https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr....H0.XLG+G6+plus.TRS0&_nkw=LG+G6+plus&_sacat=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n76urOUYEj0
We can buy it at shop in Asia already (Thailand) Blue colour 4Gb Ram/128Gb Rom, cost about (20,000 Thai Baht). The normal 64Gb Rom/4Gb ram cost (14,500 Thai Baht). They come with the Dac I think.
You can buy it in HKG or Singapur too, but it's different model than one on YouTube. The Korean guy shows Korean LGM-G600SP. The Asia LG-H870DSU has no wireless charging and B&O headphones.
LG G6 Plus WITH Qi Wireless Charging
Montechristo said:
You can buy it in HKG or Singapur too, but it's different model than one on YouTube.
The Korean guy shows Korean LGM-G600SP.
The Asia LG-H870DSU has no wireless charging and B&O headphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct that not all LG G6 Plus models have Qi wireless charging. I would want Qi wireless charging. I won't buy a phone without it.
These are the South Korean market models (below) with Qi wireless charging. Here's the Qi wireless database search results that prove it. You can also search on the LG South Korean website for those model numbers and use Google Translate to look at the specs.
LGM-G600KP
LGM-G600SP
LGM-G600LP
Problem is the "official" specs do not show all the LTE bands these phones really get. So, it's a leap of faith to buy if you live in the U.S., for instance.
I know, because of people here in the U.S. who bought the Korean regular G6 (not the G6+) and who the models for those South Korean carriers (KP, SP, LP) DO actually get all the AT&T and T-mobile bands -- but just don't show it on the LG Korean website official specs.
Also, I don't want to buy phones I can't root, so I would have to wait until I KNEW I could root one of these LG South Korean market phones.
There's no official bootloader unlock for any of the LG G6 Plus models (yet).
There's also the LG H870U, an LG G6 Plus coming to Europe and other countries. THIS website below says it has Qi wireless charging but I think that's just wishful thinking -- since it's not listed in the Qi devices database I linked in the post above.
LG H870U
https://www.android-hilfe.de/forum/lg-g6-h870.3021/lg-g6-plus-lg-h870u.839097.html
However, if true, I would gladly buy it, as the European versions of the LG G6 can be bootloader unlocked, yes?
Hi guys, I have blue LG G6+ H870DSU http://www.lg.com/hk_en/mobile-phone/lg-H870DSU-Blue-128GB and it has B&O headphones, FM radio and quad DAC audio but doesn't has useless Qi wireless charging. Quick charging only works with AC/DC charger, through USB it takes 6h to fully battery recharge. Korean version has DMB-T TV, Qi wireless charging but no FM radio. If you have questions about my phone H870DSU just ask.
http://phonedb.net/index.php?m=device&id=11813&c=lg_h870dsu_g6plus_dual_sim_td-lte__lg_diva
http://phonedb.net/index.php?m=device&id=11780&c=lg_g600kp_g6plus_td-lte__lg_diva
Actually I have LG G6 Plus optical Black, quick charging work faster overall good specif actions and also wide angle front camera.
ChazzMatt said:
LG G6 Plus WITH Qi Wireless Charging
You are correct that not all LG G6 Plus models have Qi wireless charging. I would want Qi wireless charging. I won't buy a phone without it.
These are the South Korean market models (below) with Qi wireless charging. Here's the Qi wireless database search results that prove it. You can also search on the LG South Korean website for those model numbers and use Google Translate to look at the specs.
LGM-G600KP
LGM-G600SP
LGM-G600LP
Problem is the "official" specs do not show all the LTE bands these phones really get. So, it's a leap of faith to buy if you live in the U.S., for instance.
I know, because of people here in the U.S. who bought the Korean regular G6 (not the G6+) and who the models for those South Korean carriers (KP, SP, LP) DO actually get all the AT&T and T-mobile bands -- but just don't show it on the LG Korean website official specs.
Also, I don't want to buy phones I can't root, so I would have to wait until I KNEW I could root one of these LG South Korean market phones.
There's no official bootloader unlock for any of the LG G6 Plus models (yet).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, this is new to me. Can you specify which Korean G6 has all the T-Mobile bands in your experience? I want a G6 with the hiFi DAC, but I also need the TMobile bands.
Do these models have bootloader's that can be unlocked? I NEED to have root also.
Amd4life said:
Hmmm, this is new to me. Can you specify which Korean G6 has all the T-Mobile bands in your experience? I want a G6 with the hiFi DAC, but I also need the TMobile bands.
Do these models have bootloader's that can be unlocked? I NEED to have root also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazon has an LG G6 plus model with lockscreen ads. Works perfectly on Ting Wireless with GSM sim, so I bet it would work on T-mobile. Model: LGUS997U.
There is an option to unlock the bootloader in developer options, would this allow you to flash a new ROM?
