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[Q] From CDMA to GSM via Firmware Update ?

I've read that XOOM use the Radio chip Qualcomm MDM6600 ( the same of Iphone 4 ) and that is compatible with CDMA and also GSM network.
If it's true there's a way to set the actual CDMA Xoom for using GSM net with a cooked firmware ?

Not possible. Verizon's Xoom does not have GSM, only CDMA and LTE down the road.

LordLugard said:
Not possible. Verizon's Xoom does not have GSM, only CDMA and LTE down the road.
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I'm pretty sure the iFixit tear down indicated that the verizon xoom had gsm hardware inside that just wasnt activated.

mattkeane88 said:
I'm pretty sure the iFixit tear down indicated that the verizon xoom had gsm hardware inside that just wasnt activated.
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But isn't the LTE simcard bigger than a normal phone SIM card?

snowg said:
I've read that XOOM use the Radio chip Qualcomm MDM6600 ( the same of Iphone 4 ) and that is compatible with CDMA and also GSM network.
If it's true there's a way to set the actual CDMA Xoom for using GSM net with a cooked firmware ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The chip is a world capable but the radio with it is cdma so it can't work on GSM networks unlessbit has a GSM radio. The chip probably just makes it easier for moto to produce xooms without having buy separate parts when GSM version comes out.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

socomdark said:
The chip is a world capable but the radio with it is cdma so it can't work on GSM networks unlessbit has a GSM radio. The chip probably just makes it easier for moto to produce xooms without having buy separate parts when GSM version comes out.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
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Hmmm. Pretty sure that's wrong. The chip is the actual modem - it is what *modulates*/*demodulates* digital signals to/from the radio. The "radio" is merely a power transmitter/receiver; the modem is what controls what the radio signals mean. As long as the radio is tuned for the right frequencies, it should work.

So, is it possible or not? Has anyone tried it?

I'd just buy a data dongle and have the best of both. CDMA -> GSM has brick written all over it.

[Q] Has anyone tried the 3g in China?

I just bought a Xoom with 3g (Verizon). I live in Canada and don't really need the 3g here at home (Wifi at home and work). However, if I travel to China or somewhere else, is is possible to unlock it so I can use the 3g network there?
Does root the dervice help? Please enlighten me ot point to to the right direction. By the way, I don't really care about the lte upgrade, so I don't worry about voiding the warranty.
Thanks in advance.

It depends I think. From a very quick search it looks like China may have one or more CDMA networks available. That said, it depends which band they use and probably what are you are going to... I believe that like Canada, China is rather large.
If you're talking about world travel in general, you would have been better getting a European GSM version as most of the networks in the world use GSM rather than CDMA.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

burden010 said:
It depends I think. From a very quick search it looks like China may have one or more CDMA networks available. That said, it depends which band they use and probably what are you are going to... I believe that like Canada, China is rather large.
If you're talking about world travel in general, you would have been better getting a European GSM version as most of the networks in the world use GSM rather than CDMA.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Actually the US Xoom 3G has a Qualcomm MDM6600 chip and if you do a search on Google then you will find that it's actually a "world mode" baseband capable of supporting both CDMA/EVDO and GSM/UMTS networks. Xoom also has a sim card slot, so i'm wondering if the European version will come with the same hardware and they will just enable the GSM/UMTS part...

poisike said:
Actually the US Xoom 3G has a Qualcomm MDM6600 chip and if you do a search on Google then you will find that it's actually a "world mode" baseband capable of supporting both CDMA/EVDO and GSM/UMTS networks. Xoom also has a sim card slot, so i'm wondering if the European version will come with the same hardware and they will just enable the GSM/UMTS part...
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Still doesn't take away from my point that the chip, whether it be GSM capable or not, isn't enabled for it.

burden010 said:
Still doesn't take away from my point that the chip, whether it be GSM capable or not, isn't enabled for it.
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Yes, you are correct and i didn't say you aren't.
I'm just very interested in seeing if the hardware will be different or not.

[Q] Lte and infuse

Will the infuse be able to run off the new lte network?

Even I know the answer to this...no
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App

No no no and..............???? No
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App

hold up a verizon lte phone to the infuse. the verizon phone will be twice as thick to hold that lte radio.

