yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Vibrant General] Aphotix:
Honestly (call me a non believer) I set out to prove you wrong; that the device will not work on AT&T 3G bands, but I found that the Samsung SGHT959 (FCC ID A3LSGHT959) Does support one of AT&T's 3G bands. The Samsung Vibrant According to the FCC (fcc.gov, look up the FCC ID, also located under the battery) Supports the US bands 850 MHz GSM, 1800MHz GSM, 1900MHz GSM, 1700 WCDMA (3G), and 1900 WCDMA (3G). Mind this doesn't include european bands as they aren't used in the US. According to Wikipedia (search AT&T Wireless) AT&T supports 850/1900 MHz GSM/WCDMA. So while your 3G support will not be as good as an iPhone or captivate, for example, you will have 3G support in some areas.

Just thought I'd throw in my two cents that this is possible, although I concur that it doesn't make sense to get the tmo version and use it on AT&T, since you will experience reduced 3G coverage and limited support from AT&T (and consequently, T-Mobile as well) except that the Captivate is the locked up version (no 3rd party apps?!)

Right, done ranting.
[Vibrant General] SugarMouth:
Samsung Vibrant:

2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network	HSDPA 1700 / 2100

Samsung Captivate:

2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100

If in fact the Vibrant is getting 3g speeds on AT&T's network, we have something strange going on.
[Vibrant General] kizer:
I'm not sure what the confusions is. People have been unlocking iphones for ever and running them on T-mobile for years.
[Vibrant General] dublued:
the confusion is the fact that OP is getting 3G on a phone that does not supposedly support that band.

I'm anxiously waiting the video and results. This can be good news for people that like the shape and feel of the Vibrant over the Captivate.
[Vibrant General] iceman1251:
But those iphones never worked on tmobiles 3g frequencies.
[Vibrant General] dcam1075:
True, but not on the 3G network. An unlocked iPhone only utilizes the Edge network on T-Mo and vice versa if you use an unlocked T-Mo phone on ATT. ATT and T-Mo use the same freqs for Edge but not for 3G. This is what allows for T-Mo to roam on ATTs network.
[Vibrant General] lqaddict:
And not taking the advantage of 3G data coverage offered. I am yet to see an iPhone on TMO 3G data network, all the unlocked jailbroken iPhones I've seen on TMO only support EDGE for data.
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
The Vibrant has 1900MHz 3G for AT&T.
[Vibrant General] SugarMouth:
Samsung Vibrant:

2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network HSDPA 1700 / 2100

Samsung Captivate:

2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100

They share the same 2G band, not the same 3G band.
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
I know what that says, and I'm telling you that the Vibrant has 1900MHz 3G.
[Vibrant General] Aphotix:
I don't know if like, my page long post was ignored or what, but hey girl is correct, the vibrant has 1900mhz 3G, look up the fcc docs. Its quite clear.
[Vibrant General] gravis86:
Yes the Vibrant has 1900 MHz and AT&T uses 1900 for part of their 3G radio communications. However AT&T requires more than just that one band to use their 3G network.

Having just one frequency in common will not let it work.
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
Yes, it will.. AT&T has PCS and CLR 3G carriers. You obviously just won't ever get on the 850 3G network

I scanned right over it myself haha. But yes, you do get 1900MHz 3G with the Vibrant. You can connect to AT&T's 3G network on Emergency Only (if you're not allowed to roam on AT&T) from the Band Selection menu. It won't let you select 850MHz WCDMA for a reason, because it doesn't have that band.
[Vibrant General] gravis86:
Wow I don't know where you're getting your data from but it sounds like you're just reading the numbers off Wikipedia or something and then acting like you know what you're talking about.

AT&T and T-Mobile's 3G bands are different. The fact that they share one frequency does not ensure inter-operability.
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
You're serious, that's unfortunate.

Read the information presented before you dismiss it because you're completely off.

The Vibrant has the 1900MHz 3G BAND. CONFIRMED BACK FROM WHEN IT PASSED THROUGH THE FCC. AT&T USES 1900MHz 3G AND 850MHz 3G IN TANDEM AND THUS THE VIBRANT WILL CONNECT TO AT&T's 1900MHz 3G NETWORK! 850MHz 3G IS ONLY USED FOR EXTRA COVERAGE AND CAPACITY
[Vibrant General] eff0rtless:
i'm w/ gravis86 on this one.. u can say what you want and show me pics but to use atmobile 3G band phone on ATT and get 3G is ridiculous.

why didn't samsung just make the vibrant for ATT then? a new design and different band was made because samsung wanted to bring something new to each carrier.