Amd4life said:
Hmmm, this is new to me. Can you specify which Korean G6 has all the T-Mobile bands in your experience? I want a G6 with the hiFi DAC, but I also need the TMobile bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the LTE bands from any of the three South Korean carriers' LG G6 from a member here on XDA. The V30 Plus should be the same. You can go into the Engineering menu and see them. IF they are not already enabled (but they should be), you can checkmark the box to enable them. The only T-mobile bands the South Korean LG G6 models do not have are the newer LTE band 66 and very newest LTE band 71. In fact, only the T-mobile LG V30 has LTE band 71. (It's possible the LG G6 Plus may have LTE band 66 since it was released MONTHS later, but we know it doesn't have LTE band 71.)
koreezzz said:
Engineering menu:
Dialer: 5457#*600#
Lte bands in Korean G600S/K/L:
1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/26/38/39/40/41
Wcdma (HSPA) bands in Korean G600S/K/L:
1 (2100)/2(1900)/5(850)
Gsm bands in Korean G600S/K/L:
1800/900/850/1900
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
____________
Amd4life said:
Do these models have bootloader's that can be unlocked? I NEED to have root also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO, these bootloaders cannot be unlocked, at least officially and no one has published a bootloader unlock and root publicly (yet). The only LG G6 bootloaders that can be unlocked and phones rooted are the "open market" LG G6 for North America and Europe. None of the "G6 Plus" are on the official bootloader unlock list. (For 2017, LG has removed most of the ADB commands from their carrier flagship phones, so that even if you unlock the bootloader, it's very difficult for most people to root or install custom recovery.)
Also, none of the "open market" LG G6 have quad DAC or the increased internal storage. This was the reason I didn't buy the LG G6, due to LG's STUPID regionalized specs scheme. It was a great phone on paper -- but LG cut that paper into pieces and shipped it to countries all over the world. You could NOT buy an LG G6 with ALL the specs.
Then the LG G6 Plus (South Korean edition) -- released MONTHS later in mid-2017 -- was the phone LG should have released in the first place in early 2017. It FINALLY had all the specs in one phone (Qi wireless, quad DAC, more storage) -- but LG wouldn't place it on the LG Bootloader Unlock List. And LG wonders why they are trailing Samsung? Idiotic moves like that is why.
Amd4life said:
I want a G6 with the hiFi DAC, but I also need the TMobile bands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you need root and quad DAC, I would really suggest the "open market" LG V30 for North America. It will be released first week of December (sold by LG directly, and authorized 3rd party retailers like Amazon, B&H Photo and Best Buy) and soon after that will be placed on the LG Bootloader Unlock list. It will quickly get root, TWRP, ROMs, kernels.
It's the OFFICIAL CARRIER UNLOCKED VERSION: LGUS998.AUSASV. Do NOT confuse it with the U.S. Cellular version which has a similar model name. The U.S. Cellular version is sold by a carrier and will NOT qualify for LG's bootloader unlock.
We know the LGUS998 has all the North American CDMA/GSM/HSPA/LTE bands of the major carriers, with the probable exception of LTE band 71. We're hoping LG will add it to the model via an FCC addendum or that it can be enabled after the phone is rooted, possibly by flashing T-mobile radio. But that's a question for a dev after we get root.
That's the V30 model I am waiting for.
B&H has the US version of the G6+ on sale for $200 off.
Does anyone know if this model fully supports T-Mobile including Band 12 ?
Also, whether the G6 bootloader unlock indicated on LG bootloader unlock list ("US997.USA for the US open market") also works for this US version of the G6+ ?
B&H model number comparisons of the two US models::
G6: LGUS997.AUSABK
G6+ : LGUS997U.AUSABK
TIA...
Tinkerer_ said:
Also, whether the G6 bootloader unlock indicated on LG bootloader unlock list ("US997.USA for the US open market") also works for this US version of the G6+ ?
G6: LGUS997.AUSABK
G6+ : LGUS997U.AUSABK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the G6 "AUSABK" definitely the officially unlockable one?
Hi,
I'm new here, and honestly know very little of the stuff I'm asking about, but here it goes, hopefully someone will be able to explain it to me. My phone (iPhone 5S) just broke, but I had been looking to buy a new one for some time anyway, and seriously considering the LG V30 or the V35 ThinQ, mostly cause of the headphone jack and Quad DAC + wide angle camera. The problem is, I'm looking to buy a refurbished one on eBay.com (US site), since I've found some really good deals there (unlike on European eBay sites), but I'm afraid of carrier issues I may encounter, specially considering I live in Spain and most of these seem to be "unlocked" phones from the US that were once network connected or something along those lines. I really don't know anything about how these things work, what unlocked / IMEI / GSM / CDMA / whatever means, and we don't usually have carrier exclusive phones over here, so I'm kind of worried about it all. I'm also afraid of how this is going to affect updates, since I know LG is already pretty slow but I've heard US carriers add another layer of complications when it comes to that, though seeing as these are supposed to be unlocked this shouldn't be a problem? No idea really.
For example, right now I'm looking at this LG V35 ThinQ deal on eBay, great price, plus the seller allows returns, has really good reputations and feedback, even on the product itself. However, isn't the V35 supposed to be AT&T exclusive? It says it's unlocked, but I don't know what to make of it. Should I just try and find a deal on the V30 instead? Even some of those seem to be carrier connected somehow though, like I see there's different models of the V30, some are HXXXX, others VOXXXX, etc. I guess if I could choose I'd prefer the V35, but it's not even available on Europe, and that makes me even more wary.
Hopefully some of you can shed some light on this and tell me whether buying from eBay is a good idea in my case, or what I could do instead. Honestly coming from Apple all of these different models for the same phone are making things very confusing, but I really wanna make the switch, since both the LG V30 and the V35 seem to be really great phones (despite how huge they are... hope I can get used to it). And by the way, in case that helps, my network in Spain is Movistar.
