AWS-LTE Devices On AWS-HSPA Network? Compatible Thru Radio Hacks?? (Eg. I727 on Wind)

[SH31KH]

Sorry If The Title/Subject Is Confusing!!!

We've seen in the past a few 4G Phones made compatible to work on Wind's network. I personally have offered this service for $20 to several individuals with phones such as the Skyrocket i727 & Note i717..

Now, my question is..
~Are AWS-LTE Devices capable of being used (via modifications) on Wind's AWS-HSPA Network?~

I know that AWS-HSPA Devices Are Not Forward Compatible On AWS-LTE Networks...But Can It Go The Other Way?

Thank You For Your Answers And Help In Advance!

[zivan56]

It would depend on the device. In general, all devices that can be easily modified are Qualcomm Snapdragon devices. This is because their radio is software controlled and their radio firmware image format is well known. So you can even cross flash some radios with no modification (I believe the HTC One X and HTC One S are a good example).

Beware thought, it doesn't mean it will work well. The Note (i717) has severe data speed issues after a reboot and some radios have severe voice quality issues. So its not a good idea to buy a phone just to modify it.

[Furry Atom]

Not if the device only had AWS on the LTE bands. It has to be hardware capable of AWS frequencies on HSPA. You can't just run an AWS LTE radio as though it were HSPA.

[cmstlist]

It would depend on the device. In general, all devices that can be easily modified are Qualcomm Snapdragon devices. This is because their radio is software controlled and their radio firmware image format is well known. So you can even cross flash some radios with no modification (I believe the HTC One X and HTC One S are a good example).

Beware thought, it doesn't mean it will work well. The Note (i717) has severe data speed issues after a reboot and some radios have severe voice quality issues. So its not a good idea to buy a phone just to modify it.

I have read that while you can flash the One S radio to the One X, it does not actually enable AWS HSPA. It would appear that HTC devices are *not* as of yet able to have the band hacktivated.

Not if the device only had AWS on the LTE bands. It has to be hardware capable of AWS frequencies on HSPA. You can't just run an AWS LTE radio as though it were HSPA.

Right. It just so happens that, I believe, just about every Samsung Android with AWS LTE has been proven to be hackable to enable AWS HSPA, but to varying degrees of success (poor signal strength, possibly because the hardware wasn't *really* optimized for it). So the hardware is capable but it's locked out.

[SH31KH]

Right. It just so happens that, I believe, just about every Samsung Android with AWS LTE has been proven to be hackable to enable AWS HSPA, but to varying degrees of success (poor signal strength, possibly because the hardware wasn't *really* optimized for it). So the hardware is capable but it's locked out.

Thanks for your reply. This is exactly the track I was on when reading the details into the possibilities.
So my understanding is that certain AWS-LTE Devices would in fact be compatible to function on an AWS-HSPA Network...Though much more difficult to do on HTC devices.
I recently got my hands on a few AWS-LTE Devices and was going to be experimenting, but wanted to ask the question first to get a general idea before reading into the technical details and starting "the experiments".

Anyway..thanks everyone for their input. I will definitely consider everything when proceeding with the "hacktivations"