Canadian review / user experience with the 1520.3 (RM-938 variant)

[o4komodo]

The thing with updates on unbranded phones is that MSFT/Nokia pushes updates by region and not all at once. So sometimes, a UK update may come before or after. In this case the 938 is from "LT AUV" which I would assume is "Latin America". These updates are usually a few days to a week apart from other regions [if there is a difference in release dates].

For example, I had to nearly 9 days after China got their Nokia Black update on my L920 UK.

 

[o4komodo]

You can check for the update from the settings under 'phone pudate'

 

[tsobol]

Branded means the phone has a carrier logo printed on the phone or carrier apps preinstalled, or carrier logo displayed on the screen when you turn it on. Locked means the phone would work only with SIM cards from that carrier.

The 1520.3 from omegacell is both unbranded and unlocked. It only starts in Spanish when you turn it on for the first time.

I bought mine from B&H (website) so can i assume that my phone is unbranded? when it starts only Windows Phone with the blueish background appears (the first time it started in Spanish.....)

BTW how can i find the meaning of "lta_lta_905" , indicated after RM-938 under Settings>extras+info.
Thanks.

 

[MrGoodSmith]

I bought mine from B&H (website) so can i assume that my phone is unbranded? when it starts only Windows Phone with the blueish background appears (the first time it started in Spanish.....)

BTW how can i find the meaning of "lta_lta_905" , indicated after RM-938 under Settings>extras+info.
Thanks.

You seem to have the same model I got, so yes this is an unlocked and unbranded phone.

As for "lta_lta_905", I think LTA means Latin America.

 

[tsobol]

Thanks for the reply and the assistance !

 

[Michael M Maslowski]

Hi,

Just to confirm, black Bandit ordered today from OmegaCell.

Waiting impatiently

Thanks.

 

[BaritoneGuy]

You seem to have the same model I got, so yes this is an unlocked and unbranded phone.

As for "lta_lta_905", I think LTA means Latin America.

There is also carrier branding buried in the phones settings. I am not sure how to pull it up, but you can actually find out which carrier it originally went to. So while it does not have a logo, there is still some internal branding that controls the update process. A truly unbranded phone will not have these settings and will be serviced directly by MS/Nokia.

 

[Michael M Maslowski]

There is also carrier branding buried in the phones settings. I am not sure how to pull it up, but you can actually find out which carrier it originally went to. So while it does not have a logo, there is still some internal branding that controls the update process. A truly unbranded phone will not have these settings and will be serviced directly by MS/Nokia.

Good catch.

That being said, at least on the Omega Cell website, the warrant policy states that imported phones will typically not be serviced by the manufacturer (available here). I wonder if this statement extends to Nokia/MSFT.

My device is being shipped today, excited like a kid.

Thanks.

 

[MrGoodSmith]

My device is being shipped today, excited like a kid.

Let us know how you find it. I'm sure you will love it.

 

[MrGoodSmith]

There is also carrier branding buried in the phones settings. I am not sure how to pull it up, but you can actually find out which carrier it originally went to. So while it does not have a logo, there is still some internal branding that controls the update process. A truly unbranded phone will not have these settings and will be serviced directly by MS/Nokia.

I am interested in finding out which settings those are.

The phone I got from Omegacell has this product code:

059V6W7 VAR LTA 7R CV BLACK

You can see a full list of all product codes in this page:
Product Codes of Nokia Lumia 1520 ? Seidea
You will notice other variants have specific country or carrier name/abbreviation in them, while the product 059V6W7 (along with its white and yellow siblings) seem to have the least specific names.

VAR: Variant
LTA: Probably Latin America
7R: Not sure what this means, but usually a country symbol falls here
CV: Country Variant, otherwise it would show the carrier symbol

I found my product code only through connecting my phone to Nokia Care Suite. It's not printed on the box and I am not sure if there is another way to find it.

 

[o4komodo]

Good catch.

That being said, at least on the Omega Cell website, the warrant policy states that imported phones will typically not be serviced by the manufacturer (available here). I wonder if this statement extends to Nokia/MSFT.

My device is being shipped today, excited like a kid.

Thanks.

I've almost always imported my Nokia phones.
Nokia warranty has been pretty standard since it first came out. It's only available in the country of origin. So if you want to service your 1520... you'd have to send it to a Nokia facility in Latin America.
HOWEVER, sometimes Nokia will make exceptions---if the country you are from has the same phone you have then they will allow you to send it there for repairs [or replacement]. Only issue is that the replacement then becomes one of the branded phones.

For example my old Nokia N8 was from the US. It bricked during the "Nokia Belle" update and also had a faulty USB port. My phone wasn't technically the same as Canadians (Canadians only have silver option). Nokia allowed me to send my device to Nokia in Toronto... and they sent me back a brand new (canadian-branded and locked) Rogers N8. If Rogers did not offer the N8 then I would have had no option but to mail it to the States... and that's if they're willing to mail it back to me in Canada.

Thankfully ALL Nokia phones come pre "built in" with the Nokia Care phone number. Although I think it was to the country of origin =p

 

[Michael M Maslowski]

Hi guys,

Just an update that I am still waiting. Martin from OmegaCell was quick and replied to my questions almost instantly. Bought mine with extended warranty and full-blown Mobile Coat, as I am not going to waste any more $$ on cases as I have spent way too much on them.

Purolator is not the fastest courier service in Canada, but at least I am hoping they deliver it in one piece. Scheduled between this coming Monday - Thursday, so fingers crossed. To give you guys some perspective, the DT-900 charging pad that I ordered from the MSFT store arrived in around 48 hours from Ontario, California (yeah, there is a place in the U.S. called just like the Canadian province) to Bedford, NS where I currently reside.

