Since this model isn't out yet, I suppose this is not yet considered a n00b question. I am, and I'm sure many of you are also, wondering if the international One XL and the US version One X on AT&T would be able to interchange radios via RUU updates. If radios are interchangeable by themselves, is it simply a matter of S-OFF?
Why am I asking this?
I'm on T-Mobile right now, planning to use AT&T model with TMo's HSPA+, but then I am moving to Europe in a few months - in Germany, they're using LTE on 2600 MHz whilst UK is rumoured to be using LTE on 1800 MHz (though LTE there is now up in the air again).
Safe!
senkulpa said:
Since this model isn't out yet, I suppose this is not yet considered a n00b question. I am, and I'm sure many of you are also, wondering if the international One XL and the US version One X on AT&T would be able to interchange radios via RUU updates. If radios are interchangeable by themselves, is it simply a matter of S-OFF?
Why am I asking this?
I'm on T-Mobile right now, planning to use AT&T model with TMo's HSPA+, but then I am moving to Europe in a few months - in Germany, they're using LTE on 2600 MHz whilst UK is rumoured to be using LTE on 1800 MHz (though LTE there is now up in the air again).
Safe!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ATT bands:
LTE CAT3 - DL 100 /UL 50
LTE: 700/AWS
WCDMA: 2100/1900/AWS/850
EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900
International bands:
HSPA/WCDMA:
Europe/Asia: 850/900/1900//2100 MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
ATT lite band is 700/AWS. That will not work in England or Germany if you have stated the bands correctly. Both versions will work on 3G & 2G in either market.
Band compatibility is set in hardware, and cannot be changed by flashing a new radio, if that is what you are suggesting. So if you need a particular LTE band, the phone you buy needs to be compatible with that band when you buy it.
Thanks for quick responses, everyone.
If I buy the AT&T one but I'm on T-Mobile's (bulls*** fake 4G) HSPA+ which runs on AWS 1700/2100, I imagine that would work still? Or when it mentions 1700/2100 that is segregated for downlink and uplink? If that is so, then dammit, I will have to re-evalute my life!
redpoint73 said:
Band compatibility is set in hardware, and cannot be changed by flashing a new radio, if that is what you are suggesting. So if you need a particular LTE band, the phone you buy needs to be compatible with that band when you buy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. I brought up the question about radios because, as you probably already know - since it was on XDA headlines and that, TMo's SGS2 and ATT's Skyrocket + Galaxy Note were able to switch radios. Specifically, the Skyrocket was able to flash SGS2 HSPA+ radio and fully utilise its speeds.
References:
SGS2 & Skyrocket: http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4129&idPhone2=4303
SGS2 & GNote: http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4129&idPhone2=4374
The comparison of the Intl XL and X AT&T is making me assume that HSPA+ will work on T-Mo at least, since it supports both AWS 1700 and 1200. I guess the Intl XL only supports 2100, which continues to leave me a little confused (when comparing it to Skyrocket + TMo's HSPA+).
Ref:
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4614&idPhone2=4572
Safe!
You can probably flash XL and X ATT radios, but they will operate on the same bands as always.
I have a very strong feeling that the X ATT radios will be better if you are on AT&T though.
senkulpa said:
If I buy the AT&T one but I'm on T-Mobile's (bulls*** fake 4G) HSPA+ which runs on AWS 1700/2100, I imagine that would work still? Or when it mentions 1700/2100 that is segregated for downlink and uplink? If that is so, then dammit, I will have to re-evalute my life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its impossible to be 100% positive on the compatibility, since the phone is not even released yet.
But yes, the band T-Mobile uses (1700/2100) one is used for upload, and the other for download, also known as Band IV.
The 2100 band normally included on AT&T phones (for 3G international use) is Band I. So the One XL will probably not work on T-Mobs 3G network.
They have no reason to include T-Mobs band on an AT&T phone. But they do have motivation for including Band I for its international traveling customers, since this band is widely used in Europe, Asia, and other places.
redpoint73 said:
Its impossible to be 100% positive on the compatibility, since the phone is not even released yet.
