[Q] Strange icon in notification area... - AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III

I have an unlocked at&t phone on tmobile's network. just got it today. it's completely stock except for the fact that it's unlocked. and i'm fully aware that this is an at&t forum, but the phone for all intents and purposes is built by/for at&t.
there's an icon in my notification area that says "t-mobile" (pictured). anyone know why this occurs?? when i pull down the notification area, there is nothing that corresponds to this icon. it's taking up too much space for absolutely no (discernible) reason.

Angry Black Man said:
I have an unlocked at&t phone on tmobile's network. just got it today. it's completely stock except for the fact that it's unlocked. and i'm fully aware that this is an at&t forum, but the phone for all intents and purposes is built by/for at&t.
there's an icon in my notification area that says "t-mobile" (pictured). anyone know why this occurs?? when i pull down the notification area, there is nothing that corresponds to this icon. it's taking up too much space for absolutely no (discernible) reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why does it say "edge" beside T-Mobile with little data bars, if you're connected to WiFi?

Angry Black Man said:
I have an unlocked at&t phone on tmobile's network. just got it today. it's completely stock except for the fact that it's unlocked. and i'm fully aware that this is an at&t forum, but the phone for all intents and purposes is built by/for at&t.
there's an icon in my notification area that says "t-mobile" (pictured). anyone know why this occurs?? when i pull down the notification area, there is nothing that corresponds to this icon. it's taking up too much space for absolutely no (discernible) reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's telling you which network you're logged into. With an AT&T sim in, it would say AT&T up there. This is not terribly useful when you're on your home network but indispensable when you're roaming abroad. Many networks have roaming partners, so, if you were in Italy for example, you may find that being on WIND was about 10% of the price than being on VODAFONE. Also, if you're near a border area, you really don't want it roaming onto a foreign network when it could be using your local one.
The stock touchwiz roms have this up on the top left. CM based roms tend to just have it on the lock screen (from what I can tell).
TMobile has a different 3g frequency setup than AT&T which is why your phone is using Edge (2g+). I saw a way on the these forums to unlock the AWS band which may be worth looking at.

DMF1977 said:
Why does it say "edge" beside T-Mobile with little data bars, if you're connected to WiFi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3rd party app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blueline.signalcheck&hl=en

rdoac said:
It's telling you which network you're logged into.
...
The stock touchwiz roms have this up on the top left. CM based roms tend to just have it on the lock screen (from what I can tell).
TMobile has a different 3g frequency setup than AT&T which is why your phone is using Edge (2g+). I saw a way on the these forums to unlock the AWS band which may be worth looking at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is all outstanding information. thank you! i was definitely getting annoyed that it was edging instead of 3ging when im not directly in 4g spaces. and knowing that this is part of touchwiz, i intend to CM it so it should hopefully go away.
i'll defnitely look into unlocking the band. didn't know this would be an issue when i got the phone. awesome info!!

Angry Black Man said:
3rd party app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blueline.signalcheck&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have u tried disabling this app? Could be that? I don't remember my carrier name being up there when I was stock, but that was only a few days! Lol... I'm running a custom tw ROM now, and its not there either... Just sayin...

DMF1977 said:
Have u tried disabling this app? Could be that? I don't remember my carrier name being up there when I was stock, but that was only a few days! Lol... I'm running a custom tw ROM now, and its not there either... Just sayin...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... by stock, i mean that i'm not running a 3rd party rom. at any rate, my question is hitherto resolved.

rdoac said:
TMobile has a different 3g frequency setup than AT&T which is why your phone is using Edge (2g+). I saw a way on the these forums to unlock the AWS band which may be worth looking at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771021
done! hspa now instead of edge. that's ultra sexy.

Related

Using T-Mo SGH-T989 on Mobilicity in Canada, a few questions..

