what other carriers can you use a unlocked galaxy note on? Sprint/boost?
Only GSM networks like at&t/ straight talk etc..
NO CDMA carriers like sprint or boost.
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?
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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 looking to buy a Note 5 outright (no contracts, not buying through a carrier, etc.). There are a few variants I've looked at, including the N920T (T-Mobile's variant) and the N920I (international variant). I don't want to purchase a phone locked to T-Mobile, but I also don't want to buy a phone that could possibly not be 100% compatible with T-Mobile's network. Will the N920I be able to completely take advantage of T-Mobile's US network like their N920T, or does the N920T support unique bands and/or protocols not found on the N920I?
Own a n920i and working on 4g tmobile Holland.
I guess it would depend on which carrier you're going to use . Not all carriers use the same Bands for LTE.
you can check this on the website
Willmyphonework.net
I ordered the 920i for use on At&t, as the 920T was missing one of AT&T'S bands.
How's the phone working for you. I'm looking at buying a tmobile note 5, but was planning on using it on at&t.
How has your experience been on AT&T's network with the 920i? Any issues?
I have a US Cellular note 5 that I would like to use on Verizon. willmyphonework.net notes it will work for 2g and 3g and "maybe" 4g as is. Verizon tells me with IMEI search that it will not work. I know they are both CDMA but at least as far as my searches have taken me, that verizon possibly uses different bands (13?) for their Note5.
I have seen threads where people get a Verizon SIM and use another IMEI and actually use the phone that way. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas that would enable me to use this phone on verizon?
Thanks in advance!
It was briefly discussed before just want to clarify, there are plenty of GSM versions of Note 4, I have T-Mobile so would like to know which ones aside of SM-910T would work. I can verify that AT&T SM-N910A works fine, what else is good?
SM-N910R4 US Cellular not sure whether they are GSM
SM-N910P Sprint has a SIM card slot not sure what they are...
SM-N910V Verizon has a SIM card slot not sure what they are...
There is also SM-N910W8 (other Canada and PR GSM operators)?
toshik1 said:
It was briefly discussed before just want to clarify, there are plenty of GSM versions of Note 4, I have T-Mobile so would like to know which ones aside of SM-910T would work. I can verify that AT&T SM-N910A works fine, what else is good?
SM-N910R4 US Cellular not sure whether they are GSM
SM-N910P Sprint has a SIM card slot not sure what they are...
SM-N910V Verizon has a SIM card slot not sure what they are...
There is also SM-N910W8 (other Canada and PR GSM operators)?
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As far as the Verizon and Sprint versions go, I am not sure if they support falling back to GSM/UMTS when no LTE coverage is available. These providers never used GSM/UMTS for their 2G/3G networks instead they used CDMA so that is probably what these phones support. Most likely the N910T or the AT&T version of the Note4 will be your best bet for on the T-Mobile network. A quick google search for US Celluar says that they also used CDMA, so their variant is probably in the same boat as the Sprint/Verizon phones. If you are really looking for something different look up the Note 4 Duos, was a dual sim phone released in Hong Kong and possibly other variants in Asia. My understanding is it only supports LTE/3G/2G on one SIM and 2G only on the 2nd SIM however.
d0ug said:
as far as the verizon and sprint versions go, i am not sure if they support falling back to gsm/umts when no lte coverage is available. These providers never used gsm/umts for their 2g/3g networks instead they used cdma so that is probably what these phones support. Most likely the n910t or the at&t version of the note4 will be your best bet for on the t-mobile network. A quick google search for us celluar says that they also used cdma, so their variant is probably in the same boat as the sprint/verizon phones. If you are really looking for something different look up the note 4 duos, was a dual sim phone released in hong kong and possibly other variants in asia. My understanding is it only supports lte/3g/2g on one sim and 2g only on the 2nd sim however.
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att note 4 can't be rooted