But yes, the band T-Mobile uses (1700/2100) one is used for upload, and the other for download, also known as Band IV.
The 2100 band normally included on AT&T phones (for 3G international use) is Band I. So the One XL will probably not work on T-Mobs 3G network.
They have no reason to include T-Mobs band on an AT&T phone. But they do have motivation for including Band I for its international traveling customers, since this band is widely used in Europe, Asia, and other places.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since there is no release yet, we're all speculating - which is okay.
I've been researching mobile frequencies and bands, and it seems that since there is WCDMA support listed on the specifications for frequencies: 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100, they fall into bands:
1 (2.1 @ DL 2110-2170, UL 1920-1980)
2 (PCS 1900 @ DL 1930-1990, UL 1850-1910)
4 (AWS @ DL 2110-2155, UL 1710-1755) could be band 10 (Extended AWS)
5 (850 MHz @ DL 869-894, UL 824-849)
The sole LTE band is:
17 (LTE700 @ DL 734-746, UL 704-716)
whilst 1700 and 2100 are also used for LTE.
DL = downlink range
UL = uplink range
Referenced from:
http://niviuk.free.fr/lte_band.php
The only thing that could prevent cross-compatibility (which, as mentioned, would favour AT&T) is having the LTE chipset separate from the HSDPA chipset. Though the case may not at all be for HTC, Samsung's Skyrocket (MSM8260) and Galaxy Note (MSM8660) have a single chipset that hosts LTE and HSDPA bands - thus their radios are interchangeable.
Do any of you know the specific radio chipset that is used in the One X for AT&T?
I'm assuming it's the radio on the listed SoC Qualcomm MSM8960 - which is also on the international One XL that is specified to simply host the 1800 / 2600 bands.
Referenced from:
Wikipedia entry on the Snapdragons (take this with a grain of salt!)
Snapdragon S4 product brief
As I said, as this is all speculation, a development hack on the modem or straight compatibility, or non-compatibility, could be the case. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed!
Thanks so far for all of your replies!
To contradict my previous post, HTC's website doesn't even list support for 1700 MHz for the AT&T version of the One XL.
http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-one-xl/#specs
I don't think it's possible. The chipsets between the XL and X are VASTLY different Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 vs. Nvidia Tegra 3.
The Skyrocket, AT&T LTE Note and T-Mo SGSII on the other hand all use the same Snapdragon S3 Qualcomm chipset.
Taknarosh said:
I don't think it's possible. The chipsets between the XL and X are VASTLY different Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 vs. Nvidia Tegra 3.
The Skyrocket, AT&T LTE Note and T-Mo SGSII on the other hand all use the same Snapdragon S3 Qualcomm chipset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply in pertinence to my usage of "X" has always been about the AT&T derivative of the original One XL. Sorry for the wording, I'm at my uni's library - scholar mode on!
They may not be interchangeable between one x and one xl but you might be able to do that between one x and one s
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
@ senkulpa
Lets hope for them to compatible. Are you contemplating switching to AT&T if they are not?
I'm stuck on contract until November with Terrible-Mobile.
Sent from my HTC Amaze 4G using xda premium
senkulpa said:
I'm on T-Mobile right now, planning to use AT&T model with TMo's HSPA+, but then I am moving to Europe in a few months - in Germany, they're using LTE on 2600 MHz whilst UK is rumoured to be using LTE on 1800 MHz (though LTE there is now up in the air again).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kind of have the inverse problem to this...
I'm in the UK currently, and hoping that EE's 1800MHz LTE network is given the green light for Q3/Q4 - I want a One X, but it won't be future-proof (i.e. LTE compatible), so a One XL would be great! Also I might be in the states quite a lot over the next couple of years, so it would be nice to have an AT&T LTE-ready phone.
Considering importing the One XL and using it over here - also have the benfit of S4 vs. Tegra 3...
Cheers,
Su
Sumanji said:
I kind of have the inverse problem to this...
I'm in the UK currently, and hoping that EE's 1800MHz LTE network is given the green light for Q3/Q4 - I want a One X, but it won't be future-proof (i.e. LTE compatible), so a One XL would be great! Also I might be in the states quite a lot over the next couple of years, so it would be nice to have an AT&T LTE-ready phone.