I wonder if anybody is using this phone in Mobi here in Canada, a friend of mine got one and the first thing we noticed was that it takes FOREVER to pick the signal, even u do a manual search is painfully slow to stick to Mobi's network, also the Wifi spot is locked, and so we wonder if anybody knows a way to work around these issues without rooting (at the moment !!!).
Thanks for any input!
Btw, the phone is great, thin, light, no way that crappy mapple mockup will be even close, I mean, it does even come with Si....I mean Voice command, which works amazing!
I don't think there's another radio out yet so, i think the radio searching issue you're having isn't fixable?
I haven't heard anyone complain about the signal search so maybe it's your area or something with your particular phone. Try setting it to WCDMA preferred/only. Also, call into Wind and ask for a network reset.
Also, it seems like the wifi-spot is locked down by the t-mobile ROM. I doubt there's any fix for that other than rooting and installing a non-crippled ROM. I stand to be corrected though as I have yet to get mine in.
I know on mine when I do a Factory Reset it does take a minute or two to find the Mobilicity signal, but then it locks on, and is fine when I restart the phone. No work around for the Wifi Tethering unless you root and freeze the Tethering Manager. Sorry.
it works, i'm using it on Wind as you can see
just set the phone to look for WCDMA only as mentioned above, and it will bypass scanning the Rogers, Bell, Telus signal
so you get the Wind and Mobi towers to show up quickly that way
Funny you have the same problem as couple of other guys here (including me):
http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...-S2x-unlocked-Wont-find-network-automatically
My response remains the same:
It's definitely a problem with Mobilicity not your phone. It happens to me too when I boot up the phone it says "No Service" even though I previously registered with Mobilicity network and phone setting is set to register automatically. Don't worry. Boot up the phone, do nothing and wait for 2-3 minutes and see what happens. I usually have to wait 1 minute or so for the phone to auto-register to Mobilicity, not instant.
Also, in your mobile settings, set it to "WCDMA only" instead of the default "GSM / WCDMA auto" because Mobilicity uses WCDMA bands only. It may speed some things up.
Also, if you want to speed things up even more, go to your dialer, dial *#*#2263#*#*, select "WCDMA Band Preference", and then select "WCDMA 1700" so that the phone looks by default in the 1700 band (the band the Mobilicity uses exclusively).
---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:34 PM ----------
goonx said:
I don't think there's another radio out yet so, i think the radio searching issue you're having isn't fixable?
I haven't heard anyone complain about the signal search so maybe it's your area or something with your particular phone. Try setting it to WCDMA preferred/only. Also, call into Wind and ask for a network reset.
Also, it seems like the wifi-spot is locked down by the t-mobile ROM. I doubt there's any fix for that other than rooting and installing a non-crippled ROM. I stand to be corrected though as I have yet to get mine in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not true.
You can root your phone, use Titanium Backup (paid version) to freeze the system app called "Tethering Manager", after that you can do wifi-hotspot with no problem. T-Mobile uses that software to block this feature.
513263337 said:
It's definitely a problem with Mobilicity not your phone. It happens to me too when I boot up the phone it says "No Service" even though I previously registered with Mobilicity network and phone setting is set to register automatically. Don't worry. Boot up the phone, do nothing and wait for 2-3 minutes and see what happens. I usually have to wait 1 minute or so for the phone to auto-register to Mobilicity, not instant..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is interesting
in WIND i do not have that problem
i power on the phone and it automatically picks up the WIND tower by itself during boot time
so by the time you see the lock screen, it already says WIND Home
AllGamer said:
this is interesting
in WIND i do not have that problem
i power on the phone and it automatically picks up the WIND tower by itself during boot time
so by the time you see the lock screen, it already says WIND Home
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the (Howard Forum) thread that I linked to, a lot of people are having this problem with registering this phone with Mobilicity. And I can personally vouch for it that every time phone boots up it takes an additional 2 minutes before you see Mobilicity.
Thx guys, so I was rt about switching the AWS setting, still it bothers me, in any case and in regards to the Wifi hotspot, what about after installing a ROM, does it stay locked or the app becomes the standard manager for the Wifi hotspot?, I wish I could rewrite the app on the stock ROM but I don't really know how to get into that...
fenrry said:
Thx guys, so I was rt about switching the AWS setting, still it bothers me, in any case and in regards to the Wifi hotspot, what about after installing a ROM, does it stay locked or the app becomes the standard manager for the Wifi hotspot?, I wish I could rewrite the app on the stock ROM but I don't really know how to get into that...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My SGS2x works fine with Mobilicity, been using it with them since the 30th.
wifi tethering worked from day 1 using the stock telus install. I'm now using several custom ROMs, and overall I'm really happy with the phone on mobilicity. their 3g internet leaves lots to be desired though, perhaps it will improve, but it is an unlimited carrier.
513263337 said:
This is not true.
You can root your phone, use Titanium Backup (paid version) to freeze the system app called "Tethering Manager", after that you can do wifi-hotspot with no problem. T-Mobile uses that software to block this feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He was asking for a non-root solution.....Glad there's another way out there using root. But I think if you root the phone, you mind as well throw another ROM on there. Removes all the bloatware as well.
fenrry said:
Thx guys, so I was rt about switching the AWS setting, still it bothers me, in any case and in regards to the Wifi hotspot, what about after installing a ROM, does it stay locked or the app becomes the standard manager for the Wifi hotspot?, I wish I could rewrite the app on the stock ROM but I don't really know how to get into that...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a stripped down version of the stock ROM. Never tried it but maybe that will work. You should just use one of those custom roms if you're going to root it. They have tweaks and other whatnots that improve your phone's performance. Once you go custom, you don't want to go back to stock.
Liquid5n0w said:
My SGS2x works fine with Mobilicity, been using it with them since the 30th.
