edited to add: Before someone boots this post because of a reason like this: "This subsection is for T-Mobile US (G930T), you should ask in the general S7 forums."
These kind of questions are also asked over there in general S7 forums and the response is CRICKETS! I suspect that is because those forums are not T-Mobile forums. See? /rant
The G930F is the International version of the S7. It's the hardware model with the Exynos processor, with the radio hardware to run just about every mobile band under the sun, BUT comes with MANY different baseband/software combinations out there in the world, so they are not all alike, and some may work well on T-Mobile, and some may not.
Therefore, this is a difficult question, I guess, because few people running these phones realize that one G930F is not necessarily like the next, because of differing baseband versions, and differing softwares (that may or may not allow things like wifi calling or volte).
What baseband version numbers and software build numbers are folks running on their G930F, and how well is it working for you on T-Mobile?
My baseband is G930FXXU1BPJJ (which seems to be India ??) and the build number is MMB29K.G930FXXU1BPLB (Brazil? these regions are according to samsung-firmware.org). This is the Android 6.0.1 that came with it when I purchased it from Newegg in California about a year ago. I seem to get LTE connection in most places in Atlanta, and speed tests are okay (30Mbps),
.... but I think there may be a much better baseband fit for T-Mobile USA. But who knows?
We need data!
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morning guys
I've seen a few threads about buying in the US and using the N5 in different countries and the fact that although you can use it for 3G/GSM, being able to use 4G LTE is a no go due to the bands that are utilised.
Does/Would anyone know if this is changeable due to the radio being used or would it be a hardware matter as to me it would seem abit odd to produce 2 different phones using the same form factor where a piece of software enabling the bands would be more cost efficient. I appreciate that the software etc is probably being looked at by Dev's now but was wondering if anyone with previous knowledge of this would know.
Only reason I ask is as I'm in the US at the moment (the 32Gb works out considerably cheaper than in the UK) and the area I live in (in the UK) hasn't got 4G (and probably won't have for a while), whether or not to purchase one and then wait for a radio change, but if thats not possible I'll have to go with the expensive UK version
thanks for you help
There are two Nexus 5 models, the D820 (for the U.S) & D821 (for the rest of the world. According to this article by Android Central, it seems that there is a physical difference between the radios installed in each model. So I don't think you would have the option of flashing a radio from a D821 on to a D820 and suddenly have access to UK/European LTE bands. I'm no expert though so maybe others could confirm/deny this.
I too would like to know the same thing (hoping to take advantage of relatives in the US )
However reading around a bit I think it's a hardware limitation. They use the same software on the phones, but they enable the different LTE bands built into the hardware.
Pretty sure no amount of flashing radios will enable the different LTE bands...I'd love to be wrong though.
Shame, even after sales tax the saving would have been worth it. Might have to bite the bullet and buy UK price £££££££££
For those of you running this handset in North America on AT&T, and assuming you are still running stock images, have you found a particular CSC\firmware image that works well for you? Via Sammobile, seems like the very latest build was only released for a few region variants (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal) and I'm not sure which of these (or another if I should really be running something older) would be best to use here.
Also, and I know it's been asked and answered extensively on the Samsung boards, but I still find the plethora of regional variants (and no real "generic" option for folks like me operating a 925I on a carrier that Samsung didn't intend for it run on) pretty baffling. Does anyone really know what's the true difference between many of them? I know that some might lock\unlock different features, while others might have a regionally\carrier optimized modem build, or both. But how to go figuring all that out...?
I'm keenly interested to try Samsung Pay when it rolls out here, but concerned that my model\build will prevent me from doing this.
Not sure if this should be here or in the the Verizon S7 forum. I have an offer for a Verizon S7 at a really good price, but long term I think I want to stay with AT&T for compatibility reasons. Does anyone know if the Verizon S7 can be set to make use of all of AT&T's bands? I've seen conflicting answers on if it would be possible or not. Then again, maybe I should just bite the bullet and switch carriers, but I'm not quite ready to do that.
