T-mobile 925 Upgrade Options

[cure92]

So I've had my 925 replaced twice now and am ready to kick it to the curb. Between the overheating and a laundry list of other issues I'm ready to get something else. The problem is I'm on T-mobile. So I'm wondering if I should consider the M8, 830 (will it work on T-mobile's network?), or just wait a few months. I could be wrong but from what I've read you're going to have overheating amongst other issues unless you have a 8.xx processor. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[pankaj981]

The 830 works just fine on T-Mobile. To get LTE you would need the RM-983 (ATT unlocked) or the RM-985 variant. Plus its the other way, the SD400 processor stays very cool, even under load

 

[Yazen]

Would not get Lumia 1520.3, snapdragon 800 SoC heats.
There is no Lumia 930 variant that works properly on T-Mobile.

M8 is a good candidate, but the price is certainly steep. I gave up on non-Lumia Windows Phones, so in this regard I am biased.

I bought a Lumia 635 and was thoroughly disappointed. Not buying another Lumia until they have one that works on T-Mobiles Band 12 LTE that they are currently rolling out. Only thing I liked about the 635 was the call quality on T-Mobile LTE (HD Calling)

P.S : Lumia 830 is at best a sidegrade. Will run cooler, but your laundry list will be just as long. Lumia 830 has a slower chipset, so apps that are not optimized for the new platform will be slower.

T-Mobile is pretty aggressive at maintaining quality support on their phones. If you are going to be paying a sum of money, why not wait a few months instead of getting a phone with spotty support?

 

[Munter2]

Would not get Lumia 1520.3, snapdragon 800 SoC heats.
There is no Lumia 930 variant that works properly on T-Mobile.

M8 is a good candidate, but the price is certainly steep. I gave up on non-Lumia Windows Phones, so in this regard I am biased.

I bought a Lumia 635 and was thoroughly disappointed. Not buying another Lumia until they have one that works on T-Mobiles Band 12 LTE that they are currently rolling out. Only thing I liked about the 635 was the call quality on T-Mobile LTE (HD Calling)

P.S : Lumia 830 is at best a sidegrade. Will run cooler, but your laundry list will be just as long. Lumia 830 has a slower chipset, so apps that are not optimized for the new platform will be slower.

T-Mobile is pretty aggressive at maintaining quality support on their phones. If you are going to be paying a sum of money, why not wait a few months instead of getting a phone with spotty support?

Quality support and T-Mobile have absolutely no business being in the same sentence. You might want to read the posts from a few months ago on the 925 and then go back and read about the 810 on T-Mobile.

 

[Yazen]

Quality support and T-Mobile have absolutely no business being in the same sentence. You might want to read the posts from a few months ago on the 925 and then go back and read about the 810 on T-Mobile.

925 was Microsoft's fault plain and simple. You can pin the blame on Nokia for the 810 as well. Just because a phone is compatible does not mean the software was developed for it.

Take Denim on x2y devices as an example. The SoC in the 925 is superior in nearly every aspect to the one present in the 830. Is there Miracast on the 925? What about the rewritten Lumia Camera? Imaging algorithms? Brightness Profile??????????????????????

Microsoft is not transparent during their development, and carriers cannot provide these details to their customers.

Joe Belfiore - 10/20/14. (A Week before Cyan was released)

...
In the case of T-Mobile, there is work underway to get updates ready – and T-mobile is testing along with our device-update team. Each mobile operator is differnet… T-Mobile, as one example, has a few specific scenarios they test rigorously, and until everything is in good shape, they won’t authorize the publishing of the update.
...

 

[Yazen]

It would seem T-Mobile got the update tested and approved fairly quickly no? You people think T-Mobile / Verizon are conspiring against Microsoft?

