Does the lack of LTE Bands on the Moto X Pure Edition bother you?

rusty136

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Motorola updated the specs listing to show more detailed info. The Pure Edition (XT1095) has LTE bands 02, 04, and 17. The ATT version (XT1097) has LTE bands 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, and 17. Would the lack of the additional bands in the Pure Edition crimp its capability in any serious way if used with the ATT network ?
 

jbern8

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Band 3 1800mhz and band 7 2600mhz are very common international bands, (the rest of the world besides the USA). 5 I believe is a future at&t band (850 MHz)

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BiggAW

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

I just noticed this and came over here to figure out what is going on. In order to have full LTE coverage on AT&T's network you MUST have B2/4/5/17. Most urban areas are some combination of 2/4/17, with older 4/17 devices working just fine, with B2 added for capacity (Manhattan is B2/B17, and B4/17 devices get stuck on the overcrowded B17). However, some rural areas like Burlington, Vermont, and Northwest Lower Michigan are B5 ONLY. I found this out the hard way with several B4/17 devices that were stuck on HSPA+ this past summer in Northwest Lower.

Any device that doesn't support ALL FOUR bands does not fully support AT&T's network, and thus will have PARTIAL LTE coverage on AT&T, and will be stuck on HSPA+ in areas that are B5-only.

Unfortunately, this looks to be accurate information based on Motorola's website, even though it looks like some sort of sick joke to tease AT&T subs with a Pure Edition, and then bury a big "F-YOU" in the details. What makes ZERO sense is why the XT1095 even exists, it should just BE the XT1097. Somebody over at Motorola screwed up bigtime on this one.

If correct, this MASSIVE blunder on Motorola's part makes the Moto X look less attractive to me, since I would be forced to endure AT&T bloat and get them to unlock the device.

This should work for AT&T LTE without an issue.

It will work fine, but with coverage only in areas with B2, B4, or B17.
 

cgardnervt

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

I just noticed this and came over here to figure out what is going on. In order to have full LTE coverage on AT&T's network you MUST have B2/4/5/17. Most urban areas are some combination of 2/4/17, with older 4/17 devices working just fine, with B2 added for capacity (Manhattan is B2/B17, and B4/17 devices get stuck on the overcrowded B17). However, some rural areas like Burlington, Vermont, and Northwest Lower Michigan are B5 ONLY. I found this out the hard way with several B4/17 devices that were stuck on HSPA+ this past summer in Northwest Lower.

Any device that doesn't support ALL FOUR bands does not fully support AT&T's network, and thus will have PARTIAL LTE coverage on AT&T, and will be stuck on HSPA+ in areas that are B5-only.

Unfortunately, this looks to be accurate information based on Motorola's website, even though it looks like some sort of sick joke to tease AT&T subs with a Pure Edition, and then bury a big "F-YOU" in the details. What makes ZERO sense is why the XT1095 even exists, it should just BE the XT1097. Somebody over at Motorola screwed up bigtime on this one.

If correct, this MASSIVE blunder on Motorola's part makes the Moto X look less attractive to me, since I would be forced to endure AT&T bloat and get them to unlock the device.



It will work fine, but with coverage only in areas with B2, B4, or B17.

Where do you find out what band is being used in your area for att LTE?
 

rusty136

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

BiggAW - Thanks for the additional info. It does seem like Motorola should have offered more LTE bands with the Pure Edition, but as a practical matter, I think I can live with the lack of band 5. I doubt if there are too many places that are exclusively on band 5. Also, HSPA+ is pretty darn good in most areas these days, with the shift of load to LTE.
 

jbern8

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Something doesn't add up.

There are four moto x's registered with the FCC

Idht56qa1 LTE bands 2/4/5/7/17 - at&t
Idht56qa2 lte bands 2/4/7/13 - Verizon
Idht56qa3 lte bands 2/4/5/7/12/17/25/26/41
Idht56qa4 LTE band 7 Europe

Which is the pure edition? Is the radio intentionally locked down?

