Database Develop

[Q] LTE or 3g model

I'm living in Korea right now.
SK telecom has already released their LTE snapdragon a couple of weeks ago.
I heard rumors that KT was to release their 3g model, but what I had found out is that it's the LTE snapdragon model with 3g enabled.
This is very disappointing news to me as I expected the exynos processor from KT.
Now a few questions:
1. I've heard that snapdragon vs exynos difference on paper looks massive, but user experience is about the same, is this true?
2. Where are the reputable sellers for gnote 3g model (I heard amazon and handtech)
3. For those users that bought it overseas.. how are you handling no warranty? Korea samsung provides great warranty (even if you break the phone on accident) they'll replace it for free. I'm very scared that one day the galaxy note 3g version might just die and i'll be out of luck.
Thanks for reading... so excited to pull the trigger..

aigoya said:
I'm living in Korea right now.
SK telecom has already released their LTE snapdragon a couple of weeks ago.
I heard rumors that KT was to release their 3g model, but what I had found out is that it's the LTE snapdragon model with 3g enabled.
This is very disappointing news to me as I expected the exynos processor from KT.
Now a few questions:
1. I've heard that snapdragon vs exynos difference on paper looks massive, but user experience is about the same, is this true?
2. Where are the reputable sellers for gnote 3g model (I heard amazon and handtech)
3. For those users that bought it overseas.. how are you handling no warranty? Korea samsung provides great warranty (even if you break the phone on accident) they'll replace it for free. I'm very scared that one day the galaxy note 3g version might just die and i'll be out of luck.
Thanks for reading... so excited to pull the trigger..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) According to Engadget it's true - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20440114&postcount=9
2) I'd probably get it from Amazon but if you're in Korea already you should have other options. Have you considered contacting Samsung in Korea?
3) Good question, if there is a presence in your country for the source you purchased it from, I've heard there should be coverage but I'd like to know for sure before ordering..
Let us know what you decide,

SMARTPHONEPC said:
1) According to Engadget it's true - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20440114&postcount=9
2) I'd probably get it from Amazon but if you're in Korea already you should have other options. Have you considered contacting Samsung in Korea?
3) Good question, if there is a presence in your country for the source you purchased it from, I've heard there should be coverage but I'd like to know for sure before ordering..
Let us know what you decide,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That link actually proves how unreliable the Snapdragon is...
The Snapdragon had Quadrant scores of anywhere from 2100-3300 which is EXTREMELY unstable...
My old S2 got consistant Quadrant scores of 3600-3700 on Stock
aigoya said:
I'm living in Korea right now.
SK telecom has already released their LTE snapdragon a couple of weeks ago.
I heard rumors that KT was to release their 3g model, but what I had found out is that it's the LTE snapdragon model with 3g enabled.
This is very disappointing news to me as I expected the exynos processor from KT.
Now a few questions:
1. I've heard that snapdragon vs exynos difference on paper looks massive, but user experience is about the same, is this true?
2. Where are the reputable sellers for gnote 3g model (I heard amazon and handtech)
3. For those users that bought it overseas.. how are you handling no warranty? Korea samsung provides great warranty (even if you break the phone on accident) they'll replace it for free. I'm very scared that one day the galaxy note 3g version might just die and i'll be out of luck.
Thanks for reading... so excited to pull the trigger..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) It's actually the opposite. On paper, the Snapdragon looks amazing with it's 1.5ghz clock speed compared to the Exynos 1.4ghz, but the Snapdragon is very unreliable.
Quadrant Score that vary within the thousands usually mean that occasional or frequent lag on the homescreen are visible. Thus was the case with the AT&T ****rocket (The LTE S2)
2) Handtec, Clove, Amazon are all good places
3) The OG Note works with HSPA+ and will most likely have more sales than the LT**** note. Just look at the int'l S2 and compare those forums to the Skyrocket forums. It's like 50 devs versus 2-5 devs in the ****rocket forums.

