Lumia 800 HSPA+ on AT&T?

[WhiteNiteLite]

Hey everyone. I've been the lucky recipient of a shiny new Lumia 800. It is a fully unlocked and non-carrier branded phone. I currently have AT&T as my carrier, so I swung by an AT&T, got a new micro SIM to replace my old standard SIM and things have been great for the most part.

My only curiosity is whether this supports AT&T's HSPA+ speeds. I often get an "H" next to the signal meter. According to Microsoft, that H stands for HSDPA, which if I understand correctly is NOT HSPA+. I've done some searching online, and there's conflicting reports. Some people say that it does support HSPA+, others say that it doesn't, and some say that it does, but only in certain locations.

I'm not that skilled when it comes to understanding the exact frequencies. From what I understand, I think my phone might be a pentaband phone and should support all of AT&T's bands (I counted 5 different frequencies there, but maybe I don't understand pentaband and I'm wrong.). Here's what the box says:

GSM/EGSM: 850/900/1800/1900
WCDMA: 900/1900/2100

Can anyone smarter than me tell me if my Lumia 800 is indeed compatible with AT&T's HSPA+ or not? Thanks!

 

[prjkthack]

"WCDMA: 900/1900/2100"

AT&T uses 850 and 1900 as their 3G bands. If you are seeing H, you must be in an area where 1900 is available to you, which means you'll get HSPA-like speeds.

Unfortunately, AT&T primarily uses 850 to deliver 3G to phones, so you will not always get HSPA-like speeds everywhere you go.

The "H" symbol on phones these days will typically mean anything higher than plain old 3G. HSPA by defintion, is a family of protocols that include HSDPA and HSUPA, and to a certain extent HSPA+. All are capable of speeds higher than regular 3G, but of course, HSPA+ is quite a bit faster in the right conditions/market.

 

[RustyU]

It's capable of HSDPA 14.4 apparently, if that sounds as HSPA+

 

[gtg465x]

It's capable of HSDPA 14.4 apparently, if that sounds as HSPA+

It's capable from a technical standpoint, but it seems to be limited to HSDPA category 8 (7.2 Mbps max) on AT&T. I have seen up to 6.1 Mbps in a known HSPA+ area on my 800, but my AT&T Galaxy S II can pull 8-10 Mbps in the same area.

 

[freestaterocker]

Hey everybody I posted this on another thread, but TELUS in Canada will be getting a version of the 800 soon, with 850/1900 bands, which is what they use for their 3g/HSDPA+ network. It will be available in black, cyan, and magenta. For all you ATTers that gotta have the small, sexy phone. No word on off-contract price yet...

Edit: TELUS Lumia 800 was released March 2nd, and is $529 off-contract

 

[WhiteNiteLite]

Thanks for the insight everyone! I guess the lack of the 850 band also explains why I tend to drop down to edge much more easily than before. But besides that, the Lumia is shaping up to be a great phone.

 

[brdl04]

the 850 Band is the HSPA+ band. The Hp Pre 3 had the same issue. it got H but not H+ because it didn't have the 850 band

 

[edoug]

Maybe I'm alone, but i don't care for the trade off of faster data to battery life. I'm glad my 800 can't do HSPA+ given its already only average battery life. I do love my 800 though

 

[arthurthornton]

the 850 Band is the HSPA+ band. The Hp Pre 3 had the same issue. it got H but not H+ because it didn't have the 850 band

Not true. HSPA+ isn't limited to just the 850 band, it depends where you live. In many areas they also deploy it via the 1900 band. For example, where I live, my Lumia 800 gets fantastic HSPA+ speeds (I had 13Mbps at one point) and that's on just the 1900 MHz band. All that means for you is that ATT doesn't have HSPA+ going out over 1900 where you're at.

To the OP: the H symbol is indicative that you have either HSPA or HSPA+. It doesn't exclude one or the other, so there's no definitive way to know if you've got HSPA+ active on your phone. If you're getting speeds that would suggest you have HSPA+ then that is what you've got.