EDIT: idht56qa3 might not include band 7.

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BiggAW

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

Where do you find out what band is being used in your area for att LTE?

You can go on Hofo and read threads with reports, you can go on the FCC Spectrum Dashboard and guess based on AT&T Mobility's spectrum holdings (although it's not always right, they have B4 in Northwest Lower that's not deployed, they are running B5-only), or you can use an app on your phone that shows you the band, but it only shows you what you're using, not what's available. The phones, in theory, will usually park on the higher frequency bands available, and drop to the lower frequency when the signal gets weaker, but that's theory, and practice doesn't always work out that way.

BiggAW - Thanks for the additional info. It does seem like Motorola should have offered more LTE bands with the Pure Edition, but as a practical matter, I think I can live with the lack of band 5. I doubt if there are too many places that are exclusively on band 5. Also, HSPA+ is pretty darn good in most areas these days, with the shift of load to LTE.

It depends on where you want to go. I also have a problem with them selling a phone that doesn't fully support AT&T's network when they obviously are able to make one that does.

Something doesn't add up.

There are four moto x's registered with the FCC

Idht56qa1 LTE bands 2/4/5/7/17 - at&t
Idht56qa2 lte bands 2/4/7/13 - Verizon
Idht56qa3 lte bands 2/4/5/7/12/17/25/26/41
Idht56qa4 LTE band 7 Europe

Which is the pure edition? Is the radio intentionally locked down?

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Agreed. Something stinks here. I get that the Verizon one has to be different to support B13. However, it seems like the rest of them should be the same phone. And the pure edition most certainly should have the same band support as the AT&T version, since AT&T is actively using all of those bands (3 and 7 through global roaming packages, 2/4/5/17 domestically).

EDIT: If there's a Sprint version, it may have to be different than the global one, not sure how the 2600 bands line up. The third one on that list, the qa3, smells like a Sprint phone, as it (at a quick glance) appears to have the same additional bands as the Nexus 5 to line up with Sprint's PCS G block and 2600mhz spectrum.
 

jbern8

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

EDIT: If there's a Sprint version, it may have to be different than the global one, not sure how the 2600 bands line up. The third one on that list, the qa3, smells like a Sprint phone, as it (at a quick glance) appears to have the same additional bands as the Nexus 5 to line up with Sprint's PCS G block and 2600mhz spectrum.

25/26/41 are sprint bands. 12 is a t mobile band. qa3 looks like an all in one phone, there is an unusually large amount of carriers that it'll work on, lending to the possibility that it's the pure edition. Don't forget that pure edition was advertised to work on well T-Mobile, from what they are listing now (2/4/17) its nothing special. Can help but wonder if pressure from at&t is what got the pure edition locked down.

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cgardnervt

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

You can go on Hofo and read threads with reports, you can go on the FCC Spectrum Dashboard and guess based on AT&T Mobility's spectrum holdings (although it's not always right, they have B4 in Northwest Lower that's not deployed, they are running B5-only), or you can use an app on your phone that shows you the band, but it only shows you what you're using, not what's available. The phones, in theory, will usually park on the higher frequency bands available, and drop to the lower frequency when the signal gets weaker, but that's theory, and practice doesn't always work out that way.



It depends on where you want to go. I also have a problem with them selling a phone that doesn't fully support AT&T's network when they obviously are able to make one that does.



Agreed. Something stinks here. I get that the Verizon one has to be different to support B13. However, it seems like the rest of them should be the same phone. And the pure edition most certainly should have the same band support as the AT&T version, since AT&T is actively using all of those bands (3 and 7 through global roaming packages, 2/4/5/17 domestically).

EDIT: If there's a Sprint version, it may have to be different than the global one, not sure how the 2600 bands line up. The third one on that list, the qa3, smells like a Sprint phone, as it (at a quick glance) appears to have the same additional bands as the Nexus 5 to line up with Sprint's PCS G block and 2600mhz spectrum.

