Database Info

Coming from Samsung Captivate...

What do I need to know moving from a 3G phone to a 4G phone (HTC Inspire)? Will the SIM and everything work with the phone right out of the box? Will I be charged extra for being on 4G?

Switching sim cards is not an issue. 4G technically doesn't exist yet for the Inspire.
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.

I need to switch out my SIM card or it will work as I have it?

It will work just fine.

It should work just by swapping sim cards. Eventually you may have to get a new sim when HSPA+ rolls out.
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.

Sounds great...thanks guys.

There should be some clarification made here. The Inspire requires a 4G data plan code to be added to your account - and it does require a new SIM if you are in a 4G area. Most of the coastlines around the country are 4G already. Well... "4G" anyway - the maximum theoretical modem speed in the Inspire is 14.4Mbps/5.76Mbps, which is pathetic considering T-Mo's 21Mbps phones and their 40+Mbps network.
Verizon currently holds the speed crown overall in the country when it comes to 4G speeds but it really depends on your area. Here in Colorado, Sprint bested both Verizon and T-Mobile on "4G" speed (WiMAX in their case) by a good margin in random tests by an independent lab not hired by Sprint.
Either way, I've seen T-Mobile tests that have passed 25Mbps - no joke - and I've yet to see more than 10Mbps (this was a test on Sprint) or 7Mbps on Verizon but at&t struggles to get 2Mbps so its a huge upgrade anyway.

EtherealRemnant said:
There should be some clarification made here. The Inspire requires a 4G data plan code to be added to your account - and it does require a new SIM if you are in a 4G area. Most of the coastlines around the country are 4G already. Well... "4G" anyway - the maximum theoretical modem speed in the Inspire is 14.4Mbps/5.76Mbps, which is pathetic considering T-Mo's 21Mbps phones and their 40+Mbps network.
Verizon currently holds the speed crown overall in the country when it comes to 4G speeds but it really depends on your area. Here in Colorado, Sprint bested both Verizon and T-Mobile on "4G" speed (WiMAX in their case) by a good margin in random tests by an independent lab not hired by Sprint.
Either way, I've seen T-Mobile tests that have passed 25Mbps - no joke - and I've yet to see more than 10Mbps (this was a test on Sprint) or 7Mbps on Verizon but at&t struggles to get 2Mbps so its a huge upgrade anyway.
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According to several ATT corporate folks the 4G sim cards will probably not be required for some time. Its basically a new paint job on the old cards. And this is coming from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, aka Big Blues Backyard. Eventually 4G will he turned on. Then ATTs version of LTE. And it will be widely used & consumed. But until then its no real worry. Think about when 3G phones first started rolling out. We were still rocking our old sim cards for quite a while but there was an eventual need to change.
Sent from my Inspire using XDA Premium App

ryanmfraser said:
According to several ATT corporate folks the 4G sim cards will probably not be required for some time. Its basically a new paint job on the old cards. And this is coming from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, aka Big Blues Backyard. Eventually 4G will he turned on. Then ATTs version of LTE. And it will be widely used & consumed. But until then its no real worry. Think about when 3G phones first started rolling out. We were still rocking our old sim cards for quite a while but there was an eventual need to change.
Sent from my Inspire using XDA Premium App
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I got the information straight from a manager in business services. The new SIM cards that are being deployed with these phones are required, along with a new SOC code for "4G" internet service to work when it is deployed. If you go to at&t's website and look at their 4G map, it has been turned on in a very small number of places (Texas and Buffalo, NY to name two) and if you are using an old SIM, you will not get the faster speeds. I hate this SIM card business honestly. Coming from CDMA, it royally sucks when you have an issue and your cell is your only phone because of the fact that inactive SIMs cannot call 611. I went through that hell today. Inactive CDMA phones will still call customer service, giving you the freedom to get technical support without much of a fuss. I had to call at&t three times today because of provisioning issues with my Inspire and being unable to call from another phone.
In any case, if you are in a 4G area, you need a 4G SIM to be able to connect to the HSPA+ network, just like EDGE SIMs didn't connect to the 3G network when it FINALLY started to launch.

aaronv89 said:
I need to switch out my SIM card or it will work as I have it?
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Well when I bought mine they changed the sim I used to have in the iPhone 3G with a new one... So I guess you should to.. It's free so why not?
It's true the 4G it's more an 3 1/2 G but what is gonna happen when they actually enable it???