wifi tethering worked from day 1 using the stock telus install. I'm now using several custom ROMs, and overall I'm really happy with the phone on mobilicity. their 3g internet leaves lots to be desired though, perhaps it will improve, but it is an unlimited carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, it's been brutal. Hopefully they can get a few more cell towers up.
goonx said:
Agreed, it's been brutal. Hopefully they can get a few more cell towers up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue isn't cell towers, the issue is back end internet, after the IP transmission gets through their cell network to whatever centre they use, the internet connection to that that all of Toronto shares it ****ty and can't keep up. It's not a single overloaded tower that's the issue, as you can see by doing constant speed tests while roaming around.
Backend internet connections are expensive, especially the bandwidth on them. Small carrier can't afford to keep up to it's unlimited bandwidth demands.
Liquid5n0w said:
My SGS2x works fine with Mobilicity, been using it with them since the 30th. Wifi tethering worked from day 1 using the stock Telus install. I'm now using several custom ROMs, and overall I'm really happy with the phone on Mobilicity. their 3g internet leaves lots to be desired though, perhaps it will improve, but it is an unlimited carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this is not rooted yet so that's a huge difference since ur phone will for sure include modifications to the radio, in all (I just figured it) is about Samsung, I have a N8 and a NS, compared the 2 with the SMGS2 (T989) and there is a thing in common between the NS and the T989, getting signal from cold boot or out of dead spots is a pain, my N8 picks the signal almost immediately, on the NS running stock it takes a good 2 to 3 mins (or more if out of cold boot) to get signal but the NS running MIUI makes things faster, I presume and since the stock SMGS2 takes a long time (like the NS) the same will happen when u run the phone with a modded ROM, it will pick signal faster.
So I guess it's all about rooting
Liquid5n0w said:
The issue isn't cell towers, the issue is back end internet, after the IP transmission gets through their cell network to whatever centre they use, the internet connection to that that all of Toronto shares it ****ty and can't keep up. It's not a single overloaded tower that's the issue, as you can see by doing constant speed tests while roaming around.
Backend internet connections are expensive, especially the bandwidth on them. Small carrier can't afford to keep up to it's unlimited bandwidth demands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the backend connection. But I think it's a bit of both. Some areas don't have as many cell towers as others. (in my area, i only have two) So I have a feeling it's both rather than just the backend.
Hopefully, they have a good new subs-to-upgrade interval so the speeds will get better.
well, regarding the nexus S
a lot of people in WIND also complains that it always stays in "emergency mode calls only, blah blah blah" basically unable to attach itself to the network.
i seldomly get that on my Nexus S, but that's probably because it's customized
but on the T989, i don't have that problem even in stock
so that's actually very nice
fenrry said:
Well, this is not rooted yet so that's a huge difference since ur phone will for sure include modifications to the radio, in all (I just figured it) is about Samsung, I have a N8 and a NS, compared the 2 with the SMGS2 (T989) and there is a thing in common between the NS and the T989, getting signal from cold boot or out of dead spots is a pain, my N8 picks the signal almost immediately, on the NS running stock it takes a good 2 to 3 mins (or more if out of cold boot) to get signal but the NS running MIUI makes things faster, I presume and since the stock SMGS2 takes a long time (like the NS) the same will happen when u run the phone with a modded ROM, it will pick signal faster.
So I guess it's all about rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AllGamer said:
well, regarding the nexus S
a lot of people in WIND also complains that it always stays in "emergency mode calls only, blah blah blah" basically unable to attach itself to the network.
i seldomly get that on my Nexus S, but that's probably because it's customized
but on the T989, i don't have that problem even in stock
so that's actually very nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That reinforce my statement, is not really the network but mostly the way Samsung works the radios on their phones on the 1700 Mhz freq or at least for us, don't know in the US.
My NS running stock is a pain, modded works nicely, takes a bit longer than my Nokia but gets the network faster than running stock Android, I bet the same happens with the T989.
I am currently on Mobilicity in Vancouver with a crappy cheap phone and it has a hell of a time getting reception on the network. I live in East Van near victoria and I get reception in only 1 room in my place. I am planning on getting the Telus GS2X in a couple of weeks. Would this help my problem? Can anyone who lives in Vancouver and has the GS2X comment on his/her reception in east van?
Thanks alot.
New_here said:
I am currently on Mobilicity in Vancouver with a crappy cheap phone and it has a hell of a time getting reception on the network. I live in East Van near victoria and I get reception in only 1 room in my place. I am planning on getting the Telus GS2X in a couple of weeks. Would this help my problem? Can anyone who lives in Vancouver and has the GS2X comment on his/her reception in east van?
Thanks alot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a new phone might not help if the tower is physically too far from your location
however a good phone with good reception could improve your problem
the only way to find out is to try the phone in your house and see if it works for you
Does anyone know the best place to buy this phone and have it shipped to usa. I know tmobile sells the phone but if I use a tmobile branded android phone they up the cost of my service.
If u want the phone not branded to T-Mo then u'll have to get the Telus version sine it comes with no T-Mo stuff, I don't know of this model to be able factory unlocked
On the other hand I have a couple of new questions:
1> Is there a way to fix/access the MMS?, on Mobi I'm getting errors when receiving MMS, the pixs come all blurry.
2> Any way to enable the Wifi Tethering?, using the T-Mo model is just impossible unless u have the T-Mo sim which is not the case and I haven't seen any of the existing ROM's addressing the issue (sorry if I missed the part, so pls let me know if it's fixed )
Thx
1) check the apn settings and match it to the mobilicity ones. Head over to hofo and there's a thread about it
2) you need to root your phone &, put a custom rom on it. There's another way of disabling a process but I suggest the former
Sent from my SGH-T989

