[curves2000]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there was a way to tell which bands are currently being used on a specific BB10 device with a specific carrier?

I'm on a Passport SE with Freedom Mobile. I haven't get their LTE service even though my phone has the proper bands for it as I think they have blocked BlackBerry 10 on that front.

I believe my phone is currently running off of band 4 with Freedom but I don't know how to confirm?? I want to see how long I will be able to use BlackBerry 10 devices for calls and texts with Freedom before they switch some of the bands for different uses.

Thanks!

Posted via CB10

[Bla1ze]

Varies by model but since you noted Passport, you'll find the supported info here - https://forums.crackberry.com/blackb...encies-961279/ I'm not sure of any BlackBerry 10 apps remaining that will give you the info you need, but there's plenty of Android ones that will help. Just need to find one that still runs on the old Runtime. F-Droid will also have some as well - https://search.f-droid.org/?q=network&lang=en

[JuiciPatties]

ah yes ... i was also going to mention Raino. He would always post the models and various band frequencies. He was an amazing contributor here and had a wealth of information. Is he still around?

[TrumpetTiger]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there was a way to tell which bands are currently being used on a specific BB10 device with a specific carrier?

I'm on a Passport SE with Freedom Mobile. I haven't get their LTE service even though my phone has the proper bands for it as I think they have blocked BlackBerry 10 on that front.

I believe my phone is currently running off of band 4 with Freedom but I don't know how to confirm?? I want to see how long I will be able to use BlackBerry 10 devices for calls and texts with Freedom before they switch some of the bands for different uses.

Thanks!

Posted via CB10

Curves, just to be sure I understand the question, you're wanting to know which bands are actually currently in use by a particular phone with a given carrier, not which bands the phone supports regardless of carrier, yes?

[PwrSurge]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there was a way to tell which bands are currently being used on a specific BB10 device with a specific carrier?

I'm on a Passport SE with Freedom Mobile. I haven't get their LTE service even though my phone has the proper bands for it as I think they have blocked BlackBerry 10 on that front.

I believe my phone is currently running off of band 4 with Freedom but I don't know how to confirm?? I want to see how long I will be able to use BlackBerry 10 devices for calls and texts with Freedom before they switch some of the bands for different uses.

Thanks!

Posted via CB10

The only way to find out the current band being used on a BB10 device is via the Engineering Screen. You can search this forum to find out the instructions on how to access.

As far as getting LTE on Freedom Mobile, you won't be able to do so as for unlike other carriers, they whitelist only certain devices for access to their LTE network and no BB10 devices are included on that list.

However, there is a way to get your Passport to temporarily connect to the Freedom Mobile LTE network as follows:

1. Put phone in airplane mode

2. Remove the SIM card from your phone for at least 60 seconds while the phone is still turned on and then put it back in

3. Turn airplane mode back off to enable the mobile network again

4. Go in Mobile network settings and make sure Network mode is set to include LTE.

5. You should then see 4GLTE instead of just 4G on the top right corner of your screen if there's LTE coverage in your area which means your phone is now connected to LTE. However within a few seconds, LTE will disappear and just show 4G which means that you have been kicked back on their UMTS network.

As a side note if you put another carrier's Sim card on your device, you will see Freedom Mobile or WIND listed with LTE support which proves that your Passport would have no problem supporting LTE on Freedom Mobile if they allowed any capable device to access their LTE network. The only LTE band not supported is 66 but that does not prevent access to the other bands such as 4, 7 or 13.

I have complained numerous times to various levels of technical support but they keep blaming the device for not supporting LTE on their network.





Posted via CB10

[curves2000]

Curves, just to be sure I understand the question, you're wanting to know which bands are actually currently in use by a particular phone with a given carrier, not which bands the phone supports regardless of carrier, yes?

What I am trying to do is see exactly what bands are being used on my existing device and which bands are in essence, providing the coverage and service.

I believe in my case I am currently connected to band 4. As Freedom changes their spectrum and their bands, I still want to be able to connect for phone calls and texts.

Since they have in essence, white listed certain BlackBerry 10 devices from specific bands for LTE purposes, I want to know which ones will work in the future.

It's not the most important question I need answered for the foreseeable future. I do plan on getting a Key 3 device perhaps by the end of the year or as long as BlackBerry 10 still has basic functions come 2020.

