Hi all, I'm a long time user on XDA but I think this is my first new thread, so be nice
I'm keen to build up a list of LTE bands supported by the various variants of the S4. Current specs online seem to be fairly sketchy on what LTE bands are going to be supported by our pre-order phones. The general consensus from most sites is that the overall network frequencies supported will be:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900MHz
HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100MHz
LTE Cat3 Up to 6 different band sets (dependent on market)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty much set on getting myself an S4 however unsure on what I'm actually buying into at the moment. I'm UK based (on o2 currently) but travel to the US several times a year. I've had the HTC Sensation XE which supports 1700MHz and therefore allows me HSPA connection on T-Mobile USA, and their $3/day prepaid tariff is brilliant. Going forward AT&T is also a possibility but their tariffs are a bit steeper (seem to need to pay for a month at a time).
So... what I'd like to do is pull together a list of supported bands for phones sold in various markets/regions/countries, as we get more detail on LTE bands supported. If folks are happy to post links to detail/evidence then I will compile this into a list. Would prefer to stick to the E-UTRA Operating Band numbers as opposed to frequencies.
For my own situation specifically, I'd also be keen to understand:
- Bandings of those phones sold by Carphone Warehouse UK, o2 UK, EE, AT&T, T-Mobile US
- There's a list of LTE bands on the S4 page on Wikipedia (so a big pinch of salt required): 700, 800, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2600 MHz. Is this likely to be the base European offering? If so, what band numbers would these correspond to, since a lot of the frequencies are used by several bands?
- AT&T apparently uses 700MHz for LTE - is that nationwide or just certain states picked up through acquisition of smaller carriers?
- Is T-Mobile US likely to get a special variant to support HSPA at 1700MHz?
- How widely has T-Mobile US reapportioned HSPA at 1900MHz (from the old MPC)
- If a new handset is bought outright at AT&T or T-Mobile USA, will they provide an unlock code free of charge?
List
(reserved to set out a master list as information comes in)
kkrsrkrocks said:
From what i know, there are three market variants of the Galaxy S4.
GT-I9505 – Snapdragon 600 1.9 GHz with LTE - US and Most Western Markets
GT-I9500 – Exynos 5 Octa 1.6 GHz without LTE - Asia and Reast of the World Markets
SHV-E300S – Exynos 5 Octa 1.8 GHz with LTE - Korean Markets
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the list - I think there's a semantic issue here though which reflects much more widely than this particular forum. For me this is about markets (e.g. countries, retailers and carriers) and in each these markets, what LTE bands will be accessible if I buy a i9505 handset. Will all of Europe and North America get the same LTE access? My impression was no. We could go quite granular with this...
UK:
Carphone Warehouse - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
EE - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
o2 - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Three - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Vodafone - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
USA:
AT&T - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
T-Mobile - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Verizon - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Sprint - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
etc etc...
In a country like the UK it could be the case that all of the retailers and networks all support the same bands... but I just don't know for now. For the US that probably won't be the case.
Potentially we could build up a picture for all countries?
kkrsrkrocks said:
From what i know, there are three market variants of the Galaxy S4.
GT-I9505 – Snapdragon 600 1.9 GHz with LTE - US and Most Western Markets
GT-I9500 – Exynos 5 Octa 1.6 GHz without LTE - Asia and Reast of the World Markets
SHV-E300S – Exynos 5 Octa 1.8 GHz with LTE - Korean Markets
Source and Details
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude how many accounts do you have? And how much would you spam your blog here?
sent fromXperia sT21i
Everything stock
NZStevenC said:
Thanks for the list - I think there's a semantic issue here though which reflects much more widely than this particular forum. For me this is about markets (e.g. countries, retailers and carriers) and in each these markets, what LTE bands will be accessible if I buy a i9505 handset. Will all of Europe and North America get the same LTE access? My impression was no. We could go quite granular with this...
UK:
Carphone Warehouse - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
EE - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
o2 - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Three - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Vodafone - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
USA:
AT&T - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
T-Mobile - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Verizon - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
Sprint - i9505 with LTE band a, b, c, d, e, f
etc etc...
In a country like the UK it could be the case that all of the retailers and networks all support the same bands... but I just don't know for now. For the US that probably won't be the case.
Potentially we could build up a picture for all countries?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been waiting to find out more information about this as well.
I'm in Canada on the Roger's network, and when I visit the US, I too use the T-Mobile $3 a day plan.
Unlike the S3, does this mean that all North American S4 variants will be the same phone (Telus, Rogers, Wind, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc)? If so, does that mean that if I purchase any S4 in North America that it will work on all North American cell networks?