 

[ajknight7]

I'm in the same boat here. Although my 925 has been treating me well, I dont think i ever got the camera that everyone talks about in the 925. My pictures used to come out really yellow, now not as yellow but really hazy, like there's a constant fog going on. No, it's not the lens, i make sure its physically clean. Now i'm out of warranty with the phone, so even if it was a hardware issue, i cant fix it without spending some cash. Besides that point, its a great phone.I want to put money down and just buy a 1520.3(but my wife wont let me), and i just cant justify spending $500 and then want to replace it a year later...i just dont have that kind of disposable income...i also considered switching to att to get the 1520, but the savings i get staying with tmo outweigh the pros of getting a new phone on a different carrier...stuck between a rock and a hard place i guess...

 

[pankaj981]

^^ you can reduce the yellowing if you choose the lighting conditions manually but TBH, you should not have to do that

 

[anon(5969054)]

Anything after the portorico update raped the camera for 920/925 :/

 

[Yazen]

I'm in the same boat here. Although my 925 has been treating me well, I dont think i ever got the camera that everyone talks about in the 925. My pictures used to come out really yellow, now not as yellow but really hazy, like there's a constant fog going on. No, it's not the lens, i make sure its physically clean. Now i'm out of warranty with the phone, so even if it was a hardware issue, i cant fix it without spending some cash. Besides that point, its a great phone.I want to put money down and just buy a 1520.3(but my wife wont let me), and i just cant justify spending $500 and then want to replace it a year later...i just dont have that kind of disposable income...i also considered switching to att to get the 1520, but the savings i get staying with tmo outweigh the pros of getting a new phone on a different carrier...stuck between a rock and a hard place i guess...

I really think you should wait until the next W10 flagship is announced before you make any decisions.

Think we're all in the same boat

 

[oviedofreak82]

925 was Microsoft's fault plain and simple. You can pin the blame on Nokia for the 810 as well. Just because a phone is compatible does not mean the software was developed for it.
(A Week before Cyan was released)
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The hold up with the cyan update was compatibility with T-Mobile and their Wi-Fi calling app which was broken after the Black update. T-Mobile killed support of the 810 because of low sales and incompatibility with Wi-Fi calling. I fail to see how it was Microsoft's fault when all they did was release the update to the carrier.

 

[Manny C]

I got fed up with my 925 as well, and unfortunately all of the lumias I've owned have had one problem after another. So I jumped to an HTC One and it's amazing. Never been happier with a phone. Windows looks beautiful on this hardware.

 

[Yazen]

The hold up with the cyan update was compatibility with T-Mobile and their Wi-Fi calling app which was broken after the Black update. T-Mobile killed support of the 810 because of low sales and incompatibility with Wi-Fi calling. I fail to see how it was Microsoft's fault when all they did was release the update to the carrier.

I work with upper management all the time.

1 - T-Mobile selections options to ship
2 - Microsoft acknowledges these options and "develops firmware".
3 - After several months, update is sent to T-Mobile "just in time".
4 - Microsoft obviously has some form of QA but oversees problems in T-Mobile's custom options.
5 - T-Mobile quickly discovers errors that persist through the revised firmware candidate and rejects the update.

Please explain to me how this is not Microsoft's fault.

Additionally, remember it costs carriers like T-Mobile money to push these updates. In the case of the 810 it is matters of technicality on Nokia/Microsofts end.

They basically want to charge T-Mobile for what you would get in the Developer Preview. There was never any black or cyan for the 810, never..

Not a fan of the false support Microsoft. I would actually pay for continued development for my S4 device. Better than spending $400 for an inferior one.

 

[Yazen]

I got fed up with my 925 as well, and unfortunately all of the lumias I've owned have had one problem after another. So I jumped to an HTC One and it's amazing. Never been happier with a phone. Windows looks beautiful on this hardware.

Really skeptical when it comes to HTC updates. Maybe when they have the 30% flash offer back up I'll snag one.

801 SoC @ $650+Tax is too much for me. Especially when M9 and their Windows variant could be released at the same time... TIRED of the waiting game lol ...

 

[Munter2]

I work with upper management all the time.

