[Q] T-Mo Galaxy S3 LTE confusion - T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII

Hi Guys, I've got some questions I'm hoping I can have addressed. I purchased a Galaxy S3 LTE (SGH-T999L) from T-Mobile awhile ago & i'm happy with the device. I am aware that the original model, SGH-T999 didn't come with LTE, however my confusion lies in that I've heard that with the 4.1.2 update, the T999 now supports LTE, but I've heard people say it doesn't.
My concern is that I am interested in rooting & installing a custom rom on my S3 LTE. I've seen some roms state that they support my model #, but in one rom I watched a review/install video for it & in the video, that specific rom only listed the SGH-T999 model, the non-lte variant.
I'm pretty confident in the knowledge that if I flashed a T999 rom, it would work on my device, however I'm uncertain on if I would lose the LTE functionality.
Thank you guys for sharing your wisdom

I don't think so
xxeternaldarkxx said:
Hi Guys, I've got some questions I'm hoping I can have addressed. I purchased a Galaxy S3 LTE (SGH-T999L) from T-Mobile awhile ago & i'm happy with the device. I am aware that the original model, SGH-T999 didn't come with LTE, however my confusion lies in that I've heard that with the 4.1.2 update, the T999 now supports LTE, but I've heard people say it doesn't.
My concern is that I am interested in rooting & installing a custom rom on my S3 LTE. I've seen some roms state that they support my model #, but in one rom I watched a review/install video for it & in the video, that specific rom only listed the SGH-T999 model, the non-lte variant.
I'm pretty confident in the knowledge that if I flashed a T999 rom, it would work on my device, however I'm uncertain on if I would lose the LTE functionality.
Thank you guys for sharing your wisdom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you would as it's a hardwear difference between the T999 and the T999L. As long as you have the LTE APN it should work, although the ROM may not show you have an LTE connection. You will have the speed but the ROM will just register it as 4G or HSPA+. But I'm not completely sure. I would make a nandroid to go back to just in case, and then see if you can get LTE speeds on your rom.

All of your questions have already been addressed in the T999L thread. Link in sig.
Sent from my SGH-T999N using Tapatalk

