[Q] Did I get hosed on this M8?

cyko · Jun 17, 2014

Purchased M8 in Hong Kong, then returned to the U.S., put in my T-Mobile SIM

Problem #1
I don't get 4G or LTE on T-Mobile. 2G/3G/HSPA all work fine. Tried every setting and tutorial out there and nothing works. T-Mobile said it should work, but Hong Kong M8 might be different and they can't help. Anyone have any idea as to why this is happening?

Problem #2
Rear Camera buzzes and shakes, can't focus anymore. It's a known hardware issue for people that ride motorcycles. Camera is hosed, HTC USA won't help me, so I need to send it back to Hong Kong. During the troubleshooting, I try doing a couple factory resets and notice this.

It looks to me like this phone has S-OFF. I never did this, so I'm guessing it was a trade in and the re-seller hosed me with a used M8? I'm assuming that line showing M8_UL PVT SHIP S-OFF means this phone is S-OFF. That being the case, I'm also guessing HTC Hong Kong is going to tell me I have no warranty? I can't go back to Hong Kong and fight the shop I bought it from, so can anyone point me to the exact instructions for getting back to what HTC Hong Kong expects to see when I send it in for warranty?

Many Thanks

BenPope · Jun 17, 2014

Well, I can tell you that it looks like a genuine HK model. It's locked, not relocked, so that's good. S-Off is rare out of the factory, but it's easy to put it S-On. I'm reticent to tell you how though, because unless it is all actually stock, you might brick it.

redpoint73 · Jun 17, 2014

cyko said:
Problem #1
I don't get 4G or LTE on T-Mobile. 2G/3G/HSPA all work fine. Tried every setting and tutorial out there and nothing works. T-Mobile said it should work, but Hong Kong M8 might be different and they can't help. Anyone have any idea as to why this is happening?

Looking at a few sources online, the band compatibility on the HK is as follows:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
LTE 700 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600

T-Mobile uses 1700 MHz (Band 4) for LTE. This band is not supported by the HK variant, so you will not get LTE on T-Mobile.

Also, T-Mobile primarily uses 1700/2100 Mhz (AWS or Band 4) for HSPA, and 1900 Mhz in select markets. The HK variant is compatible with 1900 Mhz, but not AWS. So the fact that you have 3G/HSPA suggests that you are in one of the 1900 MHz markets. But you may find if you roam outside the 1900 MHz market areas, you will only have EDGE.

cyko said:
It looks to me like this phone has S-OFF. I never did this, so I'm guessing it was a trade in and the re-seller hosed me with a used M8? I'm assuming that line showing M8_UL PVT SHIP S-OFF means this phone is S-OFF. That being the case, I'm also guessing HTC Hong Kong is going to tell me I have no warranty? I can't go back to Hong Kong and fight the shop I bought it from, so can anyone point me to the exact instructions for getting back to what HTC Hong Kong expects to see when I send it in for warranty?

S-off from the factory is rare, but not unheard of. Difficult to tell if this is the case, or if the phone has been tampered with.

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[Q] Did I get hosed on this M8?

cyko

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BenPope

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redpoint73

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