[Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cellrama:
Have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (model: SM-N900W8) and wish to enable LTE for a specific carrier? Follow these in-depth instructions and you will enable LTE for this specific model. My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 model is from WIND Mobile and I use both WIND Mobile and Telus SIMS on the device (interchange when needed). When using WIND, I get their default 4G data speeds and with Telus, I now have LTE which is like going from a Honda to a Corvette. :)

These instructions will work with all the SM-N900W8 models but you will need to select the appropriate root for your country/carrier (as indicated in Chainfire's post).

Should you have any questions, please respond to the post or send me a PM and I will assist where possible.

Thank you to the following 3 individuals! Some assisted with their general posts while others provided informative information via PM to ease me into the process:

AllGamer

Chainfire

asaqwert

UNLOCKING YOUR DEVICE

Before you are able to use another carrier SIM in your device, you must first unlock the device. I know there is a method of doing this for free after rooting but I paid $32.99 USD and received my unlock code through cellunlocker.net. If unlocking to use a SIM from another country, make sure you first activate with the original SIM. Failure to do so will region lock the device so you cannot use it with an International SIM. The only way around this is to pay a Samsung technician to reset the device. Since I use WIND and Telus, both carriers are Canadian so I went ahead and unlocked my device using the Telus SIM directly as I do not need to worry about a regional lock.

ROOTING THE DEVICE

1) Download and install Kies (for the Drivers) from here http://www.samsung.com/ca/support/model/SM-N900WZKEBWA

2) Download the ODIN software and ROOT provided by Chainfire:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46098951&postcount=3

3) Unzip the files just downloaded and run the ODIN software. Once loaded, click on the PDA button and browse to the ROM file:

CF-Auto-Root-hltecan-hlteub-smn900w8.tar.md5 (this was the file I selected for my Canadian provider as my device is WIND Mobile). Make sure the check-box in the ODIN software that says "Re-Partition" is either unchecked or greyed out.

4) Power off your device and once off, reboot into the Android system by pressing Volume Down + Home Button + Power (all at once). When you see the Galaxy Note 3 logo, let go and it will present you with a warning regarding installation of customized OS's. Click on the volume up button and this will allow you to continue and present you with a Android logo screen and the word "Downloading".

5) Plug your device into the USB port and click on the "Start" button within the ODIN software. It should take a couple of minutes but the status window in ODIN should say successful.

CONGRATULATIONS... You have now rooted your device!

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INSTALLING TWRP (TEAM WIN RECOVERY PROJECT)

I loaded the above program which I recommend you do as well. TWRP is a fully touch base recovery software program that allows you to store/backup and save custom ROMS either to your computer or to the device itself through internal storage or external SD. Think of it as a simple way to manage your device rather than having to enter a bunch of codes or press key sequences to get into specific low level menus of your device.

The software can be downloaded from the following link. I downloaded the latest 2.6.3.4 version:

http://goo.im/devs/OpenRecovery/hltecan

1) Power off your device and once off, reboot into the Android system by pressing Volume Down + Home Button + Power (all at once). When you see the Galaxy Note 3 logo, let go and it will present you with a warning regarding installation of customized OS's. Click on the volume up button and this will allow you to continue and present you with a Android logo screen and the word "Downloading".

2) Load the ODIN software, click the PDA button and select the TWRP package you just downloaded:

openrecovery-twrp-2.6.3.4-RC1-hltecan.img

3) Plug your device into the USB port and click on the "Start" button within the ODIN software. It should take a couple of minutes but the status window in ODIN should say successful.

CONGRATULATIONS... You have just installed the TWRP software which will open your device up to a world of possibilities.

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INSTALLING AN LTE CAPABLE ROM/MODEM

Now that you have your device rooted and the TWRP software installed, we now want to enable the LTE capability so you can use this device at the best speeds possible! Unlike what many have posted, I confirmed with AllGamer you can load any carrier SM-N900W8 ROM onto the device as long as the models version match (ie: SM-N900W8). My device is WIND Mobile and this carrier does not support LTE so the fastest speed I can select is 4G which is WCDMA/GSM in the network mode settings. Since I will be using the device on Telus with LTE data speeds, I want to install this ROM but ensure the device will have LTE as a option which I can select under network mode.

1) Go to the following link and download the carrier specific ROM for the provider you wish to use your phone with (in my case, Telus):

http://www.samsungis.com/Firmwares/SM-N900W8.html

2) This is a large file so I downloaded it to my Pcloud account then onto my computer which took about 30 minutes. Once the file is on your computer, extract the contents.

3) Power off your device and once off, reboot into the Android system by pressing Volume Down + Home Button + Power (all at once). When you see the Galaxy Note 3 logo, let go and it will present you with a warning regarding installation of customized OS's. Click on the volume up button and this will allow you to continue and present you with a Android logo screen and the word "Downloading".

4) Load the ODIN software, click the PDA button and select the ROM package you just downloaded (in my case, Telus):

N900W8VLUBMJ1_N900W8OYABMJ1_N900W8VLUBMJ1_HOME.tar.md5

5) Plug your device into the USB port and click on the "Start" button within the ODIN software. It should take around 5 minutes but the status window in ODIN should say successful.

6) Your device will now reboot and you will need to go through the setup process. Once complete, you think LTE will be enabled but you are wrong! You must dial the following key sequence to bring up a regional carrier menu: *#272*[IMEI]# (that is *#272* (your IMEI number) #) - To find your IMEI number, check your manufacturer box or press *#06# from your call menu and it's the first 15 - digits.

When the menu pops up, it will show a listing of codes and it matches the "region" list that's shown at the following link: http://www.samsungis.com/Firmwares/SM-N900W8.html

When the menu comes up, select the regional code for the carrier ROM you just installed (in my case, Telus which was "TLS"). The phone will now go through a reset/boot sequence and come this time, it should read the APN settings from your SIM card and viola, you now have LTE. If you do not see LTE but 3G, you will need to ensure your APN settings are correct and then go into the Network Mode and ensure you have LTE/WCDMA/GSM (auto mode) selected.

CONGRATULATIONS... You now have rooted your device, installed a custom ROM for the carrier you wish to use LTE on and have LTE capability. Since you have installed a specific ROM and set the regional carrier settings to this ROM, if you look under your status menu, instead of it saying "Custom" next to "Device Status", it will show "Original".

I hope this information helps others who have been stuck with enabling LTE on their device. Remember, LTE will only work for carriers who support LTE capability. Should I switch my SIM card and put my WIND SIM back into the device, it will work but the MAX data speed I will get is 4G.

Good luck everyone and again, please thank the above 3 individuals for the countless amount of times they have helped us members out with our problems!