairly reasonable. Don't even consider it in France. First it costs 15 euros just for the SIM card and data cost per mb is horrendous.
Be sure to go to an actual phone store to buy your card and not a tobacco shop. At least at the phone stores you can get help if you are having trouble.
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Click to collapse
Are you able to connect to 2100mhz HSPA which is the 3G frequencies used in these countries. My understanding is that the phone is triband HSPA at 850/1700/1900 HSPA and wouldn't be compatible with the 2100mhz used in Europe. There is a small overlap between the 850mhz spec and the 900mhz so it might be possible if the winds were blowing right to get a 3G signal in some European country occasionally, but that you were mostly relegated to a 2G signal and that you should absolutely avoid carriers like 3 who had no 2g licenses.
stufried said:
Are you able to connect to 2100mhz HSPA which is the 3G frequencies used in these countries. My understanding is that the phone is triband HSPA at 850/1700/1900 HSPA and wouldn't be compatible with the 2100mhz used in Europe. There is a small overlap between the 850mhz spec and the 900mhz so it might be possible if the winds were blowing right to get a 3G signal in some European country occasionally, but that you were mostly relegated to a 2G signal and that you should absolutely avoid carriers like 3 who had no 2g licenses.
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Click to collapse
Actually it's a quad band phone.
GSmarena.com lists the full specs for this phone and they show this:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1700 / 2100 / 1900
I was getting 3G in Germany and Italy, no problem. Sometimes, depending upon where I was, it would drop down to Edge. I have no clue why it didn't work with the 3 network other than I just couldn't get the APN right. So for England, try a different network and make sure it's really a different network. Some of the carriers have the same names but are on the same network. When you can I'd suggest sticking with Tmobile. That way you're most likely to have it work. Oh, to get the SIM cards on the continent you usually need to have your passport to set up the account. So don't forget to bring that along when you go to the phone store.
Oh, when I said I tried the O2 network I actually meant the 3 network. Sorry about that. I stand corrected. I never did try O2.
All in all it worked pretty well. Usually the plans include around 200 mb data per month. So you do have to be careful as to how much you use your internet. Fortunately many McDonalds have free wifi these days. In Germany, however, you have to have a local phone number to use the McDonalds wifi because each time you want to use it they have to send you an SMS with a daily passcode and you only get 1 hour per day usage.
My understanding is that Europe used Band I HSPA (2100mhz) and that 1700/2100mhz was "Band IV" and something different:
Take a look at this Wikipedia article to see where I am coming from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMTS_frequency_bands
I used this phone last month on a trip to Brazil with a local carrier, without any problem at all. Just like people on the thread said, you just need to call TMo and ask them about the unlock code, should be on your mailbox by next day. If you didn't get it, call them, 611, and use the option 9 to call straight to the operator, and tell them that you are traveling next week. However, to get the unlock code, you have to be using the phone on TMo for at least 3 months, or have someone that has a plan that has been active for such period.
Hi there my friend!
I went to US last month and brought one of this with me. I had to unlock it through an internet service because TMo SMS with unlock code never arrived – even though I called Costumer Service when I was at the US.
I can confirm that my cellphone worked with both 850 and 2100 frequencies. These are the two ones we have here in Brazil – actually, one of the operator uses 850/2100 and all other use 2100. I have one SIM of each operator and I tested them all with my SGE4G.
One little remark that I feel I should make although I almost know it does not matter: I never tested them with stock ROM since I flashed custom and AOSP since day one.
In Europe I used just the stock ROM. I hadn't even used the phone in the US at all so it didn't have any updates either. The only thing I did was unlock it. As I said it worked fine in Germany with Tmobile. Fine in Italy on TIM once I got the APN right. But never worked in England with 3. In England, try a different network than 3 and make sure the internet is really working before you leave the store. Otherwise you can't get your money back.
If you get the SIM at Cellphone Warehouse in England ask if you can get a "standby" phone to borrow if the SIM doesn't work in your phone. Their 'standby" phones aren't very powerful but at least you'd have something to use. You just need to return it to any of their stores when you leave.
