Note 9 US version LTE bands

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cddt

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#240044 17-Aug-2018 12:19

Hi all, wasn't sure whether to post this in the owners thread or create a separate topic.

A friend has asked for advice as to whether a Note 9 from the US will work in NZ. I expect the only difference is the LTE band coverage, but I'm having trouble working out what the difference will be. Will he get any LTE coverage at all, or more limited in certain areas, or won't notice it at all?

I've also been unable to find the specs for the US version. So if anyone who knows a bit more is able to chime in, please do!

Linux

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#2074817 17-Aug-2018 12:41

One band to be careful of is 700Mhz NZ uses band 28 and band 3 1800Mhz should work fine

John

NikT

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#2074819 17-Aug-2018 12:43

What you're looking for is support for LTE bands 3, 7, and 28, plus 1 and 8 to a lesser extent. US models are SM-N960U with the Snapdragon 845 chipset (Local is SM-N960F with the Samsung Exynos chipset). Don't get a US telco variant, they are very bad times, ranging from fewer LTE bands to loads of permanent bloatware to SIM locks to not ever getting OTA updates without being connected to the parent network. Unlocked/open market is the only way to go if you're buying a US model unless you're prepared to accept a very subpar experience, and the good news is the open market unlocked variant of the SM-N960U does appear to support bands 1, 3, 7, 8, and 28.

You'll still miss out on local network features like carrier aggregation (using multiple 4G bands at once for faster speeds overall), 2degrees WiFi calling, and may suffer lesser reception and battery life as a result of it being tuned for the US. US models have different hardware to NZ models and are incompatible with the NZ models' software.

The US unlocked 128GB is $999 USD and only available in Ocean Blue or Lavender Purple. With the current exchange rate it's not exactly a massive saving over NZ retail and the bundle options in the US don't compare to the value offered locally. Wouldn't bother myself unless your friend really wants the Snapdragon over the Exynos.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

cddt

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#2074869 17-Aug-2018 14:03

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Confirms my initial recommendation to buy in NZ.