This is why I said you "may" need the card. At&T has been vague on this
Sent from Desire HD or Inspire 4G or whatever this thing is called via premium XDA app.

Only 2g or 4g.. never seen a 3g symbol!

Since purchasing my phone almost 2 weeks ago I have never gotten 3g. I have replaced my sim and also upgraded data. I have one day left to return and I'm wondering if you guys too are having this issue. Or perhaps is it a tower/radio issue?
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

It won't ever show 3g
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Yeah i saw the same thing. I think it's has a lot to do with TMO's 4G not actually being a different technology than it's 3G. So in most cases if you have 3G you also have 4G. Are there any areas where you know that TMO's HSPA+ network doesn't have coverage but the normal 3G coverage does? I'd be interested in that. I couldn't test in my area because the 3G coverage is the exact same as the 4G so the indicator would only change if I entered an edge only area.
The G2 only displays an H which can either be 3G or 4G but it's not differentiated on the phone. So I think it's just because of TMO's network not being a separate technology that requires a different radio. So the phone won't go from 4G to 3G to Edge. It goes straight to 2G because 3g and 4G is the same in technology. Only difference is speed and that that's with any network where you have different speeds in different places.

The 4G is a souped up version of their 3G so you won't see 3G ever AFAIK.

Thought i was the only one that noticed

As a t-mob tech rep I can confirm that this is true. The phone will either display 2 or 4. It was even in the brief training we received. No need to return it

Get Mobile Signal Widget if you want to see it go between 3G(UMTS) or H(HSPA+)
It will not show 3G/4G because it would flip between the two too much.

Yesterday I saw it just said "G". Phone was slow as ****. I love this thing.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

joeyklatzko said:
The 4G is a souped up version of their 3G so you won't see 3G ever AFAIK.
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It's the same on the G2x that I had briefly.

good to know cause im in love with my phone and didnt wanna chance a exchange! its really not enough good about this phone on here but for any of you on the edge its a great phone coming from a hd2 which was also the SH!T !!

Just a little extra info on this. EVERY 3G cell site in T-Mobile's network is HSPA capable so whenever you are on a 3G site your have HSPA access BUT not every site is HSPA+ (4G speeds). With that said, your phone does not know the difference so even if we wanted an icon to show the difference we couldn't have it. There is one more mode and that is UMTS. This only shows when your phone is idle and not doing data (not very often). It does NOT mean your don't have HSPA access on that site, it just means your phone is not currently doing data. So, we could have a 3G icon for when your idle but your phone would be constantly switching from 3G icon to 4G or H (whichever you have) and that would be annoying. Hope this helps.

setzer715 said:
There is one more mode and that is UMTS. This only shows when your phone is idle and not doing data (not very often). It does NOT mean your don't have HSPA access on that site, it just means your phone is not currently doing data. So, we could have a 3G icon for when your idle but your phone would be constantly switching from 3G icon to 4G or H (whichever you have) and that would be annoying. Hope this helps.
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That's what it did for the HD2 & it let me know when I was actually pulling down data, just look for 3G or the H

xnifex said:
That's what it did for the HD2 & it let me know when I was actually pulling down data, just look for 3G or the H
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You will still know with the data activity arrows.

setzer715 said:
You will still know with the data activity arrows.
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On the Sensation yes, HD2 running WM though it was about the only way to know

Its a lie. It just says 4G instead of 3G. Never 3G. Its a ploy to make you believe they have 4G everywhere.