Thanks!
kkrsrkrocks said:
Dude.. Its not a blog.. Its a full website. Also this was no spam. It was just giving information. If I have some information on my site then why should I give source of some other site?? Also if you give source of some site say xyz, can i accuse you of promoting the site..!! Finally I give complete information that I want to, in the post itself. Its up to the reader to visit the source
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen 3 accounts getting banned,for promoting the same website. Even when there are true sources like sammobile, etc, you source them to your website.
Already reported your post.
knowthenazz said:
I've been waiting to find out more information about this as well.
I'm in Canada on the Roger's network, and when I visit the US, I too use the T-Mobile $3 a day plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pleased to hear I'm not the only one looking for this detail. It seems to odd to me that something's going on sale in just over a week but we aren't informed of exactly what it is. If Carphone Warehouse would confirm their model includes LTE on bands 3, 4, 7 and 20, I'd pre-order a sim-free phone right now
I'm hoping to find out what are the frequencies 9500 support, not 9505.
Because 9505 has already been revealed.
If, within US, the bandwidths are carrier-dependent, what about international 9500?
I live in the US and I'm also very interested in LTE band info amongst the different variants. I have the Verizon GS4 [SCH-I545] on preorder and currently using the AT&T Galaxy Note [SGH-I717]. I know absolutely nothing about UK carriers or their LTE bands etc, but know a pretty good bit about the US so I'll layout some of the info I have so far. Also I travel to Japan a lot so I would be interested in their LTE info as well.
Firstly, the GT-I9505 is not a variant that is intended for the North American market. (We are special and Samsung always makes us special ones ) It can probably be bought online in the US, but no carrier is selling that model and I wouldn't expect it to be compatible with any LTE in the US (though it could work).
LTE Bands US carriers use that I know of:
AT&T (Evidence)
Currently Used Bands: 4, 17
(Band 17 is the only one I've actually seen when I look at my phone and I believe is used in all their LTE markets nationwide so far)
Future Use: WCS Band [EUTRA unnumbered ~2300Mhz]
(Evidence)
Potential Future Use: 2, 5
(See SGH-I337 supported bands for evidence)
Verizon (Evidence)
Currently Used Bands: 13
Future Use: 4
(Verizon to begin rolling out band 4 Summer 2013)
T-Mobile (Evidence)
Currently Used Bands: 4
LTE Bands of North American GS4 Varients:
AT&T SGH-I337
Bands: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 17
(Samsung Website Shows Bands 1,4,7,17 and FCC License Testing shows Bands 2,4,5,17 [Bands 1, 7 are not used in the US, therefore FCC doesn't care to test them.])
I think Samsung made a typo on their site listing all the bands because FCC documents proves that this phone can operate LTE on band 2 and 5.
Verizon SCH-I545
Bands: 4, 13
(Evidence and Evidence)
T-Mobile SGH-M919
Bands: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 17
(Evidence and Evidence)
Sprint SPH-L720
Bands: 25
(Evidence and Evidence)
LTE Bands on International Variant:
GT-I9505
Bands: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20
(This is my best guess based on the this info. However, 800 and 850 could be any combination of bands 5,6,18,19,20,26,27. Also 1800 could be either band 3 or 9. Some of these are subsets of others.)
(Also, this proves that it at least has LTE band 5.)
I can post more info as I come across it, but hopefully this will get you started.
do you know if the s4 is the same everywhere for frequencies and then limited via software or it actually has different hardware? I'm referring to the s4's in the USA vs the international version.
camaroz28 said:
I live in the US and I'm also very interested in LTE band info amongst the different variants. I have the Verizon GS4 [SCH-I545] on preorder and currently using the AT&T Galaxy Note [SGH-I717]. I know absolutely nothing about UK carriers or their LTE bands etc, but know a pretty good bit about the US so I'll layout some of the info I have so far. Also I travel to Japan a lot so I would be interested in their LTE info as well.
Firstly, the GT-I9505 is not a variant that is intended for the North American market. (We are special and Samsung always makes us special ones ) It can probably be bought online in the US, but no carrier is selling that model and I wouldn't expect it to be compatible with any LTE in the US (though it could work).