The phone drops down to Edge when it wasn't in a 3G network. So I set up the browser to download text only, worked with mostly mobile only sites, and avoided all video. You need to do this anyway in most countries as your amount of data included in the monthly fee is very limited.
Hey,can any developers try to change the software of the radio so the phone work in asia&europe wcdma900/2100MHz
If you haven't heard of LycaMobile...It's a T-Mobile MNVO..
My AHD is Carrier Unlocked so I can use AT&T or T-Mobile, I got tired of paying 45+taxes for StraightTalk (AT&T) since I am mostly on wifi and don't really need the speed when I am not...
so i bought an unlock code and switched to Ultramobile last month because of their 19$ plan but they only give you 50mb of data
that was an issue for me and I didn't want to pay 39$ for their unlimited 2g when I could get GoSmart for 35$...
The other day I learned Lyca has the same plan as Gosmart but for 29$ (unlimited talk,text and 2g)
I waited too long to port my number from Ultra and lost it....
I've had Lyca service less then 2 hours and so far the only problem I had is their porting process,
It wasn't as fast as it was for me when I ported from other companies....
I've ported my number to and from a few companies and it always took less then 10 hours
I stupidly assumed 12 hours would be enough this time aswell,
Anyway 29$ sounds like a great deal I just hope I don't end up having issues with their service,
I figured I'd let people in the AHD section know about Lyca and post updates if I have any problems.
Maybe others have had experience with Lycamobile .
Apn settings i use
Name:lycamobile
APN:data.lycamobile.com
----------------------
Proxy:Not set
Port:Not set
Username:lmus
Password:lmus
Server:Not set
MMSC:Not set
MMS port:Not set
Auth Type:Not set
Apn Type:Not set
Update: 8/4/13
I've had lyca for almost 7 days now and at first I was having signal issues at home and it made it hard to have long text messages it was annoying, texts would get stuck at sending but seems good now after i went to Holoblur from Liquidsmooth.
Originally i thought lyca went to unlimited 2g after the first 50mb but turns out it's 3g.
To to be sure i downloaded a 100mb video last night, at 1.5-2mb which seems to be my average data speed on lyca since day 1... anyway i'm still getting 1.5-2mb on speedtest.net today so Lyca is even more worth it for me now that i know it's unlimited 3g instead of a slow 2g..
I used to use testmy.net in the browser but for some reason after i flashed holoblur 0.9 last night testmy.net says Forbidden.
So at the moment the only issue I have with Lyca is that they don't have mms but i can live with that if my data speeds stay at at least 800kbs.
I also forgot to backup my contacts when i flashed holoblur 0.9 last night , I had 2 contacts i had added that day...I am lucky Lyca keeps a call log online.
Sounds good. Although do they have any 3G plans.
I don't mind a 250mb 3G plan vs unlimited 2G
http://www.lycamobile.us/en/national-plans
It's a similar concept to T-Mobile's in that you get an allotment of 4G (3G) data and then it goes to 2G speed. Looks very interesting. Thinking of switching to their 1GB plan after I use up all my T-Mobile credit. The $20 credit for international calls is a winner for me. I assume there's no LTE,
I just saw a guy handing out lycamobile booklets, I told him have the service we talked a minute..I mentioned my plan and 2g ..he claimed it goes to 3g after that 50mb of 4g...I hope that's true. 3g is like up to 800kbs or something iirc...so that would be great.
That sounds like a pretty sweet phone plan. I might switch over to it once my contract ends. Do let us know if there are any problems you may run into.:good:
I've had lyca for almost 7 days now and at first I was having signal issues at home and it made it hard to have long text messages it was annoying, texts would get stuck at sending but seems good now after i went to Holoblur from Liquidsmooth.
And I hardly use data but i was pretty sure i had used more then 50mb, but to be sure i downloaded a 100mb video last night, at 1.5-2mb which seems to be my average data speed on lyca since day 1... anyway i'm still getting 1.5-2mb on speedtest.net today.. i used to use testmy.net but for some reason after i flashed holoblur 0.9 last night testmy.net says Forbidden.
