Galaxy Note 3 unable to connect to LTE in Wellington, any ideas?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Galaxy Note 3 unable to connect to LTE in Wellington, any ideas?

sacxnz

16 posts

Geek

#136721 6-Dec-2013 17:52

Hi, I have a parallel imported Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005 that I bought on TradeMe. It’s supposed to be 4G compatible but it won’t connect to Telecom’s 4G network. I took it into their store in central Wellington and they scratched their heads and said the device didn’t seem to be able to pick up their network. It’s on HSPA+ It’s in their system as not compatible, but they say it’s the device that’s reporting that. The Note 3 should be compatible for this network even if it’s parallel imported.

I tried a Vodafone sim and it connected to LTE, so the phone definitely has the capability, but still puzzled why it won’t connect to Telecom. Are Vodafone and Telecom's LTE networks that different? As far as I can tell they're both 1800Mhz band 3. I could just switch to Vodafone but I'd prefer not to.

Any ideas? Thanks.

1 | 2

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#946707 6-Dec-2013 17:55

TelecomNZ and VodafoneNZ use band3 1800Mhz

Stu

Hammered
8335 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#946708 6-Dec-2013 17:57

I'm sure Telecom checked this, but are you sure you have a 4G SIM from Telecom and not an older SIM?

sacxnz

16 posts

Geek

#946709 6-Dec-2013 17:59

Yeah it has a 4G sim.

chevrolux

4962 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#946712 6-Dec-2013 18:08

Better 4G coverage on Vodafone anyway lol :p

I suppose if it connects to Vodafone it isn't on the blacklist that they share so it can't be that (or could it?).

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#946715 6-Dec-2013 18:09

It would not connect to 3G if the IMEI was Blacklisted

sacxnz

16 posts

Geek

#946716 6-Dec-2013 18:14

So if Vodafone and Telecom's LTE networks are both 1800MHz and band 3, and the device sees LTE on Vodafone but not Telecom seems to exclude the device and point to some Telecom issue?

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#946717 6-Dec-2013 18:26

Can't be handset

GoodSync

GoodSync. Easily back up and sync your files with GoodSync. Simple and secure file backup and synchronisation software will ensure that your files are never lost (affiliate link).

sacxnz

16 posts

Geek

#946718 6-Dec-2013 18:27

Thanks :)

gajan

287 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

Lifetime subscriber

#946725 6-Dec-2013 19:10

With the Telecom SIM, under network selection do you get the option for 4G / LTE (as well as UMTS / WCDMA) ?

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

timmmay

20578 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#946727 6-Dec-2013 19:14

Call me a master of stating the obvious here, but if you can't get it sorted on Telecom just port to Vodafone. I've been a customer of all the telcos, all do a good job overall.

sacxnz

16 posts

Geek

#946808 6-Dec-2013 22:06

gajan: With the Telecom SIM, under network selection do you get the option for 4G / LTE (as well as UMTS / WCDMA) ?

In the network mode setting with Telecom it doesn't have the LTE / 4G option, whereas with Vodafone it does.

Will switch to Vodafone if can't get it sorted with Telecom on Monday, it's sort of a dealbreaker for this phone.

gajan

287 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

Lifetime subscriber

#946840 6-Dec-2013 23:32

sacxnz:
gajan: With the Telecom SIM, under network selection do you get the option for 4G / LTE (as well as UMTS / WCDMA) ?

In the network mode setting with Telecom it doesn't have the LTE / 4G option, whereas with Vodafone it does.

Will switch to Vodafone if can't get it sorted with Telecom on Monday, it's sort of a dealbreaker for this phone.

Sounds like that's the problem - the phone's android OS/ROM doesn't have Telecom 4G enabled on it. You can wait till the next ROM update comes for your phone, or update it manually (not officially sanctioned by anyone) to a Telecom Note3 ROM.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

Dingbatt

6756 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#946937 7-Dec-2013 08:46

There is an app in the Play Store called 'LTE Setting' that gives access to a radio settings page (same as *#*#4636#*#* on dial pad). It comes with a warning about not changing other settings on your phone in case you brick it. But I used it on my HTC One to test whether 4G was working prior to the Telecom ROM update that enabled it properly. So with a 'use it at your own risk' warning, you may be able to verify Telecom 4G. There is a discussion about this in the Telecom 4G launch thread..

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

sacxnz

16 posts

Geek

#946974 7-Dec-2013 10:58

Because it's parallel imported when the next ROM update comes out would it know to get a Telecom enabled version of the ROM? Are the ROMs coming out relatively frequently or is it likely to be a few months before it comes out? I think I read somewhere that Android 4.4 was coming to the Note 3 in the new year, although these timelines are all pretty speculative.

sacxnz

16 posts

Geek

#946977 7-Dec-2013 11:01

Dingbatt: There is an app in the Play Store called 'LTE Setting' that gives access to a radio settings page (same as *#*#4636#*#* on dial pad). It comes with a warning about not changing other settings on your phone in case you brick it. But I used it on my HTC One to test whether 4G was working prior to the Telecom ROM update that enabled it properly. So with a 'use it at your own risk' warning, you may be able to verify Telecom 4G. There is a discussion about this in the Telecom 4G launch thread..

thanks, I'll check that thread out, I did see that app but the inability to revert back seemed a little final :)

1 | 2