Does anybody know if it's possible to have voice service on the G1 through AT&T, but use a T-Mobile data plan, and if this would allow for 3G coverage?
The reason I'm asking is that I don't get T-Mobile 3G coverage at home, but I do at work. Additionally, I travel on the weekends to another location that doesn't even get T-Mobile voice service, only AT&T. So I'd like to keep my existing AT&T voice service on my phone at all times, but be able to use T-Mobile 3G when available, and "fall back" to AT&T EDGE when it's not available. Switching to T-Mobile entirely isn't possible due to my weekend traveling, or I'd consider it.
Yes, I know this means paying T-Mobile for a data plan in addition to AT&T, and would also be contingent on T-Mobile being able to attach a data plan to my AT&T SIM card (which I don't know if it's possible), but I figured you geniuses here would know better than TMO's sales drones.
no, not possible
So my two year contract is up and I wanted to see what network was best to go with, my biggest concern is LTE and wich network is better that means T-mo is out, Sprint not ready in my area so that leaves AT&T and Verizon. Now I talked to reps at both AT&T and Verizon and nither one knew what they were talking about making outragous statements about why their LTE network was better than their compettitors. On my way out of the AT&T store the rep said one of their techs just came in and can explain it all to me. The tech seemed to know what he was talking about he showed me they are testing LTE in my area right now and showed me it was working on his phone. He told me if I got a LTE phone right now today I would get the fastest LTE around because no one is the network in the area right now unless they have an LTE phone already and have it turned on for LTE. He also told me once LTE is offically turned on here that I will lose LTE speeds because of all the other devices plugging into it but even with speeds being reduced after testing I would still get LTE speeds faster than Verizons LTE because LTE is a GSM technology and works better with GSM phones and GSM networks. Verizons network is CDMA and has to be reworked to make it compatable with LTE and right now isn't all that stable and it crashes all the time, and since the phones are set for CDMA/LTE the phone has to work harder causing more/faster battery drain. I forget all the technical words he used but the guy really seemed to know his stuff and did say that Verizon is working to make it's LTE stable and believes theyt would have everything fixed by the end of year but because it's CDMA/LTE it can never be as fast as GSM/LTE.
Anyway my question is Is he correct and AT&Ts LTE is faster than Verizons? or is that more BS with alot of technical terms thrown in?
For the most part, the number of devices connected to the network is the biggest factor. The more devices connected, the slower it will go.
There might be some truth to the fact that Verizon's LTE network is newer and therefore unstable (as we've seen in the past) but that doesn't mean it will be necessarily slower while it's working for that reason, and AT&T's LTE network is newer so I don't see how that would be a plus for them. It's true that AT&T phones are GSM, and LTE is based on GSM, but implying that strong UMTS/HSPA+ network coverage is going to magically supplement LTE coverage sounds like BS to me. This might make it easier for AT&T to roll out their LTE network for that reason, but that doesn't mean that they've even come close to meeting Verizon in coverage yet.
So, in a nutshell, there's some truth to it. It's faster for the time being since there's no one on it, but there's nothing technically BETTER about AT&T's LTE as far as I know. LTE is LTE; it just depends on the carrier's infrastructure (internet connections to towers, tower locations and coverage, etc) to determine the the quality and speed of connection.
Besides, if AT&T's abilities to keep up with new subscribers on their 3G network is any indication, it won't be long before their LTE networks is slower than Verizons
Thanks
Thank you for clearing this up for me so your saying there is no difference between Verizon and AT&Ts LTE other than Verizon having a Larger Network right now.
Does the Nexus 5 support the correct Verizon bands? I have read and cannot find a definite answer. Any help would be awesome!
sk8boy204 said:
Does the Nexus 5 support the correct Verizon bands? I have read and cannot find a definite answer. Any help would be awesome!
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Officially the N5 does not support Verizon explicitly, it may work but that is dependent on Verizon allowing you to activate the phone on their network. you can try but there are no guarantees. Personally i wouldn't hold my breath in anticipation.
- Cheers
sk8boy204 said:
Does the Nexus 5 support the correct Verizon bands? I have read and cannot find a definite answer. Any help would be awesome!
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CDMA bands, which is used for voice capabilites and 3G data: No. The Nexus 5 supports CDMA bands 0, 1, and 10. Verizon uses 2 and 5.
EDIT: It looks like my cross-referencing led me astray. Verizon and Sprint use the same 3G frequencies, Band 0 and 1, at 850 MHz and 1900 MHz, respectively. The Nexus 5 supports CDMA bands 0, 1, and 10. In theory, assuming you can get Verizon to sign off on it, it might actually be possible.
LTE bands, which is used for....LTE data: Yes, but it's very very limited. The Nexus 5 supports bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 17, 19, 25, 26 , and 41. Verizon mainly uses band 13, but is slowly rolling out band 4 support, but the odds are it won't be in your area right now, and the roll-out is slow.