So at the moment the only issue I have with Lyca is that they don't have mms but i can live with that if my data speeds stay at at least 800kbs.
1 month of service and I'm happy so far, feels like as time goes by my service becomes more stable. The first 2 weeks I was losing service often and had problems sending texts and had a few calls drop.. but been good the past week or so.
Gave them a try as well. I only used them temporarily to place international calls but the one time that I did it whle driving I didn't see any difference with the T-Mobile service. So far,
- Call quality to landlines in Europe was excellent.
- Call quality to cell phones in Europe was decent. On a single incidence the volume was too loud and it distorted. I don't think this was Lycamobile's problem.
- I can't get the online recharge to work. I enter all my info and at the end I get the message the transaction failed. I see the temporary authorization on my credit card, and it later goes away. I was only able to add credit by going to a local cell phone store.
- Customer service is in India. They are not allowed to request credit card information, so they couldn't do the recharge.
- Online customer service only got me the autorespond email and nothing after that.
- Calls (pay as you go) are charged at 20+ seconds longer than the call as timed by the phone itself.
- The sim card doesn't have the APN info for data. I didn't want to use data, so I didn't enter an APN.
- International roaming in Europe worked fine and at 46¢/min it beats AT&T and T-Mobile's $1.29, $1.39 or $1.79, and matches what European pay as you go carriers charge when roaming within Europe.
Given that I couldn't get any credit card to process on their website, I couldn't buy a sim card from their website either. One store sold them for $10, another for $5, and they go for 99¢ on eBay.
I think I'm going to try h2o next. Their $49/mo plans are very comparable: unlimited voice, domestic and international texts, 1GB data. Lycamoble gives $20 credit for international calls (1¢/min land-8¢/min cell in Europe) whereas h2o has unlimited landline (certain countries) and gives $40 credit for 20-30¢/min (in Europe) calls to cell phones. h2o also has mms but doesn't roam internationally.
Lyca sends free sims. And the first time I called customer support the person sounded Indian but every time after that I have gotten customer support from the UK.
skuly said:
Lyca sends free sims. And the first time I called customer support the person sounded Indian but every time after that I have gotten customer support from the UK.
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Click to collapse
Sims are free but they charge $7 for shipping and handling.
diamond12 said:
Sims are free but they charge $7 for shipping and handling.
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Click to collapse
Oh thats new..there wasn't a shipping fee ...but you can get them for a dollar or less from amazon or eBay .
Updates:
- Online recharge works for me now
- Lycamoble responded via email that calls are billed from the time the call is placed (including ring time)
skuly said:
Oh thats new..there wasn't a shipping fee ...but you can get them for a dollar or less from amazon or eBay .
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Click to collapse
yeah i also get mine for free about a month ago, happy w the service so far! :good::good:
They did end up losing some text messages for me. I confirmed that these were sent as SMS and not MMS.
Also, they automatically put me on the $39 plan without me doing so, when I added $40 credit in my account. Even though I requested to cancel the auto-renew and got the confirmation text, I still got a text on the renewal date that there were insufficient funds to renew my plan.
Other annoyances:
There is no voicemail integration. I never got the voicemail notification icon when I had voicemail. They sent a text message instead. Also, the voicemail service number did not get automatically integrated and I had to program it myself.
My number did not show in the phone info screen. Instead it showed +10000000000.
diamond12 said:
They did end up losing some text messages for me. I confirmed that these were sent as SMS and not MMS.
Also, they automatically put me on the $39 plan without me doing so, when I added $40 credit in my account. Even though I requested to cancel the auto-renew and got the confirmation text, I still got a text on the renewal date that there were insufficient funds to renew my plan.
Other annoyances:
There is no voicemail integration. I never got the voicemail notification icon when I had voicemail. They sent a text message instead. Also, the voicemail service number did not get automatically integrated and I had to program it myself.
My number did not show in the phone info screen. Instead it showed +10000000000.
