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[Q] i9020A on AWS = no 3G? And is "carrier locked" possible?

Will the i9020A version of the Nexus S (which is I think the model sold by Koodo Mobile in Canada) get 3G connection on the AWS spectrum used by Mobilicity? (I believe this should be the same as TMobile)?
Also, is there such a thing as a carrier locked Nexus S? I want to buy the Koodo Mobile Nexus S for $425 off contract (cheapest I can find), but I want to use it on the Mobilicity network. Will I need to carrier unlock the device somehow? I can't seem to find any "unlock Nexus S" sources, so I assume this is unnecessary?
The more I look into this issue, the more confused I get. A lot of places say the Nexus S is quad-band GSM + AWS, so doesn't that mean I should be able to get 3G from anywhere? The FAQ on this forum states that the original Nexus S can only get 3G speeds on TMobile's AWS band--conversely, does that then mean that the new "AT&T" Nexus S phones can't get 3G speeds on AWS? i.e. Do I need to buy a phone from an AWS carrier to get 3G?

Blindsight51 said:
Will the i9020A version of the Nexus S (which is I think the model sold by Koodo Mobile in Canada) get 3G connection on the AWS spectrum used by Mobilicity? (I believe this should be the same as TMobile)?
Also, is there such a thing as a carrier locked Nexus S? I want to buy the Koodo Mobile Nexus S for $425 off contract (cheapest I can find), but I want to use it on the Mobilicity network. Will I need to carrier unlock the device somehow? I can't seem to find any "unlock Nexus S" sources, so I assume this is unnecessary?
The more I look into this issue, the more confused I get. A lot of places say the Nexus S is quad-band GSM + AWS, so doesn't that mean I should be able to get 3G from anywhere? The FAQ on this forum states that the original Nexus S can only get 3G speeds on TMobile's AWS band--conversely, does that then mean that the new "AT&T" Nexus S phones can't get 3G speeds on AWS? i.e. Do I need to buy a phone from an AWS carrier to get 3G?
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Click to collapse
I am in canada, just bought NS finally, that too from Koodo, and it is an Unlocked Rogers/AT&T/Bell/Telus/Fido compatible version. Not to mention it will work with any other bands in the world except the situation Wind/Mobilicity have.
Their phone system is not backwards compatible, they came out in the market just about 2 years ago, they started off with 3G/3.5G straight where Rogers initially started with Standard, moved on to Edge/2G/2.5G and upgraded themselves to 3G and eventually 3.5G, same goes for Telus/Bell/Fido.
If you purchase any of Wind/Mobilicity phone, they will be compatible with any other careers in the world, but you will not get 3G if tried on UMTS. Their phones will only work on the AWS 3G frequency. Which in case means if you bought wind/mobilicity compatible phone, you will get 2G/Edge on Rogers.
Other way around - Koodo phone with Wind/Mobilicity SIM - will give you Wind/Mobilicity Away network only, means it is useless for you. The only phone in canadian market works with Rogers and Wind 3G frequency is Nokia N8 which is a Pentaband phone. Nexus S on the other hand is a Quadband phone, and is made specifically for the career, thats why we have 3/4 different versions, AWS, UMTS, 4G to work with Sprint in US and i guess there is one other model for India and China as well.
All the Nexus S variants come unlocked, outright or on contract, as its a Google's own baby and they don't lock it except the bootloader.
I bought mine with Koodo from Future Shop as it is listed as not an outright sale on Koodo's website, but FS and BBY do sell them outright. It is unlocked out of the box, just pop your SIM in and you are good to go assuming you are going to go with Rogers/Bell/Telus/Koodo/Fido.
My two cents, go with Wind, they offer you wind tab, pay 350 + tax and use the phone to pay the rest of the money with wind tab and you are set if you really want Wind compatible phone.
I had the same problem and dilemma like you as I had a Desire Z with Bell and wanted to use it on Wind, ended up trading it with G2 from T-Mobile and used Wind mobile 3G network and Rogers 2G/Edge network up until now(I am with Rogers and have got a better deal with them for data, so no need to carry two phones on me anymore )
Hope this helps.
CreativeDevil

