According to GsmArena there is 3 Pixel 3a models: G020A, G020E, G020B
https://www.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_3a-9408.php
Anybody know (with source) what's the difference between them?
After my research, there is more models than GsmArena says. There is at least G020A/G020E/G020C/G020G
Some are with esim, some without. It's weird, I'm not sure, I thought all Pixel have the same hardware and all with esim...
Can everybody share their model name and the country where you bought it? (The model name is on the box for me (G020G - Canada)
I don't know how to find the information on the phone. In settings we can check model and serial number but there is just "Pixel 3a" for the model, but we want to know the MODEL of the Pixel 3a, not the name... I'm a little confuse...
EDIT:
What I found from Google: https://store.google.com/ca/product/pixel_3a_specs?hl=en-US
Models G020A/G020E
GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1/2/4/5/8
CDMA EVDO Rev A: BC0/BC1/BC10
LTE: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/32/38/40/41/66
Models G020C/G020G
GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1/2/4/5/8
CDMA EVDO Rev A: BC0/BC1/BC10
LTE: Bands B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/40/41/66/71
eSIM
So no esim for some devices ?
At first I though the letter model was for the location, like G020A (America) or G020E (Europe)... But after checking mine it's the letter G (G020G)... I guess there is models for America, Europe, but after that... South America? Asia?... So if someone can tell us what are exactly each models, it would be interesting, thanks.
EDIT2:
More sources:
https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7158570?hl=en&ref_topic=7530176
https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/bm0smo/unlike_pixel_3_pixel_3a_has_multiple_variants/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sprint/comments/bozldx/which_model_of_pixel_3a_do_i_need_to_buy_to/
https://www.phonemore.com/google-pixel-3a-g020g/specs/4657
https://www.phonemore.com/google-pixel-3a-g020e/specs/4655
My Clearly White is G020G--US purchased from B&H photo. Definitely has eSim.
I really don't understand how can we check in the smartphone settings what model is it (not on the box) or if it has eSim.
Purchased a white model G020F in Australia from jb hifi. No esim
G020F? Wow, how many models there is???
OK, here is what I found :
G020E : Verizon (USA)
G020G : USA, Canada
G020F : UK, Europe, APAC (International version)
G020H : Japan
It should be noted that the hardware in each is exactly the same, the difference would be subtle changes to the software. And by subtle I mean it's the same software too, but they have different info burned into the chips to tell it which model it is. Oh I'm a model "without" esim? Ok I won't offer them that option.the phone is still capable of it, but it's disabled.
Also, it shows in settings>about phone>regulatory info
pbanj said:
It should be noted that the hardware in each is exactly the same, the difference would be subtle changes to the software. And by subtle I mean it's the same software too, but they have different info burned into the chips to tell it which model it is. Oh I'm a model "without" esim? Ok I won't offer them that option.the phone is still capable of it, but it's disabled.
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Click to collapse
I don't think that it's only software, because there is the same factory image for Pixel 3a avaiable for download from Google. And there is more differences than just eSim enabled, there is also LTE bands.
smartuser8 said:
I don't think that it's only software, because there is the same factory image for Pixel 3a avaiable for download from Google. And there is more differences than just eSim enabled, there is also LTE bands.
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The bands can be enabled and disabled with software. If a band isn't used in a specific country.
They can set "IDs" in the nand. So while every phone has the same hardware, the ID set in the nand would then tell the software what is and isn't enabled. They can also do it with efuses, they used to use them back in the day for the "dev" edition of phones.
"The bands can be enabled and disabled with software"
Who can do this? Who can officially change the software so deep and change the name of the model? Who can edit nand infos that it shows G020X instead of G020Y?
If WE can do this, if we can convert at 100% a G020G to a G020F, then OK we can tell it's just software. But if ONLY GOOGLE can do this (and will never do it)... it can be (FOR ME) considered as HARDWARE differences. Because, come on... if there is nand with hard coded on them "G020X" and we can't change it... at a CONSUMER level, it's like hardware difference.
It's like, if there is a car model A and B (A for the USA, B for Europe), one is limited at XXXMPH and the other at YYYMPH. Even if you say it's the same model because there is a chip with hard coded on it model A or B... And? For the consumer, there is 2 models.
You say yourself " they have different info burned into the chips"... So this is like a hardware difference, even if this is the "same" ships, the infos burned into the chips are NOT the same >>> so there are NOT the same chips. I mean, this is the same hardware in the factory, BEFORE they burn the DIFFERENT informations. But when it's done, chips are not the same anymore.
