4G speed of international unlocked Galaxy S7

[ChadGW]

I purchased an international unlocked version of the Galaxy S7 from Amazon.com (930F). It came from Vodafone Italy. I also have an AT&T equivalent (930A).

One thing I noticed off the bat was that the 930F only showed 4G in its status bar and the network settings don't have the LTE designation. Based on what I've read, this is fine because internationally, LTE isn't a term and 4G is the equivalent.

Today I did a little test however on both phones and I was shocked. My 930A got around 45ms ping, 55Mb/sec down and 14Mb/sec up while the 930F (confirmed on the same tower) got 123ms ping, 24Mb/sec down and only 4Mb/sec up.

Can someone please explain this. This makes me believe I really am not getting LTE speeds.

I overall prefer the 930F because I can root it, and I also have noticed better battery life.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Does it say "4G" on the status bar?

I'd assume the 930A has some stuff to better optimize it for AT&T's network, but since the 930F seems to support Bands 2, 4 and 17, in theory, it should work in a similar fashion.

However, if the 930A is on LTE Band 30, then it could potentially explain why, because the 930A has support for 2, 4, 17 and 30 while the 930F supports 2, 4 and 17, but not 30.

 

[ChadGW]

Does it say "4G" on the status bar?

I'd assume the 930A has some stuff to better optimize it for AT&T's network, but since the 930F seems to support Bands 2, 4 and 17, in theory, it should work in a similar fashion.

However, if the 930A is on LTE Band 30, then it could potentially explain why, because the 930A has support for 2, 4, 17 and 30 while the 930F supports 2, 4 and 17, but not 30.

OK. I just checked again. The 930F does say 4G and according to SignalCheck Lite, it connects to band 2 however the 930A is connecting to a closer tower at band 17. When I click on that tower in OpenSignal, it says Out Of Range. I'm not sure what that means considering it is closer than the one it is connected to.

 

[jakeuten]

Take a screenshot of the screen shown while dialing *#0011# on both phones and post it here and I can tell you exactly what's going on.

 

[ChadGW]

My 930f reports Connection problem or invalid MMI code.

 

[jakeuten]

Huh. That's odd. It should show something like this.

AT&T Galaxy S7 Onyx Black with Unlimited Data

 

[ChadGW]

I tried dialing the same "*#0011#" on my 930A and I got the same error message.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

OK. I just checked again. The 930F does say 4G and according to SignalCheck Lite, it connects to band 2 however the 930A is connecting to a closer tower at band 17. When I click on that tower in OpenSignal, it says Out Of Range. I'm not sure what that means considering it is closer than the one it is connected to.

Hmmmm, I'm guessing that either the tower favors devices that are better-optimized for AT&T's network or some mumbo-jumbo in the carrier-branded phones that kinda makes them perform better on a particular network than other non-carrier-branded devices that works on those networks.

I'm just speculating right now, though you might need to do some more testing so I can come to a more accurate theory.

 

[Wizzy]

If you want to see the actual type of network you're connected to, just go into settings, about device, status, sim card status.

Posted via the Android Central App from my S7 edge

 

[ChadGW]

Wizzy, It always says 4G but I figured that's because my 930f doesn't understand the LTE term. Am I incorrect?

Could it also be my firmware didn't know how to connect at a better network speed?

 

[ChadGW]

I finally figured out how to get the special diagnostic screen. Apparently you have to type the code instead of copy and paste it. Attached is the screen from my 930f. Do you need to see the 930a one?

- Chad

 

[ChadGW]

Ok. Here are the screens from the *#0011# command. I'm not sure why the 930a shows more info.
View attachment 228880 = 930f
= 930a

- Chad

 

[ChadGW]

Also, if it helps, this is what I am running on my 930f. I definitely appreciate all the help from everyone.

- Chad

 

[Wizzy]

Wizzy, It always says 4G but I figured that's because my 930f doesn't understand the LTE term. Am I incorrect?

Could it also be my firmware didn't know how to connect at a better network speed?

Yes, all of the phones I've imported, including the S7 edge, have used the 4G term for LTE. It appears that you're on LTE(check the settings page as well), but like D13 said, the AT&T phone is probably optimized for their network. On the plus side, I much prefer the Exynos processor and no bloatware, so it's a good trade-off for me.

 

[ChadGW]

Is anyone else on AT&T with a 930f?I'm curious what speeds others are getting. It's like half the speed consistently compared to my 930a, although still not slow.

- Chad

 

[jakeuten]

Ok. Here are the screens from the *#0011# command. I'm not sure why the 930a shows more info.
View attachment 228880 = 930f
View attachment 228881 = 930a

- Chad

You're getting double the bandwidth, so double the speeds on the 930A. There's your answer. Look up the term "Carrier Aggregation" for more information.

AT&T Galaxy S7 Onyx Black with Unlimited Data

 

[ChadGW]

Interesting. I didn't realize that existed. So it that another limitation of a non carrier branded phone? I haven't seen that in the list of differences between the 930a and 930f.

 

[jakeuten]

Interesting. I didn't realize that existed. So it that another limitation of a non carrier branded phone? I haven't seen that in the list of differences between the 930a and 930f.

Yes, it definitely is. Just like your 930A supports VoLTE and your 930F doesn't.

AT&T Galaxy S7 Onyx Black with Unlimited Data

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

You're getting double the bandwidth, so double the speeds on the 930A. There's your answer. Look up the term "Carrier Aggregation" for more information.

AT&T Galaxy S7 Onyx Black with Unlimited Data

That's it. Carrier aggregation!

 

[ChadGW]

Why is there no way to fool the 930f into supporting these features?