Related

ATTENTION CANADIAN USERS: Forums for Canadian carriers

Hello fellow Canadian GSIII owners: please see below and note which forum you should be looking in for ROMs for your devices:
AT&T forum: SGH-I747 (AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus and SaskTel)
T-Mobile forum: SGH-T999 (T-Mobile, Wind, Mobilicity and Videotron)
Sprint forum: SPH-L710 (Sprint only)
Verizon forum: SGH-I535 (Verizon only)
Developers, please put carrier support in the title of your threads. Thank you!
---------------------------------------
Hello XDA,
Can we please get an android development forum for Rogers, Bell, Telus and Wind? Rogers/Bell/Telus phones are SGH-I747M and the Wind version is the SGH-T999, but they all have different basebands and stock ROMs. Trying to put Canadian threads in AT&T and Sprint forums will result in a big mess.
Alternatively, instead of separating by carrier, separate by model number. Keep all the I747 development threads in one forum and T999 threads in another. Then people can put the carrier into the title of the post.
Just something to think about.
Thanks!
I agree. But AFAIK, the Wind/Mobilicity/Videotron S3 is the same as T-Mobile's, not Sprint's.
TLS2000 said:
I agree. But AFAIK, the Wind/Mobilicity/Videotron S3 is the same as T-Mobile's, not Sprint's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed it is. I stand corrected.
TLS2000 said:
I agree. But AFAIK, the Wind/Mobilicity/Videotron S3 is the same as T-Mobile's, not Sprint's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and the Rogers is the same as AT&T's
historically Rogers and AT&T have been interchangeable in almost every aspect on all the devices they shared. Rogers uses the exact same frequencies as AT&T, and the devices are the same aside from some minor differences in bloat, lte toggle, and native wifi tether
What about the Telus, does that fall under at&t also?
Thanks
I agree very hard to follow on what is for which phone, not going to take any chances until things are a little more clear. Still have the old S1 to mess with.
rail205 said:
What about the Telus, does that fall under at&t also?
Thanks
I agree very hard to follow on what is for which phone, not going to take any chances until things are a little more clear. Still have the old S1 to mess with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T, Rogers, Bell and Telus have the same phone, the SGH-I747. But just because it's the same hardware does not mean it's the same software. It may or may not have different basebands and certainly has different carrier customizations. As Pirateghost mentioned, AT&T removes some features in its ROM (software), the most important being, at least for me, the ability to tether. So if you flash a rooted AT&T ROM on your Canadian device, it will most likely work but you will lose features(!) That's why we need to be very clear about what carrier each ROM is for. Furthermore, if you flash the wrong baseband (i.e. flash a Rogers baseband on a Bell phone), your phone may not work as a phone or it may connect to the wrong network and you will be charged roaming fees. At the moment, I can see that AT&T has a different baseband version from Bell, but Rogers and Bell seem to have the same baseband version. Are they interchangeable? I have no idea. Anyway, it's better not to mix these things up. That's why separate forums are a great idea.
As a SaskTel customer coming from the international i9000, these forums are very confusing and not very organized. I would definitely support more organization.
I guarantee that you won't roam on the other carrier if you flash the wrong baseband (Telus/Bell/Rogers). They don't have roaming agreements in place to allow that. That's why you won't get service with Rogers in some areas where Bell does have service.
TLS2000 said:
I guarantee that you won't roam on the other carrier if you flash the wrong baseband (Telus/Bell/Rogers). They don't have roaming agreements in place to allow that. That's why you won't get service with Rogers in some areas where Bell does have service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is how it was with the i9000. If I flashed the wrong baseband (for example, a US modem that did not support 850 band), I would just have no reception when I left the city.
Sasktel, Bell, Rogers, Telus all have the AT&T version with tethering left in.
Jsick said:
That is how it was with the i9000. If I flashed the wrong baseband (for example, a US modem that did not support 850 band), I would just have no reception when I left the city.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. Either way, flashing the wrong baseband is a bad idea.
Pirateghost said:
and the Rogers is the same as AT&T's