EDIT: If there is a tool for convert any model into an other (burning infos into the chips) it would be very interesting. Because I remember long time ago, for converting a Nexus 5 D820 into a D821, we needed to change motherboard, so software or not, if I have to change motherboard for a change, I consider that as hardware.
My black and purple 3a's are G020G. They were purchased from the Google store in the US.
smartuser8 said:
"The bands can be enabled and disabled with software"
Who can do this? Who can officially change the software so deep and change the name of the model? Who can edit nand infos that it shows G020X instead of G020Y?
If WE can do this, if we can convert at 100% a G020G to a G020F, then OK we can tell it's just software. But if ONLY GOOGLE can do this (and will never do it)... it can be (FOR ME) considered as HARDWARE differences. Because, come on... if there is nand with hard coded on them "G020X" and we can't change it... at a CONSUMER level, it's like hardware difference.
It's like, if there is a car model A and B (A for the USA, B for Europe), one is limited at XXXMPH and the other at YYYMPH. Even if you say it's the same model because there is a chip with hard coded on it model A or B... And? For the consumer, there is 2 models.
You say yourself " they have different info burned into the chips"... So this is like a hardware difference, even if this is the "same" ships, the infos burned into the chips are NOT the same >>> so there are NOT the same chips. I mean, this is the same hardware in the factory, BEFORE they burn the DIFFERENT informations. But when it's done, chips are not the same anymore.
EDIT: If there is a tool for convert any model into an other (burning infos into the chips) it would be very interesting. Because I remember long time ago, for converting a Nexus 5 D820 into a D821, we needed to change motherboard, so software or not, if I have to change motherboard for a change, I consider that as hardware.
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Click to collapse
If there were hardware differences they would need different fw. By your logic, not being able to change the bootlogo would be hardware and not software. If you have two chips and they have different code on them, the hardware is still the same. Just the code on them is different. Efuses would technically be a hardware change but only because different fuses would be blown. The chips themselves would still be the same besides the difference in blown efuses. A good example of this is the old dev phones. They were the exact same hardware and software than the non dev ones minus the fuse state. For some people were able to find exploits to blow the fuse and tell the software "hey this is a dev phone, let them unlock the bootloader". the thing is though once you blow an efuse, you can't "unblow" it.
All the pixel 3as have the same SOC, same modem, etc...
Yes I know, I said at a consumer level, this is like hardware difference. Not the same name on the box, on the chips, different LTE bands, etc... I'm just saying that it's not because it's the "same hardware" that we can't say there is "different models".
Related
I just wanted to check what the actual difference is between UK Spec, Euro Spec and America spec phones. The only thing i can think of is the frequencies, which is made pretty redundant with quad band. That is especially true in relation to UK to USA, but what about UK v Europe? They do they use the same or slightly different frequencies?
NB i've looked on wiki and there is too much UTMS etc talk for me to understand.
Thanks in advance!
lord_melchett said:
I just wanted to check what the actual difference is between UK Spec, Euro Spec and America spec phones. The only thing i can think of is the frequencies, which is made pretty redundant with quad band. That is especially true in relation to UK to USA, but what about UK v Europe? They do they use the same or slightly different frequencies?
NB i've looked on wiki and there is too much UTMS etc talk for me to understand.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Frequency and the kind of services that you may get from your provider. For example, mos devices that come to the US are crippled one way or another depending on the carrier that they are going for. The Raphael (Touch Pro) is supposed to have a front camera for video calling. I cannot think of a single phone in the whole US market with this feature...
Having said that, this is US vs rest of the world (pretty much). Now, UK vs Europe... there shouldn't be too many fundamental differences (IMHO). Hope this helps...
Hi all
I just got this phone for use in Italy, and am now waiting for my unlock code to come through.
Meanwhile, and as the main question, I wonder if it ever will be a way to turn on the WCDMA 900 band that we use here (along with WCDMA 2100), since it's not supported out of the box, being an American phone.
I would like it to be a 900/2100 phone, instead of 850/1900/2100.
I'm sure the phone supports it (being much newer than my current Motorola Defy that's able to do it), it just has to be unlocked somewhere.
Any info is appreciated!
Thank you
thenext1 said:
Hi all
I just got this phone for use in Italy, and am now waiting for my unlock code to come through.
Meanwhile, and as the main question, I wonder if it ever will be a way to turn on the WCDMA 900 band that we use here (along with WCDMA 2100), since it's not supported out of the box, being an American phone.
I would like it to be a 900/2100 phone, instead of 850/1900/2100.
I'm sure the phone supports it (being much newer than my current Motorola Defy that's able to do it), it just has to be unlocked somewhere.
Any info is appreciated!
