Re bought 950 xl

[ticois2nice]

I sold my 950 xl about a year ago and I am currently using a note 8. For some reason i missed my 950 xl so i went on Ebay and found one for 250 brand new. I can happly say that i am waiting for a new 950 xl in the mail. I will carry both phones around off course but I think i am going to use my 950 xl as my primary phone. Now back to rebuying cases and a screen protector.

 

[pkcable]

Sounds good! I enjoyed my 950 back in the day!

 

[Adventurer64]

I sold my 950 xl about a year ago and I am currently using a note 8. For some reason i missed my 950 xl so i went on Ebay and found one for 250 brand new. I can happly say that i am waiting for a new 950 xl in the mail. I will carry both phones around off course but I think i am going to use my 950 xl as my primary phone. Now back to rebuying cases and a screen protector.

Just curious, is this an international version? I"ve been thinking of buying one of these, but concerned it wont work properly on T-Mobile.

 

[pkcable]

Just curious, is this an international version? I"ve been thinking of buying one of these, but concerned it wont work properly on T-Mobile.

Not sure if this is the same thing, BUT I had the Microsoft direct, unlocked version of the 950, and it worked fine on T-Mobile.

 

[ticois2nice]

It comes with a us plug so i am assuming it's the us version.

 

[nate0]

Just curious, is this an international version? I"ve been thinking of buying one of these, but concerned it wont work properly on T-Mobile.

All the Variants (Lumia 950 and 950 XL) carry the same LTE bands. It's just some might be enabled by default or others carrying a carrier branding will even have some of the supported LTE bands disabled, even though they can be enabled back. That said the 950 and 950 XL both have the minimum bands 2, 4, 12 for T-Mobile . Even the Lumia 950 AT&T branded has band 12 available out of the box.

 

[Adventurer64]

All the Variants (Lumia 950 and 950 XL) carry the same LTE bands. It's just some might be enabled by default or others carrying a carrier branding will even have some of the supported LTE bands disabled, even though they can be enabled back. That said the 950 and 950 XL both have the minimum bands 2, 4, 12 for T-Mobile . Even the Lumia 950 AT&T branded has band 12 available out of the box.

I'd prefer to go with an Elite X3, but already tried on T-Mobile a year ago and service was poor in Denver area which I assumed was because of band 12 not being suported on X3. So, I should probably go with 950Xl for that reason. Still see some new ones on eBay.

 

[nate0]

I'd prefer to go with an Elite X3, but already tried on T-Mobile a year ago and service was poor in Denver area which I assumed was because of band 12 not being suported on X3. So, I should probably go with 950Xl for that reason. Still see some new ones on eBay.

Which Elite X3 variant did you have? The EU model and VZ model are the only two that do not have band 12 as far as I can tell.

Yet both the X3 and Lumia 950 XL should operate right out of the box on T-Mobile about the same. In fact the Elite X3 should be more efficient on T-Mobile since it is using a better/newer SOC.

The Elite X3 US GSM model has Band 12 [(1900 (B2), AWS (B4), 850 (B5), 2600 (B7), 700A (B12), 700B (B17), 700D(B29), 2300 (B30)]

The European Variant specifically for countries outside the US is not suppose to have band 12.

 

[Adventurer64]

Which Elite X3 variant did you have?

US version I assume since I purchased new at MS store full price. I returned it after a weekend because 4G was always at a few bars in my area. I retired my Idol 4S due to battery issues at the same time and went back to android. I guess on paper, X3 seems to be better suited for T-Mobile. I'll research further.

 

[nate0]

US version I assume since I purchased new at MS store full price. I returned it after a weekend because 4G was always at a few bars in my area. I retired my Idol 4S due to battery issues at the same time and went back to android. I guess on paper, X3 seems to be better suited for T-Mobile. I'll research further.

I live in a different area than you, but for me I prefer the Lumia 950 XL on T-Mobile because I found a way to enable VoLTE and HD voice. I can also enable wifi calling but only for 2.4 GHz wifi which I choose not to use really anyway.

The Elite X3 was more limited because HP never really poured a lot of Telephony support into it plus unlike Nokia/Microsoft hardware they were dependent on Microsoft for lots of added support too, which ceased as we all know.

 

[Adventurer64]

I live in a different area than you, but for me I prefer the Lumia 950 XL on T-Mobile because I found a way to enable VoLTE and HD voice. I can also enable wifi calling but only for 2.4 GHz wifi which I choose not to use really anyway.

The Elite X3 was more limited because HP never really poured a lot of Telephony support into it plus unlike Nokia/Microsoft hardware they were dependent on Microsoft for lots of added support too, which ceased as we all know.

I've been told if VoLTE is not enabled, band 12 is deactivated. Hence the issue with X3. Sounds like I'll likely have same issue with 950XL unless I can activate VoLTE. If not a simple fix, I'm ready to throw in the towel again.

 

[nate0]

I've been told if VoLTE is not enabled, band 12 is deactivated. Hence the issue with X3. Sounds like I'll likely have same issue with 950XL unless I can activate VoLTE. If not a simple fix, I'm ready to throw in the towel again.

