Database Develop

Sprint vs T-Mobile [Dev Edition/TMO Version] in Maryland

[I'm cross-posting this in the TMO HTC One forum as well]
My situation:
1. I've been with Sprint since the OG Evo, but after getting the One, I was really frustrated with the slow LTE speeds especially after years of Network Vision promises and paying an extra $10 a month (per phone) for "high speed data" that was anything but. I was also irked at all the crap I had to go through to get the SIM unlocked.
2. The area I live in has refarmed HSPA+ to the 1900Mhz band.
3. The area I live in has AWS LTE.
4. I currently have a Sprint, T-Mobile, and Developer Edition One.
My original plan was to use the DE to test the TMO network to see if it was faster than Sprint and available in all the places I frequent. If so, then I'd sell my (now SIM unlocked) Sprint model and keep the DE, otherwise, I'd return the DE for a refund.
But over the last week and a half I've noticed that, while LTE speeds were frequently pretty high (15-20Mbps) there were still plenty of times when I was only seeing an H or an E. I couldn't even tell if the H was HSPA or HSPA+. So then I began to wonder if I was missing out because of the lack of the 1700Mhz band, thus I bought the TMO version to see if I was missing anything.
Turns out, I wasn't. The H I've been seeing is indeed HSPA+ but nowhere near the advertised 42Mbps. Granted, I wasn't naive enough to think I would pull 42Mbps even with the TMO version, but I expected to get at least in the 20-30Mbps range, instead I've been seeing 5-9Mbps. (Thanks to the Sensorly app, I can now tell which H I'm seeing).
After running around with TMO version, I'm seeing the exact same speeds in the same places. So, I'm not missing anything by not having 1700Mhz. In the meantime, TMO is still refarming more areas so the 1700Mhz is becoming less and less important.
So what about Sprint? At their lowest, the TMO speeds are equal to or a little above the Sprint speeds I've been seeing (my wife inherited the Sprint version during this trial run), and at their highest, Sprint can't touch them (in this area--I've gotten up to 20Mbps in PA).
So T-Mobile it is. When the wife's contract is up at the end of the month, the Sprint model is going up on Swappa. Meanwhile, the TMO version is going back to the store tomorrow.
What about AT&T you ask? Way faster, but way more expensive. Truth is, I spend most of my time on wifi anyway, so I'm not willing to pay AT&T prices for cable internet speeds for the times in between.
Hope this helps anyone else facing the same dilemma.

Really interesting
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

With your unlocked Sprint One, what happens if you put your T-Mobile SIM in it? Do you get service? If so, is it HSPA or just EDGE?

Oh, the fun of having choices!
There is not a single provider in my area that carries the HTC One and has LTE. I wish I even had a choice to be able to test. Verizon has LTE in my area, but no HTC one. I wonder how many other people are in my same situation?
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

cfendrick said:
Oh, the fun of having choices!
There is not a single provider in my area that carries the HTC One and has LTE. I wish I even had a choice to be able to test. Verizon has LTE in my area, but no HTC one. I wonder how many other people are in my same situation?
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile sucks in my area... My sprint speeds are in my sig.

LTE on Straight Talk (AT&T)

I steered away from this for a while after someone told me that AT&T doesn't use band 4 LTE. But I'm hearing isolated reports of people with LTE on straight talk getting 8 to 10 Mbps. I'm all stock right now and just got a new ST sim that works with "tfdata". Anyone care to share how they got it working?
http://goo.gl/fXJHjU
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

You said you're all stock now. For LTE to work, you need to flash an LTE-capable radio. There are lots of threads that can help you with that, but here's one to start with: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2358931 [NOTE: I'm not sure all parts of that guide work with KitKat, so ask someone to make sure.]
Also, are you sure you're in one of the areas where AT&T has band 4 LTE? The easiest way to check is to go here: http://reboot.fcc.gov/spectrumdashboard/searchMap.seam
Click on your state, then filter by name (AT&T) and by license category (AWS-1). If your area doesn't show up there, you're out of luck. If it does, there's a chance, but no guarantee, that you can get LTE service.
I'm on Net10, which is functionally identical to Straight Talk for this kind of thing, and mine instantly worked once I activated a SIM card after LTE service went live. I got speeds as high as 18mbps down, but ping times were around 150 ms, not any better than HSPA. Also, I had issues where the radio would fail to switch back to HSPA sometimes after I left an LTE area, and I would have to go into the phone settings menu to disable LTE data to get it working again. Because of those issues, I haven't had LTE enabled lately, but I'll probably go back because there are areas I go where the HSPA network is too congested to get a usable connection.