EDIT: Again, more research suggests that through firmware editing, it might be possible to enable band 13 LTE on the Nexus 5. This is due to the Snapdragon 800 having band 13 support. It would be along the lines of enabling band 4 LTE support on the Nexus 4 (although we had official legacy radios that supported it, so we had something to go off of).
Besides: look at how Verizon is handling the activations of the Nexus 7 deb ("mobile version," if you will). They won't officially activate them, so you have to activate another device on their network and plug that SIM card into the N7, essentially working around them.
So, in short, no it's possible I would not buy this phone if you are locked to Verizon. My advice? Ditch Verizon ASAP. Not just for the phone, but because they are a shady company that blocks competition, among other things.
Johmama said:
CDMA bands, which is used for voice capabilites and 3G data: No. The Nexus 5 supports CDMA bands 0, 1, and 10. Verizon uses 2 and 5.
LTE bands, which is used for....LTE data: Yes, but it's very very limited. The Nexus 5 supports bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 17, 19, 25, 26 , and 41. Verizon mainly uses band 13, but is slowly rolling out band 4 support, but the odds are it won't be in your area right now, and the roll-out is slow.
Besides: look at how Verizon is handling the activations of the Nexus 7 deb ("mobile version," if you will). They won't officially activate them, so you have to activate another device on their network and plug that SIM card into the N7, essentially working around them.
So, in short, no. I would not buy this phone if you are locked to Verizon. My advice? Ditch Verizon ASAP. Not just for the phone, but because they are a shady company that blocks competition, among other things.
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Where do you find info about cdma bands for Verizon? Thx
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
equake said:
Where do you find info about cdma bands for Verizon? Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My good ol' friend Wikipedia:
Cellular frequencies by company
Cross-referenced with UMTS frequency bands to get the operating band
And finally, the LTE bands by company
And here for the specs on the Nexus 5
I am sad.
Damn, thank you for the reply!
Johmama said:
My good ol' friend Wikipedia:
Cellular frequencies by company
Cross-referenced with UMTS frequency bands to get the operating band
And finally, the LTE bands by company
And here for the specs on the Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the chart Both Sprint and VZW uses the same 3G FRQ only different Voice FRQ but each carrier can ride the Voice on the 3G bands so conceivably it can still work.
My 2 cents
Johmama said:
CDMA bands, which is used for voice capabilites and 3G data: No. The Nexus 5 supports CDMA bands 0, 1, and 10. Verizon uses 2 and 5.
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Click to collapse
I thought that Verizon uses bands 0 and 1 for CDMA. Well I got the information from Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon_Wireless#Radio_Frequency_Summary so I guess it could be wrong.
But Sprint devices can roam on Verizon's network, so that means that the Nexus 5 will be able to connect to a Verizon CDMA tower. The only problem is getting it to comemct to Verizon, and we still don't know what will happen when we pop an already active Verizon SIM card into the Nexus 5 yet.
equake said:
From the chart Both Sprint and VZW uses the same 3G FRQ only different Voice FRQ but each carrier can ride the Voice on the 3G bands so conceivably it can still work.
My 2 cents
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This is my understanding as well. you should be able to roam on verizon through sprint.
jack584 said:
I thought that Verizon uses bands 0 and 1 for CDMA. Well I got the information from Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon_Wireless#Radio_Frequency_Summary so I guess it could be wrong.
But Sprint devices can roam on Verizon's network, so that means that the Nexus 5 will be able to connect to a Verizon CDMA tower. The only problem is getting it to comemct to Verizon, and we still don't know what will happen when we pop an already active Verizon SIM card into the Nexus 5 yet.
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Just because some sprint devices can roam on Verizon, doesn't mean ALL can. Every phone doesn't have the exact same frequency bands. That said, I would Imagine any newer cdma phone will be able to ride both verizon and sprint CDMA networks.
^^^ this. And for all we know band 13 LTE is supported by the hardware, just not by a Google that has a soured relationship with big red.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
geebdroid said:
^^^ this. And for all we know band 13 LTE is supported by the hardware, just not by a Google that has a soured relationship with big red.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
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All LTE bands are supported by the baseband IP in the Snapdragon but it depends on the FW.
Activation of course is another story ie Nexus 7 LTE. Preactive SIMs should work but its up to VZW to accept it on their towers.
Well I can still hope. I'm on contact with Verizon until February and I'm about ready to kill my GNex. And I can't just go pay full price for a phone. Too much money, but the Nexus 5 is actually reasonable without contract. That's why I want it so bad.
And even when my contract is up, I can't switch, because everybody else is on my family plan. And I can't just go to T-Mobile $30 unlimited prepaid because there is no T-Mobile coverage at my house. (So frustrating, my housing development has towers for all the other three carriers, but when T-Mobile got their tower approved, the STUPID school people and parents got it blocked because it was within 1500 ft of the school. Like seriously I hate those people who appealed that, but that's another argument) And AT&T is too expensive for a single line. And Sprint just flat out sucks.
