I've been doing some reserach and thinking that in the future when my phone breaks I'd like to get take a gamble and try one of those Chinese phones. I'd like to keep my Verizon's unlimited data plan with the 4G LTE. I was refered to this site and told to ask here about ROMs and Kernals to conver the phone's 4G frequency to 700mhz to match Verizons. I have yet to find many chinese phones that run on 4G and have found none that run on the 700mhz frequency. So my next plan is to reprogram the phone to run on the Verizon frequency.
Now I have the Droid Razr with 4G. It has a SIM but I was reading that the GSM was disabled so the phone just runs on the CDMA network. Correct me if it's wrong, but that's my understanding for the time being. Anyway I'm looking to reprogram a Chinese phone to someday replace my Droid Razr. If anyone can point me in the right direction of ROMs of kernals that would be fantastic, even some direction on the right devics would be fine too.
Thank you for your time.
Does anyone have any input on this? Is it even possible?
i dont think is possible because frequencies are hardware based
I was told I just needed a new kernal and ROM. I understand that the hardware is designed to run on a few different frequencies and that it just needed to be reprogramed. Can anyone confirm this?
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I'm looking to do the same. I'm not due for an upgrade until next year and my Galaxy Nexus flash memory is failing. I only need something to carry me over until my renewal, and I'm not going to buy an S4 or something for $600 until then... a ~$200 knock-off with decent hardware would be fun to play with, easy to carry and can be handed down to a kid on a prepaid network later (or used simply as a wifi/media/GPS device). Only problem is that it's hard to tell what is supported and what is not.
Any insight from those more experienced would be appreciated.
Related
Hey guys, I am running on Tmobile and was wondering if I purchased a Rhodium from AT&T when they are released, would I be able to flash the Tmobile Radio onto it to enable the 1700 3G band? Is there a hardware difference between these two phone radios? I don't want to get the Tmobile one because they would then force me to purchase their data plan like what happened with the G1 and I didn't agree even though I bought the phone from someone else so I had to sell it. I am currently using a Touch Pro and the inability to use Tmobile 3G makes me really sad. I currently pay $6 for their unlimited internet.
That would be an exercise in futility. No amount of radio flashing would automagically enable a non-existent hardware. I don't think the ATT version TP2 does 1700mhz. This has nothing to do with software but hardware. It's T-mo's fault for going 1700mhz in the first place and making things more complicated. Unless you want to buy subsidized (upgrade), you can pay full price for the T-mo version and just pop in your sim card.
Well, unless I am wrong. People currently with the Touch Pro 2 right now even though the one made for Tmobile isn't out yet are able to flash the Tmobile Radio onto their unbranded Touch Pro 2 and able to use Tmobile's 1700MHZ 3G Band. A lot of these phones use antenna's that are able to tune into a broad range of frequencies and I am sure we just need the radio rom that allows for the usage of those bands. The reason why I don't want to buy it without contract because Tmobile phones have their IMEI logged on Tmobile's end and they could not allow for me to use a certain phone with certain plans. I had 3 different G1's and they were all tracked by Tmobile and didn't allow me to use my data plan with that phone specifically.
johnny13oi said:
Well, unless I am wrong. People currently with the Touch Pro 2 right now even though the one made for Tmobile isn't out yet are able to flash the Tmobile Radio onto their unbranded Touch Pro 2 and able to use Tmobile's 1700MHZ 3G Band. A lot of these phones use antenna's that are able to tune into a broad range of frequencies and I am sure we just need the radio rom that allows for the usage of those bands. The reason why I don't want to buy it without contract because Tmobile phones have their IMEI logged on Tmobile's end and they could not allow for me to use a certain phone with certain plans. I had 3 different G1's and they were all tracked by Tmobile and didn't allow me to use my data plan with that phone specifically.
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Click to collapse
Keep in mind that the G1 is a different sort of phone. G1 is a feature phone and T-mo exclusive in the states. T-mobile doesn't log imei of regular win mobile phones. I have folks with MDA's/Wings/Tytn and even unlocked iPhones using T-mo and they just popped in their sims and set the APN properly using the cheapo data you're using too..
Could you point to where folks are flashing Touch Pro's (that don't have 1700mhz) and somehow unlocking them to use 1700mhz like you indicate?
LordLugard said:
Keep in mind that the G1 is a different sort of phone. G1 is a feature phone and T-mo exclusive in the states. T-mobile doesn't log imei of regular win mobile phones. I have folks with MDA's/Wings/Tytn and even unlocked iPhones using T-mo and they just popped in their sims and set the APN properly using the cheapo data you're using too..
Could you point to where folks are flashing Touch Pro's (that don't have 1700mhz) and somehow unlocking them to use 1700mhz like you indicate?
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the G1 is a feature phone?
Hi all..
