[OT] .::The Official 3G/4G LTE Thread::.

[murtaza12]

Edit: what's your theory?

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Story time:

Spoiler: show

I've replaced my S10+ with an Xperia 1.

CA worked on the Xperia 1 in Dubai on B1+B3+B20, couldn't test B8 LTE since they don't use it there.

Upon arriving in Pak, no CA on the Xperia 1 at the airport, which is where it usually works. Thought it might have been a signal issue since it was super weak that day and I don't think the airport has fixed cell towers anyway.

No CA in Islamabad, no CA in Pindi, no CA anywhere. I took out my SIM and put it in a Xiaomi Mi9, CA worked fine, tried in a Galaxy A70, CA still works fine.

Went crazy trying to figure out why it wouldn't work, and then I found this - Modify Sony Xperia 1 LTE-A band combos

In the comments I asked the OP about the issue I was having and this was his reply:

On Carrier Policy i see on MCC 410 have enabled only bands 1 (2100Mhz), 3 (1800Mhz), 7 (2600Mhz) and 20 (800Mhz). If you have rooted Xperia 1 you can enable band 8 (900MHz) and combos via carrier policy. Changing firmware doesn’t help because carrier policy depends per MCC/MNC/PLMN.

So Sony (or Google) has restricted band support based on the MCC/MNC of the SIM card, and there's no way to enable B8 without root or using QPST to modify the modem directly.

I started going through these:

Carrier Configuration | Android Open Source Project

APN and CarrierConfig | Android Open Source Project

Carrier Identification | Android Open Source Project

It seems like Sony + Google have out-of-date info on what bands are being used in Pakistan, so devices that use the stock AOSP CarrierPolicy method to determine bands will have this issue. OEMs like Xiaomi, Samsung, Nokia and I assume many others will probably just leave all bands that the phone supports enabled.

I guess if/when Jazz, Zong and Telenor roll out VoLTE, they'll have to update the files mentioned above by submitting requests to Google and while they're doing that, they should mention exactly which bands they're using.

 

[shaheerk]

Well... My phone does aggregate - but when it wants to. One day, it'll aggregate. Another day, it won't.

Why? No idea. Right now, it's not, but yesterday, it was.

This is specifically for Mobilink.

So while the phone firmware/hardware may be at fault, it's not the only thing we can point fingers at.

I think for phones that do support aggregation, the operators are up to something because while I wasn't getting any aggregated signal these past two weeks (prior to Monday), I have been getting an aggregated signal now and then ever since.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

 

[murtaza12]

[MENTION=63376]shaheerk[/MENTION]

One unlocked bootloader + many hours later:

 

[shaheerk]

@shaheerk

One unlocked bootloader + many hours later:

Spoiler: show

Gulrez has CA. My phone has had it. But only when the signals feel like behaving themselves, I suppose.

 

[zafarabbasrizvi]

A friend of mine visited DHA phase 1 Islamabad today and he shared that Zong is using 20 MHz of Band 3 1800 MHz with CA of 10 MHz band 1 2100 MHz. I wounder if Zong is utilising all of its 3G spectrum to 4G. What the heve left for 3G? If they are using 5 MHz of 900 MHz for 3G, what have they left for 2G?

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

 

[murtaza12]

A friend of mine visited DHA phase 1 Islamabad today and he shared that Zong is using 20 MHz of Band 3 1800 MHz with CA of 10 MHz band 1 2100 MHz. I wounder if Zong is utilising all of its 3G spectrum to 4G. What the heve left for 3G? If they are using 5 MHz of 900 MHz for 3G, what have they left for 2G?

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

Should have asked him to switch to 2G and 3G and check which bands are being used.

Maybe they're using that small remaining portion of 1800 MHz for 2G.

 

[murtaza12]

Jazz 4G+

Spoiler: show

 

[zafarabbasrizvi]

Should have asked him to switch to 2G and 3G and check which bands are being used.

Maybe they're using that small remaining portion of 1800 MHz for 2G.

He said 3G was also working on 2100 MHz. This means Telcos have received temporary additional spectrum during crona pandemic.

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

 

[shaheerk]

He said 3G was also working on 2100 MHz. This means Telcos have received temporary additional spectrum during crona pandemic.

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

Or maybe only Zong has, because Mobilink isn't showing any additional spectrum.

I know Zong has 10Mhz on 2100Mhz for 4G, when they previously had 5Mhz for both 3G and 4G.

I don't know where they got this capacity - unless they've been given a completely new frequency chunk for 4G, outside of the current placement (unless the operators have shuffled their spectrum).

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

 

[murtaza12]

[MENTION=63376]shaheerk[/MENTION]

I got an update for the Android Messages app this morning and immediately after opening it, I was asked if I wanted to enable chat features.

I pressed Enable thinking it would probably just do nothing, but it actually verified my number and enabled it.

Does that mean Jazz enabled RCS messaging? Can you check if you got it as well?

 

[shaheerk]

No love for my phone. I get "your carrier does not current support this feature".

Damn, Google. We all know the messages get routed through you, as with Hangouts, Hangouts Chat, Hangouts Meet, Docs Chat, Sheets Chat, Slides Chat, Youtube Chat...

