QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T?

[MultiMatt]

QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T?

Hi,
Ever since owning a mobile phone, I have been on either Sprint, or now, Verizon, so I have a noob question about GSM in general.

I want to purchase a Note 2 outright, and then have the option to use either T-Mobile or AT&T on a month-to-month basis. I live in Louisville, KY and hear mixed reviews of either carrier's coverage here, so I want to have that freedom to switch and test out each.

On eBay, I see phones with specs listed below. Can someone please confirm whether this would work on either carrier? I see it says LTE in the title, and curious if that means it would work on AT&T's new LTE which just turned on here in Louisville. Thanks in advance!

SPECS:
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 ll LTE N7105-16gb-White(Factory Unlocked /WorldWide Ready)
Features: 3G Data Capable, 4G Data Capable
Carrier: Unlocked
Cellular Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900
MPN: N1705

 

[blitz118]

Re: QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T

The LTE will not work on at&t network.

 

[lostchild]

Re: QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T

I don't think N7105 has LTE. I think it only has HSPA+. It should work on both AT&T and Tmobile though, just no LTE. You could get an AT&T one and unlock it yourself following the instructions on one of the thread:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-galaxy-note-2/230303-unlock-your-att-galaxy-note-2-free.html

I don't know how much does AT&T sell the Note II without contract though.

 

[MultiMatt]

Re: QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T

Thanks for the info!
An additional follow-up question: if I were to get the AT&T version and unlock it, will it have T-Mo 3G bands too?

Thanks!

 

[raziel]

Re: QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T

You are better off getting the AT&T version and loading the international ROM to have LTE with ATT. And yes it will work with with T-mobile 3G. Unlocking the phone following that guide is super easy and takes less than 5 minutes

 

[MultiMatt]

Re: QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T

You are better off getting the AT&T version and loading the international ROM to have LTE with ATT

Ahh, therein lies a kicker for me. Part of the reason I am making the switch is that Verizon wants to screw me for $15/extra per month for the "luxury" of having access to Good For Enterprise (to see my work email). An an additional kicker: to use Good, your phone can't be rooted...! UGH...

Hence, I will be stuck with the ROM that is on there.

Curious if perhaps I'd rather just go with the International version in the first place, and not have AT&T's LTE. The bright side would be I wouldn't have any AT&T bloatware!
For an International version, do updates just come from Samsung??

 

[raziel]

Re:QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T?

Yes international version comes straight from Samsung. But why wait even for them? There is so much developer support. I have the international rom for att which is the same thing with lte without the bloat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MultiMatt]

Re: QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T

I've been a "Root and ROM" person ever since my first Android device years ago, but in this instance, I've got to stay un-rooted if I wish to have Good on my phone... :'(

 

[MrVivekB]

Re:QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T?

Is that a Good limitation or your company's?

I have Good, and was contemplating your exact scenario.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[MultiMatt]

Re: QUESTION buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T?

Unfortunately it's a Good limitation. If you're rooted, it will detect it and notify your IT Dept!

I even tried un-rooting my phone, but residual files still reported my phone as rooted...

Then I found out about the additional $15/mo charge, and it was all over for me. They don't charge that for iPhone on VZW, just Android. And they are they ONLY carrier to pull that crap...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[MrVivekB]

Re:QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T?

Ugh. Thanks for the tip.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[stulloyd1512]

Re: QUESTION about buying an unlocked International Note 2 - will it work on EITHER T-Mobile or AT&T

I have the N1705 international version in the UK with EE and it has LTE. The problem for me is that without rooting it, all other Note versions seem to be upgrading to $.1.2 but I cannot find anymore that will let me do that without rooting. Any ideas?