I'm thinking about buying an unlocked Vibrant to use on AT&T, will the 3G work on AT&T network? Thanks.
Yes utilizing UMTS Band II 1900 MHz
lqaddict said:
Yes utilizing UMTS Band II 1900 MHz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the rumor going around the internet that you can only use At&t 1900mhz on the Vibrant is false.
The vibrant can also utilize wcdma 850mhz. So you should have no problems picking up both 3G signals from At&t.
I will work on making a how to video that shows how to make the vibrant pick up the wcdma 850, takes litterly 2 minutes to do.
Remember, you might run into other annoying problems such as setting up visual voicemail to work with At&t.
SamsungVibrant said:
Actually, the rumor going around the internet that you can only use At&t 1900mhz on the Vibrant is false.
The vibrant can also utilize wcdma 850mhz. So you should have no problems picking up both 3G signals from At&t.
I will work on making a how to video that shows how to make the vibrant pick up the wcdma 850, takes litterly 2 minutes to do.
Remember, you might run into other annoying problems such as setting up visual voicemail to work with At&t.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw Band V in the service menu, but I had no luck enabling it, so it seems; here in NYC ATT is using UMTS Band II and the Vibrant has no issues picking it up, I am getting upward to 3Mb/s down speeds
Here's an entire thread dedicated to it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=735461 I was one of the non-believers until I tried an ATT SIM in my unlocked Vibrant.
lqaddict said:
I saw Band V in the service menu, but I had no luck enabling it, so it seems; here in NYC ATT is using UMTS Band II and the Vibrant has no issues picking it up, I am getting upward to 3Mb/s down speeds
Here's an entire thread dedicated to it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=735461 I was one of the non-believers until I tried an ATT SIM in my unlocked Vibrant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm interesting thread, similar to what we are doing.
So are you saying you are not able to pick up the wcdma 850 (FDD V) band? We set this up on a friends phone, with his At&t sim, it works.
Can you try setting your phone to wcdma 850 only, and drive to a location that has 850 signal, then check under basic information, you should be getting at&t 850 3g.
vietphunguyen said:
I'm thinking about buying an unlocked Vibrant to use on AT&T, will the 3G work on AT&T network? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dear Vietphunguyen, there seems to be controversy. We know for certain the vibrant can pick up att 3g signal using 1900 band, but the question is, what about 850. Me and a friend believe the vibrant can also get 850, but that link the other poster provided is something to note also.
Be safe, don't purchase the vibrant yet, until we test this more. 2 make sure you can pick up both 1900 and 850 bands.
I dont know much about the Vibrant just yet, but if its anything like the iPhone on TMO's towers, it might not work. The problem was with ATT using a single band for 3g (1900mhz) to send the recieve but TMO uses 2 bands, 1 to send and 1 to recieve... If this helps at all I dunno! lol
Apexsilverevo said:
I dont know much about the Vibrant just yet, but if its anything like the iPhone on TMO's towers, it might not work. The problem was with ATT using a single band for 3g (1900mhz) to send the recieve but TMO uses 2 bands, 1 to send and 1 to recieve... If this helps at all I dunno! lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, just to clarify, for people visiting this thread.
At&t uses 2 differend 3G bands, one is 1900mhz and the other is 850 mhz. At&t is starting to implement 850 towers. Naturally, you would want a phone that picks up both bands.
Now, we know for CERTAIN, the VIbrant will 100 percent pick up At&t 3G 1900mhz signals. The question is, which we are uncertain of, will the Vibrant also pick up 850mhz band 3G signal, incase you hapen to drive to an at&t area that only has this band.
clearer?
Related
Ok so i bought the vibrant, unlocked it, and inserted my att 3g sim. the issue is im only getting edge speed when my phone is 3g capable. any ideas to correct that? Like creating an apn of some sort?
Thanx!
im about 50 percent sure that at&t and t-mob use different frequencys or something for their 3g signals so they are not compatable, same thing happend with the nexus one and its 3g on at&t if my memory is correct
bweed83 said:
im about 50 percent sure that at&t and t-mob use different frequencys or something for their 3g signals so they are not compatable, same thing happend with the nexus one and its 3g on at&t if my memory is correct
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this.