Thanks, and have a good one.
ChazzMatt is a wealth of knowledge on these matters, but I will tell you what I think. I did a check here for the US998 (V30) on your carrier in Spain: https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...SV/lg-us998-v30-td-lte-lg-joan/movistar-spain
From what it says, the US998 will work on your carrier without issue. This means you have the choice of getting many variants (eg LS998, VS996, etc) that Chazz showed on the WTF thread (see post 193 here https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76584629&postcount=193 ), hack that phone to US998 (via Frankenstein method) and it will work great. Note, as noted there, don't get an H932 as it's different... in reality, you may be able to get that to work as well these days, but I found it was easier to get LS998 or US998. That's what I did for our two phones - I got 2 US998s. (I converted mine to VS996 for other reasons - you won't need to.)
V35 by itself doesn't tell us enough - you need to know the model number. Please be careful when talking any phones, as the model number is what's most important! Some V35s are apparently V30+, others are different and won't work with any of the steps here... so again, be careful.
I'd say, stick to US998 or LS998, and you should be fine, but let the expert confirm!
Oh yeah, and congrats for leaving the Crapple world! Needless to say I'm not a fan, for many good/real reasons. Many of my friends have switched when they learned how much better things can be on Android.
JayKiddo said:
Hi,
I'm new here, and honestly know very little of the stuff I'm asking about, but here it goes, hopefully someone will be able to explain it to me. My phone (iPhone 5S) just broke, but I had been looking to buy a new one for some time anyway, and seriously considering the LG V30 or the V35 ThinQ, mostly cause of the headphone jack and Quad DAC + wide angle camera. The problem is, I'm looking to buy a refurbished one on eBay.com (US site), since I've found some really good deals there (unlike on European eBay sites), but I'm afraid of carrier issues I may encounter, specially considering I live in Spain and most of these seem to be "unlocked" phones from the US that were once network connected or something along those lines. I really don't know anything about how these things work, what unlocked / IMEI / GSM / CDMA / whatever means, and we don't usually have carrier exclusive phones over here, so I'm kind of worried about it all. I'm also afraid of how this is going to affect updates, since I know LG is already pretty slow but I've heard US carriers add another layer of complications when it comes to that, though seeing as these are supposed to be unlocked this shouldn't be a problem? No idea really.
For example, right now I'm looking at this LG V35 ThinQ deal on eBay, great price, plus the seller allows returns, has really good reputations and feedback, even on the product itself. However, isn't the V35 supposed to be AT&T exclusive? It says it's unlocked, but I don't know what to make of it. Should I just try and find a deal on the V30 instead? Even some of those seem to be carrier connected somehow though, like I see there's different models of the V30, some are HXXXX, others VOXXXX, etc. I guess if I could choose I'd prefer the V35, but it's not even available on Europe, and that makes me even more wary.
Hopefully some of you can shed some light on this and tell me whether buying from eBay is a good idea in my case, or what I could do instead. Honestly coming from Apple all of these different models for the same phone are making things very confusing, but I really wanna make the switch, since both the LG V30 and the V35 seem to be really great phones (despite how huge they are... hope I can get used to it). And by the way, in case that helps, my network in Spain is Movistar.
Thanks, and have a good one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Spain you will need GSM/HPSA/LTE.
V30
For the V30, the US998 (which is officially carrier unlocked model) it has all those plus CMDA (which you don't need, but doesn't hurt). The US998 was designated to be the "universal" V30/V30+ for North America. I'm going to briefly discuss the others just so you sort of know the difference. Others like U.S T-mobile H932, are locked to T-mobile and have an extra LTE band 71, which only T-mobile uses and would not benefit you whatsoever. Others like Verizon VS996 are already unlocked, but often give you a nag screen when rebooting if a Verizon SIM card is not inserted; as if you didn't know. The Canada H931 is carrier unlocked. The Sprint LS998 is carrier locked to Sprint, and the only way to carrier unlock it is to "Frankenstein" convert it to US998 (or some other carrier unlocked model like Canada H931 or Verizon VS996). AT&T H931 is carrier locked, but can be carrier unlocked by Frankenstein converted to a carrier unlocked model. With Frankenstein, whatever North American V30 phone you are flashing BECOMES the other model. You will see some eBay dealers incorrectly saying the US998 is locked to U.S. Cellular (a carrier here in the U.S.); this comes from them not knowing what they are selling. Yes, SOME US998 were sold by U.S. Cellular, but the US998 was the designated "open market" carrier unlocked model for North America and no US998 is carrier locked whatsoever. LG also sold the US998 through authorized 3rd party retailers like B&H Photo. They were all carrier unlocked, designed to be used with any carrier.
The other caveat is some of these are 64GB (VS996, H931, H933) while others have 128GB available like the US998 V30+ and the LS998 V30+. US998 also comes in 64GB model, but you might as well buy the V30+ (128GB).
The reason I mention "Frankenstein" is because there was a huge glut of Sprint LS998 V30+ on the market, and we found you could buy one and easily convert it to US998 V30+. I bought two and did that. No longer locked to Sprint, has fastboot flash commands and easily rooted (you probably don't care about that), and much less money than "native" US998 V30+ at the time. Dealers quickly figured this out also. In fact, most "new" or "mint" US998 V30+ you see on eBay for very good price are probably former LS998 V30+. That's OK.