xAnimal5 said:
That link actually proves how unreliable the Snapdragon is...
The Snapdragon had Quadrant scores of anywhere from 2100-3300 which is EXTREMELY unstable...
My old S2 got consistant Quadrant scores of 3600-3700 on Stock
1) It's actually the opposite. On paper, the Snapdragon looks amazing with it's 1.5ghz clock speed compared to the Exynos 1.4ghz, but the Snapdragon is very unreliable.
Quadrant Score that vary within the thousands usually mean that occasional or frequent lag on the homescreen are visible. Thus was the case with the AT&T ****rocket (The LTE S2)
2) Handtec, Clove, Amazon are all good places
3) The OG Note works with HSPA+ and will most likely have more sales than the LT**** note. Just look at the int'l S2 and compare those forums to the Skyrocket forums. It's like 50 devs versus 2-5 devs in the ****rocket forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the source link http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/11/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-skyrocket-review/ the chart is better formatted showing different devices (not instances) for Galaxy S II Skyrocket ; AT&T Galaxy S II ; T-Mobile Galaxy S II ; HTC Vivid Benchmarks
"Another wild card in the Skyrocket's performance is the 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 (Snapdragon S3) CPU and accompanying Adreno 220 GPU, the same SoC setup as we saw on T-Mo's flavor. How does it hold up against the almighty Exynos processor found in so many of the other members of the Galaxy S II family? Pretty well, actually. While we've had a strong admiration for the processing prowess of Samsung's homegrown silicon, the Skyrocket's chip isn't anywhere close to a slouch either. In fact, unless you're paying close attention, you probably won't even notice a difference at all. The Qualcomm-powered device handled itself well throughout our menial myriad of tasks and didn't skip a beat.
The Skyrocket booted up in 25 seconds and was incredibly responsive from that time forward. Not once did the phone crash during our graphics-intensive activities, nor did it hiccup at any point in our multitasking. Animations were smooth as butter, as was the touch responsiveness."

In Korea, cell phone plans get a discount depending on the plan. The higher then plan, the higher the discount.
So just guestimating, if I get one of the Korean LTE models, I will be able to save $200-$400 depending on the plan vs getting the 3g european model.
So it begs the options:
Pay $200-$400: exynos + awesome xda developer support, 3g unlimited
Save $200-$400: qualcom, small if not no dev support, 4g LTE capped

aigoya said:
In Korea, cell phone plans get a discount depending on the plan. The higher then plan, the higher the discount.
So just guestimating, if I get one of the Korean models, I will be able to save $200-$400 depending on the plan vs getting the 3g model.
So it begs the options:
Pay $200-$400: exynos + awesome xda developer support, 3g
Save $200-$400: qualcom, small if not no dev support, 4g LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on your budget & what you want to do with it now? There will likely be more dev support if AT&T announce their LTE version in a few weeks. I'm trying to hold out for more info on AT&Ts LTE version as it should be more future-proof & by this month's end I should be in an LTE market but I'd rather not wait until April if that's really what they would announce soon. You have options now & don't have to wait!
How are the speeds of each in Korea & how often are you on Wi-Fi & all mobile data would be capped at what?

SMARTPHONEPC said:
Depends on your budget & what you want to do with it now? There will likely be more dev support if AT&T announce their LTE version in a few weeks. I'm trying to hold out for more info on AT&Ts LTE version as it should be more future-proof & by this month's end I should be in an LTE market but I'd rather not wait until April if that's really what they would announce soon. You have options now & don't have to wait!
How are the speeds of each in Korea & how often are you on Wi-Fi & all mobile data would be capped at what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately korean models are different than usa models because of firmware. I know this first hand as i own the korean galaxy tab 10.1 and failed to install custom roms as well as other korean gtab owners.
As for the speed ill get back to you tomorrow. My coworker has an lte phone so i can get someanswers for you.

Tab S 8.4 sm-t705M in the US

So after months of trying I was finally able to buy and import in the mythical sm-t705m into America. I contacted a few people and when I was telling a colleague he told me we had a coworker who had family in Brazil. And about 6 weeks later I am typing to you from my Tab S.
This is the South American version of the Tab S 8.4 that has the phone built in AND has compatible North American LTE bands. I can verify that LTE bands are working fine. I am on T-Mobile and all I did was take out my old Sim card and popped it into my tab s and it picked them up right away. Speeds are the same as they were on my old Galaxy Mega 6.3, just on a bigger device. Checked the network status and it said I was on band 4.
Tab s itself was about $450 but then cost of shipping and PayPal fee charge and a little something for my coworkers brother, it came to about $600. If I can get $200 for my old phone then I will be very happy with the final cost.
Those that want this device find someone that can help you out. Definitely worth it.