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Click to collapse
I also noticed international SMS plan doesn't work or I'm using some other APN settings. Can anyone confirm?
I'm using Google voice so MMS is no big deal for me actually. I don't use anyways lol.
I also don't what why the number appears like that but they have a dial up combination that shows the number on your screen, I guess it was *613#
And my phone always shows R (stands for roaming) and doesn't show the data speed letter like 4g 3g etc
Did anyone have the same issue too?
Note: I currently break my Atrix HD these were the issues I faced when it was working.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I used the 29$ plan for a few months and it was good service, i hardly use my phone so i stopped using a plan a few months ago and i had like 17$ on my account, atm it's only down to $8, at 2c per min ,since i don't text i am only paying a few $ a month for my service.
legendnexus said:
I also noticed international SMS plan doesn't work or I'm using some other APN settings. Can anyone confirm?
And my phone always shows R (stands for roaming) and doesn't show the data speed letter like 4g 3g etc
Did anyone have the same issue too?
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Click to collapse
I didn't have either of these issues.
diamond12 said:
I didn't have either of these issues.
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Click to collapse
Can you share your APN settings?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I switched to Spot Mobile yesterday so I can't see on my phone now but I had the recommended settings on the Lycamobile page:
APN: data.lycamobile.com
Username: lmus
Password: plus
APN Type: default,supl,admin,dun
Everything else blank.
Hi all,
does anyone using Lycamobile UK with ZOPO ZP700 ?
I can not get internet working with this phone (android 4.2)
I have set all as it should be but with no result.
Thanks for the info
For the current PF subscribers, why did you choose to switch to Project Fi when MetroPCS (another T-Mobile subsidiary) offers the $60 truly unlimited plan?
I'm definitely not trying to step on any toes here, I'm just curious since I bought a Nexus 6 during the Black Friday sale and I'm wondering if I should make the switch. But, TBH, Looking at what I've seen so far, MetroPCS seems to have the better plan as of right now.
I'm really looking forward to hearing your inputs on this subject, I just might be a new subscriber if there's a benefit from switching.
Thanks in advance ?
Sent from my draconis using Tapatalk
1) If you need to use lots of cellular data, then Project Fi is not for you. Its pay-as-you-go data-pricing model is optimized for users who can stay on WiFi most of the time. For them, Fi is very cost effective.
2) A big appeal of Fi is that it offers two networks (T-Mobile and Sprint) with dynamic switching between them, and between cell data and WiFi. This switching is not perfect, but the basic architecture is there.
I use Fi because I live in a rural area that has poor reception from all carriers. I wanted an option to have Wifi calling. If I'm at home I am making calls/text through wifi most of the time. My WiFi is always great at home, and is in most stores and shops I go to (although cell service is fine in town). I know t-mobile offers this, but I like that I can switch between sprint and t-mobile with Fi. This is great because both sprint and t mobile have contracts with other carriers in the area. So If I'm on t-mobile and have a weak connection, it will sometimes roam to AT&T. Other times nothing is available on GSM and it will roam to Bluegrass Cellular through Sprint. I have better overall coverage with both carriers vs just being on att.
The phone does a pretty good job on switching. Sometimes it will get stuck on sprint when I know there is a better t-mobile signal in that spot, but I can use a dialer code to force it to switch (Fi spy makes this easy, although the codes are pretty easy to memorize).
I mostly work from home so cellular data isn't a big issue. On the days I'm in the office, I only use cell data on the way to the office to stream music. There is Wifi at work for data. I seem to find WiFi in most areas I go to. I have averaged 1gb of data per month, making this an affordable service. I do use the data saver in chrome, but don't take any other precautions on saving data. If I want to use the internet, I do, whether i'm on wifi or cellular.