Blindsight51 said:
Will the i9020A version of the Nexus S (which is I think the model sold by Koodo Mobile in Canada) get 3G connection on the AWS spectrum used by Mobilicity? (I believe this should be the same as TMobile)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it will not work
you need i9020T not A
AWS only comes on the i9020T

creativedevil said:
I am in canada, just bought NS finally, that too from Koodo, and it is ...
...
Hope this helps.
CreativeDevil
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Thanks so much. That explains it very clearly. I guess I'll need to shell out a bit extra and get a phone from Wind or Mobilicity.
+Thanks

Go for it bud... u wont regret...
Creativedevil
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

nexus s overseas. are ALL nexus s' really carrier unlocked?

i cannot seem to find a straight answer to whether ALL nexus s' ship carrier unlocked. i live in philippines and the phone is being offered through globe although i plan to use the phone under the smart network. i was under the impression that google shipped all of these unlocked but i'm hearing from few people that it is PROBABLY locked to globe. i also see unlocking services that offer unlock codes for this particular phone on their websites implying that some of them do come carrier locked. can anyone confirm if these are all unlocked or not? thanks

the nexus s is not "carrier unlocked". it never was advertised as. even though 2g(edge) will probably work on any carrier, 3G(or 4G) is carrier spscific. thats why there are different versions of the nexus s. it will work on other networks as long as the 3G bands are the same. the nexus s is bootloader unlocked(well, you can unlock/lock it yourself).

isnt 3g/4g only carrier specific because of the carrier 3g frequency bands? i'm purchasing the phone here in the philippines which uses 900/2100mhz to connect to 3g as it is the standard operating 3g band for all europe and asia. my main concern is whether i will need an unlock code for the phone to even work with a sim card from a different carrier than the one i originally bought it for. 2g will work on every carrier and 3g will work only if that device supports your carriers 3g frequency band but before connecting to either one, the phone has to be unlocked and pass the "sim check"

shr0omz said:
isnt 3g/4g only carrier specific because of the carrier 3g frequency bands? i'm purchasing the phone here in the philippines which uses 900/2100mhz to connect to 3g as it is the standard operating 3g band for all europe and asia. my main concern is whether i will need an unlock code for the phone to even work with a sim card from a different carrier than the one i originally bought it for. 2g will work on every carrier and 3g will work only if that device supports your carriers 3g frequency band but before connecting to either one, the phone has to be unlocked and pass the "sim check"
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Click to collapse
ahhh..
if the frequency is the same, itll work. no sim unlock code needed. i missunderstood, sorry.

thanks for the quick response. no need for apologies... easy to get mixed up with all this cellphone termanology nowadays =). i just didnt want to say 'unlocked' because it wouldve been too vague. 'sim lock' probably wouldve been a better term in my original post.

shr0omz said:
thanks for the quick response. no need for apologies... easy to get mixed up with all this cellphone termanology nowadays =). i just didnt want to say 'unlocked' because it wouldve been too vague. 'sim lock' probably wouldve been a better term in my original post.
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None of them have any carrier lock. However you'll likely want the correct phone for your 3g frequencies. You could use the wrong one, you just won't get HSPA
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

shr0omz said:
i cannot seem to find a straight answer to whether ALL nexus s' ship carrier unlocked. i live in philippines and the phone is being offered through globe although i plan to use the phone under the smart network. i was under the impression that google shipped all of these unlocked but i'm hearing from few people that it is PROBABLY locked to globe. i also see unlocking services that offer unlock codes for this particular phone on their websites implying that some of them do come carrier locked. can anyone confirm if these are all unlocked or not? thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude! lucky you i found this thread
I bought mine through Globe. I tested officemate#1's Sun sim and had officemate#2 send a text message to that sim while in my Nexus S, and I received it. I also sent a text message back to officemate#2 still using the Sun sim. and she got it back. So I guess we can say it's unlocked
Im not sure if I got lucky getting an unlocked Nexus S (even though there's a small sticker inside the Nexus S that says "this mobile may only be used with a Globe Sim card").
but i've read a lot of forum (since im researching about this because i have plans of using this in Singapore and i hate going through the hassle of unrooting and unlocking) and a lot of them say Nexus S units are unlocked even when a telecom carries it.