LTE Bands US carriers use that I know of:
AT&T (Evidence)
Currently Used Bands: 4, 17
(Band 17 is the only one I've actually seen when I look at my phone and I believe is used in all their LTE markets nationwide so far)
Future Use: WCS Band [EUTRA unnumbered ~2300Mhz]
(Evidence)
Potential Future Use: 2, 5
(See SGH-I337 supported bands for evidence)
Verizon (Evidence)
Currently Used Bands: 13
Future Use: 4
(Verizon to begin rolling out band 4 Summer 2013)
T-Mobile (Evidence)
Currently Used Bands: 4
LTE Bands of North American GS4 Varients:
AT&T SGH-I337
Bands: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 17
(Samsung Website Shows Bands 1,4,7,17 and FCC License Testing shows Bands 2,4,5,17 [Bands 1, 7 are not used in the US, therefore FCC doesn't care to test them.])
I think Samsung made a typo on their site listing all the bands because FCC documents proves that this phone can operate LTE on band 2 and 5.
Verizon SCH-I545
Bands: 4, 13
(Evidence and Evidence)
T-Mobile SGH-M919
Bands: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 17
(Evidence and Evidence)
Sprint SPH-L720
Bands: 25
(Evidence and Evidence)
LTE Bands on International Variant:
GT-I9505
Bands: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20
(This is my best guess based on the this info. However, 800 and 850 could be any combination of bands 5,6,18,19,20,26,27. Also 1800 could be either band 3 or 9. Some of these are subsets of others.)
(Also, this proves that it at least has LTE band 5.)
I can post more info as I come across it, but hopefully this will get you started.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would this international version with Bands: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20. work on Rogers highest speed LTE Band 7?? EVEN though this phone is unable to connect to rogers LTE band 4???
Answers to this question will be thanked!
All of the major japanese LTE carriers (not counting emobile who is a minor player) operate their primary network on band 1.
Softbank bands 1/18 (and band 41 TD-LTE)
Docomo bands 1/19/21 (band 3 to come)
au bands 1/11/18
Emobile band 3
Docomo is the only carrier with the S4 (phones are bought locked, subsided via a carrier shop 99.9% of the time in Japan). The japanese variant (SC-04E) only interoperates on band 1. The radio claims band 4 support but I was never able to make it operate with T-mobile LTE.
-sandro- said:
do you know if the s4 is the same everywhere for frequencies and then limited via software or it actually has different hardware? I'm referring to the s4's in the USA vs the international version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many of the versions of the S4 have different hardware, but for the ones that do have the same hardware (all the US versions), it's hard to tell whether the frequencies are set through software or hardware. I imagine the only way to verify would be to, for example, try an AT&T modem on a Verizon phone and see if it can connect to AT&T LTE band 17. If not, then either there are deeper incompatibilities between the two phones, or the hardware is not able to receive that band.
THE_KINGDOM said:
Would this international version with Bands: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20. work on Rogers highest speed LTE Band 7?? EVEN though this phone is unable to connect to rogers LTE band 4???
Answers to this question will be thanked!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am inclined to say yes, except that via Samsung's website it has a disclaimer stating that the bands it supports depends on the market. Which I interpret as meaning that the supported bands depend on where you buy the phone. So perhaps if you bought the phone in a market where band 7 is utilized, it would likely work. (Assuming it's unlocked.)
evildave_666 said:
All of the major japanese LTE carriers (not counting emobile who is a minor player) operate their primary network on band 1.
Softbank bands 1/18 (and band 41 TD-LTE)
Docomo bands 1/19/21 (band 3 to come)
au bands 1/11/18
Emobile band 3
Docomo is the only carrier with the S4 (phones are bought locked, subsided via a carrier shop 99.9% of the time in Japan). The japanese variant (SC-04E) only interoperates on band 1. The radio claims band 4 support but I was never able to make it operate with T-mobile LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to Samsung's spec page on the SC-04E The phone only supports "800,1500,2100MHz" which I assume are bands 1, 19, 21 as the phone was intended for operation on Docomo which uses all 3 of those bands on their network.
If you are referring to the service mode menu when you say "the radio claims band 4 support" I have found that to be an incorrect for all of samsung's phones lately. For example, my Verizon Galaxy S4 service mode menu claims it supports bands 2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20 which is completely false as Verizon operates only on band 13 at this moment and this phone absolutely doesn't support AT&T's band 17.
camaroz28 said:
According to Samsung's spec page on the SC-04E The phone only supports "800,1500,2100MHz" which I assume are bands 1, 19, 21 as the phone was intended for operation on Docomo which uses all 3 of those bands on their network.
