So I'm writing this guide for SGH-I537 (ATT Samsung Galaxy S4 Active) users who want to use their I537 on T-Mobile or other carriers that support AWS (Advanced Wireless Services; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Wireless_Services).
Initially I got my I537 and heard conflicting reports of DIY SIM unlocking being successful, supposedly some people unable to get the AWS bands. So, I played it safe and got the device unlock code straight from ATT. Everything seemed to work at a cursory glance, got LTE and fast speeds, great! Little did I know that I actually did not have AWS unlocked.
In my room I get nearly no reception and rely on a repeater to get signal and be able to do basic things like SMS, make calls, etc. I noticed that for some reason the I537 was not picking it up.
ATT runs their LTE over some TMO HSPA frequencies (AWS) and the phone by default won't do HSPA on those frequencies. An AWS unlock will allow the phone to do either LTE or HSPA on these frequencies, thus allowing it to talk to my repeater.
I followed the guide at http://galaxys4root.com/galaxy-s4-t...aws-bands-on-att-galaxy-s4-sgh-i337sgh-i337m/ but instead used the UMMS code of *#0808#
It works on the latest stock, unrooted ROM. My device was already SIM unlocked but I don't think that will make a difference for this process. I believe that one would require SIM unlock regardless, though, to use another network.
This guide unfortunately depends on Windows specific tools, so I had to use a Windows machine to do this. It's a pretty easy guide -- basically you tell the phone to expose its modem over USB, use a Qualcomm program to talk to it, do a backup of the NVRAM, and NV Restore someone's I337 NVRAM that has the AWS enabled.
It works perfectly for me and has worked for others as well (see comments on that guide). The only difference is we have to dial *#0808#
You may want to add the T-Mobile LTE APN as well:
Code:
Name : T-Mobile LTE
APN: fast.tmobile.com
MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
MCC: 310
MNC: 260
APN Type: default,supl,admin,dun,mms
(From http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2236735)
VytenisK said:
Does not work. My there is "No phone" message shown.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which step did it fail at? Can you walk me through what you did?
EDIT: Did you go to Device Manager, and see the two Samsung COM ports? Then in the QPST tool, did you add those ports manually? Otherwise QPST wil always say "No phone"
VytenisK said:
I did everything as I should, but at the point where I should see zero (0), I do not. Tried it with several Windows machines with the same results. I am guessing it is something with the MF1 firmware. What firmware you are stranded on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on MF3.
VytenisK said:
Just tried this on MF1 after doing Odin One Click back to the stock MF1. Installed drivers, QPST when I added new ports (4 and 5, all from Samsung) all of them says "No Phone". So I am guessing AWS unlock does not work on MF1. Maybe someone had same issues? Is there any other way installing qcn AWS file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it SIM unlocked already or no?
VytenisK said:
Yes it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very strange. I wish I knew the ansewr to this I stumbled upon the AWS unlock guide for I337 long time before I bought the I537. I guess I was lucky that it went without a hiccup then.
And you have the special Samsung drivers installed from that site and are sure some other drivers aren't trying to pick it p? =|
I would like to add that you should change the apn name to fast.tmobile.com (from epc.tmobile.com) that's how enabled 4g LTE in my city.
I would like to ask a 'stupid' question is there a way to enable 3g? It seems to be either edge or 4g/4gLTE for me, I've never seen my phone have a 3g icon.
For T-Mobile it's not going to show 3G afaik, it will default to showing 4G for any 3G or HSPA 4G mode. If you have LTE enabled (any of the LTE modes) then it'll show the 4G with "LTE" under the bottom right side. I leave my GS4A on T-Mobile with WCDMA Preferred which seems to offer the best speeds and connections. While T-Mobile is still working on their system here in Vegas and making improvements, the LTE aspect is of no use to me and just allows me to burn up my 5GB that much faster.
To change the modes you'll have to go into the *#*#4636#*#* menu and do it, again afaik. It's the least hassle free method I've found for myself so that's what I stick with.
And I've never changed the APN from epc to fast - it's worked since I did those same instructions to enable the AWS capability. I did change it one time but the speed tests ended up being effectively the same no matter which APN I used so I set it back to the default of epc.tmobile.com and have yet to have any issues.
yamugushi said:
I would like to add that you should change the apn name to fast.tmobile.com (from epc.tmobile.com) that's how enabled 4g LTE in my city.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, good call, I'll add the APN settings to this thread.
We have LTE in San Jose and San Francisco and it's REALLY fast and way better than the HSPA+ network. And it seems to switch to HSPA+ just fine if there's no LTE.
Added TMO LTE APN settings.
while the process went without a hitch for me, I did not see any improvements
I was getting 4G both before and after, no LTE
in fact, the speed went down fron 2.5MBPS to less 1MBPS !!