I just want to be able to pop in a Freedom SIM card perhaps in a few years and still use it for calls and texts or whatever in case of emergency as a back up phone or to have a second line or something. No need to purchase new phones for basic functions like calls when I have several devices in the drawer.

Thanks for your assistance either way!!

Posted via CB10

[curves2000]

[QUOTE=PwrSurge;13349962]The only way to find out the current band being used on a BB10 device is via the Engineering Screen. You can search this forum to find out the instructions on how to access.

As far as getting LTE on Freedom Mobile, you won't be able to do so as for unlike other carriers, they whitelist only certain devices for access to their LTE network and no BB10 devices are included on that list.

However, there is a way to get your Passport to temporarily connect to the Freedom Mobile LTE network as follows:

1. Put phone in airplane mode

2. Remove the SIM card from your phone for at least 60 seconds while the phone is still turned on and then put it back in

3. Turn airplane mode back off to enable the mobile network again

4. Go in Mobile network settings and make sure Network mode is set to include LTE.

5. You should then see 4GLTE instead of just 4G on the top right corner of your screen if there's LTE coverage in your area which means your phone is now connected to LTE. However within a few seconds, LTE will disappear and just show 4G which means that you have been kicked back on their UMTS network.

As a side note if you put another carrier's Sim card on your device, you will see Freedom Mobile or WIND listed with LTE support which proves that your Passport would have no problem supporting LTE on Freedom Mobile if they allowed any capable device to access their LTE network. The only LTE band not supported is 66 but that does not prevent access to the other bands such as 4, 7 or 13.

I have complained numerous times to various levels of technical support but they keep blaming the device for not supporting LTE on their network.


I understand the frustration with Freedom and the lack of BlackBerry love they show to their clients. I was even on a phone call with their CEO, Paul Macalese about the situation.

I just want to be able to use their service for phone calls and texts/emails in the future if I need a second line or an emergency phone if a device like a future Key 3 is lost or broken etc.

I know that the Passport SE will support LTE and plenty of other bands for calls and Internet use on OTHER carriers such as Rogers, Bell and Telus but it seems that BlackBerry 10 doesn't get the love and the support from Freedom.

I believe I am currently being connected to band 4 for service, I may be wrong.

It's not the end of the world if Freedom changes up their bands and service but it would be nice to at least have the option of going back to a BlackBerry 10 device for basic things in the future if need be.

Thanks for your help!






Posted via CB10

[PwrSurge]

I believe I am currently being connected to band 4 for service, I may be wrong.

As per my previous email, it is easy to see if a BB10 phone is connected to LTE or not simply by looking at the top right hand corner of your phone while on the home screen.

If connected to an LTE network, you will see 4GLTE immediately before the BlackBerry symbol and signal bars but if not connected to LTE, you will only see 3G or 4G.


Posted via CB10

[Leyra B10]

The only way to find out the current band being used on a BB10 device is via the Engineering Screen. You can search this forum to find out the instructions on how to access.

As far as getting LTE on Freedom Mobile, you won't be able to do so as for unlike other carriers, they whitelist only certain devices for access to their LTE network and no BB10 devices are included on that list.

However, there is a way to get your Passport to temporarily connect to the Freedom Mobile LTE network as follows:

1. Put phone in airplane mode

2. Remove the SIM card from your phone for at least 60 seconds while the phone is still turned on and then put it back in

3. Turn airplane mode back off to enable the mobile network again

4. Go in Mobile network settings and make sure Network mode is set to include LTE.

5. You should then see 4GLTE instead of just 4G on the top right corner of your screen if there's LTE coverage in your area which means your phone is now connected to LTE. However within a few seconds, LTE will disappear and just show 4G which means that you have been kicked back on their UMTS network.

As a side note if you put another carrier's Sim card on your device, you will see Freedom Mobile or WIND listed with LTE support which proves that your Passport would have no problem supporting LTE on Freedom Mobile if they allowed any capable device to access their LTE network. The only LTE band not supported is 66 but that does not prevent access to the other bands such as 4, 7 or 13.

I have complained numerous times to various levels of technical support but they keep blaming the device for not supporting LTE on their network.





Posted via CB10

In some cases its the region in which you live not just the carrier.