I can't wait to see the next article that says the Droid X works on T-mobile 3G!!
[Vibrant General] gravis86:
Okay so I skipped over the guy's post that showed that the Vibrant supports the 1900 MHz band on 3G as well as 2G, so I stand corrected. But the Vibrant is all alone in this category. Pretty much no there phones on T-Mobile do this.

I thought you were just reading the 2G bands an thinking they transfer over like everyone else seems to do.
[Vibrant General] Berserk87:
so are you going to share the unlock code or provide a link to get the unlock code?
[Vibrant General] humblehyper:
The OP says he got it from Ebay so I doubt it if it's free :).
[Vibrant General] AndroidZ28:
Unlock codes are unique to the individual phones, i highly doubt he has yours...
[Vibrant General] :
Unlock codes are generated based on the imei number, as stayed above they are specific to the device.
[Vibrant General] :
Did the OP turn off the data roaming option? That could explain the 3G. Anyway to check the 3G connection similar to the voice connection details?

On a separate note, OP why didn't you get an International Galaxy S? Should be unlocked by default and your get FM radio and FF Camera? Works w/ ATT too.
[Vibrant General] Berserk87:
I know the unlock codes are unique, it was leaning more towards posting a link to the auction so someone can prove its legit, I just worded it poorly.
[Vibrant General] techspy:
I will make it simple for you,

http://cgi.ebay.com/Unlock-Code-T-M...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a08b32748

No I won't share the code, it won't work for other imei's anyway. Try the wrong code too many times and it locks your phone.

To explain bit further...

I just dable with this stuff and actually had NO idea that there could be an issue with 3G using a phone from another carrier. I always thought a quad phone was golden for everything anywhere. I have had several other quad phones and used them in many countries with no issues albeit without using data overseas.

Anyway, it was my understanding that tmobile/att phones are 100% compatible as long as they are unlocked. I did a bit of research on getting the Vibrant unlocked but didn't see anything about a possible 3G issue. But then again, I didn't know to search for that, so I am not surprised that I didn't. I just got lucky I guess.

I already posted why I got a Vibrant, so if you just can't understand why I didn't get a Captivate, or an "international" phone, go back to my previous posts and read sloooowly.

For those of you that see the video and still say bs... What possible motive could I have? Check my post history and you will see that I am not a hacker/programmer, and have very little posts on here, much less any controversial posts.

As for "I may get some 3G in some places"....The service I have confirmed is more than adequate. The tests last night were done in a highly populated area so 1127kbps is pretty good as far as I am concerned. The test in the video was done in a low population area, early in the morning so 3252 down and 990 up is great but will probably be on the rare side.

I have a fully functional Vibrant on ATT, tested the gps on the road this morning (worked great, locked in about 20 sec), and the bluetooth works great with my car (read post history for that issue with my Fuze). I am really happy with this phone. I will root it next to get rid of the bloatware.

Anyway, I am done with this post. Hopefully this info will help others in a similar situation.

http://www.vimeo.com/13641477
[Vibrant General] zeco:
Well sorry for all the disbelief that went on, but you have to admit, something like this is pretty unbelievable in normal cases. In Normal situations this would be impossible, but it seems like samsung was pulling the wool over our eyes in regards to the capabilities of the Vibrant

Yes quad phones would be compatible between AT&T and T-Mobile, however that is only for the GSM/GPRS/EDGE part. For the 3G/UMTS/WCDMA/HSPA (whatever you want to call it), they use different bands (AWS 1700/2100 for t-mobile vs 850/1900 for at&t).

But it seems that the vibrant came with a radio that was also capable of 1900. But anyway, thanks for the info, I appreciate it a lot. Bell canada uses the same frequencies as AT&T so interesting to see that the vibrant could technically work up here (though we are getting our own galaxy S device soon enough).
[Vibrant General] raduque:
Blah. You get better speeds than I do, and you're only getting half the frequencies ATT uses for 3G. :(

edit: Yeesh, $30 for an unlock code
[Vibrant General] newspeak:
If you wasn't your phone unlocked call t mobile and tell them you are traveling out of the country...they do it for free...they might even wave the customer for 90 days requierment
[Vibrant General] reuthermonkey:
I still call BS

Post a speedtest where it shows what ISP you're using. Should be easy enough.

Either use the speedtest app and go to the "results" for your 3g speed tests. then select the result and go to the details screen.

It'll show 2 IP addresses: an internal and an external one. Post a pic of those addresses.