Considering importing the One XL and using it over here - also have the benfit of S4 vs. Tegra 3...
Cheers,
Su
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't be surprised to see a carrier out their own One XL variant.
I have a feeling that the One XL is international, but will require region/carrier specific versions based upon radio bands. While you can roam on HSPA+, you're going to probably be tied down to specific carriers/countries for LTE service.
Of course, development-wise this only matters for radio firmware and RILs, so development efforts won't be carrier-specific if we get S-OFF.
Deleted
senkulpa said:
Since this model isn't out yet, I suppose this is not yet considered a n00b question. I am, and I'm sure many of you are also, wondering if the international One XL and the US version One X on AT&T would be able to interchange radios via RUU updates. If radios are interchangeable by themselves, is it simply a matter of S-OFF?
Why am I asking this?
I'm on T-Mobile right now, planning to use AT&T model with TMo's HSPA+, but then I am moving to Europe in a few months - in Germany, they're using LTE on 2600 MHz whilst UK is rumoured to be using LTE on 1800 MHz (though LTE there is now up in the air again).
Safe!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're the same radio and software, but physical antennas cannot be changed. Either it has it, or it doesn't.
Forgive me if this is a trivial question, but since European carriers such as Vodafone and O2 Germany also have the dual-core version of the HOX, is it possible to flash a european radio and use the European LTE frequencies? Or are the frequency bands hard-coded into the chipset?
It was my assumption that the US and European LTE variants used the same hardware components, but were just set up to use different LTE bands.
Frequency support is set in hardware.
redpoint73 said:
Frequency support is set in hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thinking more about this, I'm still not convinced it's impossible to flash a european radio on the HOX to swap LTE bands. Unless the physical antenna is different, I'd think that it's a possibility.
With my other phone, the Samsung Skyrocket, we can flash T-Mobile radios to gain support for the 1700 AWS band. The chipset supports it, and it just took a radio flash to activate it. AFAIK, you can't use 1700 and LTE though - that or a radio with support for both doesn't exist.
I guess it depends on what chipset the German One XL uses..but I'll wait to see if someone has luck before I risk my own One X.
The hardware is different, as I already said.
The Skyrocket (and a few other AT&T phones, like the Galaxy Note) included the AWS band in hardware (likely due to the now defunct merger with T-Mobile that was going on at the time). The hardware was there, but AWS was simply not enabled in software. Hacks to make AWS work on these phones just enabled the software side for what is already supported in hardware. Without the hardware already being there, no amount of radio flashing will create support for frequencies not already there.
Its possible that some bands are "hidden" in the same way that AWS was for the Skyrocket. Lots of folks here on T-Mobile are hoping the same AWS support is possible on our phone. But if the hardware is not already there (such as for different LTE bands, as you are asking for), you can't make it happen by flashing radios. In the case of AWS, AT&T had a reason for including support (T-Mobile merger). They don't have a reason for including support for LTE bands willy-nilly, just for the sake of doing so, without any tangible (monetary) reason.
As the title suggests, if a phone is listed as FDD-LTE 700MHz compatible, would that imply it'll work on T-Mobile's 700MHz Band 12? I am often confused with this band as it seems there's various other bands within the 700MHz frequency. So there's no positive way of knowing if it supports the band 12. For instance, I've been looking to find a cheap alternative phone (from China mainly) that might have support of LTE 700MHz so I can take advantage of T-Mobile's latest band, but I'm not sure on if it'd work. Couple examples of some phones are here:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Foxconn-Infocus-M2-Phone-4G-LTE-FDD-Qualcomn-MSM8926-Quad-Core-Android-4-4-4/32323996202.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Iocean-M6752-4G-FDD-LTE-Mobile-Phone-MTK6752-Octa-Core-5-5-Inch-1920X1080FHD-3GB/32297288429.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Huawei-Ascend-Mate-2-Unlocked-4G-FDD-LTE-Android-Mobile-phone-Quad-Core-IPS-HD/2043526871.html
That's just 3 out of a list of them found on Aliexpress. They all say FDD-LTE 700MHz. My gut is telling me the 700MHz it lists is for some frequency that China uses and wouldn't make a difference if used in the US. Just needed some helpful clarification. Thanks.
brian117 said:
As the title suggests, if a phone is listed as FDD-LTE 700MHz compatible, would that imply it'll work on T-Mobile's 700MHz Band 12? I am often confused with this band as it seems there's various other bands within the 700MHz frequency.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't. Most probably not, anyway.