Agree. U need to swap it for samsung captiva. The att galaxy s.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
my only working theory is that the 1900mhz freq isnt as widespread as the 850mhz freq, as the vibrant uses 1900. (i think). so that may be it. but i ask only because some commenter on a diff forum mentioned the need to create a 3g apn.
ps. the captivate is too boxy for me. idk why att changed it
Those are at&&&-t frequencys tmob is 1700 and 2100 I think so if our antenna only picks up those iy wont ever work on at-t's network
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
muncher879 said:
my only working theory is that the 1900mhz freq isnt as widespread as the 850mhz freq, as the vibrant uses 1900. (i think). so that may be it. but i ask only because some commenter on a diff forum mentioned the need to create a 3g apn.
ps. the captivate is too boxy for me. idk why att changed it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not how widespread it is. They use different frequencies so your phone won't pick up the ATT 3G signals at all. Edge is 2G.
But I've seen one person on the forum claim that he did it. You can pm him/her on how to do it.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
The Vibrant is capable of AT&T's 3G over the 1900mhz spectrum... if you live in a area where AT&T is only using the 850mhz spec... you will not get 3G.
muncher879 said:
Ok so i bought the vibrant, unlocked it, and inserted my att 3g sim. the issue is im only getting edge speed when my phone is 3g capable. any ideas to correct that? Like creating an apn of some sort?
Thanx!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HEY, don't listen to these guys. You can get both wcdma 1900 and wcdma 850 on the vibrant, don't worry, you will be able to get at&t 3G on your phone!
I'll show you how when I have time, maybe this weekend.
eortizr said:
The Vibrant is capable of AT&T's 3G over the 1900mhz spectrum... if you live in a area where AT&T is only using the 850mhz spec... you will not get 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you gave the poor guy wrong information, the vibrant is capable of at&t 3g over 1900 AND 850
Having the same issue
I also am only getting Edge signal on my unlocked vibrant. When I run a 1MB speed test at mobilespeedtest.com it says I am downloading at 2581 kbps which, according to their chart, is a little more than the average 4g speed. Very weird. I also can't download any apps but I am searching for a thread on that.
bmwdoc2002 said:
I also am only getting Edge signal on my unlocked vibrant. When I run a 1MB speed test at mobilespeedtest.com it says I am downloading at 2581 kbps which, according to their chart, is a little more than the average 4g speed. Very weird. I also can't download any apps but I am searching for a thread on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm confused, you said you are getting edge signal, but your speed test shows 2.581mbps? thats 3g speeds.
by the way, you can make the vibrant pick up both att 1900 and 850 signals.
you own a bmw and you are a doctor?
SamsungVibrant said:
i'm confused, you said you are getting edge signal, but your speed test shows 2.581mbps? thats 3g speeds.
by the way, you can make the vibrant pick up both att 1900 and 850 signals.
you own a bmw and you are a doctor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on an unlocked Vibrant right now. I live in the baltimore area and I am getting full 3g on a friends borrowed att sim. I get faster speeds on his att than I get on my own tmobile.
When I unlocked my phone, I used the wife's SIM card on my Vibrant and was able to get 3G as well. It registered without any issues.
New york city is also all 1900mhz. I am chugging along at a healthy 4300kbps according to mobilespeedtest. I think that is faster than the 3g spec allows so I am starting to doubt that website a bit.
snowdogging said:
New york city is also all 1900mhz. I am chugging along at a healthy 4300kbps according to mobilespeedtest. I think that is faster than the 3g spec allows so I am starting to doubt that website a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what website? you can also set the vibrant to pick up at&t's wcdma 850mhz
SamsungVibrant said:
HEY, don't listen to these guys. You can get both wcdma 1900 and wcdma 850 on the vibrant, don't worry, you will be able to get at&t 3G on your phone!
I'll show you how when I have time, maybe this weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI,
Can you explain how you get UTMS / HSDPA 850 on the Vinrant? According to the specs at xda
It doesnt officially support that, but over at howard forums (sorry cant post lins as a new user):
1666323-USING-SAMSUNG-T-MOBILE-VIBRANT-T959-on-WIND-MOBILE.....IN-CANADA
it seems it is an option in the service menu. Have you tried UTMS850 (as opposed to GSM850) and can confirm it works. Its relevant in Australia as the best coverage NextG network (Telstra) operates on UTMS850
Cheers Chris.