The customer service is great with Fi, and the billing is nice and easy. I can now send/receive all calls and texts at home. On my previous carrier, I would just get voice messages randomly without the phone ringing and usually couldn't send text.
alex.o said:
I use Fi because I live in a rural area that has poor reception from all carriers. I wanted an option to have Wifi calling. If I'm at home I am making calls/text through wifi most of the time. My WiFi is always great at home, and is in most stores and shops I go to (although cell service is fine in town). I know t-mobile offers this, but I like that I can switch between sprint and t-mobile with Fi. This is great because both sprint and t mobile have contracts with other carriers in the area. So If I'm on t-mobile and have a weak connection, it will sometimes roam to AT&T. Other times nothing is available on GSM and it will roam to Bluegrass Cellular through Sprint. I have better overall coverage with both carriers vs just being on att.
The phone does a pretty good job on switching. Sometimes it will get stuck on sprint when I know there is a better t-mobile signal in that spot, but I can use a dialer code to force it to switch (Fi spy makes this easy, although the codes are pretty easy to memorize).
I mostly work from home so cellular data isn't a big issue. On the days I'm in the office, I only use cell data on the way to the office to stream music. There is Wifi at work for data. I seem to find WiFi in most areas I go to. I have averaged 1gb of data per month, making this an affordable service. I do use the data saver in chrome, but don't take any other precautions on saving data. If I want to use the internet, I do, whether i'm on wifi or cellular.
The customer service is great with Fi, and the billing is nice and easy. I can now send/receive all calls and texts at home. On my previous carrier, I would just get voice messages randomly without the phone ringing and usually couldn't send text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 that's why I switched since I live in the rural mountains near Yosemite. In town I have perfect T-Mobile service, plus Comcast is every where so my phone automatically connects to their hotspots all around. No one has cell service at my house, so WiFi calling is perfect. When I leave my town, sprint is in some areas, and even more rural locations I roam off Verizon. If the op is a heavy data user then I'd go with metro. I personally need the flexibility of the fi network of networks.
I thought about going FI. But with verizon unlimited and their cell tower 500 yards away I don't think I would have a benefit. But is still so tempting.
Purpose: I named the thread "Expatriate cell phone international portability strategies" not only to answer my questions, but generate a thread focused on general portability strategies, the lay of the land, options, considerations, and how to put together what they need without spending weeks picking up bits at a time. I will toss in what I BELIEVE I know from a couple weeks of reading and research, and request corrections and fill in gaps where needed to make this thread a resource.
Scenario: I am a US citizen, and I plan to live in Colombia and work with orphan kids. I want to maintain seamless US connections as well. I also don't want to go past Oreo until they fix the call recording they broke in Pie. The carriers in Colombia all have GSM roots and their market shares are Claro (48%), Movistar(24%), Tigo(18%) Claro is their Verizon meaning it works even in rural areas and other countries in South America, Tigo has the fastest 3G and 4G speeds, the most 4G, and lowest latencies, while Movistar has some rural areas, it made its name with HD Voice in cities before the others.
Code:
The bands in Colombia are:
GSM (2G): 850, 1900 (PCS) - Claro, Movistar, Tigo
UMTS (3G): B2 (1900 PCS) - Claro, Tigo
UMTS (3G): B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1) - Movistar (AWS uses frequencies in several segments between 1695 to 2200 MHz)
LTE (4G): B4 (1700) - Movistar, Tigo, Avantel
LTE (4G): B7 (2600) - Claro, Tigo
LTE (4G): B38 (TD 2600) - DirecTV data
LTE (4G): Future - Colombia will soon (when pigs fly) be auctioning in the 700 range 2x 15MHz blocks (Block A/B12), 2x 10MHz blocks (Block B/B12) and two 2x 5MHz blocks (Blocks C/B12&orB13, and D/B14). A supplementary 2x 2.5MHz block of 1900MHz spectrum will also be auctioned, comprising frequencies in the 1865MHz-1867.5MHz/1945MHz-1947.5MHz bands (Block E/B25).
