Database Info

Verizon HTC One M8 - Global Bands Active/configured

Just wanted to give some info I found using QPST(qualcomm software) to see what cell bands are configured for our HTC One M8. I even looked at the Rezound bands as well. As most of you know, verizon didn't carrier lock our phones, so if we switch to global or even GSM network, we can use other carriers GSM SIM cards. Just need to properly configure the APN's of course. Below are the bands that the phone will search for when Global Network is selected. I pulled this configuration from my actual device. The Rezound only was missing Bit 19 & 49 selection, but everything else was selected:
[Bit_00] Band Class 0, A-System
[Bit_01] Band Class 0, B-System
[Bit_02] Band Class 1, all blocks
[Bit_07] GSM DCS 1800 band
[Bit_08] GSM Extended GSM (E-GSM) band
[Bit_09] GSM Primary GSM (P-GSM) band
[Bit_19] GSM 850 band
[Bit_21] GSM PCS 1900 band
[Bit_22] WCDMA Band I - EUROPE JAPAN & CHINA IMT 2100 band
[Bit_23] WCDMA Band II - US PCS 1900 band
[Bit_26] WCDMA Band V - US 850 band
[Bit_49] WCDMA Band VIII - EUROPE & JAPAN 900 band

I'm guessing the reason some of us are having issues on Tmobile is that the AWS bands are missing? Can we enable them somehow?

hyperfire21 said:
I'm guessing the reason some of us are having issues on Tmobile is that the AWS bands are missing? Can we enable them somehow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could possibly be activated using QPST, but there are other steps to do it. The only issue is that since QPST is the QualComm radio programing, there is potential to lose signal quality or lose all radio functionality. That said, it could also be possible to recover by flashing the original firmware or RUU to recover. I now T-mobile uses 1900 GSM PCS band and AWS 1700 mHZ. There is another program I use to actually enable more bands. The program basically converts the selection of bands to a hexidecimal number to use in QPST software to program the added bands. Again, not sure if the Qualcom chip can use it. There is a WCDMA band selection for Bit (25) IV- US 1700 than could be programed to enable. I used a thread from the Sony Xperia forum to help me use the two programs.

rudyo78427 said:
Just wanted to give some info I found using QPST(qualcomm software) to see what cell bands are configured for our HTC One M8. I even looked at the Rezound bands as well. As most of you know, verizon didn't carrier lock our phones, so if we switch to global or even GSM network, we can use other carriers GSM SIM cards. Just need to properly configure the APN's of course. Below are the bands that the phone will search for when Global Network is selected. I pulled this configuration from my actual device. The Rezound only was missing Bit 19 & 49 selection, but everything else was selected:
[Bit_00] Band Class 0, A-System
[Bit_01] Band Class 0, B-System
[Bit_02] Band Class 1, all blocks
[Bit_07] GSM DCS 1800 band
[Bit_08] GSM Extended GSM (E-GSM) band
[Bit_09] GSM Primary GSM (P-GSM) band
[Bit_19] GSM 850 band
[Bit_21] GSM PCS 1900 band
[Bit_22] WCDMA Band I - EUROPE JAPAN & CHINA IMT 2100 band
[Bit_23] WCDMA Band II - US PCS 1900 band
[Bit_26] WCDMA Band V - US 850 band
[Bit_49] WCDMA Band VIII - EUROPE & JAPAN 900 band
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I activated all other bands yet i still didn't get LTE, so i assume the restriction is somewhere within the chip perhaps.

band 3
regspy said:
I activated all other bands yet i still didn't get LTE, so i assume the restriction is somewhere within the chip perhaps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi
did you activate band3? 1800mhz and 2600mhz?
still dont get LTE in europe?
do you have a guide how to enable it?
thanks

boazlaz said:
hi
did you activate band3? 1800mhz and 2600mhz?
still dont get LTE in europe?
do you have a guide how to enable it?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I enabled band 3 and 7 (1800,2600) following the guide posted here
unlock Qualcomm bands

So no euro lte at all yet?
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app

BobbySteel said:
So no euro lte at all yet?
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nop, if someone can tell me which Rom has the change bands function then can try that as well. But even after opening the bands I'm only able to get H 14.4mbps.

