Unlocked 920 on T-Mobile reverting to EDGE

[alfadoc99]

I have a problem that is mildly annoying. I have a 920 unlocked running on T-Mobile, and I know we are in a HSPA/HSPA+ area because I can force it to use them, but it seems to prefer EDGE. If I find it has reverted to EDGE, I can make it use H/H+ by going into Settings>Cellular>Network Selection, and switching from T-Mobile to Automatic, exiting, then going back and switching back to T-Mobile. Then after a while, it reverts to EDGE, and I have to do it again. One thing I have noticed is that while on EDGE, it has 4-5 bars of signal, and on H/H+ 1-2. Does anyone know what is going on, and any fix you can think of?
Also, if it says 4G, is that LTE? I thought the 920 would say LTE.

 

[orangesplease]

Don't have the EDGE preference problem that you're experiencing, but can say that when it's LTE, it will say LTE.

 

[alfadoc99]

It is just a bit confusing, because it WILL display H+, so if 4G is not LTE, then what? It only rarely shows 4G, too.

 

[wpnokia920]

I believe its going to revert to the stronger signal automatically...

 

[Ali Babba]

Data speeds go something like this..

2G (GPRS)
2.75G (EDGE)
3G (UMTS)
HSDPA (H/3.5G) and HSPDA+ (H+)
LTE (4G)

Keep in mind that if you're using a unlocked AT&T 920, T-mobile will not get LTE speeds unless they have re-farmed the towers in your area.

 

[alfadoc99]

And of course T-Mobile muddied the water by calling HSPA+ 4G... I have a feeling the 4G indicator I've been seeing is LTE; driving around San Francisco, I've seen 4G come and go, but never an "LTE".

 

[treetownal]

Data speeds go something like this..

2G (GPRS)
2.75G (EDGE)
3G (UMTS)
HSDPA (H/3.5G) and HSPDA+ (H+)
LTE (4G)

Keep in mind that if you're using a unlocked AT&T 920, T-mobile will not get LTE speeds unless they have re-farmed the towers in your area.

How can you determine if an area has the refarmed towers? I'm in NYC, and I'm trying to determine if the 1020 will work with LTE here.

 

[alfadoc99]

Actually, the "refarming" is to have T-Mobile's 1700mhz 3G towers broadcast 1900mhz 3G as well, so unlocked AT&T phones can get better than EDGE. As far as I know, the LTE rollout is completely separate, and is being done on a city by city basis. You can check your coverage here: Unsupported Browser. Enter your address, then click on the map marker. For my address, though, it seemed a little "optimistic" YMMV.

 

[Maserati Storm]

I've been picking up LTE,Edge & 4G. it depends on the area. I see LTE 60-70% of the time and the rest is Edge & 4G.

 

[alfadoc99]

I've been picking up LTE,Edge & 4G. it depends on the area. I see LTE 60-70% of the time and the rest is Edge & 4G.

On a 920 on T-Mobile? Interesting, because what I see mostly is H/H+. Where are you?

 

[alfadoc99]

Also, on a T-Mobile site, I got the answer that the phone will switch to the stronger signal, which is what seems to be what is happening. You can disable LTE, is there any way to do it to EDGE?

 

[pankaj981]

To force the phone to use 3G or 2G, dial ##3282# then tap the ... at the bottom and select settings, then use the network as 2G or 3G as preferred, FYI 4G in that menu corresponds to LTE and not HSPA+