No Band 71 Support On Exynos S10...

[Low_Key_Slaps]

So it looks like non of the international S10 models will have support for T-Mobile's Band 71 (600mhz)... This isn't a required band to make a connection to LTE, but apparently this frequency will be utilized as a range extender, and for better wall penetration (indoor connectivity). Seems pretty important...

Is it possible to add support for this band via firmware? Or will there be a hardware limitation?

T-Mobiles lists all their LTE bands on their site as follows; 2, 4, 66, 5, 12, and 71

ALSO, does anyone have any information on where exactly this frequency will be used in the US? Is it really all that important?

 

Thanks

 

[kirashi]

12 minutes ago, Low_Key_Slaps said:

Is it possible to add support for this band via firmware? Or will there be a hardware limitation?

T-Mobiles lists all their LTE bands on their site as follows; 2, 4, 66, 5, 12, and 71

This is why you want to research what bands a phone is capable of before you purchase. You can find band information out using a site like GSMarena or by checking with Samsung directly. AFAIK cellular modem bands are hardware based, so while the baseband firmware itself can be updated to perform better, they can't magically enable a band that doesn't exist in the hardware.

https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s10-9536.php

[Low_Key_Slaps]

22 minutes ago, kirashi said:

This is why you want to research what bands a phone is capable of before you purchase. You can find band information out using a site like GSMarena or by checking with Samsung directly. AFAIK cellular modem bands are hardware based, so while the baseband firmware itself can be updated to perform better, they can't magically enable a band that doesn't exist in the hardware.

 https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s10-9536.php

So according the this link, Several of the snapdragon chipset (us) models already support 71. However, none of the exynos chipset (international) models seem to support it.

https://www.techwalls.com/samsung-galaxy-s10-model-number-sm-g973-differences/

 

I suppose maybe its just a firmware limitation since the US versions support it? Then again, I'm sure the Exynos chipset uses a completely different modem than the Snapdragon. 

 

So who knows 

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, Low_Key_Slaps said:

I suppose maybe its just a firmware limitation since the US versions support it?

 

Then again, I'm sure the Exynos chipset uses a completely different modem than the Snapdragon. 

Not a firmware limitation. You sure correct that the international models will have different modem hardware, as I mentioned previously. While there are indeed some phones that have the same hardware around the world with certain features disabled in software, I don't know of many smartphones like this because wireless radio hardware is regulated by governmental bodies.

 

For example, GMRS radios (walkie talkies) sold in the US are limited via software to a lower wattage rating than the same models sold in Canada, even though the hardware is usually the same. However, there are usually multiple hardware variants of the same cellular or mini-PCI WiFi chip found in smartphones or laptops, often with differing transmit power limited on a hardware level depending on the country they're manufactured for.