Are you currently in Europe too? I'm dying to get Vodafone lte on this handset. 3g works fine but I haven't tried the qpst route yet.

BobbySteel said:
Are you currently in Europe too? I'm dying to get Vodafone lte on this handset. 3g works fine but I haven't tried the qpst route yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In UAE but we use the same LTE bands as Europe. You can try the qpst thing on stock Rom or cleanROM

regspy said:
In UAE but we use the same LTE bands as Europe. You can try the qpst thing on stock Rom or cleanROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an old phone info app that's the 4636 menu thing. Hadn't tried this before but just tried assigning the bands there. Somehow that just hosed me and now I only get the 1900 band it seems, so phone is radio-less for me now

BobbySteel said:
I have an old phone info app that's the 4636 menu thing. Hadn't tried this before but just tried assigning the bands there. Somehow that just hosed me and now I only get the 1900 band it seems, so phone is radio-less for me now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a solution for this problem, if you are s-off-ed. I also did the same thing - i selected USA bands and my phone radio died. Just make a nandroid, flash ARHD , go to the same 4636 menu and it will give you another option in band selection - Auto!! Choose auto, then reboot and make sure you have connection with the network. Then restore from nandroid and you're good to go! I will try to find the link to the original thread!
EDIT: There it is: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2773907
If it helps you - thank the people in the original thread, i didn't find this solution, i'm just sharing the info!

vanshee said:
There's a solution for this problem, if you are s-off-ed. I also did the same thing - i selected USA bands and my phone radio died. Just make a nandroid, flash ARHD , go to the same 4636 menu and it will give you another option in band selection - Auto!! Choose auto, then reboot and make sure you have connection with the network. Then restore from nandroid and you're good to go! I will try to find the link to the original thread!
EDIT: There it is: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2773907
If it helps you - thank the people in the original thread, i didn't find this solution, i'm just sharing the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks that was helpful! Somehow I also had recently loaded a Xposed app to show CPU speed on the top bar. I uninstalled that then after two reboots things came back. So odd, but I'm not complaining at this point.

after a google search it seems people have gotten into problems with chaning bands on verizon devices, the above solutions brings the radio back to life. But it certainly doesn't unlock LTE on europe bands.
So i guess its a lost cause, as it must be a hardware limitation

Yeah disappointing that we can't add those
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app

I seem to be able to get Band 4 LTE sometimes on my Verizon M8 but how can we enable AWS HSPA+ bands?

How band 4 only sometimes?

BobbySteel said:
How band 4 only sometimes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess my area has weak signal.. switches between LTE and 3g constantly.

Ok guys ive finally unlocked Band 3 and 7 (europe) LTE on Verizon HTC one m8.....
Here are the steps
Thanks to @olokos @BlackSoulxxx @fffft
Original thread for unlocking all bands

wow!
good job
was it hard? im afraid...

No LTE?

I am using the phone on a T-Mobile network. For the APN I have the IPv6 setting, for some reason the icon next to the signal bars is only H+ not LTE. Was wondering if that was just me? If is just me is there a way to get LTE? I know that this phone support LTE.
Thanks.

which model is it? (D68xx..) might not support the LTE bands that T-mobile has
which area are you located in? perhaps your area doesn't have/weak LTE signal

paperWastage said:
which model is it? (D68xx..) might not support the LTE bands that T-mobile has
which area are you located in? perhaps your area doesn't have/weak LTE signal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh... damn just checked and tmo lte band is 1700 my phone supports 1800/2100.
Well that will be something I remember the next time I buy an unlocked device.

b1969 said:
oh... damn just checked and tmo lte band is 1700 my phone supports 1800/2100.
Well that will be something I remember the next time I buy an unlocked device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. Also of note, Tmo LTE only works on a more recent SIM. I tried a cut down 5 year old SIM and no LTE.

Thanks for the info!

I'll admit that I didn't do proper research prior to buying the unlocked device. After reading more into T-Mobile bands, they said that by the end of this year they will be releasing band 2 which is the 700mhz. Since this model supports that I'm guessing I can get lte?
Please clarify this for me. Thanks.