Alternatively: tether your phone to your Pc and run a speedtest from speedtest.net. It'll give you a pic like this showing your ISP:
[Vibrant General] djunio:
thats awesome, i wonder if the captivate works on tmobile's 3g:)
[Vibrant General] techspy:
Ok smartazz here you go.

Man I don't know why I bother...I guess its because I hate people that think they are so f*^&ing smart.
[Vibrant General] cparekh:
Thanks for posting this. I don't really know what I am talking about, but I think you were using WiFi and not the 3G network when you did that test. The WiFi indicator is enabled, and it seems that there is no 3G icon.

The experts will chime in, but I would think that test does not indicate any 3G (not that you don't actually have it; just that this test wouldn't show it). The best thing, I suppose, would be for us to unlock the phones and try for ourselves.

Cheers.

EDIT: I looked up the IP address, and it is from mobile-166-192-135-052.mycingular.net, which would indicate that this is, in fact, an AT&T mobile connection.
[Vibrant General] techspy:
Um, yeah it is enabled. That was the info from when I ran the test earlier, watch the video and you will see no wifi on. Wifi was on when I pulled up the details to take a picture.

Holy Crap! You guys are unbelievable!

Thats it, done....unsubscribing and moving on.
[Vibrant General] cparekh:
Okay. Thanks for clarifying. Sorry to come across as accusatory; I was simply attempting to get some clarification for myself.
[Vibrant General] danpaganelli:
LOL can't believe how hard of a time this guy got! But after the pictures and vids, this is pretty cool. Not useful for me since I left ATT and would never ever ever in a million years go back, but this is pretty cool, nonetheless :cool:

Thanks for the vid!
[Vibrant General] kuraiShin:
wow people have forgotten that you are never to expect anything and that there will always will be the unexpected happen.

I feel bad for the guy and I do understand why he did it.
[Vibrant General] Welshy992:
T-mobile gave me the unlock code 3 days after getting the phone for free after I requested it. Why would anyone pay for that? Props on getting it working for att though. Wonder if the gps works any better on big blue...
[Vibrant General] dabezt1:
Tmobile will only give you a unlock code if your one of their customers in good standing. He doesnt have a tmobile acct and probably didnt purchase them from tmobile.
[Vibrant General] degeneration:
This thread is annoying, but awesome... almost makes me wish I bought an unlocked captive just to show off... if it works both ways... holy **** balls... I know this is a long shot, but what if they simply add 4g to the epic, and it would work on tmobile's 3g? I want my keyboard back! Too bad I already bought a vibrant and won't be able to afford an epic anytime soon... I am not going to be the one to test this...

But, awesome info, in a lame ass thread...
[Vibrant General] Shammyh:
Ok, so let me extend a big thanks to all the jerks in this thread who kept disbelieving the OP. I think he made it pretty clear that he was not trying to fool anyone, and pretty well proved his point.

Yes, we all know ATT & TMO use different 3G bands. But clearly, for whatever reason, the T-Mobile variant of the Galaxy S, aka the Samsung Vibrant, has an extra (otherwise unnecessary) 3G band. So yes, the Vibrant can be used on AT&T's 3G network, as long as you accept that you will not get the full coverage. Especially as AT&T moves more and more of their 3G services to 850 MHz from 1900 MHz.

I think the real question here is why there is a 1900 MHz 3G radio on T-Mobile carrier specific hardware... Not many (any?) markets use a combination of 2100/1700/1900 MHz bands, so why build them together in a phone? In fact, 1900 MHz 3G is pretty rare world wide. Since obviously Samsung did not do it for no reason, any one want to speculate on what the reason is?
[Vibrant General] iunlock:
T-Mobiles HSDPA+ clowns on att...

How is it that he's getting 3Mbps + on att network? Are you sure this isn't wifi and there's photoshop involved here? Being sarcastic...laugh a little...

I don't doubt that he can connect to 3G on the vibrant while on att, however.....the speeds?
[Vibrant General] iunlock:
You're missing the point dude. The big debate is him being able to get 3G on the Vibrant when he's on att.
[Vibrant General] iunlock:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the different 3G frequencies dedicated to be used for downloading and uploading? For example, 1900MHz for download and 2100MHz for upload?

If TM and ATT both use 1900MHz and the Vibrant has the 1900MHz band on the Vibrant than I don't find it surprising that he'd be getting 3G. However, what I'm wondering about is if his upload is still running on ATT's band, if what I stated above is true about each band being dedicated for it's own task, down and up.
[Vibrant General] zoid_99:
AT&T is UTMS Band II which is Uplink 1850MHz - 1910MHz and Downlink 1930MHz - 1990MHz. AT&T has also started to deploy 3g on their 850 band V spectrum (UL 824MHz - 849MHz and DL 869MHz - 894MHz).

