950 XL no LTE on AT&T?

[JieXY]

It's really strange because now I can get LTE on my ATT 1520, but not on my 950 XL when the same nano-sim is inserted. It did show LTE briefly for a while and degraded to 4G when I turned on my WiFi. Don't know if this is ATT's problem or the phone's problem...

 

[tpesa]

Ok, wife called the local AT&T store where we activated our 950xls. Told them our experience with AT&T support. They helped us apply alternate IMEI codes over the phone. Voila, LTE.

Question.. Now that you have LTE does it revert to 4G on a call and do you have visual voicemail?

 

[David Phillips4]

I did both steps -- all failed ---- still on 4g ! !!! arggh ! --reset phone --- called ATT -- gave her IMEI number from Lumia 1520 that got LTE -- still fails !

 

[JDasenbrock]

Question.. Now that you have LTE does it revert to 4G on a call and do you have visual voicemail?

Haven't made any calls since the change and new to AT&T, so have never had or used VVM. I'll have to pay attention to these things.

 

[PhineasTD]

Okay, for myself my international unlocked Lumia 950xl is now working on AT&T LTE just fine. As long as you have a valid AT&T account here is how:

1: Call AT&T customer support
2: After account validation calmly explain the LTE connectivity issue with the Lumia 950xl. You DO NOT need the IMEI or to change any settings on the SIM.
3. AT&T can update your account remotely and you need only turn off and then turn on your phone after the update is complete OR perform the update through the Settings->Network & Wireless->Cellular & SIM->SIM 1 Settings->Scroll down to the 'Update Settings' button

Be sure to turn Data Connection BACK ON in the Cellular Data menu after the update!

 

[David Phillips4]

3rd try did it.. LTE now !

 

[JieXY]

3rd try did it.. LTE now !

What did you do this time?

 

[realwarder]

It's really strange because now I can get LTE on my ATT 1520, but not on my 950 XL when the same nano-sim is inserted. It did show LTE briefly for a while and degraded to 4G when I turned on my WiFi. Don't know if this is ATT's problem or the phone's problem...

That could be a great ploy at power saving. If you're on Wi-Fi, why use more power on a cellular data service you're not using.

 

[aximtreo]

Okay, for myself my international unlocked Lumia 950xl is now working on AT&T LTE just fine. As long as you have a valid AT&T account here is how:

1: Call AT&T customer support
2: After account validation calmly explain the LTE connectivity issue with the Lumia 950xl. You DO NOT need the IMEI or to change any settings on the SIM.
3. AT&T can update your account remotely and you need only turn off and then turn on your phone after the update is complete OR perform the update through the Settings->Network & Wireless->Cellular & SIM->SIM 1 Settings->Scroll down to the 'Update Settings' button

Be sure to turn Data Connection BACK ON in the Cellular Data menu after the update!

This worked for me. LTE on my 950 XL. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did have to give her one of the IMEI numbers listed above and it took about 3 minutes for it to reset to LTE.

 

[Akira X]

Can confirm the gist of this thread regarding LTE.

1. Activated my 950xl on crickett, no imei required during setup, LTE from the start.

2. My friend activated his 950xl through att, took it into the store. Handed att rep his 950xl, no LTE by the time he reaches home, only 4g.

Explained to him what's happening, told him to call att, tell them the data stop working, when they ask for imei, give them the 640xl he owns, few minutes later, BAM LTE!!!

 

[Pnk4God]

I suggest everybody do this as a test. My 950 XL (ordered from MS Store online and unbranded) showed LTE from the very beginning. I started out with a SIM from a Nokia 920. I cut it down as I upgraded to a 930. The 930 only got 4G reception, but I knew that. The 950XL showed LTE ... UNTIL ... I made or received calls. It switches over to 4G while on calls.

I also have a 950 (bought at brick and mortar MS Store and branded AT&T) does not change from LTE to 4G during calls.

So there are two issues that will have me returning the 950 XL ... (1) NO visual voicemail, and (2) calls switching to 4G.

Make and receive calls to test if your phone switches back and forth and let us know.

