Database Info

[Completed] Noob in need of radio/modem flashing information

Hello,
I recently purchased a note 5 duos SM-N9208 from Taiwan. I was led to believe that the device was unlocked GSM, but had EV-DO capabilities. My understanding was that this would work on Verizon's network, because it had both radio chips inside. I was told by Verizon that "there is no approved way" for them to get me up and running on their network. The tech made a point of saying there is a difference between approved, and no way. This leads me to believe that something can be done. I'm wondering if someone would be kind enough to help me out. Phone is running original Rom, unrooted, and is basically useless to me right now, as I'm desperately clinging on to my unlimited data with Verizon. Is it possible to root the device, and flash the modem with Verizon note 5 baseband info? Any help anyone can offer would be very much appreciated.

XDA Visitor said:
Hello,
I recently purchased a note 5 duos SM-N9208 from Taiwan. I was led to believe that the device was unlocked GSM, but had EV-DO capabilities. My understanding was that this would work on Verizon's network, because it had both radio chips inside. I was told by Verizon that "there is no approved way" for them to get me up and running on their network. The tech made a point of saying there is a difference between approved, and no way. This leads me to believe that something can be done. I'm wondering if someone would be kind enough to help me out. Phone is running original Rom, unrooted, and is basically useless to me right now, as I'm desperately clinging on to my unlimited data with Verizon. Is it possible to root the device, and flash the modem with Verizon note 5 baseband info? Any help anyone can offer would be very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, and welcome to XDA!
When I looked up the specs on the Note 5 Duos, unfortunately it says nothing about CDMA. Having both "radio chips inside" can be taken two ways, in this case, this phone has the capability to handle two GSM carriers (and in this case, like most dual-sim phones, only the first SIM can do 3G/4G/LTE speeds).
Network Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G bands HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
4G bands LTE
Speed HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems the only option (if you want to use this phone), is to join a GSM carrier like AT&T, T-Mobile, or one of their MVNO's (like MetroPCS).
Hope this helps.

joel.maxuel said:
Hi, and welcome to XDA!
It seems the only option (if you want to use this phone), is to join a GSM carrier like AT&T, T-Mobile, or one of their MVNO's (like MetroPCS).
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, Joel! I'm excited to learn as much as possible from tgis forum. I actually changed over to T-Mobile, and have been good for the most part. The problem i'm having now is related to finding a way to flash the radio to all of their Rf's. I rooted, and attempted to flash the modem and bootloader from N920T, but it failed. I am still having a hard timr understanding why the identical hardware will not accept firmware from different model numbers. Again, very inexperienced, so it may be something very obvious i dont know about. If could offer any assistance, or provide and thread links that may be useful, i wpuld very grateful. Ive been searching nonstop, reading, and still cant seem to find a way.

Rockstah said:
Thank you, Joel! I'm excited to learn as much as possible from tgis forum. I actually changed over to T-Mobile, and have been good for the most part. The problem i'm having now is related to finding a way to flash the radio to all of their Rf's. I rooted, and attempted to flash the modem and bootloader from N920T, but it failed. I am still having a hard timr understanding why the identical hardware will not accept firmware from different model numbers. Again, very inexperienced, so it may be something very obvious i dont know about. If could offer any assistance, or provide and thread links that may be useful, i wpuld very grateful. Ive been searching nonstop, reading, and still cant seem to find a way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the hardware (particularly the modem) is not compatible, hance the failed install. You are lucky it cancelled out as you could have had worse problems on your hands.
The way i see it, you will have to wait for other regions for the Note 5 Duos to open up before you get flashing options. I would even question the need for that, if you get a decent range of bands with T-Mo (I am assuming you can get 4G).
If you want to explore further anyway, please check out this thread:
> Samsung Galaxy Note5 > Galaxy Note5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting > [Help Thread][Galaxy Note5] Ask Any Question, Noob Friendly
Hope this helps.

joel.maxuel said:
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It did, thank you! I get decent service (including LTE) almost everywhere. Problem is, once I get to my.house, I go completely out of service. No call.I no text. It wouldn't be a big deal, but the Taiwanese phone doesn't have a way to turn WiFi calling.

