I see people asking about flashing their AT&T and TMobile phones to Verizon, but I'm wanting to do the opposite.
I have a sim unlocked S8+ and I recently switched to Cricket who uses the AT&T towers. So I thought it was possible if I flashed the AT&T firmware I would get better reception unless the phones for the different carriers lack the radio capacity but my wife's Pixel switched and gets 4G everywhere. I get 4G in town and it switches to H or H+ when I'm in smaller towns and it doesn't matter which preferred network I have it set to or global mode.
It is the Verizon model though, so I don't know if the boot loader being locked would prevent a different firmware flash from ODIN. I've had plenty of experience with the program from rooting my S7 Edge, S5, and S6. Just the 8 has been a tough nut to crack it seems.
Related
Flashed my galaxy tab with CM9 and it is running great so far. Had SIM unlocked it long ago. Originally got it from AT&T, now on TMo Network I am getting barely Edge...on AT&T it says 3G/H and gives around 2MBPS...anyway to get it to give better throughput on Tmobile network? From what I read, there seem to be differences at the hardware level and just flashing a Tmobile modem wont help??
Currently I have the Note 2 with AT&T. I will be upgrading to the Note 3 when it comes out. However, I am not sure which version of the Note 3 to get. Should I get the International version or the AT&T version. I think the international version has the Samsung CPU and the AT&T version has the Snapdragon 800. Would the international version work with AT&T LTE cellular? Would the international version work with T-Mobile LTE cellular (just in case I want to switch)?
Which one would give better battery and faster speed/graphics?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the international version will only run on AT&T 3G. I am in the camp that prefers the Snapdragon 800 to the revised Exynos 5, too. I'd opt for the AT&T version (Although personally I'm giving T-Mobile a shot this time around)
The N3 will be my first "carrier" phone on AT&T in two years. I'm not thrilled and depending on what it's like using it I may sell it on eBay and get a HSPA Octa. Here's my thinking:
Pros
I've been fine with HSPA+ on my previous phones and use to pay $10 a month for unlimited data through the "non-smartphone" loophole that applied to phone's AT&T didn't recognize. That party's over. So now I'm paying for LTE and not able to use it. So with AT&T's N3 I'll finally get what I'm paying for and even get LTE-A when they start to roll it out; supposedly this year.
The international N3's are insanely expensive. Negri and NewEgg have the Octa's at $779 and up. On Next it's $35 a month, I have no contract commitment beyond the phone's payoff, and I can sell it on eBay if I want something new.
Service and repair. Whether through Asurion or SquareTrade getting a carrier phone repaired/replaced is easy compared to jumping through hoops to get an international version (non-warranted and non-supported by Samsung in the U.S.) repaired.
Cons
God knows what AT&T's done with the s/w. We know there will be tons of their specific bloatware. That doesn't concern me because it can be disabled and with 32GB of NAND the space it takes up isn't a big deal. My big concern is their modifying, neutering, or completely removing some of Samsung's stock apps and features. I can't root my phones because I connect to secure networks so I'm pretty much stuck with what comes out of the box. I'm scared at what's coming out of AT&T's box.
I loved being able to use any multi-CSC ROM on Samfirmware or Samsung-Updates to keep my unrooted phone always current. I've probably had a dozen updates on my N7100. Now I'll be dependent on AT&T. That alone could end up pushing me to an international Octa N3. Also, to support the new features of Knox, Samsung's seriously altered and locked down the bootloader. So who knows what impact that'll have even on international N3's when it comes to updates via Odin. I used to root my phone when I wanted to do someting to it (EG: Google Wallet) and then unroot afterward and run Triangle Away. That ship sailed mid-year and with the Knox enhancements isn't coming back.
AT&T's modified radio may be crappy and I travel a lot internationally. Also I'm guessing on Next the device can't be unlocked until it's paid off. The only reason this is acceptable in my case is I'm getting a 3G (Octa) Note 10.1 2014 which has a dialer and I can use it in situations I need to pop in another carrier's SIM and/or the AT&T radio isn't working well.
Dev support is going to be limited on the AT&T N3's compared to the international versions. It'll probably still be strong but not as simple, timely, and robust. It doesn't apply to my un-rooted situation but something for people to consider.
The moment I find a S-800 international device that's quad-band GSM/UMTS and supports AT&T's LTE bands I'll buy it and sell my AT&T version. So far the EU and Latin American versions of the N3 don't support AT&T's LTE bands. The UK N3's LTE bands haven't been announced yet but I don't have high hopes. There's a chance a Canadian carrier will leave their version of the N3 unmolested and with the same model number as the international version and that it would support AT&T's LTE bands. That would allow it to be flashed like a non-carrier Samsung phone via Odin (with the possible exception mentioned above) and still get LTE on AT&T. Same thing for Claro in Puerto Rico. I'm not sure about the flash part but even an unmolested Canadian or Pueto Rican N3 with AT&T's LTE bands might end up being better than whatever AT&T does to their version.
All just my opinion of course.
I'm leaning towards either international or T.mobile or Canadian version. The att s4 can't be bootloader unlocked and new update patched the root. I'd hate to not have options on such a power device that I could potentially last for a couple years.