 

[don4law]

I simply put the SIM card from T-Mobile in my Lumia 640 when I got it after changing from a Galaxy Note Edge. It worked great. But when I got the 950xl I had to return to the store and get a nano-Sim instead because the 640 took a regular SIM card. I think it's ok to just swap it out if the card fits, but if it's a different size it will need to be replaced by the carrier

 

[TexasLabRat]

I simply put the SIM card from T-Mobile in my Lumia 640 when I got it after changing from a Galaxy Note Edge. It worked great. But when I got the 950xl I had to return to the store and get a nano-Sim instead because the 640 took a regular SIM card. I think it's ok to just swap it out if the card fits, but if it's a different size it will need to be replaced by the carrier

yea t-mobile doesn't have the same issue with the imei authentication thing for LTE as at&t.

 

[Marsiss Tian]

Correct. 4G between 2 and 6 Mbps. LTE can be significantly higher. With WiFi turned off, run SpeedTest (free app).

Mine is still showing 4G, not LTE. But the download speed is greater than 6 Mbps, what is download speed range normally for LTE?

 

[JieXY]

Mine is still showing 4G, not LTE. But the download speed is greater than 6 Mbps, what is download speed range normally for LTE?

It depends on your area and signal. At my home the phone shows LTE, while the download speed is only 3-5 Mbps (2-3 bars for signal). However, when I go to some nearby open areas (<1 mile), I have full bars and the LTE download is at least 40 Mbps.

 

[PhineasTD]

Avoid going to the AT&T dealers/stores if at all possible. Call AT&T technical support.

The primary issue for the LTE is the IMEI for unlocked devices ARE NOT on the AT&T accounts and thus do not have unrestricted access to their GSM. AT&T technical support can update the accounts remotely by calling from the device that you're having the issue with. While on that call over the AT&T service, they can gather all needed data and perform the update. It's very similar to how Verizon, while the 950 and 950xl operate on their band, blocked the phones by restricting the devices IMEI. Think of it as a locked door.

The secondary issue that may occur is SIM compatibility. I don't know too much in that arena however there are plenty of links available here to sort it out. Worst case scenario is having to pick up a new SIM and setting up the phone.

 

[phelme]

It's really strange because now I can get LTE on my ATT 1520, but not on my 950 XL when the same nano-sim is inserted. It did show LTE briefly for a while and degraded to 4G when I turned on my WiFi. Don't know if this is ATT's problem or the phone's problem...

Do you have more than one profile to choose from? I have two, AT&T and Straight Talk. For some reason I can only get LTE when selecting that instead of the AT&T profile (but I'm on an MVNO, Red Pocket). When AT&T is selected I only get 4G.

 

[JieXY]

Do you have more than one profile to choose from? I have two, AT&T and Straight Talk. For some reason I can only get LTE when selecting that instead of the AT&T profile (but I'm on an MVNO, Red Pocket). When AT&T is selected I only get 4G.

No. I only have one profile (AT&T). I went to an AT&T store and asked for a new SIM card and now everything works fine on LTE.

 

[occamsmonkey]

I finally got this resolved 10 minutes ago. Like others, I had to use my old phone (Lumia 1020) as a spoof IMEI. I made 3 calls and none of them resolved it. I was able to use chat support today and it was resolved in seconds. Take that as you will, but chat was definitely the best experience I had with support.

 

[tai4de2]

I suggest everybody do this as a test. My 950 XL (ordered from MS Store online and unbranded) showed LTE from the very beginning. I started out with a SIM from a Nokia 920. I cut it down as I upgraded to a 930. The 930 only got 4G reception, but I knew that. The 950XL showed LTE ... UNTIL ... I made or received calls. It switches over to 4G while on calls.

I also have a 950 (bought at brick and mortar MS Store and branded AT&T) does not change from LTE to 4G during calls.

So there are two issues that will have me returning the 950 XL ... (1) NO visual voicemail, and (2) calls switching to 4G.

Make and receive calls to test if your phone switches back and forth and let us know.

Switching from LTE to '4G' (actually 3.5G, but branded 4G for marketing purposes) is called circuit-switched fallback (CSFB) and is the way calls work in the absence of VoLTE. Every phone supporting LTE data that's ever existed prior to the advent of VoLTE does this. It's normal and not indicative of a technical shortcoming.
If CSFB doesn't occur on your AT&T-branded device, this suggests that the device is using VoLTE for at least some calls.