I have found and read the instructions as it relates to flashign a phone to cricket... I am an old GSM guy here, not too familiar with CDMA things... But Cricket is runnign a special this weekend where it is only $25 a month for unlimited talk & txt.. I think this would be great for my son as a cheap cell phone.. Here are my questions:
Would Cricket need to know that I flashed a phone from another carrier?
Do I need ot buy one of their phones in the first place?
Anyone who has done this in the past, I would value your input.... I am just a little lost here on this.. thanks
In CDMA technologies, the user account gets compared to the ESN of the phone that you are trying to use. Lets say that you programmed your phone (MIN, MDN, flashed PRL, etc). The tower will see all the settings from your account and it will look at the ESN as well, if all this information matches to what they have on the records, you will have no problem in using this phone with Cricket.
Why am I saying this? Because, you will have to let them know about the ESN of your new device. They need to add it to their database and under your account as well for you to be able to use it. I know that MetroPCS charges you ~$50 to do this, I am not certain about Cricket though. You may want to call them up and ask if you can have your Vogue flashed over to their system. I have read countless threads of people having flashed their Vogues to Cricket, so I guess it is possible.
Good luck!
Thanks for the reply...
Here is the issue (or question).. I live in a new "triband only" cricket market (Chicago/Milwaukee area).. I have read that, to work, the phone needs to use the 1700AWS frequency... I know in the "old" cricket areas you don;t need this... Will the Vogue work here? Sorry for all the questions.. I just don;t want to buy the phone and then not be able to use it...
According to the specs, the Vogue is only dual band (800 and 1900 MHz). You can see them here. If that is the case, then you might not be able to use it. Just check with them to be on the safe side. You can also look for people on the Cricket network on other forums and see if someone is using this device in the Chicago area. Good luck!
not sure about your city/are specifically but in Austin TX i was able to take a HTC Vogue (Sprint Touch) and fully flash it over. Phone, SMS, MMS, Data, Tethering, and I even found a guide for GPS (have not tried yet).
All works fine. They only issue I really have is that the DATA seems kinda crap at times. It says its at full EVDO/3G but sometimes i have to perform a manual disconnect/reconnect to jumpstart data again.
When I flash to a "non cricket" rom though I lose Tethering ability. Trying to find a guide on the settings myself so I can go back to NSFans 6.5 ROM.
Sorry for the bad news. Unfortunately there are no HTC phones available at this time that you can flash and have work in the Chicago area. That area is a AWS 1700 MHZ market and there are no CDMA HTC devices that support that technology. I would recommend that you purchase a cricket branded phone. If you are looking for a Windows phone take a look at Metro's line up. They have a Samsung that is tri band and WM powered. Also crickets new phone that is PDA like will be out tomorrow at cricKet Corp stores.
I have read for a while and I have found nothing that will make me 100% sure for what I need.
I'm interested in buying this phone as it's similar to the Sprint Evo Shift but will work with the new GSM network my carrier has with HSPA+ (at least for 7.2mbps as far as I've read).
So, I know the DZ will work as my carrier uses 850/1900 for HSPA, but I've seen that people with AT&T in the US buy the DZ (not the G2 as T-Mobile uses other frequencies).
My question is, what's finally the difference between both phones? Is there a hardware difference that makes them operate on different frequencies or is it only related to the flashed radio?
It's confusing to me as many people in the forum assure in other threads that the phones are exactly the same, but if people with AT&T spend more for the canadian version makes me think it's a HW issue.
Thank you and regards
Frequency compatibility is set in hardware, and can't be modified with software. You need to buy the phone that is compatible with your carrier's 3G network. As you suspected, this is the reason why AT&T customers (like myself) have paid premium prices for the Bell Canada version of the Z, the only version of the Vision that is fully compatible with AT&T's 850/1900 MHz 3G network.
Aside from frequency compability, the Z and the G2 are essentially the same phone. The G2 has a keyboard button for .www and .com (its a Tab key on the Z). But that's really it. Of course, the Z has Sense, but that is software, and you can flash a Sense ROM if you want.
redpoint73, thank you very much. I have the Evo Shift right now that works on the 3G CDMA network, but my provider just released the 4G HSPA+ GSM network and since then, I feel 3G speeds are getting lower every day and the network isn't as stable anymore as it used to be.
I was about to buy the T-Mobile version, but now I'm confident that I need the Bell version... Will have to wait for a good deal on Ebay. Too bad that HTC has only these options with keyboard, I really like my Evo Shift, but I'm getting speeds as low as 380kbps for download while users with HSPA+ are getting up to 4mbps...
Are you sure that GSM phones even work on Sprint? My understanding is that the your phone needs to be Sprint branded, otherwise they will not have an ESN number to activate in the system.
BTW, please click the "Thanks" button, if my post helped you.