Rockstah said:
It did, thank you! I get decent service (including LTE) almost everywhere. Problem is, once I get to my.house, I go completely out of service. No call.I no text. It wouldn't be a big deal, but the Taiwanese phone doesn't have a way to turn WiFi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha. That and no sign of the 700mHz band (which may not be part of your phone anyway, not just hidden by the current firmware).
Since the firmware would need deep support of Wifi Calling (or VoLTE), as in more than just an App, I am afraid you will have to wait until the Duos releases into an area with that support in their firmware (and hope that, that area's firmware doesn't disable a frequency you use).
Makes scraping all the lead paint[*] off the house the more manageable task, doesn't it?
[*] I really don't know if your house does indeed have lead paint. I am assuming it's coated in something metal, or concrete, which avoids typically high frequency radio waves from entering. I never had that problem with my house (which may be strange, since it was built in the 40's), but maybe creating ways to boost the existing signal may be in order instead.

Which band is missing on the N920T from the N920A?

I'm having a hard time finding a definitive answer about which LTE band I'll lose using the tmobile variant on att.

I don't think any, I think both are identical. I am using the N920T with AT&t. I would suggest you consider using DarthStalkers ROM, he was able to pull the AT&T carrier files.
The N920T & A are the same. If you had bought the N920I you might lose bands.

Does anyone know where I can get a band 12 coverage map? I can only find the LTE coverage map which doesn't specify if band 12 is used there

wdkingery said:
I'm having a hard time finding a definitive answer about which LTE band I'll lose using the tmobile variant on att.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
17 and 30 (I don't think the 920t's band 12 will work with AT&T's B17 - even though 12 is a subset of 17 (or do I have that backwards?) Possibly 29 (downlink only for AT&T) - but there's very little documentation on B29, so I'm not sure if the N920A supports it or not.

garyd9 said:
17 and 30 (I don't think the 920t's band 12 will work with AT&T's B17 - even though 12 is a subset of 17 (or do I have that backwards?) Possibly 29 (downlink only for AT&T) - but there's very little documentation on B29, so I'm not sure if the N920A supports it or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you be so kind as to translate what that will mean to me? I have a t-mobile note 4 here on att and it seems to do fine.. Do you think I'll be so lucky with the note 5?

wdkingery said:
Could you be so kind as to translate what that will mean to me? I have a t-mobile note 4 here on att and it seems to do fine.. Do you think I'll be so lucky with the note 5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Band 29 is rarely used by AT&T (only as a downlink in heavily congested areas.) This shouldn't be a problem.
Band 30 (WCS band) is something AT&T _just_ started deploying, but I've never seen it in actual use. In fact, until very recently, none of AT&T's own phones supported it. B30 is really of limited value for general use due to it's propagation (or lack thereof.) Like 29, its probably only used as a supplement to other bands. I wouldn't worry about B30.
B17, however, is a Big Deal for AT&T. That's AT&T's primary "lower frequency" LTE band. Because of the low frequency, it has excellent propagation (meaning it moves farther and through trees, buildings, etc.) They use this band to cover large geographical areas with minimal towers. If you will be using your phone in a non-urban area, B17 is almost essential for AT&T. (My phone spends the majority of the time at my home on B17.)
I haven't heard of anyone with a TMO Note 5 device (without explicit B17 support) attaching to AT&T's B17, but that doesn't mean it won't work. However, Unless someone confirms B17 functionality on the n290T from actual use (and not just what they think), I'd suggest assuming that it won't work.

garyd9 said:
Band 29 is rarely used by AT&T (only as a downlink in heavily congested areas.) This shouldn't be a problem.
Band 30 (WCS band) is something AT&T _just_ started deploying, but I've never seen it in actual use. In fact, until very recently, none of AT&T's own phones supported it. B30 is really of limited value for general use due to it's propagation (or lack thereof.) Like 29, its probably only used as a supplement to other bands. I wouldn't worry about B30.
B17, however, is a Big Deal for AT&T. That's AT&T's primary "lower frequency" LTE band. Because of the low frequency, it has excellent propagation (meaning it moves farther and through trees, buildings, etc.) They use this band to cover large geographical areas with minimal towers. If you will be using your phone in a non-urban area, B17 is almost essential for AT&T. (My phone spends the majority of the time at my home on B17.)
I haven't heard of anyone with a TMO Note 5 device (without explicit B17 support) attaching to AT&T's B17, but that doesn't mean it won't work. However, Unless someone confirms B17 functionality on the n290T from actual use (and not just what they think), I'd suggest assuming that it won't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An informative post if ever there was one indeed.
What app do you use to determine which hand your phone is connected thru? I have found this app "LTE discovery", and it seems my att note 3 stays connected to 5 mostly, or 4 for lte. But then for GSM is doesn't list a band, but appears connected. On her t-mobile note 4 connected to att, she stays on 5, but the GSM doesn't appear to be connected to anything..
We will be almost exclusively in the middle of a city, but as with anything that could change or in the event of a road trip..
Is there a place I can sit and study this information? Perhaps a website with all of this data? Or do you happen to work in the field?
In a sea of noobs, an informed person is a real diamond in the rough - I appreciate your time.

