[Q] LTE Device that gets at least 3G International Travel - General Questions and Answers

I need one. I am currently halfway through a 2 year Verizon LTE contract (pre-ordered the Thunderbolt, stupid me but at least I have unlimited data) but would buy an unsubsidized phone if necessary. I will be in East/Southeast Asia, Aus, Eastern and Western Europe.
Currently I'm thinking flagship phone with LTE + Quad Band GSM. The only viable options right now seems to be the Droid 4 (releasing next week) or the Verizon LTE Samsung Galaxy S 2. It seems like the Verizon LTE Galaxy Nexus does not have quad band GSM, although international versions do (but I want LTE when I'm in the states). The HTC Sensation does not have LTE, the Rezound lacks quad band GSM.
The other option is buy a used device solely for international travel. Maybe the Droid 3, HTC Sensation or Desire or even a Samsung Galaxy S.
Does anyone here know how much the decision to tune to lots of bands affects performance, call quality and battery life? I will not be carrying a computer or a tablet, so my phone is my lifeline. Also, if anyone has a Droid 3, what major countries does it NOT work in?

Just for reference, this is no Verizon Samsung GSII.

Related

Q: LTE AT&T Frequency

Does anyone know the full LTE frequency support of AT&T, i see the skyrocket is 700 and the vivid is 700, 1700... is that all AT&T supports? Because i might get the Samsung Galaxy S 2 HD LTE when it comes out and was wondering if that would be picked up by AT&T's network
joshuadjohnson22 said:
Does anyone know the full LTE frequency support of AT&T, i see the skyrocket is 700 and the vivid is 700, 1700... is that all AT&T supports? Because i might get the Samsung Galaxy S 2 HD LTE when it comes out and was wondering if that would be picked up by AT&T's network
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
galaxy s 2 hd lte IS the skyrocket.
AT&T's LTE network is both 700 (current) and 1700 (future planned after T-Mobile acquisition is complete from what I understand). In terms of bands it's LTE band 4 (1700) and band 17 (700).
I highly advise against getting the SGS2 HD LTE (which is NOT the skyrocket) as it is designed to operate on LTE 800. The most you can get out of it would be HSPA+ on AT&T's network.
edit: I've been doing tons of research at this point as my xmas 2011 upgrade has to have LTE, HD display and NFC (optional but desired) and that basically boils it down the either the Galaxy Nexus, a LTE device from Bell Canada and/or anything that AT&T decides to officially launch. I really don't understand why Samsung/AT&T didn't just release the HD LTE to begin with as I went and used the demo unit of the Skyrocket and everything on screen just looks ridiculously large due to poor resolution at 480x800
-Kevlar- said:
galaxy s 2 hd lte IS the skyrocket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope its different, yeah i really like it, the LTE would be a plus, to me the big feature is the HD screen, that would be AMAZING! i was hoping the skyrocket would be the LTE HD i would have bought that SO fast!!! Thanks for all the replies to me H+ is worth it for the HD screen, i was just wondering if at&t's network might pick up the 800 OR maybe samsung will release a US version... only time will tell
p.s. not really a fan of the nexus, i want gorilla glass and LOVE how the galaxy devices are... we will see
I would like to know as well. The HD LTE version looks better and has a dedicated home button. Will it work on AT&T LTE?
Seems my response may have been too technical.
No it won't work.