mbolinao said:
dude! lucky you i found this thread
I bought mine through Globe. I tested officemate#1's Sun sim and had officemate#2 send a text message to that sim while in my Nexus S, and I received it. I also sent a text message back to officemate#2 still using the Sun sim. and she got it back. So I guess we can say it's unlocked
Im not sure if I got lucky getting an unlocked Nexus S (even though there's a small sticker inside the Nexus S that says "this mobile may only be used with a Globe Sim card").
but i've read a lot of forum (since im researching about this because i have plans of using this in Singapore and i hate going through the hassle of unrooting and unlocking) and a lot of them say Nexus S units are unlocked even when a telecom carries it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google won't allow any provider to touch the software on the nexus line. So no matter what stickers it has or what the sales rep tells you, the phone is sim unlocked.
Sent from my Nexus S

oke this is actually a really simple answer.without the bloat information of the other guy's(sorry no offence.nice job participating in the question though)
the only carrier locked nexus.
is the nexus S 4G
cuz sprint doesnt use GSM+/hsdpa+
for its 4G.
the nexus S itself is a GSM phone.and will work on any GSM/HSDPA network.
i imported my nexus S out of the US. and it works fine on my Ben.nl sim(with working HSDPA,3G ect)
Ben.nl being a sister company of tmo-nl
Previously known as Samsung i9020
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
Announced 2010, December
Status Available. Released 2010, December

In korea, that is fine! Korea model is not i9020.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

ghost010 said:
oke this is actually a really simple answer.without the bloat information of the other guy's(sorry no offence.nice job participating in the question though)
the only carrier locked nexus.
is the nexus S 4G
cuz sprint doesnt use GSM+/hsdpa+
for its 4G.
the nexus S itself is a GSM phone.and will work on any GSM/HSDPA network.
i imported my nexus S out of the US. and it works fine on my Ben.nl sim(with working HSDPA,3G ect)
Ben.nl being a sister company of tmo-nl
Previously known as Samsung i9020
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
Announced 2010, December
Status Available. Released 2010, December
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow looks like a really simple answer LOL

Will I be able to use Nexus S (SHW-M200k) in India
Recently I bought a SHW-200K in South Korea.
Will I be able to use the phone in India.
I wanted a SUPER AMOLED model and I read at many places that Nexus S comes in unlocked versions only.
Is it True?

Does your carrier in India use the same frequencies as the Korean model you bought? Did you at least look that up first?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G

I am not sure about the frequency used in India and Korea.
Before purchasing the product in Korea, I had checked if the phone would be working with the SIM card that I use in India. It was working.
The Nexus S variant that released in India says that it supports the following
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
I am trying to explore more about the frequency related things that you mentioned.

I was told that they all come carrier unlocked.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

[Q] Nexus S (i9023) not working with AT&T in the US?

That's what wikipedia said:
but noted that the device can only be used with T-Mobile in the U.S. and is not 4G compatible.
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Can anybody confirm this?
Why should it only work with t-mobile?
I got my phone from amazon, no branding whatsoever, carrier info EUR.
Asides from the display, 9020 and 9023 are the same right, so it wouldn't matter which one I own?
The thing is, I'll be in the US for several weeks and I was hoping I could use my phone for navigation. And at&t has a prepaid offer where you get 500 MB for $25, I couldn't really find anything like that from t-mobile, maybe they don't have a good mobile data offer on prepaid, maybe I just can't find it because their homepage sucks so much..
Would be really great if somebody could tell me with which networks you can definitely use the Nexus S in the States!
Oh, and if you happen to know any better/superior prepaid offers, I'll be happy to hear..

royalmitkaese said:
That's what wikipedia said:
Can anybody confirm this?
Why should it only work with t-mobile?
I got my phone from amazon, no branding whatsoever, carrier info EUR.
Asides from the display, 9020 and 9023 are the same right, so it wouldn't matter which one I own?
The thing is, I'll be in the US for several weeks and I was hoping I could use my phone for navigation. And at&t has a prepaid offer where you get 500 MB for $25, I couldn't really find anything like that from t-mobile, maybe they don't have a good mobile data offer on prepaid, maybe I just can't find it because their homepage sucks so much..
Would be really great if somebody could tell me with which networks you can definitely use the Nexus S in the States!
Oh, and if you happen to know any better/superior prepaid offers, I'll be happy to hear..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The i9023 will support the GSM bands only (Edge) not the HSPA bands for AT&T. You'll get Edge/GPRS with an AT&T Sim, but not 3G.
There are 2 versions of the i9020 - the i9020 for the AWS 3G bands (T-Mobile US and most of the world) and the i9020a (850/1900 HSPA bands) for AT&T and some Canadian carriers.
The i9023 should work fine with T-Mobile in the US for 3G data.