No, I'm in Mexico, my carrier is Iusacell. They used to be a CDMA network, the first 3G network in Mexico built more than 10 years ago, most of us used to buy Sprint phones as they were the best to port to this company, however now they are starting their GSM network and it looks as if they're starting to leave the CDMA network out of the priority, so I'm looking for a phone that will work. I have done my research and they use the 850/1900 frequencies for HSPA+, so most US/Canada phones will work but not T-Mobile.
Thank you...
mschmiedel said:
No, I'm in Mexico, my carrier is Iusacell. They used to be a CDMA network, the first 3G network in Mexico built more than 10 years ago, most of us used to buy Sprint phones as they were the best to port to this company, however now they are starting their GSM network and it looks as if they're starting to leave the CDMA network out of the priority, so I'm looking for a phone that will work. I have done my research and they use the 850/1900 frequencies for HSPA+, so most US/Canada phones will work but not T-Mobile.
Thank you...
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Ahh, I understand now. That makes a lot more sense. You didn't mention your carrier (or country), but mentioned Sprint, so I assumed that was your carrier.
Right now, it seems that indeed the Bell Canada version of the Desire Z is best fit for what you want (same conclusion that I came to a few months ago).
Redpoint, don't forget the partitions are different on the phone also. The DZ has smaller partitions (system at least) than the G2. This hasn't been an issue... yet, given than every custom so far has been well below the stock size of even the DZ. With the new sense though, things are going to only go up in size for those ROMs. That being said it still shouldn't be an issue.
KCRic said:
Redpoint, don't forget the partitions are different on the phone also. The DZ has smaller partitions (system at least) than the G2. This hasn't been an issue... yet, given than every custom so far has been well below the stock size of even the DZ. With the new sense though, things are going to only go up in size for those ROMs. That being said it still shouldn't be an issue.
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Click to collapse
Hard for me to forget it, since I wasn't aware of that :-/
Whats the exact breakdown of the difference in system partitions?
That's actually opposite of what one would expect, since the Sense ROMs take up more memory.
Yes, I hadn't mentioned my carrier earlier. Now my issue is that shipping from Canada to Mexico is prohibitive (more than 90USD), so maybe I will have to stay with the AT&T inspire... Will have to use Swype or something similar as an alternative to the physical keyboard.
mschmiedel said:
Yes, I hadn't mentioned my carrier earlier. Now my issue is that shipping from Canada to Mexico is prohibitive (more than 90USD), so maybe I will have to stay with the AT&T inspire... Will have to use Swype or something similar as an alternative to the physical keyboard.
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I was going to recommend the Inspire, even though you seemed to need/want a physical keyboard. It looks like a great phone.
The Desire Z is my 3rd smartphone, and all have had physical keyboards. But for my next, I am seriously considering going without the physical keyboard. I can't stand typing on a touch screen by the "traditional" method. But I've found that with Swype, I can type as fast, maybe even faster than with the physical keyboard. I've been finding myself using the physical keyboard much less than I thought I would.
Yes, I really like Swype too, but I have some issues with it. I write moste messages in Spanish, but I also use English and German. Changing languages is not as easy as I think it should be. But well, the main issue for me is that Swype always uses special charecters in Spanish/German (ñ, á, ä, etc.) which is nice on Emails, whatsapp, etc. but is a big problem with SMS texting as carriers in Mexico don't support these characters (it's really stupid) so messages sometimes get messed up completely.
I think that's the main reason why I like the physical keyboard. I have had many smartphones (mogul, touch, diamond, touch pro, motorola droid, htc evo and now the evo shift). I really hated the droid's keyboard, but the shift is really nice to use. Will have to get used to using on screen typing again... I think it's not worth paying 500 bucks for the Desire Z due to shippig if I can get a brand new Inspire for less...
Regards
redpoint73 said:
Hard for me to forget it, since I wasn't aware of that :-/
Whats the exact breakdown of the difference in system partitions?
That's actually opposite of what one would expect, since the Sense ROMs take up more memory.
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Click to collapse
Sorry, didn't come back to this thread yesterday. I'm not sure of the exact breakdown for the partitions. I know the system is smaller and a couple others vary. There's an old thread somewhere on here with the details though.
Would getting a Rezound with an off contract price and only using the 3G until my area gets some 4G love worth it.
Or should I just stick with my Dinc and/or get the best 3G phone my area has to offer.
I live on Guam and 4G isn't gonna be implemented any time soon, to my knowledge.
I've been asking about updates/upgrade to the network here and they say it'll happen but not anytime soon...
Yeah, I obviously chose the Rezound over the Nexus, I am hooked on Sense!!!
The few phones I have to choose here if I don't get the Rezound are:
1. Evo 3D
2. Dinc 2
3. Droid X2
I would choose the Evo 3D but think 3D in general is a gimmick but it would be cheaper than getting a off contract priced Rezound.
