Canadians beware, LTE may kill your battery! (on unlocked model RM-937)

jaj324

Banned
May 12, 2012
624
0
0
Visit site
Re: Confirmed LTE may be a battery KILLER! (on unlocked models)

As you said you have a strong LTE signal which is exactly why you don't suffer any battery loss. If you had a weak LTE signal you might see issues.

Right, so the point is that it's not LTE that is the battery killer, it's a weak signal that is the battery killer. We've always known that a weak signal whether it was GSM, EDGE, 3G, etc was a battery killer since the phone is constantly trying to connect to the network. It's the same with LTE. To say that LTE is a battery killer is not accurate.
 

manicottiK

New member
Nov 24, 2011
660
0
0
Visit site
Re: Confirmed LTE may be a battery KILLER! (on unlocked models)

...it's not LTE that is the battery killer, it's a weak signal that is the battery killer.
It might be a third (although related) thing: maybe using a "non-local" LTE phone is a problem. If that's the case, it would mean that people would have a battery problem is they use an RM-937--which has LTE for Europe, Asia, and Oceania--while being in North America or use an RM-940--which has LTE only for North America--while outside of N.A. Those conditions might make the phone "think" that it has bad signal all of the time.

If that's the case, it might be worth imploring AT&T to allow users to disable LTE so that they can extend battery life while traveling abroad.
 

5150 Joker

New member
Dec 4, 2013
277
0
0
Visit site
Re: Confirmed LTE may be a battery KILLER! (on unlocked models)

As an RM-937 owner living in the US on Straight Talk, I can say i do not experience those battery issues at all. Of course I don't have LTE either so that backs up what the OP experienced with a weak signal LTE draining it.
 

Citizen X

New member
May 11, 2013
524
0
0
Visit site
Re: Confirmed LTE may be a battery KILLER! (on unlocked models)

As an RM-937 owner living in the US on Straight Talk, I can say i do not experience those battery issues at all. Of course I don't have LTE either so that backs up what the OP experienced with a weak signal LTE draining it.

Straight Talk uses the at&t network.

 

jaj324

Banned
May 12, 2012
624
0
0
Visit site
Re: Confirmed LTE may be a battery KILLER! (on unlocked models)

Yes it does but LTE doesn't work for RM-937 hence "I don't have LTE either". Read the thread and subsequent replies carefully before replying next time.




why are you using a RM-937?? You are in the US and on the at&t network.





Nokia 1520
 

manicottiK

New member
Nov 24, 2011
660
0
0
Visit site
Re: Confirmed LTE may be a battery KILLER! (on unlocked models)

why are you using a RM-937?? You are in the US and on the at&t network.
Because he made this value realization:
Qi + 16GB > LTE - HSPA

In other words, having wireless charging and double the built-in memory is worth more (to him) than the difference in speed between HSPA and AT&T's LTE.

In some urban places, demand exceeds available bandwidth enough that AT&T has to cap throughput, even for devices with LTE. In those capped areas, there's little difference between the actual throughput of HSPA and LTE. For example, my recent tests in a central part of Philadelphia showed both LTE and HSPA getting about 6 Mbps. Several hours later and 5 miles out of town (on a highway with no real residential density for about 3 miles), I get 35 Mbps with LTE. (Tests were conducted with an iPhone 5, a Samsung Galaxy S4, and a developer-unlocked Lumia 920.)

So, if you chiefly find yourself in an urban setting and generally have access to decent Wi-Fi (which is also more common in urban settings), the incremental value of LTE over HSPA becomes less compelling. For some folks (including 5150 Joker and me), the Qi capabilities and extra built-in memory are more compelling than the occasional off-hour speed boost.
 

jaj324

Banned
May 12, 2012
624
0
0
Visit site
I'll take the LTE any day. I don't need the extra 16GB or wireless charging. The LTE where I'm at is worth not having the other 2.

Nokia 1520
 

manicottiK

New member
Nov 24, 2011
660
0
0
Visit site
I don't need the extra 16GB or wireless charging.
And my guess is that that's the decision that most folks will make if they have no existing "investments" in Qi pads and who haven't yet become addicted to the luxurious laziness that Qi recharging brings.

In my case, I have Qi four pads (ordering error, but I kept them all), still have a 920, and have a Qi-based smartwatch on the way. Given that I'll be keeping Qi around anyway, not using it seems a waste, particularly when I don't seem to benefit much from the LTE available where I live and work.

Fortunately, we don't all need to make the same decision or pick just one that's the "right" one! :smile:
 

5150 Joker

New member
Dec 4, 2013
277
0
0
Visit site
Like manicottiK said, Qi wireless + 32 GB > AT&T's crippled phone. Just having my phone sitting next to me right now on it's qi wireless charger stand is awesome! So far I've got 3 chargers: 1 qi wireless charger/holder for the car, qi wireless stand for my desk and a DT-900 for my bed stand. I've also used up >17 GB of USABLE internal storage with just a few games, apps and downloaded maps. That would have already exceeded what AT&T supplies with its anemic 12 GB usable. When/if AT&T releases the 32 GB of RM-940, I may have slight second thoughts but I still wouldn't want to give up Qi Wireless charging.