So i flashed the AT&T backup back!
might be cause I am in Seattle area
(it shows HSPAP:15 in the status in either case)
Mf3
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4
HSPA isn't LTE, you have to enable that aspect manually. By default when you put a T-Mobile SIM in the GS4A it'll set itself up for GSM/CMDA usage, and you have to alter that to get the LTE working, at least I did in my case.
I went into the service menu using *#*#4636#*#* and changed it from GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) to LTE/GSM auto (PRL) and you should reconnect and get the proper 4G/LTE symbol noting the type of connection (4 with smaller G above the letters LTE).
Here in Las Vegas that's all I have to do to enable LTE (it'll show as LTE:14). I don't use it because the actual LTE signal strength is like -105 dB here at home; when I switch it over to WCDMA Preferred it increases to -78 dB and the speeds are very fast with HSPA:10 or even HSPA:15 on occasion, and LTE drains the battery more as well (in my testing).
That's my usage and experience, maybe making some alterations with your service menu can improve performance for you. T-Mobile is still doing the upgrades across their whole network so, what might have crappy signal coverage now might improve soon.
My suggestion is try each of the potential connection methods and find the one with the best signal strength and the best speeds - for me, again, that turned out to be using WCDMA Preferred, and I'm right across the street (line of sight) with a T-Mobile leased cell site, just about 1200 feet from me with nothing in the way either when I'm here at home.
Also, I've never had to edit the APN info on my GS4A for use with T-Mobile. I know the recommendation is to alter it from epc.tmobile.com to fast.tmobile.com but since mine works just by altering the radio connection and ends up getting the same speeds (I've tested both APNs), I just stick with the default of epc.tmobile.com and I haven't had any issues worth noting. I did read some comments that said in some areas to get the LTE working properly you DO need to use fast.tmobile.com, but for me I haven't - could be something to check into for yourself.
br0adband said:
HSPA isn't LTE, you have to enable that aspect manually. By default when you put a T-Mobile SIM in the GS4A it'll set itself up for GSM/CMDA usage, and you have to alter that to get the LTE working, at least I did in my case.
I went into the service menu using *#*#4636#*#* and changed it from GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) to LTE/GSM auto (PRL) and you should reconnect and get the proper 4G/LTE symbol noting the type of connection (4 with smaller G above the letters LTE).
Here in Las Vegas that's all I have to do to enable LTE (it'll show as LTE:14). I don't use it because the actual LTE signal strength is like -105 dB here at home; when I switch it over to WCDMA Preferred it increases to -78 dB and the speeds are very fast with HSPA:10 or even HSPA:15 on occasion, and LTE drains the battery more as well (in my testing).
That's my usage and experience, maybe making some alterations with your service menu can improve performance for you. T-Mobile is still doing the upgrades across their whole network so, what might have crappy signal coverage now might improve soon.
My suggestion is try each of the potential connection methods and find the one with the best signal strength and the best speeds - for me, again, that turned out to be using WCDMA Preferred, and I'm right across the street (line of sight) with a T-Mobile leased cell site, just about 1200 feet from me with nothing in the way either when I'm here at home.
Also, I've never had to edit the APN info on my GS4A for use with T-Mobile. I know the recommendation is to alter it from epc.tmobile.com to fast.tmobile.com but since mine works just by altering the radio connection and ends up getting the same speeds (I've tested both APNs), I just stick with the default of epc.tmobile.com and I haven't had any issues worth noting. I did read some comments that said in some areas to get the LTE working properly you DO need to use fast.tmobile.com, but for me I haven't - could be something to check into for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
just changed this, but no LTE so far, but this could be cause I am in a highrise right now
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:31 PM ----------
ledocbio said:
Thanks!
just changed this, but no LTE so far, but this could be cause I am in a highrise right now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reflashed the tmobile file
I am still not getting LTE, but definitely getting more bars
interestingly, there was no change initially, but after 15 minutes i started getting better signal strength...
still, no LTE (
ledocbio said:
Thanks!
just changed this, but no LTE so far, but this could be cause I am in a highrise right now
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:31 PM ----------
I reflashed the tmobile file
I am still not getting LTE, but definitely getting more bars
interestingly, there was no change initially, but after 15 minutes i started getting better signal strength...
still, no LTE (
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got LTE running on the opposite corner of my building, with abysmal speeds!
the LTE coverage in Bellevue/Redmond seems to be either very spotty, or very incompatible with S4A, not sure which it is... but overall the internet speeds are better with HSPA+ than LTE in any case...
Thanks guys for you help
Sweet
Sent from my mikTouch_4G_Slide using xda app-developers app
anyone else find their S4A sluggish on T-mobile (before or after) this?