Getting the 950 XL to use T-mobile VoLTE and IMS services is a hack. It is not completely easy, but it can be done. That phone was never T-mobile branded otherwise we would have a ROM for it and it make things 10 time easier. But there are other Lumias that do have a T-mobile ROM available with proper files/provisioning. Hence is why an option even exists to try and do this on other Lumias.

I am no expert on this but VoLTE is used for Voice/Phone calls over 4G LTE. It supports better call quality and more data. I am not certain who told you that band 12 gets deactivated on a phone if VoLTE is not enabled but that sounds incorrect. Not used maybe while VoLTE is disabled, then ya maybe...

If I turn off/disable IMS (VoLTE provisioning) on the Lumia 950 XL then I can still use band 12 for data or voice and it is still enabled. Just not getting that benefit of the 4G LTE protocol to have HD Voice and VoLTE...VoLTE being enabled or not should have no affect on whether an LTE band is active on the phone or not. The phone either supports/has an LTE band or not. The VoLTE part for T-mobile from what I know is provisioned on the phone end. T-mobile might have a way of determining which handsets support their VoLTE protocol or not (Whitelist) but from what I understand from Windows Phones is that as long as the phone is able to have the basic foundations available in the OS for IMS/VoLTE support on T-Mobile then it can be activated. There is obviously much more to it than this for each handset. I do know the basics for how the newer Lumias worked on carrier networks using Windows 10 mobile were pretty much all the same. The Lumia 650, 950 and 950 XL I have used all three. Using the 650 and 950 XL on T-Mobile and the 950 has been used too each with VoLTE HD Voice working. I have never owned a Lumia 550.

The IDOL 4s and HP Elite X3 share the same basic SOC SD820 MSM8996. But for some reason HP did not hard code the ability for it to work on carrier networks the way the IDOL 4s does. I have not figured out exactly why or what it is. But I kind of have an idea. The same provisioning the IDOL 4s uses for T-mobile and AT&T VoLTE and HD Voice does not work for the HP Elite X3. At the NVRAM level where all the options lie for Cellular and Telephony capabilities the HP is either limited not enabled or not configurable for some reason unlike other handsets that are.

 

[Adventurer64]

I am no expert on this but VoLTE is used for Voice/Phone calls over 4G LTE. It supports better call quality and more data. I am not certain who told you that band 12 gets deactivated on a phone if VoLTE is not enabled but that sounds incorrect. Not used maybe while VoLTE is disabled, then ya maybe....

I reviewed my HP Elite X3 on TMobile thread and think I misspoke regarding why band 12 is not working with X3. Regardless, sounds like X3 is a no go on TMobile as I experienced last year. I may go ahead and order a 950 XL off ebay since my T-Mobile Idol 4S has a battery issue where it just shuts off randomly below 50%. Is there a procedure somewhere on web to enable VoLTE. Thanks for the info!

 

[nate0]

I reviewed my HP Elite X3 on TMobile thread and think I misspoke regarding why band 12 is not working with X3. Regardless, sounds like X3 is a no go on TMobile as I experienced last year. I may go ahead and order a 950 XL off ebay since my T-Mobile Idol 4S has a battery issue where it just shuts off randomly below 50%. Is there a procedure somewhere on web to enable VoLTE. Thanks for the info!

I own an IDOL 4s too. The T-Mobile model is all over ebay for around 60 bucks more or less. Why not buy another one of those?

The only official procedure documented is on the XDA forums but involves using a Lumia 950 not the 950 XL. Also the guy that discovered this Lumia 950 hack went about it differently than I did and does not seem to be around to support any questions. I shared a link to threads I posted about my method in his linked tutorial here since I myself never built an official tutorial for it. Read those and see if it is something you want to consider. I personally only did it for my own curiosity/wants and is why I do not have an official guide for it. If you decide to go with a Lumia 950 XL and want to go down the path with attempting that hack you may reach me if you have any questions.

 

[PerfectReign]

I have a X3. It works on T-Mobile but no VoLTE. I never knew how to get the 950xl working on VoLTE. Would have been nice.

Sent from mTalk on my HP Elite X3

 

[Adventurer64]

Why not buy another one of those?

The Idol 4S camera is horrible in most lighting situations as you are probably aware. However, I am considering it and using my V20 when I need a good camera.

 

[Byrese]

I'd prefer to go with an Elite X3, but already tried on T-Mobile a year ago and service was poor in Denver area which I assumed was because of band 12 not being suported on X3. So, I should probably go with 950Xl for that reason. Still see some new ones on eBay.

I have an x3 and it works just fine on TMO. Maybe it was just your area.

 

[Byrese]

I'm about to sell my x3 though and get a 950XL instead. Aside from the great camera and Microsoft Pay, it's just more portable for me.

 

[Adventurer64]

I sold my 950 xl about a year ago and I am currently using a note 8. For some reason i missed my 950 xl so i went on Ebay and found one for 250 brand new. I can happly say that i am waiting for a new 950 xl in the mail. I will carry both phones around off course but I think i am going to use my 950 xl as my primary phone. Now back to rebuying cases and a screen protector.

Hows the 950 XL off ebay working? I'm about to do the same and just curious.

 

[Byrese]

Hows the 950 XL off ebay working? I'm about to do the same and just curious.

I got one off ebay and it's working Great! There's some good ones on Swappa too. You just have to be real careful with ebay or anywhere really!