Derp.....
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
i'm not getting 3g either,
is there a link to a map to see if i have 1900 in my area?
what apn setting should be used, im pretty shocked that it did the edge APN settings on its own
Try dialing
*#2263#
choose option [4]Combi Bands
Choose option [8] WCDMA 850 bla bla
Choose Add WCDMA 850 bla bla
If the chip is capable to work in that frequency it will work. There are mixed reports but it is the way to fix it
[Q] Do we know the extent of the AT&T-friendly UMTS hardware in the T-Mobile Vibrant?
So as a lot of you know, the T-Mobile U.S. version of the Samsung Vibrant turned out to have hardware support for AT&T's 3G. But from reading user comments, it sounds like the T-Mobile Vibrant only has UMTS 1900, and not UMTS 850 as well. Obviously this isn't a problem if you've only got 1900 in your area, but I'm pretty sure we do have UMTS on 850 in my city.
I'm wondering if anyone with the T-Mobile Vibrant has tried using the extra 3G band(s?) and can confirm which are present. Is it 1900 and 850, or just 1900? Further, does anyone know how can I check to see which frequency AT&T provides 3G on in my city (short of relying on the clueless CSRs at my local retail store)? I've got a buddy with a Nexus One on AT&T, is there a quick way for him to see what frequency the UMTS tower he's connected to is using?
In the interest of completeness, I'll cover the questions that I'm sure will get asked so that folks don't **** up the thread with them.
Why not just get an AT&T Captivate?
Handful of reasons. I prefer the Vibrant's aesthetic, but more importantly because AT&T doesn't have T-Mobile Vibrant IMEIs on file. This means you can add and drop data at your own discretion instead of being required to use it, and it also means that their system will treat it as a dumbphone. Definitely a perk.
Why not just get a Galaxy S Vibrant from Bell in Canada? It definitely has 850 and 1900.
This is what I'll end up doing if the T-Mobile one doesn't work out, but it's a pretty big pain in the ass to get Canadian phones shipped down here whereas the T-Mobile version is readily available. Also, no warranty!
Thanks guys.
From what Ive read, the Vibrant works on 850/1700/1900/2100. --See edits below--
~T.J.
EDIT: See this post: http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...too.-Works-on-ATT-3g.?p=13923098#post13923098
Picture
http://www.howardforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=67212&d=1280324484
EDIT AGAIN: Here was another list of frequencies, and a picture of the side of the box which lists them from a review site.
Band (frequency): 850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz;UMTS: Band I (2100);UMTS: Band IV (AWS);UMTS: Band IV (1700/2100)
Picture
http://rounduprussy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IMG_7228.jpg
It doesn't work on WCDMA 850. Doesn't support it. Try selecting it only and put a AT&T sim in and see if you get 3G. Yea you won't, then try selecting 1900 only and what happens? Yea exactly.
Well, I dont have one in front of me to experiment with my AT&T and T-Mobile SIMs, Im just going off the side of the box and whats listed in the menu (both say 850). I currently have a Captivate and a Fascinate, but Im looking into getting the Vibrant instead for a number of reasons so I was just poking around. Sorry if I was passing on bad info.
~T.J.
EDIT: I thought I read of some people getting it to work on 850, but that could be wrong. Im looking again... Could it be there just isn't 850 coverage where you tried it and instead was 1900 coverage? These are OLD maps though...
http://www.cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml
Because the T-Mobile 3G network in the U.S. is listening for 3G data in the 1700MHz and 2100MHz bands, it’s the only U.S. network with which the Nexus One phone can communicate. AT&T’s 3G network listens for phones transmitting 3G traffic in the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands, which the Nexus One cannot do. All it can do is send 2G traffic in those bands, so it does, making a slower data experience for those using the Nexus One in Ma Bell’s mobile network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because the it's listed in software doesn't mean it can work. The Fascinate is a CDMA phone and your gonna tell me because you see the bands listed in software that it will work on a gsm network? Really? Either way I'm not trying to get you down. Just saying if that were possible, it would have been mention already. To conclude though, it all comes down to hardware support, the software is just mirrored on all galaxy s phones. The Vibrant only does 1700/1900/2100 for 3G. The 850 band would have benefit you better for in building support, but it's not supported.