I have an unbranded Asian Sensation and it shows 3G once and a while. There is this one area I notice it switches from the H(4G) to 3G. I know TMO changed the H icon with a 4G one so maybe they removed the 3G one show it always shows 4G even if on 3G??

Ive seen it switch to 3g and its like not having internet. Speeds around 50-100 kbps . A friend with mt4g confirmed.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

~~Tito~~ said:
Its a lie. It just says 4G instead of 3G. Never 3G. Its a ploy to make you believe they have 4G everywhere.
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Tito, long time no see!
LOL, true that t-Mob is trying to brainwash the XDA gang

DeezNotes said:
Yesterday I saw it just said "G". Phone was slow as ****. I love this thing.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
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You were on a regular GSM connection, those are old and slow. Not your phones fault, it was basically trying to use data over a rotary phone.

Is your device from tmobile?

[Q] why does my t mobile sensations internet say wcdma

The top icon says "4g" yet in my internet settings it says wcdma not hspa or anything like that. Does this mean it isn't 4g??

I'm assuming you are looking under Mobile Network Setting > Network Mode. If that is in fact what your are referring to, then you have nothing to worry about. What you are seeing in the type of connection the phone is using to connect to the network. GSM is the network T-Mobile and AT&T uses (SIM card), and CDMA is what Verizon and Sprint uses (old technology). If you are getting the 4G icon on your status bar, then you are connected at 4G speeds.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G "Stock and Rooted" using XDA Premium App

Thank you, question tho i'm always either on 4g or edge, why? I love the 4g speeds but why no 3g? I never see the icon read 3g?
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

same here always 4g or edge. No 3g
Sent from my TripNMiUI Pyramid using xda premium

From time to time you may see G (3G), or the slowest speed 2G (Edge), and this just means the signal is fluctuating from the available connection speeds in your area, this is normal. You will never just get 4G all the time, it will go in and out. Your phones are doing what they are supposed to do. And be aware some areas have no 4G at all.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

the reason why you are not seeing 3g is cause the 3g icon has been replaced by 4g. cause technically there is no 4g yet. its a marketing ploy to get more people to buy new phones. dont get me wrong cause its not really 3g you are connected to its more like 3.5g.

SoFaKiNgStOkeD said:
From time to time you may see G (3G), or the slowest speed 2G (Edge),
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Have to correct you on this, G = GPRS, E = Edge (2G).

Divine flaw said:
the reason why you are not seeing 3g is cause the 3g icon has been replaced by 4g. cause technically there is no 4g yet. its a marketing ploy to get more people to buy new phones. dont get me wrong cause its not really 3g you are connected to its more like 3.5g.
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this guy is correct. if you really want to know what connection you have you can swap out the icons for your data connectivity or install Elixir & look at what it says there. If you're connected to 3G it'll say UTMS & it'll say HSPA for 4G/HSPA

Divine flaw said:
the reason why you are not seeing 3g is cause the 3g icon has been replaced by 4g. cause technically there is no 4g yet. its a marketing ploy to get more people to buy new phones. dont get me wrong cause its not really 3g you are connected to its more like 3.5g.
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Damn I knew some **** like this was up. any idea when real 4g will be out
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

nbochoa said:
Damn I knew some **** like this was up. any idea when real 4g will be out
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
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No one has finished deploying faux G networks and no real 4G phones are being sold. I imagine it will take 5-10 years for true 4G to be available in more than a few small markets. It just doesn't make financial sense for service providers to replace/upgrade equipment over and over again in a short timeframe.

