topic Re: 4G/5G Network Bands in Mobile Network discussions

4G/5G Network Bands

VoidZ — Wed, 07 May 2025 10:04:20 GMT

Hello,

I will be purchasing a Vivo x200 Ultra which runs on a Chinese ROM with Google services and am looking to switch to EE Sim only shortly. Can anyone confirm if the phone will work on EE with the confirmed network band support below:

4G: TD-LTE : B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B43/B48

FDD-LTE : B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B66

5G: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n18/n20/n25/n26/n28/n38/n40/n41/n48/n66/n77/

thanks

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

Ali_A — Wed, 07 May 2025 13:27:26 GMT

Hi @VoidZ

We use LTE - B1, B3, B7, B20
And 5G - N1, N3, N7, N28 and N78

So it looks like the device would cover 5G, but not 4G.

Hope this helps.

Ali

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

VoidZ — Wed, 07 May 2025 13:43:37 GMT

Thanks for the quick reply Ali!

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but with modern day chipsets in phones, do they not offer compatibility amongst different variations of LTE bandwidths? As you mentioned some of the bands that are in my post I was assuming that the phone would support 4G but I am not sure.

Hopefully my message makes sense haha

Thanks

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

bristolian — Wed, 07 May 2025 13:58:17 GMT

EE's base 4G layer is B3-1800Mhz. B1 & B7 are used as capacity layers, B20 is an "extended range" coverage layer for remote & indoor coverage enhancement in many (but not all) locations, alongside some very localised B28.

Unless you're using 5G-SA, your phone will still be using 4G-LTE as an anchor layer.

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

VoidZ — Wed, 07 May 2025 13:51:38 GMT

Thank you!

Suppose I best do some more research into a couple more mobile brands then if EE is not to be recommended. I'm not after very fast speeds but just enough to do casual things such as browse social media, listen to music etc.

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

bristolian — Wed, 07 May 2025 14:00:49 GMT

@VoidZ wrote:

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but with modern day chipsets in phones, do they not offer compatibility amongst different variations of LTE bandwidths

What do you mean by "variations of LTE bandwidths"?

Frequency band support is part of the hardware, there will be different configurations of EARFCN (carrier-ID) within each band.

For example, B3-1800Mhz has 5Mhz, 10Mhz & 20Mhz carriers within the band.

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

Ali_A — Wed, 07 May 2025 14:28:31 GMT

You're welcome @VoidZ

As @bristolian mentioned, the bands can't be read by the chips if the hardware is not there.

Hopefully you'll find the right device that matches your needs!

Ali

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

bristolian — Wed, 07 May 2025 14:37:43 GMT

@Ali_A wrote:

As @bristolian mentioned, the bands can't be read by the chips if the hardware is not there.

Correct, but to quote the OP...

FDD-LTE : B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B66 (the bold doesn't highlight well)

VoLTE support is the other issue, especially on B20 & B28, B3 just relies on CSFB to 2G1800.

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

VoidZ — Thu, 08 May 2025 19:55:17 GMT

From what I've gathered then is essentially 4G/5G wise it will work as intended however for taking calls it might lack and drop back to 2G/3G connections which can potentially cause calls to drop as the x200 Ultra might not support VoLTE. I dont really make calls much at all and if I do its usually on a social media platform i.e WhatsApp or Discord.

Re: 4G/5G Network Bands

bristolian — Thu, 08 May 2025 21:30:25 GMT

The spec you've described appears to have the correct frequency-band support for EE-UK. EE don't operate a 3G network, so without VoLTE support all your calls will be over 2G.

Anything beyond that can only be properly ascertained by testing it.