So, it's no longer necessary to buy an LS998 V30+ to convert to US998 V30+, as the dealers have probably done it for you (or at least converted to the Nougat stage).
For your purposes, US998 (especially the V30+) is probably what you want of the North America V30 world. I have not mentioned the "European" H930 (64GB) or H930G (128GB) or the dual SIM H930DS (128GB), as importing those to U.S. for eBay sellers here make them more expensive.
http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-US998-Unlocked-v30
US998 V30/v30+/V30S
CDMA: 800 MHz CDMA
2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G UMTS (HSPA):850/900/1900/2100 MHz
4G LTE Bands: 1/2/3/4/5/7/12(17)/13/20/25/66
UPDATES
You will probably have to manually update the phone through software known as LGUP. New firmware images called KDZ are posted publicly here and on other websites. Takes 5 minutes, whenever you want, and you simply choose "Upgrade" mode. LG releases updates every 2 or 3 months.
You will also hear about checking for updates via LG Bridge (another piece of LG software), but it's better to just download the KDZ you need and use LGUP than to constantly have to fire up LG Bridge and check.
If you bought a "native" US998 V30+, you possibly would receive OTA updates. However, between the three native US998 V30 & V30+ I own, I've only received ONE OTA update in 1.5 years, and that was early on. So, don't depend on that.
You probably don't care about bootloader unlock and rooting, but for those who do ALL V30/V30+/V30S variants can be bootloader unlocked and rooted. That cannot be said for V35.
________
V35
Basically 2018 updated version of the 2017 V30. Snapdragon 845 vs Snapdragon 835. Has 6GB RAM, while most of the V30 (except for the V30S) has 4GB RAM. However, I've owned several V30/V30+ and none are slow. Downside: comes in 64GB, whereas many V30 have 128GB internal memory. Yes, allegedly there is a V35+ (128GB) but I've only seen it mentioned on websites and can not actually buy one here in the U.S. or even over the internet.
The main U.S. V35 variant is sold by AT&T and is ostensibly locked to AT&T. Meaning that only AT&T network SIM cards will work. However, if the dealer says it's "unlocked", then mean they have entered the code to carrier unlock the phone, which AT&T allows when the phone is paid in full. You can usually buy with confidence these "unlocked" phones. One way or another, they have been unlocked. (Any "carrier unlocked" LS998 V30+ you see online means it's been converted to US998 to be carrier unlocked.)
While AT&T was the first to sell the LG V35, it's also now sold other places as well, like for Google Fi and some Latin American countries. So, it's no longer an AT&T exclusive and never was. AT&T was just the first. Having said that, the ones for the least price will probably be the AT&T V35 models. As long as it's advertised as "unlocked", you are OK.
UPDATES
For AT&T LG V35 (even if carrier unlocked) you can only get updates while connected to AT&T SIM card or through one AT&T-affiliated MVNO called Red Pocket. (If there are other AT&T-affiliated MVNOs that allow updates, it's not been confirmed.) This is the same situation if you buy an AT&T H931 V30. AT&T wants you to be their customer and they do not release KDZ to the general public, nor allow updates to be sent to non-AT&T customers.
However, this is only true if you keep the AT&T firmware (AWM). For V35, you can cross-flash to the OTHER V35 firmware (ULM) and be up to date. This would again use LGUP. I just bought an AT&T V35 and the previous owner (who still uses V30+ as his daily phone and is active in this forum) cross flashed it to non-AT&T firmware to debloat it and to update it. I will continue to use my own (rooted) US998 V30+ as my daily phone, but this V35 looks interesting.
For others who may be reading this, right now (end of March 2019) the only way to bootloader unlock and root the V35 is to buy one from China with that already done. However there is no TWRP yet for V35. @runningnak3d is working on all that.
Here are the frequencies you will get with the LG 35 Google Fi version. I assume if you cross flash the AT&T V35 you will receive all these bands if you don't have all these bands? I'm asking in the V35 forum to confirm this assumption... With the V30, when you cross flash North America variants to Frankenstein them, it converts them totally to the other variant.
LG V35 Google Fi bands
https://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-V350ULM-Google-Fi-v35-thinq
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz;
UMTS (HSPA): 850/900/1700/2100 MHz;
LTE: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/39/40/41/66
__________
CONCLUSION
I'm more comfortable recommending the US998 V30+ (128GB) to you right now, but an "unlocked" AT&T V35 (64GB) (especially if cross flashed to Google Fi firmware) would work well for you -- if the 64GB storage size (plus microSD card) fits your lifestyle and you don't care about bootloader unlocking/rooting (at least right now).
* With US998, you will have to update via LGUP using "Upgrade" mode once you download the KDZ. That's not hard.
* With AT&T V35, if you want updates, you will have to cross flash to different firmware first, then continue to update via LGUP using "Upgrade" mode. That's not hard either, but it depends on how comfortable you are doing stuff like that.
schwinn8 said:
ChazzMatt is a wealth of knowledge on these matters, but I will tell you what I think. I did a check here for the US998 (V30) on your carrier in Spain: https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...SV/lg-us998-v30-td-lte-lg-joan/movistar-spain
From what it says, the US998 will work on your carrier without issue. This means you have the choice of getting many variants (eg LS998, VS996, etc) that Chazz showed on the WTF thread (see post 193 here https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76584629&postcount=193 ), hack that phone to US998 (via Frankenstein method) and it will work great. Note, as noted there, don't get an H932 as it's different... in reality, you may be able to get that to work as well these days, but I found it was easier to get LS998 or US998. That's what I did for our two phones - I got 2 US998s. (I converted mine to VS996 for other reasons - you won't need to.)