Okay Thanx. I just confirmed AT&T doesn't have AWS (frq 1730 - 2135) in my area. However, MetroPCS, Verizon and T-Mobile did. How would you go about going with MetroPCS or Verizon?? I thought they were CDMA carriers.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Any reason to get an AT&T Note 3 over T-Mobile?

I'm thinking about picking up a used Note 3 to use on my AT&T account. Is there any reason to get an AT&T branded note over T-Mobile branded?
I can SIM unlock the T-Mobile, but would have to deal with locked bootloaders with AT&T. All the supported bands are there using the T-Mobile on AT&T, right?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

I used the T-Mobile Note 3 for a while. I unlocked it using Chanfire's app. When using my AT&T sim card in it, I found the LTE to be horrible, despite supporting band 17 (700mhz) In places where I had average LTE on the iPhone, the TMO N3 would be on H+ or have the worst LTE signal. This was frustrating. I took it back. It was fun to flash roms and kernels though.
I got an awesome deal on a new AT&T note 3 where I couldn't pass it up haha. At first I noticed my AT&T LTE signal was not as good as it should be. I then created a thread about it. I cleared the cache in my phone and did a full factory reset. Now my LTE seems fine. Constantly sitting on -93db on my desk where my iPhone gets the same.
I'm pretty happy now with my AT&T Note 3. Rooting was so easy and gives me everything a custom rom would.

Yep, the LTE (band 17) on my N900T is horrible. My neighbor has N900A and we compared them side by side (with punching *#0011# and monitoring signal on both devices) and my N900T was always showing signal that was ~15db lower than the N900A. Gonna sell it. Will wait for Xperia Z2.

I agree completely with Matt and bormasina.
I just sold my N900T and bought a N900A and have noticed a dramatic improving, specifically in LTE bandwidth.
Hands down, the AT&T version performs better on an AT&T network. Go figure.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Yeah. Is it a coincidence that the ATT version perms better on the network it designed for? I'm sure ATT optimizes their signals in their phones for the proper frequencies.
I'm actually sitting in a place where my N900T would sit on a -105dbm signal and right now my N900A has been locked on a solid -89dbm. Night and day difference.
Go with the At&T version. The T-Mobile version is fine though if your on their network. But AWS still does suck in general when it comes to signal strength.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

please continue this here...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2466099

[Q] Nexus 6 on verizon roaming on telus

Hello all,
On my Verizon LG G2 VS985 when roaming in Canada on telus I could get lte.
Same sim card in nexus 6 does not get me lte. Can anyone shed some insight on this as to why?
Any help will be much appreciated, thanks!

do you have data roaming and national data roaming enabled in the main settings, more, cellular networks..?

Did you have both phones at the same spot and swap your sim card and one got LTE and the N6 did not? That's probably the best way to test.

simms22 said:
do you have data roaming and national data roaming enabled in the main settings, more, cellular networks..?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do, the data works when roaming, but I don't get lte.
jawmail said:
Did you have both phones at the same spot and swap your sim card and one got LTE and the N6 did not? That's probably the best way to test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't done back to back swapping, but my brother got his nexus 6 first, and us standing beside each other I had lte, he did not. Now in places where I had lte on my g3, I do not with my nexus 6.
I have it with I believe, so I will test back to back. But I'm not sure when I will have time for that yet. Next few days.
Thanks to the both of you!