When a frequency is listed as "700MHz", it's actually an approximation. For example, T-Mobile's band 12 is 700MHz Block A, which is 728–734MHz, whereas Verizon's band 13 is 700MHz Block C, which is 740–746MHz. This might vary from region to region too.
Most likely the phones you're looking at are compatible with 700MHz band 28, since this is commonly used in SE Asia and Oceana, along with the other bands they're listed to support. The Ascend Mate 2 you linked to however appears to support band 17 700MHz, which is an AT&T band, which would make sense as it also supports band 4, common in North America.
If you want a cheaper phone that has band 12 support, the newer ones from T-Mobile support it (or will, with a software update). Galaxy Avant, ZTE ZMax, the upcoming LG Leon LTE, for example.
Planterz said:
It won't. Most probably not, anyway.
When a frequency is listed as "700MHz", it's actually an approximation. For example, T-Mobile's band 12 is 700MHz Block A, which is 728–734MHz, whereas Verizon's band 13 is 700MHz Block C, which is 740–746MHz. This might vary from region to region too.
Most likely the phones you're looking at are compatible with 700MHz band 28, since this is commonly used in SE Asia and Oceana, along with the other bands they're listed to support. The Ascend Mate 2 you linked to however appears to support band 17 700MHz, which is an AT&T band, which would make sense as it also supports band 4, common in North America.
If you want a cheaper phone that has band 12 support, the newer ones from T-Mobile support it (or will, with a software update). Galaxy Avant, ZTE ZMax, the upcoming LG Leon LTE, for example.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that is exactly what I thought. I understand the phones from T-Mobile will support the new band but I was looking for maybe possible cheaper alternatives than brand name phones to take advantage of it. I haven't heard of the LG Leon though, I will check that out. Thanks for the kind reply. I was expecting some "lol no dumbass it won't work" reply as this in General discussion.
brian117 said:
Thanks, that is exactly what I thought. I understand the phones from T-Mobile will support the new band but I was looking for maybe possible cheaper alternatives than brand name phones to take advantage of it. I haven't heard of the LG Leon though, I will check that out. Thanks for the kind reply. I was expecting some "lol no dumbass it won't work" reply as this in General discussion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Leon isn't out yet, and only vague specs are available. No specifics on what the processor is, but I'd guess SD400 or 410. I'd expect it to be around $200-250, but that's just a guess. If it's more than $250, I'd say it's not worth it considering the low-res FWVGA screen.
It also occurs to me that the new 2015 Moto E LTE has band 12 support. 64bit Snapdragon 410, 1gb RAM, 8gb storage, microSD slot, qHD screen, and a relatively large battery. Honestly, I'd rather have this than either of those cheapo Chinese ones (yes, I know Motorola is Chinese now...). For $150 from Amazon, it's a pretty damn good deal.
Hello everyone. As many of us first posters here, I have a problem:
I've bought an north american J327U from someone I know, and that person only used it at home with their wi-fi. It's got an Exynos chipset, and no support for the LTE bands from where I live in (which are completely different from the USA's LTE bands).
After quite a bit of research, I found here and elsewhere methods to change LTE support for Qualcomm devices, but had no luck finding any for Exynos devices. Is there any way to do the same thing for devices with Exynos chipset, or am I stuck with no LTE? I also know it deppends on the hardware support for that, in my case I would need support for bands 3 (1800mhz), 7 (2600mhz) and 28 (700mhz). The phone covers none of those.
My device is not yet rooted, but I'm fine with doing so if needed.
Thanks in advance for any help.
I don't think you can physically change the bands unfortunately.