ram130 said:
Just because the it's listed in software doesn't mean it can work. The Fascinate is a CDMA phone and your gonna tell me because you see the bands listed in software that it will work on a gsm network? Really? Either way I'm not trying to get you down. Just saying if that were possible, it would have been mention already. To conclude though, it all comes down to hardware support, the software is just mirrored on all galaxy s phones. The Vibrant only does 1700/1900/2100 for 3G. The 850 band would have benefit you better for in building support, but it's not supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That picture is from the screen of a Vibrant. Notice the T-Mobile branding at the ear speaker? But, I do understand about the listing in the software not necessarily having the hardware. Also, I edited my post above.
~T.J.
Dug this all up from the FCC fairly easily just to see for myself.
External photos:
http://www.nwallwheeldrive.com/misc/External.pdf
Internal photos:
http://www.nwallwheeldrive.com/misc/Internal.pdf
FCC ID label location:
http://www.nwallwheeldrive.com/misc/Label.pdf
Heres the test report from the FCC (showing 850 Mhz GSM):
http://www.nwallwheeldrive.com/misc/Measurement Report.pdf
Heres the rest results for the Specific Absorption Rate (showing 850 Mhz GSM around page 25):
http://www.nwallwheeldrive.com/misc/SAR Compliance.pdf
My conclusion? Id say its capable because it has all the hardware (since they were able to test it), but depends on the network around you. That, or they literally software blocked it for some reason.
~T.J.
EDIT: Ok, had to DL the PDF files and I temporarily uploaded them on my web site server for now. Dont know how long I will leave them there however.
850 gsm != 850 umts
D'oh! Talk about needing to sleep! As I said I'm just here to learn too as I want to pick up a vibrant, but apparently I need to sleep before thinking and posting. Sorry about that!
~T. J.
Thanks for all the responses, guys, I really appreciate the thorough feedback.
Sounds like 850 is a bust, which is really disheartening. There's loads of T-Mobile Vibrants on eBay in the $340-380 ballpark, but it's going to cost closer to $500 to get a Bell Vibrant down here.
yeah the phone supports 850GSM but not 850WCDMA/UMTS/3G
k
ty
lqaddict said:
850 gsm != 850 umts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are two different type of bands as outlined here: http://www.nwallwheeldrive.com/misc/Measurement Report.pdf
ram130 said:
They are two different type of bands as outlined here: http://www.nwallwheeldrive.com/misc/Measurement Report.pdf
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"!=" == "not equal"
lqaddict said:
"!=" == "not equal"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh! teaches me to multitask while in class
My service provider Cable&Wireless Panama uses 1900 band for 3G, but I NEVER, NEVER EVER get anything but EDGE data... ever.
I have my phone set to "GSM/WCDMA (Auto Mode)" in Network settings, but I could choose one or the other.
Which should I pick? I don't know what's up, but I can never get 3G and I know that the Vibrant supports 1900, which they use for 3G.
They tell me that 3G should appear there as an option, (at least on the Galaxy S i9000 that they support, but it doesn't on the Vibrant.
Can anyone give me some advice? I'm really stumped, because I was thinking it would work fine. I'm unlocked, Rooted, running Bionix-v but I've never been able to get anything but EDGE data and they say I should have 3G in most areas, but I've never even seen it once.
Not trying to be a jerk here, but are you absolutely sure your carrier uses 1900MHz for 3G specifically?
If you search for "List of UMTS networks" on Wikipedia, it lists Cable and Wireless as 850MHz. Another thread on androidforums.com titled "i9000 No 3G after update" talks about getting an i9000 working on 850MHz for Cable and Wireless.
Also, just to clarify, you are using the T-Mobile/American Vibrant?
Hope you figure it out.
inconceeeivable said:
Not trying to be a jerk here, but are you absolutely sure your carrier uses 1900MHz for 3G specifically?
If you search for "List of UMTS networks" on Wikipedia, it lists Cable and Wireless as 850MHz. Another thread on androidforums.com titled "i9000 No 3G after update" talks about getting an i9000 working on 850MHz for Cable and Wireless.