kwed73 said:
So after months of trying I was finally able to buy and import in the mythical sm-t705m into America. I contacted a few people and when I was telling a colleague he told me we had a coworker who had family in Brazil. And about 6 weeks later I am typing to you from my Tab S.
This is the South American version of the Tab S 8.4 that has the phone built in AND has compatible North American LTE bands. I can verify that LTE bands are working fine. I am on T-Mobile and all I did was take out my old Sim card and popped it into my tab s and it picked them up right away. Speeds are the same as they were on my old Galaxy Mega 6.3, just on a bigger device. Checked the network status and it said I was on band 4.
Tab s itself was about $450 but then cost of shipping and PayPal fee charge and a little something for my coworkers brother, it came to about $600. If I can get $200 for my old phone then I will be very happy with the final cost.
Those that want this device find someone that can help you out. Definitely worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is pretty interesting. I got my Tab S 8.4 from overseas (As I wanted phone capability) But I am only able to use HSPA+ on AT&T in the US. I didn't realize that there was a version with both US based LTE and Phone.
Any idea what model number it is? Is it Exynos or Snapdragon?

omniphil said:
This is pretty interesting. I got my Tab S 8.4 from overseas (As I wanted phone capability) But I am only able to use HSPA+ on AT&T in the US. I didn't realize that there was a version with both US based LTE and Phone.
Any idea what model number it is? Is it Exynos or Snapdragon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its an exynos processor. Just ran CPU Z.
I was going to buy the European model as well, but I read a thread here about there being a South American version that had the compatible LTE bands and it does. I am on T-Mobile and it connects to band 4 all the time. I have ran multiple speed tests and I get usually mid 20s, although I did hit 51 Mbps down one time and 40s a handful of times as well. Depends on where I'm at.
I was worried about future proofing a bit because I read T-Mobile wasnt going to try to increase hspa+ and I was worried eventually they would dump it all together for LTE. This way I am good to go because it also has band 2 something they are working to increase as well this year.

kwed73 said:
Its an exynos processor. Just ran CPU Z.
I was going to buy the European model as well, but I read a thread here about there being a South American version that had the compatible LTE bands and it does. I am on T-Mobile and it connects to band 4 all the time. I have ran multiple speed tests and I get usually mid 20s, although I did hit 51 Mbps down one time and 40s a handful of times as well. Depends on where I'm at.
I was worried about future proofing a bit because I read T-Mobile wasnt going to try to increase hspa+ and I was worried eventually they would dump it all together for LTE. This way I am good to go because it also has band 2 something they are working to increase as well this year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, HSPA+ will be going away, but i'm sure i'll have a new by then anyways. Plus so many people are on LTE now that the HSPA+ speeds have been much better than they used to be...
AT&T does use Band 4 from what I can tell as well. I'll have to keep this in mind when buying a phone in the future.
Thanks!

omniphil said:
Yeah, HSPA+ will be going away, but i'm sure i'll have a new by then anyways. Plus so many people are on LTE now that the HSPA+ speeds have been much better than they used to be...
AT&T does use Band 4 from what I can tell as well. I'll have to keep this in mind when buying a phone in the future.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. Nice thing about the Tab S is that the specs are so good it should last for more than a typical phone.

kwed73 said:
No problem. Nice thing about the Tab S is that the specs are so good it should last for more than a typical phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that is very true. It preforms pretty good, but when the Tab S2 8.0 comes out I may just upgrade to that.
For me the crazy high resolution of the Tab S 8.4 is a little to high for an 8.4 inch device. The video has some lag from all the pixels. I think a lower resolution would be plenty fine and would help performance.
All the manufactures are having pixel density wars, I think they are getting out of hand.

omniphil said:
Yes, that is very true. It preforms pretty good, but when the Tab S2 8.0 comes out I may just upgrade to that.
For me the crazy high resolution of the Tab S 8.4 is a little to high for an 8.4 inch device. The video has some lag from all the pixels. I think a lower resolution would be plenty fine and would help performance.
All the manufactures are having pixel density wars, I think they are getting out of hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read that the S2 will have a 4:3 ratio and I think that might make it hard for calls and carrying, being wider. I'm happy with the form factor now. I always said a 7 inch would be perfect, but I am enjoying the 8.4 because of small bezels

kwed73 said:
I read that the S2 will have a 4:3 ratio and I think that might make it hard for calls and carrying, being wider. I'm happy with the form factor now. I always said a 7 inch would be perfect, but I am enjoying the 8.4 because of small bezels
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah 4:3 might be strange. But looking at the specs We're only talking about 1/2 inch wider. That might be ok for holding. We'll have to see when it comes out...

