Clarification needed: AT&T LTE support or not

[wpfan86]

I was about to pull the trigger on this phone until I took a closer look at the specs. My question is simple: On a Lumia 650, will I get LTE speeds on AT&T or not?

I ask because I was under the impression that Band 17 is the most commonly used LTE band in the US. The specs listed on the Microsoft Store's 650 page do not show band 17 (700mhz) support.

Anybody know? Thanks in advance!

 

[Saijin_Naib]

The ATT Mobility Wiki is here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT&T_Mobility


From this, it looks as if you could potentially have coverage depending upon what market you're in. So unfortunately my best answer is "maybe".

 

[RumoredNow]

My guess... Just a guess...

Someone at Msft just copied over the Euro specs. For what the radio should look like on a factory unlocked NA, compare with Lumia 550.

Just a guess... I can't guarantee anything, but nothing about the listed H+ or LTE for 650 on Msft US makes sense for this hemisphere.

 

[wpfan86]

My guess... Just a guess...

Someone at Msft just copied over the Euro specs. For what the radio should look like on a factory unlocked NA, compare with Lumia 550.

Just a guess... I can't guarantee anything, but nothing about the listed H+ or LTE for 650 on Msft US makes sense for this hemisphere.

Thanks! That's a hunch I had as well. I'm putting this question to MS as well, I'll post here if/when i get a response. It would be pretty dirty to market this phone to business users in the US if it didn't actually support LTE speeds.

 

[RumoredNow]

Thanks! That's a hunch I had as well. I'm putting this question to MS as well, I'll post here if/when i get a response. It would be pretty dirty to market this phone to business users in the US if it didn't actually support LTE speeds.

On hold right now... Customer Rep is trying to get someone from a store to look at the label on the side of the box. :winktongue:

 

[RumoredNow]

They say there is no label on the 650 box showing frequencies.

I'm stymied.

 

[wpfan86]

Alright, I had an online chat with a MS Store rep. She was certain that the 650 would get full LTE support on AT&T but acknowledged she did not know why Band 17 was not listed in the specs. Here's a portion of that chat transcript:

You: I know AT&T uses primarily Band 17 (700mhz) for its LTE services, but the specs listed on the Microsoft store's webpage for the 650 does not appear to include this band. Was the omission of this Band on the webpage just an error? Will I have full LTE service on AT&T?
April M: Yes you would have full LTE with this phone on AT&T
You: Do you know why the 700mhz / band 17 is not listed for the 650? Can you say with confidence that band is, in fact supported on this device?
April M: It is, let me check if it posted on the microsoft.com site. One moment please!
April M: It is not listed on either site, however it definitely is compatible on ATT and LTE.

 

[wpfan86]

The product page on Microsoft.com (not the store page) doesn't even list the full specs for the 650. It only has a short blurb and states it is "coming soon." https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...ows%2Fview-all%3Ftype%3Dphones&token=qpEzeDDc

Why oh why does MS insist on making this complicated. It shouldn't be this hard to get basic info about a phone.

 

[DLong4]

I was on the phone with AT&T tech support this evening. The L650 currently has 3 strikes.

1. There is no LTE support from AT&T on this device. Perhaps other carriers will offer it, but AT&T does not.
2. There is no visual voicemail from AT&T on this device. Perhaps a future OS update will provide it.
3. There is no conditional call forwarding available from AT&T on this device, which means YouMail will not work.

 

[wpfan86]

I was on the phone with AT&T tech support this evening. The L650 currently has 3 strikes.

1. There is no LTE support from AT&T on this device. Perhaps other carriers will offer it, but AT&T does not.
2. There is no visual voicemail from AT&T on this device. Perhaps a future OS update will provide it.
3. There is no conditional call forwarding available from AT&T on this device, which means YouMail will not work.

That's interesting, because here was the AT&T community forum response to my question: https://forums.att.com/t5/Windows-P...age-w-this-phone-Lumia-650/m-p/4793904#M27032.
I realize it was not an AT&T rep aanswering the question, but quite a different answer than the one you got.

 

[DLong4]

Hmm. It's worth a try to go to the store for help. I had initially moved my SIM from the L950 to the L650. The tech asked for the new IMEI and had input it into the system, as he was originally being asked to provision visual voicemail rather than LTE. At any rate, my speed went from about 14 Mbps (LTE) on the L950 to 4 Mbps (4G) on the L650.

 

[wpfan86]

It is absolutely unbelievable that MS is selling this in its US stores and specifically stating it's great for business users. No visual VM? No LTE? Seems like these are two basic things business users in the US would require.
Seriously, how do they manage to leave out LTE support on the largest carrier in the country. No excuse whatsoever. And marketing it to US customers the way they are is downright deceptive.
This was going to be my relatively affordable holdover until those rumored (mythical?) flagships come out next spring. Now I'll have to seriously consider Android. What a shame. I've had my 920 for nearly 3.5 years now and was happy I'd found my next WP.

 

[pankaj981]

Calm down and wait for the official release. It will be sold unlocked by Microsoft but at the same time be released on Cricket Wireless. Since Cricket uses AT&T's bands I'm pretty sure it'll have full support on AT&T with VVM

Edit: Nevermind, looks like they already started selling it.

 

[DLong4]

Update: The YouMail is working now.

 

[RumoredNow]

That's interesting, because here was the AT&T community forum response to my question: https://forums.att.com/t5/Windows-Ph...4793904#M27032.
I realize it was not an AT&T rep aanswering the question, but quite a different answer than the one you got.

Heya,

Where did you find that radio spec? Got link? I've looked around and never found a good source...

FWIW, Band 17 (AT&T) is a subset of Band 12 (T-Mo) they are both in 700 MHz, but Band 12 is blocks a/b/c and Band 17 is only blocks b/c. In other words all of 17 fits inside 12 and 12 just extends a bit lower in the frequency... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands#Frequency_bands_and_channel_bandwidths

Pressure has been continually applied by the FCC to get AT&T to concede that they need interoperability between Band 17 and Band 12 on their network.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks#Americas

 

[wpfan86]

Microsoft tweeted me a link to the product spec page: https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...rosoftStore_20160405_418614458&token=TGmISOyg

I hope this is just a misunderstanding about the LTE issue, but it's frustrating that they can't give a straight answer.

 

[mggm100]

FWIW .. Band 17 is also not listed on AT&T specs for the 950.

4G-LTE: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 20, 29, and 30

This must have something to do with 17 being a subset of 12, as mentioned above.

https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...ia-950.html%23sku%3Dsku7760237&token=VQK4ENri

 

[RumoredNow]

I think the product page is very recently updated... I swear that info was not there 2 days ago on on April 4.

Looks good to me now and satisfies my questions. I think it is a go on AT&T or T-Mo.

 

[libra89]

I think the product page is very recently updated... I swear that info was not there 2 days ago on on April 4.

Looks good to me now and satisfies my questions. I think it is a go on AT&T or T-Mo.

View attachment 124774

Very interesting. I'm glad that it was updated now though. It's about time.
Weird, it's right there but the ones on the MS store page are wrong.

 

[DLong4]

Went to the local AT&T store and they weren't able to get me LTE either. They suggested taking it to the local AT&T repair shop whose expertise is greater.

Anyone have the proper AT&T settings for the Internet APN for this phone?

Update: I found this page which looks helpful: https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...ml%23%21%2Fwireless%2FKB424489&token=A9iRk12s