Question

Minimum 4G LTE bands needed for all US coverage

  • 21 November 2022
  • 5 replies
  • 960 views
M
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Hi all,

 

I’m checking to see what are the latest universal 4GLTE bands needed for basic coverage in all the US.

 

Reason I’m asking is that I plan to get an international phone that works in Asia and the US.  I’m looking into a dual-sim phone.

 

For example, the Samsung A32 dual-sim phone supports these 4G LTE bands:

4G LTE B1(2100), B2(1900), B3(1800), B5(850), B7(2600), B8(900), B20(800), B28(700), B38(2600), B40(2300), B41(2500) 

 

Looking at this T-Mobile page, only bands 2 and 5 are supported by this international phone.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network

 

Are these two 4G LTE bands (2, 5) sufficient to support voice calls in the US?

 

The next question is,

what is the fallback connection if the  4GLTE bands that a phone supports aren’t available in a specific location?

 

I also wonder if the Samsung international phone’s VoLTE is compatible with T-Mobile’s US VoLTE.

 

Thanks.

5 replies

drnewcomb
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Userlevel 7
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Band 71 would be the minimum for service everywhere T-Mobile has service. From a practical perspective, you will need bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 25, 41 & 71.

I don't speak for T-Mobile.
M
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3G is phased out. What’s the fallback connection if 4GLTE band 71 is needed but not on the phone?

 

 

drnewcomb
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Userlevel 7
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Non-LTE fallback would be legacy GSM-1900. Very unsatisfactory.

I don't speak for T-Mobile.
M
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T-Mobile should at least keep one 3G band for fallback purpose.  Dropping from 4G all the way back to 2G is a very bad plan for fallback connection.  

 

For years, I have been able to juggle between the US and Asia with one dual-sim international phone.   It seems this ability is now just totally broken as there’s no more 3G connection as the fallback.

 

Anyone has any workaround to use an international dual-sim phone in the US?

 

 

F
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

You could get a different international phone which supports more bands.  

OnePlus 8 5g supports a ton of bands

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/28/oneplus-8-and-8-pro-4g-5g-us-network-bands-and-compatibility-guide/#:~:text=Those%20bands%20are%202%2C%204,29%2C%2030%2C%20and%2066.

 

  • 4G: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 34, 38, 39, 40, 48, 66, 71
  • 5G: n2 (NSA), n5 (NSA), n41 (SA and NSA), n66 (NSA), n71 (SA and NSA), n261* (*Verizon model IN2019 OnePlus 8 only)

It is dual SIM AFAIK

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