wdkingery said:
What app do you use to determine which hand your phone is connected thru? I have found this app "LTE discovery", and it seems my att note 3 stays connected to 5 mostly, or 4 for lte.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good app to use. I also use my phone's diagnostic menu's, but I doubt AT&T left those enabled on the 'a' variant.[/QUOTE]
wdkingery said:
But then for GSM is doesn't list a band, but appears connected. On her t-mobile note 4 connected to att, she stays on 5, but the GSM doesn't appear to be connected to anything..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that with "lte discovery" that she doesn't appear to have any GSM side connection? She most likely does, as that's where voice calls will take place...
wdkingery said:
Is there a place I can sit and study this information? Perhaps a website with all of this data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google. Then google some more. If you run out of pages from google, use another search engine. All the information is readily available - it just takes time to find it all.

garyd9 said:
That's a good app to use. I also use my phone's diagnostic menu's, but I doubt AT&T left those enabled on the 'a' variant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that with "lte discovery" that she doesn't appear to have any GSM side connection? She most likely does, as that's where voice calls will take place...
Google. Then google some more. If you run out of pages from google, use another search engine. All the information is readily available - it just takes time to find it all.[/QUOTE]
so i got through all the hoops.. don't have LTE ;-(
it connects to band 4 or 5 when i first come out of airplane mode, but it jumps right back off. stuck on 4g. called at&t for an hour, they said initially it wasn't provisioned on my sim card, but then afterwards they determined it was a problem on my end, walked my thru APN settings and then ended the call.. still no LTE.
do you have an opinion of what i could do?

wdkingery said:
do you have an opinion of what i could do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quoting me in a thread was enough... didn't have to also PM me...
@TEKHD has a firmware that might work for you. Check it out over here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmo...h6-tekxodus-n5-urv1-00-00-lollipop-5-t3201869
He has apparently provided a mechanism that is working for other AT&T users... (probably via loading the AT&T RIL libs.)
I haven't tried this (and I don't even have a 't' variant myself.) On the other hand, a quick search of that thread seems to show that other people are having successes with AT&T sim's on 't' variant devices.
Good luck!
Gary

sorry about the double.
after a precursory examination, idon't see exactly what you are talking about in his thread..
is it a download?

garyd9 said:
Quoting me in a thread was enough... didn't have to also PM me...
He has apparently provided a mechanism that is working for other AT&T users... (probably via loading the AT&T RIL libs.)
Good luck!
Gary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the search feature doesn't appear to work for me; shows 0 results on att or at&t.. i'm having to sift thru all 114 pages by hand.

garyd9 said:
He has apparently provided a mechanism that is working for other AT&T users... (probably via loading the AT&T RIL libs.)
Gary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i searched all 114 pages and didn't find reference to any of that.. now i know why search provided no results; there weren't any!
so i need to find the att ril libraries. how will i ever find that.

wdkingery said:
i searched all 114 pages and didn't find reference to any of that.. now i know why search provided no results; there weren't any!
so i need to find the att ril libraries. how will i ever find that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe that was the wrong firmware... it's something in the TMO dev section. Please search.

garyd9 said:
Maybe that was the wrong firmware... it's something in the TMO dev section. Please search.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've searched the entire tmo dev section for term "at&t" and there are sparse hits; there is some conversation about CSC for a guy in canada getting his VoLTE working, but nothing on att.