That is pretty much it, any comments are greatly apreciatated.
You have to think about the hardware and software. The new phones are fast as flash. But about internet speed it might be a little bit faster but I don't know I'm still rocking my Dinc
Sent From My Optimized HTC Incredibly Dinc
Thanks for the insight..
Sent from teh Droidz Incredible
I don't have 4G either but I upgraded to a nexus. I'm sorta luke warm about it. IMHO all the current line of CDMA Andoid phones a one flaw or another largely specific to each manufacturer.
Razr/MOTO-No removable battery-Locked bootloader-best CMDA Radio
Rezound/HTC-Battery only 1350-fat and heavy-no HDMI-HTC bluetooth stack sucks(PS3/Wii controllers)HTC CDMA Radio So-So
GN/Samsung: No SD card slot, Samsung CDMA radio is poor.
Sorry some of these models aren't on your list but this is what I've had in hand and done research on.
Okay guys,
Thanks for all your input.
However I am suffering quite a big ordeal, well for me at least.
I went ahead and bought an HTC Thunderbolt but I can't use it.
It's just a very fast mini tablet right now that is rooted with Zues.
My carrier is unable to activate it but there is one thing that might work, there is a hack or something that would make it work. They *carrier** say that if the hack is done the 3G won't stick and/or the sms or voice or something like that won't work properly.
I've done my research and I assumed that since my Dinc runs with the same 3G interface as the Tbolt's that I wouldn't have a problem at all. I even asked around even asked the Wirefly ppl about it, they said shouldn't be a problem as long as the CDMA freqs are the same.
Anyways, looking at the phone lists that my carriers offer and after further inspection those most if not all they offer are Sprint phones. How could this be, they offer Verizon type phones and they offer Sprint type phones, what are they doing to able to do this.
In spite of the 3D gimmick, I think I will go with an EVO 3D it's the fastest phone on my carrier or I think it is. What would you suggest, I would have to pay 3xx for the phone.
So now, I gotta find a buyer for the Tbolt recoup from my loss and get a phone.
Ok,
I've been looking for an official spec data sheet on the CDMA and GSM Versions of SGN. Thus far I am unable to find it - I've found the generic spec thus far but nothing in detail.d
Verizon is sending me a new SGN This week and Im going to flash GSM Radio's to CDMA Phone (Yes, I know you dont need to say it) I am taking a gamble that the SGN is a Quad band phone like Rezound. (It has the menu interface for GSM both 3g and 4g) - Personally I would like to see the ability to use CDMA or GSM (Pick on boot or within the ROM) Similar to 4g/3g Swapping.
Let me know If I sound nuts.
Nuts.
But if it would work you'd be called a genius and loved like Einstein in your avatar.
Im thinking it's gonna brick the device but im not worried about that.
Anyone else think its gonna brick the device?
Super nuts. I hope it doesn't brick it but just brakes the radios. Good luck man.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Ok, I just Flashed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20312089&postcount=6
It didn't brick the device (I assume because its radio only and not the BaseBand)
Gonna reflash my Hybrid 4.0.4 Radio to make sure all is well
Then reflash this and flash a GSM baseband/bootloader
IMO I call BullSh*t to Verizons Non-world phone idea. I think they pushed the phone out so fast that it was built on a universal hardware platform and the software is the limiting factor.
Ok, Flashed the Standard Euro Baseband XXKK6 - No luck on signal or getting IMEI off the phone now.
Gonna run to Tmobile and get a New Simcard for my extra account. At this point I am assuming the sim lock is blocking any efforts to use the GSM Bands.
Atlantian said:
Ok,
I've been looking for an official spec data sheet on the CDMA and GSM Versions of SGN. Thus far I am unable to find it - I've found the generic spec thus far but nothing in detail.d
Verizon is sending me a new SGN This week and Im going to flash GSM Radio's to CDMA Phone (Yes, I know you dont need to say it) I am taking a gamble that the SGN is a Quad band phone like Rezound. (It has the menu interface for GSM both 3g and 4g) - Personally I would like to see the ability to use CDMA or GSM (Pick on boot or within the ROM) Similar to 4g/3g Swapping.
Let me know If I sound nuts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Atlantian said:
Im thinking it's gonna brick the device but im not worried about that.
Anyone else think its gonna brick the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're stupid. You cant accomplish anything with this. It will NEVER work on a GSM network dude. Just buy a goddamn GSM version. You think you're just some pioneer that's going to crack this, as if its not widely known that the phones are physically different? It doesn't have the proper GSM radios in it...
You're just going to brick it. Before you do, why not just sell it and donate the money to charity. Money better used...
Is this a joke..?
So by your logic I can put a Verizon LTE sim card in my GSM nexus and achieve LTE speeds? Since you know, the hardware is the same.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium