Andrew Revering

Related to this... I found a really cool site that lets you plug in any phone model and see which networks it's compatible with based on how many frequencies it covers. So it can tell you that you're 'mostly' covered but maybe you're missing a couple LTE bands or something... https://www.frequencycheck.com/

My original post was intended to just be a question about the upcoming S8's dual-sim possibility... however this thread ended up being the main S8/S8+ thread, so I'm modifying my original post to include some main points that we've gathered about the device and provide some useful resources: Misc FYIs ------------------------------------ All MSLs appear to be 000000 To force band 41 only (thanks Terrell352): ##DATA# MSL 000000 then go to LTE and turn off b25 and b26. ##debug# works on this device (thanks nexgencpu)Cleaner way to look at carriers,CA and signal strength etc.. Want Root permissions? This will trip KNOX and you won't be able to use Samsung Pay or other KNOX features Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ Carrier/Dual Sim Info ------------------------------------ I have Sprint (obviously), but I have property where the only carrier is AT&T. FreedomPop now has a free AT&T SIM you can buy for limited voice, data & texting, which is perfect for my limited needs when I'm at my cabin. Converting the phone to a Dual-SIM phone then becomes convenient for me with the FreedomPop SIM + Sprint. With that in mind, here is some useful info (including a solution below): See what frequencies/networks your phone supports: https://www.frequencycheck.com/ All networks are shipping the 'U' version which has support for all US networks but are software-locked. Once unlocked they will work on any US network. Dual Sim version not available in US or UK. The International Dual Sim model S8+ is SM-955FD. You can convert your single-sim US model into a dual sim by 1) unlocking and 2) add a $50 dual-sim adapter from magic-sim or simore (I bought the Simore one and it ripped before I could even try it once. They would not refund) If you are within a contract and/or didn't pay full price for your phone and don't want to wait, you can unlock your phone: https://theunlockr.com/unlock-my-phone/ usually for something like $20. Correction: These unlockers don't work for CDMA Sprint phones. You have to either buy an Unlocked phone or get Sprint to unlock it for you. Correction2: There is at least one guy who knows how to do it! See 'Solution' below. You can convert it into a Dual-SIM by adding one of these: http://www.magic-sim.com/ or http://www.simore.com/ (don't recommend simore, mine tore easily) I found a ---> SOLUTION <-- Charging/Cables ----------------------------- Info from mmark27 Remember only buy stuff that's been approved by Benson Leung, the Google Engineer that tests tons of USB-C items. You can search him on Amazon. USB-C crappy products can fry your phone and start fires. From what I (mmark27) understand, the phones are only Quick Charge 2.0 compliant officially. They may pick up QC 4.0 compliance at some point as the chip supports it, but for now QC2.0 is the safe bet. choetech fast charging pads don't work Seneo fast wireless charger do work micro-female to male USB-C USB-3.0 to USB-C Wireless charging pads that look just like the ones at Best Buy from Samsung Pleson fast charging pads work with S8 and S8+ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRXM473/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Kv5-ybKG6TSZP Noteworthy Specs ------------------------------- Only difference between S8 and S8+ is screen size and battery size. Bezel free, all screen design No physical home button 5.8" & 6.2" Plus Version 'Infinity' QHD Amoled Display 12mp f1.7 rear, and 8mp f1.7 front cameras, auto focus Wifi Calling Dual Edge Only Display Bluetooth 5.0 for double speed and four times the range 3000mAH (S8) & 3500mAH (S8+) battery, fast charging 4 GB RAM Waterproof 64 GB built in storage Bixby Artificial Intelligence, dedicated button Iris Scanner Pressure Sensitive "3D" Touch home button Wireless Charging Can see screen with polarized glasses, unlike with LCD screens (HTC 10, etc) Always On Display PC Replacement (DEX) Fingerprint sensor on back DOES have a headphone jack USB Type C MicroSD Expansion HPUE compliant, which means it will extend existing signal range by 30%, including indoors!In my limited experience with the device, HPUE DOES work. Maybe it doesn't help speeds, I don't know -- but in 2 locations (in two different states) where I normally have no signal, I can now make phone calls and transfer data with a weak signal that I never had before. ============================ORIGINAL POST===================================== I'm planning to upgrade to the Galaxy S8 when it's available on April 21st... I would really like a Dual SIM version and have Sprint as my primary carrier and use a FreedomPop ATT SIM as a 2nd option when I'm up at my land which is only covered by ATT. After some research, it seems that the Dual SIM version is the 'International Unlocked' version which does not have the capability of CDMA/CDMA2000 for the 3G/1X portion of Sprint coverage. Since LTE is actually a GSM protocol it has the capability of doing Sprint's LTE, but other services may be limited. Is this correct? If so, that probably means I just want to buy the Sprint version and get one of those little dual sim adapters you can now get like this one: http://www.magic-sim.com/ Also, in order to use a SIM from a GSM provider, the phone needs to be unlocked, which outside of contract means I'd either have to wait 2 years, or just buy the full-price phone outright, and then get it unlocked. Then I can use my ATT SIM, but again coverage may be limited because the radios are tuned for Sprint, not ATT. But I think it may be possible for some of their services to work. ... does this understanding sound correct? Is there another way I can go about what I'm trying to accomplish? UPDATED: --> SOLUTION <--

...and to answer a previous question... yes there's service, but not at our location, towers are 16 miles away. There's a sprint tower and a verizon tower right next to each other.

I should add that the signal being reported is 1x, not 3G. Not sure if that matters.

There isn't a signal without the antenna & amp. With the amp its 2-3 bars and about -87 dBm I guess I was just wondering if since I have a signal if the problem is something like high noise and antenna placement would resolve the issue. It's the middle of a huge forest...and antenna is about 15-20 feet up, but all the pines are 40-50 foot high. So I'm hitting the middle of all the trees. Lets say its some sort of noise or obstruction due to the trees, do you think raising the antenna another 20 feet would do the trick, or since I'm already at 20 feet with a decent, but unusable signal that going another 20 feet wouldn't make a difference? I know this is more of a trial and error type of thing, but it's a lot of work if it's a fruitless effort.

This one has stumped me and I'm hoping someone can shed light on this... I have Sprint as my provider, and I'm out in a no-coverage area north of Lake Superior in Minnesota. I purchased a 20db gain Yagi antenna, and pointed it at the nearest tower, which is 16 miles away on the other side of a high bluff. The antenna is connected to a Wilson (WeBoost) amplifier Amplifier showing all green as it's at max power and working properly. I am getting a signal! It's a middle of the road "2-3 bar" -87 dBm signal on both my Android HTC 10 and my wife's iPhone 6S Plus Signal Check Pro says it's the Verizon tower, which makes sense as I'm pointing it at the 850 mhz Verizon tower. The problem is that calls do not work. No tones or audio when dialing and eventually it just disconnects, and no data connection available. I tried a Verizon MiFi and had similar results. It had a signal but couldn't connect. What's the problem? I've put in about $800 into this setup, and I don't want to give up on getting data and switching to Satellite if I'm very close to getting a connection! Thanks in advance for your ideas/explanations.

I got a S6 Edge after having the M8, and I never felt like I *enjoyed* the phone as I did my M8... I think that was because of the incredible development by the guys at venomroms.com...which are also developing for the HTC 10... check them out. They are the reason I'm probably going to get an HTC 10 -- if they come out with the Carbon Gray.

HTC 10 has hit the Best Buy web site for pre-orders on Sprint for Friday release. Silver only at this point.

Actually I'm pretty sure roamctrl app http://www.roamctrl.com/ works on that phone to force roam without PRL change. I used to use this a lot on my M7 and M8. Unfortunately I have a Galaxy S6 Edge now and it no longer works on my phone...so you're a lucky guy. I'd be interested to hear if this solves your problem and works for you -- I think it will.

I had to give it two tries before I had success. The first time I expected it to come off instantly. The second attempt I realized it takes time and pressure. I used a bit of rubbing alcohol on a q-tip and rubbed the lens with good pressure for a minute or two. After a bit you will notice some black on the q-tip. You may have to continue rubbing with force for 10 minutes to get it crystal clear and no "scratches".

You should try ViperRom M8....best rom I've ever used, and very active developers with frequent updates.

Sometimes the issues are with the tower though. My tower has had everything upgraded for about 9 months and last night I had almost no signal and 1x connection... Likely to a different tower. I thought it was something I did because I hack my phone pretty heavily.... I checked my wife's iPhone and she has the same weak 1x signal. It was like our tower, which we can see out the window, wasn't even there. An hour later it came back. Crazy sprint.

People keep referencing HD voice... Is that everywhere now? I know with the new firmware you get an HD icon on calls. Does this actually only show up if you are getting HD voice or is it just cosmetic and is always there? (I haven't updated yet)

I've been a big fan of Signal Check for a long time, but have never had it tell me the band I'm on. I've been eagerly reading the forums and looking for an update for what I assumed was a problem with my tower reporting numbers correctly to my phone. While troubleshooting some data issues I was having, I came across a fix that unknowingly fixed my issues with Signal Check as well. It's a long story, but it basically involves properly restoring the phone making sure you do a couple key things so (I think) a corrupt data profile can get restored. My steps here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/sprint-htc-one-m8/general/fix-data-issues-t2819915 The lesson here might be to not necessarily blame Signal Check if its not working right.

Any idea where you got the fix/info from so I can investigate it further? --much appreciated!

Well this got me closer to fixing my problem. What I found is I have to have it in CDMA mode and then reboot, then my 3G data works (no roaming tho -- still can't roam no matter what I do): To refresh your memory, my problem is I can't use Sprint 3G data or Roam. 4G works. If I do the following I CAN use Sprint 3G data: - Shut off Wifi, Put it in CDMA mode, reboot. It has to boot up in 3G mode, with Wifi off. - Another option that works is to put it into CDMA mode, pop the sim card out and put it back in. Then 3G works. - If I switch to LTE then go to CDMA, 3G doesn't transfer data. - Nothing works for roaming. - I can make calls in 3G or roaming mode no problem... its always just an issue with data.

Wow, thanks for the update. I haven't been able to figure out my problem either so maybe it's the network. But... I also cannot transfer data from sprint when I switch to CDMA only, which I wouldn't think would be a problem with sprint but rather the phone. I dunno. Others having issues with sprint 3g only?

I was able to chat with a Sprint rep online and he was outstanding. What ended up fixing it was a power down of the phone & they did some sort of refresh on their end to reconfigure my device, I powered back up and did an update profile. Now I can make calls and (4G) data works. However, 3G data still doesn't work....which was the original problem. :-)

Yes, on Sprint's network. I never saw PRL or Profile updates... it just reboots after I hit the ok button. Maybe that has something to do with it. I've never been able to do a PRL or Profile update or Hands Free Activation. None of those things ever worked on my phone. The HFA would always pop up but never activate. It would say its already been activated, but every time I reboot the thing tries to reactivate. I go to self activation and it says its activated.... but maybe not now that I reset it. I did get the update last month.

Found the instructions to do self activation, but now I can't make or receive calls. I try to make a call and I get some guy saying "The number you are trying to call is incorrect". The only thing that DOES work is 4G data. Weird.

Yeah but I'm not sure if that ever worked. I always get a message saying the device is already activated.

Although I still can't roam, I discovered something that may be related to my problem: When I force to CDMA only, it connects to 3G, but again, no data. Same thing as when I force roam on Verizon. However, when I pop the sim card out and put it back in, then my 3G (sprint) connects. But if I toggle to 4G and back to 3G, I lose data again. This does not work when roaming, but maybe there's a connection here. Ideas? Is this a bad sim card? phone? Other?

It does seem odd that only M8 wouldn't have much roaming. But it does correlate with my problems and uh60james issues. Maybe others can chime in on if roaming is working on your Sprint M8s? Also, there appears to be 'some' roaming coverage, so before commenting make sure your roaming status on the sprint site to see if it matches up. Key thing here I think is data roaming... I can roam just fine, but I can't transfer data while connected to a roaming network.

Oh my God you're my fricken hero. Here I've completely wiped my phone and restored it like 3 times and it's something as simple as Sprint is farking us. I'm just so glad to at least know that it's not my setup. Thanks so much!!! Now maybe I can sleep at night (and dream about Verizon).

I'd be surprised if that's the case... I never roam other than to set this up in case I ever need to roam.