Cellular frequencies for U.S. carriers?

[TheFancyPanc]

I have an HTC 8x factory unlocked and I bought it knowing that it didn't have 4g capabilities unless I bought a Verizon or at&t branded phone. The 930 has been looking better and better. I was looking at my options on ebay and then I see this:

is it true that I'll still be getting crappy data coverage on T-Mobile if I get a Lumia 930?

 

[worldspy99]

Wikipedia is your best friend for determining frequencies.
On TMO the 930 will work. SMS will work, MMS will NOT work. Data will work depending on where you are. In SoCal and other refarmed areas you will get LTE and HSPA+. Hope this helps.

 

[TheFancyPanc]

Sigh... So if its a GSM phone why did they release it with such crappy compatibility?!... Its a brand new phone for heavens sake. I stick with GSM carriers so that I can get basically any phone I want. What's the point though if the devices aren't design with US compatibility?

 

[Lee Power]

The US have the Icon as an exclusive. The rest of the world have the 930, the 930 was never designed for release to the US market.
Europe got the same treatment with I Phone 5, Apple rushed it out over here & it wasn't compatible with a lot of 4g networks.

 

[JamesPTao]

The 930 will work on tmobile and at&t in the us.

 

[Squachy]

WEll first of all the 930 is an international phone model, NOT a US phone. So it has all the frequencies that are supported outside of North America, at least when LTE is concerned. US LTE does not match overseas LTE frequencies.
Its also Quad band GSM so it uses 4 of the 5 universal frequencies which is 850/900/1900/2100 (I think) 3G should work everywhere.
Sprint and Verizon I believe there is a GSM vs CDMA discrepancy which is why the 930 wont work on those (and why the icon doesn't work on the AT&T)
For Tmobile, im guessing its kind of like the 'smaller' players up here in Canada. They have their own frequencies again. I think they use 700mhz/1700/2100. But I don't know.
Its usually why you typically have to find a 'special' variant of some phones so they work on tmobile.

the other side of the coin is, why cant a manufacturer just release one device with all the available frequencies instead of multiple devices with different frequencies.

 

[Harry Wild]

Windows phones in general in the U.S. are restricted phones. They are design to work with the one carrier that sell that exclusive model. I think the carrier test out their exclusive phone against all the other U.S. carriers to see if it functions and it does; how to limit it further.

Apple iPhone has an unlocked model that will work with every U.S. carrier in full capacity. Google Play Nexus phones are the same as unlocked iPhone.

 

[JamesPTao]

Windows phones in general in the U.S. are restricted phones. They are design to work with the one carrier that sell that exclusive model. I think the carrier test out their exclusive phone against all the other U.S. carriers to see if it functions and it does; how to limit it further.

Apple iPhone has an unlocked model that will work with every U.S. carrier in full capacity. Google Play Nexus phones are the same as unlocked iPhone.

That is because the US has Verizon and sprint which don't adhere to the multinational GSM standard. At least Verizon is slowly transitioning. Traditionally if you want the ability to use almost any phone made outside the us then you use AT&T and it works perfect. I did this in the post to get models that weren't offered but mostly to get the original Roms the phone was designed with rather than the majorly crippled and stripped down versions US carriers offered. Ex. Nokia e72 no carrier version could tether via USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi where the us version could only do so via USB if enabled through At&t. So if you want a phone offered in Europe or elsewhere buy it then put your At&t SIM in it and it will work.

 

[TheFancyPanc]

Ok thanks for all the info guys, hopefully one day it will all be the same everywhere but that day can't come soon enough.
So I'm gathering a little more info. So voice and text messages will work fine but my problems will come with data and picture messages. Like I said I have an unlocked HTC 8x and I have always had hit and miss data but the picture messages have never had more than a few hiccups here and there. What will the extent of my problems be on T-Mobile with the 930? About the same or worse?

 

[JamesPTao]

Ok thanks for all the info guys, hopefully one day it will all be the same everywhere but that day can't come soon enough.
So I'm gathering a little more info. So voice and text messages will work fine but my problems will come with data and picture messages. Like I said I have an unlocked HTC 8x and I have always had hit and miss data but the picture messages have never had more than a few hiccups here and there. What will the extent of my problems be on T-Mobile with the 930? About the same or worse?

Shouldn't have any issues at all. If you want to double check look up the frequencies tmobile uses and compare them to those the 930 uses.

 

[hasasimo]

If you do a search here in the 930 forum you'll see a thread or two about 930 use in the U.S. with some more info and first hand experience.

 

[TheFancyPanc]

If you do a search here in the 930 forum you'll see a thread or two about 930 use in the U.S. with some more info and first hand experience.

I have done searches. Can you share a link.

what about this? North American Nokia Lumia 930 coming to Canada in 2 weeks | WMPoweruser

 

[worldspy99]

If it comes to Canada, be rest assured it will work flawlessly on TMO. I had a Rogers 920 that got full LTE on TMO and also had the AWS bands for HSPA+. Good luck.

 

[hasasimo]

I have done searches. Can you share a link.

what about this? North American Nokia Lumia 930 coming to Canada in 2 weeks | WMPoweruser

Sure

http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-930/298146-any-930-users-u-s.html

As for the 930 coming to Canada, OmegaCell has since said that it received bad information and that they now have no idea when/if the 930 will arrive with North American LTE bands.

 

[TheFancyPanc]

Sure

http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-930/298146-any-930-users-u-s.html

As for the 930 coming to Canada, OmegaCell has since said that it received bad information and that they now have no idea when/if the 930 will arrive with North American LTE bands.

thanks. You've been a ton of help

 

[hasasimo]

No prob. You may want to take into account recent rumors that T-Mobile will be launching several Windows Phones between now and the holidays, including the possibility of a high end model or two. I too am intrigued by the 930, but we may want to wait September out to see what announcements are made.

 

[paperchasin]

No prob. You may want to take into account recent rumors that T-Mobile will be launching several Windows Phones between now and the holidays, including the possibility of a high end model or two. I too am intrigued by the 930, but we may want to wait September out to see what announcements are made.

I agree with this^^^. The last thing that you want to do is spend your hard earned money on a phone and have it not function 100%