Photon Q works on T-Mobile LTE

Hi All,
I was recently on holidays in the USA which using my Photon Q sim modded by Cornholio I was able to get LTE on T-Mobile. This was only in areas where they have re-farmed 1900 mhz (band 2) to LTE. I'm not sure if this makes a difference but I also changed nv 6828 for 1900mz bands 2 & 25. So in theory LTE should work on AT&T where they use 1900 mhz band 2 LTE. AT&T was was coming up a lot when I was doing a network search. It is listed as AT&T 4g.
Regards,
Sebastian

cyri2 said:
So in theory LTE should work on AT&T where they use 1900 mhz band 2 LTE. AT&T was was coming up a lot when I was doing a network search. It is listed as AT&T 4g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope you enjoyed your visit...
I've never played with any of this, but I'm an AT&T user in US... what exactly are you saying to try setting in the phone in order to try to get LTE on AT&T.... and if there's any way to know if AT&T is using that band in a particular area?

enigma9o7 said:
Hope you enjoyed your visit...
I've never played with any of this, but I'm an AT&T user in US... what exactly are you saying to try setting in the phone in order to try to get LTE on AT&T.... and if there's any way to know if AT&T is using that band in a particular area?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
This is what I did with my phone to get LTE was the following: Using the phone dialer
*#*#4636#*#* and in phone information menu change data to LTE/GSM/WCDMA
##3282# and in the LTE menu make sure that you have LTE as enabled, if not edit the value to enabled. You need to use the msl code for your phone to do this. I have an app to do this if you need.
To see if AT&T 1900 LTE is available in your area, go into settings, mobile network settings, network operators and choose the option search networks. A list of available networks will come up. If you have AT&T 1900 LTE band 2 available, this will be listed as AT&T 4G. Tap on this and you should be able to get LTE. The Photon Q lists LTE as 4G in the status bar on the top of the phone.
Hope that this is some help

Best LG G Pro 2 (model) for T-Mobile LTE

I brought back a Pro 2 F350L from Korea because it was listed in swappa as the Att device unlocked. I took it to T-Mobile put in a sim card which automatically chose the appropriate apns. I only get 3g no lte. I have scoured the web and these forums but cant find the info that tells me wether i got the wrong device for Tmo bands. I need help either configuring the correct bands or correct radio to flash or if this device won't or can't get lte on Tmo network. I am more than happy to reward the parties or person who helps me figure out this problem. If i have the wrong phone then so be it i will get the other model (that gets tmo lte) and unload this F350L. Thanks for any and all help.

In network mode, do you have GSM/WCDMA/LTA auto to select, or just GSM/WCDMA auto?

Service Menu:
Preferred Network Mode: gsm/wcdma/lte

dejop said:
In network mode, do you have GSM/WCDMA/LTA auto to select, or just GSM/WCDMA auto?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes:
Preferred Network Mode: gsm/wcdma/lte AUTO

I have found the bands for my F350L
LG G PRO 2 F350L
WCDMA- 2100/1900/850, GSM- 900/850/1800/1900 MHZ, LTE- 1/5/3/7/17

wiseguyy said:
I have found the bands for my F350L
LG G PRO 2 F350L
WCDMA- 2100/1900/850, GSM- 900/850/1800/1900 MHZ, LTE- 1/5/3/7/17
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like you have the wrong phone ... https://support.t-mobile.com/message/435224#435224
Bottom line, for optimal utility a T-Mobile phone needs to be:
1. Quad-band GSM
2. HSPA+ on at least band 2, band 4 & band 1 (2100) for roaming.
3. LTE on bands 1, 2, 4 & 12.

TSF14 said:
Looks like you have the wrong phone ... https://support.t-mobile.com/message/435224#435224
Bottom line, for optimal utility a T-Mobile phone needs to be:
1. Quad-band GSM
2. HSPA+ on at least band 2, band 4 & band 1 (2100) for roaming.
3. LTE on bands 1, 2, 4 & 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all your help Ill post it up on Swapa this weekend.