wdkingery said:
i've searched the entire tmo dev section for term "at&t" and there are sparse hits; there is some conversation about CSC for a guy in canada getting his VoLTE working, but nothing on att.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently, you already found it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmo...on-1-aroma-t3212091/post63516726#post63516726
This has AT&T RIL's in the update.zip, and from a quick look at the first post in that thread, they are installed based on an aroma installer. Others in that thread claim it works for them. You're using a TMO device on ATT, so you have to expect some level of incompatibility. There are AT&T LTE bands that the TMO device simply doesn't support. It doesn't matter what happens with your Note 4. Different device and different modem.
So, if you want to use a TMO device on ATT, you'll have to make some sacrifices. Most people will find the sacrifices are less drastic using an international version of the phone. For some reason, US carriers go out of their way to ensure their devices are incompatible with each other.

garyd9 said:
Apparently, you already found it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmo...on-1-aroma-t3212091/post63516726#post63516726
This has AT&T RIL's in the update.zip, and from a quick look at the first post in that thread, they are installed based on an aroma installer. Others in that thread claim it works for them. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok this is where i started, by flashing the ATT option for this rom. but that doesn't solve the problem. i'm in the process of clean flashing the tmobile choice like he suggested.
thanks for all your help.
i'm afraid this isn't going to work either. i realize the wife's note 4 may have different hardware, and isn't a good reference.
i can see the thing connect to band 5, then band 4, lte .. but it's in "emergency calls only" mode, then it gives up on that, connects to HSUPA or HSPA+ and that's the last of an LTE connection.
i feel like it would connect if it could, and that i'm having a software issue.

problem solved guys sorry for the large headache..
Solution:
AT&T did not recognize my IMEI as being LTE capable. Because of that, they decline to allow my phone to connect to LTE. My phone would connect to an LTE tower (as in the screen shots a few pages back), but wouldn't receive anything back from AT&T, so it would say "emergency calls only" and then give up after about 10 seconds, and then never go back. Crap data all around at this time.
What you'll need to do is walk into an AT&T store, take a picture of the IMEI off an LTE phone, and then call in and change your IMEI to the phone you found. This will cause the system to recognize your phone as LTE capable, and like magic, you'll have LTE.

I can confirm that I have a tmobile branded unit that attaches to band 17. It isn't as frequently as on my note 4, I'm generally on band 2. With that said I've had virtually no trouble with service. I was initially worried about the b17 issue, but it hasn't seemed to make any difference.

intifadamericana said:
I can confirm that I have a tmobile branded unit that attaches to band 17. It isn't as frequently as on my note 4, I'm generally on band 2. With that said I've had virtually no trouble with service. I was initially worried about the b17 issue, but it hasn't seemed to make any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it attach to band 17 on AT&T or t-mobile?

Edit Network Bands on Sprint version

i compared sprint LTE frequency band with the one deployed in my country using frequency check.com and found out they're not the same, hence i can't register on the network when i choose lte on my A9 :/
i was wondering if there's a way to edit/add the network bands i'm lacking without converting it?
Is there any method similar to this but for the A9: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=61352157

i managed to run this code ##3282# which brings up the EPST menu and from there i can see what LTE band my phone is exactly running (25/26/41) and their priority 25>26>41 which is clearly not the one i'm in need right now. also i've read that it's possible to get the MSL code using a logcat but don't exactly know how to ?
folks, any help? highly appreciated.

syntenza said:
i managed to run this code ##3282# which brings up the EPST menu and from there i can see what LTE band my phone is exactly running (25/26/41) and their priority 25>26>41 which is clearly not the one i'm in need right now. also i've read that it's possible to get the MSL code using a logcat but don't exactly know how to ?
folks, any help? highly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is build I to the ruu, just convert, it makes life easier, and data backups should be compatible.

i'm trying every kind of possibility and consider conversion as a last one.
UPDATE: i downgraded my firmware and with the help of stifilz i was able to enable DM mode,now it works like a charm :highfive: i used DFS to read LTE bands (results are attached) and they're way more than 3 i activated the band 3 which is what i'm looking for but it only remained on #6828 after reboot and didn't seem to work. i also QXDM as well but it's a lil bit tricky, you have to manually write the right numbers for your bands :/
now, can i just uncheck all the bands, since i don't really need them and leaves only one (band 3)?

after sooo much hassle, i was able to finally enable different lte bands and having them enabled permanently both on 6828 and 6829 but unfortunately it didn't seem to be working which is strange since the chipset is able to handle the band 3 with the AT&T version of the A9, why not on the sprint!!

interesting.. @syntenza you said that you're able to enable LTE Band 3 permanently, but it doesnt work?

zlebors said:
interesting.. @syntenza you said that you're able to enable LTE Band 3 permanently, but it doesnt work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so far, yes.

syntenza said:
so far, yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you do? I can not record it somehow. when it restarts it returns to its original state.