V35 by itself doesn't tell us enough - you need to know the model number. Please be careful when talking any phones, as the model number is what's most important! Some V35s are apparently V30+, others are different and won't work with any of the steps here... so again, be careful.
I'd say, stick to US998 or LS998, and you should be fine, but let the expert confirm!
Oh yeah, and congrats for leaving the Crapple world! Needless to say I'm not a fan, for many good/real reasons. Many of my friends have switched when they learned how much better things can be on Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply, kinda been busy with things and didn't want to just write a short reply, and thanks a lot for the "Frequency Check" website link, didn't know that was a thing I could use. I do worry about the message below the page though, saying "A matching frequency band does not guarantee coverage. There may be additional network or device software restrictions that prevent a device from connecting on a certain frequency. Additionally, certain bands may only be available regionally within a country." Does that mean I can't really be to sure it'll work even if it's supposed to be compatible? I wouldn't really want to take the risk it if that's the case.
Also, I've checked the LG V35 with my carrier Movistar, since preferably I'd choose it over the V30, and if I'm not selecting the wrong model (the eBay listing I'm looking at says model number is LM-V350A on the title, then V350AWM in the details, guessing that's the LMV350AWMH model from the Frequency Check website? Not one model number matches exactly for some reason), it says it only supports GSM, not UMTS or LTE. I don't know if this is any relevant, but whenever I used data on my old phone, the top side of the screen where you see the network name, Wi-Fi connection, etc. (at least on iOS not sure about Android) usually said LTE (or 3G if there wasn't any 4G connection available), so I'm guessing that means the LG V35 won't work well with my carrier Movistar. Kind of a bummer to be honest. Maybe I'm just getting confused at what all of these things actually mean, but if I understand correctly, if my carrier uses LTE and the V35 doesn't support any of its LTE bands that just means I wouldn't be able to use data, right? I don't really understand why these type of restrictions need to be put in place, if the phone is capable of 4G connection it should just work in every country with whichever carrier.
ChazzMatt said:
In Spain you will need GSM/HPSA/LTE.
V30
For the V30, the US998 (which is officially carrier unlocked model) it has all those plus CMDA (which you don't need, but doesn't hurt). The US998 was designated to be the "universal" V30/V30+ for North America. I'm going to briefly discuss the others just so you sort of know the difference. Others like U.S T-mobile H932, are locked to T-mobile and have an extra LTE band 71, which only T-mobile uses and would not benefit you whatsoever. Others like Verizon VS996 are already unlocked, but often give you a nag screen when rebooting if a Verizon SIM card is not inserted; as if you didn't know. The Canada H931 is carrier unlocked. The Sprint LS998 is carrier locked to Sprint, and the only way to carrier unlock it is to "Frankenstein" convert it to US998 (or some other carrier unlocked model like Canada H931 or Verizon VS996). AT&T H931 is carrier locked, but can be carrier unlocked by Frankenstein converted to a carrier unlocked model. With Frankenstein, whatever North American V30 phone you are flashing BECOMES the other model. You will see some eBay dealers incorrectly saying the US998 is locked to U.S. Cellular (a carrier here in the U.S.); this comes from them not knowing what they are selling. Yes, SOME US998 were sold by U.S. Cellular, but the US998 was the designated "open market" carrier unlocked model for North America and no US998 is carrier locked whatsoever. LG also sold the US998 through authorized 3rd party retailers like B&H Photo. They were all carrier unlocked, designed to be used with any carrier.
The other caveat is some of these are 64GB (VS996, H931, H933) while others have 128GB available like the US998 V30+ and the LS998 V30+. US998 also comes in 64GB model, but you might as well buy the V30+ (128GB).
The reason I mention "Frankenstein" is because there was a huge glut of Sprint LS998 V30+ on the market, and we found you could buy one and easily convert it to US998 V30+. I bought two and did that. No longer locked to Sprint, has fastboot flash commands and easily rooted (you probably don't care about that), and much less money than "native" US998 V30+ at the time. Dealers quickly figured this out also. In fact, most "new" or "mint" US998 V30+ you see on eBay for very good price are probably former LS998 V30+. That's OK.
So, it's no longer necessary to buy an LS998 V30+ to convert to US998 V30+, as the dealers have probably done it for you (or at least converted to the Nougat stage).
For your purposes, US998 (especially the V30+) is probably what you want of the North America V30 world. I have not mentioned the "European" H930 (64GB) or H930G (128GB) or the dual SIM H930DS (128GB), as importing those to U.S. for eBay sellers here make them more expensive.
http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-US998-Unlocked-v30
US998 V30/v30+/V30S
CDMA: 800 MHz CDMA
2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G UMTS (HSPA):850/900/1900/2100 MHz
4G LTE Bands: 1/2/3/4/5/7/12(17)/13/20/25/66
UPDATES
You will probably have to manually update the phone through software known as LGUP. New firmware images called KDZ are posted publicly here and on other websites. Takes 5 minutes, whenever you want, and you simply choose "Upgrade" mode. LG releases updates every 2 or 3 months.