Nah ATT will have LTE in 5 cities by the end of the summer? I forgot, but yeah ATT is getting LTE.....
LTE is a different band therefore different modem. Infuse doesn't have an LTE modem/hardware. Done.s

Chatted with AT&T tech support Mark. He said "HSPA+ and LTE are one and the same". Can I believe this guy?

lidezhan said:
Chatted with AT&T tech support Mark. He said "HSPA+ and LTE are one and the same". Can I believe this guy?
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no, but there are radio chipsets that can do both. I don't think the infuse has this chip. and the infuse is not spec'd to have lte capabilities.
2g,3g,and 4g are just marketing terms that are supposed to give a general idea to the consumer how fast it is.

lidezhan said:
Chatted with AT&T tech support Mark. He said "HSPA+ and LTE are one and the same". Can I believe this guy?
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No. He has NO clue.

Chatted with another AT&T tech support Jesus. According to him, "Infuse can run on both [HSPA and LTE] ... It is a phone designed for this transition since 4G level speeds are available with both LTE and the HSPA networks. And the Infuse can access them both. The Motorola Atrix as well ... I am not able to find documentation that is not proprietary. The information I have, since LTE is only in testing stages, is that LTE compatibility is not posted on the Specifications. The 4G speeds are currently being provided by an enhanced version of HSPA and HSPDA, and the phones are connectible. The 4G phones, such as designated the Atrix and the Infuse, will be able to access LTE once it becomes established via a software upgrade."

lidezhan said:
Chatted with another AT&T tech support Jesus. According to him, "Infuse can run on both [HSPA and LTE] ... It is a phone designed for this transition since 4G level speeds are available with both LTE and the HSPA networks. And the Infuse can access them both. The Motorola Atrix as well ... I am not able to find documentation that is not proprietary. The information I have, since LTE is only in testing stages, is that LTE compatibility is not posted on the Specifications. The 4G speeds are currently being provided by an enhanced version of HSPA and HSPDA, and the phones are connectible. The 4G phones, such as designated the Atrix and the Infuse, will be able to access LTE once it becomes established via a software upgrade."
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Click to collapse
Well at least you found Jesus...

lidezhan said:
Chatted with another AT&T tech support Jesus. According to him, "Infuse can run on both [HSPA and LTE] ... It is a phone designed for this transition since 4G level speeds are available with both LTE and the HSPA networks. And the Infuse can access them both. The Motorola Atrix as well ... I am not able to find documentation that is not proprietary. The information I have, since LTE is only in testing stages, is that LTE compatibility is not posted on the Specifications. The 4G speeds are currently being provided by an enhanced version of HSPA and HSPDA, and the phones are connectible. The 4G phones, such as designated the Atrix and the Infuse, will be able to access LTE once it becomes established via a software upgrade."
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Click to collapse
That's somewhat more believable - e.g. the hardware is capable but the radio baseband isn't yet.

lidezhan said:
Chatted with another AT&T tech support Jesus. According to him, "Infuse can run on both [HSPA and LTE] ... It is a phone designed for this transition since 4G level speeds are available with both LTE and the HSPA networks. And the Infuse can access them both. The Motorola Atrix as well ... I am not able to find documentation that is not proprietary. The information I have, since LTE is only in testing stages, is that LTE compatibility is not posted on the Specifications. The 4G speeds are currently being provided by an enhanced version of HSPA and HSPDA, and the phones are connectible. The 4G phones, such as designated the Atrix and the Infuse, will be able to access LTE once it becomes established via a software upgrade."
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the motorola xoom is lte upgradable so ther eis a posibility that the atrix is as well. this says nothing for the infuse. t-mo had the 4g flag on there hspa+ devices months ago and they cannot be upgraded to lte. it is a marketing game that started with sprint (wimax isnt all that fast compared to hspa which can run at 14.4mbps, hspa+ can run at 42mbps but att is only willing to supply 7.2 and 21mbps respectively http://www.intomobile.com/2010/06/04/data-speed-showdown-sprint-4g-vs-t-mobile-hspa/) 4g just means that it is faster than 3g was, infact wimax is barely comperable to 3g with hspa on many gsm networks. the 4g flag offers no garentee that it will support lte on any carrieer other than verizon. att reps often speculate and talk out of there assses, many times the information comes from customers and not corperate.