FWIW, I was one of those who tried the hack back in the day and it worked - and then something happened and it stopped working. Maybe that's why?

Edit: which phone are you using?

 

[murtaza12]

No love for my phone. I get "your carrier does not current support this feature".

Damn, Google. We all know the messages get routed through you, as with Hangouts, Hangouts Chat, Hangouts Meet, Docs Chat, Sheets Chat, Slides Chat, Youtube Chat...

FWIW, I was one of those who tried the hack back in the day and it worked - and then something happened and it stopped working. Maybe that's why?

Edit: which phone are you using?

Did you reset the phone after the hack? Since that used Google's RCS sandbox server which I assume has been taken down now.

I'd try clearing data on the Messages app and updating Carrier Services from Play Store as well, then reboot your device. I asked someone who already had RCS and they said Carrier Services is required for it to work as well.

I'm using a Sony Xperia 1.

 

[StrikerX]

[MENTION=63376]shaheerk[/MENTION]

I got an update for the Android Messages app this morning and immediately after opening it, I was asked if I wanted to enable chat features.

I pressed Enable thinking it would probably just do nothing, but it actually verified my number and enabled it.

Does that mean Jazz enabled RCS messaging? Can you check if you got it as well?

I got it on my mom's Xiaomi Redmi 8 (carrier: Telenor, ported from Zong) but like it says "Connected" on yours, its stuck on "verifying" on her mobile.

Its however not available on my Pixel 2 (carrier: Telenor) "Chat features unavailable for this device"

 

[murtaza12]

I got it on my mom's Xiaomi Redmi 8 (carrier: Telenor, ported from Zong) but like it says "Connected" on yours, its stuck on "verifying" on her mobile.

Its however not available on my Pixel 2 (carrier: Telenor) "Chat features unavailable for this device"

I actually thought mine was going to fail at the verification stage but it didn't and it worked immediately.

Don't know anyone else with RCS though so still unable to test how reliably it works.

 

[arslanejaz33]

Got an software update on my Nokia 5 today. After that RCS is working. Instantly Verified. Carrier Telenor
Though Not Working on Jazz, as I have dual sim phone.

 

[StrikerX]

I actually thought mine was going to fail at the verification stage but it didn't and it worked immediately.

Don't know anyone else with RCS though so still unable to test how reliably it works.

Update: It completed verifying whatever it was verifying, status is connected now.

 

[shaheerk]

Did you reset the phone after the hack? Since that used Google's RCS sandbox server which I assume has been taken down now.

I'd try clearing data on the Messages app and updating Carrier Services from Play Store as well, then reboot your device. I asked someone who already had RCS and they said Carrier Services is required for it to work as well.

I'm using a Sony Xperia 1.

Yep, reset both Carrier Service and the Messages app. And restarted the phone before launching Messages.

All I got too see was a new splash screen...

So Pixel 2 isn't getting it. Neither is the Pixel 4. Not sure what's going on. Maybe soon?

I don't feel like popping in my Telenor SIM to check.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

 

[murtaza12]

Yep, reset both Carrier Service and the Messages app. And restarted the phone before launching Messages.

All I got too see was a new splash screen...

So Pixel 2 isn't getting it. Neither is the Pixel 4. Not sure what's going on. Maybe soon?

I don't feel like popping in my Telenor SIM to check.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Now that I think about it. Jazz and Telenor would've made an announcement if RCS was enabled for their networks.

Maybe it's a staged rollout from Google using their own servers? AFAIK enabling RCS is possible without any involvement of the carrier since it just requires a data connection.

 

[manobilla]

Yep, reset both Carrier Service and the Messages app. And restarted the phone before launching Messages.

All I got too see was a new splash screen...

So Pixel 2 isn't getting it. Neither is the Pixel 4. Not sure what's going on. Maybe soon?

I don't feel like popping in my Telenor SIM to check.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

how to reset carrier services and message app?
Do i need to add phone number in the advanced settings too? at the end?
not working for me on telenor and jazz

 

[shaheerk]

Now that I think about it. Jazz and Telenor would've made an announcement if RCS was enabled for their networks.

Maybe it's a staged rollout from Google using their own servers? AFAIK enabling RCS is possible without any involvement of the carrier since it just requires a data connection.

I don't know - the Jibe servers are at Google's end so why they're doing a staged roll-out is beyond me. They do a staged rollout for everything (such as Meet), which defeats the purpose when the world has already moved on (and their staged rollout is still rolling out). Google doesn't have the smartest thinkers all the time. RCS is another example (too little too late).

I don't know if the operators would make an announcement since it doesn't particularly help them, and from what I've read, Google releases these country-wise, not operator-wise, ever since they decided to "ramp up" the rollout (which is still staged, mind you...)

how to reset carrier services and message app?
Do i need to add phone number in the advanced settings too? at the end?
not working for me on telenor and jazz

Go to apps > three dots > show system apps > Carrier Services > Clear Data (you may have to tap on a button named "storage", depending on which phone you have).
Go to apps > Messages > Clear Data (you may have to tap on a button named "storage", depending on which phone you have).
You don't add a phone number manually - you usually get the pop up... that's how it was back when the "leak" came out.