You will also hear about checking for updates via LG Bridge (another piece of LG software), but it's better to just download the KDZ you need and use LGUP than to constantly have to fire up LG Bridge and check.
If you bought a "native" US998 V30+, you possibly would receive OTA updates. However, between the three native US998 V30 & V30+ I own, I've only received ONE OTA update in 1.5 years, and that was early on. So, don't depend on that.
You probably don't care about bootloader unlock and rooting, but for those who do ALL V30/V30+/V30S variants can be bootloader unlocked and rooted. That cannot be said for V35.
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V35
Basically 2018 updated version of the 2017 V30. Snapdragon 845 vs Snapdragon 835. Has 6GB RAM, while most of the V30 (except for the V30S) has 4GB RAM. However, I've owned several V30/V30+ and none are slow. Downside: comes in 64GB, whereas many V30 have 128GB internal memory. Yes, allegedly there is a V35+ (128GB) but I've only seen it mentioned on websites and can not actually buy one here in the U.S. or even over the internet.
The main U.S. V35 variant is sold by AT&T and is ostensibly locked to AT&T. Meaning that only AT&T network SIM cards will work. However, if the dealer says it's "unlocked", then mean they have entered the code to carrier unlock the phone, which AT&T allows when the phone is paid in full. You can usually buy with confidence these "unlocked" phones. One way or another, they have been unlocked. (Any "carrier unlocked" LS998 V30+ you see online means it's been converted to US998 to be carrier unlocked.)
While AT&T was the first to sell the LG V35, it's also now sold other places as well, like for Google Fi and some Latin American countries. So, it's no longer an AT&T exclusive and never was. AT&T was just the first. Having said that, the ones for the least price will probably be the AT&T V35 models. As long as it's advertised as "unlocked", you are OK.
UPDATES
For AT&T LG V35 (even if carrier unlocked) you can only get updates while connected to AT&T SIM card or through one AT&T-affiliated MVNO called Red Pocket. (If there are other AT&T-affiliated MVNOs that allow updates, it's not been confirmed.) This is the same situation if you buy an AT&T H931 V30. AT&T wants you to be their customer and they do not release KDZ to the general public, nor allow updates to be sent to non-AT&T customers.
However, this is only true if you keep the AT&T firmware (AWM). For V35, you can cross-flash to the OTHER V35 firmware (ULM) and be up to date. This would again use LGUP. I just bought an AT&T V35 and the previous owner (who still uses V30+ as his daily phone and is active in this forum) cross flashed it to non-AT&T firmware to debloat it and to update it. I will continue to use my own (rooted) US998 V30+ as my daily phone, but this V35 looks interesting.
For others who may be reading this, right now (end of March 2019) the only way to bootloader unlock and root the V35 is to buy one from China with that already done. However there is no TWRP yet for V35. @runningnak3d is working on all that.
Here are the frequencies you will get with the LG 35 Google Fi version. I assume if you cross flash the AT&T V35 you will receive all these bands if you don't have all these bands? I'm asking in the V35 forum to confirm this assumption... With the V30, when you cross flash North America variants to Frankenstein them, it converts them totally to the other variant.
LG V35 Google Fi bands
https://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-V350ULM-Google-Fi-v35-thinq
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz;
UMTS (HSPA): 850/900/1700/2100 MHz;
LTE: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/39/40/41/66
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CONCLUSION
I'm more comfortable recommending the US998 V30+ (128GB) to you right now, but an "unlocked" AT&T V35 (64GB) (especially if cross flashed to Google Fi firmware) would work well for you -- if the 64GB storage size (plus microSD card) fits your lifestyle and you don't care about bootloader unlocking/rooting (at least right now).
* With US998, you will have to update via LGUP using "Upgrade" mode once you download the KDZ. That's not hard.
* With AT&T V35, if you want updates, you will have to cross flash to different firmware first, then continue to update via LGUP using "Upgrade" mode. That's not hard either, but it depends on how comfortable you are doing stuff like that.
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OK wow, you really do know your stuff, sorry for the late reply but I've been busy and there's a lot here to take in, and I've still got more than a few questions if that's OK, not that you haven't explained a lot already but your post arose new questions. First of all, you say if a seller says the phone is unlocked (either carrier or factory unlocked, right? Same thing I'm guessing), then I can buy it confidently, does that mean I don't need to worry about different bands being compatible with the specific model I'm buying, since it's unlocked anyway? Or does that just mean that the phone can work with another carrier's SIM card, but data might not work then? As I've said, if I can choose I'd prefer the V35 over the V30 (don't care about the storage since I can use an SD card anyway, processor and RAM are my priority), but it seems like that one has more issues with compatibility, both in terms of updates and also after having checked the Frequency Check website schwinn8 recommended, though again, I assume if the phone is unlocked none of the bands compatibility issue matter. In any case, I'll send you a private message with a link to the seller page for the V35 deal I'm looking at right now, since I'm new in the forum and it won't let me post links like that on here, and hopefully you could help me figure out if that could work with Movistar's data connection and its LTE bands, if that's not too much to ask. I also need to say that I'm planning on buying the phone while in the US, since I'm taking a long trip there starting next month and was planning of taking advantage of that so I don't have to pay for the massive shipping costs to Spain. However, that means that basically I won't be able to make sure data works using the phone in Spain until I come back, and by then the 30-Day Return period will have ended, so I just need to know for sure that it'll work, that's why I'm asking about the whole unlocked thing and what it actually means.