The infuse supports the highest speed of lte and hspa that ATT has out now and it will support the fastest they have by the end of 2011. My ATT Rep (for work) told me so and has one herself.
Edit: btw, my att Rep, represents my entire district, highly doubt she would talk out of her ass, but I do agree that the ones u find in the stores r mostly untrained
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App

There' no way. If the Infuse were capable of LTE they would have advertised the hell out of that. Unfortunately reps aren't engineers and clearly don't understand the technology. Now the infuse may be capable of the fastest speeds, i.e. equal to whatever the LTE network is limited to, but it's not connecting using LTE.

i believe att will wait for the tmobile acquisition to finalize before releasing lte devices so they can use as many bands and cell towers as possible, easing network load issues and increasing coverage speed and reliablility.

nstong said:
There' no way. If the Infuse were capable of LTE they would have advertised the hell out of that. Unfortunately reps aren't engineers and clearly don't understand the technology. Now the infuse may be capable of the fastest speeds, i.e. equal to whatever the LTE network is limited to, but it's not connecting using LTE.
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Most of the population would raise a brow if u even mentioned the terms HSPA or LTE. They didn't advertise it because spending that much money to advertise a feature that only 5% (guesstimate) of the population knows about isn't the brightest idea.

invizo said:
Most of the population would raise a brow if u even mentioned the terms HSPA or LTE. They didn't advertise it because spending that much money to advertise a feature that only 5% (guesstimate) of the population knows about isn't the brightest idea.
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Verizon built an entire ad campaign around LTE
http://androidcommunity.com/verizon...-its-the-most-advanced-4g-available-20101122/
And I can't seem to find the ad with the kid in the store, but they definitely push the fact that it's 4G LTE upgradeable. If ATT could, they would.

nstong said:
There' no way. If the Infuse were capable of LTE they would have advertised the hell out of that. Unfortunately reps aren't engineers and clearly don't understand the technology. Now the infuse may be capable of the fastest speeds, i.e. equal to whatever the LTE network is limited to, but it's not connecting using LTE.
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Click to collapse
Agreed...
As you point out in your next post, carriers do not shy away from using technical terminology in their advertising. Further, even if this were the case, one would expect LTE connectivity to at least be listed on the spec sheet. Not only is it NOT there, but it was not on the sheet I saw back when this thing went to the FCC. I'm not a lawyer, but assuming what was posted was what the FCC was looking at, I believe AT&T would be in violation of the law if this thing supported LTE.

DING DING DING!
We have a winner!
HSPA+ and LTE are NOT the same thing and the radio bands have little to nothing to do with which tech is used. Remember when AT&T had their last Mea Culpa moment and enabled 3G on the 850 MHz band? (Because it penetrates buildings better)
If the Infuse *is* capable of LTE, that's news to everyone. It would be on Samsung's Spec sheet. The manufacturer would want to announce ANYTHING that it's capable of.

nolsen311 said:
DING DING DING!
We have a winner!
HSPA+ and LTE are NOT the same thing and the radio bands have little to nothing to do with which tech is used.
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I'm from the SGS2 forum and we're having this debate too. A leak of the new 2.3.4 ROM that's supposed to be released at the end of the month has APN's for AT&T's LTE network along with PNGs of their unique LTE logos. So whatever version of the SGS2 AT&Ts releasing, it will run the same ROM as the international version. So, based on what you said about the "tech," what do you think what I just shared means? Is adding the 700mhz frequency to an existing radio all that's necessary to access LTE? Could the existing radios already support the frequency but have it disabled? No one really has a lot of info on LTE so it's kind of a mystery.
Here's an interesting article...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388526,00.asp

Motorola Xyboard 10.1

can you unlock it and use it on AT&T LTE? I am guessing not but I haven't seen much about this tablet so figured I would ask.

ajac said:
can you unlock it and use it on AT&T LTE? I am guessing not but I haven't seen much about this tablet so figured I would ask.
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No, different carrier types, att is gsm while Verizon is CDMA.
While vzw does use some gsm for their lte it is not the same frequency so it will not work.
Sorry mate

I believe the xyboard has the same chipset as the Bionic so in theory the surprisingly easy hack to use the Bionic on gsm (US AND global) networks could likely work.
**THIS IS A SERIOUS PHONE MOD. NO ONE BUT YOU IS RESPONSIBLE IF YOU USE THE FOLLOWING**
Quick search came up with the following thread (says TMo) which someone acknowledges two posts below OP that it works on ATT:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33229560&postcount=1
Easier recovery (NOT safestrap) flashable zip at the following post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25967009&postcount=118
*Happy to hear any and all responses to make sure no one borks their device.

runandhide05 said:
No, different carrier types, att is gsm while Verizon is CDMA.
While vzw does use some gsm for their lte it is not the same frequency so it will not work.
Sorry mate
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wasnt talking about GSM and CDMA.. was talking about LTE...