Unlocking T-Mobile for AT&T service

hi everyone:
I have been looking via numerous thread online on many Android forums especially here and have been unsuccessful for the past 2 days now. So I figured I would need to create a thread and finally give in and ask for some help. I have a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy 3 phone and I need to unlock it so that it will work on my AT&T service. Now i understand about rooting the phone and being able to play with themes etc, but its not that great if I can't use the phone itself.
Now without coming up with some kind of answer I must have watched about 40 youtube video's hoping to find out some kind of information. Mostly what I got out of it was numerous website that offer unlocking for phones at a certain price.
unlockcodesource(.)com
unlock2go(.)com
mobileunlockcodes(.)co.uk
Has anyone ever used any of these website or can someone give me some good advise on how I can get this phone unlocked please/
~Aqua
I think the toolkit stickied in the development forum has an option to SIM unlock the GS3. I have not tried this, and do not know if it works, but if the option is there, you might want to give it a shot.
If you're on contract with t mobile and your account is in good standing with them. Call them tell them you're going over seas and need to unlock your phone so you can use it. They will send you unlock code ... then pop in an att sim card and it will prompt you to enter the unlock code t Mobil gave you. Done
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
thanks _
Crisisx1 said:
If you're on contract with t mobile and your account is in good standing with them. Call them tell them you're going over seas and need to unlock your phone so you can use it. They will send you unlock code ... then pop in an att sim card and it will prompt you to enter the unlock code t Mobil gave you. Done
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK thank you. I followed your instructions and they said it would take up to maybe 24 hrs for the phone to be unlocked. If it isn't unlocked than she said to call back with the conformation number she gave me. If that doesn't work than they would have to give Samsung my info and could take up to 14 days. She said when you buy phones almost all stands and corp stores have already unlocked phones.
she also said it would be auto unlocked for good. Can they lock the phone back up once it is be unlocked?
~Aqua
edited: Once I have it unlocked ( if all goes good ) do i use the same APN settings that I needed to put into the phone in order for my phone to work on the AT&T network as I did with my S2 that I got unlocked ?
Don't they use different frequencies for HSPA+
You would be relegated to edge speeds, correct me if I'm wrong
speed issue
five40 said:
Don't they use different frequencies for HSPA+
You would be relegated to edge speeds, correct me if I'm wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't know. That would be a great question if someone would be nice enough to help me with this information? Again i have a T mobile S3 hopefully its unlocked would I be losing speeds by being on the AT&T network?
thanks
~Aqua
AquaWater said:
I really don't know. That would be a great question if someone would be nice enough to help me with this information? Again i have a T mobile S3 hopefully its unlocked would I be losing speeds by being on the AT&T network?
thanks
~Aqua
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-Mobile S3 has the 850/1900 3G bands so it will work on AT&T's 3G network. It will not get LTE though.
You can unlock either by paying for a code from the various resellers online or requesting an unlock code from T-Mobile if you have an account in good standing with them. If you can't get the code from T-Mobile I suggest searching 'T999 unlock' on eBay and you'll find some good options.
The tmobile galaxy s3 will work on the ATnT HSPA+21 frequency. Same frequency the International version runs on for that network.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Edge network and 3/4G Question
I found an excellent place so far on eBay for buying unlock codes. they have almost 3800 sells with a 99% positive feedback. Great customer service. The guy answered numerous questions of mine and made sure i did everything correctly. Payment was $24.95 US, so hopefullly everything will go good.
He was talking about being on something called an " Edge " network which is a little slower, but he said you won't notice a difference between your unlocked S2 and the unlocked S3 now. Right now my S2 says I have 3G service when I use it. I dont understand how i had a inspire4G, what is the 4G for if AT&T only gives you 3G service? And where I am in United States I should have 4G service no matter what. I'm confused on that.,
AquaWater said:
I found an excellent place so far on eBay for buying unlock codes. they have almost 3800 sells with a 99% positive feedback. Great customer service. The guy answered numerous questions of mine and made sure i did everything correctly. Payment was $24.95 US, so hopefullly everything will go good.
He was talking about being on something called an " Edge " network which is a little slower, but he said you won't notice a difference between your unlocked S2 and the unlocked S3 now. Right now my S2 says I have 3G service when I use it. I dont understand how i had a inspire4G, what is the 4G for if AT&T only gives you 3G service? And where I am in United States I should have 4G service no matter what. I'm confused on that.,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edge is 2G speeds, which are substantially slower than 3G speeds. IMHO, 3G speeds are livable, 2G/Edge is not.
Different phones have different radios which work on different frequencies. Some phones are not compatible with other services at all, and some will work on other carriers but often not at optimal speeds.
Darmokk said:
Edge is 2G speeds, which are substantially slower than 3G speeds. IMHO, 3G speeds are livable, 2G/Edge is not.
Different phones have different radios which work on different frequencies. Some phones are not compatible with other services at all, and some will work on other carriers but often not at optimal speeds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So than why would someone suggest that I would get "edge" instead of what i have now? I'm getting 3G now with my T-Mobile S2 unlocked on AT&T, but now I'm going to have an unlocked S3, why wouldn't it be the same?
Because the radios in the devices are different.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
So than why would someone suggest that I would get "edge" instead of what i have now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because he/she doesn't know what he/she is talking about. You will be fine with a T-Mobile S3 on AT&T.
That's what I said earlier in not so many words.
Voice willl work fine you will not see HSPA+ speeds on At&t with a T-Mobile Galaxy SIII.
If the T-Mobile SIII has the hardware capability to support the At&t HSPA+ bands you would need modified radio software to unlock this ability.
I believe this was done on the Galaxy Note to tun on T-Mobile HSPA+ network before it was officially launched on T-Mobile.
kmdub I believe your the one that's wrong.
five40 said:
That's what I said earlier in not so many words.
Voice willl work fine you will not see HSPA+ speeds on At&t with a T-Mobile Galaxy SIII.
If the T-Mobile SIII has the hardware capability to support the At&t HSPA+ bands you would need modified radio software to unlock this ability.
I believe this was done on the Galaxy Note to tun on T-Mobile HSPA+ network before it was officially launched on T-Mobile.
kmdub I believe your the one that's wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I unlocked my t999 and am using an att straight talk sim getting HSPA speeds. Going to switch back to tmobile prepay because it is way faster than att HSPA with better latency. Although coverage may be lacking, i may just switch to an att ST sim.
To answer your question, a Tmobile S3 will work on ATT HSPA+ network with the HSPA+ Speeds of up to 6-7mbps in NYC area. The average I've been getting is around 2-3.5 mbps. With the tmobile prepay sim I have, it's usually around 2-18mbps down in NYC area.
The T-mobile S3 will not work on the ATT LTE network because it lacks that radio (or so they say for now); there have been other threads suspecting it's just a matter of flashing the right radio to "turn on" the ATT LTE radio. However, if all you want is HSPA+ speeds, rest assured it will work fine.
The ATT S3 is lacking the AWS bands for TMobile so it will not get the HSPA+ on Tmobile.
Best regards.
radio issue
First off, I would like to thank everyone who has been helping me along with my issues with my phone. I appreciate it a lot and I'm picking up more knowledge more and more everyday from you guys and reading heavily on the forums.
if the hardware in the phone doesn't support HSPA+ 1) will i have to root the phone and 2) change the radio? And 3 ) if I change the radio does that mean I would need to install a custom ROM i order for it to work properly?
Also, from one of the post they said "The T-Mobile S3 has the 850/1900 3G bands " - of that is true will than I should be able to have the 3G speeds correct?
I really hope I am not making some people angry, I'm new to this and trying my hardest to understand everything so I don't make mistakes. Please bare with me. Again, thank you so much everyone who has contributed so far. I still have a lot to learn. The reason why is because I just don't want it to work ( I do, want it to work ) but I want to understand why everything is working they way it is and I've over the past almost month have been picking up a lot of knowledge. Can't wait to hear from you guys
kmdub I believe your the one that's wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, actually, you are wrong. The T-Mobile S3 does not need any modification to work properly on AT&T's HSPA network. Seems you are confusing something else with frequency. Quit spreading bad information.
OP: Don't worry about it. Some are making this way more complicated than it needs to be. As said before, if you have the T999, you will be fine on AT&T's HSPA network without any modifications (other than an account...lol). Just get the phone SIM-unlocked, pop in the right SIM, you are good to go. Seriously, it is that easy.
Well there it is, I stand corrected!
I had no idea the T-Mobile SIII supports At&t HSPA+ bands.
Is the same true to all T-Mobile HSPA+ phones?
Sorry for any issues, just learning
Hi everyone,
thanks so much for the info. Will the S2 I needed to put in certain APN settings inorder to receive MMS ( picture ) via texts. Do i use the same settings for the Samsung Galaxy 3?
kmdub said:
No, actually, you are wrong. The T-Mobile S3 does not need any modification to work properly on AT&T's HSPA network. Seems you are confusing something else with frequency. Quit spreading bad information.
OP: Don't worry about it. Some are making this way more complicated than it needs to be. As said before, if you have the T999, you will be fine on AT&T's HSPA network without any modifications (other than an account...lol). Just get the phone SIM-unlocked, pop in the right SIM, you are good to go. Seriously, it is that easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too have learned from this thread