What app are you talking about? Thanks for the information!

Sent From My Nexus 7
 

BiggAW

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

25/26/41 are sprint bands. 12 is a t mobile band. qa3 looks like an all in one phone, there is an unusually large amount of carriers that it'll work on, lending to the possibility that it's the pure edition. Don't forget that pure edition was advertised to work on well T-Mobile, from what they are listing now (2/4/17) its nothing special. Can help but wonder if pressure from at&t is what got the pure edition locked down.

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Good point, I forgot about T-Mobile's Lower A block/ Band 12. I still have that hardwired in my head as USCC, although B12 is a superset of B17, so a B12 phone would work on AT&T's B17 as well... Yeah, it's interesting that they don't have B12 listed for T-Mo. None of those list B3, which the AT&T model, the XT1097, supposedly has. And B12 is a really easy step from B17... Something smells here.

So the qa3 has to be Sprint, if they switched B17 to B12 and added B3, it would be a universal except Verizon model. None of those list B3, which is curious, since the XT1097 supposedly has B3. The qa4 makes no sense, since the qa1 would serve the same purpose. Yeah, there is a lot that smells here...

On a side note, it's interesting that the Verizon one is getting B2 LTE. A quick glance at Verizon's website seems to show that is just a random thing, as the S5, Note 4, and One M8 are all listed as 13/4 only. Or, could it be that Verizon is planning to use PCS spectrum for xLTE in addition to their AWS?
 

jbern8

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

None of those list B3, which is curious, since the XT1097 supposedly has B3.

B3 won't be listed in FCC docs, it's not a frequency they certify because it's not used at all in USA. I believe phones in the us must deactivate lte band 3 in the us. 7 on the other hand, is used in Canada, so the FCC allows a radio to broadcast band 7, and they make sure its in compliance.

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BiggAW

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

B3 won't be listed in FCC docs, it's not a frequency they certify because it's not used at all in USA. I believe phones in the us must deactivate lte band 3 in the us. 7 on the other hand, is used in Canada, so the FCC allows a radio to broadcast band 7, and they make sure its in compliance.

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That makes a lot more sense. With Canada using it, it would easily be operating on that band in the US within a few miles of the border with a Canadian SIM...
 

weksa

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

Glad this thread exists. I'm a noob when it comes to bands, but I could tell at the minimum that the pure edition doesn't support all AT&T LTE bands. There isn't too much bloat on my 2013 AT&T X , but I don't want their logo on the back.
 

BiggAW

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

Glad this thread exists. I'm a noob when it comes to bands, but I could tell at the minimum that the pure edition doesn't support all AT&T LTE bands. There isn't too much bloat on my 2013 AT&T X , but I don't want their logo on the back.

How much storage does the AT&T bloat eat up on the 2013 Moto X? That's really the only negative affect. You can just ignore the apps, and the logo ends up buried under the case anyways...
 

cgardnervt

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

How much storage does the AT&T bloat eat up on the 2013 Moto X? That's really the only negative affect. You can just ignore the apps, and the logo ends up buried under the case anyways...

Well for starters they only have a 16gig model that I know of.

Sent From My Nexus 7
 

jbern8

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Re: Moto X Pure Edition - LTE Bands

How much storage does the AT&T bloat eat up on the 2013 Moto X? That's really the only negative affect. You can just ignore the apps, and the logo ends up buried under the case anyways...

http://www.androidcentral.com/eight-reasons-buy-moto-x-pure-edition

Looks like its about 30mb plus what I'm guessing is the myatt app, another 25mb.

The primary advanced of the pure edition is updates direct from Motorola,no need to wait 2 months for at&t to certify it. Also the boot loader likely is unlockable, and has a higher resale value.

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cgardnervt

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So it's looking like Burlington VT will not have lte with this device. Sad in a way. Heh. Providing the information is true.

Sent From My Nexus 7