Apart from that, I kinda need to ask about differences between a few other things you commented on. Basically, I don't understand much about what cross flashing, the Frankenstein method, or bootloader unlocking/rooting consist in. I don't know what the risk associated with each of this processes is or what each is looking to accomplish (I do understand Frankenstein allows you to unlock the V30, and change it so it becomes a US998, so to say, as you well explained, but that's about it), but I do know I wouldn't want to do anything that could brick my phone, I had a friend with a Nexus phone who had that happen to him (think he was rooting, not sure though) and I wouldn't trust myself any more than him to do anything that involves that type of risk, since I'd probably mess it up. So please keep that in mind, I understand you might find these type of things somewhat easy to do since you're way more experienced in them, but I'm quite wary about them. So, that being said, in case I end up buying a V35, I would definitely want to cross flash, since I do wish for updates, is that too difficult or risky? If it is I could just buy the V30, hopefully with the Frankenstein method done to it already, so I don't have to change anything myself.
That's pretty much everything I needed to ask, thanks a lot again for your reply, it's much appreciated, especially given my position as a newbie in the Android world.
JayKiddo said:
First of all, you say if a seller says the phone is unlocked (either carrier or factory unlocked, right? Same thing I'm guessing), then I can buy it confidently, does that mean I don't need to worry about different bands being compatible with the specific model I'm buying, since it's unlocked anyway? Or does that just mean that the phone can work with another carrier's SIM card, but data might not work then?
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Click to collapse
Carrier unlocked/SIM card unlocked/network unlocked all mean the same thing. It means you can stick in some other SIM card from some other carrier and the phone will work, IF the phone has that carrier's bands. Many carriers like Sprint or AT&T lock their phones to their networks. They couldn't care less about people who are not their customers, especially people living in other countries. They are not really making money on hardware sales but on monthly phone bills. Carrier unlock removes that restriction of using it on a specific network, but the phone still has to have the necessary bands for the different carrier.
A V30/V30+ converted to US998 WILL be carrier unlocked and I listed the bands above and should work on Spain Movistar.
A V35 the seller CLAIMS is carrier unlocked should also work on Spain Movistar. (Although I just answered a question from someone who was sold an "unlocked" AT&T V30 phone and apparently it was not carrier unlocked after all. So, they will have to Frankenstein it themselves.)
JayKiddo said:
In any case, I'll send you a private message with a link to the seller page for the V35 deal I'm looking at right now, since I'm new in the forum and it won't let me post links like that on here, and hopefully you could help me figure out if that could work with Movistar's data connection and its LTE bands, if that's not too much to ask.
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Click to collapse
This site says Movistar uses LTE bands 1, 3, 7, 20:
https://www.imei.info/carriers/spain/movistar/
IMEI.info: LTE bands
B1 (2100)
B3 (1800+)
B7 (2600)
B20 (800 DD)
So, US998 V30/V30+ and carrier unlocked V35 should all work.
JayKiddo said:
Apart from that, I kinda need to ask about differences between a few other things you commented on. Basically, I don't understand much about what cross flashing, the Frankenstein method, or bootloader unlocking/rooting consist in. I don't know what the risk associated with each of this processes is or what each is looking to accomplish (I do understand Frankenstein allows you to unlock the V30, and change it so it becomes a US998, so to say, as you well explained, but that's about it), but I do know I wouldn't want to do anything that could brick my phone.
So, that being said, in case I end up buying a V35, I would definitely want to cross flash, since I do wish for updates, is that too difficult or risky? If it is I could just buy the V30, hopefully with the Frankenstein method done to it already, so I don't have to change anything myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a V30/V30+ was already cross flashed to US998, you would not NEED to do anything. It will work. However, to get updates at some point in the future, you would want to learn the simple steps to use "Upgrade" mode in LGUP. It doesn't wipe data, it's like manually flashing an OTA.
The US998 KDZ are posted here in the XDA forum and you can also find them on other websites. No one is quite laying out the instructions or posting KDZ like that for the V35 yet.
For the V35, if carrier unlocked, then you would not NEED to do anything. It should work. However, to get updates at some point in the future, you would want to learn how to cross flash to the Google Fi firmware (which will wipe your data at that step), then learn the simple steps to use "Upgrade" mode in LGUP (which will not wipe your date going forward). You would have to download future Google Fi firmware and flash it.
If you buy the V35 here in the U.S. during your visit, you can check if it is carrier unlocked by using a non-AT&T carrier SIM card.
Really want a V30 w 6 gb ram US998R. Is this the one to go with? Love this phone and my Note 4 has the notorious bug problem. I need some advice on how to go w V30. Ive spent countless hours researching this phone. A lil bit of an audiophile. Any advice or information I'm missing? Compatibility wise on custom roms. Or if someone just has some where to point me in the3 right place? Thank you XDA peeps!
SuperNova Jedi said:
Really want a V30 w 6 gb ram US998R. Is this the one to go with? Love this phone and my Note 4 has the notorious bug problem. I need some advice on how to go w V30. Ive spent countless hours researching this phone. A lil bit of an audiophile. Any advice or information I'm missing? Compatibility wise on custom roms. Or if someone just has some where to point me in the3 right place? Thank you XDA peeps!