New Note 5 Same poor wifi and cell reception

Went to a few shops today here in Taipei,Taiwan where they are selling the Dual sim card Note 5 and sure enough just like my Galaxy S6 Edge the Note 5 has poor wifi reception and poor cell reception signal. I went to 3 carriers shops right next to each other and all Samsung Note 5 displayed on Demo in the store had poor wifi connection issues while there smartphones had no problem connecting and had better signal strength on their wifi reception. The 4G LTE signal band was also weaker on the new Note 5.
The speaker Volume though was quite good for a bottom speaker. Screen was good and camera was great. If you are about connections though you may end up hating this phone. Tried out new Galaxy S6 Edge + too and it had the the same problems as well. Samsung should address the poor wifi and cell signal issue.

Does not look too good.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/767396-Samsung-Note-5-signal-issues

desiregeek said:
Went to a few shops today here in Taipei,Taiwan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Software and modems vary by region. For example, the HK Note 12 can't use ROM's from other regions even though it's multi-CSC because the modem fails the device check in Odin. My Singapore Note 12 works fine with Euro ROMs. That's probably why the person using a HK Note in South Africa is having issues. My carrier Note in the U.S. blows my previous carrier Note 4 away in Wi-Fi, LTE, and HSPA. So people’s individual experiences are a big YMMV.

I wonder if the antenna on the Dual SIM Note 5 is bigger n the inside of the Note 5 compared to the single SIM antenna. Perhaps the dual sim may have better reception due to bigger antenna. Could not find any picture or tear downs comparing the antenna of the single sim Note 5 to the dual sim antenna of the Note 5.

Agreed! I upgraded from the Note 4 on launch. Reception is horrible! So frustrated...

I have the TW dual SIM gold version and absolutely no problem. Same reception like my s6 edge and iPhone 6 plus.
I use China Unicom SIM card and a European SIM. No problem at all and same goes for WIFI.
Regards
Sent from my SM-N9208 using XDA Premium HD app

Unlocked U.S Note 9 Slow Updates?

Hi everyone,
For anyone out there that won't be trading in a phone and paying full price, it looks like B&H has the best deal on the Note 9 that's compatible with T-Mobile U.S.A. They are throwing the new QI wireless charger duo, a dex dock and the AKG headphones (although via rebate )
My question: How's Samsung's software updates for their unlocked phones? I know they caught some heat in the past for doing quarterly security updates instead of monthly which they have now fixed but is that true for their major OS updates? I don't want to be stuck on 8.0 till this time next year when 9.0 is starting to roll out now..
Anything else I would be losing by going the unlocked route? I have TMobile here in the U.S and the specs sheet pretty much covers everything including bands 66 and 71.. I'm assuming wifi calling is a given although it doesn't say so..
No tax and the additional freebies have me lingering on the preorder click button.. What say you?

Avoid T-Mobile since it would come with a locked bootloader. I am still rocking a Note-4 on TMO since the bootloader was unlocked. It is probably better to get an international model of the phone.

I'm on the fence as the OP as well. Has band 71 been totally confirmed for the US unlocked version!?

It is my understanding that the international version will have full band support for the US-Based GSM carriers (AT&T and T-Mo) but not for CDMA (Verizon and Shint).

If I'm not mistaken, Carrier versions get the update from Samsung, after Samsung does their tweaks, and then the carrier puts their little changes, and then the update rolls out. Unlocked versions should get updates sooner since there's no carrier involved right?
---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 PM ----------
mike2518 said:
I'm on the fence as the OP as well. Has band 71 been totally confirmed for the US unlocked version!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to BestBuy.com
LTE Band 1, LTE Band 12, LTE Band 13, LTE Band 17, LTE Band 18, LTE Band 19, LTE Band 2, LTE Band 20, LTE Band 25, LTE Band 26, LTE Band 28, LTE Band 29, LTE Band 3, LTE Band 30, LTE Band 38, LTE Band 39, LTE Band 4, LTE Band 40, LTE Band 41, LTE Band 5, LTE Band 7, LTE Band 8

As far as wifi calling it should work on a unlocked Note 9. I have the unlocked Note 8 and wifi calling works on tmobile.
I am not sure about the bands support as phone arena also says that it does t have B71 support.
But if the US unlocked S9 can be used as an example, it has b71 support. So I wouldn't see why Samsung would drop b71 support on the US unlocked Note 9.

jayr04 said:
If I'm not mistaken, Carrier versions get the update from Samsung, after Samsung does their tweaks, and then the carrier puts their little changes, and then the update rolls out. Unlocked versions should get updates sooner since there's no carrier involved right?
You would think it works that way but no. All carriers are satisfied first before unlocked units. My unlocked note 8 always received updates well after carriers. I guess unlocked users represent a smaller percentage and thus lower priority.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

PC Mag review has confirmed that tmobile wifi calling works on the unlocked Note 9 but not for any of the other carriers. Still don't know about band 71 coverage though b&h has it listed on their website.

