Harmon Kardon in the UK

[Alex_NJ]

Hi guys,

I'm considering purchasing an HTC One M8 GSM Worldwide Harmon Kardon edition from eBay.

Does anyone know if there will be any problems using this device in the UK?

Alex

 

[whitelunchbag]

There is no such thing as a worldwide edition HK M8.

It's sprint (US) only

My M8 posted this

 

[Alex_NJ]

There is no such thing as a worldwide edition HK M8.

It's sprint (US) only

My M8 posted this

Thanks, so the HK M8 is unlikely going to work in the UK?

The phone is coming from Greece

Network Technology GSM, HSDPA, LTE

 

[cwise222]

Thanks, so the HK M8 is unlikely going to work in the UK?

The phone is coming from Greece

Network Technology GSM, HSDPA, LTE

It's....debatable wither or not it would work. It's a sub variant made for one carrier and one carrier only (Sprint), and Sprint uses CDMA so no idea if any UK carriers use CDMA. It has GSM in there, likely for international travel, but it's not designed to run on that only as Sprint has to set it up in their system for international calling on a Sprint account. At least they did when I worked there. The GSM bands in it are GSM 850/900/1800/1900. The 1900 is the Sprint LTE band; though I know 900 & 1800 are the normal non-US GSM bands.

At the very least it would have to be unlocked and possible even rooted. Even then I doubt it would pick up an LTE signal and likely not even any sort of 3G signal. I'd lean more towards it not working since it's a M8 offshoot model used by a signal US carrier and the radios just aren't designed for non-sprint use, though I admittedly don't know to much about what radio bands the UK carriers use.

 

[Alex_NJ]

I want to disagree with you, but I don't know enough to disagree

I'd just like to think that HTC didn't change the network internals enough for it to be too different to a regular M8

 

[dty06]

I want to disagree with you, but I don't know enough to disagree

I'd just like to think that HTC didn't change the network internals enough for it to be too different to a regular M8

It's not that it's different from a "regular" M8 at all - it's virtually identical, in fact. As far as I know, the HK edition is only really different in software, not hardware. It's that Sprint uses one form of technology to carry their signal and other carriers use another technology. Even with the same technology, there's different bands that carry the signals, and to get the best coverage, your device needs to be able to pick up each band. So the internal radio receivers really need to match your carrier's specifications.

 

[cwise222]

It's not that it's different from a "regular" M8 at all - it's virtually identical, in fact. As far as I know, the HK edition is only really different in software, not hardware. It's that Sprint uses one form of technology to carry their signal and other carriers use another technology. Even with the same technology, there's different bands that carry the signals, and to get the best coverage, your device needs to be able to pick up each band. So the internal radio receivers really need to match your carrier's specifications.

Pretty much this. Plus the HK M8 is a CDMA phone, so it's not quite like swapping out a sim card and calling it a day since CDMA does not use sim cards. When I worked for Sprint we were flat out told that yes, the phones could be unlocked but there was little chance they'd work correctly on a GSM carrier, if that carrier could even load the phone into their system, due to the software. The phone software basically only uses the sim card to pick up the 1900 LTE band sprint uses in the US unless it's on a sprint account and unlocked for international use on a Sprint international 'plan'. Even then it isn't the best experience.

In theory you can root it and start trying to flash stuff onto the phone to make it work; but I know pretty much zip about that since I've never rooted any of my phones.

 

[Alex_NJ]

Thanks for the advice guys, I did some research on XDA and as you all suggested, with some complicated rooting and flashing you could get it to work, but every update will be another problem.

I've decided against it and going to find myself a second hand M8 as I'm disappointed with this years flagships

 

[dty06]

Thanks for the advice guys, I did some research on XDA and as you all suggested, with some complicated rooting and flashing you could get it to work, but every update will be another problem.

I've decided against it and going to find myself a second hand M8 as I'm disappointed with this years flagships

My recommendation, if you really want the HK edition, is to simply go S-OFF and flash a custom ROM. I'm running ViperOne, which is a great Lollipop ROM, and also includes the ability to use the HK software. I'd suggest getting a phone that works on your carrier and then look into installing a ROM that supports the HK mod.

Also, CDMA phones use SIM cards these days. I have one for my M8 on VZW, though I *think* that's for the LTE.

 

[Alex_NJ]

My recommendation, if you really want the HK edition, is to simply go S-OFF and flash a custom ROM. I'm running ViperOne, which is a great Lollipop ROM, and also includes the ability to use the HK software. I'd suggest getting a phone that works on your carrier and then look into installing a ROM that supports the HK mod.

Also, CDMA phones use SIM cards these days. I have one for my M8 on VZW, though I *think* that's for the LTE.