If you are referring to the service mode menu when you say "the radio claims band 4 support" I have found that to be an incorrect for all of samsung's phones lately. For example, my Verizon Galaxy S4 service mode menu claims it supports bands 2,3,4,5,7,8,17,20 which is completely false as Verizon operates only on band 13 at this moment and this phone absolutely doesn't support AT&T's band 17.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not gotten anything but a band 1 connection on my SC-04E, in areas with only platinum-band service (i.e. anything in the mountains) only UMTS..
evildave_666 said:
I have not gotten anything but a band 1 connection on my SC-04E, in areas with only platinum-band service (i.e. anything in the mountains) only UMTS..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not entirely sure I understand this post, but I'll try to respond anyways. From what I can tell, the platinum-band in Japan refers to any bands in the 700-900Mhz range? So for Docomo, that would be their 800MHz band 19 allocation, which according to this map, they have almost no coverage with that band (the orange parts of the map) unless you live in the Chūgoku region. Their map does not distinguish between band 1 and band 21 but, based on an article I read here, it is safe to say that there won't be significant deployments of band 21 until after March 2014, and that even then they will only be in "key metropolitan areas" according to the article.
All that is to say, that I think it's clear that the vast majority of Docomo's LTE network is deployed with band 1, so therefore it makes sense that you have only seen that band being utilized on your phone. As for the mountains, again refer to the map, they don't have much of any LTE coverage in the mountains so it makes sense that you are limited to UMTS there.
Thanks guys for this detailed info, it does bring some hope for me to use my S4 bought in the UK in the USA while I travel for a week.
So just to confirm, a Vodafone UK phone would work in T-Mobile USA network on 4G speeds?
Also, I want to know more on the Three-UK's "Feel at Home" offer - did anyone use their S4 in the USA and how was your experience with this?
you UK version will only work with T-Mobile 1900Mhz 21Mbit 3g where they use it (very few places) It won't work on 4g lte.
Bear pricing in mind. I was in the US for 5 days a few weeks back but on three. I used their new free USA roaming. Between 1 and 2 GB hspa+ and all included. Worked great on s4 i9505
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
in which cities did you get hspa network?
planetf1 said:
Bear pricing in mind. I was in the US for 5 days a few weeks back but on three. I used their new free USA roaming. Between 1 and 2 GB hspa+ and all included. Worked great on s4 i9505
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks very much for confirming! happy days :angel:
Are the bands on both the same or different. The Verizon Pixel XL seems to be lacking band 7, 12,17 26, 29, 30. Verizon has a habit of blocking essential bands so they don't work on LTE with other carriers in North America such as ATT and Tmobile. Can someone confirm? Thanks.
zboy2 said:
Are the bands on both the same or different. The Verizon Pixel XL seems to be lacking band 7, 12,17 26, 29, 30. Verizon has a habit of blocking essential bands so they don't work on LTE with other carriers in North America such as ATT and Tmobile. Can someone confirm? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All VZW LTE phones are carrier unlocked. Most of these phones have bands to work on TMO and ATT. My son used a VZW Note 3 for a few years on TMO. The VZW Pixel should have all the same bands as the Google Store version. We'll find out in a few days but I'd bet you'll be fine.
Yes all of us know verizon phones are UNLOCKED. But they DONT have ALL THE BANDS that ATT and Tmobile use. The note 3 has band 4 and 13 and lacks band 17 and 12 so if you have ATT and tmobile where they use band 12 or 17 it will revert TO 3G SPEEDS. I use ATT And VZW . If I am buying the VZW model i want FULL FUNCTIONALITY OF ALL THE BANDS that the google store Pixel xl offers. NOT THE HALF ASSED with BANDS MISSING NOTE 3 or Samsung esque like versions.
google store pixel lte bands: FDD LTE: B 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/29/30 TDD LTE 41
VZW pixel LTE BANDS 2,3,4,5,7, 13, 20,28 Missing BANDS 1,8, 12, 17, 25,26,29 and 30.
zboy2 said:
Yes all of us know verizon phones are UNLOCKED. But they DONT have ALL THE BANDS that ATT and Tmobile use. The note 3 has band 4 and 13 and lacks band 17 and 12 so if you have ATT and tmobile where they use band 12 or 17 it will revert TO 3G SPEEDS. I use ATT And VZW . If I am buying the VZW model i want FULL FUNCTIONALITY OF ALL THE BANDS that the google store Pixel xl offers. NOT THE HALF ASSED with BANDS MISSING NOTE 3 or Samsung esque like versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that but do you realize 3 years ago TMO didn't use band 12 in Chicago let alone anywhere because they didn't own the spectrum so that's a non issue. Around here TMO primary LTE band is still 4. Three years ago the VZW Note 3 worked perfectly w/ TMO, ATT I don't care about since I nver use them. The VZW Pixel will have all bands, to change that they need a different radio which isn't going to happen since Google is in charge of the software not to mention the hardware is the same for both, wait 3 days we'll see for sure.
