So I've been browsing around XDA and I have concluded that the best version of the s10 is the snapdragon variant, but I also want an unlocked boot loader and dual sim so I'm considering this one that is a Chinese version:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Ga...hash=item3405ba151d:m:m-IqwLrG6T3v2zoeCJ4lo0A
It is a SM-G9700
But because it is Chinese I'm not sure if it has google on it (and I don't want to go out of my way to install it) but it also might be a Hong Kong model with google? any information on this would be appreciated, thank you!
Many people here who got it from that seller, confirmed that it has Google services preinstalled. Carrier aggregation may not work however as someone said on US T-mobile at least. The phone also lacks band 66 and band 71 both LTE bands, 71 being more important as T-mobile expands coverage.
honestly, unless youre some kind of heavy/advanced user, I doubt youd see SO much difference in everyday usage that makes all this hassle worth it.
I'd just buy whatever is available locally for an average user.
evo85210 said:
honestly, unless youre some kind of heavy/advanced user, I doubt youd see SO much difference in everyday usage that makes all this hassle worth it.
I'd just buy whatever is available locally for an average user.
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Also if he plays heavy games and emulators, that's where he may prefer to choose the Snapdragon variant (Talking from my own experience, not coming back to a non snapdragon/adreno device never again).
Not to mention that the Snapdragon bootloader is unlocked in China ironically. And further if you need dual-sim functionality your choices are that one or the 97xF/DS. Which unless he lives in Mexico or Central America is not available locally.
I've made my decision it's going to be the 9700 series but there is some questions I have around the dual-sim functionality and how that may vary between models.
I'm looking for a version that supports North American bands and from what I understand, the 12gb/512gb one should be the only one that does.
But I also stumbled upon this listing: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000182288484.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.2.24fcc18esuf2nD
Which supposedly is 8gb/128gb with North American bands. From what I understand this version shouldn't exist? It also mentions both 2x2 MIMO and 4x4 MIMO so I have no idea which it actually has.
In the description it says: "Tips: CN version, Officail Global Firmare,Mulit Language , Support Google Play and OTA upgrade"
Are they trying to say that it's the Tencent version but with global ROM? I thought OTA upgrades currently don't work on the global ROM?
They also write: " About package and firmware: we'll open the original box to check the phone and install Multi language ROM and Google paly store. Official ROM will be prefered. if custom translation may doesn't cover all the Menus. Not support OTA Update. we may update the ROM. So the OS version may different as the sreenshots."
But I think they have this as a disclaimer on all their phone product pages, whether it applies or not.
I'm trying to determine whether the listing is legit or not and whether to place an order. Did they make a mistake/ are they lying about the bands? Or is there an actual version like this/ did they manage to do something to the Tencent version? In terms of reputation, there's nothing particularly suspicious about the seller so I wouldn't imagine they would outright lie, but it's also a pretty big mistake to make, especially since they highlight the key specs (and bands) in red.
I'm leaning towards the "don't trust" side, with this one, but what do you think?
IMO, you would be better off waiting a few more days till the global version is released. That's a China version with global software, which has been nothing but trouble for most of the people i have heard about that converted.
They already told you.
This is china tencent edition. The phone is not is not brand new, we will open the box, we will turn on you phone, we will root it and unlock the bootloader, in order to replace CN ROM with WW ROM.
So, it will be 2x2, it will lack most bands, it will lack the cover and the cooling accessory included in Ww edition, which will be launched on 30th of September.
Of course, no warranty at all from ASUS and you may have trouble with NFC payments and banking apps. Some other apps may recognise your modified rom, too.
If you are ready, acknowledging all this, you can buy it asap.
So, I'm looking to buy ROG 2 but the variant in US is quite expensive. With taxes, it comes out to be close to $1000.
I'm looking on eBay and it seems like a lot of sellers are selling asus rog 2 tencent variant with global ROM.
Is this legit?
With global ROM, Chinese tencent variant works with all bands in US (on AT&T)?
According to all sellers, Chinese tencent variant works on GSM / AT&T and support play store and should get updates like a global variant from Asus. Is that true?
I thought Chinese tencent variant is missing some bands and it's a hardware limitation. How installing global ROM will start supporting all bands?
Just curious what variant were announced in Taiwan and India? Is it worth buying Taiwan variant? Some sellers are selling that too.
Basically I need some suggesting so I'm not mislead by sellers on eBay. I need to use it with AT&T. Will I be able to get 4G LTE? Will I be able to use AT&T hotspot?
Please advise.
I think it's true that band support is a hardware limitation. Even if it is a software change and you get the global bands, I still would only suggest buying the U.S. version (or whatever is local to your area) for two big reasons. Warranty, and customer service. Buying grey market versions off eBay will get you the phone cheaper, but you'll have no Asus warranty. You may have a warranty through the seller, but now you're dealing with someone overseas. That means you have to question the legitimacy of the seller, and there's a bigger hassle factor involved. If you have a tech support need you're unlikely to get it from Asus because you're using the phone in a way it wasn't approved for.