FYI Oreo on tmobile note 8 was released April 1st while Oreo on unlocked version was released April 4th.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Tmobile band 71
Does anyone know if an unlocked Sprint Note 9 is compatible with TMobiles band 71?
I bought on Ebay a note 9 that was listed as a factory US unlocked SM-N960u1. Based on the imei number, it turns out that it is a sprint carrier unlocked note 9 that someone flashed the U1 firmware onto it. I talked to Samsung support and tmobile tech support who do Not know if this phone will work with band 71.
Sorry if I'm asking in the wrong location.
Appreciate the input.

Yes it should be compatible I think. You can try dialing *#2263# then go to band selection then LTE then look for listed bands, it should say 71 in there.

sl5400 said:
Does anyone know if an unlocked Sprint Note 9 is compatible with TMobiles band 71?
I bought on Ebay a note 9 that was listed as a factory US unlocked SM-N960u1. Based on the imei number, it turns out that it is a sprint carrier unlocked note 9 that someone flashed the U1 firmware onto it. I talked to Samsung support and tmobile tech support who do Not know if this phone will work with band 71.
Sorry if I'm asking in the wrong location.
Appreciate the input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. All the US Note 9s are the same exact hardware. There's no difference at all between the carrier models or the U1 model. It will be 100% compatible and has band 71 support. If you want video calling and rcs texting, just flash the T-Mo firmware. WiFi calling and VoLTE both work on the U1 firmware on T-Mo.
I've had a T-Mobile branded Note 9, an actual factory unlocked U1, and most recently an ATT brandes Note 9 flashed with the U1 firmware on T-Mobile. No difference whatsoever in signal strength and speed.
Just put your TMB SIM card in it and enjoy!
You also have one distinct advantage: ONLY Sprint branded phones and the factory unlocked U1s work on Sprint. So when you sell that one, you can say it's truly unlocked for all carriers.
EDIT: Added a screen shot from the *#2263# menue on my ATT Note 9 running the U1 unlocked firmware. I circled all the LTE bands it supports. Again running on T-Mobile.

So great to hear that. Thanks so much for your thorough reply. Can I leave it as is or will I need to flash the sprint firmware back to use the warranty ever. The knox counter remains at 0×0.
Thank you

sl5400 said:
So great to hear that. Thanks so much for your thorough reply. Can I leave it as is or will I need to flash the sprint firmware back to use the warranty ever. The knox counter remains at 0×0.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can leave it as is. It's running official Samsung firmware.

I understand that the tmobile variant has a locked Bootloader as well.
My last note was the note 4 which I loved because I could carry spare batteries. Since that phone, I've been on the huawei mate 8,9 and 10. Great UI and 4000 mah batteries that I easily could get more than a days usage. Most recently, I sold my mate 10 and bought a Nova 3 because I wanted a better selfie cam than 8mp. The Nova has a 24mp and a 2mp selfie.
Compared to my new note, the selfies are appreciably sharper. I want to take advantage of band 71. My wife has a s9 plus and she gets double the download speeds I ever got with huawei. Guess I'm looking for the best of all worlds. I've missed the note. I'm glad samsung finally put in a big enough battery. Personally, I still think the user replaceable battery was always the best and distinguished android from Apple by having expandable memory too.
My main complaint with this note is that I am unable to tweak the settings for better battery.
I think I've tried everything even tweaked the developer settings. Maybe the s pen is a drain even when not in use.
Best regards and thanks again!

sl5400 said:
I understand that the tmobile variant has a locked Bootloader as well.
My last note was the note 4 which I loved because I could carry spare batteries. Since that phone, I've been on the huawei mate 8,9 and 10. Great UI and 4000 mah batteries that I easily could get more than a days usage. Most recently, I sold my mate 10 and bought a Nova 3 because I wanted a better selfie cam than 8mp. The Nova has a 24mp and a 2mp selfie.
Compared to my new note, the selfies are appreciably sharper. I want to take advantage of band 71. My wife has a s9 plus and she gets double the download speeds I ever got with huawei. Guess I'm looking for the best of all worlds. I've missed the note. I'm glad samsung finally put in a big enough battery. Personally, I still think the user replaceable battery was always the best and distinguished android from Apple by having expandable memory too.
My main complaint with this note is that I am unable to tweak the settings for better battery.
I think I've tried everything even tweaked the developer settings. Maybe the s pen is a drain even when not in use.
Best regards and thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ALL the US models have locked bootloaders. If you want to unlock and root, you need an international model, but you'll lose band 71.
No the SPen won't drain your battery.
What kind of battery life are you getting?

