HybridxReality Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I recently purchased a Galaxy S5 and it's GSM unlocked. I didn't realize it was from Verizon. I'm with MetroPCS. I was able to mess with the APN settings and finally have data, but it shows an 'H' and sometimes an 'H+'. Bud when I try to work with it on LTE, nothing seems to work. I do have a month warranty, so any help within then would be great, because of not I'd rather return it, save a bit more and actually buy it from MetroPCS or T-Mobile, so I can actually use the LTE. ANY HELP WOULD BE SWEET. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtw88 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I'm no expert but I just had to go through all of this shit switching over from AT&T to t-mobile. I'd search your phone model on GSM Arena and see which LTE bands it is compatible with, and compare that to Metro PCS. If your model isn't compatible with all of the bands Metro PCS uses, you won't get full LTE coverage. If you are on a budget, Motorola just put out a really decent, LTE capable phone for $150. It's the second gen Moto E. My wife got one when we switched and it's been great so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Verizon is a CDMA network, meaning their devices are not compatible with GSM carriers. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2714998 "From what I have been reading, on a Verizon phone, calls and data using GSM and WCDMA bands would work. But LTE bands are Verizon specific hence would not work. Tl; Dr Voice /data using GSM/WCDMA. No LTE." Try unlocking your SIM, it's not a guaranteed fix but it might let you use the device in Global mode. http://androidandme.com/2014/11/news/how-to-sim-unlock-the-samsung-galaxy-s5-for-free/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HybridxReality Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Well, the phone isn't asking for an unlock code, so I think they already switched it to this phone. Damn it. Do you think there's a big difference in between this 'H' signal and LTE? I do feel like returning this one and getting one that's from MetroPCS. EDIT: Yeah, it's slower than LTE. Great. I just feel like I'm not getting my money's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Well the H stands for HSDPA, which is slightly faster than 3g (consider it 3.5g), but it's not LTE or 4g. If you're getting decent speeds then I wouldn't let it bother you. You might even be better off with HSDPA opposed to LTE. For example; I get better speeds with 3g opposed to LTE in my area, but my device defaults to LTE and there's no real way to force it off. This isn't exclusive to Sprint (who I have now) because I had the same experience with Verizon (although with my s3 I found a root app which allowed me to change it). Both are usable, so I'm not too focused on finding a way to do it, but I look at it like this- 3g saturation is there, carriers updating the radios in your area will take time so who knows when you'll get legitimate LTE service. As long as your device is working then you're good. If you can't stand the icon you can always flash a ROM with built-in theme support and change the icon to whatever you'd like, or simply root and used Xposed framework to change it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 If you know someone with the same service as you who gets LTE, both of you should install the Speetest app and run it in the same area. If he's getting significantly faster speeds than you then I'd consider swapping the device with your carrier. If it's only marginally faster (maybe 2-4mbps) I wouldn't let it bother you. Remember, separate devices have different speeds even if they're the exact same device. Leave some wiggle room when doing this test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HybridxReality Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 See, now it's funny that you mention that because when I had a 4G phone with them, it was slower than this phone. Netflix works a lot faster and same with YouTube. Hm.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 See, now it's funny that you mention that because when I had a 4G phone with them, it was slower than this phone. Netflix works a lot faster and same with YouTube. Hm.. Try the speed test with a friend, for all you know you're getting better service than he is lol. Yeah it kinda sucks paying for unlimited data and knowing you're not getting the latest technology, but it's also aggravating knowing you have an LTE device that is significantly slower than your friend's 3g device on the same carrier. This was the case with my last galaxy device vs my wife's iphone. Aside from good CS Verizon kinda sucked IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniegwilliams Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Sorry to give you the news you may already know, but the phone will not work on your network as LTE are band specific per carrier. T-Mobile, AT&T, etc use GSM; while Sprint, Verizon, etc use CDMA. Though they are both LTE, they each rely on a different tower frequency. I worked in cell phones for years, and this was a common occurrence we would see. You can probably sell it for the same amount you paid for it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HybridxReality Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Yeah, I'm going to do the test and if it's about the same, well, might as well keep it and if it's a lot slower, than yeah, I'll probably return it. Hoping for the former, because I'm so attached to this phone already.. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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