simms22 said:
do you have data roaming and national data roaming enabled in the main settings, more, cellular networks..?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jawmail said:
Did you have both phones at the same spot and swap your sim card and one got LTE and the N6 did not? That's probably the best way to test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quoting both of you again only for notification purposes.
Both phones side by each, LG G3 VS985 gets LTE roaming on telus, nexus 6 does not. Neither get LTE roaming on Rogers. On the G3 I can specify telus LTE , but that doesn't work, I have to wait for LTE after selecting the telus hspa network.
Not sure if these are any good, or helpful, but I am attaching 4 logs. Two from the G3, one successfully getting LTE from telus, one failing to get LTE on Rogers. Other two from nexus 6, both shortly after connection drops on telus (when I presume it's trying to get LTE and failing).
Again, if anyone can help, I'm all ears. Thanks!!

Here is the last post to me from the other thread where I started this investigation :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro...ress-please-leave-im-updating-t2871269/page94
Product F(RED) said:
I don't know if it's a Verizon thing, but it seems like LTE roaming is dependent on the software, not necessarily the SIM (at least for Verizon).
Here, you can see the G2 had to be updated just to support LTE data roaming:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/0...ed-calling-1-0-improvements-lte-data-roaming/
So I'm wondering if there's something that need to be updated to enable this. Otherwise, this should work fine. I cannot think of a single reason for this not to work. Telus uses LTE Band 4, which both your Nexus 6 and LG G3 support. T-Mobile's main LTE frequency is also LTE Band 4, and that's the most popular carrier to use the N6 on. So it's gotta be a Verizon-specific configuration file on the phone or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Product F(RED) may be onto something, if the G2 needed an actual OTA update to enable LTE roaming.

How about LTE while we roam on Rogers, that would be way more advantages to us since Rogers has way better coverage then Telus
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
---------- Post added at 07:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:29 PM ----------
There is more to it then we think, when I gas a Verizon GS5 I would only roam on Rogers, my wife with her Verizon GS5 roams on MTS, mine would not even see MTS
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

It depends on the PRL you have. Its a software thing. By the way, Telus and Bell share towers up here in the land of the great cold, much much better coverage than Rogers. And I mean, much better. Rogers has huge gaps in coverage. And all cellular networks are nonexistent once you get off the beaten path...

I'd like to revive this thread, as we are still not getting LTE while roaming in Canada on our non vzw Nexus s.
Verizon,Motorola, and Google support have been no help.
Can ananyone help?
Thanks in advance

Update: VZW Nexus 6 gets LTE when roaming no matter what. Stock or custom rom, rooted, unlocked, different recovery.
Non VZW nexus 6 does not get LTE when roaming no matter what.
The imei is the only thing left that could be causing this.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

So after a long lengthy process with VZW, they finally after 9 monthes allow non VZW Nexus 6 devices to roam on LTE, Thank you @Enigmafied ???

Verizon S6 edge on AT&T ?

I guess you knew this question was coming . Can the people with Off contract Verizon s6 edge try to see if their phone works with other providers e.g AT&T ? I have heard/read that previous verizon phones like NOTE 3/4 worked on AT&T, but the LTE DATA was not supported. It only did HSPA+.
I know I will need to get the Verizon full price i.e off contract phone. If it does then s6 edge 64GB, turns out to be $115 cheaper compared to buying it from other places.
Anyone ?

Most times Verizon phones won't get lte on att. Just hspa+
Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

As poster above said.
Almost all Verizon phones will not get LTE with AT&T or T-mobile.
And didn't Sprint or T-mobile have the cheapest at full price?

I used a Verizon s4 and a Verizon note 2 on T mobile for over a year.
Verizon phones will work perfectly fine with GSM carriers, they have and utilize the GSM LTE bands just fine. In the beginning I had connection issues but Verizon radio updates opened it all up within a month or so of the LTE bands being opened for GSM use.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using XDA Premium HD app

i just got rid of my Verizon Droid Turbo, which i was using with at&t, and it got LTE.
all newer Verizon phones are GSM unlocked. by newer i say like 2013+ i believe.

True, but AT&T's HSDPA+ is often times faster than Verizon's LTE at least in my market.