I am still deliberating installing the WP 8.1 Dev Preview, as "sometime in June" seems too far away from now. Any personal suggestions or impressions, guys? And yes, I do realize that there is a thread on this very topic already

Anyway, I will let you know once I receive the device and fire it up.

Thank you & have nice Sunday, y'all!

 

[MrGoodSmith]

Yes install the 8.1 dev preview, it makes a big difference. The 8.1 is missing core facebook integration but the other features they added are worth it. I'm used to typing with Swype now and I'm loving it. The notification center is very helpful too. IE11 syncs favorites with my laptop. Everything feels like using a new phone!

 

[Michael M Maslowski]

Hi Lads,

It's here, it's huge, it's beautiful, and it works like crazy, and Qi charging is fantastic. OK, first impressions: check.

It arrived very late afternoon yesterday, and I immediately hooked it up to the Telus network here in NS. So far I am getting 4G only, but I am in a spot where coverage might be a challenge. That being said, my 5s used to pick up LTE with a single bar no problem. Contacted the carrier yesterday evening to review my provisioning and confirm whether the device was full compatible with their network. Got two resounding "Yays". I am heading out to work in a few, so I should have a better grasp of the situation.

The device is very well designed (I am personally a fan of clean slab designs). The screen looks excellent. I have not noticed any issues that have been documented here.

I will keep you posted as soon as I get more real-life use.

Thanks.

 

[tsobol]

Cheers !!

 

[Michael M Maslowski]

Woot, woot! I can officially confirm that I have LTE on the Telus network in the HRM area On that note, I can officially recommend OmegaCell as legit and reliable provider for the Canadian market of imported Bandits.

As I suspected the coverage in my area (I live in Bedford, NS) is a challenge as there is only a single tower of Telus for the entire city and I live a few kilometres away surrounded by trees and hills.

Even though that I am currently using WP8 (decided to postpone installing the Dev Preview for now), I feel fairly good about the software. It's good enough for now, and Nokia suite of bundled apps is rock solid. I give them full credit for making the whole UX a very pleasing one.

So far, I have merely dabbled with the 20MP Pureview camera, but the low-light results look better than my previous device (the 5s). The front-facing camera is nothing special, not great, but not too bad either. The battery is consistently giving me around 1 day and 20 hours of estimated time, so definitely an improvement compared to my previous device. Finally, the size is not an issue for me, I am a fairly big guy and my hands are definitely above average in terms of size. I can comfortably hold the device and text with my thumb. I am not going back to anything that is below 5.5", and I am an avid Apple fan.

Overall, I feel no regrets shelling out some nickel for this premium device. With some luck, this should serve for 18-24 months without any complains.

Lastly, I hope that MSFT will expand the ideas behind the Lumia line. In all fairness, WP is the only genuine alternative to the iOS (if one wants to position this like that). For now, I am enjoying the best of both worlds using the Bandit as my daily driver, and my iPad Air for desktop-like experience and some quality apps.

If you guys have any questions, shoot me. I will be more than happy to answer them for you.

 

[MrGoodSmith]

Congratulation for getting the phone. I'm just surprised to know that 4G is different than LTE. Do I have to have a LTE plan specifically to see "LTE" show up in the list of available connection speeds for my SIM card?

 

[Michael M Maslowski]

Hi MrGoodSmith,

The short answer to your question in "No". I might have added to the confusion, and allow me to clarify. Back in the day when I worked for RIM/BBry (2010 - 2012) 4G encompassed the H/H+ standards, although they are technically not 4G, more like 3.5/3.7G (if I am not mistaken), and I am personally not in favour of that denomination. Some carriers jumped the gun and started referring to them as 4G, as a substantial iteration over 3G. Surprise, surprise late 2012 and Bell & Rogers started rolling out LTE which is the true 4G. In this context, Telus, I think, initially started referring to their LTE as the "4G LTE". Confusing enough? :winktongue:

When I made my previous comment I was assuming 4G referred to HSPA/+ ONLY and I was still expecting "LTE" for the Maximum Network Speed setting under "Cellular". Clearly, that was my mistake, as the 4G literally means H/H+ AND LTE, which from the aforementioned perspective makes sense. Not knowing that, I sprinted to my Telus shop nearby only to find out that I had LTE, as the shop was like 500 metres from the tower. Long & behold, the "LTE" reading on the main screen showed up in full strength.

Therefore, if you can see the "LTE" reading on the device when you are situated in a good coverage area, you are "good as gold", and you definitely have what is needed in terms of provisioning, etc. Again, I might have confused you folks, because some of our US Unicorn Bandit owners reported that their devices would initially be recognizes as a 2/3G device of unknown manufacturer, and I was under impression that I would follow suit. My apologies for that.

To sum up, if you have LTE on your RM938 displaying while in coverage, you do not need to do a single thing. Otherwise, contact your carrier to check if their provisioning system has identified your phone as a 2, or 3G device of unknown manufacturer. My guess in that situation is, contact your carrier, provide your IMEI and ask them to properly provision the device. Then reboot, and keep your fingers crossed

Again, apologies for the added confusion. Totally unwarranted and unintended.

Cheers!

 

[daniel187]

Im in canada with rogers and just ordered one from omegacell, im just wondering can you still setup the phone to get datasence, the rogers section in the app store and stuff like that?

I'm not with Rogers so I don't know. I guess you will be the one who will tell us the answer!

Yup myaccount app and others in there working fine

 

[Michael M Maslowski]

Yup myaccount app and others in there working fine

Welcome to the Club! Enjoy your Unicorn Bandit