Aaah you've come to me at the right time. I could do with some ROM help

I only wanted the HK edition for the colour to be honest.

I have now purchased an M8 and I am researching ROMs.

I a complete noob and just getting the hang of the lingo. I'm researching the SkyDragon ROM at the moment, I'd like a ROM which best maximizes battery life.

Any recommendations?

 

[dty06]

Aaah you've come to me at the right time. I could do with some ROM help

I only wanted the HK edition for the colour to be honest.

I have now purchased an M8 and I am researching ROMs.

I a complete noob and just getting the hang of the lingo. I'm researching the SkyDragon ROM at the moment, I'd like a ROM which best maximizes battery life.

Any recommendations?

Personally, I use ViperOne.

[ROM] ViperOneM8 4.3.0 • Tweaks, HUB, IconPa… | HTC One (M8) | XDA Forums

It works exceedingly well. I've been using ViperOne on and off since October. I switched to some Lollipop ROMs before Viper released their Lollipop ROM but came back to ViperOne. The battery life is fantastic. I never let my battery go below 50%, and I've never had to charge it during the day to keep it above 50% during a full day. I'm away from home for 15 hours and without any power saving turned on or anything else, I've been able to go a 15 hour day without charging and have over 50% left.

If you're buying a used device, especially one without a warranty, and you'd like to play with custom ROMs, I highly recommend using Sunshine to go S-OFF. It *does* cost $25, but the process works and it works fast. It will unlock your device to allow you full control of everything. After that, you just install a custom recovery (TWRP (TeamWin Recovery Project) works very well and I use it myself) which allows you to go install the ROMs.

ROMs typically come as a .zip file, which you just put on the SD card (I don't recommend using internal storage) and install from recovery. The process is quick. From full-wipe to setting up Android could be 10-15 minutes, and the longest part is just Android getting ready for your apps. From there you set up the device as normal and you're done.

I like the ROMs that are based on HTC software more than ones that are based on the Google Play Edition (GPE). In my experience, the HTC/Sense-based ROMs have better battery life. The CyanogenMod ROM and all ROMs based on it are GPE as far as I know, so I personally don't like them but you should find one that you like. Maybe try a few different ones for a while and see what you like best.

 

[Alex_NJ]

Personally, I use ViperOne.

[ROM] ViperOneM8 4.3.0 • Tweaks, HUB, IconPa… | HTC One (M8) | XDA Forums

It works exceedingly well. I've been using ViperOne on and off since October. I switched to some Lollipop ROMs before Viper released their Lollipop ROM but came back to ViperOne. The battery life is fantastic. I never let my battery go below 50%, and I've never had to charge it during the day to keep it above 50% during a full day. I'm away from home for 15 hours and without any power saving turned on or anything else, I've been able to go a 15 hour day without charging and have over 50% left.

If you're buying a used device, especially one without a warranty, and you'd like to play with custom ROMs, I highly recommend using Sunshine to go S-OFF. It *does* cost $25, but the process works and it works fast. It will unlock your device to allow you full control of everything. After that, you just install a custom recovery (TWRP (TeamWin Recovery Project) works very well and I use it myself) which allows you to go install the ROMs.

ROMs typically come as a .zip file, which you just put on the SD card (I don't recommend using internal storage) and install from recovery. The process is quick. From full-wipe to setting up Android could be 10-15 minutes, and the longest part is just Android getting ready for your apps. From there you set up the device as normal and you're done.

I like the ROMs that are based on HTC software more than ones that are based on the Google Play Edition (GPE). In my experience, the HTC/Sense-based ROMs have better battery life. The CyanogenMod ROM and all ROMs based on it are GPE as far as I know, so I personally don't like them but you should find one that you like. Maybe try a few different ones for a while and see what you like best.

This is fantastic, thank you so much.

It's difficult to find basic explanations and guides for complete noobs. Luckily I understand the jargon now so that really helps me understand what I now need to do.

One quick question, I have read about updating firmware and using a kernal such as ElementX. Should I worry about getting these downloaded too?

Again, Thank you very much

 

[dty06]

This is fantastic, thank you so much.

It's difficult to find basic explanations and guides for complete noobs. Luckily I understand the jargon now so that really helps me understand what I now need to do.

One quick question, I have read about updating firmware and using a kernal such as ElementX. Should I worry about getting these downloaded too?

Again, Thank you very much

You *will* need to update your firmware if you are coming from stock Android 4.4.x (Kit Kat), but not if your phone already has Lollipop on it. Upgrading the firmware is done the same way as a ROM - you can simply install it as a .zip file from the recovery. It may be easier, though, to just run the updates from the phone before you go S-OFF, that way you'll get the latest firmware and not have to install it manually. I recommend doing the regular OTA (over-the-air) updates for your phone before playing with it.