Unlocking Band 66/71

Hello,
I haven't posted here in quite some time, but I picked up the Mi Mix 2s (Fantastic device), and the only thing that's missing to make this perfect for me, is the inclusion of Band 71 (600MHz). I've seen on multiple posts about Qualcomm phones having bands unlocked using QDXM and QPST tools. In other tutorials I see that they use an app to calculate the proper NV values, but I can't seem to find one that goes beyond Band 44. Does anyone know of a manual way to calculate this value, or another tool I could use?
Thank you much,
Blimey

sublimewulf said:
Hello,
I haven't posted here in quite some time, but I picked up the Mi Mix 2s (Fantastic device), and the only thing that's missing to make this perfect for me, is the inclusion of Band 71 (600MHz). I've seen on multiple posts about Qualcomm phones having bands unlocked using QDXM and QPST tools. In other tutorials I see that they use an app to calculate the proper NV values, but I can't seem to find one that goes beyond Band 44. Does anyone know of a manual way to calculate this value, or another tool I could use?
Thank you much,
Blimey
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What app are you using to check current supported bands?

pi4a7a said:
What app are you using to check current supported bands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used NV calculator and LTE Band Calculator on the Play Store.

I found this video. I can't test it until 2 weeks from now as I just started unlocking process. If you test, please let me know if it works.

Ascertion said:
I found this video. I can't test it until 2 weeks from now as I just started unlocking process. If you test, please let me know if it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By taping Lock bands then LTE all of them are checked, is that how it's supposed to be ?
I also don't have the option LTE Band Append...

pi4a7a said:
By taping Lock bands then LTE all of them are checked, is that how it's supposed to be ?
I also don't have the option LTE Band Append...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked mine on my other rooted device. It looks like they removed the LTE Band Append option sometime between January and now. I sent the dev an email asking for more about this, I'll keep you posted.
If it turns out to be a paid feature, I think the price gouging is ridiculously too high. It's $50/week! But we'll see.

Ascertion said:
I checked mine on my other rooted device. It looks like they removed the LTE Band Append option sometime between January and now. I sent the dev an email asking for more about this, I'll keep you posted.
If it turns out to be a paid feature, I think the price gouging is ridiculously too high. It's $50/week! But we'll see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was their response. I guess we can't use this feature.
HI
This feature is not allowed to access since it’s not safe to mobile phones. Please understand…
Regards

Question TMobile (USA) network speed

I don't see 5G icon. But we got LTE+ on TMobile (usa) (VoLTE pre activated)
Download speed is fantastic. Upload is not

avetny said:
I don't see 5G icon. But we got LTE+ on TMobile (usa) (VoLTE pre activated)
Download speed is fantastic. Upload is not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

has anyone tried to unlock more bands?
following something like https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...device-use-your-phone-globally-no-bs.2871269/

Washo4evr said:
has anyone tried to unlock more bands?
following something like https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...device-use-your-phone-globally-no-bs.2871269/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

It is at the standard of the H.W not the S.W.

The same questions were asked of the 10 ultra. Some said hard, some software but no one posted any success in opening more bands.

Washo4evr said:
has anyone tried to unlock more bands?
following something like https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...device-use-your-phone-globally-no-bs.2871269/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reasonable question man, those replies suck. It has the same modem as the iPhone 13, it's a Snapdragon X65 5G so technically you should be able to. If not in NV, you could in software programming tool of Qualcomm, might have to be the newest software though. If you could identify the modem chip number in a teardown video possibly we could find the product model number and see if it's a hardware limited or base chip limited by firmware.

That makes sense. Back in the day, I had a Zuk Z2 Pro and it worked but haven't had a phone with a snapdragon since.
Thanks Jdorman12 for replying with actual words, not a single emoji
If I end up getting a 12S, I will give it a try