[Q] T-Mobile 4G Support

Hi There!
I was just in the US for 9 days, and bought a 30 day prepaid plan thinking that because it said I could have 4G I would actually get 4G Speeds. I was only able to get Edge Speeds anywhere I went, and it was pretty horrible.
I logged 2 support chat incidents the first guy was clueless, the second person said they don't give 4g speeds to non T-Mobile provided devices which I thought was pretty crappy.
Is there a software workaround to allow 4G speeds on Android devices purchased from other providers? My phone is an international unlocked device (NZ) and I can get H+ Speeds in Countries like Australia with no issues.
Anyone who could shed some light would be appreciated.
If it was a T-mobile prepaid card that was probably your issue. T-mobile utilizes different frequencies (AWS 1700 band) than almost all other GSM carriers. So if you do not have a t-mobile branded, or a pentaband phone you are only able to get edge speeds. Next time get prepaid AT&T and you will be good to go.
Yah it was a Prepaid Simcard and then a $30 card from Walmart delivered Electronically. I forgot to state I was using a Galaxy S2. Hard to comprehend it not supporting the 4G considering it's a device T-Mobile sell (Though it has slightly different spec's in terms of screen size and button configuration so potentially it could I guess support additional bands.
networkn said:
Yah it was a Prepaid Simcard and then a $30 card from Walmart delivered Electronically. I forgot to state I was using a Galaxy S2. Hard to comprehend it not supporting the 4G considering it's a device T-Mobile sell (Though it has slightly different spec's in terms of screen size and button configuration so potentially it could I guess support additional bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The international SGSII (I9100) and the AT&T SGSII (I777) do not support T-mobile 3G or 4G. The Skyrocket and the T-mobile SGSII (Hercules) are pentaband phones that support both AT&T and T-mobile 4G. The reason for this is the Exynos processor which does not support the AWS bands. That is why the skyrocket and hercules come with the snapdragon processor.
Thanks for the reply, at least now I know. ATT doesn't seem to have anything similar to T-Mobile in so far as you get 5GB 4G, unlimited calling and texting for $30, are ATT generally more expensive?
Thanks.
Att is generally more expensive yes. But as someone already mentioned, Tmobile uses aws band which is different than almost all others for 4g. So you have to weigh your options
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App

Verizon Galaxy S3 SIM Unlock Swap for International Travel Possible?

Not too long ago, I had heard that the Verizon Galaxy S3 would support global roaming in a future update. With the Verizon Galaxy S3 release imminent, I was wondering if this was still the case.
I recently ordered a Galaxy S3 for my Dad, considering his contract with Verizon was up and the data plans were changing. Now, my dad often travels back and forth between the US and South Korea; so often in that he carries two different Android phones for each country (DROID Incredible on Verizon and Nexus S on KT).
Would it be possible for him to dump both the Incredible and Nexus S phones and use only Verizon Galaxy S3 on both of the carriers (if unlocked), by just swapping out the SIM card when traveling between Korea and the US? He will be keeping KT as his cell provider in Korea and from what I've heard, KT does allow foreign phones to be registered on their network, as long as they're unlocked. Both Verizon and KT support CDMA & LTE, but I'm not sure if their frequency bands overlap and if the Verizon S3 would be able to hook onto both without having to flash the radio.
I see that there's already a Voodoo S3 SIM Unlock app on Google Play (probably not compatible with Verizon S3 yet, but maybe eventually possible?).
Either way, it'd be awesome to be able to use the S3 as his main phone on both carriers with a simple SIM card swap! Does anyone have any insight on this, whether it would be possible or not?
CKTurbo128 said:
Not too long ago, I had heard that the Verizon Galaxy S3 would support global roaming in a future update. With the Verizon Galaxy S3 release imminent, I was wondering if this was still the case.
I recently ordered a Galaxy S3 for my Dad, considering his contract with Verizon was up and the data plans were changing. Now, my dad often travels back and forth between the US and South Korea; so often in that he carries two different Android phones for each country (DROID Incredible on Verizon and Nexus S on KT).
Would it be possible for him to dump both the Incredible and Nexus S phones and use only Verizon Galaxy S3 on both of the carriers (if unlocked), by just swapping out the SIM card when traveling between Korea and the US? He will be keeping KT as his cell provider in Korea and from what I've heard, KT does allow foreign phones to be registered on their network, as long as they're unlocked. Both Verizon and KT support CDMA & LTE, but I'm not sure if their frequency bands overlap and if the Verizon S3 would be able to hook onto both without having to flash the radio.
I see that there's already a Voodoo S3 SIM Unlock app on Google Play (probably not compatible with Verizon S3 yet, but maybe eventually possible?).
Either way, it'd be awesome to be able to use the S3 as his main phone on both carriers with a simple SIM card swap! Does anyone have any insight on this, whether it would be possible or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I understand it, the Verizon S3 needs a software update to unlock the GSM bands within the radio, which currently is not available...Also the LTE Bands are Not Compatible, according to my research Verizon uses 700/750 KT uses 1800. The Verizon S3 has 700/750 LTE Support...Also note while the Verizon S3 likely will have GSM support via a software update it will be Edge bands not WCDMA/HSPA+...as for the CDMA side out of luck there too according to KT they use the 1800 band and the Verizon S3 only has 850/1900 band for CDMA...in short getting the Verizon S3 will in no way help your father ditch his second phone...If your father is an international traveler he would be better suited to using a GSM carrier then buying a phone like the Galaxy Nexus which is pentaband WCDMA, this will work in any country that has WCDMA, I can vouch personally that my GNex (GSM Unlocked) works in S. Korea with HSPA+ Data Speeds as I was just there this past February.
So though the GS3 would most likely not be able to use 4G (through HSPA+, I may also be misunderstanding...) would it be able to have 3G overseas? I ask since I will be traveling to China later this year and being able to use 3G over there would be more convenient than getting another phone...