Also, just to clarify, you are using the T-Mobile/American Vibrant?
Hope you figure it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was just on the line with them and asked specifically and two different reps (I tried twice) confirmed it was 1900 for 3G, so I do think it is.
They could be wrong, I guess, because most customer service reps are idiots throughout the world, but I don't know.
change your APN.
I bet it's set to epc.tmobile.com
either that or it's set to internet
donalgodon said:
My service provider Cable&Wireless Panama uses 1900 band for 3G, but I NEVER, NEVER EVER get anything but EDGE data... ever.
I have my phone set to "GSM/WCDMA (Auto Mode)" in Network settings, but I could choose one or the other.
Which should I pick? I don't know what's up, but I can never get 3G and I know that the Vibrant supports 1900, which they use for 3G.
They tell me that 3G should appear there as an option, (at least on the Galaxy S i9000 that they support, but it doesn't on the Vibrant.
Can anyone give me some advice? I'm really stumped, because I was thinking it would work fine. I'm unlocked, Rooted, running Bionix-v but I've never been able to get anything but EDGE data and they say I should have 3G in most areas, but I've never even seen it once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
either it's the apn, or more likely: Cable & Wireless Panama are on 850.
http://www.wireless.att.com/travelguide/coverage/coverage_details.jsp?CIDL=591&MNC=CING
UMTS 850; GSM/GPRS 850
Moved of: Samsung Vibrant > Vibrant General
To: Samsung Vibrant > Vibrant Q&A
Please put your questions to: Vibrant Q&A
krylon360 said:
change your APN.
I bet it's set to epc.tmobile.com
either that or it's set to internet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's connnecting, and I get data via EDGE, as I said, the APN is correct:
apn01.cwpanama.com.pa
I just don't get any 3G signal... ever, but according to CW, I should if I use 1900, which the Vibrant supports.
donalgodon said:
No, it's connnecting, and I get data via EDGE, as I said, the APN is correct:
apn01.cwpanama.com.pa
I just don't get any 3G signal... ever, but according to CW, I should if I use 1900, which the Vibrant supports.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again, Cable and Wireless doesn't use 1900. They use 850.
If you're stuck with the Vibrant, you might try Movistar? Looks like they might support both.
I know these aren't the answers you wanted to hear though. Sorry man.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I appreciate the help, guys.
I still find it confusing that the phone they support officially (they sell the i9000 here for like $800US) is listed as supporting the same 3G bands as the Vibrant, including 1900, which they quoted to me twice, but somehow, my Vibrant won't connect to 3G, so probably they are just idiots, as usual.
I might have to go with another carrier. Problem is that CW is the cheapest, by almost half. I guess you get what you pay for.
Movistar 850 pana..no tienen 3g son puro bulls**t,
Digicel y Claro si estan levantando 3g con la banda 1900.
Suerte
You may wanna try to post your problem in english.
Sent from my Bi-Winning powered SGH-T959 using XDA App
Hey donalgodon, I got the exact same problem with my Nexus S, same provider, same network configuration. Did you figure it out? I sent you a pm, let me know.
I was just reading this on Wikipedia.
In the bands section of T-mobile and thus their phones, 2g is supported by 850 and 1900. 3g is tied to 1700. I thought I had read it differently before but upon checking up on this once again (just now) that is what I have to offer. So I would assume if your carrier doesn't use 1700 for 3g then you would not ever get 3g.
JediDru said:
I was just reading this on Wikipedia.
In the bands section of T-mobile and thus their phones, 2g is supported by 850 and 1900. 3g is tied to 1700. I thought I had read it differently before but upon checking up on this once again (just now) that is what I have to offer. So I would assume if your carrier doesn't use 1700 for 3g then you would not ever get 3g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Samsung Vibrant supports 3g on UMTS Bands I (2100), II (1900) and IV (AWS/1700).
If your carrier uses any of these bands for their 3g, you will get 3g.
If your carrier uses the 850 band for 3g, you will not get 3g.
Donalgodon's carrier uses 850. That's why it's not working.