So me having a sensation would mean what I have is the fastest I can get or would changing my ROM help me get the "42 mbps" t mobile claims to have.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

mike_ekim said:
No one has finished deploying faux G networks and no real 4G phones are being sold. I imagine it will take 5-10 years for true 4G to be available in more than a few small markets. It just doesn't make financial sense for service providers to replace/upgrade equipment over and over again in a short timeframe.
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I dunno, one could say LTE is 4G.

lianw said:
I dunno, one could say LTE is 4G.
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So the Verizon lte is faster than hspa+
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

nbochoa said:
So the Verizon lte is faster than hspa+
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
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Higher theoretical higher throughput performance. Real-world results are of course, different.
It all depends on the area (population density, etc) as well as the quality of the network infrastructure.
Here are some results:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/4G-s...e-holds-the-fort-in-smartphone-speeds_id17405
nbochoa said:
So me having a sensation would mean what I have is the fastest I can get or would changing my ROM help me get the "42 mbps" t mobile claims to have.
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The Sensation is not capable of achieving that speed. It's a hardware limitation, not software.
It's quasi-impossible to obtain the full theoretical maximum speed a network provider advertises.

nbochoa said:
So me having a sensation would mean what I have is the fastest I can get or would changing my ROM help me get the "42 mbps" t mobile claims to have.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
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Max "theoretical" speed is 14.4mb. Speeds vary by location.

I can't get above 2 or 3, MAYBE 4 mbps on a good day, not sure why. I got 3 or 4mbps regularly on my old mytouch 3g slide using the HSPA network, I figured HSPA+ would be faster, not slower, but I have yet to pinpoint my problem. I was expecting a good 5-8 at least, but oh well.
As for Verizon's LTE, it's still not technically 4G. 4G is TECHNICALLY required to have a theoretical maximum output of 1 GBPS, of course, nothing would be able to achieve that initially, but that is the required theoretical maximum for 4G specifications. But there's nothing they can do about companies claiming 4G. Although what can they really do, they've already sucked the 3G term dry, and it's kind of a stupid marketing campaign to say 3.75G or HSPA+, it's easier for the vast majority of technologically incompetent Americans to understand if they just say 4G. But just wait for when the mass confusion ensues when real 4G does really get invented, then everyone's going to say "I thought that was 4G before! What's this 4G? We'll call it 5G!"
It'll be an endless cycle of marketing ploys.

Divine flaw said:
the reason why you are not seeing 3g is cause the 3g icon has been replaced by 4g. cause technically there is no 4g yet. its a marketing ploy to get more people to buy new phones. dont get me wrong cause its not really 3g you are connected to its more like 3.5g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not entirely true, I do get a "G" symbol from time to time out her in San Diego when I am on the stock ROM, which "G" is 3G. There is a difference between the 3 bands, and 4G is much faster when you do get it.

SoFaKiNgStOkeD said:
Not entirely true, I do get a "G" symbol from time to time out her in San Diego when I am on the stock ROM, which "G" is 3G. There is a difference between the 3 bands, and 4G is much faster when you do get it.
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Uh no, if you get just a G then you're on GPRS & that is slower than EDGE.
If you're on a stock Tmobile US ROM you will never see 3G since they disabled it from showing.

SoFaKiNgStOkeD said:
Not entirely true, I do get a "G" symbol from time to time out her in San Diego when I am on the stock ROM, which "G" is 3G. There is a difference between the 3 bands, and 4G is much faster when you do get it.
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Click to collapse
thats funny..... g =gprs not 3g. think of it as 1g. and yes i do get a g signal every time i head down to the dungeon at work and i cant for the life of me connect to the internet. even on my old phone which was an hd2 i would get a g signal if im down in the dungeon. but guess what that phone had a 3g icon and when im not in the dungeon i was connected to a 3g network cause my phone had that icon. if you are telling me this g signal is 3g than im sorry your wrong.

[Q] Is there a way to switch between 3G and 4G?

Hey is there a way to switch between using 3G and 4G? I know there is a use only 2G networks option but what about 3G/4G? Thanks

I don't think so...
To my understanding, T-Mobile uses the same network technology for both 3G and 4G (HSPA+) so turning off 4G would also turn off 3G. And if that isn't the case, it still wouldn't make sense to turn it off. It's only affect would be slower internet speeds. I could be wrong here though, lets see what the other posts say.