Jiggity Janx said:
I believe the xyboard has the same chipset as the Bionic so in theory the surprisingly easy hack to use the Bionic on gsm (US AND global) networks could likely work.
**THIS IS A SERIOUS PHONE MOD. NO ONE BUT YOU IS RESPONSIBLE IF YOU USE THE FOLLOWING**
Quick search came up with the following thread (says TMo) which someone acknowledges two posts below OP that it works on ATT:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33229560&postcount=1
Easier recovery (NOT safestrap) flashable zip at the following post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25967009&postcount=118
*Happy to hear any and all responses to make sure no one borks their device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what I as wondering to. Be able to unlock it so it works on GSM when not in a 4g lte area assuming it has the ability to use AT&T LTE network as well

ajac said:
thats what I as wondering to. Be able to unlock it so it works on GSM when not in a 4g lte area assuming it has the ability to use AT&T LTE network as well
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The hack I posted allows you to use ATT hspa+ (which is supposedly 3.5G) ha

Jiggity Janx said:
The hack I posted allows you to use ATT hspa+ (which is supposedly 3.5G) ha
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haha I may have to try it I am curious now lol

The Droid Xyboard has both GSM and CDMA radios.
But GSM will only work on Non-American carriers, its blocked for AT&T and T-Mobile (I tried - didn't work).
Hypothetically speaking though, even if it did work on AT&T it would still not run on AT&T's LTE (only HSPA+) because it doesn't have the LTE frequencies.

big ach said:
The Droid Xyboard has both GSM and CDMA radios.
But GSM will only work on Non-American carriers, its blocked for AT&T and T-Mobile (I tried - didn't work).
Hypothetically speaking though, even if it did work on AT&T it would still not run on AT&T's LTE (only HSPA+) because it doesn't have the LTE frequencies.
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Click to collapse
Can you please tell us why you think it's blocked?

HELP!!!!!!!
I have the 10.1, and like allot of folks have an issue with the USB/HDMI circuit board and I am no longer able to charge my device, so surgery was performed, I have my device dissembled but I am have had no luck finding the board, calling Motorola was worthless, "OH yes our tech have it if you'll send in your device...." Ya 150$$ for a 20$$ part NOPE. I did find one company that listed the part number 84014710001_B but they no longer carry the part???? How difficult can it be to find this part? does anyone have one I can buy????? HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!

Jiggity Janx said:
Can you please tell us why you think it's blocked?
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Click to collapse
I believe it was posted on XDA sometime ago.... but seems like you were able to get it to work with your hack.

VZW to ditch CDMA.

Do you ever see a day when VZW will ditch CDMA and start using GSM? I hate not being able to use my phone with another carrier. I also don't see any real advantages to CDMA. Any thoughts or opinions on if you see this happening?
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

Juice3250 said:
Do you ever see a day when VZW will ditch CDMA and start using GSM? I hate not being able to use my phone with another carrier. I also don't see any real advantages to CDMA. Any thoughts or opinions on if you see this happening?
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
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Verizon will switch from CDMA to GSM, probably never. CDMA is very well suited for covering long distances with a minimal number of towers. Therefore, CDMA is the best platform for countries with large land masses. CDMA is more secure, and the phones are more energy efficient. Also, CDMA phones produce far less EMI.
If you really need the international roaming, there are Verizon phones with global capabilities. Or switch to T-Mobile or AT&T, and deal with that headache.
-Mike

I would love to see verizon ditch CDMA for GSM! Its a pain to have accumulated phones that I will not be able to use once I switch to a GSM provider. The problem is that it doesn't seem like there is any incentive for Verizon to WANT to switch from CDMA

CDMA is better than gsm in some ways and gsm is better than CDMA in some ways I prefer cdma
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

Verizon already has been rolling out LTE, is it not just a matter of time before they start to put all services onto that? I would think that at some point Verizon just won't need CDMA anymore.