historically Rogers and AT&T have been interchangeable in almost every aspect on all the devices they shared. Rogers uses the exact same frequencies as AT&T, and the devices are the same aside from some minor differences in bloat, lte toggle, and native wifi tether
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except this time around, it seems that there is a slight difference between the two in terms of software, and enough so that I've read posts of people having issues when using at&t based stuff on their rogers phones.
ootz0rz said:
Except this time around, it seems that there is a slight difference between the two in terms of software, and enough so that I've read posts of people having issues when using at&t based stuff on their rogers phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been here before with the vivid, skyrocket, and the one x. You can ignore anything I say but I HAVE dealt with this stuff before.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
So is it safe to say that you can flash the Stock Rom or Custom ROMs for T-Mobile T999 on Wind Mobile's T999V. And at most you lose Roaming and/or a few features?
I already see that there is one or two ROMs that are confirmed for multiple carriers.
A dedicated Canadian Forum is a great idea! There is so much information floating around out there with the multiple variations of the sgs3.
Pirateghost said:
I've been here before with the vivid, skyrocket, and the one x. You can ignore anything I say but I HAVE dealt with this stuff before.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a Rogers user (and relatively new to Android) it freaks the hell out of me to flash custom ROMs based on the AT&T version, because I'm sure I *will* lose tethering and the ability to turn off LTE.
That's the stupid thing - it'd be rather simple to have subforums dedicated to the canadian devices, because the software is different (not only the bloatware, but apparently some more stuff too) and the baseband is also different, which could lead to problems down the line, no?
TimeKillr said:
As a Rogers user (and relatively new to Android) it freaks the hell out of me to flash custom ROMs based on the AT&T version, because I'm sure I *will* lose tethering and the ability to turn off LTE.
That's the stupid thing - it'd be rather simple to have subforums dedicated to the canadian devices, because the software is different (not only the bloatware, but apparently some more stuff too) and the baseband is also different, which could lead to problems down the line, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If a rom is done the right way you won't lose any functionality. You can't honestly believe that at&t users don't want those features. I prefer to build all my roms from a rogers base for the simple reason that it is less work for that functionality.
PS. Any rom dev should know better than to force a modem/radio/baseband change on their users.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk 2
BlackDino said:
Sasktel, Bell, Rogers, Telus all have the AT&T version with tethering left in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might be true but if you check your firmware versions, they aren't the same as AT&T's.
Also, I have flashed most of the international radio's on my older I9100 and never had a problem in Canada or US when travelling. They may not be customized for that country but they do work.
I PMd one of the mods with a link to this thread. There seems to be interest in a forum for Canadian carriers, so let's see if we can make it happen.
By the way thanks to everyone chiming in with their two cents. I am not a developer, and although I've been around xda a while, it was always as a user. I''ve written a guide or two on how to root and flash devices, but it was always based on other people's work. So I am learning all this as I go along.
I come from the desire z/g2 forums. G2 is t mobile, The desire z is run on multiple networks globally. Baseband are set by the phone, not the radio (I think that is the same thing as a modern?). On my Desire z running on Rogers, I flashed T-Mobile radios and international radios which worked on Rogers no problem.
Features of a rom are determined by the dev, if you don't like something, flash something else or restore your nandroid backup. Read the op and ask the dev if you are unsure about any features on a Rom.
I would think the only models that should be separated in forums are the international version, totally different processor and maybe Verizon cdma. From a sheer volume of users standpoint, further division is warranted. You think this is bad, wait until Verizon and At&t widely launch, this current setup will be complete chaos.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using XDA Premium HD app

