T-Mobile Note 10+ 5G Spec Sheet Page is Posted

[TechBob]

Coming soon. Don't know if anyone is interested, but the spec sheet page for the Note 10+ 5G model is posted. Not much on the page except that it supports the 5G n71 band that everyone is expecting. No hint that I see as to what chip is being used for the modem. As expected, no mmWave support.

https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-41717#specs

 

[o4liberty]

Don't see the need for getting a 5G device for 2 years or more. 5G will take that long to be available in most areas.

 

[buzzy3970]

Think 5G will be a standard for high end galaxies. Sammy does a good job in being at the forefront of network hardware regardless of mass adaption.

Don't see the need for getting a 5G device for 2 years or more. 5G will take that long to be available in most areas.

 

[TechBob]

Don't see the need for getting a 5G device for 2 years or more. 5G will take that long to be available in most areas.

Not quite true, my friend. 5G is a broad term that means different things to different people and different companies. If you are talking mmWave 5G, I don't expect to see that for a very long time. 5G based on mmWave requires microcell towers every block. I don't even have cable in my neighborhood.

But T-Mobile and AT&T are both launching low band 5G right now. In the case of T-Mobile, 200 million people will be in range of it on 12/6. That is the Band 71 (600 Mhz) based 5G technology that this phone uses. You have a 2 to one chance on 12/6 of being covered. Here is the link.

https://www.t-mobile.com/5g

It won't be 2 gigabit speeds, but you will have coverage in many places. Check their coverage map for 5G and you will see that many places, not just a few blocks in some downtown area will have 5G. And it will be turned on in less than 2 weeks. As I understand it, IF T-Mobile gets to merge with Sprint, the Sprint Midband 5G can be added to this phone with a software upgrade. Otherwise, this is the bulk of what T-Mobile 5G will be.

 

[j_hansen]

The sub 600 mhz or whatever it is called is what we get here and I still got over 300mbps compared to 120 on my home broadband when it is best

 

[TechBob]

The sub 600 mhz or whatever it is called is what we get here and I still got over 300mbps compared to 120 on my home broadband when it is best

Yes, and I hope that when they turn that on for the large areas that will see it that we will see similar improvements like that all over. I would expect that a 5G phone would see even faster performance because of other 5G features that will be turned on, but I expect not only performance improvements, but other services from T-Mobile as well. T-Mobile is promising some home Internet service with unlimited bandwidth for $50.00 per month. For someone that currently gets 6 megabits down on DSL (feel the power!), I could use something faster!

Currently, 600 MHz is not enabled in my area as a TV channel had to move. They have moved and based on the limited maps that I have seen, I MAY see the improvements that they are promising on 12/6. I plan to have a Note 10+ 5G phone as close to that date as I can. I support phones for clients and need to know the realities of what can be expected so that they can begin to plan. T-Mobile, after the big splash some weeks ago, has not been forthcoming with further news as to availability and real data as to coverage. AT&T just announced pre-orders for their low band 5G Note 10+ and they are quoting 12/17 for delivery. Nothing from T-Mobile. Once I get it, I plan to run location tests with my S10+ 4G phone and my Note 10+ 5G phone so that I can get a handle on any real improvements. If I saw 300 Mbps or anything even close, that would be awesome. On a good day with T-Mobile, I get 40 to 60 Mbps and that only after recent area upgrades.

 

[msm0511]

Yes, and I hope that when they turn that on for the large areas that will see it that we will see similar improvements like that all over. I would expect that a 5G phone would see even faster performance because of other 5G features that will be turned on, but I expect not only performance improvements, but other services from T-Mobile as well. T-Mobile is promising some home Internet service with unlimited bandwidth for $50.00 per month. For someone that currently gets 6 megabits down on DSL (feel the power!), I could use something faster!

Currently, 600 MHz is not enabled in my area as a TV channel had to move. They have moved and based on the limited maps that I have seen, I MAY see the improvements that they are promising on 12/6. I plan to have a Note 10+ 5G phone as close to that date as I can. I support phones for clients and need to know the realities of what can be expected so that they can begin to plan. T-Mobile, after the big splash some weeks ago, has not been forthcoming with further news as to availability and real data as to coverage. AT&T just announced pre-orders for their low band 5G Note 10+ and they are quoting 12/17 for delivery. Nothing from T-Mobile. Once I get it, I plan to run location tests with my S10+ 4G phone and my Note 10+ 5G phone so that I can get a handle on any real improvements. If I saw 300 Mbps or anything even close, that would be awesome. On a good day with T-Mobile, I get 40 to 60 Mbps and that only after recent area upgrades.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as far as both 600 MHz availability and current LTE speeds. Even though the map that TMo released shows 5G coverage in my area beginning 12/6, it won't actually be here because the 600 MHz won't be available yet.

