Sprint LG V50 phone on T_Mobile

Update after 3 days, V50 unlocked Korean version is an awesome phone, awesome features and is working perfectly so far on USA T-Mobile...calls, mms, social media, voLTE, etc. (excluding 5g capability).

Yes sir, using it right now.  I've noticed also that it has great battery life.  If I have one complaint (just an annoyance actually), it's just that this Korean phone has popped up with a notification about something in Korean a couple of times.  I just turn them off.  Still very happy with it.  Again though, if 5G capability is important to you, it won't connect to 5g with TMO, not an issue for me because I'm on wifi 90% of the time.

Update on my V50...apparently there was just a slowing of performance as it was updating apps for Android 11.  Has been back to same battery life and working flawlessly for the last couple of days.

I love this phone, and there's no competitor that I've found that has the same features I like, especially size, rear fingerprint, and 3.5mm jack, with the other specs and great camera.  It's a shame, in my opinion, that LG went so far astray in the size of the phones and taking away the extremely reliable rear fingerprint feature for their final Velvet and V60 models.

I still highly recommend this phone if these are the features important to you.  I did the manual apn setting when I set up the phone and have had no issues.  LTE, data, sms/mms all function perfectly.  Again, I have the Korean model world phone.  Can't speak to the Sprint or other unlocked models. 

I want in!

I’m considering the Korean model because I’d like to fiddle with the Dual Screen case...

I’m in Southeastern Mass, which is considered “rural”, so poor-to-zero 5G at my home (and I don’t care about 5G at all).

I see there’s two issues on tmo -- 1) APN settings (apn.gishan.net...), and 2) VoLTE -- but it appears neither are a roadblock (yet).

BUT, I have no clue what drives android updates… Jmco said that when he’s logged into Tmo portal his V50 isn’t shown/recognized as such. Although I’m tempted to get a USA release -- either Verizon unlocked (cuz refurbished), or Sprint unit, I’ve read that those, even if they have the 3-pad contacts (impossible to know based on ebay photos, cuz people use stock images) for the dual screen case, folks say it won’t work cuz it’s disabled in Software (?)

If I get the Korean model, if it has Android 9 on it, then how do force an update to Android 11/12? I know I can usually use Settings and ‘check for software updates’, but will the source be driven by my carrier? By my geographic location? By the existing software on it? And if it’s by carrier or location, then will the update to android 12 disable the dual screen case?

Has anyone here updated to android 12 using the Korean V50? Are you using the [Korean] dual-screen case?

PS, I know the V50S/G8X may be a bit more adaptable, but I like the open bottom of the V505N case -- I plan to regularly swap the dual-screen case for a normal one, AND I use NetDot magnetic USB cables, so I don’t want to have to keep prying the inserts out in order to use the V515N case. (I suppose I could abandon the NetDot cables for a few wireless charging pads--a worthy compromise for all the greatness adopting the V50 will bring! :D

A couple points to make…

TMO phone support explained to me that often a device that doesn’t have TMO’s firmware (y’know, “branded” so that at bootup shows a pink screen with T-Mobile logo) will not be able to use WiFi calling [perfectly] -- I added the “perfectly” part because it involves both outgoing calls and incoming. And my home -- the location I’m most often at -- has a poor cell signal, so it’s important to have that feature. And even if a device like a non-TMO V50 works one day, it may stop working at any time, so to me it’s not worth the risk. When I tried the Korean V50 the reception in my rural location was absolutely awful. (For improved signal, I’ve installed a TMO personal cell-spot tower in my attic that back-hauls to Tmobile via my ISP. I’m sort of in the woods so I’m not worried about passers-by sharing my tower).

So I’m now on a Galaxy S10e. It feels small in the hand (I was worried that a V60 or Samsung XCover Pro 6 would feel huge), so I may jump again soon. I’ve had a few Galaxys, and do love the seamless move using their SmartSwitch app. My attitude used to be “I’m gonna have exactly the phone I want, come hell or high water!” … but at some point ya gotta just give in and be practical. I had wanted the V50 for the DAC, and it’s smaller than the V60, and the 2nd screen case has an open bottom (unlike the V60’s which is closed) so I could use my favorite magnetic-usb-connector usbC insert, and not have to pry it out/in when donning and doffing the 2nd screen case (I share power cords with many other devices and the mag-plug makes them all interchangeable (the V60’s 2nd screen case uses it’s own proprietary bulky mag connector). In retrospect the 2nd screen case is gimmicky, and I’d have tired of it quickly. I also think I would have like the size of the V60 (which comes in TMO sheepskin). Anyway, back to the S10e -- my final deciding factor was that I read that most of the newer Galaxys have a DAC 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG -- but that may depend on whether you get an Exynos vs Snapdragon variant, or the country it was issued in (supposedly in the USA we got lesser SoCs). Prob not quite as nice as LG’s, and I’m yet to actually test it -- fooling with my celly is currently dead last on my todo list.

There is more to a device than just the firmware.  Especially with LG devices.  Unlike Samsung devices, LG devices can't be flashed to the T-Mobile firmware because the RSA key is different.  If you try, you hard brick the device.  Without the T-Mobile firmware, the right bands and VoLTE/VoWiFi are not compatible with T-Mobile's network.

From my research, the Sprint V50 will cease to work once T-Mobile enforce VoLTE come Jan 2021. Sprint phones do not have T-Mobile VoLTE coding, so they cannot get VoLTE on T-Mobile network. Sprint customers get special offers from T-Mobile to upgrade to S20. But if you buy the Sprint phone on your own, you are stuck. I think that is the reason it is selling at $320.

Thank you.  I ended up getting the S20 FE with a $500 trade in for the V50. All in all, it worked out.  I wish T-Mo had added VoLTE/VoWiFi support for the V50 because it is a great phone, but this will do.

I was able to get a $250 trade in value for my Sprint V50 when switching over to a T-Mobile Pixel 4a 5G today.  

When y'all say the V50 "won't work anymore", you mean it won't connect with 5g, correct?  Otherwise the phone will work fine, but will only connect LTE?