Unlocked T999 Rom/Carrier Question

I have an unlocked T-Mobile S3 and I am ready activate it on Straight Talk which I believe uses ATTs network. My question is concerning custom roms; can anyone confirm that using roms specifically for the T-Mobile version will or will not cause issues if i use a different carrier?
Thanks
Infamous_Cheez said:
I have an unlocked T-Mobile S3 and I am ready activate it on Straight Talk which I believe uses ATTs network. My question is concerning custom roms; can anyone confirm that using roms specifically for the T-Mobile version will or will not cause issues if i use a different carrier?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it will not.
Don_Perrignon said:
No it will not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was a bit confused because there are several threads/devs trying to make sure users know to flash the right rom for their phone version. I also know that the ATT & T-Mobile versions are identical, besides the ATT version supporting ATT's LTE frequency and TM's supporting their HSPA+ frequency, and since I bought this phone off contract w/o warranty I want to make sure don't end up with a $600 paperweight.
Thanks for your confirmation!
Wait... Just some that we're on the same page, I read that as if you took a T-Mo phone, with a custom ROM, unlocked it, and used the phone on another GSM carrier, would there be problems - the answer is no.
If you take a T-Mo phone and use another carrier's ROM that's not compatible with T-Mo's phone - yes you will have problems.

[solved.. won't work] T-Mobile 3G/4G on AT&T SGH-I747

I've got an unlocked AT&T Galaxy SIII, and I only get Edge for my data connection. Do I need to flash a T-Mobile radio? APN settings look okay, as far as I can see.
Also, can I flash a T-Mobile ROM and use Wifi calling, or is that asking too much?
I searched and couldn't find anyone asking these questions in the Q&A forum....
there are already like 3 threads below this one concerning the 3g/4g topic on a att sg3 working on tmobile. No it will not work because att sg3 does not support the aws tmobile frequencies. you will only be able to get edge. NOW if it were a tmobile sg3 on att then it would work.
All the threads I could find in this form on my search went the other way: T-Mo phone on AT&T.
Does anyone actually know whether a T-Mobile modem on an AT&T phone would work or not? I looked at the main board in my phone, and it's labelled with both SGH-I747 and SGH-T999, which makes me think the internals are fully identical.
I'd like to know this too! I also have an AT&T Galaxy SIII and was seriously considering moving to T-Mobile because of the new unlimited data plan they were going to start offering on 9/5. I had also looked through this forum, and could only find questions of the situation the other way around, T-Mob GSIII phone on AT&T network.
Basically, was wondering:
- is there a hardware limitation that APN settings and/or installing a new modem will not get me good data speeds?
- would I need to burn a new modem?
- I'm assuming at minimum I'd need new APN settings, and am assuming T-Mobile would be able to help with that. Right?
Thanks, really interested in being able to do this!
---------- Post added at 03:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 PM ----------
Hey oblib - looks like there's an unfortunate hardware limitation we won't be able to get around: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1771021
oblib__ said:
All the threads I could find in this form on my search went the other way: T-Mo phone on AT&T.
Does anyone actually know whether a T-Mobile modem on an AT&T phone would work or not? I looked at the main board in my phone, and it's labelled with both SGH-I747 and SGH-T999, which makes me think the internals are fully identical.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you see that the boards were labelled the same?
AFAIK, the radio's are different and flashing a T-mobile modem could possibly brick your device. It would be much easier to buy a T999 and use it on T-Mobile (it'll even work on AT&T 3G if you want to switch back, no LTE though).
The SoCs are different. Flashing a T-Mobile modem will not give you T-Mobile HSPA.
Looks like I didn't take any pictures of that side of the phone while I had it open, and I'm not eager to pop it open again. It definitely listed both models on the PCB. If I'm remembering correctly, it's on the same side as the SIM and SD card slots, so it's just matter of removing the back plate to see it, no more disassembly than that.
joshnichols189 said:
The SoCs are different. Flashing a T-Mobile modem will not give you T-Mobile HSPA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have part numbers for the two? According to wikipedia, they are the same Snapdragon S4 MSM8960. I just find it hard to believe that they would be different, though if they have the same pinout, that would explain the markings on my PCB.
This has been rehashed countless times. They are not the same phone. If the phones were the same, people would not be in here asking if they were the same. The MSM8960 comes in more than one flavor, with different modem parts. Yes, the CPU's are the same, but the MODEMS ARE DIFFERENT. It is an S4 Qualcomm part that comes in many different configurations. Instead of just reading until you get to some information that reinforces your preconceived notion, try reading a little further into the links at the bottom of the page and elsewhere. Seriously, if you really really don't think that Qualcomm would make different versions of the same chip, or configure them differently for the hundreds of different customer requirements, then fine, don't believe me, but it defies logic. Sorry about being an ass.
oblib__ said:
Looks like I didn't take any pictures of that side of the phone while I had it open, and I'm not eager to pop it open again. It definitely listed both models on the PCB. If I'm remembering correctly, it's on the same side as the SIM and SD card slots, so it's just matter of removing the back plate to see it, no more disassembly than that.
Do you have part numbers for the two? According to wikipedia, they are the same Snapdragon S4 MSM8960. I just find it hard to believe that they would be different, though if they have the same pinout, that would explain the markings on my PCB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-Mobile version uses an MSM8260a. This SoC is the Krait with an adreno 225 GPU and no LTE. The MSM8960 has all three.