There lte is CDMA...
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

I remember reading a few months ago that the want to start getting come Voice over LTE phones by the end of the year.

bbrad said:
There lte is CDMA...
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Wait really? I thought lte was a form of gsm
Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk 2

sy224048 said:
Wait really? I thought lte was a form of gsm
Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Nope its CDMA at a higher frequency to allow faster speeds. How do you think these little companies do it like cspire? They can do it for cheap on CDMA
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

wish they would just because i'm not stuck buying a new phone whenI leave them.
Trying to decipher the threard now on if I can make my Droid 3 use ATT in USA

LTE is based on GSM technology. On current Verizon LTE phones, CDMA is used for voice and texting (and data when there's no LTE), but data (when there is LTE) goes over LTE. That's why you guys have SIM cards in your CDMA devices.
What verizon is planning to do is abandon CDMA for completely LTE phones in the future. What this means is voice, texting, and data will go over LTE, similar to VoIP. It's called VoLTE, which means Voice over LTE.

Product F(RED) said:
LTE is based on GSM technology. On current Verizon LTE phones, CDMA is used for voice and texting (and data when there's no LTE), but data (when there is LTE) goes over LTE. That's why you guys have SIM cards in your CDMA devices.
What verizon is planning to do is abandon CDMA for completely LTE phones in the future. What this means is voice, texting, and data will go over LTE, similar to VoIP. It's called VoLTE, which means Voice over LTE.
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Click to collapse
Bingo.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 02:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------
bbrad said:
Nope its CDMA at a higher frequency to allow faster speeds. How do you think these little companies do it like cspire? They can do it for cheap on CDMA
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
It's actually at a lower frequency than their CDMA bands. 700mhz band. Lower frequency has better wall penetration. Frequency has nothing to do with bandwidth either.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Product F(RED) said:
LTE is based on GSM technology. On current Verizon LTE phones, CDMA is used for voice and texting (and data when there's no LTE), but data (when there is LTE) goes over LTE. That's why you guys have SIM cards in your CDMA devices.
What verizon is planning to do is abandon CDMA for completely LTE phones in the future. What this means is voice, texting, and data will go over LTE, similar to VoIP. It's called VoLTE, which means Voice over LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know for a fact that lte runs on CDMA at cspire it may be different but there isn't no sim on cspire phones and they couldn't afford to upgrade all there towers with gsm anyway so is there different kinds of lte?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

bbrad said:
I know for a fact that lte runs on CDMA at cspire it may be different but there isn't no sim on cspire phones and they couldn't afford to upgrade all there towers with gsm anyway so is there different kinds of lte?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
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GSM doesn't just mean SIM card. LTE uses GSM protocols. Sprint is the same as CSpire; no SIM card slot. However there's a chip that emulates a SIM card inside the phone. It's probably the same case for CSpire users. The HTC One on Sprint has a SIM card slot though. So does the iPhone 5.
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2

Product F(RED) said:
GSM doesn't just mean SIM card. LTE uses GSM protocols. Sprint is the same as CSpire; no SIM card slot. However there's a chip that emulates a SIM card inside the phone. It's probably the same case for CSpire users. The HTC One on Sprint has a SIM card slot though. So does the iPhone 5.
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2
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Hmm that i had no idea one of the cspire guys told me it was pure CDMA should have known better
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

bbrad said:
Hmm that i had no idea one of the cspire guys told me it was pure CDMA should have known better
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
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Well, if a phone supports LTE, it doesn't necessarily mean it can do GSM. For example, the HTC Rezound and most newer phones on Verizon do GSM, but only because the phone happens to support it because the chipset is designed for global roaming. But the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, for example, doesn't do GSM even though it can do LTE.
There was a guy who took the Photon Q on Sprint (the Motorola slider), unsoldered the chip that pretends to be a SIM card, and soldered on a SIM card reader. He was able to use normal SIM cards in his Photon Q afterwards.

don't some CMDA phones have sims though?

bigbacon said:
don't some CMDA phones have sims though?
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Those are phones that also had a separate GSM radio in them for traveling abroad (like the DROID 2 or even the Touch Pro 2, which were not LTE phones).
Sent from my Galaxy Note 2

Ahh, ok. nice to know. Going to attempt to get my D3 on USA ATT this weekend. I hope it works as I really don't want to shell out money for a new phone. I like my D3

There going to leave CDMA eventually but not for GSM. There is a new form of LTE they will eventually adopt because its backwards compatable with the original LTE . Than they can pull all of there cdma and older lte equipment along with the 1x stuff that has been phased out and removed as it dies.
I dont see all of this happening for another 4-5years for the full switchover though and its posable they may leave cdma in some markets to help coverage as it seems some areas LTE just eats it.