1 - T-Mobile selections options to ship
2 - Microsoft acknowledges these options and "develops firmware".
3 - After several months, update is sent to T-Mobile "just in time".
4 - Microsoft obviously has some form of QA but oversees problems in T-Mobile's custom options.
5 - T-Mobile quickly discovers errors that persist through the revised firmware candidate and rejects the update.

Please explain to me how this is not Microsoft's fault.

Additionally, remember it costs carriers like T-Mobile money to push these updates. In the case of the 810 it is matters of technicality on Nokia/Microsofts end.

They basically want to charge T-Mobile for what you would get in the Developer Preview. There was never any black or cyan for the 810, never..

Not a fan of the false support Microsoft. I would actually pay for continued development for my S4 device. Better than spending $400 for an inferior one.

Please provide actual documentation that Microsoft charges carriers extra for updates. You have already shown by stating the device preview provides the same features as the Cyan firmware update that you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

 

[Yazen]

Please provide actual documentation that Microsoft charges carriers extra for updates. You have already shown by stating the device preview provides the same features as the Cyan firmware update that you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

lol, you honestly think Microsoft develops apps for Verizon/T-Mobile for free?

That is not what I stated. A firmware is more than vanilla OS updates. Developer Preview on the 810 is omitting essential software that was never developed for it. e.g Plenty of loading/battery regressions that will never get fixed on the 810, cannot even imagine Windows 10....

There are MANY factors to consider when developing a firmware. For example, Europe requires sound volume decibel limit of 85dB.

 

[dainla]

My 925 is okay. The headphone jack doesn't work correctly, so I can't listen to music. But that doesn't really matter because I can't fit much music on it.

I'm pretty close to walking away from windows. I've had it since Windows 7 and there is no indication the majority of companies that make useful apps will start making apps for windows phone. (I'm talking about things like my kids school district, etc.) Almost all apps I see out in the world that I think are interesting are just for iPhones and Android phones.

I haven't had a good windows phone since the HD 7, which I loved.

 

[Yazen]

My 925 is okay. The headphone jack doesn't work correctly, so I can't listen to music. But that doesn't really matter because I can't fit much music on it.

I'm pretty close to walking away from windows. I've had it since Windows 7 and there is no indication the majority of companies that make useful apps will start making apps for windows phone. (I'm talking about things like my kids school district, etc.) Almost all apps I see out in the world that I think are interesting are just for iPhones and Android phones.

I haven't had a good windows phone since the HD 7, which I loved.

A shame that apps like School Dojo are nonexistent on Windows Phone.

HD7 was an amazing phone. At the time, HD2 and HD7 were the devices that kept me interested in Windows. WinMo/HD2 had the app advantage over HTCs Android line..

Don't think I could get rid of my 925 though..

 

[cure92]

You just decribed my situation perfectly. I'm on my 3rd replacement now and have never had the camera work right. I've been toying with switching to ATT for a couple months now but just cant seem to pull the trigger. THat just might change soon seeing as how TMo has about the same support for Windows phone as VZW and Sprint :/

 

[Yazen]

You just decribed my situation perfectly. I'm on my 3rd replacement now and have never had the camera work right. I've been toying with switching to ATT for a couple months now but just cant seem to pull the trigger. THat just might change soon seeing as how TMo has about the same support for Windows phone as VZW and Sprint :/

Honestly would not worry about the support when it comes to Lumia phones. If you have no loyalty to T-Mobile and AT&T has a device you want, that is a different story

But seriously, Windows Central needs to write a legit article that points a finger at Microsoft. Carriers will not tell you that Microsoft is developing all of the Carrier exclusive apps / features, and this is the root of the 'delays'.

Carriers are not going to approve an update if it is not proper, and Microsoft takes more time to develop carrier specific firmwares. Many carriers in Asia / Latin America have no exclusive needs so they usually end up getting an update first.

The reason why USA carriers will almost always be last to get an update is because of added development, stricter regulations, and the uneeded layers bureaucracy.

From experience it can take weeks to months to get an update pushed out. Any oversights are going to add several weeks, mostly administrative in nature.