Actually, we are in China, there is 9020A for Canada ROGERS, the phone can support china 3G 2100 HSPA bands.

[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

[Q] GT-P6200 or 6200L ?

I'm getting some conflicting information and I know that I can get an accurate accounting right here...
I'm told that the P-6200 model will operate on ATT network but EDGE only speed and that I need the P-6200L model to get full 3G speeds.
Is this correct?

I'm on the same boat. Cannot decide which one to get.
I was told you can flash modem from p6200l to p6200 to enable 850mhz 3g. But I'm not so sure. Has anyone tried this?
Here is the link.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1634008
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA

I replied to you on the other thread:
FMAranda said:
I think it's the band frequency, I got this from Samsung's website:
P6200:
3G 900 / 1,900 / 2,100 MHz
P6200L:
3G 850 / 1.900 / 2.100 MHz
Here you can find more info:
P6200 http://www.samsung.com/my/consumer/mobile-devices/tablet/tablet/GT-P6200UWAXME-spec
P6200L http://www.samsung.com/latin_en/consumer/mobile-devices/tablets/galaxy-tab/GT-P6200UWLTPA-spec
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

So, the correct answer for the ATT network is the 6200L. Can you confirm?

scottb4u said:
So, the correct answer for the ATT network is the 6200L. Can you confirm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the P6200L works with AT&T 3G and actually is the model sold on Amazon. I was looking on the AT&T Galaxy Tab 8.9 specs and it works with UMTS Triband,850/1900/2100MHz the same as P6200L.
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab/SGH-I957ZKAATT-specs

Not even one merchant on Amazon has the 6200L. Each model is the straight up 6200! Show me where on Amazon I can get it!
and BTW. THIS is NOT a 6200L because I've already emailed the seller and asked. It is a mistake: amazon.com/Samsung-GT-P6200-P6200L-GALAXY-Tab/dp/B007I5E3IK Put a www in front of amazon for the link

Look at this comment from a guy who bought the tablet:
" I bought this tablet because I thought it was model GT-P6200 as that is what the title says. In reality, it was GT-P6200L which has a few important differences. The first is that it did NOT use 3G on the T-Mobile network. Maybe it does on other networks. Perhaps "Unlocked World Tablet PC" was the code-phrase that should have warned me. "
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-GT-P6200-7-0-dual-core-Honeycomb/dp/B00746GVHY/ref=pd_cp_cps_0

I'll call them. And I don't care about T-Mobile, just ATT. But now I wonder: do they make a quad-band variant? One that does 850 & 900?

Yes, you should call because on that link you can see that the specs of 3G Bands are 850 / 1900 / 2100.

So, did you get the information if it is the P6200L?

I called T-Mobile, today. I have the 6200L. T-Mobile started offering unlimited 3G/4G for $20 a month, so I signed up. Turns out that I can only use Edge with this model when using T-Mobile. This is what the T-Mobile tech rep told me, anyway.
I read the info above this post, so I want to confirm. Does GT-P6200L work with 3G/4G using T-Mobile, or not? If so, I need to make some config change. If not, I have to find a new model of tablet to use. I am not going to go back into the dark ages and settle with Edge. Why on Earth would T-Mobile do this, anyway?

No, T-Mobile uses 1.700MHz for 3G right now, but it should work on the new 1.900MHz frequency that T-Mobile is deploying, that's because they want the iPhone to be compatible with their 3G. For now only some regions are covered by the 1.900MHz 3G, here you can read more: http://www.gsmarena.com/tmobile_usa_running_1900mhz_3g_in_some_areas_iphones_invited-news-3537.php
4G will never work since it's the LTE technology and our tablet doesn't support it.