Averaging 14 to 18 hours. I've put all but 2 apps to sleep and am allowing no more than 1 app to run in the background. I also go into device maintenance frequently and optimize everything. My Huawei Nova 3 with it's 3750 battery lasts at least 25% longer.
Am I missing anything?
Thank you

sl5400 said:
Averaging 14 to 18 hours. I've put all but 2 apps to sleep and am allowing no more than 1 app to run in the background. I also go into device maintenance frequently and optimize everything. My Huawei Nova 3 with it's 3750 battery lasts at least 25% longer.
Am I missing anything?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't really tell me anything. How much screen on time do you have? How much of that 14 to 18 hours is the phone being used?

Screen on time about 4 hrs, talk time 2 1/2 hrs

DarkManX4lf said:
As far as wifi calling it should work on a unlocked Note 9. I have the unlocked Note 8 and wifi calling works on tmobile.
I am not sure about the bands support as phone arena also says that it does t have B71 support.
But if the US unlocked S9 can be used as an example, it has b71 support. So I wouldn't see why Samsung would drop b71 support on the US unlocked Note 9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that WiFi calling works on unlocked USA note 9. Carrier T-Mobile.

Note 9 exynos

Just wondering if there is a downside to using the 960F model in the U.S. I want root, so that's why i'm asking. By the way, i'm with T-Mobile. Thanks.

grunt0300 said:
Just wondering if there is a downside to using the 960F model in the U.S. I want root, so that's why i'm asking. By the way, i'm with T-Mobile. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll be missing some frequencies so that you won't have service in some areas where the US Tmobile phones would. But you'll never really know for sure, in some cases, if spotty service is due to phone incompatibility or just poor service, unless you can compare to a compatible phone. Also, you won't be able to change to a Tmobile CSC designed for the US, because there isn't one for the Exynos variant, which means you won't have Tmobile features like wifi calling, VoLTE, etc.
But you'll have root.
The reason I say all that is because I used the Exynos variant of the S7 on Tmobile for three years, and went through all those exact issues and more, such as missing calls, that went straight to voicemail, even while at home where I had LTE that would just drop off at times, and I pulled my hair out trying to fix the problem with better apn settings.
But I bought the Exynos for the 8 processors. That was dumb.
These days, the Note9 has 8 processors for both Exynos and Snapdragon, but the Snapdragon variant has a better GPU and better battery efficiency.
The Note9 SM-N960U1 (Snapdragon) US unbranded version is the nicest phone for the US market, and you get wifi-calling and VoLTE on Tmobile.
But you don't get root.
And this is the first phone with an OS so good, I don't want root.
Good luck!

gruuvin said:
You'll be missing some frequencies so that you won't have service in some areas where the US Tmobile phones would. But you'll never really know for sure, in some cases, if spotty service is due to phone incompatibility or just poor service, unless you can compare to a compatible phone. Also, you won't be able to change to a Tmobile CSC designed for the US, because there isn't one for the Exynos variant, which means you won't have Tmobile features like wifi calling, VoLTE, etc.
But you'll have root.
The reason I say all that is because I used the Exynos variant of the S7 on Tmobile for three years, and went through all those exact issues and more, such as missing calls, that went straight to voicemail, even while at home where I had LTE that would just drop off at times, and I pulled my hair out trying to fix the problem with better apn settings.
But I bought the Exynos for the 8 processors. That was dumb.
These days, the Note9 has 8 processors for both Exynos and Snapdragon, but the Snapdragon variant has a better GPU and better battery efficiency.
The Note9 SM-N960U1 (Snapdragon) US unbranded version is the nicest phone for the US market, and you get wifi-calling and VoLTE on Tmobile.
But you don't get root.
And this is the first phone with an OS so good, I don't want root.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I think the downside outweighs the upside. For me, rooting is fun, but not that much fun. Maybe the OnePlus 6 would be a better buy, with less downside.