TSF14 said:
Looks like you have the wrong phone ... https://support.t-mobile.com/message/435224#435224
Bottom line, for optimal utility a T-Mobile phone needs to be:
1. Quad-band GSM
2. HSPA+ on at least band 2, band 4 & band 1 (2100) for roaming.
3. LTE on bands 1, 2, 4 & 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So seeing the bands I posted would the phone work for ATT? Thats a huge question because it (350L) is posted on Swappa a a ATT phone? At least I can unload it there, LOL.

wiseguyy said:
So seeing the bands I posted would the phone work for ATT? Thats a huge question because it (350L) is posted on Swappa a a ATT phone? At least I can unload it there, LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"AT&T 4G HSPA and HSPA+ use 850Mhz(Band 5) and 1900Mhz(Band 2) bands but it all depends on area if they own a license. LTE uses Band 17(700Mhz), Band 5(850Mhz), Band 2(1900Mhz), Band 4(1700/2100Mhz) currently."
https://forums.att.com/t5/Phone-Device-Upgrades/What-are-AT-amp-T-s-4G-LTE-bands/td-p/4067288
My F350S gets LTE on AT&T.

TSF14 said:
"AT&T 4G HSPA and HSPA+ use 850Mhz(Band 5) and 1900Mhz(Band 2) bands but it all depends on area if they own a license. LTE uses Band 17(700Mhz), Band 5(850Mhz), Band 2(1900Mhz), Band 4(1700/2100Mhz) currently."
https://forums.att.com/t5/Phone-Device-Upgrades/What-are-AT-amp-T-s-4G-LTE-bands/td-p/4067288
My F350S gets LTE on AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the F350S works on ATT and here are Your Phones Bands (as listed here on XDA)
LG F350S
WCDMA - 2100/1900/850, GSM - 900/850/1800/1900 MHz, LTE - 1/5/3/7/17
So will these Bands work with T-Mobile? I really love this device and I am totally hooked on the 5.9 inch screens color so I am hoping your ATT Model (The one your using) will work on T-Mobile? If it does I am more than happy to send you a few duckets

TSF14 said:
Looks like you have the wrong phone ... https://support.t-mobile.com/message/435224#435224
Bottom line, for optimal utility a T-Mobile phone needs to be:
1. Quad-band GSM
2. HSPA+ on at least band 2, band 4 & band 1 (2100) for roaming.
3. LTE on bands 1, 2, 4 & 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So will this model and bands shown below work on T-Mobile and get roaming and LTE as well?
LG F350S
WCDMA - 2100/1900/850, GSM - 900/850/1800/1900 MHz, LTE - 1/5/3/7/17
So will these Bands work with T-Mobile? Again I am more than happy to send a few duckets $ for your help getting to the bottom of my queries!

wiseguyy, I believe the phone must have band 2 and/or 4 for it to utilize TMO's LTE service. From what I've read, band 1 is used only for roaming. Read the entire thread you quoted above.
12. Re: Refarm and 4G LTE - what are the final frequencies
tmo_sean_l
Citizen Magenta
tmo_sean_l Nov 29, 2014 12:54 PM (in response to memn1)
Great discussion everyone For the most up to date info regarding our network and devices memn1 you'll want to review these links: Setup guide to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), http://support.t-mobile.com/community/coverage/blog and http://how-to.t-mobile.com/4g-lte/, and Newsroom | T-Mobile Newsroom

LTE issues with AT&T?

Hi everyone,
I'm having a couple of issues with my H830 that I'm trying to clear up.
1. Besides having the "Device Unlock" app showing up on your phone, how else can you tell if your phone is actually still carrier locked? I ask because I purchase mine used and it was locked. I did not insert a SIM, ran the unlock app, did a permanent unlock attempt, and it appeared to work. After I completed that, I downgraded, rooted, and updated to the current 20n. I had a few unrelated issues and decided to unroot/lock bootloader/reflash to stock. After I got things back to 100% stock everything, I show the "Device Unlock" app again. However, my SIM is Straight Talk AT&T and its working (mostly, that's the next question). Calls work, messages work, and data (mostly). If I was truely still carrier locked, wouldn't this not happen? Is there a warning I should be getting?
2. I believe I've seen others who have experiences issues when using an H830 with Nougat on AT&T networks, something about Band 17 being broken/disabled. Regarding my current situation from question 1, data is acting weird. If I leave the network mode setting on ""GSM/WCDMA/LTE auto", I seem to get a trickle of data - emails seem to come through, and little bits of websites come through. If I switch to "GSM/WCDMA auto" like I've seen listed in other places, data seems to work as you'd expect other than being on a slower connection. Has anyone else had this problem and resolved it?