 

[racedog]

I live in a 600 MHz area and we've had it for about two years. We were one of those first places to have it turned on.

When they started talking about 5g I just assumed we wouldn't see it here for another three years or longer since we're so rural and nothing ever gets here quickly much less first. it will be interesting to see how fast this really is and how well it really works.

We also have the T-mobile Home Internet. Will be interesting to see how soon that service is upgraded to 5g!

Trouble is I would have to buy a 5g phone which means either a Note 10 5g or a Oneplus 7T Pro McClaren. I have an S10+ that was a pro-order when announced. I'm willing to spend the money if there is a big difference but I don't want to buy a new phone just to check it out. I'm seriously wondering how big a speed increase is going to be seen on a low band signal.

I guess we'll all start finding out all these answers before too long now.

 

[TechBob]

I live in a 600 MHz area and we've had it for about two years. We were one of those first places to have it turned on.

I am curious. On your S10+, which is Band 71 LTE enabled, what kind of speeds do you see currently? In an area with good signal.

 

[Nofear01]

I have found 5G to be a massive, and I mean massive battery drain on this phone. SOrry to hijack a thread, and not T-Mobile related, I am Vodafone UK and picked up some 5G in London and shot from 93% to 68% in less than an hour.

 

[racedog]

I am curious. On your S10+, which is Band 71 LTE enabled, what kind of speeds do you see currently? In an area with good signal.

Well, it depends on a number of things. Where we live we are on 20 acres and our house has about 3 dozens trees around it and our house is made of limestone rock with the outside walls being about 6 inches thick. Even with all that we will get about -107 dbm and 20 or 25 down.

Other places we will see higher signal strength of about - 90 dbm and about 60 down. It LL depends on location, distance from tower and obstacles between us and the tower.

We also have the T-Mobile Home Internet and we had some real struggles with placement on the unit. Inside our house was just bad because of thick Stone walls and trees.

We have a Netgear mesh wireless which supplies wireless to the house and to one of our RV's. What I ended up doing is putting the home internet unit in a rear bedroom window in the RV and attached the base unit of the mesh system to the home wifi box in the RV bedroom. One wireless satellite unit went to the front of the RV and the other mesh satellite sits in a window of the house. That unit picks up the signal from the RV and broadcasts it around the house.

It's really wierd but this kluge works really well. The home internet box stays on band 71 and sits steadily between two and three bars (no way to see on the box the signal strength). But, we are getting a pretty steady signal that ranges from a low of about 30 and up to 42 down, and from about 7 or 8 up to 10 or 12 up.

Hey, I know that by some standards thats not much, but for us in the boonies it's pretty nice.

 

[TechBob]

I have found 5G to be a massive, and I mean massive battery drain on this phone. SOrry to hijack a thread, and not T-Mobile related, I am Vodafone UK and picked up some 5G in London and shot from 93% to 68% in less than an hour.

I have heard that. x50 modem based phones have huge batteries for just that reason. I do have a couple of points to offer which may be meaningless or not as so little information is available until 12/6.

First, it looks that the Note 10+ 5G from Vodafone has been available since the launch 3 months ago and is for sure a x50 modem based phone. Heat and battery have been problems with those phones, both the Note 10+ 5G and the S10+ 5G. In fact, the S10+ 5G got so hot that it stops working in warm weather. The Note 10+ 5G supposedly has extra cooling to prevent that. It is possibly significant that Vodafone 5G Bands are considered mid band, not the low band frequencies that T-Mobile is implementing (Band 71). Lower frequencies have greater penetration and may be easier (requiring less power) to receive.

Second, and this is the biggest question that is unanswered, is the chip inside the T-Mobile model. If you look at this article (https://www.tmonews.com/2019/07/t-mobile-600mhz-5g-data-snapdragon-x55-modem/)
you will see that T-Mobile completed their testing of their Band 71 5G with an unreleased phone running the X55 modem. It is believed by some that the reason for the delay by both T-Mobile and AT&T is that their phones contain the newer chip, which is now supposed to be starting to ship. This is a gen 2 modem and will be, whenever it is incorporated into a phone, a lower power device. We will see. If the Note10+5G from T-Mobile is an X50 based phone, it will be obsoleted very quickly. But there are certain aspects of T-Mobile's network that the x50 modem does not support, so it seems likely that the x55 modem is in the T-Mobile model. No promises, but if it is the older modem in both the Note 10+5G and the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G McLaren model then I will be waiting until the S11 in February.