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justinz
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Re: Sprint LG V50 phone on T_Mobile
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.67Views1like0CommentsRe: T-Mobile where is your support for Kyocera phones?
Hi, I’m considering the Cat S62 phone, (would have liked the Pro’s thermal camera cuz I’m a tinkerer, but no 3.5mm headphone jack, and that’s one of my boxes). How is the signal-strength ability of this phone? Have you tried forcing Voice over WiFi? (WiFi calling) AFAIK the S62 (non-pro) was sold by TMO, so it boots up with the T-Mobile logo and chime, right? So it should be able to do VoWiFi. I’m worried about VoWIFI provisioning (I’m in a rural zone and reliant on LTE bands (don’t care about 5G -- stinks anyway, only data bursts use 5G antennas, and call setups are still managed via 4G tech. I now have a Personal CellSpot mini-tower, which helps, but that will die if my ISP goes down.) I’ve been down the road of trying to find the perfect phone that checks all my boxes, but may not be a TMO-sold phone, only to find that it only basically works, but not being a TMO-branded/sold phone it’s missing the firmware code necessary to provision VoWiFi or doesn’t have LTE band 71 (600MHz). That happened to me with an LG V50 (V60 is too darn big) and I’ve heard that’s the case with Sony Xperia’s as well (these phones have nice DACs). Also, did you ever solve the Qi wireless charging on the S62? BTW, I’m curious if anyone has tried the Cat S62 Pro on TMO, and if VoWiFi works? (This thread is about Kyocera, but I saw two Cat S62 users chatting so thought I’d post here)86Views0likes0CommentsRe: Sprint LG V50 phone on T_Mobile
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?63Views0likes0CommentsRe: Sprint LG V50 phone on T_Mobile
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)63Views0likes0CommentsRe: Sprint LG V50 phone on T_Mobile
Ah, right -- radio bands… I forgot to mention that although I’ve been happy with my old Samsung S7, it’s missing band 71 / 600MHz, which is what Tmo prefers in my neighborhood. All this other stuff takes a backseat to needing LTE 71. EDIT: @syaoran -- Do you know that for sure? The Sprint version is touted as a “world phone” and supports GSM. This PDF Spec sheet lists LTE 71, HSPA+, GSM. Is this not the last-word on it’s compatibility? Worth mentioning is that I did once meet at an impasse with Tmo over a foreign Motorola Photon-Q phone who’s IMEI wasn’t in their database, and they didn’t want to add it to their system, which is why i hesitate with foreign phones.37Views0likes0CommentsRe: Sprint LG V50 phone on T_Mobile
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! :D46Views1like0Comments