[Q] GT-N7100 incorrectly shows roaming on T-Mobile USA

Hi,
I just received an unlocked International Galaxy Note II in the US. Ordered from Handtec in the UK, and the phone appears to be the French model. I have observed what I think is a problem when trying to use the phone on T-Mobile USA.
I put my T-Mobile USA SIM card in the phone, and the phone thinks I am roaming. Uhhhh no. It's a T-Mobile USA SIM card on the T-Mobile USA network. It is NOT roaming. Now, it probably doesn't have any impact beyond the "R" notifier, and a "Roaming" page which shows up on TouchWiz, but it DOES make me feel very uneasy. I have to enable "Data use while roaming" to be able to use data while on my home network!! It's crazy!
To those who will point out, yes, I know that T-Mobile USA has their 3G currently on the AWS 1700/2100 band, which the Note II does not support. I am therefore using EDGE with this phone. (Yes the data speeds suck, but T-Mobile's refarming will make this problem go away in the next few months). Even though I am on EDGE, I am not "roaming" unless the Note II's definition of roaming is different from mine. I am still on the home network, regardless of whether I am on 2G or 3G.
Has anyone else seen a problem like this?
If I can't figure this out in the next day or two, I may return the Note II and just wait another month or so for the T-Mobile US version. (Probably that's what I should do anyway, but I figured the GT-N7100 would get more developer support).
Hope someone can help!
Thanks!
Edit: I forgot to add - I also have and unlocked international Note 1 GT-N7000 and an unlocked iPhone 4. Neither possess the T-Mobile USA 3G band, and neither of which show roaming when I'm using T-Mobile USA. So, either T-Mobile did some funky network work today which changed something, or there is something different (and possibly a bug) about how the Galaxy Note II determines if it's roaming.
Unfortunately I cannot be of any assistance to your issue, just wanted to comment however. I find it very odd that ALL Note II's don't work on every frequency. Bear with me, I'm under the impression that they are identical hardware wise, every version. So, maybe it's a simple matter of flashing a different radio.img? Not that there are any available currently, but there will be shortly. I hope (think) it will be similar to the ATT Note on Tmo. Hopefully it works out better though. We still don't know if the Tmo Note II will be HSPA+42 or not, but it will support next years Tmo LTE.
So, as of now, this is a little bit of a disappointment for Tmo customers looking for the N7100. Hope you can find a workaround for at least HSPA+21 soon :good:
ccampbell1 said:
Hi,
I just received an unlocked International Galaxy Note II in the US. Ordered from Handtec in the UK, and the phone appears to be the French model. I have observed what I think is a problem when trying to use the phone on T-Mobile USA.
I put my T-Mobile USA SIM card in the phone, and the phone thinks I am roaming. Uhhhh no. It's a T-Mobile USA SIM card on the T-Mobile USA network. It is NOT roaming. Now, it probably doesn't have any impact beyond the "R" notifier, and a "Roaming" page which shows up on TouchWiz, but it DOES make me feel very uneasy. I have to enable "Data use while roaming" to be able to use data while on my home network!! It's crazy!
To those who will point out, yes, I know that T-Mobile USA has their 3G currently on the AWS 1700/2100 band, which the Note II does not support. I am therefore using EDGE with this phone. (Yes the data speeds suck, but T-Mobile's refarming will make this problem go away in the next few months). Even though I am on EDGE, I am not "roaming" unless the Note II's definition of roaming is different from mine. I am still on the home network, regardless of whether I am on 2G or 3G.
Has anyone else seen a problem like this?
If I can't figure this out in the next day or two, I may return the Note II and just wait another month or so for the T-Mobile US version. (Probably that's what I should do anyway, but I figured the GT-N7100 would get more developer support).
Hope someone can help!
Thanks!
Edit: I forgot to add - I also have and unlocked international Note 1 GT-N7000 and an unlocked iPhone 4. Neither possess the T-Mobile USA 3G band, and neither of which show roaming when I'm using T-Mobile USA. So, either T-Mobile did some funky network work today which changed something, or there is something different (and possibly a bug) about how the Galaxy Note II determines if it's roaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That happened to me as well using my International Galaxy S3, I dug into it for about a month and trust me, it's something with the phone detecting that it can't connect to the HSPA+ bands it supports, and when it "defaults" down to EDGE it considers it "Roaming". Stop digging for answers, I was at it for weeks, this is the reason.
You wont get charged for roaming or anything though, so use EDGE until T-Mobile's refarming finally happens; I waited for 2 months and nothing, so I jumped ship and got Straight Talk. I use over 15 GB of data a month, no throttling, $45 bucks. :good:
Hope this helps, because NO ONE gave me a straight answer, Dont even bother calling T-Mobile, they're of absolutely no help. I flashed all sorts of custom ROMs, Kernels, Network Tools, Diagnostics, etc. trying to figure it out. It's just the way these Samsung phones (GT-I9300 and N7100 by the looks of it) work when their 3G/HSPA+ bands are not supported.
Cheers!
farfromovin said:
Unfortunately I cannot be of any assistance to your issue, just wanted to comment however. I find it very odd that ALL Note II's don't work on every frequency. Bear with me, I'm under the impression that they are identical hardware wise, every version. So, maybe it's a simple matter of flashing a different radio.img? Not that there are any available currently, but there will be shortly. I hope (think) it will be similar to the ATT Note on Tmo. Hopefully it works out better though. We still don't know if the Tmo Note II will be HSPA+42 or not, but it will support next years Tmo LTE.
So, as of now, this is a little bit of a disappointment for Tmo customers looking for the N7100. Hope you can find a workaround for at least HSPA+21 soon :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
farfromovin,
I agree it's a complete pain why one model can't work worldwide - or even between carriers in one country, the US!! I'm not sure that all the revisions are the exact same hardware though. Certainly the different revisions will support different LTE bands from one another, different 3G bands (ie T-Mobile USA) and even different technologies (VZW, Sprint, US Cellular CDMA). Whether there is one uber radio chip that's the same in all versions, with different bits enabled here and there, I don't know. I would doubt that a chip currently exists to support all GSM, UMTS, LTE and CDMA bands in the one, but you never know.
I really cannot wait (getting super sick of it) until T-Mobile's 1900MHz refarming, and finally all UMTS/HSPA phones will work on pretty much any UMTS/HSPA network worldwide. But just as we finally get 3G harmony, LTE comes along with a zillion different bands, and we're back to where we were at the start of GSM, and the start of UMTS - all over again.
As far as getting the GT-N7100 to work on T-Mobile AWS bands - unless the radio supports that band somewhere, and can be enabled by some hacky flashing, I don't think there's much chance. I followed a thread for a while which was trying to do that for the original GT-N7000 and it ended up nowhere unfortunately.
I'd be very, very surprised if the T-Mobile US official Note II did not support DC-HSPA +42. Given how TMO pushes that, I don't think they'd sell a phone without it these days. I'm kind of surprised the GT-N7100 doesn't have it, to be honest, but I guess it's not yet that widespread, and most carriers will bypass it to go to LTE.
Cheers!
Ars-Hexis said:
That happened to me as well using my International Galaxy S3, I dug into it for about a month and trust me, it's something with the phone detecting that it can't connect to the HSPA+ bands it supports, and when it "defaults" down to EDGE it considers it "Roaming". Stop digging for answers, I was at it for weeks, this is the reason.
You wont get charged for roaming or anything though, so use EDGE until T-Mobile's refarming finally happens; I waited for 2 months and nothing, so I jumped ship and got Straight Talk. I use over 15 GB of data a month, no throttling, $45 bucks. :good:
Hope this helps, because NO ONE gave me a straight answer, Dont even bother calling T-Mobile, they're of absolutely no help. I flashed all sorts of custom ROMs, Kernels, Network Tools, Diagnostics, etc. trying to figure it out. It's just the way these Samsung phones (GT-I9300 and N7100 by the looks of it) work when their 3G/HSPA+ bands are not supported.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Ars-Hexis,
Thanks so much for the reply. I googled about the same issue on the i9300 as you mentioned - and sure enough a couple of threads on androidcentral, and tmobile support - and all with pretty much a bunch of people going "what?" I think you're right, and this is either some crazy change which Samsung has made to the "S3" generation of phones, or it's an unintended bug which was introduced. I contacted Samsung support on twitter but I'm sure they'll tell me to go away since this is an international model and not sold or supported in the US.
I would love to have this properly reported to Samsung though because it is NOT correct behaviour, and I'm sure it does not meet the 3GPP standard behaviour. These phones' definition of "roaming" is frankly wrong. It's possible they know about the bug but don't care about it too much, because it only affects the minority of importers or travelers, and then only on the very few networks which use AWS band for 3G.
The phone and data works fine of course, so it's really a cosmetic annoyance. However, if I was actually outside TMO's network without knowing it (maybe camping on to some network on the Canadian border or something) then I'd never know if I was actually roaming or not. So the phone's roaming indicator, by being permanently false, is useless in the times when I'm actually roaming. Since this is not a likely scenario for me to be on the Canadian border and roaming onto an AWS-only network any time soon, I'll not worry too much about it.
Yes, I'm really sick waiting on this refarming. It's a huge undertaking of course, so I understand why. I do have a Straight Talk AT&T SIM which I got for my Galaxy Note 1, however I don't use it often for several reasons: haven't ported my number to it, am wary about data throttling or cut-off, and I find the data hit or miss on Straight Talk anyway. I heard stories about people being warned or cut off after 100MB in any day, but if you're saying 15GB and no throttling, it may be something I want to put to the test!
Thanks a lot for your reply! It's nice to know I'm not crazy!
Cheers!
ccampbell1 said:
Hey Ars-Hexis,
Thanks so much for the reply. I googled about the same issue on the i9300 as you mentioned - and sure enough a couple of threads on androidcentral, and tmobile support - and all with pretty much a bunch of people going "what?" I think you're right, and this is either some crazy change which Samsung has made to the "S3" generation of phones, or it's an unintended bug which was introduced. I contacted Samsung support on twitter but I'm sure they'll tell me to go away since this is an international model and not sold or supported in the US.
I would love to have this properly reported to Samsung though because it is NOT correct behaviour, and I'm sure it does not meet the 3GPP standard behaviour. These phones' definition of "roaming" is frankly wrong. It's possible they know about the bug but don't care about it too much, because it only affects the minority of importers or travelers, and then only on the very few networks which use AWS band for 3G.
The phone and data works fine of course, so it's really a cosmetic annoyance. However, if I was actually outside TMO's network without knowing it (maybe camping on to some network on the Canadian border or something) then I'd never know if I was actually roaming or not. So the phone's roaming indicator, by being permanently false, is useless in the times when I'm actually roaming. Since this is not a likely scenario for me to be on the Canadian border and roaming onto an AWS-only network any time soon, I'll not worry too much about it.
Yes, I'm really sick waiting on this refarming. It's a huge undertaking of course, so I understand why. I do have a Straight Talk AT&T SIM which I got for my Galaxy Note 1, however I don't use it often for several reasons: haven't ported my number to it, am wary about data throttling or cut-off, and I find the data hit or miss on Straight Talk anyway. I heard stories about people being warned or cut off after 100MB in any day, but if you're saying 15GB and no throttling, it may be something I want to put to the test!
Thanks a lot for your reply! It's nice to know I'm not crazy!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there! Sorry I hadn't answered in such a long time. We'll actually I've found that the S3 (sold it) and the Note 2 (own it) some how cannot be tracked for data usage correctly by straight talk. It's quite interesting... I ported my number over from T-Mobile, so if you have an S3 with a T-mobile prepaid sim... I think you have nothing to lose! I'm in Dallas and regularly get around 3-4Mbits/S during high usage hours and 6-7Mbits/S after 7 pm when network usage goes down.
There have been 2 occasions over the past 2 months where I'm throttled for like an hour and suddenly it gets uncapped on its own (?!?!?) lol. Last month I used about 25 GB... It's insane. Btw, if you if get throttled for real (happened to me once), you can just call them and say your "Internets is slow" (act technologically challenged) and they'll reset it.
Ah 1 last thing: I got the at&T ST sim card when I switched.
Cheers!
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app
I just got my International Note 2 today, and I am using it on the T-Mobile network also. I am seeing that I am roaming but my data is off and I am just using wifi. I have turned off my phone and back on again and its still showing. But after reading this whole thread I am getting that is a bug or something along those lines is that correct? Thanks.
I really need to know
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
roaming
I am on prepaid tmobile and I have Roaming sign only in areas where I used to loose signal with my old phone . Basically when I go in Garage underground my signal starts getting weaker and weaker and then roaming kiks in and signal is up all the way . T-mobile does not charges for local roaming . If you use USA tmobile and you are in usa you are fine . My texts and voice are still the same rate for me . When I had Chinese rom it was showing all the time , now I flashed German t-mobile and R shows only sometime , but it does not bother me .
Hope this helps .
I too have a Note II (GT-N7100) I purchased in Thailand in December. I use it on the T-Mobile network and have the same issues with the "R" symbol. I am located in Tampa Bay area, Florida.
T-Mobile was indicating to me in January that this was an issue in weaker signal areas for their data network as they prepare to refarm it. Don't know if this explanation is entirely accurate, but I find in my local area that the R symbol goes away in certain areas and it behaves "normally". This includes the area where my T-Mobile office is located. It seems to be somewhat of a patchwork network, and for some reasons certain areas cause it to go into the Roaming mode.
I was just on a trip with stops in Los Amgeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia and noted the same behavior in some of those cities: Getting normal signal indications in some places, and Roaming in others.