Strategy Development:
1 The phone must be carrier unlocked. You cannot switch SIMs to another provider in the US or any other country unless the phone is unlocked from the carrier. If you buy a phone through a carrier, you pay for your phone with your monthly payments. They own the phone. You will need to request from them to unlock the phone, which they probably will. If you stop making payments on the phone, they will blacklist the MEID so that whoever has the phone cannot use it, which is how people buy a phone on eBay or Craigslist with a clean MEID and end up later with their phone and phone number being blacklisted for non-payment because the previous owner stopped paying on a phone contract or owes them for service. If you buy a phone outright from a non-carrier source such as Amazon or Walmart, it comes Factory Unlocked because you paid for it, it's yours, and at the time of purchase they don't know which network you will be using it on. *There are exceptions to this. Sometimes Walmart will sell pre-pay phones for a carrier at a deeply discounted rate at which point the phone is locked to the carrier until you spend at least so much on the carrier's network, typically a couple months of service. It will normally state that in the fine print on the box if that is the case.
2. I don't want to get updated past Oreo or some way to preserve call recording. All phones sold for the US market are SM-960U*, and are the same hardware platform thus you can change the model from U to U1 by simply flashing new firmware. The only firmware capable of maintaining Oreo 8.1 without getting forced into an upgrade is the SM-N960U1 Oreo 8.1 firmware, which makes the model of the phone SM-N960U1. You must also do other things to prevent the Play Store from ruining your phone with their malware policies and software updates. You can side-loading earlier versions for software by downloading the APKs from APKPure.com. I subsequently did a thread that spells this out in detail. Restore Call Recording to your Note 9 SM-N960U and SM-N960U1
However, there is another way to get call recording without the cooperation of Android, Play Store, and the phone manufacturer and that is to have a VOIP service host your number(s) and record and backup your calls and logs that puts this entire are outside of their ability to control and monetize your information. This opens up many possibilities such as additional telephone lines for $6.00/mo., local presence in multiple countries around the world with no long distance, your number is protected and isolated from wireless provider control, cheaper data-only SIMs, no number porting, you can pick up a phone anywhere and not be concerned with the number assigned because you won't be using that number, you needn't be concerned that your phone doesn't have the carrier specific firmware for their network to use Voice over LTE (VoLTE) or Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) because you won't be using it. You will be using VOIP, which can be used by anything that can support a VOIP client, which is PCs, phones, and tablets. One such service that fits that quite nicely is CallHippo for $15.00/mo. With VOIP, if your wireless service lapses, you do not lose your number and you simply need Internet access from anywhere, from any device capable of running a VOIP client to use it, including free hot spots. One thing you want to pay attention to when evaluating VOIP plans is what calls cost. Some have "free" incoming, but for instance with CallHippo there is a limit of 800 minutes/mo. free before they start charging $0.01/minute, and outbound calls always cost money, which in the case of CallHippo is also $0.01/minute. Thus, 1000 minutes will cost you $10.00. VOIP includes hosting your number and switching your traffic across the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) which they are paying for and not being reimbursed for by spying on you as your wireless provider does and "free" services such as Google Voice. Moreover, with regard to Video Calling (ViLTE), many countries have defacto applications people use such as WhatsApp, which is rapidly being replaced by Signal from Open Whisper Systems, for secure calling, video calling, and messaging. The reason for this is in most countries using the public switched telephone network (PSTN) costs more than the cost of the data required a call on Signal, there is never any long distance, all you need is an Internet connection where even a hot spot will do, and unlike with carrier communications where the contents of everything is being monetized, it is 100% secure between callers with no server between that can monitor the content of the communications. Unlike other services, Signal doesn't log the calls or even have the metadata to give even under court order.. Therefore, depending on your strategy, the missing network functionality of not running carrier-specific firmware may be of no consequence. 1 GB of data will do 1200 to 2000 minutes of voice calling, which means the bandwidth requirements are so low, that even when throttled after you use up your data allowance, you will still have at least twice the bandwidth needed for quality voice calls.