BioRivet said:
To my understanding, T-Mobile uses the same network technology for both 3G and 4G (HSPA+) so turning off 4G would also turn off 3G. And if that isn't the case, it still wouldn't make sense to turn it off. It's only affect would be slower internet speeds. I could be wrong here though, lets see what the other posts say.
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I think you're right BioRivit. Unlike the switch between 2G and 3G, which involved totally different frequencies and underlying technology, 4G is basically the same technology as 3G, except with a few modifications that allow a faster speed.

XD
andrewNY said:
I think you're right BioRivit.
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It's been a long time since I last heard that... Lol

Ok thanks guys. I guess my real question was supppsed to be how do you tell if you are on tmobile's 3G or "4G". I feel like I've never seen a 3G icon in the status bar, only 4G. Thoughts?

T-Mobile uses the 3g network to transmit 4g. Unlike Verizon or Sprint which have a structural difference between 3g and 4g, T-Mobile is using the 3g network with data compression. This is how they expanded from 3g to 4g instantly, no change in network structure. You won't see 3g again if you have a 4g phone like the G2x. You can only use Edge (2g) or 4g. Hope that helps.

Alright thanks guys

4g in the uk?

Hi all. I have just looked at my optimus 3d (uk) and my network is.showing EE (This is the name of oranges 4g network they will be rolling out soon.
Does that mean this phone is fully 4g compatible? (I know the thrill is 4g but would like clarification)
Sent from my LG-P920 using Tapatalk 2

mcscruff said:
Hi all. I have just looked at my optimus 3d (uk) and my network is.showing EE (This is the name of oranges 4g network they will be rolling out soon.
Does that mean this phone is fully 4g compatible? (I know the thrill is 4g but would like clarification)
Sent from my LG-P920 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange, I'm on T-Mobile UK but my O3D hasn't changed yet to EE although I've had a text to say it will, so I guess their in the process of rolling out the new network. The phone is 4G ready (T-mobile confirmed last week) but you will need a new 4G sim card and obviously a new 4G price plan for it to work.

PercyR said:
That's strange, I'm on T-Mobile UK but my O3D hasn't changed yet to EE although I've had a text to say it will, so I guess their in the process of rolling out the new network. The phone is 4G ready (T-mobile confirmed last week) but you will need a new 4G sim card and obviously a new 4G price plan for it to work.
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Click to collapse
I think you are confusing that the Optimus 3D is considered 4G ready in the US as they stupidly refer to HSDPA as 4G over there, which over here is 3.5G. There are no 4G ready phones over here yet as the EE network uses a different frequency to what current phones support for LTE (what powers 4G). They will require phones specifically adapted to their network and so no doubt they will be priced accordingly.
I figure the point is moot anyway as the poor speeds on T-Mobile aren't due to limitations to do with 3.5G, they deliberately throttle your speeds. That leads to be to believe that the related cost to actually get a decent speeds on their 4G network will be pretty high.
Its for this reason I am not bothered about 4G yet. For general web browsing the 1Mbit I get on 3.5G is sufficient, if I want any faster I can use WiFi. If I really REALLY needed more speed I would switch to Three which would get a huge speed boost without needing to buy a new phone. I only stick with T-Mobile because their call/text packages are good value and their coverage is excellent, which is more important than uber speed browsing to me.

That's 4G ready as in EE's 4G band will be in the 1800 Mhz range and that's one of the ranges that the O3D is capable of receiving. That was confirmed to me by T-Mobile UK.
I would expect that EE's 4G offering will come at a premium (at least for about a year until the other networks can provide 4G) but a work colleague popped into a new EE shop and they told him that an unlimited data plan would only be about £5 over and above a current 3G unlimited data.
To me, that sounds pretty good...
Sent from my LG-P920 using xda app-developers app

I'm an an O2 unlimited data plan and I'll keep it going when 4g gets rolled out. I plan to pay no extra charges, same way I tether for free.
Sent from my LG-P920 using xda app-developers app