---------- Post added at 06:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:47 PM ----------
zboy2 said:
google store pixel lte bands: FDD LTE: B 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/29/30 TDD LTE 41
VZW pixel LTE BANDS 2,3,4,5,7, 13, 20,28 Missing BANDS 1,8, 12, 17, 25,26,29 and 30.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't happen, I'd bet on it. They will be the same, VZW is known for lying a little.
They DONT need different chipsets or hardware for different bands. I am in the hardware industry. You can have the same chipset and lock different bands via different firmware. The qualcomm chips allow for that.
Can someone please confirm this? I am in the same boat as the OP. Want to use ATT Band 12/17 on the VZW model Pixel. I had to flash AT&T firmware onto my Verizon Galaxy S7 Edge in order to unlock these LTE bands. Hoping that since this is a more "vanilla" phone it may have the bands unlocked already.
I was wondering about this as well. I was going to just go to Verizon store and buy it since they have Pixel XL in stock but I am not sure if it has Band 12 for T-Mobile. Any information on this would help! Thanks guys!
Doesnt seem to be good news some guy on the pixel xl forum used att sim with the verizon pixel and only getting H+ speed. So lets see. Dont believe the PC mag article one bit. They said the boot loader was unlocked but turned out to be LOCKED.
If so how's your mobile data speeds?, Thinking of pulling the trigger but read somewhere it's missing some LTE bands that support carrier aggregation,
I would like to know answer to this as well. In my area (Philadelphia), I haven't seen band 30 (the missing band) anywhere yet.
If it's like the international version of the s7e then it will work just fine for the most part. You will be missing a few minor features like wifi calling and number sync if you happen to have an lte gear S2 or S3 which is why I went with the carrier version. I can't have my phone on me doing my job but have a toddler and my wife is expecting a call for a transplant any time now so I needed number sync to work so it would come through on my watch.
i'm using the G955FD (dual-sim) version and it's working fine on AT&T... the LTE Discovery App shows i'm using bands 2, 4 and 17. as @ProStreetCamaro said, you'll miss some of ATT's features. in my case, it's not an issue. i'm using ATT & T-Mobile in my device. @ProStreetCamaro - i hope things go well for your spouse. ).
cortez.i said:
i'm using the G955FD (dual-sim) version and it's working fine on AT&T... the LTE Discovery App shows i'm using bands 2, 4 and 17. as @ProStreetCamaro said, you'll miss some of ATT's features. in my case, it's not an issue. i'm using ATT & T-Mobile in my device. @ProStreetCamaro - i hope things go well for your spouse. ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you buy your phone? Assuming you live in us, all the online sellers only show estimated ship dates for international s8. Did it come with warranty?
Shuthefrontdoor said:
Where did you buy your phone? Assuming you live in us, all the online sellers only show estimated ship dates for international s8. Did it come with warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
purchased mine from seller in Dubai; received brand-new, unopened phone. this is the second phone i've purchased from them and the were very helpful to ensure i received a full refund from Samsung during the Note 7 fiasco. Samsung/Samsung Dubai refunded me the full purchase price +shipping. and i do live in the US/Texas .
Will the T-Mobile version work on AT&T's network? I assume that T-Mobile still doesn't require Samsung to lock the bootloader, but AT&T does. A brief look online shows each provider's version of the S8+ uses the following LTE bands:
T-Mobile: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 38, 39, 41, 66
AT&T: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41
Would I miss much by not having bands 29, 29, 30 and 40 on my phone?
DonDerham said:
Will the T-Mobile version work on AT&T's network? I assume that T-Mobile still doesn't require Samsung to lock the bootloader, but AT&T does. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both T-Mobile and AT&T versions have locked bootloaders. International version has unlocked bootloader. T-Mobile will likely work on AT&T, but VoLTE and Wifi calling will likely not work.
I'm considering getting the international euro version as well to run on AT&T. It's a real shame we have to compromise. The euro version has the better Exynos chip and the unlocked bootloader. The AT&T version has the snapdragon and of course a locked bootloader. I've heard the USA unlocked version G955U will also be bootloader locked (and snapdragon). Does anyone have a list of the features that will NOT work on AT&T by using the international euro version? I've heard WiFi calling is one of them.