3. Doesn't Voice over Wi-Fi really come in handy for International travel? First we need to understand the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) It is a world-wide system that originated with copper wires to central offices near your house. This is called the "Last mile", which might be 3 miles. This also means if you move even across the street or somewhere else where and that location is wired to a different Central Office, your phone number will have to change. With mobile devices that had to change. The cellular carrier provides the "Last Mile" that integrates your telephone number into the PSTN. This costs money, and when you pop a SIM into your phone and pay to make it active, that carrier is now the one getting paid to provide the wireless connection and integrate your phone number into the PSTN and they in fact own the number even if you ported it there. Wi-Fi calling is a VOIP connection to your wireless provider that treats the Internet connection of your phone as though it were another cell tower as you drive down the road and when that signal is better than the one it has, it switches to that one. Therefore, in theory, running your carrier's firmware and Voice over Wi-Fi, you could be in a different country, and still have local cell service over the Internet, but it would have to come from Wi-Fi. HOWEVER, because your wireless provider back home is doing your connection to the PSTN, if you don't have a Wi-Fi connection, and your phone roams without an International plan, it gets very expensive very fast, or calls. If you put a local wireless provider's SIM into your phone, you get a new number local to that country, you lose your connection to your number back home, and calls and messages are stored with your carrier back home, and you are paying for a wireless service that you are not using in order to maintain your number. You can switch back to your carrier's SIM AFTER you connect to a hot spot to return your calls and messages to avoid roaming charges. With a SIM local to the country, your to and from back home would be charged long distance rates. With VOIP, changing to a SIM local to your location or using a Wi-Fi hotspot does not affect your access to your number back home, you are not paying for a service you are not using, VOIP can be used by any SIP/VOIP-client-capable device with any kind of Internet connection, either through a SIM or local Wi-Fi hotspot. Additionally, VOIP presents a stable US number, where nobody back home pays long distance to or from that number, no matter where you are in the world. With VOIP as your PSTN provider and the fact that cellular networks are all now data-based, your "Last Mile" becomes anywhere in the world you can get an Internet connection, whether that be Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular, or any combination, and with any device capable of running a SIP/VOIP client, such as a phone, tablet, or computer. Moreover, a lapse of wireless or ISP service, cellular service, or change in country location, does not cause you to lose your telephone number as long as you pay the VOIP provider. So to answer the question, "Doesn't Voice over Wi-Fi really come in handy for International travel?" That depends what your expectations are. First, it requires a Wi-Fi connections, which even when free, requires you to agree to their terms before connecting. This works out well in an airport, airplane, or someplace you may be working whether in US or abroad. In the US it can help inside of a building where reception is poor and you connect to the Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is not going to work like a cell phone and ring while you are going down the highway or when you don't take the time to find a wireless network to connect to. After you find a wireless connection, you will mostly be working off voicemails, older emails, and older text messages. Popping in a local SIM would cut you off from your wireless services back home but with VOIP, you would have both local access where you are and perfect connectivity back home.
4. Why don't carriers simply use the US UNLOCKED SM-N960U1 firmware? It covers all of the bands for all of the US carriers, and a lot of the rest of the world, both current and future. I can simply change the SIM for the carrier I want, and I'm good to go. Because the U firmware is tailored to the carrier's network which often contains proprietary methods while they were innovating and before standards were established. Thus, those carriers require non-standard firmware to deliver those services in the near-term. The U1 firmware is tailored to current standards. Also, a phone manufacturer has no right to include the intellectual property that a carrier has invested time and money in and is/was used by the carrier for competitive advantage. Therefore, you may be missing some important features of the network by using the U1 firmware, but it will travel better because it is standards-based, but as mentioned above, those missing features may not matter to you. I did a thread that explains that here: US Note 9 Carrier-Specific vs. US Unlocked Firmware Observations & Theories Question: If I use Google Voice, and use a SM-960U1 US Unlocked phone with a local carrier's SIM in Colombia, will I still get VoLTE and carrier banding from the Colombia carrier without their firmware? As mentioned above, that may be of no consequence to you, but carriers are rushing to become standards-compliant both for regulatory and profitability reasons. VoLTE, VoWiFi, messaging, etc. are things they monetize and don't want to turn away people with other phones. Carrier Banding enables them to not only provide better speed, but also more capacity from the very expensive bands they've been licensed by their regulating authority. These affect price and profitability. Thus, the "U" software force you to update to their latest firmware. The "U1" firmware is standards-based already.