Posted via CB10

[endiadi77]

Use this to identify which bands are on

https://appworld.blackberry.com/webs...ode=US&lang=en

Blackberry Passport Silver Edition

[TrumpetTiger]

Use this to identify which bands are on

https://appworld.blackberry.com/webs...ode=US&lang=en

Blackberry Passport Silver Edition

Great app endiadi! Thanks for sending it out....just downloaded and it tells you everything you would ever want to known about bands, signal strength, and network connections in general.

[PwrSurge]

In some cases its the region in which you live not just the carrier.

Posted via CB10

Yes but in this case, the issue is with Freedom Mobile who deliberately only allows certain device models to access their LTE network. Essentially, they want to force people to buy a new phone from them in older to have the privilege of using their LTE network.

[PwrSurge]

Great app endiadi! Thanks for sending it out....just downloaded and it tells you everything you would ever want to known about bands, signal strength, and network connections in general.

Yes, Signal is a great BB10 app and I had it installed for a while. Keep in mind that it only shows you the bands and network types that your device supports and not the band currently being used.

For those of you with Freedom Mobile, you will notice that when a Freedom Mobile Sim card is inserted into the device, only UMTS shows up under the Technologies tab of the Signal app but with a Sim card from any other carrier, you will see both LTE and UMTS.

This happens even in areas with no cell signal coverage so there's something with Freedom Mobile Sim cards that disables LTE support when using unapproved devices.

[EFats]

So, why stick with them then? If they do this monkey business, and they have poorer coverage than the other 3 players, why not move?

Do they big 3 have comparable rate plans?
Or is Freedom really that much cheaper that it's worth the hassle?


Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[Chuck Finley69]

So, why stick with them then? If they do this monkey business, and they have poorer coverage than the other 3 players, why not move?

Do they big 3 have comparable rate plans?
Or is Freedom really that much cheaper that it's worth the hassle?


Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

I’ve always wondered about stuff like this myself in general. One trip out to dinner wipes out the savings. Lost productivity wipes out the earnings to pay for said dinner.

[curves2000]

I’ve always wondered about stuff like this myself in general. One trip out to dinner wipes out the savings. Lost productivity wipes out the earnings to pay for said dinner.

As one money to another money guy such as yourself, it can and is generally worth it.

I have Freedom Mobile myself and I would consider their network to be 85-90% of the network quality of the big 3 in Canada for about 50% less or more than them in a lot of ways. There are positives and negatives with Freedom as well as with any other carrier

Say a couple saves $600 each a year, in 10 years those savings can and are materially important to a good chunk of the population.

That being said if for people who's livelihood absolutely depends on critical mobile communications and the cost of missing an important call or text (internet I find is always connected usually) can be significant, I would than potentially argue that the savings might not be worth it.

Every carrier has their own issues and some excel and certain portions more than others.

Posted via CB10

[Chuck Finley69]

As one money to another money guy such as yourself, it can and is generally worth it.

I have Freedom Mobile myself and I would consider their network to be 85-90% of the network quality of the big 3 in Canada for about 50% less or more than them in a lot of ways. There are positives and negatives with Freedom as well as with any other carrier

Say a couple saves $600 each a year, in 10 years those savings can and are materially important to a good chunk of the population.

That being said if for people who's livelihood absolutely depends on critical mobile communications and the cost of missing an important call or text (internet I find is always connected usually) can be significant, I would than potentially argue that the savings might not be worth it.

Every carrier has their own issues and some excel and certain portions more than others.

Posted via CB10

For me, the comment was strictly about LTE access. If you’re getter LTE access then I agree with your statements. As I understood the other poster, BlackBerry is blocked from LTE so that’s only part not worth it..... to me at least since I can’t rely on WiFi for multiple reasons, other than on my own network at night.

[curves2000]

For me, the comment was strictly about LTE access. If you’re getter LTE access then I agree with your statements. As I understood the other poster, BlackBerry is blocked from LTE so that’s only part not worth it..... to me at least since I can’t rely on WiFi for multiple reasons, other than on my own network at night.

I'm an outlier in the sense that my Passport SE doesn't get LTE since it's blocked, for whatever reason. I only use calls, texts, emails and some basic internet searches and such so the lack of speed isn't a concern although the speeds are very very respectable.

BlackBerry Android devices do get LTE and Freedom Mobile should be right on schedule to launch their 5G network here in the short term.

Posted via CB10