T-Mobile is UTMS Band IV also know as AWS and is Uplink 1710MHz - 1755MHz and Downlink 2110MHz - 2155MHz.

So what the original poster is stating is that he is getting 3G on UTMS Band II. If this is true then maybe the reverse also works. It would be interesting to see if the Captivate can work on Band IV.
[Vibrant General] talltexan:
cant believe y'all are letting him get your feathers up in a ruffle.
[Vibrant General] oDeACoNo:
Captivate won't work on TMo's 3G since it doesn't have the 1700Mhz Band that TMo requires.

Vibrant Bands:

2412.0	2462.0

824.2	848.8

1712.4	1752.5

1850.2	1909.8

1852.4	1907.6

2402.0	2480.0

Vibrant FCC Approval Doc: A3LSGHT959

Captivate Bands:

2402.0	2480.0

2412.0	2462.0

824.2	848.8

826.4	846.6

1850.2	1909.8

1852.4	1907.6

Captivate FCC Approval Doc: A3LSGHI897

You'll notice some similar bands, which is why the Vibrant works on both ATT & TMo 3G, while the Captivate will only work on ATT 3G. I've attached the Official FCC Approval Docs for both that show this as well.

I color coded the bands that match as blue and the ones that don't as red to make it easier to see :)
[Vibrant General] gravis86:
You know what would be awesome? What if the chips in both the Vibrant and the Captive were the same, but just restricted by firmware? Now, that would be something!
[Vibrant General] j0hnZ:
That would be awesome. I would much rather have the phone that doesn't look like an iphone for tmobile. Best phone on the network and it has to look like an iphone, and now I can't even get the Captivate. Even if I did you can't unlock it but you can unlock this one...this thread deeply saddens me.
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
The Nexus One has been mistaken for an iPhone plenty of times. It's consumer ignorance. This phone has some distinctive features that make it look nothing like an iPhone. I know people are already confusing the Captivate for an iPhone just because it has a touchscreen..
[Vibrant General] j0hnZ:
This is probably the best iphone knockoff I have ever seen. This phone literally looks like an iphone, not remotely close to a phone that doesn't look like an iphone being called an iphone.
[Vibrant General] lqaddict:
Well, I can attest that Vibrant works just fine on AT&T 3G (1900 Mhz UMTS) in NYC area!
[Vibrant General] reuthermonkey:
I only asked you for evidence because there are so many stupid idiots in this forum that don't know jack sht about how a wireless network works, and post up "3g" speed tests using wifi, or think that 1900GSM and 1900UMTS are entirely interchangeable.

What you posted is certainly evidence. 3g speeds. ATT IP address. Unreasonably high latency.

Definitely ATT.

I sincerely thank you for posting actual proof instead of running away. It's VERY good to know that our phones can be unlocked and taken to ATT for ATT 3g if we so desire.

As I say above, there are a LOT of idiots on this forum who make stupid, wild claims all the time. Hell, practically the ENTIRE G1 forum got trolled for April Fools by some of the ROM devs who said that they had a "patch" that would enable 4g on their phones. All they did was replace the EDGE [E] icon with a "4G" icon. And guess what? People posted crappy-ass EDGE speed tests but stated that the patch was OBVIOUSLY working because they noticed that their phones were browsing the web quicker.

There are a lot of misinformed people on this forum. LOTS of FUD. Hence why "jerks" like me ask for actual evidence, instead of taking some random person's word for it.

0 T-Mobile markets use 1900. They don't have any 1900 spectrum to allocate to 3g (if they did, they wouldn't be using 1700). It's an extremely good question as to why our phones support 1900 UMTS.

The only possibility I can think of is that, as TMO winds down its GSM network, they plan on using HSPA+ on 1900 in some markets. Either that, or it wasn't any cheaper to get a tri-band 3g chip than to get a quad-band 3g chip.
[Vibrant General] jxpar24:
I can confirm the Vibrant gets 3g downloads with AT&T service in Denver. Very Slooooow uploads though.
[Vibrant General] dynamikd:
Agreed!
[Vibrant General] dynamikd:
I have to do some research because this would be crazy if it were true.
[Vibrant General] jonathan75:
techspy, do they really mail you the unlock code or do they give you the code in your e-mail also?