Hi
mnasledov said:
So I'm writing this guide for SGH-I537 (ATT Samsung Galaxy S4 Active) users who want to use their I537 on T-Mobile or other carriers that support AWS (Advanced Wireless Services; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Wireless_Services).
Initially I got my I537 and heard conflicting reports of DIY SIM unlocking being successful, supposedly some people unable to get the AWS bands. So, I played it safe and got the device unlock code straight from ATT. Everything seemed to work at a cursory glance, got LTE and fast speeds, great! Little did I know that I actually did not have AWS unlocked.
In my room I get nearly no reception and rely on a repeater to get signal and be able to do basic things like SMS, make calls, etc. I noticed that for some reason the I537 was not picking it up.
ATT runs their LTE over some TMO HSPA frequencies (AWS) and the phone by default won't do HSPA on those frequencies. An AWS unlock will allow the phone to do either LTE or HSPA on these frequencies, thus allowing it to talk to my repeater.
I followed the guide at http://galaxys4root.com/galaxy-s4-t...aws-bands-on-att-galaxy-s4-sgh-i337sgh-i337m/ but instead used the UMMS code of *#0808#
It works on the latest stock, unrooted ROM. My device was already SIM unlocked but I don't think that will make a difference for this process. I believe that one would require SIM unlock regardless, though, to use another network.
This guide unfortunately depends on Windows specific tools, so I had to use a Windows machine to do this. It's a pretty easy guide -- basically you tell the phone to expose its modem over USB, use a Qualcomm program to talk to it, do a backup of the NVRAM, and NV Restore someone's I337 NVRAM that has the AWS enabled.
It works perfectly for me and has worked for others as well (see comments on that guide). The only difference is we have to dial *#0808#
You may want to add the T-Mobile LTE APN as well:
Code:
Name : T-Mobile LTE
APN: fast.tmobile.com
MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
MCC: 310
MNC: 260
APN Type: default,supl,admin,dun,mms
(From http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2236735)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wen I get to Device Manager I dont see COM24 I see COM6 and COM7. Do you know what to do in that situation???
jci8926 said:
Wen I get to Device Manager I dont see COM24 I see COM6 and COM7. Do you know what to do in that situation???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try each. One of them should come up as the phone.
SIM Unlocked on T-Mobile in Orlando:
Before Samsung replaced my Active I was running MF1, this hack wouldn't work. They sent me a new replacement with MF3 Monday. This worked!! Places where I get "E" are now "4g"!!
Awesome! I was almost going to sell it for a Nexus 5 due to this problem but not anymore!
So I've gone through all the steps and now I am at the part where I add the APN but I can't seem to find the MMS Protocol section. I've also heard we should use fast.t-mobile.com instead of the fast.tmobile.com, would that matter??
Greetings folks. I own a Nexus 6 XT1103 Unlocked. I'm on MetroPCS currently (piggybacks off T-Mobile LTE).
On Android 6.0.1 ROMs the device connects to LTE networks with no issue whatsoever. The real issue arises when I flash an Android 7.x ROM. The device connects to 3G (UMTS/HSDPA) and remains there even though the network setting is on LTE.
The phone momentarily connects to LTE when I reset the radio from LTE Discovery app and then reverts to 3G (the LTE signal detected just drops off to N/A). Also when the device is momentarily connected to LTE, the carrier label changes to 'No Service' even though network is available and LTE data works for those few moments. After those few moments it's back to UMTS and the carrier label returns to 'MetroPCS'
I've tried the following things to fix this (all in vain)
1. Flashed different radios (05.32, 05.34, 05.42) and bootloaders
2. Flash Android N stock image and then flash custom 7.x ROM
3. Go to the *#*#4636#*#* menu and set LTE only.
4. Resetting APN to default and manually adding APNs (both MetroPCS and T-Mobile)
I know the LTE network in the area is fine otherwise and anyway the moment I'm back on MM the issue the device connects to LTE properly (with a valid MetroPCS carrier label). This issue occurs on any Android 7.x ROM but it didn't happen as often in the Dev Preview, if I remember right.
I request all of you folks to help out if you've seen something like this or have any solutions. Cheers.
PS: Google Connectivity Services installed/uninstalled/disabled doesn't fix it
Have you tried a network settings reset? This worked for me when I lost LTE connectivity.
Settings>Backup & reset>Network settings reset.
Make sure you select network settings reset and not factory reset. They're right next to each other, so if your finger slips and you select the wrong one you'll be very unhappy.
Fixed it!! Flashing the 05.39 radio on fastboot before flashing the ROM seems to do it. Now LTE works with the proper carrier label too. I'd forgotten about the 05.39 radio as it was the one bundled with the N Dev Previews.
Cheers!
Unlocked Galaxy s5 AT&T Samsung SM N920A on GSM network.
Stock Rom, Unlocked, on Android 7.0 (updated with Odin)
My goal is to see if this phone can indeed be used on CDMA.
