HTC One GPE not connecting to T-Mobile 4G LTE

[pasadenabill]

I bought the HTC One Google Play Edition because I wanted an unlocked phone for when I travel overseas. I am a longtime T-Mobile subscriber and after getting the GPE I immediately noticed that it would not connect to the 4G network very reliably. Thinking this was a possible local network issue, T-Mobile loaned me a T-Mobile version of the HTC One to use side by side. In most cases, the T-Mobile version had good or full 4G connectivity, but the GPE version did not. When it does not, it gets very slow 2G service.

I am able to get 4G about 1/3rd of the time but I can be sitting right next to someone with T-Mobile HTC One or a Galaxy or iPhone and they have full 4G service.

T-Mobile says that the unlocked phones are missing some code that only their phones have. I don't know if that is a line of BS or not, but I am hoping someone on the forums can tell me what is up before I start complaining more to the CEO of T-Mobile.

Thanks.

 

[Andrew Martonik]

Hey pasadenabill!

I decided to answer your question on the blog so we can help out even more people that may have the issue:

This is why your HTC One Google Play edition may not get the best data coverage on T-Mobile | Android Central

 

[derkk#AC]

Ouch...that sucks. It was actually said from day 1 of the HTC One GPE, that it was just the AT&T variant unlocked and unskinned.

This is why HTC is failing. It probably costs more to do two different hardware setups than to just make one hardware setup that works for TMO and AT&T.

 

[DroidGuy1990]

Being in an area where T-mobile does not have LTE but has HSPA+ I am kind of relieved to hear this news. My GPE HTC One get's amazing battery life on HSPA and also I still get 32mb download speeds on HSPA+. To me the difference between LTE and HSPA+ on T-mobile is not worth the increased battery life. Now if you only have EDGE in your area or LTE...Then this is a bad sistuation. But I rememebr when I was purchasing my GPE One that I was fully warned that there would be some LTE issues connecting to T-Mobile. I got this phone for the Hardware running Pure Android. I knew that there would be shortcummings, If we wanted a perfect phone running perfectly on a network then GPE phone's shouldnt be in your sights.