5. Google Voice enables me to have VOIP service any time I have a data connection, and if Internet is not available via the data plan or Wi-Fi, incoming calls and text messages are queued for later when I do. It must be a US number and it must have a backup number in the US. I can forward my Verizon number to the Google number, which in turn can forward to multiple other devices to ring, which is essentially free VOIP. (In exchange for your privacy of course.) Their number cross references to my phone book to show who is calling, and their call rings and works exactly like when I get a call to my Verizon number. To avoid spam, you can have it require them to state their name before forwarding the call plus they do a good job of killing off the spammers anyway. If you return their call, you can elect to have their caller ID show your Google number or your home number at the time you place the call. As with non-free VOIP carriers, Google Voice allows you to use the number any way you can get an Internet connection, call anywhere in the US or Canada for free, the best long distance rate if you call elsewhere, and you are not paying a VOIP provider the the month or minute. You don't lose your number for non-payment because you never pay them anyway, BUT you do need to have a US number to back it. It will do incoming call recording but not outgoing, and plays a message that the call is being recorded.
Curiosity got me checking why Samsung uses the Snapdragon processor on all of the US phones, and Samsung's own Exynos on other phones? What I've found, and seems logical is this:
The Exynos chipset, while good on CPU/GPU benchmarking, is still quite weak in radio performance compared to Qualcomm. Qualcomm is still more than one year, possibly even two years ahead, allowing Qualcomm-based devices to use the network more efficiently and make use of advanced network features which are currently relevant for US (to throw some abbreviations here: MIMO, LTE-U, LAA/LWA,etc), and will be for others in the future. Another is the US market still needs CDMA (the predecessor of LTE which is still in use by some carriers). CDMA may have been replaced by LTE-A on the Verizon network, and CDMA scheduled to be shut down EOY 2019, with Sprint EOY 2020, but they still may be using other CDMA networks they have agreements with beyond that. CDMA is not supported by the Exynos modem. The Snapdragon chipset is very power efficient, and Qualcomm develops a lot of good technology and patents. It's hard not to use their chips, and they are priced where you can't afford to compete with them in a level playing field. Intel, who was supplying Apple, threw in the towel and told Apple they were not going to compete with Qualcomm in the 5G world because they couldn't equal their performance and lost money the entire time in the 3G and 4G world. Apple bought their way back into Qualcomm's good graces by repaying a successful law suit against Qualcomm, and signed a 6-year contract. Thus, the processor that made the most sense at this time is the SnapDragon. The US Note 9s use is as well as the Chinese SM-N9600, which unlike the US SM-N960U* has an unlockable boot loader tempting me with a rootable phone and good firmware support in South America, with instances of success working on the Verizon network in the US. The US UNLOCKED SM-N960U1 supports a few more bands than the SM-N9600 and if I root, I lose Samsung Pay. I'm torn on this one.
Looking forward to your input and corrections,
Thanks!
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-9/help/n9600-samsung-pay-verizon-cdma-support-t3875582
bober10113 said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-9/help/n9600-samsung-pay-verizon-cdma-support-t3875582
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read the thread, and my takeaway is with the SM-N9600 I can go places with root, but kills any pay apps. I tried to follow the link to to check out how the revisions work, but the link is broken. So it still seems like an SM-960U, if I freeze at Oreo and add PIE modem firmware, and add other software to prevent the upgrade, I can block the upgrade to Pie and beyond. Which modem firmware would be the best one to flash to the modem is what I'm after. I don't know if the PIE SM-N960U1 modem firmware would work with the Verizon Oreo Firmware to block the upgrade and allow me to use the extra bands of the U1 when using a SIM abroad, or if I need to put in the modem firmware upgrade for PIE for Verizon. EDIT: The only way to prevent an SM-N960U from being upgraded by the wireless provider to Pie and beyond is by flashing the phone to the XAA "U1" firmware.
Thanks!