Verizon Band 4 Update

[srmccoy]

So, after following the threads on the apparent lack of Band 4 on the unlocked model with Verizon I reached out on Twitter to several HTC employees and was directed to their support forum. I know support is fairly hit-or-miss so take this with a grain of salt. The rep I spoke with actually consulted with one of the supervisors and this was the answer I received:

"I was providing them with all of the information and they told me that the Band that Verizon enable for this phone is the B13, so that's why the phone will work only with that band. As this is a GSM phone and Verizon is a CDMA network provider, that was the agreement between Verizon and HTC."

I asked a follow up question about it and got this:

"That's correct, Sean. I asked them if they know about the other bands, but they told me that is not up to them now because that was the information that they received from Verizon, that just the B13 was enabled for the U11."

I took Screenshots if needed, but that's not a great message for those of us on Verizon. It could be all nonsense, but they actually went as far to discourage the idea of Band 4 vs. just saying some generic canned response.

 

[cmurgia]

If this is true, that is BS. HTC advertised the U11 as "certified" for use with Verizon and listed all the bands they use. Now they updated their advertising to show only band 13, well after a ton of people ordered the phone and started complaining. I'm lucky to get 3 mbps up and down on band 13.

I'm a huge HTC fan and think this phone is great, but this is bait and switch no matter how you look at it. I call SHENANIGANS on HTC!!! This needs to be blasted all over the web and social media.

 

[Hyperspace13]

If this is true, that is BS. HTC advertised the U11 as "certified" for use with Verizon and listed all the bands they use. Now they updated their advertising to show only band 13, well after a ton of people ordered the phone and started complaining. I'm lucky to get 3 mbps up and down on band 13.

I'm a huge HTC fan and think this phone is great, but this is bait and switch no matter how you look at it. I call SHENANIGANS on HTC!!! This needs to be blasted all over the web and social media.

It was never advertised as certified. It was advertised as compatible.

 

[srmccoy]

It was never advertised as certified. It was advertised as compatible.

For a short time at launch Band 4 was specifically listed under the Verizon information on HTC's website. That's the problem most of us have that purchased it while that was listed. Once people started complaining they changed it to say "LTE Compatible" or something.

Edit: It was also advertised as certified by Verizon. Read here: https://www.androidcentral.com/us-u...-support-verizons-cdma-network-and-thats-okay

Both band support AND the Verizon certification were referenced, despite being missing now.

Edit to the edit: Actually, now they're specifically saying Band 13 only: https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...Fus%2Fgo%2Fhtc-u11-unlocked%2F&token=xhORvV6v

 

[sangs]

It most certainly was advertised as certified. Not sure where you got that other "compatible" information from Hyperspace.

 

[Hyperspace13]

For a short time at launch Band 4 was specifically listed under the Verizon information on HTC's website. That's the problem most of us have that purchased it while that was listed. Once people started complaining they changed it to say "LTE Compatible" or something.

Edit: It was also advertised as certified by Verizon. Read here: https://www.androidcentral.com/us-u...-support-verizons-cdma-network-and-thats-okay

Both band support AND the Verizon certification were referenced, despite being missing now.

Edit to the edit: Actually, now they're specifically saying Band 13 only: Meet the GSM Unlocked HTC U11 | HTC United States

People not connected to HTC said it was certified. I have no idea where they got that idea. HTC's site never said that.

 

[srmccoy]

People not connected to HTC said it was certified. I have no idea where they got that idea. HTC's site never said that.

An HTC Global PR rep actually stated exactly this here.

Or here in a FAQ

 

[Hyperspace13]

An HTC Global PR rep actually stated exactly this here.

Or here in a FAQ

I guess the question now is who certified it. It certainly wasn't Verizon.

 

[sangs]

I guess the question now is who certified it. It certainly wasn't Verizon.

Oh it definitely wasn't Verizon. This was a complete HTC scam, perpetrated so it could corral Verizon users and hope they didn't notice the shortcomings until it was too late. Will likely be my last venture with HTC because of it.

 

[Habiib]

So here's my question, is this a case of the U11's modem not supporting band 4 all along or did HTC fubar something to not get it working properly on Verizon's band 4?

 

[cmurgia]

So here's my question, is this a case of the U11's modem not supporting band 4 all along or did HTC fubar something to not get it working properly on Verizon's band 4?