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Click to collapse
US998R is simply another US998. A.K.A. "V30S". R just means more RAM. (V30S "US998R" is just US998 V30+ with 6GB RAM.)
As for ROMs, all "H930" AOSP/Lineage custom ROMs are compatible with all V30/30+/V30S variants -- except for T-Mobile H932.
My suggestion is to get the phone, unlock bootloader, install TWRP, then update to latest US998 firmware and install the Anxious V30 Magisk module:
[Magisk Module] AnxiousV30 (v224)
Has audio (dual speaker and HIM) and camera improvements among many other things.
Use that set-up for a few days before jumping into the custom ROMs.
Latest stock rooted firmware has DTS 3D surround sound.
For bootloader unlock, TWRP installation and initial root, you want the WTF INSTRUCTIONS. Read them in a web browser, not an app. Print them out if you can. You will temporarily downgrade to earlier Oreo for the bootloader unlock exploit -- after which you can update to latest firmware via TWRP-flashable zips.
WTF V30/V30+/V30S Bootloader Unlock and Root (MOST VARIANTS)
Who's your carrier?
Sent via open market LG US998 V30/V30+
I use Assist Wireless........they use GSM (T-Mobile)
CDMA (Sprint). Great information, thank you so much for the info. Right now I have Resurrection Remix w a transparent substratum. And really like the customization of it. Also I don't like the bloatware and all the google apps. I run a google free ROM. So I see the US 998R is compatible w Sprint ATT T-Mobile and Verizon? This seem like a dream phone if its true. And the suggestion of dual speaker mod w stock does sound appetizing. I prob should take advice of running stock for a min. But first thing I do when I get a phone is root ROM. So any more adivce on these issues. This is what I love about this community. Thank you!
And upon further inspection, they are super hard to find I see
And the H930DS I see has compatibility issue w the radios?
SuperNova Jedi said:
I prob should take advice of running stock for a min. But first thing I do when I get a phone is root ROM. So any more adivce on these issues. This is what I love about this community. Thank you!
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On all my Android devices (phones, tablets) from 2011 until this phone I always ran custom ROMs. I wrote the threads about custom ROMs in other forums.
On this phone I've never yet installed a custom ROM. Just saying...
Of course it's rooted. Of course I have mods.
Just run it a couple of days with the Anxious mod and see what the phone can do. Then use that as a baseline when you jump into the custom ROM world.
---------- Post added at 12:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 PM ----------
SuperNova Jedi said:
And the H930DS I see has compatibility issue w the radios?
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Click to collapse
I don't understand your question. I thought you live in North America and were getting the US998. Why are you asking about the H930DS (either regular 4GB or the 6GB "30S" version) which is not for North America?
Unlike most North American variants, you can't convert H930 variants (H930, H939DS, H939G, H93OD) successfully (radio working) to North America variants.
For North America, the best V30 to get are probably:
* US998 (64GB V30 or better, the 128 GB V30+),
* LS998 (128GB V30+),
" VS996 (only 64GB V30 available).
Although you can and will convert the latter two to US998 in the bootloader unlock procedure, if you use Verizon best to have VS996 or native US998 -- or have an already-activated Verizon SIM card. For Sprint and Sprint MVNOs, you need Sprint-branded LS998 and get it activated BEFORE you do anything else. Sprint will not allow any other V30 variant in their network.
---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 PM ----------
SuperNova Jedi said:
And upon further inspection, they are super hard to find I see
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You mean the US998R V30S? You can get them but they're still expensive. Only sold for short period of time by B&H Photo. No carriers had them.
Last time I checked, eBay sellers wanted $400 for the US998(R) V30S, whereas mint US998 V30+ or LS998 V30+ is $200 or so. "New" is closer to $300... but may actually be refurbished. Be careful!
This is why the V30+ -- either native US998 or LS998 converted to US998 is the most popular.
---------- Post added at 01:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 PM ----------
SuperNova Jedi said:
I use Assist Wireless........they use GSM (T-Mobile)
CDMA (Sprint). Great information, thank you so much for the info.
So I see the US998R is compatible w Sprint ATT T-Mobile and Verizon? This seem like a dream phone if its true.
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Yes, but Sprint and some Sprint MVNOs will not let you use US998 on Sprint network. They make you use the Sprint branded LS998. While you have to temporarily convert LS998 to US998 to bootloader unlock and Install TWRP, for Sprint customers it's best to activate the LS998 phone first. After bootloader unlock and TWRP, those people can flash back to Sprint firmware via TWRP-flashable zip to get all the Sprint LTE bands back.
Some people buy Sprint LS998 on purpose to use on other carriers because with Frankenstein, you can easily convert them to US998. Once converted, they are carrier unlocked and are completely US998. I've bought several.
I have both native US998 V30 and V30+ from B&H Photo, plus converted US998 V30+ from LS998 V30+.
For Verizon, best to have an already-activated Verizon SIM card unless you buy native VS996. Most Verizon customers have that, so not a problem. Not sure if Verizon will activate a native US998; maybe they will. I know Verizon will NOT activate a converted Sprint LS998 to US998.
AT&T H931 and Canada H933 have problems booting up AOSP/Lineage custom ROMs. A whole lot of additional work is needed to make them work. Best to stay away from those.
Same with T-Mobile H932. Harder to root, not as many custom ROMs. Even the dev who rooted the T-Mobile H932 and is a T-Mobile customer now uses US998...