4G/5G Network Bands

[VoidZ]

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

[Ali_A]

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 

[VoidZ]

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

[bristolian]

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.

[VoidZ]

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.

[bristolian]

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@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

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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.

[Ali_A]

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 

[bristolian]

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@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.