Sent from my SGH-T999
joshnichols189 said:
The T-Mobile version uses an MSM8260a. This SoC is the Krait with an adreno 225 GPU and no LTE. The MSM8960 has all three.
Sent from my SGH-T999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the useful response. For those looking for even more detail, here's a link: http://www.qualcomm.com/sites/default/files/common/snapdragon-specs-06.07.12.pdf
According to that the MSM8960 (chip in I747?) has a "World Mode" modem, while the MSM8260a has a UMTS modem.
Edit: Ah, and I see both of you have answered this question before, which I would have found if I searched on MSM8260a. The threads have been dead for over a week, so I'm not surprised I missed them, but thanks for answering the same questions again.
T-Mobile HSPA not support i747 right now.
oblib__ said:
I've got an unlocked AT&T Galaxy SIII, and I only get Edge for my data connection. Do I need to flash a T-Mobile radio? APN settings look okay, as far as I can see.
Also, can I flash a T-Mobile ROM and use Wifi calling, or is that asking too much?
I searched and couldn't find anyone asking these questions in the Q&A forum....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile uses a frequency for their 3g and 4g network that only T-Mobile branded phones have. Any other GSM phone will never get 3g or 4g on T-Mobile network unless it supports the T-Mobile band, which I believe is 1700MHz. It's limited by hardware. Nothing you can do to the phone will give you the 3g/4g you have to have a T-Mobile branded device.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
elesbb said:
T-Mobile uses a frequency for their 3g and 4g network that only T-Mobile branded phones have. Any other GSM phone will never get 3g or 4g on T-Mobile network unless it supports the T-Mobile band, which I believe is 1700MHz. It's limited by hardware. Nothing you can do to the phone will give you the 3g/4g you have to have a T-Mobile branded device.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not completely true. Since The Galaxy SII and the Galaxy Note (AT&T) have software radios, you can flash a radio from the TMO GSII and get 4G on TMO. I was running mine and many customers of mine like that for months until i switched phones.
Making your AT&T i747 GS3 work on T-Mobile 4G (without rooting)
oblib__ said:
I've got an unlocked AT&T Galaxy SIII, and I only get Edge for my data connection. Do I need to flash a T-Mobile radio? APN settings look okay, as far as I can see.
Also, can I flash a T-Mobile ROM and use Wifi calling, or is that asking too much?
I searched and couldn't find anyone asking these questions in the Q&A forum....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works fine for me, the area i'm in does not support 4G on the 1900MHz frequency so I can definitely confirm my stock non-rooted AT&T i747 galaxy SIII is working on T-Mobile USA's 4G data network. I've uploaded a video to youtube of how to get this to work, should also work for the AT&T i317 note II as well. I can't post links on here I guess so just type my youtube username and search my videos.
youtube username: 6italia0
Video title: How to get AT&T gs3 i747 to work with Tmobile 4G (no root!)
6italia0 said:
It works fine for me, the area i'm in does not support 4G on the 1900MHz frequency so I can definitely confirm my stock non-rooted AT&T i747 galaxy SIII is working on T-Mobile USA's 4G data network. I've uploaded a video to youtube of how to get this to work, should also work for the AT&T i317 note II as well. I can't post links on here I guess so just type my youtube username and search my videos.
youtube username: 6italia0
Video title: How to get AT&T gs3 i747 to work with Tmobile 4G (no root!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you just got it to work because T-Mobile launched 1900Mhz 4G starting 2013?
doutlaw said:
I think you just got it to work because T-Mobile launched 1900Mhz 4G starting 2013?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive got a friend whos got this working, im gonna try and let you know!
I just picked up a t-mobile sim on ebay for a florida trip in a few weeks. Im hoping to get the $3 a day plan for my unlocked Galaxy s3 and hoping to get 1900mhz 4g service.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2
Same with the s2 flash an tmobile radio combo on the skyrocket and get 4g but with the s3 might be different
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
IT CAN WORK (see details!)
elesbb said:
T-Mobile uses a frequency for their 3g and 4g network that only T-Mobile branded phones have. Any other GSM phone will never get 3g or 4g on T-Mobile network unless it supports the T-Mobile band, which I believe is 1700MHz. It's limited by hardware. Nothing you can do to the phone will give you the 3g/4g you have to have a T-Mobile branded device.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is NOT TRUE, please be careful when making such "absolute" statements -- I just got a ATT i747 from craigslist, and it DOES work with the $30 Walmart plan - on 4G and LTE (depending on location).
The TRUE ANSWER IS -- IT DEPENDS -- if you live in an area that was recently upgraded to LTE (in my area was 02/13), you can get LTE/4G since t-mobile added support for it on 700 MHz (band 4) AWS (unverified - source: youtube video named "Tmobile 4G on att i747 gs3 data fix". Sorry I am not allowed to post web-links yet).
Anyway, I DO get 4G/LTE, I guess I was lucky
momchi said:
This is NOT TRUE, please be careful when making such "absolute" statements -- I just got a ATT i747 from craigslist, and it DOES work with the $30 Walmart plan - on 4G and LTE (depending on location).
The TRUE ANSWER IS -- IT DEPENDS -- if you live in an area that was recently upgraded to LTE (in my area was 02/13), you can get LTE/4G since t-mobile added support for it on 700 MHz (band 4) AWS (unverified - source: youtube video named "Tmobile 4G on att i747 gs3 data fix". Sorry I am not allowed to post web-links yet).
Anyway, I DO get 4G/LTE, I guess I was lucky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize you resurrected an old thread, and responded to a post that was made a year ago??? Long before LTE rolled out. At the time of his post, he was 100% correct.
I dont think this is the intended way to get your 10 posts btw. There are plenty of recent issues to respond to. Thx.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