I had the note 1,note2,and now using the galaxy mega until the note 3 hits the shelf.I'm up in the air as well in deciding whether to keep my at&t note 3 or sell it and go international.I'd rather keep the at&t note 3,but who knows if were going to be up ****s creek with no root,are how long or ever going to get root method.I guess I can deal with no roms,but no root forget it
I thought that the international N3 (9005) with the SnapDragon 800 would be compatible with AT&T's LTE bands, no? Wasn't this mentioned during the presentation last week about the N3 supporting global LTE bands? Couldn't one just buy/import an international 9005 which was released in a country whose LTE bands match that of AT&T? Would this work?
I guess we'll know soon, but my own need would be for a variant which supports my home UK 4G network (EE most likely) plus USA AT&T LTE for when I'm in the states. Preferably bought in the UK for my UK carrier because of the discounts.
I thought the release event said they were going to support all bands in one device, but I've no idea if that's actually going to be true of the version you get at your local phone shop.
Andre
hockeyfan said:
I thought that the international N3 (9005) with the SnapDragon 800 would be compatible with AT&T's LTE bands, no? Wasn't this mentioned during the presentation last week about the N3 supporting global LTE bands? Couldn't one just buy/import an international 9005 which was released in a country whose LTE bands match that of AT&T? Would this work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard the same thing too.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
I've beeing researching for hours, and accordung to multiple sites, like this one the international N9005 version will support LTE 2100/1800/850/1600/800MHz (Bands 1,3,5,7,20). This does not include AT&T, whose LTE network operates on bands 4 (1700Mhz) and 17 (700Mhz). I hope these frequencies vary by region, like many sites mention, but I have my doubts we'll get lucky to see international N9005 with LTE bands 4 or 17.
Here is a list of countries, which has partial LTE band overlapping with AT&T. None of these support both, bands 4 and 17, which is what AT&T uses:
Argentina - 4
Colombia - 4
Ecuador - 4
Paraguay - 4
Peru - 4
Uruguay - 4
Canada - 4
Puerto Rico - 17
Since Note 3 has LTE radio, capable of supporting up to 6 bands, the only hope is that one of these carriers will pick up a version, where the other missing band is tossed in without any real purpose behind it, just to keep things interesting. For example, AT&T branded GN3 needs only these 2 LTE bands, and yet the device is LTE penta band.
Also, keep in mind we dont even know what band will AT&T use next year, when LTE-A goes live. I believe AT&T owns spectrum in 1900Mhz and 2100Mhz areas, and in the process of acquiring more.
EDIT: I'd like to clarify my statement about GN3 radio supporting 6 LTE bands. What I meant is some carriers will offer a version, which has up to 6 LTE bands enabled simultaneously. The actual hardware capability of Qualcomm's RF360 Front End solution is universal 2G/3G/4G support - the radio is capable of operating on *all* LTE frequencies.
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
Not sure if this is the correct forum but I can't seem to find anything about using VZ G4 on T-mobile? I don't mind if it need to be rooted, just want a stable setting that I can do. TIA.
Unless something has changed lately, you can't. Verizon uses CDMA for its voice network and T-Mobile uses GSM.
With that being said, the only way I've seen any Verizon phone being used on a GSM network is if the phone supports a SIM card (and I'm not sure the SIM card for the LTE counts) and the phone is unlocked to use international SIM cards (which, by default, will allow it to use T-Mobile). There's a catch to that, however. You may not be able to use the optimum frequencies T-Mobile uses if the Verizon phone doesn't support them, which may cause a less than desirable experience with your phone.
An unlocked AT&T G4 would be a better bet. Some international versions of the phone may also be better than the Verizon version. You'll have to do some research on the last one.
In the past I know Verizon would let their cdma/gsm phones work with international sim cards but not att or t-mobile. The verizon g4 supports lte bands 2 and 4 and that's the two main bands that t-mobile uses. It's not clear from the tech specs if the phone supports wcdma but if it does not you might drop to edge while on a call.
like tkirton said you would be much better off with a phone that's intended mainly for GSM. t-mobile branded phones, newer nexus phones(6 and later), and the iphone also have the advantage of volte and wifi calling.
My Verizon G2 worked on T-Mobile and Cricket which as both GSM. I got LTE also, but you'll loose LTE on calls, and probably won't have HD voice. So, G4 might be the same.
MicroMod777 said:
My Verizon G2 worked on T-Mobile and Cricket which as both GSM. I got LTE also, but you'll loose LTE on calls, and probably won't have HD voice. So, G4 might be the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i can backup/confirm this, i was using the G2 (VS980 Verizon) with T-mobile and i was getting nice LTE Speed in my area but loose some T-Mo features of course....
Hello all.
I would please like to ask if its possible to install a T-Mobile Note 5 rom on this phone so that i can get Nougat and Wireless calling. I read on the S7 threads its possible to switch from an AT&T phone to a T-Mobile rom. I am hopeful we can do the same for the US Cellular variant as its quite slow with updates, im still on MM albeit April 1 security update.
Thanks
No help?
AT&T and T-Mobile are both GSM carriers. US Cellular is CDMA so you would be better off trying to flash a Verizon firmware and I am not even sure you could do that.
CodeNameRedNeck said:
AT&T and T-Mobile are both GSM carriers. US Cellular is CDMA so you would be better off trying to flash a Verizon firmware and I am not even sure you could do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i understand that but thats just an LTE band issue. the phone works happily on Tmobile. Its closest relative is a Sprint Note 5 but i dont want to flash Sprint firmware, i want to have Tmobile firmware on it cos im Tmobile.