Ok guys I have an atrix 4g running on t-mobile. My question is why cant I get 4g/3g on this phone ? T-mobile runs on the 2100 band and the phone does support that band so why no 4g or 3g? common sense would tell me that if t-mo runs 4g on 2100 and the phone is capable of running on 2100 that it would work. have searched for a total of about 4 hours or so over the past couple days and cant find a straight answer only thing i can find is that att doesnt run on 2100 band yet the phone does. thanks in advance to anybody that can answer and taking the time to read.
are you getting H+ or H? (This is "3.5g") The Atrix 4g is not a true 4g phone.
Because the 2100 spectrum that you're using the phone on now is part of the quad-band gsm which is edge/2g. The difference lies in the bands used for 3g/4g, in which case AT&T only uses 850/1900 and tmobile only uses 1700/2100.
There is also a bunch of things that include HSPA, AWS, WCDMA, and so on and so on but I don't know enough about that to comment.
EDIT: Also, the only phones I know that can be used on both AT&T and Tmobile 3g/4g are "penta-band" phones like some European Nokia phones and the unlocked Galaxy Nexus that needs to be imported as well.
shattar01 said:
Ok guys I have an atrix 4g running on t-mobile. My question is why cant I get 4g/3g on this phone ? T-mobile runs on the 2100 band and the phone does support that band so why no 4g or 3g? common sense would tell me that if t-mo runs 4g on 2100 and the phone is capable of running on 2100 that it would work. have searched for a total of about 4 hours or so over the past couple days and cant find a straight answer only thing i can find is that att doesnt run on 2100 band yet the phone does. thanks in advance to anybody that can answer and taking the time to read.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wcdma=utms=3g
Yes, WCDMA and AWS(1700), as far as I know, are both from UMTS and the differences in regards to 3G between AT&T and Tmobile lie in the spectrum use (850&1900 vs 1700&2100). And both AT&T and Tmobile use HSPA(+) based off their respected UMTS frequencies.
I just don't understand the "leap" in GSM technology that breaks the quad-band compatibility, that's all.
matthew5025 said:
Wcdma=utms=3g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also I've read 850 is att's main spectrum for large areas and 900 for T-Mobile. All higher spectrums are for smaller, rural areas.
If your looking for 3g maybe find a town or, buy a dual band amplifier? That's IF they have 2100 MHz band working where you are located.
Lower bands ie 850/900 are the download streams. 1700/1900/2100 are upload streams. If I'm not mistaken
Also a T-Mobile vibrant supports att, it also has our main band, 850mhz. Again which is the main large areas, like T-Mobile 900mhz. 1700-2100mhz for att/T-Mobile range is only as good as the towns that still has that band currently operating for hspa/3g data. I've seen alot of T-Mobile phones that have 850/1900/2100, and work on att. If they were 1600/1900/2100 did not for me.
You need that lower frequencies to ensure it to work. Then....
Also for regional based frequencies...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Mobile_Telecommunications_System
That link will let you know what that all really means.
I think you are mixing up gsm and umts.
GSM = 2G/Edge
UMTS (HSPA, HSPA+, HSDPA/HSUPA, WCDMA, AWS) = 3G
Have a look here. You will see they label "3G" as "UMTS" which is HSPA/WCDMA. A little more down you can see they label their data as "HSDPA", which is download, and "HSUPA" which is upload. Further delineating the speeds they label either one as UMTS for down and Edge as up, which to me tells me they use gsm for the upload and only use UMTS for download. Either way, there is not a T-mobile phone available that can be unlocked and used on AT&T's 3G, just 2G and vice versa. As I have previously mentioned, you will need a penta-band phone for that.
Ciloteille said:
Also I've read 850 is att's main spectrum for large areas and 900 for T-Mobile. All higher spectrums are for smaller, rural areas.
If your looking for 3g maybe find a town or, buy a dual band amplifier? That's IF they have 2100 MHz band working where you are located.
Lower bands ie 850/900 are the download streams. 1700/1900/2100 are upload streams. If I'm not mistaken
Also a T-Mobile vibrant supports att, it also has our main band, 850mhz. Again which is the main large areas, like T-Mobile 900mhz. 1700-2100mhz for att/T-Mobile range is only as good as the towns that still has that band currently operating for hspa/3g data. I've seen alot of T-Mobile phones that have 850/1900/2100, and work on att. If they were 1600/1900/2100 did not for me.