Now let me back up.. I hear you. Most phones cannot be used on CDMA if they are GSM.
However if I key in the code *#*#4636#*#* with daler, (which is the Display information about Phone, Battery and Usage statistics)
I get to a menu that allows setting the ''Preferred Network Type''
is this a system setting used by mannufacture for setting the phone for market, and the phone itself simply doesn't have CDMA?
The specs for this phone
lists nfra: 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE FDD;
Meaning this phone does indeed use both CDMA and GSM network, is this correct?
If so, how do I sucessfully enable it to utalize CDMA connection?
f not, why does the option for CDMA, LTE appear in the menu, along with many others.
I greatly appricate any responce on this topic
milkedcoffeenull said:
Unlocked Galaxy s5 AT&T Samsung SM N920A on GSM network.
Stock Rom, Unlocked, on Android 7.0 (updated with Odin)
My goal is to see if this phone can indeed be used on CDMA.
Now let me back up.. I hear you. Most phones cannot be used on CDMA if they are GSM.
However if I key in the code *#*#4636#*#* with daler, (which is the Display information about Phone, Battery and Usage statistics)
I get to a menu that allows setting the ''Preferred Network Type''
is this a system setting used by mannufacture for setting the phone for market, and the phone itself simply doesn't have CDMA?
The specs for this phone
lists nfra: 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE FDD;
Meaning this phone does indeed use both CDMA and GSM network, is this correct?
If so, how do I sucessfully enable it to utalize CDMA connection?
f not, why does the option for CDMA, LTE appear in the menu, along with many others.
I greatly appricate any responce on this topic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I to would love any information reguarding this. Same phone same specs. Was a little new to how the towers and unlocking system for each set of towers was defined when I unwitting traded my Verizon galaxy note 5 for and unlocked note 5. I was told the phone could be used on either set of towers and that it was factory unlocked and not just gsm unlocked. And that factory unlocked meant that it could be used with any carrier on any tower. Believing this to be miss information I had hoped to root the phone and find a root method for using cdma towers. I have being your own pho e service through straight talk so I had to switch my my sim back to and older phone wich not only is less advanced but also currently seems to be unrootable,because there are no gsm towers where where I live so I have no service at home and I'm out a note 5 and can't root my phone wich is a great dissapiontment for me. But when I open my phone it offers to allow me to choose those towers the same as yours. Someone help me stop this madness.
TL;DR: USCC -> AT&T -> Google Fi -- Any way to get 4G/LTE on these carriers?
Hey all,
I haven't been very involved in the rooting/flashing/whatever scene since the Gingerbread-KitKat days, so my apologies for what might be a noob question, or if it even is the right question to ask.
A bit over a year ago, I switched from US Cellular to AT&T and brought my V40 with me. Despite some IMEI issues (was only 14 digits instead of 15, which messed with some online forms), I eventually managed to get it transferred. However, there was one big issue: I was only getting 3G/HSPA+ service. I imagine this would've been a deal breaker for most, but since I only really use my phone data for music streaming and Google Maps when I'm driving, it wasn't that big of a deal for me.
Then, recently, I switched to Google Fi to save money. I knew that the V40 didn't support the fancy carrier-switching stuff, but I didn't care as long as I had some sort of service. The same problem still persists, however: I only have 3G/HSPA+ service.
When I briefly looked into this last year, I remember seeing something about flashing some firmware that'd unlock the non-USCC LTE bands, but I'm not sure if this was valid (could be misremembering). Would flashing some sort of firmware on my phone allow me to have 4G again, and if so, what would I flash? The generic US unlocked firmware?
Also, not sure if this matters, but GSMArena and LG's own website both seem to state that the US Cellular's V40 model is the LM-V405UA0, but my model number according to Settings is LM-V405UA (no zero at the end). My phone worked fine on US Cellular, so I'm not sure what difference there is between the two models, if any.
edit:
Messing around with my phone settings, I was actually able to force a 4G LTE signal from T-Mobile (Google Fi's primary network iirc) under Settings > Network & internet > Mobile networks > System select and flipping the Network mode option between "Global" and "LTE/GSM/UMTS". Going from the latter to the former will switch me to 4G/LTE from 3G/HSPA+, but going in the opposite direction keeps me on 4G. To revert, I have to go further into the GSM/UMTS settings and select "UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ only" in the Network submode option.
Both the 3G and 4G options had about the same (slow) network speed of 2mbps down, and according to Signal Spy, the LTE was probably using band 4 (it had a question mark beside it, implying it wasn't very certain). I don't know if it's a band issue or a location issue, but since I'm on WiFi most of the time nowadays, I'm not that pressed about it... maybe I'll back things up and flash the US Unlocked firmware as a weekend project sometime.