So I'll be on Verizon for a while, unless they can fight off those school people and get their tower built.
jack584 said:
Well I can still hope. I'm on contact with Verizon until February and I'm about ready to kill my GNex. And I can't just go pay full price for a phone. Too much money, but the Nexus 5 is actually reasonable without contract. That's why I want it so bad.
And even when my contract is up, I can't switch, because everybody else is on my family plan. And I can't just go to T-Mobile $30 unlimited prepaid because there is no T-Mobile coverage at my house. (So frustrating, my housing development has towers for all the other three carriers, but when T-Mobile got their tower approved, the STUPID school people and parents got it blocked because it was within 1500 ft of the school. Like seriously I hate those people who appealed that, but that's another argument) And AT&T is too expensive for a single line. And Sprint just flat out sucks.
So I'll be on Verizon for a while, unless they can fight off those school people and get their tower built.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you want other options, I've had lots of luck buying phones on Swappa.
If Verizon said yes, how would the non-LTE part of the phone know which network to hook up with? WithSprint and Verizon phones, they go automatically to their own network when activating. Would different CDMA networks pop up like with a GSM phone?
I have full LTE service where I live, but noticed that I do not get LTE data when on a call. Is this because of the tri-band nature of the phone?
Mindspin_311 said:
I have full LTE service where I live, but noticed that I do not get LTE data when on a call. Is this because of the tri-band nature of the phone?
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I believe CDMA phones that allow simultaneous voice/data require a separate on board chip, which the N5 does not have so it isn't possible.
Mindspin_311 said:
I have full LTE service where I live, but noticed that I do not get LTE data when on a call. Is this because of the tri-band nature of the phone?
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Click to collapse
It has to do with Sprint's software and not the chip: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/...-due-to-circuit-switched-fallback-technology/
This is the same info...except with the various cities where issues are occurring: http://www.geek.com/android/sprints...ed-service-for-the-forseeable-future-1577462/
Those links speak about no LTE at all, which isnt my issue. But, the general explanation of how the tech works makes sense.
Vegasden said:
It has to do with Sprint's software and not the chip: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/...-due-to-circuit-switched-fallback-technology/
This is the same info...except with the various cities where issues are occurring: http://www.geek.com/android/sprints...ed-service-for-the-forseeable-future-1577462/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, that's true and a new wrinkle. In the past (before tri-band) Sprint LTE phones required a separate chip on board to handle this but it sounds like it's going to be supported via the tri-band set up instead in the future. I guess they're going to deploy "Voice over LTE" sometime but knowing Sprint we'll have moved on to the N5 2015 by the time that happens.
Mindspin_311 said:
I have full LTE service where I live, but noticed that I do not get LTE data when on a call. Is this because of the tri-band nature of the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No sprint triband device (which is every device starting now) will ever have SVLTE or SVDO until the arrival of VoLTE in later 2014-2015. Developing and implementing SVLTE or SVDO on a device which utilizes both TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE technology cost far too much with far too little benefit for both Sprint and the OEMs.
Hi,
I currently have an unlocked, out-of-contract Verizon Galaxy Nexus, and I'm considering switching to Ting, a MVNO that uses Sprint's network. However, Ting says this isn't supported, and I was hoping someone here could help me understand why.
As I understand it, both Sprint and Verizon use CDMA, so I already have the hardware I need to communicate with Sprint's network. However, the ESN on my phone is not currently whitelisted on the Sprint network, therefore it won't work.
Ting has a bring your own device program. If your phone is on their whitelist, and it is Sprint branded, you can use it with their network. So I guess what I'm struggling to understand is why Sprint branded phones will work, but non-Sprint branded phones will not.
Is the fundamental issue simply here that Sprint refuses to whitelist my ESN because it is a Verizon phone? Or is there a technical reason why I can't use my Verizon Galaxy Nexus with Sprint? Is there anything I can do get my existing phone to work with Ting?
Thanks,
John
there's pseudo-technical reason, and it boils down to the big V is a stupid way, the reason is that Verizon uses a weird (read: f***ed up) way of authenticating devices on their "CDMA" network, Verizon uses WCDMA/CDMA2000 style authentication even for the 4g towers, and the hybrid AAA/HA keys they use were developed by them for use only on their network, this is why, primarily, that sprint phones are incompatible on verizon and vis-versa (Also, anecdotaly why Verizon 4G phones are a pain to put on Verizon MVNOs though with the GNex it is possible, I have mine on page plus using Sprint's CDMA radio firmware, and YES everything, even 3G data works fine, and no, no ESN swap was needed). Basically it's a ploy to keep Verizon phones, well, on Verizon..