TP2 on it's last breath, need quick advice on new phone

[meltmanbob]

Here is a link to an XDA post stating you can't get 3G to work on Tmobile from a CDMA dominant TP2. But here is a link from PPCGeeks saying that Tmobile is switching to the PCS bands and that it appears that CDMA dominant phones could then take advantage of Tmobile's 3G. Since their 4G is really just beefed up 3G I'm assuming that if 3G would work then it would also allow the 4G capability. Any clarification would be appreciated.

[eric12341]

You will get 3G (HSPA) speeds up to 7.2mbps which is more than 2x capable what EvDO phones do at best. 4G is HSPA+ 14.4 and above which is capable only on the newer T-mobile phones.

[meltmanbob]

Ok that sounds very similar to the difference between DOCSIS standards on the cable modems I used to install as a cable tech. Do you know what specifically it is with the newer phones that allow the HSPA+? Is it due to a different frequency that's being used?

Also from looking on the HTC website I see that different versions of the TP2 have different up and download ratings. The Tmobile version shows the 7.2mbps down and 2mbps up limits but the Sprint, US Cellular and I'm assuming Verizon's version are limited to 3.1 down and 1.8 up which I'm assuming has to do with the particular frequency band and it's bandwidth limits but any specifics would be appreciated.

If the Tmobile version is truly capable of that much of a significant difference in download speeds compared to the CDMA dominant versions, is it possible to unlock the Tmobile TP2 to run something like Sprint down the road?

[demonlordoftheround]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 4.0.4; en-us; SPH-D710 Build/IMM76I) AppleWebKit/534.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/534.30)

To answer your last question, no. They use two different cellular technologies.

[MCnDaHouse]

Hey Meltmanbob I sent you a private msg on the phone. Thanks!

[meltmanbob]

Lovely, quick reply apparently doesn't work for me anymore and likes to delete my messages in the process.

Basically I spoke with a Tmobile tech to get the skinny on what bands they use for which services.

GSM (2G): 850, 900, 1800, 1900 - Need one
HSPA (3G)/HSPA+ ("4G"): 1700 AND 2100 - Need both
LTE (4G): 1900

According to this site, Tmobile will reduce GSM to just one of the current bands, re-purpose the 1900 band for LTE and the other 2 bands will beef up their HSPA/HSPA+ network.

[meltmanbob]

Looking at Wikipedia, what the tech said appears to be conflicting. Wikipedia is showing that LTE will operate on the 1700/2100 bands which currently runs HSPA/HSPA+. It has no mention of the 900 or 1800 bands but it does confirm the 850 being used for GSM 2G. There's a few more discrepancies but I'm guessing that the Tmobile rep is probably correct on what is current as Wikipedia appears to be a summary of the history and capabilities of those bands instead of how they are currently used.

[meltmanbob]

Damn it, I keep forgetting this site screws up my quick replies. Anyway...

demonlordoftheround - I know you said that the Tmobile TP2 couldn't run CDMA but I didn't take that as gospel. The reason being is that looking into the specs between the two versions, it shows the Tmobile one having the same 5 bands as Sprint plus 1 extra. I then looked at the Sprint version seeing that the CDMA bands were duplicates of 2 of the GSM capable bands, realized that the unlocked international GSM bands were probably the non duplicates and the complete unlock required to use the Sprint TP2 was required to allow the 2 CDMA bands to actually run domestic GSM. This makes sense as to why 99% of Sprint reps will say that you CANNOT run domestic GSM. Either way, I THOUGHT that maybe it was a firmware thing that could be changed in the Tmobile TP2 to allow CDMA similarly to how the Sprint TP2 can switch between GSM and CDMA on the 850, 1900 bands.

Lesson learned - the processor dictates that capability! At least I now know why I was looking forward to the Tmobile version because I read that the FM radio wasn't crippled like it was in the Sprint version but I'm still not 100% on that statement, will do some digging on that.

Next up, clarification on the Sprint TP2 being capable of 3G on Tmobile.

eric12341 - I know you stated that you can get 3G HSPA on Tmobile using the Sprint branded TP2 but the conflicting information I've received from the Tmobile rep is that in order to get HSPA (3G) or HSPA+ (4G), you need BOTH of the 1700 and 2100 bands, not just the 2100 band that the Sprint TP2 has. If you can provide the clarification that would be great and might save me the time of digging on the net but I will be doing that until either someone can clear it up for me, or I clear it up myself.

I will also be trying to figure out what makes the phones capable of HSPA+ but considering the result of the processor dictating GSM vs CDMA, I'm going to guess that the processor also dictates which transceiving technology the phone can handle.

Sorry if I'm sounding like a dumbass but I like to know the reasons behind the answers and exactly how and why things work, or at least to more of a point than just yes or no. No disrespect!! I do appreciate the help and advice, I'd be a lot more lost in my searching with out it

[meltmanbob]

eric12341 - According you a post you made in this thread, if I understood correctly, the PCS bands can allow 3G service and speeds on Tmobile which would be the 850 and 1900 bands on the Sprint TP2. Also it appears that the 1700 and 2100 are AWS bands and allow for 3G (HSPA) and 4g (HSPA). Since the Sprint TP2 doesn't have the 1700 band it would only function on the PCS 3G which so far sounds to be slower than the AWS 3G.

I am guessing that is because there is less congestion on the AWS bands or is it because AWS offers some other benefit? I'm assuming that Tmobile 3G is HSPA regardless of the frequency and band classification (AWS vs HSPA).

Also as you mentioned the "refarming" of frequencies this fall and from a link I provided stating the same thing, I'm assuming that by adding more frequencies taken from the GSM side to the HSPA/HSPA+ side of the PCS spectrum, it is the extra bandwidth that will allow for faster 3G speeds because of less congestion. Please correct me if I have made any wrong assumptions, I'm sure you and others can see that I'm trying to piece things together!

[austin420]

op, if you are really going to tmobile, why are you still considering having to hack a sprint tp2 to do it? just get a tmobile native phone. you can buy a tmo vibrant(galaxy s 1) on ebay for the 65 dollar price range.
at this point, there is no reason to stick with winmo. even an old anroid phone with a single 1ghz core will blow a tp2 out of the water. plus, the anroid marketplace vs the nonexistant winmo market place would make it a no brainer for me.



also, what is up with the quick reply? it deleted my message, then told me my reply was too short. only seems to be this thread.
edit: i retyped the whole post, then posted, and it added my first post, and deleted the contents of the second one.