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but that is not possible as the hardware does not have those radio antennas in the phone. This is ONLY a GSM/HSDPA+ phone not a WCDMA phone. There is not a way to change that since it is a hardware antenna change.
jimbridgman said:
Sorry, but that is not possible as the hardware does not have those radio antennas in the phone. This is ONLY a GSM/HSDPA+ phone not a WCDMA phone. There is not a way to change that since it is a hardware antenna change.
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Click to collapse
As far as i know (pretty sure on this), all 3/3.5G is WCDMA. HSDPA(+) is WCDMA. WCDMA is just the name of a RF modulation, and 850, 900, 1900, 2100 are just the bands the protocol can run on.
In fact my question could just be translated to: as these settings are stored in the baseband rom, we need to flash an alternative baseband to enable those, or discover where they are set.
I guess a motorola phone similar enough to the A2 (i.e. same.hardware) should suffice as a "donor" phone for the baseband rom. May be an ipothetic european A2 of the future.
Has a phone like this been found yet?
thenext1 said:
As far as i know (pretty sure on this), all 3/3.5G is WCDMA. HSDPA(+) is WCDMA. WCDMA is just the name of a RF modulation, and 850, 900, 1900, 2100 are just the bands the protocol can run on.
In fact my question could just be translated to: as these settings are stored in the baseband rom, we need to flash an alternative baseband to enable those, or discover where they are set.
I guess a motorola phone similar enough to the A2 (i.e. same.hardware) should suffice as a "donor" phone for the baseband rom. May be an ipothetic european A2 of the future.
Has a phone like this been found yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardware on A2 does not support this, the antenna is not setup to capture these frequencies. Just because the baseband is in the rom does not mean that you can change the hardware.... Yes technically all 3G boils down to WCDMA or CDMA technology, but there are major operating differences between even the different spectrum in them. The issue you have is that the phone is not going to be able to capture those on the hardware layer. It is similar to trying to get am radio signals on an FM radio, with an FM antenna.
Well I hope you are wrong
I think (hope) motorola has put an universal antenna on the atrix 2, it'd be anti economic to do otherwise.
BTW, 850, 900 the antenna differences surely are minimal.
It sounds more like as a RF chipset limitation on the simultaneous bands used... like three of em. "Tri-band umts".
As with the good old gsm phones marketed as tri- or quad-band, like my v525, the actual bands used were depending on where you lived.
All of this, i hope...
Did you buy an MB865, or an ME865, as they have two totally different antennas. mostly we discuss the MB865 in here.... and I can tell you that there is no way to change the MB865, because it setup that way on purpose, and locked to AT&T's signals via the antenna and wireless chipset, by Motorola. The ME865 might be a better choice I think there are two versions of that one, one is the Chinese version and the other is more international.
ME865 it's for asia only. Motorola phones found over here follow the MB nomenclature. I have got an at&t MB865.
Anyway if a €300 phone (defy) can do that, I don't see why motorola would have chosen to spare on a $ .5 part on a €550 phone (euro price tag estimation), and have to redo a whole new pcb layout if the MB865 ever comes to the old world. Even taking into account the at&t exclusivity. It's anti economic for them.
Btw I don't want to be right at all cost, please don't misunderstand my words. ;-)
Also if you look at pdadb you will find two.models, mb865 and mb865a.
I don't know if they're both real or not, but they are identical specs-wise the only exception being the lack of wcdma900 band on the "a" version.
If such version actually comes to market, i guess a baseband transplantation could be done...
Forgive me if this is a trivial question, but since European carriers such as Vodafone and O2 Germany also have the dual-core version of the HOX, is it possible to flash a european radio and use the European LTE frequencies? Or are the frequency bands hard-coded into the chipset?
It was my assumption that the US and European LTE variants used the same hardware components, but were just set up to use different LTE bands.
Frequency support is set in hardware.
redpoint73 said:
Frequency support is set in hardware.
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Thinking more about this, I'm still not convinced it's impossible to flash a european radio on the HOX to swap LTE bands. Unless the physical antenna is different, I'd think that it's a possibility.
With my other phone, the Samsung Skyrocket, we can flash T-Mobile radios to gain support for the 1700 AWS band. The chipset supports it, and it just took a radio flash to activate it. AFAIK, you can't use 1700 and LTE though - that or a radio with support for both doesn't exist.
I guess it depends on what chipset the German One XL uses..but I'll wait to see if someone has luck before I risk my own One X.
The hardware is different, as I already said.