XZ2 Compact T-Mobile

Are there different versions between the UK and US versions aside from firmware? Is the H8324 compatible with T-Mobile USA VoLTE?
I can't speak for the xz2 specifically, but I have ordered more than my share of Sony devices from places like clove, and I've never had an issue where the firmware has disabled bands provided by the hardware. If you're considering ordering one from the UK, the only drawback I am aware of, first hand, is that if you need to replace it or get warranty work done, it has to go back to the UK. You'd better have another phone handy for a few weeks.
charlatan01 said:
I can't speak for the xz2 specifically, but I have ordered more than my share of Sony devices from places like clove, and I've never had an issue where the firmware has disabled bands provided by the hardware. If you're considering ordering one from the UK, the only drawback I am aware of, first hand, is that if you need to replace it or get warranty work done, it has to go back to the UK. You'd better have another phone handy for a few weeks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting mine from Clove too. Like the two year warranty and preorder speaker you get.
To add to this you have always been able to install a US rom without needing to root it (meaning you keep camera software etc). See here how to our look on xperiablog.net
Any updates?
dont see wifi calling using this on t mobile..plus, cell phone signal pretty weak
wase4711 said:
dont see wifi calling using this on t mobile..plus, cell phone signal pretty weak
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony is notorious for not showing many bars, even though signal is decent. Make sure you're using a signal measuring app if you really want to tell how strong it is.
thanks, its been awhile since I had a sony phone, so getting used to one again will take a bit..too bad no wifi calling, but no dropped calls so far, and thats all that matters
Anyone have the US version yet? Is it certified for volte
yes; im getting volte on tmobile
wase4711 said:
yes; im getting volte on tmobile
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
US version? Or intl?
H8314 is my model
US version definitely is not working with VoLTE on Tmobile US. Anyone else?
working for me on t mobile in phoenix area
wase4711 said:
working for me on t mobile in phoenix area
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To confirm you are getting VoLTE: When you place a call it stays on LTE and doesn't switch to 3g or H+? I haven't been able to get VoLTE working on T-Mobile in the Dallas area. T-Mobile's and Sony's support so far are blaming each other.
I successfully receive data/internet over LTE, but no calls.
HSPA+ is what I get while on a call.
I stand corrected; I never bothered to actually install an app to check, and when I am on a call, the status bar icon doesnt change, making me think I am on LTE..Not that it matters to me either way, but I guess this phone or the carrier is the reason..
wase4711 said:
HSPA+ is what I get while on a call.
I stand corrected; I never bothered to actually install an app to check, and when I am on a call, the status bar icon doesnt change, making me think I am on LTE..Not that it matters to me either way, but I guess this phone or the carrier is the reason..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dont need an app. If you are on LTE, make a call and remain on LTE - that is VoLTE.
km8j said:
You dont need an app. If you are on LTE, make a call and remain on LTE - that is VoLTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're connected to Wi-Fi when calling it seems to hide the LTE/3G/H+ signal icons so it helps to turn off Wi-Fi when checking.
---------- Post added at 02:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 AM ----------
wase4711 said:
HSPA+ is what I get while on a call.
I stand corrected; I never bothered to actually install an app to check, and when I am on a call, the status bar icon doesnt change, making me think I am on LTE..Not that it matters to me either way, but I guess this phone or the carrier is the reason..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It matters if you are in an area without a 3g signal, you won't be able to make phone calls. I'm constantly in buildings with weak signal so VoLTE is important to me. I'll have data in those areas but no ability to place or receive calls.
then this might not be the phone for you...
for me, I'm not in situations like that, so hspa+ is just fine..
wase4711 said:
then this might not be the phone for you...
for me, I'm not in situations like that, so hspa+ is just fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. I'm going to wait for a few days and see if T-Mobile enables VoLTE on the phone and if not, I'll return it. I have a ticket in with their engineering team to see if they can explain what's wrong.
wase4711 said:
then this might not be the phone for you...
for me, I'm not in situations like that, so hspa+ is just fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Just fine" doesn't cut it unless it is 2012. VoLTE brings higher audio quality, quicker connection times, lower rate of dropped calls, on top of retaining an LTE signal which is very helpful when navigating and on the phone, for example.
Coros said:
Exactly. I'm going to wait for a few days and see if T-Mobile enables VoLTE on the phone and if not, I'll return it. I have a ticket in with their engineering team to see if they can explain what's wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony would have to enable in an OTA