You need that lower frequencies to ensure it to work. Then....
Also for regional based frequencies...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Mobile_Telecommunications_System
That link will let you know what that all really means.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time but it's misinformation to tell anyone that a T-mobile phone can work on AT&T 3G.
And I'll say it again, I'm not an expert so if anyone can better explain then I'm all ears (eyes).
live4nyy said:
I think you are mixing up gsm and umts.
GSM = 2G/Edge
UMTS (HSPA, HSPA+, HSDPA/HSUPA, WCDMA, AWS) = 3G
Have a look here. You will see they label "3G" as "UMTS" which is HSPA/WCDMA. A little more down you can see they label their data as "HSDPA", which is download, and "HSUPA" which is upload. Further delineating the speeds they label either one as UMTS for down and Edge as up, which to me tells me they use gsm for the upload and only use UMTS for download. Either way, there is not a T-mobile phone available that can be unlocked and used on AT&T's 3G, just 2G and vice versa. As I have previously mentioned, you will need a penta-band phone for that.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time but it's misinformation to tell anyone that a T-mobile phone can work on AT&T 3G.
And I'll say it again, I'm not an expert so if anyone can better explain then I'm all ears (eyes).
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I am just merely stating that I have a motorola defy on ATT, and it worked great for a long time with great speeds before I got a motorola atrix and infuse.
Im not saying that every tmobile phone will have working talk/text, or data for that matter. I have just posted an idea, or atleast what to look for when you are cruising for phones not labeled for your carrier.
I was getting my motorola defy with the att "grand fathered internet" for 10 dollars a month and it was about 160-420KB/s down, and 80-190KB/s up. but some phones are capable of this, others arent. I have a general idea, and have played with several different carrier cellphones and used them with att and att's 3g data.
Rogers HTC Dream (x2 of them)
Telus Milestone
Tmobile Defy
Rogers Atrix
ATT Atrix (x2 of them)
ATT Infuse
Rogers and Telus actually use the same 3G bands as AT&T so as long as those are unlocked they will work. And I'm not saying an unlocked T-mobile can't work on AT&T, because they can (they both use quad-band gsm) but you can not use an unlocked T-mobile phone an AT&T 3G. That's all I'm saying.
Now, they did make an European version of the Defy that uses the 850 3G band but not the T-mobile "branded" one.
I'm going to stick to my guns on this one because I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea about interchanging AT&T and T-mobile phones and expecting 3G service. I'm fairly certain about this and unless someone can prove otherwise that's how I will think.
Ciloteille said:
I am just merely stating that I have a motorola defy on ATT, and it worked great for a long time with great speeds before I got a motorola atrix and infuse.
Im not saying that every tmobile phone will have working talk/text, or data for that matter. I have just posted an idea, or atleast what to look for when you are cruising for phones not labeled for your carrier.
I was getting my motorola defy with the att "grand fathered internet" for 10 dollars a month and it was about 160-420KB/s down, and 80-190KB/s up. but some phones are capable of this, others arent. I have a general idea, and have played with several different carrier cellphones and used them with att and att's 3g data.
Rogers HTC Dream (x2 of them)
Telus Milestone
Tmobile Defy
Rogers Atrix
ATT Atrix (x2 of them)
ATT Infuse
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---------- Post added at 08:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 AM ----------
Upon further research, I have found this article, where under certain circumstances, you can use an unlocked AT&T iPhone with T-mobile 3G:
http://www.gsmarena.com/tmobile_usa_running_1900mhz_3g_in_some_areas_iphones_invited-news-3537.php
Now, this shows that an AT&T phone can maybe use T-mobile 3G but not the other way around. Again, I'm always up for learning something new but I need references/proof.
Well I do get att 3g on the defy and vibrant. I am currently getting about 300ish KB/s on them and 600+KB/s on my attic, I'm just going with the facts. Those facts are that certain T-Mobile phones will work with Att, provided they have 850mhz band. That allows you in most towns (near me) to get 3g
False.
300KB/s is Edge speed, which is only 2G.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=107
That's why you get faster speeds on the Atrix because it actually uses 3G.