If you're willing to take those risks, then go for it. It's just not for me at any price.
Thank you @Mr_Mooncatt for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it. I guess the price of a US variant is quite demotivating since it's almost double (including taxes and all) compared to a global variant. So one may question if paying double $$ justifies the value or not. That's all. Though I agree with all the points you mentioned.
Keep in mind that all the tencent versions with WW ROM is not official device from Asus.
Asus has put this as a warning on their forum, in the Asus Rog phone 2 section.
They are saying tencent version only comes with CN ROM and does not come with WW ROM and those tencent version with WW ROM is modified device and may not have valid warranty and no working FOTA.
Wondering how the reception is on the Chinese version in the U.S like on T-Mobile? Can anyone share their experiences? Any dropped calls, how's the 5g and 4g lte? The Chinese version says tencent on the back of the phone.
For 5g, it only has band 41 2.5GHz. It's missing band 71 600 MHz and the other 260 and 261 bands for 5G high speed mmwave.
For 4G LTE, it's missing bands 66, 12, and 71.
There's also a guide here showing you how to enable voLTE. Maybe someone can try that and share.
I'm trying to decide between global or tencent but the tencent is like $200-$300 cheaper because of the missing bands and you can get it in lower storage capacities than the global one. Wondering how it actually performs in the U.S
Sugaaa said:
Wondering how the reception is on the Chinese version in the U.S like on T-Mobile? Can anyone share their experiences? Any dropped calls, how's the 5g and 4g lte? The Chinese version says tencent on the back of the phone.
For 5g, it only has band 41 2.5GHz. It's missing band 71 600 MHz and the other 260 and 261 bands for 5G high speed mmwave.
For 4G LTE, it's missing bands 66, 12, and 71.
There's also a guide here showing you how to enable voLTE. Maybe someone can try that and share.
I'm trying to decide between global or tencent but the tencent is like $200-$300 cheaper because of the missing bands. Wondering how it actually performs in the U.S
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My buddy has the tencent version and has no signal at times, when I do on my a version. Stop being cheap, and spend the $ for the a version. No band 12,66, and 71 is a deal breaker imo.
bs3pro said:
Stop being cheap, and spend the $ for the a version. No band 12,66, and 71 is a deal breaker imo.
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512gb is overkill for me. I'd be fine with 128gb. I'd only pay $1000+ for iPhone 12 pro. imo, Android over $1000 isn't worth it due to its faster depreciation. Trying to see how the Chinese one actually performs.
I'm curious what bands the lenovo legion phone is going to have on its unreleased global variant too. If that comes with volte support, and priced significantly less than than the version a rog, I'll probably go with that.
Sugaaa said:
512gb is overkill for me. I'd be fine with 128gb. I'd only pay $1000+ for iPhone 12 pro. imo, Android over $1000 isn't worth it due to its faster depreciation. Trying to see how the Chinese one actually performs.
I'm curious what bands the lenovo legion phone is going to have on its unreleased global variant too. If that comes with volte support, and priced significantly less than than the version a rog, I'll probably go with that.
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Move along then. My buddy is sending his tencent rog back. It works terrible. That legion is terrible. Sounds like you should just but an apple.
bs3pro said:
Move along then. My buddy is sending his tencent rog back. It works terrible. That legion is terrible. Sounds like you should just but an apple.
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You seem pretty experienced with the rog phones. Have you owned the first or second model because I'm mostly wondering how they perform after 2-3 years. I'm trying to get a new phone that will last me around 3 years without getting buggy and slow. If you have had one of the older ones, how are they after like 2 years with the updates? I read that asus also stops updating after the first year so does that affect overall performance after 2-3 years
Sugaaa said:
You seem pretty experienced with the rog phones. Have you owned the first or second model because I'm mostly wondering how they perform after 2-3 years. I'm trying to get a new phone that will last me around 3 years without getting buggy and slow. If you have had one of the older ones, how are they after like 2 years with the updates? I read that asus also stops updating after the first year so does that affect overall performance after 2-3 years
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I had the rog2, but get new phones every few months. Sorry, cant help there. Like i said, just buy an apple, very good HW, and SW is very reliable with plenty of updates.
bs3pro said:
I had the rog2, but get new phones every few months. Sorry, cant help there. Like i said, just buy an apple, very good HW, and SW is very reliable with plenty of updates.
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The only reason I'm considering the rog 3 is because of the amazing Emulator support on 3ds,psp, and ps2 which iphone lacks. Just wish there was more info out there on this phone.