4G or LTE icon in status bar

I'm just curious about how the Pixel 2 handles the network displaying in the status bar.
A work colleague and I both have a Pixel 2 (hers is 2 and mine XL) and we use it in Mexico with different carriers (I don't know if it has something to do) but for some reason her phone displays 4G whereas mine displays LTE.
I actually know that is the same, both Telcel and AT&T use similar bands and both's 4G is LTE, I just would like to know if someone knows the logic behind this.
If it matters, I purchased mine from Canadian Google store and the other is from US.
SergioRmz said:
I'm just curious about how the Pixel 2 handles the network displaying in the status bar.
A work colleague and I both have a Pixel 2 (hers is 2 and mine XL) and we use it in Mexico with different carriers (I don't know if it has something to do) but for some reason her phone displays 4G whereas mine displays LTE.
I actually know that is the same, both Telcel and AT&T use similar bands and both's 4G is LTE, I just would like to know if someone knows the logic behind this.
If it matters, I purchased mine from Canadian Google store and the other is from US.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's just how it is is with certain phones on carriers, or even the rom your using. Case in point. I'm on Verizon. When I use the stock rom, it displays LTE in the status bar. When I'm using a custom rom, either DU or AquariOS, it displays 4g. Everything still works the same, therefore, I pay it no mind.
Badger50 said:
I think it's just how it is is with certain phones on carriers, or even the rom your using. Case in point. I'm on Verizon. When I use the stock rom, it displays LTE in the status bar. When I'm using a custom rom, either DU or AquariOS, it displays 4g. Everything still works the same, therefore, I pay it no mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think in this case though they're both on stock. So it was most likely a carrier thing. I know HSPA+ can be considered 4G while LTE is just LTE. Reason being, the speed difference between the two can be a lot different. Personally I would want to know if I was on either one rather than just grouping it all as 4G. AT&T used to do this but I guess not anymore.
Badger50 said:
I think it's just how it is is with certain phones on carriers, or even the rom your using. Case in point. I'm on Verizon. When I use the stock rom, it displays LTE in the status bar. When I'm using a custom rom, either DU or AquariOS, it displays 4g. Everything still works the same, therefore, I pay it no mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EeZeEpEe said:
I think in this case though they're both on stock. So it was most likely a carrier thing. I know HSPA+ can be considered 4G while LTE is just LTE. Reason being, the speed difference between the two can be a lot different. Personally I would want to know if I was on either one rather than just grouping it all as 4G. AT&T used to do this but I guess not anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, we're both in stock and I remember this setting could be changed in other ROMs from other phones I've used. I guess it's completely a carrier thing or could also be region related.
I also personally prefer to know if I'm on HSPA+ or LTE rather than just 4G grouping both as happened before with AT&T phones, so I like how my phone does it now. I might have to test with another carrier's SIM.
In my OP3T for instance, it showed "H+" for HSPA+ and "4G" for LTE for AT&T in Mexico and in AT&T US. At the end of the day the speed is the most important and I haven't had connectivity issues with my Pixel.
EeZeEpEe said:
I think in this case though they're both on stock. So it was most likely a carrier thing. I know HSPA+ can be considered 4G while LTE is just LTE. Reason being, the speed difference between the two can be a lot different. Personally I would want to know if I was on either one rather than just grouping it all as 4G. AT&T used to do this but I guess not anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here in Brazil, it displays "H" for HSPA and "H+" for HSPA+. So, at least here, the 4G stands for LTE.
uvitor said:
Here in Brazil, it displays "H" for HSPA and "H+" for HSPA+. So, at least here, the 4G stands for LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's even better. Very specific labeling. I'm on Sprint here so I just deal with LTE and 3G. No in-between unfortunately.
Just to let you all know, I tested a Telcel SIM in my phone and it is showing 4G on my Pixel. It's definitely carrier-defined.
P. S: I guess this in an iPhone would look like "AT&T 4G LTE" in the top left.

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