sorry, looks like i posted in the wrong board. could a mod maybe move this to "Questions & Answers" board?

As an update, if anyone cares - I've managed to use the phone on multiple different carriers between US, China, and Taiwan. My issue here in the US is due to the network mode - I guess the band AT&T uses around here is not supported by the phone currently.

sqkid89 said:
As an update, if anyone cares - I've managed to use the phone on multiple different carriers between US, China, and Taiwan. My issue here in the US is due to the network mode - I guess the band AT&T uses around here is not supported by the phone currently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have an H830 that is an Tmobile Specific G5
ATT version is H820
Tmobile uses this channels or Freq bands
Freq Band
1900 MHz 2
1700/2100 MHz 4 AWS
850 MHz 5
700 MHz 12
600 MHz 71
----------------------------------------------------
ATT uses
LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 9(1800), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 28(700), 29(700)
38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
the H830 dont have as many bands as ATT needs , so when there is no ATT LTE bands your phone switches to 2g hence slowwww data speed
If you want full speed on ATT network, get an H820
i do not fully get why you want to use a Tmobile headset on the ATT network
Hope this little explanation helped you
Max.

sqkid89 said:
Hi everyone,
I'm having a couple of issues with my H830 that I'm trying to clear up.
If I switch to "GSM/WCDMA auto" like I've seen listed in other places, data seems to work as you'd expect other than being on a slower connection. Has anyone else had this problem and resolved it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I to am also using a using an "unlocked" T-mobile Lg G5 with an AT&T StraightTalk Sim from the Bring Your Own Phone Package which has been an absolute nightmare. Love the phone but not the data problems connection problems ...even been ridiculed by an iphone x enthusiast that is in your face annoying about the iphones. I wanna root, fix problems, and show him what a real operating system can do . :highfive:
---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 AM ----------
maxolini said:
If you have an H830 that is an Tmobile Specific G5
ATT version is H820
Tmobile uses this channels or Freq bands
Freq Band
1900 MHz 2
1700/2100 MHz 4 AWS
850 MHz 5
700 MHz 12
600 MHz 71
----------------------------------------------------
ATT uses
LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 9(1800), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 28(700), 29(700)
38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
the H830 dont have as many bands as ATT needs , so when there is no ATT LTE bands your phone switches to 2g hence slowwww data speed
If you want full speed on ATT network, get an H820
i do not fully get why you want to use a Tmobile headset on the ATT network
Hope this little explanation helped you
Max.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the at&t sim cause straighttalk suggested it and tmobile has horrible coverage is iowa. you cant fine a tmobile dealer for 50 miles in every direction of me.

maxolini said:
If you have an H830 that is an Tmobile Specific G5
If you want full speed on ATT network, get an H820
i do not fully get why you want to use a Tmobile headset on the ATT network
Hope this little explanation helped you
Max.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm well aware there are differences in bands; my area apparently doesn't use the same 4g bands as ATT. In many areas, TMobile does, so its not an issue. If you want a G5 that could be unlocked, rooted, and run a custom OS without much trouble, H830 is the way to go. I just wanted to make sure others looking to do the same didn't think they got a bad or locked phone.

Anyone in or around new york using it?? Do you get LTE and 3g?

OP, I don't seem to understand your issue or situation. I will assume you experience poor connectivity with your H830 model on AT&T including intermittent LTE drops, losing LTE after calls, 3G/H+ only, and poor service/coverage. AT&T white-lists devices which can use LTE on their network, and while they may connect, they will get dropped to 3G/2G GPRS after a while. These white-listed devices ONLY include AT&T models of phones, and SOME unlocked phones. This is an issue many OnePlus, Nexus, and Huawei users experience with AT&T. Even though device is unlocked, LTE is gone after a while or never loads. Some have suggested to call AT&T or chat via tech support to whitelist your IMEI on their system, which will take a while to reach the correct person. What I ended up doing was switching to T-Mobile from my MVNO TracFone because they told me AT&T claimed my device was not capable of LTE (These included: G4 H811, G5 RS988, and G5 H830). As for band compatibility, it should not be an issue. AT&T supports bands 2, 4, and 12/17 (29 & 30 are rare), they just added band 12 compatibility 1-2 years ago to gain more customers from T-Mobile but it's working against them because of their LTE whitelist.

maxolini said:
If you have an H830 that is an Tmobile Specific G5
ATT version is H820
Tmobile uses this channels or Freq bands
Freq Band
1900 MHz 2
1700/2100 MHz 4 AWS
850 MHz 5
700 MHz 12
600 MHz 71
----------------------------------------------------
ATT uses
LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 9(1800), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 28(700), 29(700)
38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
the H830 dont have as many bands as ATT needs , so when there is no ATT LTE bands your phone switches to 2g hence slowwww data speed
If you want full speed on ATT network, get an H820
i do not fully get why you want to use a Tmobile headset on the ATT network
Hope this little explanation helped you
Max.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for that data, i did not know this. I will be switching back to a Tmobile MVNO next month. I am with Red Pocket so I can choose either carrier.
I was at a restaurant yesterday and my LTE was SUPER slow and I was wondering why it is slow sometimes and fast other times even with full bars (strong signal)

patato21 said:
OP, I don't seem to understand your issue or situation. I will assume you experience poor connectivity with your H830 model on AT&T including intermittent LTE drops, losing LTE after calls, 3G/H+ only, and poor service/coverage. AT&T white-lists devices which can use LTE on their network, and while they may connect, they will get dropped to 3G/2G GPRS after a while. These white-listed devices ONLY include AT&T models of phones, and SOME unlocked phones. This is an issue many OnePlus, Nexus, and Huawei users experience with AT&T. Even though device is unlocked, LTE is gone after a while or never loads. Some have suggested to call AT&T or chat via tech support to whitelist your IMEI on their system, which will take a while to reach the correct person. What I ended up doing was switching to T-Mobile from my MVNO TracFone because they told me AT&T claimed my device was not capable of LTE (These included: G4 H811, G5 RS988, and G5 H830). As for band compatibility, it should not be an issue. AT&T supports bands 2, 4, and 12/17 (29 & 30 are rare), they just added band 12 compatibility 1-2 years ago to gain more customers from T-Mobile but it's working against them because of their LTE whitelist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the repeat delayed responses, been away and not getting alerts.
I had a few issues to begin with that were hard to determine due to multiple issues/changes/whatever. Normally I try to do one thing at a time, but I messed that up for myself. Between forum searches are real world testing, I was able to figure them out, so putting them all in one place may be helpful to someone else.
1. I had SIM unlocked my phone prior to downgrading and trying out custom roms. When I wasn't getting LTE, I thought I may have screwed something up and returned everything back to stock. In the process, the "SIM Unlock" app came back and I assumed I may have somehow relocked things. Turns out that's not the case, as I've used an AT&T sim from Straight Talk ever since and others for work in both China and Taiwan. I'd love to get rid of some of the LG/T-mobile bloatware, but I fear breaking anything if I remove this app, so I'll just leave well enough alone.
2. LTE - I was getting no data use at all originally. I couldn't confirm if this was due to a defective phone, being SIM locked, or something else. On my business trips overseas, I was able to get LTE, so it appears to be the band/whitelisting issue as you and others have mentioned. In order to semi-solve my issue, I switched my Network Mode (Settings > Connectivity > More > Mobile Networks) to "GSM/WCDMA auto". I don't get LTE speeds, but 4g works well enough for me as-is. If I ever get around to it, I'll just snag a new Straight Talk sim for t-mobile (although I get shivers any time I even think about having to deal with their customer service department)