Sugaaa said:
The only reason I'm considering the rog 3 is because of the amazing Emulator support on 3ds,psp, and ps2 which iphone lacks. Just wish there was more info out there on this phone.
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INFO? Like what? I just gave you the answers. This i why i deleted the other thread. People dont like the answers they get, so they assume its BS. The tencent is not worth the savings IF you live in the US. Plain and simple.
bs3pro said:
INFO? Like what? I just gave you the answers. This i why i deleted the other thread. People dont like the answers they get, so they assume its BS. The tencent is not worth the savings IF you live in the US. Plain and simple.
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I don't understand how there's only a 512gb variant in the global version. On their global website, it says upto 512gb so their should be 256gb and 128gb variants too but there are none for sale.
If there was the other variants, the price would match their Chinese version and I would buy it on the spot.
What also bothers me is no definite release date in the u.s. so I don't know when to look forward to when they release the smaller storage size, I grow impatient easily
Sugaaa said:
I don't understand how there's only a 512gb variant in the global version. On their global website, it says upto 512gb so their should be 256gb and 128gb variants too but there are none for sale.
If there was the other variants, the price would match their Chinese version and I would buy it on the spot.
What also bothers me is no definite release date in the u.s. so I don't know when to look forward to when they release the smaller storage size, I grow impatient easily
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Lol, I just told you. 12gb, 512 IS the smallest in usa. Whatever, I'm done repeating myself
Sugaaa said:
I don't understand how there's only a 512gb variant in the global version. On their global website, it says upto 512gb so their should be 256gb and 128gb variants too but there are none for sale.
If there was the other variants, the price would match their Chinese version and I would buy it on the spot.
What also bothers me is no definite release date in the u.s. so I don't know when to look forward to when they release the smaller storage size, I grow impatient easily
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bs3pro is right in this case. First and foremost, your money your choice, but you can only buy what is available on the market. At present the only A Version (which is the expected version to be made available in the US) specs are 12 GB + 512GB or 16GB + 512GB and are imported model. That said an A Version from wherever and an A Version from the US are both still A Versions with the same internal modem for T Mobile bands. It still remains to be seen when and if a 128 GB or 256 GB models are released with the A Version modem.
However, it is ill advised to purchase a model that is severely lacking band coverage as both the Tencent and B Version modems do not have support for LTE bands 66 and 71 which are important to T Mobile in particular. Honestly what is going to save you more money, buy a phone missing crucial bands because it's cheaper, and then having to get a new phone due to lack of coverage and performance, or wait and see your options and then decide.
If you are truly in dire need of a new phone you may just want to consider a different brand and shop around a little because impatience won't do any good for you or your wallet.
EDIT: To try and put this to rest, Asus Taiwan is the only country who produces and sells A Versions phones, here is the ROG phone 3 store page. These are the only models currently for sale that support T Mobile here in the States link for posterity, sorry if it's not allowed:
store.asus.com/tw/category/D5913
TehAdventurer said:
bs3pro is right in this case. First and foremost, your money your choice, but you can only buy what is available on the market. At present the only A Version (which is the expected version to be made available in the US) specs are 12 GB + 512GB or 16GB + 512GB and are imported model. That said an A Version from wherever and an A Version from the US are both still A Versions with the same internal modem for T Mobile bands. It still remains to be seen when and if a 128 GB or 256 GB models are released with the A Version modem.
However, it is ill advised to purchase a model that is severely lacking band coverage as both the Tencent and B Version modems do not have support for LTE bands 66 and 71 which are important to T Mobile in particular. Honestly what is going to save you more money, buy a phone missing crucial bands because it's cheaper, and then having to get a new phone due to lack of coverage and performance, or wait and see your options and then decide.
If you are truly in dire need of a new phone you may just want to consider a different brand and shop around a little because impatience won't do any good for you or your wallet.
EDIT: To try and put this to rest, Asus Taiwan is the only country who produces and sells A Versions phones, here is the ROG phone 3 store page. These are the only models currently for sale that support T Mobile here in the States link for posterity, sorry if it's not allowed:
store.asus.com/tw/category/D5913
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Wrong. The Hong Kong version is a also. It's the one I have. There's also Germany A version
Thanks for the clarification but I still think the point stands for the actual specs as opposed to the region of production
bs3pro said:
Wrong. The Hong Kong version is a also. It's the one I have. There's also Germany A version
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Can you put a link to the chinese version a you bought on ebay for 1000 if it's even still available. I'm only seeing global version a 12gb 512gb for 1200
TehAdventurer said:
bs3pro is right in this case. First and foremost, your money your choice, but you can only buy what is available on the market. At present the only A Version (which is the expected version to be made available in the US) specs are 12 GB + 512GB or 16GB + 512GB and are imported model. That said an A Version from wherever and an A Version from the US are both still A Versions with the same internal modem for T Mobile bands. It still remains to be seen when and if a 128 GB or 256 GB models are released with the A Version modem.