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks
nnvpears said:
Not sure if this should be here or in the the Verizon S7 forum. I have an offer for a Verizon S7 at a really good price, but long term I think I want to stay with AT&T for compatibility reasons. Does anyone know if the Verizon S7 can be set to make use of all of AT&T's bands? I've seen conflicting answers on if it would be possible or not. Then again, maybe I should just bite the bullet and switch carriers, but I'm not quite ready to do that.
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks
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All of the US phones have the same chipset which means all of the phones should have the same bands available . It is up to the carrier to decide which one to use and I believe there shouldn't be much difference between carriers, although I don't live in the US so I may not be 100% correct. So the best place to post this thread would be at the Verizon forum, because this one is meant for the international version.
From what I've experienced it's not to terribly bad, and from what I've read verizon doesn't have support band 12 and 29, which AT&T uses band 12 predominantly which sucks but what are our other options at the moment?
Hello
I'm looking at replacing my S4 with an S7. My carrier in the US is AT&T and that won't be changing. I've been looking at different unlocked versions and can't find a solid representation of what the real world differences are. I know they have different processors. Some say a band is missing, but does that matter. I don't use android or samsung pay, but i know there is a difference here too. I found one comment about some kind of samsung 'coverage' plan, but what is that?
Best Buy has US unlocked phones for about $700. B&H Photo has an International phone for about $640. Its a lot of money either way. Is one phone really better or different than that other?
I am planning a trip through Canada and maybe to Europe. I assume either would take a SIM from those areas and I could avoid getting raped by international fees.
Here is a summary of question I can think of:
Does the US unlocked phone from BestBuy have a warranty or insurance or anything like that?
Can the US phone be rooted. I only do this to remove apps I don't use.
Is the hardware one vs the other really better or just different?
Does a dual SIM do anything useful?
Does a band being missing make a real world difference?
Is there a good comparison somewhere to that can decide on a phone to purchase?
It comes with a limited warranty as stated on their site:
"This device is not warrantied through the manufacturer. This device has a limited 1 year warranty provided by CCR Warranty. To obtain technical or warranty assistance, please contact CCR Warranty at 866-579-8436."
What I don't know is how useful/limited that warranty is. I'd like the HTC 10 but the unlocked S7 is my runner up, and the warranty issue is one of the major factors in my hesitation.
I do believe it can be rooted.
As far as I know, through research, the only major difference between the two is battery life.
Hello, I'll just go straight to the answers.
1. I'm going to assume that if you go through a carrier (att, t-mobile etc etc.) they will offer an insurance plan. You will have to go to third party insurance for the international version
2. As far I know, the US version does not have a root option yet. Because of the locked bootloader.
3. Hardware will depend on which version you choose. Both are very good.
4. Dual sim is as the name implies, you'll be able to use 2 separate sim cards with their respective #s. that's the only benefit really.
5. Missing radio bands is something you may have to do some research on depending your location.
6. I'm sure YouTube or some online site will have some reviews/comparison of both.
I just looked at the best buy website again and something is different. The S7 listed for $690 is definitely the international version and not the US version. When I looked last month I was positive that the phone was listed as a US phone ... huh
A little late
a little late to the thread but just wanted to share what I learned while researching the matter.
There is an US unlocked version of the S7 (g930u) and available through a few places (Best Buy, B&H, Ebay). It goes for $679.99 retail and I have not been able to find one that goes for less. Probably because it just came out end of June. The biggest benefit of it is that it has a bunch of bands and CDMA-compatible. Thus, you can get full connection with AT&T and TMobile. Downside is no wifi calling or VOLTE (as those seem to be locked by the carriers to their own phones).