Thinking about an S3...

A couple of questions...
I'm thinking about a Galaxy S3, and had a few questions. Looks like there are a bunch of different variants, and I'm not sure of the differences (or if it matters). I'm using simple mobile, and am looking at both the t999 and I747 for AT&T. Any significant differences? Are they both sim unlockable? Anything else I need to be aware of?
nola mike said:
A couple of questions...
I'm thinking about a Galaxy S3, and had a few questions. Looks like there are a bunch of different variants, and I'm not sure of the differences (or if it matters). I'm using simple mobile, and am looking at both the t999 and I747 for AT&T. Any significant differences? Are they both sim unlockable? Anything else I need to be aware of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Id suggest the T999L. (Its the only one they sell now). It is compatible on more frequencies/bands than the I747, and if you use it on T-Mobile's networks, it has the potential of being twice as fast as the I747. (I747 I believe can only work on the slower of the two LTE bands used, while the T999L can work on both).
They are both unlockable, but the T999L was patched against our unlock method prior to its release. So you either have to get the code from the carrier who sold it to you, or pay someone $5-10 online to do it for you.
DocHoliday77 said:
Id suggest the T999L. (Its the only one they sell now). It is compatible on more frequencies/bands than the I747, and if you use it on T-Mobile's networks, it has the potential of being twice as fast as the I747. (I747 I believe can only work on the slower of the two LTE bands used, while the T999L can work on both).
They are both unlockable, but the T999L was patched against our unlock method prior to its release. So you either have to get the code from the carrier who sold it to you, or pay someone $5-10 online to do it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. Looks like the T999L is going for > $100 more than the other 2 on ebay. Not worth it to me. Also have no idea what speeds simple mobile provides. Any difference between the standard T999 and I747? Are you saying that the I747 has LTE capabilities, but the standard T999 doesn't?
That is correct. The T999L replaced the original T999 when T-Mobile rolled out LTE. None of their devices were LTE capable before, because they couldn't use it.
I will say that the I747 using LTE on T-Mobile s networks, may still not get quite as good as even the old T999, if your in an area that has hspa+42. No idea about simple mobile and what they use though.personally, I think either T999 variant will be superior to the I747 when on T-Mobile networks. There are threads where people are trying to force the I747 to use different frequencies because they want better speeds than what they are getting.
And again, there's just no way to know for sure with SM.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4
OK. Doing some more research--lots of info out there. Seems that the difference between the T999 and i747 is that the T999 has support in the 1700 band for HSDPA, while the i747 has LTE capability. It appears that T-Mobile is migrating away from the 1700 band in favor of LTE. This chart includes LTE coverage for a bunch of cities, including pretty much anywhere that I spend significant time.
This article indicates that SM should operate on LTE. So, from this info it looks like the i747 might actually be the better option--although I think that either one will work fast enough for my needs. Basically, most anything faster than EDGE is fine for me.
Please forum rules before posting
Questions and Help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
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nola mike said:
OK. Doing some more research--lots of info out there. Seems that the difference between the T999 and i747 is that the T999 has support in the 1700 band for HSDPA, while the i747 has LTE capability. It appears that T-Mobile is migrating away from the 1700 band in favor of LTE. This chart includes LTE coverage for a bunch of cities, including pretty much anywhere that I spend significant time.
This article indicates that SM should operate on LTE. So, from this info it looks like the i747 might actually be the better option--although I think that either one will work fast enough for my needs. Basically, most anything faster than EDGE is fine for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a bit of an update. Got the 747. Getting 9 mbps download speed, which is the same as my wife on the t mobile network (I don't know if hers is lte or not). So, success.

[Q] Changing from AT&T Note II to T-Mobile Note II

I have a quick question for you guys, what is if there is any difference between the T-Mo and the AT&T variants of the Note II? I currently own an unlocked AT&T version of it, but soon I will also own the T-Mobile version of it. I know T-Mobile's does not have KitKat and is stuck back at Jellybean 4.3. After that, is all I can think of a difference. I currently do have T-Mobile. Will I be making a huge mistake by going to that variant?
DJ Scooby Doo said:
I have a quick question for you guys, what is if there is any difference between the T-Mo and the AT&T variants of the Note II? I currently own an unlocked AT&T version of it, but soon I will also own the T-Mobile version of it. I know T-Mobile's does not have KitKat and is stuck back at Jellybean 4.3. After that, is all I can think of a difference. I currently do have T-Mobile. Will I be making a huge mistake by going to that variant?
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If you're asking if it's a mistake to use the T-Mobile Note on the T-Mobile network just because the official firmware is JellyBean, no, don't worry about that. There are tons of KitKat and Lollipop ROMs in the T889 forum because of some extraordinary developers. You'll be upgraded in no time. Plus, with an actual T-Mobile Note, you'll have Wi-Fi calling, and it'll be better for overall network compatibility, anyway. Some users of unlocked phones on different networks report data drops or unreceived photo texts, for example.
Hope this helps!

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