I suspect a lot of AT&T 1520 owners had no choice because of monetary issues or some REALLY like the LTE + its tiny bandwidth caps. ;P
 
Last edited:

manicottiK

New member
Nov 24, 2011
660
0
0
Visit site
I think that an important point is being missed in the back-and-forth. A new technology is good if it provides more than the one that it replaced. LTE -- as a technology -- can do faster transfers than HSPA can. Sometimes there is more user demand on a network than available bandwidth. When this happens, the network operator might impose "rationing" or "speed caps".

Lately, because more smartphone users have moved to LTE, that's happening more on AT&T's LTE network in urban areas than it is on AT&T's HPSA network. When it does happen, the LTE users don't get the full benefit of LTE's superior technical implementation. Indeed, at times, the LTE speeds might be similar to or even worse than HSPA in the same area at the same time, simply because fewer users are fighting over the HSPA radio spectrum capacity.

As I wrote earlier, in the University City section of Philadelphia this past Monday, at three different times of day, HSPA and LTE were giving the same throughput. Later that evening, a few miles away from the city, LTE gave 5-6x as much throughput as HSPA. Tonight, in Conshohocken, PA, HSPA was about 20% faster than LTE. It will always vary depending on how many other users you're sharing a local "cell" with and how active those users are on the same frequency.

This isn't an issue of whether LTE is technically superior (it is without question), but whether or not that superiority is consistently made available to users. For some of us, it isn't consistently available so we're willing to overlook the technical inferiority of HSPA because the LTE benefits that we can't get at are a distinction without a difference (actually, they're a tease). Absent that difference, it makes sense to choose the device based on other criteria.

Joker's criteria is memory, because he loads lots of large games. To him, the 16GB memory of an RM-940 is as restrictive as the 4GB or 8GB models are to most others, so he chose the 32GB RM-937 model. JAJ wants the fastest possible network and he can get it all the time, so he chose the RM-940. I wanted Qi charging and found that the LTE benefit was very slight in the places where I usually am, so I went with the RM-937. None of these are wrong choices for each of us; we're just motivated by different criteria and have access to different network service levels.
 

5150 Joker

New member
Dec 4, 2013
277
0
0
Visit site
Well said and also like I mentioned, the limited data cap of lte was a factor in my decision.

Sent from my RM-937_apac_hong_kong_222 using Tapatalk
 

AccentAE86

New member
Nov 2, 2012
305
0
0
Visit site
I have found hspa in my area (Edmonton, Canada) on Rogers to be faster than LTE on my 920 and 1020. My wife and I are both using UK 1520 rm-937 that Nokia Connects is loaning us. Battery life is fine for me. I didnt think it was looking for a LTE signal on the 2600 band like the OP is saying because you need the LTE AWS connection first, dont you? Anyhow, no battery issues whatsoever to speak of on any of my Lumias; they all do great. It must be an issue of signal strength.
 

manicottiK

New member
Nov 24, 2011
660
0
0
Visit site
I've removed what was originally written here because the original posts that I had quoted have since been removed from the thread. Hopefully, their removal above and here will bring the discussion back to a useful track.
 
Last edited:

Exoma

New member
Jun 11, 2012
98
0
0
Visit site
Now I'm afraid to purchase the RM 937. It seems to be about $200-300 cheaper than the RM 938 version.

I'm in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario. I am with Fido. Should I spend the extra $200-300 just for the 938 version or will 937 be enough?

Also, 937 has 2100 and 2600. It's just missing 1700. Does that mean I'll still have 2100....?
 

Nom J

New member
Jul 11, 2014
1
0
0
Visit site
Thanks Lundon44 for sharing a number of insightful/instructive posts on the Lumia 1520. I've done a lot of reading/seaching on this model in the last month...Can't believe it's still not here.

I've found a Canadian seller of new models...both the RM- 937, and the RM-938... I need unlocked, of course. I guess you can only comment on the 937?

Now that you've had your for 6-7 months, any further comments on functionality, quirks, etc?

I'm eyeing it because of it's impressive Windows/Office (and hopefully 'voice' / recording) capacities. The camera is almost incidental to me. I want to be able to access my Word articles, etc.

Any further comments? Advice?

thnks again! fellow torontonian :~)

ncj
 

blue1k

New member
Sep 8, 2013
672
0
0
Visit site
Now I'm afraid to purchase the RM 937. It seems to be about $200-300 cheaper than the RM 938 version.

I'm in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario. I am with Fido. Should I spend the extra $200-300 just for the 938 version or will 937 be enough?

Also, 937 has 2100 and 2600. It's just missing 1700. Does that mean I'll still have 2100....?

Go for the 937. I got mine for 500 new. Using it on Rogers with HSPA. LTE works awesome in Vancouver but I turn it off outside of the city.

I have zero complaints. Works awesome and worth it over the 938 on price alone.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
323,196
Messages
2,243,431
Members
428,035
Latest member
jacobss