Thanks for all your info!
[Vibrant General] lqaddict:
TMO Unlock Dept will email the code with the simple instructions once you request it.

As for the need to unlock the phone, well you gotta see a bigger picture as OP stated, if you travel outside of the USA you will be paying out of your nose for TMO international roaming (if you decide to use your phone overseas), i.e. in Europe you can get a SIM card with pre-paid minutes (not much but you can always replenish) for 20 Euros or so. Some of the carriers like Vodafone are almost global in Europe so if you have relatives/friends that use the same provider all calls are free, on top of this all incoming calls from any carrier are free.

And the hidden UMTS 1900 MHz on Vibrant allows you to get a 3G service outside of T-Mobile band, i.e. ATT.

As an example, I went to Richmond, IN with a couple of people this month, and I got a scatchy service from T-Mo at best, I was roaming most of the time on CENT USA network, one of my friends had an ATT iPhone, and was able to get 3G coverage in some places, but otherwise EDGE was always there.
[Vibrant General] jonathan75:
I am referring to his eBay purchase.
[Vibrant General] reuthermonkey:
Well lookie here.

On the phone's management screen, you can actually enable the 850mhz band also. This also confirms what UMTSbands are included on the device.

850

1700

1900

2100

That's in addition to the normal quadband GSM that's already available.

First pic is before I enabled 850, second pic is after that.

Based on this thread in the I9000/GalaxyS forum.

How to do it:

1. on the key pad, type *#*#197328640#*#*

2. Select [1] Debug Screen

3. Select [8] Phone control

4. Select [7] Network control

5. Select [2] Network Selection

6. Select [4] Combi Bands []

7. Select [8] WCDMA 850 (FDD V)[]

8. Press Menu Button; Select "Back" to take you to band selection screen.

9. Select [2] WCDMA band []

Make sure that all 4 bands (2100/1900/1700/850) show *
[Vibrant General] SugarMouth:
CHA CHING!!!
[Vibrant General] lqaddict:
I love this phone more and more everyday :) and I appreciate the hacker community effort :D
[Vibrant General] Yogi76:
Does this mean I could've gotten an internation Galaxy S I9000 with the front facing camera and flash and used it on T-Mobile with full 3G? I payed the full $500 for the Vibrant anyway since I'm on Even More Plus, and it looks like the I9000 goes for about $600 unlocked on eBay.
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
You can't enable the 850 band, that's why it's not automatically selected by default. The phone didn't pass the FCC with 850MHz 3G folks, it's impossible.

Menu Not Exist because It Not Have 850 3G. If you do manage to select it, the phone will go dead because - there is no 850 3G support.
[Vibrant General] lucent6408d:
Help with my galaxy i9000

hi, i gotta a question and hopefully someone can help me. i bought a samsung i9000 unlocked from the web and its working fine with T-mobile, however I m not able to use their 3G because of diferent frequencies. is there a way to fixed that either with flashing or anything at all? I wanted the galaxy with the front facing camera in it but now since the camera requires 3G i still can not use it. even if im conecting wireless when i try to make a call it checks for the prtovider and since its on EDGE and not 3G it gives me a message saying that Im out of the 3G coverage area and that I can go ahead and make a voice call instead.
[Vibrant General] reuthermonkey:
No. The international version does*not* seem to have the 1700 band.

It looks like there are two radios (or rather, 1 radio with two configurations):

850/900/1900/2100 (I9000 and Captivate)

850/1700/1900/2100 (Vibrant)
[Vibrant General] bigjm23:
To be honest I am getting a little confused here. The one thing I am now certain of since going trough this thread is that the vibrant at the moment can be unlocked unlike the captivate which is the one that I really wanted (Jamaican 3g bands are 850).

What I want to know is if any of the variants of the galaxy S (Vibrant or I9000) will work on the 850 band with a little setting manipulation?
[Vibrant General] cparekh:
I get a different outcome. I was able to check the box on the phone. I don't know if it actually did anything, but my phone has not gone dead.
[Vibrant General] reuthermonkey:
And yet my second photo shows it enabled. You can enable it. The firmware just disables it out of the box.

If you went to the combi bands screen, you would see all bands enabled (including 850).

Same screen, this time with screenshots directly from device:

All of the GalaxyS phones have the capability to support 850mhz. I don't have an unlocked phone OR an ATT SIM so I can't exactly test it though...
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
It doesn't work, if you select 850 you won't get an emergency only signal like you would on 1900 W-CDMA. It's really not that hard to understand, the phone doesn't have bands it was NOT approved for.