However, it is ill advised to purchase a model that is severely lacking band coverage as both the Tencent and B Version modems do not have support for LTE bands 66 and 71 which are important to T Mobile in particular. Honestly what is going to save you more money, buy a phone missing crucial bands because it's cheaper, and then having to get a new phone due to lack of coverage and performance, or wait and see your options and then decide.
If you are truly in dire need of a new phone you may just want to consider a different brand and shop around a little because impatience won't do any good for you or your wallet.
EDIT: To try and put this to rest, Asus Taiwan is the only country who produces and sells A Versions phones, here is the ROG phone 3 store page. These are the only models currently for sale that support T Mobile here in the States link for posterity, sorry if it's not allowed:
store.asus.com/tw/category/D5913
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That was some solid advice. I found the taiwan version online for around $1250 with tax which was the lowest. I was going to get that and the asus kunai 3 gamepad for $200-$300 but I ended up ordering the oneplus 8 pro 12gb 256gb for $820 with tax and I'll just pick up the razer kishi gamepad for $100. I find it suits my needs better after finding out the oneplus 8 pro runs all the same games in the emulators and it's ip68 water resistant. Plus, I save $500-$600 and it has all the same tmobile bands. Just gonna miss out on that 6000mah battery.
I couldn't even find a decent case for the rog 3 let alone a water resistant one. It's a must for working out.
Sugaaa said:
Thanks. That was some solid advice. I found the taiwan version online for around $1250 with tax which was the lowest. I was going to get that and the asus kunai 3 gamepad for $200-$300 but I ended up ordering the oneplus 8 pro 12gb 256gb for $820 with tax and I'll just pick up the razer kishi gamepad for $100. I find it suits my needs better after finding out the oneplus 8 pro runs all the same games in the emulators and it's ip68 water resistant. Plus, I save $500-$600 and it has all the same tmobile bands. Just gonna miss out on that 6000mah battery.
I couldn't even find a decent case for the rog 3 let alone a water resistant one. It's a must for working out.
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Yeah, that's honestly was I was trying to get at. There's no reason to try and force yourself to like a phone that doesn't check every box for you, especially at it's price point. It's much better to get something that makes you happy and functions well than something that you forced yourself to like. Glad I could help!
FYI....note pre order looks kinda strange?
OnePlus 10 Pro global launch officially scheduled, US pre-orders live right now
The highly anticipated global launch of the OnePlus 10 Pro is finally right around the corner, and the company is teasing some kind of a surprise.
www.phonearena.com
Considering the US versions had the physical second SIM slot removed in the 9's. I wonder if OnePlus is going to continue that with the 10's. JerryRig's video of the Chinese version breaking easily during his bend test really doesn't inspire me to want to pre-order it, even with only a dollar down.
jcsww said:
Considering the US versions had the physical second SIM slot removed in the 9's. I wonder if OnePlus is going to continue that with the 10's. JerryRig's video of the Chinese version breaking easily during his bend test really doesn't inspire me to want to pre-order it, even with only a dollar down.
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Good question about dual SIM. I bought a dual SIM tray for my 9 Pro but never managed to get it fully working. It'd be nice if the 10 Pro at least has a way to enable it.
No 12G/256G variant in the US for now. I'll pass!
Reading reviews it seems worse than the 9 Pro in alot of ways and better in a couple. I don't think it's worth getting it especially with Oxygen being basically Color OS now.
All of the cameras are the same as the 9 Pro with the exception of the ultra-wide. For the US market, it's a downgrade in terms of RAM with only the 8GB/256GB version being released currently. I doubt we will see any bend tests on it until close to the Easter launch date in the US. OnePlus is definitely pulling a Samsung here, in my opinion. New model, same old hardware from the previous device for the most part. US models will more than likely not be possible to convert to dual-SIM just like with the 9/9 Pro's. The b/s marketing speak about not being able to deliver 80W fast charging in US models is purely a crock!
Personally, to get me to buy a new device from OnePlus. I want 16GB/512GB variant T-Mobile US model that is possible to convert to dual-SIM. Why? I need to domestically roam on to the US Cellular network as a T-Mobile customer and only devices purchased directly from T-Mobile are permitted to roam on US Cellular (US Cellular roaming requirement). I also carry a Canadian SIM that roams in the US and I don't like carrying two phones. All of the cameras need to be significantly improved and no more stupid holes in the screen. A larger 6.8" screen or maybe even a 6.9" would be something I would hope to eventually see. They have pretty much been using the same screens since the 7 Pro's for the Pro devices. The SnapDragon Gen 1 throttles due to excessive heat on almost all devices using it.