The Skyrocket (and a few other AT&T phones, like the Galaxy Note) included the AWS band in hardware (likely due to the now defunct merger with T-Mobile that was going on at the time). The hardware was there, but AWS was simply not enabled in software. Hacks to make AWS work on these phones just enabled the software side for what is already supported in hardware. Without the hardware already being there, no amount of radio flashing will create support for frequencies not already there.
Its possible that some bands are "hidden" in the same way that AWS was for the Skyrocket. Lots of folks here on T-Mobile are hoping the same AWS support is possible on our phone. But if the hardware is not already there (such as for different LTE bands, as you are asking for), you can't make it happen by flashing radios. In the case of AWS, AT&T had a reason for including support (T-Mobile merger). They don't have a reason for including support for LTE bands willy-nilly, just for the sake of doing so, without any tangible (monetary) reason.
I bought the american version of the Nexus 5 even though I am on the middle east (for price reasons). Since the snapdragon 800 chip support all LTE bands techniclly speaking, could I activate certain ones to work for me through firmware or modem modification?
Not at the moment,
There are people who believe that it will never be possible due to RF hardware differences between EU and US models.
There are people who believe that a modem firmware hack might unlock some LTE bands in the future.
Well I was hoping for a onesided, positive reply, but I guess you are right, we will wait and see.
What was the case on other Snapdragon 800 phones, were they able to activate it?
I'm only aware of few cases where some RF Bands could be activated/deactivated via an engineering menu.
I have never heard of a case when someone successfully hacked modem firmware and added new RF Bands.
Does anybody succeed trying this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro...ad-progress-please-leave-im-updating-t2871269 ?
Should work for any Qualcomm based device like Nexus 5.
Thanks for any feedback.
michelD said:
Does anybody succeed trying this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro...ad-progress-please-leave-im-updating-t2871269 ?
Should work for any Qualcomm based device like Nexus 5.
Thanks for any feedback.
Click to expand...
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No the program is banned. Besides we already have most the LTE bands on 2 versions. If they could fit them all on they would have done. Maximum 7 LTE bands
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
What do you mean by "the program is banned"??
Yes indeed there are 2 versions, but I purched my nexus 5 when I was in US and I am now in Europe!
So you can easily understand my interest for this topic...
michelD said:
What do you mean by "the program is banned"??
Yes indeed there are 2 versions, but I purched my nexus 5 when I was in US and I am now in Europe!
So you can easily understand my interest for this topic...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) never said there wasn't reason for your interest
2) it isn't possible to add European bands to US version. If it was, there would be no need for US version. Limitation on nexus 5 is physical. Maximum 7 bands.
3) the link you provided is for a program that is banned on XDA. You van tell that by reading the thread
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Add 3G and LTE bands to your phone
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fffft said:
Interesting. Can you elaborate on why there might be a "physical" limitation of 7 bands on the Nexus 5? That would be an unusual finding in a recent handset. It's certainly not the case with most current phones e.g. I've enabled dozens of additional bands on my Samsung S5 and others have done the same on various HTC, Sony, LG, etc phones.
If you have any details or a source, that would be appreciated.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a limitation of the WTR1605L ref receiver. 7 bands. Actually this was the first (making the msm8974 the first) to be able to do 7. 5 was the previous Max, hence why there used to be a million versions of Samsung galaxy devices
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6541/the-state-of-qualcomms-modems-wtr1605-and-mdm9x25/2
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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fffft said:
Thank you for the informative reply. You are right of course and I see now where the confusion is arising as well. As you said, the previous max was five bands as in a pentaband phone. And the WTR1605L now supports 7 bands as in a heptband phone. Three bands below 1 Ghz, three bands above and one band at 2.5 Ghz. Bands meaning spectrum frequency segments e.g. 700/800/900/1700/1800/2100/2600 Mhz.
The confusion and this is ironic as well is that 3GPP, the organization who defines the GSM standard also uses the term band to refer to something confusingly different i.e. intra-band segments. And that usage while seemingly ill advised has become ubiquitous. So a band without a context can refer to the contigous 800 Mhz segement. Or half a dozen subsets of it, each of those subsets also being an officially designated 3GPP "band" as well.
When you look at the specs for a given phone, the term bands is often used in the latter sense. For example, the S5 uses the same WTR1605L chip and is obstensibly a 7 band phone as well. And it is indeed limited to 7 "major" bands for lack of a better description. But the specs appear to show the S5 as supporting 16 "bands" i.e. eight LTE "bands", four 3G "bands" and four 2G "bands". And our NV edits can enable dozens more "bands" in the way that carriers refer to them.
