Mind if I ask a question? When sellers put up the description as "compatible with T Mobile etc", my worry is that it only tells part of the story - even a international phone on GSM is partly "compatible" in that it will work with voice at least, but with all the new frequencies / 5G etc, is this originally Sprint branded phone FULLY compatible with T Mobile?
Or is there a different hardware model of the V50 that was sold by T Mo that could work on more frequencies etc?
Side note / old fogey comment: I just cannot bring myself to buy a $1000 mobile phone - they are by definition aged out every year, android updates are maybe only for 2 revs..... just seems that the price of mobiles is bonkers - so I always look at the outgoing models like the V50 and this time around, also at "midrange" like the Pixel 4a, Motorola etc
After sifting through xda, howardforums, reddit and the rest of the internet, I have a sufficient answer:
For people intending to use the Sprint phone on T Mobile - here's "The Verge's" write up on using early 5G phones that use the Qualcomm x50 modem (the x55 is apparently the one you need for all bands)
"Sprint’s 5G network shutdown will leave owners of early Sprint 5G phones that use older Qualcomm X50 modems — including the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Galaxy S10 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ 5G — in the lurch, as their phones aren’t new enough to connect to the T-Mobile network."
Reminds me of somewhat distant memories of early LTE phones and also when TMobile acquired then started leveraging the 600MHz spectrum (IIRC) - both times you'd find even newer mobiles wouldn't have the support.
Living in the boonies, so low band frequencies such as n71@ 600 MHz are important for reception. T Mobile has been very dynamic as they acquire, turn up and repurpose spectra so it's a moving . Right now according to website they have 5G at:
Band n71 (600 MHz)
Band n41 (2.5 GHz)
Band n260 (39 GHz)
Band n261 (28 GHz)
target="_blank">http://band71.batcave.net/ suggests the V50 is missing the key lower frequency band n71, but then again, I have no idea what's deployed in my areas.
So concerns are: Apparent lack of long distance n71 band. Also I've read that VoLTE and wifi calling are missing - if true this could be a real issue as TMo moves to VoLTE only (no 3G) in Jan 2021
Net Net is that without real world hard evidence that wifi calling and VoLTE (esp) work on T Mo, it's too much of a gamble and for me, lack of n71 makes for real hesitation. I'd wait until a more compatible (x55 modem?) comes along at a similar price
After sifting through xda, howardforums, reddit and the rest of the internet, I have a sufficient answer:
For people intending to use the Sprint phone on T Mobile - here's "The Verge's" write up on using early 5G phones that use the Qualcomm x50 modem (the x55 is apparently the one you need for all bands)
"Sprint’s 5G network shutdown will leave owners of early Sprint 5G phones that use older Qualcomm X50 modems — including the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Galaxy S10 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ 5G — in the lurch, as their phones aren’t new enough to connect to the T-Mobile network."
Reminds me of somewhat distant memories of early LTE phones and also when TMobile acquired then started leveraging the 600MHz spectrum (IIRC) - both times you'd find even newer mobiles wouldn't have the support.
Living in the boonies, so low band frequencies such as n71@ 600 MHz are important for reception. T Mobile has been very dynamic as they acquire, turn up and repurpose spectra so it's a moving target. Right now according to website they have 5G at:
Band n71 (600 MHz)
Band n41 (2.5 GHz)
Band n260 (39 GHz)
Band n261 (28 GHz)
http://band71.batcave.net/ suggests the V50 is missing the key lower frequency band n71, but then again, I have no idea what's deployed in my areas.
So concerns are: Apparent lack of long distance n71 band. Also I've read that VoLTE and wifi calling are missing - if true this could be a real issue as TMo moves to VoLTE only (no 3G) in Jan 2021
Net Net is that without real world hard evidence that wifi calling and VoLTE (esp) work on T Mo, it's too much of a gamble and for me, lack of n71 makes for real hesitation. I'd wait until a more compatible (x55 modem?) comes along at a similar price
Comments & Reviews (6)
Or is there a different hardware model of the V50 that was sold by T Mo that could work on more frequencies etc?
Side note / old fogey comment: I just cannot bring myself to buy a $1000 mobile phone - they are by definition aged out every year, android updates are maybe only for 2 revs..... just seems that the price of mobiles is bonkers - so I always look at the outgoing models like the V50 and this time around, also at "midrange" like the Pixel 4a, Motorola etc
Cheers in advance, Dingo
For people intending to use the Sprint phone on T Mobile - here's "The Verge's" write up on using early 5G phones that use the Qualcomm x50 modem (the x55 is apparently the one you need for all bands)
"Sprint’s 5G network shutdown will leave owners of early Sprint 5G phones that use older Qualcomm X50 modems — including the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Galaxy S10 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ 5G — in the lurch, as their phones aren’t new enough to connect to the T-Mobile network."
Reminds me of somewhat distant memories of early LTE phones and also when TMobile acquired then started leveraging the 600MHz spectrum (IIRC) - both times you'd find even newer mobiles wouldn't have the support.
Living in the boonies, so low band frequencies such as n71@ 600 MHz are important for reception. T Mobile has been very dynamic as they acquire, turn up and repurpose spectra so it's a moving . Right now according to website they have 5G at:
Band n71 (600 MHz)
Band n41 (2.5 GHz)
Band n260 (39 GHz)
Band n261 (28 GHz)
target="_blank">http://band71.batcave.net/ suggests the V50 is missing the key lower frequency band n71, but then again, I have no idea what's deployed in my areas.
So concerns are: Apparent lack of long distance n71 band. Also I've read that VoLTE and wifi calling are missing - if true this could be a real issue as TMo moves to VoLTE only (no 3G) in Jan 2021
Net Net is that without real world hard evidence that wifi calling and VoLTE (esp) work on T Mo, it's too much of a gamble and for me, lack of n71 makes for real hesitation. I'd wait until a more compatible (x55 modem?) comes along at a similar price
hth Dingo
For people intending to use the Sprint phone on T Mobile - here's "The Verge's" write up on using early 5G phones that use the Qualcomm x50 modem (the x55 is apparently the one you need for all bands)
"Sprint’s 5G network shutdown will leave owners of early Sprint 5G phones that use older Qualcomm X50 modems — including the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Galaxy S10 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ 5G — in the lurch, as their phones aren’t new enough to connect to the T-Mobile network."
Reminds me of somewhat distant memories of early LTE phones and also when TMobile acquired then started leveraging the 600MHz spectrum (IIRC) - both times you'd find even newer mobiles wouldn't have the support.
Living in the boonies, so low band frequencies such as n71@ 600 MHz are important for reception. T Mobile has been very dynamic as they acquire, turn up and repurpose spectra so it's a moving target. Right now according to website they have 5G at:
Band n71 (600 MHz)
Band n41 (2.5 GHz)
Band n260 (39 GHz)
Band n261 (28 GHz)
http://band71.batcave.net/ suggests the V50 is missing the key lower frequency band n71, but then again, I have no idea what's deployed in my areas.
So concerns are: Apparent lack of long distance n71 band. Also I've read that VoLTE and wifi calling are missing - if true this could be a real issue as TMo moves to VoLTE only (no 3G) in Jan 2021
Net Net is that without real world hard evidence that wifi calling and VoLTE (esp) work on T Mo, it's too much of a gamble and for me, lack of n71 makes for real hesitation. I'd wait until a more compatible (x55 modem?) comes along at a similar price
hth Dingo - Richy_Dingo
Chipset Qualcomm SM8150 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm)
CPU Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485)
GPU Adreno 640
Thank you!