Sprint LG V50 phone on T_Mobile

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.

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.

Update 3/8/22

I've been having some connectivity issues and dropped calls the last week, both wifi and tmo network, and today I'm getting E indicator on my tmo network.  Some sms/mms also failed.  Extremely slow.  So, I don't know if this is a temporary glitch, but looks like it's likely time to reluctantly switch, as I don't think my Korean V50 is connecting to 4g now.  Perhaps tower change in my area?  Don't know.

When I check the IMEI on tmo website, it still indicates full compatibility, but I'm not experiencing that all of a sudden.  Did get another notification from tmo about phone incompatibility as well, maybe true this time. Going to try the V60 again, otherwise I guess Samsung will have to do.  I travel, so I can't take the risk it'll be unusable.  Bummed.

I received my global LG V50 and tried it out on TMO in southeastern Mass -- I live right next to Miles Standish forest.  Very Poor reception, but I got a few calls to go through. I had to walk out into an open space (front yard) before any bars would show; inside the house or otherwise there was a little (tiny!) spinning circle icon, and I got “not in service network” (SIC). WiFi calling  is a no-go. I messed with APN settings quite a bit as per apn.gishan.net instructions.

I’ve sadly thrown in the towel on LG. Originally I wanted an LG for the much-talked-about Quad DAC, but not at the expense of call quality. Maybe the LGs work ok in other areas around MA, but it seems not here -- I asked a guy at T-Mobile local store and he claims there were lots of complaints on LGs on reception/call-quality specifically (my geo is a challenge for ALL phones). So even though TMO at one time sold the V60, I’m not going to try that since it and the V50 were both released within a year of each other and my guess is there’s nothing significant about the radio build or bands that would dramatically improve the experience (but I’m open to enlightenment!), even if WiFi calling works.

(TMO has offered a good trade-in value for my new V50 (400 clams), but only for new units priced $1K+, so still deciding whether to trade-up with TMO, or sell/replace via 3rd party channels (online/eBay). The fellow at the local store says, for his tenure here at this store, Samsung Galaxys are the most trouble free with regard to reception issues here (only Samsung in the store with a 3.5mm jack is A13--huge downgrade from any flagship). As for the DAC, my actual of use of headphones is seldom, so I’ll look for a different setup -- maybe an hq external dongle or Bluetooth DAC.)

PS, is anyone else having terrible CloudFront 403 issue on this forum?

cool but no longer around. down side is you wont get much of anything for them anymore including security patches..

Not sure if this will help at all, but I am currently in Korea and I just purchased a V50s (Dual screen). I wont be back until early March next year to test out in the states. I don’t have TMO but I’m sure I can get a sim to try out for anyone interested in knowing if it works or not. As far the version, it does have Android 12. It depends on the region / carrier on how fast they push out updates. 

I was thinking about buying the G8 (the screen is gorgeous!), and the V50 .. all just to have. I wanted to get the G8 for my mom (Verizon unlocked model since she uses tracfone and if it works or not!). Not sure if anyone on a TMO forum would know that! ? 

I guess LG phones are just cool in my eyes.

The G8 is a great phone, but I switched from that mostly because I wanted the better triple cam and larger battery in the V50.  V50 definitely does take a little better pics and vid than the G8.  But G8 does have a crisper, more vibrant display.  G8 also has quad dac.  I have a G8s (G8 with triple cam, but lower resolution), as well as the Korean version of G8 (exactly like US model, but with triple cam), and both of these work the same as the V50 with Tmo, as in network calls indicate they're dropping to 3g, but work fine.  

And I've had the same experience calling into Tmo...the techs don't really seem to know what phones, other than what's on their list, will work and which one's won't.  But there are many that will, including many unlocked Chinese phones I've found.  An IMEI not listed with them doesn't mean it won't work, it depends more on the 4g and 5g bands the phone has.  Otherwise, I don't think they'd push out apn settings.

Thanks for the update -- that’s very encouraging! The indication of call drop to 3G is weird if it’s not really doing that.

I found a mention of Tmo’s Device Assistance > Tutorials page in another thread. Is this a red carpet list of devices? (for non-risk- takers)

BTW, I just got off the phone with a T-Mobile "expert”… They stood behind that a lot of people are bringing phones from other carriers, and mostly the issue is they need a Tmo sim. Of course, I took that with a huge grain of salt, the fellow wasn’t quite tuned in to what I was trying to say, or might be a bit inexperienced in this space. I entered the conversation with a brief overview of the tales within the community, and one simple question: Is the Device Assistance > Tutorials page the end-all for Tmo support? Meaning, if Tmo sold a Tmo-branded phone, and it appears on this page, then will it be supported? (assuming it’s not ancient and supports votle.) Unfortunately I didn’t get a definitive answer or much confidence. Makes me wonder if those non-Tmo phones can make calls, but can’t do VoWifi or some other advanced tricks.

Since I learned of this VoLTE issue I’ve begun to compromise, especially if the phone will be shipped from afar and is effectively nonreturnable. I accept there’s much more to it than a simple “Sure, you can bring your Verizon phone over to T-Mobile.” -- the devil is in the details: What brand is it? did Tmo sell a version of it? does it support VoLTE? will Tmo offer new APNs? All this matters if we want a fully functioning phone and to avoid bootloader-breaking-file-replacing stuff. Tho I started my search with a V50 in mind, I now I’m thinking of sticking to at least a phone that Tmo sold, like the LG G8 G820TM (dual-screen cover be damned). G8 is even a bit smaller than the V50 and still has the nice DAC… but does the screen-speaker suck? (Tho your note on A12 has reassured me a bit on the Korean V50, but if I can’t expect to get 3 years  then I’ll choose another device. And yeah, the V60 is huge)

I went with the Korean model because there were reported compatibility issues with the Sprint version, and I didn't want Verizon software.

The phone updated automatically to An12.  I don't know where it came from, could have been pushed directly from LG (likely), or possibly from Tmo (unlikely).   As far as apn, after I put my sim in the phone I received a text from Tmo saying the phone had incorrect apn so they would be sent to my phone, which they were.  I manually entered apn's myself to make sure, but I don't think it was necessary.

I am not using the dual screen.  I'm still convinced that the V50, world unlocked model anyway, will continue to work fine with Tmo, but I'll report otherwise when/if it does stop functioning.  It's a shame Tmo never ordered a version of the V50, and I still prefer it for several reasons over the V60.  Mostly the much better rear fingerprint sensor, face recognition, and more manageable size and weight.

only if its VoLTE is compatible with TMOs..if it isnt then you will lose voice calls and sms texts.