Galaxy i9000 ICS Modem

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Galaxy i9000 ICS Modem

Kovac

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#108686 3-Sep-2012 18:25

I just switched over to telecom from 2degrees and I seem to be having some trouble with the connection which I suspect may have to do with the installed modem.

It currently has a signal strength of -105dBm 4asu which seems rather weak
I have i9000XXJVT installed at the moment, can anyone suggest anything better?

I'm running Darkyrom 11 Black Edition ICS

Model : GT-I9000

uglyb0b

335 posts

Ultimate Geek

#681009 3-Sep-2012 19:40

Is it I9000 or I9000T? If it's I9000 no amount of modem firmware changing will get it to work on Telecom. The two models have physically different radios and only the I9000T is compatible with the 850mhz band for use on Telecom.

Kovac

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#681073 3-Sep-2012 23:00

Well that sucks.

It doesn't have the T at the end in the model information so I assume that it must be an I9000.

I can switch it two the 850 band and it does connect to the telecom network. I thought that if it wasn't compatible it wouldn't have worked at all?

Publius

276 posts

Ultimate Geek

#681081 3-Sep-2012 23:40

The galaxy s came in 2 different models either 850mh 3g for Telecom or 900mhz 3g for voda/2deg.
All 3 companies also use 2100mhz 3g in some areas for extra bandwidth which both galaxy s models also support.
The galaxy s was pretty much the last top-end Android phone that didn't support both 850 & 900 MHz 3g in the same radio chip. Nowadays most phones have both, but always check on gsmarena.com to be sure.

plambrechtsen

1948 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#681138 4-Sep-2012 08:25

It's also worth checking the IMEI Here: http://www.telecom.co.nz/mobile/mobile/ournetwork/phonecompatibility/

As that should tell you if the phone is compatible or not.

In my personal opinion the checker shouldn't say if you're phone has 2100 and thus "may" work on the network. If your phone doesn't support WCDMA/UMTS 850Mhz (GSM 850Mhz doesn't count) then it's not compatible on XT. Just because it works in the Metro areas and you can find a signal doesn't mean that your coverage will be at all reliable which means you blame the network for having poor coverage when your phone technically isn't supported on the network.

I'm sorry to say that if it doesn't have the T in the model number, then it's not compatible due to the radio not supporting WCDMA/UMTS 850Mhz.

:(

Kovac

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#681145 4-Sep-2012 08:34

Your device's compatibility information...SAMSUNG GALAXY S

Your device supports the following frequencies:

GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA 800/850/900/1900/2100MHz

More features...Telecom Network Compatibility

This device should work on the XT Mobile Network.

To confirm your device will work on the XT Mobile Network, please visit a Telecom store or dealer to try your device with a Telecom SIM.

Now i'm just confused. The sticker definitely says i9000 on the back and not i9000t and yet the website seems to indicate that based on the IMEI it should work.

plambrechtsen

1948 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#681150 4-Sep-2012 08:42

Kovac: Your device's compatibility information...SAMSUNG GALAXY S

Your device supports the following frequencies:
GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA 800/850/900/1900/2100MHz
More features...Telecom Network Compatibility

This device should work on the XT Mobile Network.

To confirm your device will work on the XT Mobile Network, please visit a Telecom store or dealer to try your device with a Telecom SIM.

Now i'm just confused. The sticker definitely says i9000 on the back and not i9000t and yet the website seems to indicate that based on the IMEI it should work.

Hummm sounds wrong to me. If you want to email me your IMEI and some more details to "pl at telecom dot co dot nz" and I can look further into it. But it does sound like you have the non WCDMA 850 phone :(.

Publius

276 posts

Ultimate Geek

#681216 4-Sep-2012 10:48

The Telecom Phone Compatibility checker is wrong.
I have just entered my Galaxy S 900mhz IMEI and it tells me:
SAMSUNG GALAXY S

Your device supports the following frequencies:

GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA 800/850/900/1900/2100MHz

Which is incorrect. I guess it can't differentiate between 850 and 900mhz galaxy s models.

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plambrechtsen

1948 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#681218 4-Sep-2012 10:50

Publius: The Telecom Phone Compatibility checker is wrong.
I have just entered my Galaxy S 900mhz IMEI and it tells me:
SAMSUNG GALAXY S

Your device supports the following frequencies:
GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA 800/850/900/1900/2100MHz
Which is incorrect. I guess it can't differentiate between 850 and 900mhz galaxy s models.

I'm chasing this up internally (if you could e-mail me your IMEI that would help :) in-between my regular day job.

joutei

308 posts

Ultimate Geek

#681678 5-Sep-2012 11:32

The Galaxy S i9000 is not compatible with Telecom NZ as the frequency on the phone run's on 900/2100 .
Telecom NZ network run's on an 850/2100 MHZ.
They are a 3G network Only, so there is no 2G network.

The Galaxy S i9000T has the 850/2100 MHZ frequency, Telstra AU and Telecom NZ have this variant as it is the main requirement of their network.

Basically your Phone will not work well on telecom's network, coverage will be limited to the main city centres (2100 MHZ) .

I would not recommened using that tool , as it can be quite confusing at times.

This also goes for alot of the phone's aswell. Like the HTC Sensation, HTC Wildfire S , Samsung Galaxy Series , etc. Alot of these phone's usually only come in the 900/2100 variant. So if you have not bought it from telecom nz, chances are it wont work well.

Bare in mind , most high end android devices come in quad band and penta band 3G / UMTS frequencys.

Phone's such as : Samsung Galaxy S2/S3 , HTC One X , Galaxy Nexus.

Hope this helps :)

joutei

308 posts

Ultimate Geek

#681692 5-Sep-2012 11:43

Since you have a custom rom, try looking on XDA for a 850 /2100 mhz modem to flash.

I cant verify though if flashing a new modem will enable that though, as from my point of view I would think it has more to do with the hardware. I could be wrong though :)

uglyb0b

335 posts

Ultimate Geek

#681699 5-Sep-2012 11:49

joutei: Since you have a custom rom, try looking on XDA for a 850 /2100 mhz modem to flash.

I cant verify though if flashing a new modem will enable that though, as from my point of view I would think it has more to do with the hardware. I could be wrong though :)

You are correct, it is hardware. I covered this in the second post of the thread. No amount of modem flashing will enable this band as it is a physical hardware limitation.

Kovac

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#681703 5-Sep-2012 11:52

Thanks for all of the assistance

joutei

308 posts

Ultimate Geek

#681710 5-Sep-2012 12:03

uglyb0b:
joutei: Since you have a custom rom, try looking on XDA for a 850 /2100 mhz modem to flash.

I cant verify though if flashing a new modem will enable that though, as from my point of view I would think it has more to do with the hardware. I could be wrong though :)

You are correct, it is hardware. I covered this in the second post of the thread. No amount of modem flashing will enable this band as it is a physical hardware limitation.

Cheer's man, I know quite a few android "geeks" who are so set on this theory.