Anyway, suffice it to say that rootSU is absolutely correct that the hardware is limited to seven "bands". And at the same time, we can still add dozens of discrete "bands" in the sense that the carriers use the term. Yeah it is confusing.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can see on the box of the D820, what would appear to be 9 bands, but they all fall within the 7
However, since we have no solid documentation, we cannot still add dozens or even 1 carrier used-term. Its closed source.
Edit > but there is no real benefit to having a d820 and a d821 if they could get everything on the same die.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
..
As the title suggests, if a phone is listed as FDD-LTE 700MHz compatible, would that imply it'll work on T-Mobile's 700MHz Band 12? I am often confused with this band as it seems there's various other bands within the 700MHz frequency. So there's no positive way of knowing if it supports the band 12. For instance, I've been looking to find a cheap alternative phone (from China mainly) that might have support of LTE 700MHz so I can take advantage of T-Mobile's latest band, but I'm not sure on if it'd work. Couple examples of some phones are here:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Foxconn-Infocus-M2-Phone-4G-LTE-FDD-Qualcomn-MSM8926-Quad-Core-Android-4-4-4/32323996202.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Iocean-M6752-4G-FDD-LTE-Mobile-Phone-MTK6752-Octa-Core-5-5-Inch-1920X1080FHD-3GB/32297288429.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Huawei-Ascend-Mate-2-Unlocked-4G-FDD-LTE-Android-Mobile-phone-Quad-Core-IPS-HD/2043526871.html
That's just 3 out of a list of them found on Aliexpress. They all say FDD-LTE 700MHz. My gut is telling me the 700MHz it lists is for some frequency that China uses and wouldn't make a difference if used in the US. Just needed some helpful clarification. Thanks.
brian117 said:
As the title suggests, if a phone is listed as FDD-LTE 700MHz compatible, would that imply it'll work on T-Mobile's 700MHz Band 12? I am often confused with this band as it seems there's various other bands within the 700MHz frequency.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't. Most probably not, anyway.
When a frequency is listed as "700MHz", it's actually an approximation. For example, T-Mobile's band 12 is 700MHz Block A, which is 728–734MHz, whereas Verizon's band 13 is 700MHz Block C, which is 740–746MHz. This might vary from region to region too.
Most likely the phones you're looking at are compatible with 700MHz band 28, since this is commonly used in SE Asia and Oceana, along with the other bands they're listed to support. The Ascend Mate 2 you linked to however appears to support band 17 700MHz, which is an AT&T band, which would make sense as it also supports band 4, common in North America.
If you want a cheaper phone that has band 12 support, the newer ones from T-Mobile support it (or will, with a software update). Galaxy Avant, ZTE ZMax, the upcoming LG Leon LTE, for example.
Planterz said:
It won't. Most probably not, anyway.
When a frequency is listed as "700MHz", it's actually an approximation. For example, T-Mobile's band 12 is 700MHz Block A, which is 728–734MHz, whereas Verizon's band 13 is 700MHz Block C, which is 740–746MHz. This might vary from region to region too.
Most likely the phones you're looking at are compatible with 700MHz band 28, since this is commonly used in SE Asia and Oceana, along with the other bands they're listed to support. The Ascend Mate 2 you linked to however appears to support band 17 700MHz, which is an AT&T band, which would make sense as it also supports band 4, common in North America.
If you want a cheaper phone that has band 12 support, the newer ones from T-Mobile support it (or will, with a software update). Galaxy Avant, ZTE ZMax, the upcoming LG Leon LTE, for example.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that is exactly what I thought. I understand the phones from T-Mobile will support the new band but I was looking for maybe possible cheaper alternatives than brand name phones to take advantage of it. I haven't heard of the LG Leon though, I will check that out. Thanks for the kind reply. I was expecting some "lol no dumbass it won't work" reply as this in General discussion.
brian117 said:
Thanks, that is exactly what I thought. I understand the phones from T-Mobile will support the new band but I was looking for maybe possible cheaper alternatives than brand name phones to take advantage of it. I haven't heard of the LG Leon though, I will check that out. Thanks for the kind reply. I was expecting some "lol no dumbass it won't work" reply as this in General discussion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Leon isn't out yet, and only vague specs are available. No specifics on what the processor is, but I'd guess SD400 or 410. I'd expect it to be around $200-250, but that's just a guess. If it's more than $250, I'd say it's not worth it considering the low-res FWVGA screen.
It also occurs to me that the new 2015 Moto E LTE has band 12 support. 64bit Snapdragon 410, 1gb RAM, 8gb storage, microSD slot, qHD screen, and a relatively large battery. Honestly, I'd rather have this than either of those cheapo Chinese ones (yes, I know Motorola is Chinese now...). For $150 from Amazon, it's a pretty damn good deal.