Lumia 830 on Tmobile, help needed

[eeeinator83]

I want to buy the Lumia 830 and use it on Tmobile
Can anyone help me and tell me if it will work and have high speed data on tmobile's network
Model: RM-984
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
SIM Nano-SIM

Thank you

 

[cgold1]

That one will only get reliable 2G on tmobile. You will get 3G in areas where LTE is available, but you will not be able to get LTE anywhere with that variant. Tmobile uses 1700/1900 for 3G and LTE band 4 (1700).

 

[Steven Penner]

It will get 3G 21Mbits/s at best, and not in all T-Mobile coverage areas.

 

[heywhitmarsh]

I want to buy the Lumia 830 and use it on Tmobile
Can anyone help me and tell me if it will work and have high speed data on tmobile's network
Model: RM-984
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
SIM Nano-SIM

Thank you

you'll want to look for the RM-985 model of the Lumia 830. That one will support all of T-Mobile's current network bands.
Check out B&H Photo Video for the RM-985. I haven't found an 985 available on EBay yet.

 

[hasasimo]

If you're in a refarmed area like I am, you won't notice a difference at all between the RM-984 and RM-985 on T-Mobile. How do I know? I have both in my possession right now . I know that sounds odd, but I was curious about that very thing so I picked up both. I can take a picture of them if that's too weird to believe lol.

I use HERE Drive and stream a bunch of video. Haven't noticed a difference at all between H+ and LTE, and the speed tests I've run have corroborated that. I even get faster H+ speeds at times, probably because the LTE network is congested. Upload speeds were better on LTE though. Paying attention to "up to" speeds is misleading, because you'll almost never get anywhere near that number. Real world speed tests are the only thing that'll give you an accurate assessment.

I'm in the process of testing just how much longer battery life is using just H+ on the RM-984 (and setting max connection speed to 3G) vs using LTE on the RM-985.

In short, both models will work just fine in most places. RM-985 will give you LTE, though battery life should be slightly worse. My advice? If you find them both for the same price, pick up the RM-985. If you can pick-up the RM-984 for $50-100 cheaper, it's probably worth the savings because you won't notice a real world difference with network speeds.

 

[heywhitmarsh]

If you're in a refarmed area like I am, you won't notice a difference at all between the RM-984 and RM-985 on T-Mobile. How do I know? I have both in my possession right now . I know that sounds odd, but I was curious about that very thing so I picked up both. I can take a picture of them if that's too weird to believe lol.

I use HERE Drive and stream a bunch of video. Haven't noticed a difference at all between H+ and LTE, and the speed tests I've run have corroborated that. I even get faster H+ speeds at times, probably because the LTE network is congested. Upload speeds were better on LTE though. Paying attention to "up to" speeds is misleading, because you'll almost never get anywhere near that number. Real world speed tests are the only thing that'll give you an accurate assessment.

I'm in the process of testing just how much longer battery life is using just H+ on the RM-984 (and setting max connection speed to 3G) vs using LTE on the RM-985.

In short, both models will work just fine in most places. RM-985 will give you LTE, though battery life should be slightly worse. My advice? If you find them both for the same price, pick up the RM-985. If you can pick-up the RM-984 for $50-100 cheaper, it's probably worth the savings because you won't notice a real world difference with network speeds.

While I don't doubt the rm-984 works well now, in a year T-Mobile's network will be quite different. They are in the process of changing their Edge network on the PCS band to LTE. That's expected to be complete in 6-9 months. Once that happens, T-Mobile's LTE coverage in rural areas will be on par the rest of US carriers (hopefully), and the rm-984 will fall further behind the rm-985 in terms of network speeds.
I have to respectfully disagree with you hasasimo, because I think spending an extra $50-100 to get a phone that will be more compatible in the future is worth it.

 

[hasasimo]

While I don't doubt the rm-984 works well now, in a year T-Mobile's network will be quite different. They are in the process of changing their Edge network on the PCS band to LTE. That's expected to be complete in 6-9 months. Once that happens, T-Mobile's LTE coverage in rural areas will be on par the rest of US carriers (hopefully), and the rm-984 will fall further behind the rm-985 in terms of network speeds.
I have to respectfully disagree with you hasasimo, because I think spending an extra $50-100 to get a phone that will be more compatible in the future is worth it.

Just a correction, if their Edge frequencies will be converted to LTE on the same bandwidth, it would make the RM-984 more compatible than it is now .

Anyhow, just thought some real world experience with both variants would help. Enjoy whichever one you choose . Can't go wrong at all with either. You won't notice a difference.