[Q] Using the One X on T-Mobile

I posted this in the wrong One X subforum initially, so here I go again.
If I were to buy an unlocked AT&T One X to use on T-Mobile, would I be able to pick up T-Mobile's LTE after they roll it out in 2013?
Is the only difference between the AT&T version of the phone and the international version that the AT&T version has a dual core chip and has LTE? Are there any other differences I should consider before purchasing?
What is the theoretical max speed of the HSPA+ of the chip on the AT&T phone? Is it the 42Mbps? (I live in a T-Mobile 42mbps market, so once they refarm to 1900MHz I'm wondering what I'll get at that time, before T-Mobile rolls out LTE)
Is there anything you think I should be aware of before I buy an unlocked AT&T One X to use on T-Mobile?
1. If the band frequencies match then yes it may be possible
2 and 3. Google it, you spent more time on this post then it would take to research it
4. You won't be able to root it unless you get luck with a one x with 1.85
Sent from my HTC One XL using Tapatalk 2
TechieGeek said:
I posted this in the wrong One X subforum initially, so here I go again.
If I were to buy an unlocked AT&T One X to use on T-Mobile, would I be able to pick up T-Mobile's LTE after they roll it out in 2013?
Is the only difference between the AT&T version of the phone and the international version that the AT&T version has a dual core chip and has LTE? Are there any other differences I should consider before purchasing?
What is the theoretical max speed of the HSPA+ of the chip on the AT&T phone? Is it the 42Mbps? (I live in a T-Mobile 42mbps market, so once they refarm to 1900MHz I'm wondering what I'll get at that time, before T-Mobile rolls out LTE)
Is there anything you think I should be aware of before I buy an unlocked AT&T One X to use on T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just wait? Or buy an International edition? Until they transition their bands you will only get EDGE on your phone. And then most likely it won't work on LTE when they roll it out even assuming you are in the first LTE rollout.

Why buy the newest Verizon phones when CDMA will be gone in 6 months?

1. Why are Verizon's newest phones CDMA when it will be gone in 6 months? Their newest phones have CDMA, while Verizon is 100% LTE-A, and CDMA and non-HD voice phones will be shut down by the end of the year.
2. Does it make sense or do I need to buy a Verizon model Note 8 or 9 to work on Verizon's network? I will be living in the US and Colombia South America. I have a Verizon Note 3 w/o HD voice so I will I need to replace it before the end of the year. I will be replacing it with another Note series phone. The Verizon ones seem to support both CDMA and GSM and what I need for South America. With CDMA going away, does it make sense to buy a Verizon phone with both CDMA and GSM, or do I need to, to get it activated on their network?
Thanks!

Categories

Resources