The international versions (930f/930fd) are both available on Ebay/Swappa for about $500. Upside are that they have the Exnyos chip and no bloatware. You can also root and flash them with new ROM. Another thing is that you get updates earlier. I got Marshmallow on my s6 a month or so before AT&T released its update. Downsides are no Samsung Pay or WiFi Calling/VOLTE and the biggie...missing bands. I had a g920i and it was missing support for bands 29 and 30 on AT&T...this led to poor LTE and indoor reception at times. I would have to turn on/off the mobile data switch sometimes to get good connection.
Finally, we have carrier based versions, which loads you down with bloatware and has the Snapdragon chip. But, it does support all features of your carrier. Slower updates also an issue and lack of support of all bands internationally are additional drawbacks. Cost is also about $500.
Personally, I am going with an unlocked 930a. Bloatware sucks but I can delete or disable almost all of them. Snapdragon seems pretty powerful to me. Samsung Pay, Wifi Calling, and Band support are just too important for me. Note, make sure you ask the seller on Ebay/Swappa about whether the phone is unlocked.
Hope that helps.
I did a lot of research into this before buying my S7 but was kind of screwed since I'm on Verizon (CDMA)...
Since you're on AT&T you have more options.
There are two different processors in the two different models, Snapdragon 820 in the US CDMA capable and an Eyxnos in the International GSM ONLY phone.
After doing my research, I personally recommend the Eyxnos, which I couldn't get :/
If for nothing else, better battery life, by far. Do some research into the comparison between the two.
However! When buying from Best Buy be careful!
Last I checked, on their website, the black/onyx S7 was an unlocked US Snapdragon 820 phone.... while strangely enough the other two, gold and silver? were both unlocked US (actually international) Eyxnos phones.
Also, last I checked Samsung themselves only sell the CDMA snapdragon processor model to the US.
Unless Best Buy made a mistake listing the Eyxnos processor, it is the only way to get that model without buying an "internationally sourced" phone on ebay.
Just a few notes:
1) The G930u is fully compatible with all the US Carriers
2) VoLTE works on both T-Mobile and Verizon
3) Wi-Fi Calling works on T-Mobile and potentially Verizon (but I am not positive about Verizon).
The big downside to the G930u is that for whatever reason it is not receiving updates from Samsung when its branded siblings are.
Hi - several months ago I read a lot about choosing between Exynos (intnl through Best Buy) and Snapdragon/AT&T.
It seemed there were a few tradeoffs to consider.
First and foremost people said the Exynos performance and battery life were better, but then once the Exynos phones received a software update around May they started exhibiting the battery drain issue that seemed to be plaguing Snapdragon phones. So much so that numerous people were recommending flashing back to a previous update version to avoid the battery drain bug. Reading through the forums I havent been able to figure out whether these problems have been sorted out and corrected on either phone?
I also recall that the international version did not have ability to use Samsung Pay in the US? I cant understand based on the threads I have read whether this is now in fact possible?
I Have also read varying things on the data performance on AT&T networks of the international version. It seems people have concluded that certain functions may not work but that generally 4G LTE speeds and network reception should be the same.
Is this a good summary? I would love any thoughts or advice on deciding between these two models.
Thanks.
Exynos International all the way, faster phone, unlockable bootloader with a couple of settings changes, more development support
I own that phone and there is no battery drain running the latest firmware
Thanks for the quick feedback. Do you run that phone on AT&T with no issues?
Is Samsung Pay usable yet on that phone?
I was in the same position and went with the AT&T version. International version (G930F/G930FD) does not have full band support for AT&T (no 29 or 30), no Samsung Pay, and no Wifi Calling/VoLTE.
I had an international S6 and would lose connection at times. The lack of Samsung Pay was also annoying. The lack of bloatware was nice but you can uninstall/disable most of them.
lirong said:
Thanks for the quick feedback. Do you run that phone on AT&T with no issues?
Is Samsung Pay usable yet on that phone?
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No, I'm in the UK, sorry didn't realise you wanted to use it on AT&T, just wondering between the two different models
If you can get full support for AT&T's services, the Exynos would be the best option