My feeling, supported by nothing but my own intuition, is that the phone fully supports all of Verizon's bands and that Verizon is locking us to band 13. Reason is that band 13 is 700mhz which has far better range and coverage as well as building penetration, and it's to make up for not having CDMA.

That leads to the next question. Many have claimed that the phone in fact has a CDMA radio, that it is the exact same phone as the Sprint model, and that the radio is just disabled.

Regardless, HTC misrepresented the phone initially.

 

[BigDinCA]

So here's my question, is this a case of the U11's modem not supporting band 4 all along or did HTC fubar something to not get it working properly on Verizon's band 4?

Come on now... Band 4 support is inherent in the U11. If you had to guess which of the two entities involved is crippling the U11 on Verizon's network, who would you guess? My money (every red cent of it) is on Verizon. They are not a GSM network so they're not in the habit of allowing any device that operates in their frequencies to access the network. Just because LTE is a GSM technology doesn't mean that LTE networks necessarily operate under the same protocols as GSM Networks. I'm honestly surprised they haven't restricted access to the network completely.

The phone supports carrier aggregation and VoLTE and WiFi calling. What are they supposed to do if a carrier restricts that access for a device? Every part of it works flawlessly on T-Mobile's network for me. And coincidentally, I've been all over the country for work and personal trips in the month I've had the phone. No issues at all (save for areas where T-Mobile has bad coverage). Sprint folks I know that have it have no issues with any of these features either.

 

[MDMcAtee]

Come on now... Band 4 support is inherent in the U11. If you had to guess which of the two entities involved is crippling the U11 on Verizon's network, who would you guess? My money (every red cent of it) is on Verizon. They are not a GSM network so they're not in the habit of allowing any device that operates in their frequencies to access the network. Just because LTE is a GSM technology doesn't mean that LTE networks necessarily operate under the same protocols as GSM Networks. I'm honestly surprised they haven't restricted access to the network completely.

The phone supports carrier aggregation and VoLTE and WiFi calling. What are they supposed to do if a carrier restricts that access for a device? Every part of it works flawlessly on T-Mobile's network for me. And coincidentally, I've been all over the country for work and personal trips in the month I've had the phone. No issues at all (save for areas where T-Mobile has bad coverage). Sprint folks I know that have it have no issues with any of these features either.

This is true, I have absolutely no issues with mine on Sprint. If anyone is to blame, that blame rest squarely on Verizon not HTC.

Mac

 

[Hyperspace13]

Oh it definitely wasn't Verizon. This was a complete HTC scam, perpetrated so it could corral Verizon users and hope they didn't notice the shortcomings until it was too late. Will likely be my last venture with HTC because of it.

I don't know if this will be my last HTC but it will be the last one I pre-order. For now on I will wait until users confirm all the Verizon bands work.

Saying it was certified was deceiving and listing carrier versions was deceiving. I bought the Verizon version because I thought it would work with all the bands and have Verizon apps that worked with Verizon.

I'll keep using this phone until the Essential Phone or Pixel 2 comes out.

 

[Stevenmc8602]

I don't know if this will be my last HTC but it will be the last one I pre-order. For now on I will wait until users confirm all the Verizon bands work.

Saying it was certified was deceiving and listing carrier versions was deceiving. I bought the Verizon version because I thought it would work with all the bands and have Verizon apps that worked with Verizon.

I'll keep using this phone until the Essential Phone or Pixel 2 comes out.

There isn't a Verizon version just unlocked and Sprint

 

[Hyperspace13]

There isn't a Verizon version just unlocked and Sprint

Yes I know that. Like I said they made it deceiving listing carrier versions. That led me to believe it was different than the Unlocked version.

 

[sangs]

There isn't a Verizon version just unlocked and Sprint

When they were for pre-sale, the HTC web site store offered a "Verizon" version listed alongside "Sprint" and "Unlocked."

 

[Hyperspace13]

When they were for pre-sale, the HTC web site store offered a "Verizon" version listed alongside "Sprint" and "Unlocked."

They still do show AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Unlocked. If you order a S8 from Samsung and click on the Verizon version, they don't send you a Unlocked version.

 

[sangs]

They still do show AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Unlocked. If you order a S8 from Samsung and click on the Verizon version, they don't send you a Unlocked version.

Exactly. And when you purchase a Verizon version from Samsung, you expect it to actually work with Verizon, correct? Yet when you buy a Verizon version from HTC, it does not.

 

[Premium1]

That is why I held off buying. Knew they would do something like this.