Again, both AT&T and T-mobile use quad-band GSM. Which is why you can unlock a T-mobile phone and use it on AT&T, and vice versa, but it is only 2G/Edge and NOT 3G.
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=139
http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=3
Furthermore, here are the wiki pages for AT&T and T-mobile which both inlcude frequency charts outlining the technology (2G or 3G) each one uses:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT&T_Wireless
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Mobile_USA
Here are the charts:
AT&T:
Frequency Protocol Class
Frequencies used on the AT&T Network
850 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
850 MHz UMTS/HSPA 3G
1900 MHz UMTS/HSPA 3G
700 MHz LTE 4G
T-mobile:
Frequency Band Protocol
850 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
1700 MHz UMTS (W-CDMA)/HSPA/HSPA+ 4G (formerly 3G[34])
1900 MHz UMTS (W-CDMA)/HSPA/HSPA+ 4G
I check for facts and references, I'm only saying what I find in research.
Again, when unlocked, a T-mobile phone can use AT&T 2G/Edge, not 3G
Ciloteille said:
Well I do get att 3g on the defy and vibrant. I am currently getting about 300ish KB/s on them and 600+KB/s on my attic, I'm just going with the facts. Those facts are that certain T-Mobile phones will work with Att, provided they have 850mhz band. That allows you in most towns (near me) to get 3g
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I am thinking about trying to get an sgs iii and wondering if it is possible to get it on the $30.00 mo 100min unl data plan through walmart?
I have the exhibit ii on this plan, had it for a couple months, anybody know how I would do this?
If it will work with Tmobile band why not, best to ask the source. I don't think we have a Wal Mart rep guru here.
Sure you can, if you don't want 3G.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
You have prepaid plan, you can put your sim into just about any unlocked GSM phone (and T-Mobile phones) and use it. If you want a good phone right now, get the Galaxy Nexus (GSM), it supports T-Mobile 3G (1700/2100 band). T-Mobile version of SIII will be coming later.
thanks for the responses, a Galaxy Nexus is probably a more realistic option than the sgs3 price wise, going to take a good look at it on the play store.
cheers.
T-Mobile and AT&T both support compatible band.
the SGS3 uses HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
T-Mobile uses HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
AT&T uses HSDPA 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
now we play match the bands. we see at&t shares 3 bands with the international SGS3, thats great. T-Mobile shares 1, not as awesome, but 1 band is enough.
its true what theyre saying up there about "only having 2G", well i should correct myself, it WAS true. however recently T-Mobile has upgraded their 2100 band to 3G, as theyve been expanding. so it will work fine on Walmart's plan, as they use T-Mobile's network.
T-Mobile will come out with an SGS3 later in the year, for SGS2 it was 6 months behind the international version. the T-Mobile version will use HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100. what do more compatible bands mean? well it means if youre in an area you normally wouldnt get good 2100 band signal, you may get 1700 signal. if you live in the city, youll see no difference at all, its only when youre in rural areas.
so in short; you can totally use the i9300 SGS3 on tmobiles network, and yes, you will have HSDPA 3G
soraxd said:
T-Mobile uses HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100
now we play match the bands. we see at&t shares 3 bands with the international SGS3, thats great. T-Mobile shares 1, not as awesome, but 1 band is enough.
its true what theyre saying up there about "only having 2G", well i should correct myself, it WAS true. however recently T-Mobile has upgraded their 2100 band to 3G, as theyve been expanding. so it will work fine on Walmart's plan, as they use T-Mobile's network.
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Could really use a source for this, please. Everything i've looked up has suggested that their HSPA+ is only 1700 and 2100, and that phones with only 2100 would not work.
thebobp said:
Could really use a source for this, please. Everything i've looked up has suggested that their HSPA+ is only 1700 and 2100, and that phones with only 2100 would not work.
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you know what, i made a mistake, i was using this
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4261
looking at the bands the T-Mobile One S (along with all other tmobile phones) support, but the 900 band is just added to the phone so it can be used if taken abroad. so my mistake.
to reiterate the sgs3 will only work on 2g on tmobile, it will only work on at&t for 3g.
im glad you questioned it, i would have gone along giving bad information