Covert HTC One M8 Verizon to Fully Compatible T-Mobile Version

Vlad3389 · Oct 19, 2014

Got the 4G icon but...

Hi all,
I have a Verizon M8 on which I installed Viper 2.5.0 with the T-Mobile setting during installation.

The problem is I have the 4G icon lit in my area (I live in Belgium) but the speed is an HSPA+ one, not LTE (13Mbps). I also had a friend of mine with a SIM from my provider testing the speed at the same time with an iphone 5S and he was getting 27Mbps...

My question to you is: is there anything else I can do to have real LTE speed on my phone?
I honestly didn't have the courage to use QPST and mess with the bands: anybody tried that? Any experience?

Thanks a lot,
Antonio

blumpkinblake · Oct 20, 2014

Vlad3389 said:
Hi all,
I have a Verizon M8 on which I installed Viper 2.5.0 with the T-Mobile setting during installation.

The problem is I have the 4G icon lit in my area (I live in Belgium) but the speed is an HSPA+ one, not LTE (13Mbps). I also had a friend of mine with a SIM from my provider testing the speed at the same time with an iphone 5S and he was getting 27Mbps...

My question to you is: is there anything else I can do to have real LTE speed on my phone?
I honestly didn't have the courage to use QPST and mess with the bands: anybody tried that? Any experience?

Thanks a lot,
Antonio

For your carrier, find out what radio bands they use. The Verizon m8 may not have the LTE bands that your carrier has

Vlad3389 · Oct 20, 2014

well theoretically it should : it's band 3 (1800 MHz)...

Should I go ahead trying QPST ?

Anybody tried that on the Verizon M8?

thanks,
Antonio

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app

Talal916 · Oct 27, 2014

Does this still work?

Does this still work on the newest Verizon firmware? I can't get wifi working on the latest ARHD (21 or 2.1 I think), but I didn't try flashing Elemental. I can't find the most recent version of Elemental, and don't want to flash something from months ago if it won't work.

svil3 · Oct 28, 2014

Talal916 said:
Does this still work on the newest Verizon firmware? I can't get wifi working on the latest ARHD (21 or 2.1 I think), but I didn't try flashing Elemental. I can't find the most recent version of Elemental, and don't want to flash something from months ago if it won't work.

You need this: http://android-edge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=8856&sid=bb7b86a54cc8a2ba59713d06de168b81

Talal916 · Oct 28, 2014

svil3 said:
You need this: http://android-edge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=8856&sid=bb7b86a54cc8a2ba59713d06de168b81

Thanks! Have you used this on VZW M8 with ARHD? Does the wifi work with this kernel?

mido.fayad · Nov 1, 2014

Now the interesting Part which making me crazy
How can a lot of you flash arhd to your Verizon m8 ???? Although arhd script flashes the system to mmcblk0p45 !! And boot.img to mmcblk0p42 !!

While Verizon one m8 has system at mmcblk0p46 and boot at mmcblk0p43 !!!!

Can anyone upload the updater script from the arhd Rom which worked for him on Verizon m8

It seems very strange that it's working but Sprint has the same partition structure so it should work with Sprint only not verizon

Edit :
Even elemental kernel 0.4 linked in the the first post flashes the kernel to mmcblk0p42 which is reserve partition for Verizon devices not boot !!!

vprasad1 · Dec 15, 2014

Fenny's 4.4.2 T-Mobile 1.57 ROM Works! w. VZW firmware 1.55.605.2

Tried upgrading firmware to Verizon 3.28.605.4 and then to try installing a few 4.4.4 International ROMs and International kernels, but couldn't get them to work (black screen when I tried Andoid Revolution 22.1, others just wouldn't come out of HTC One screen).

Anybody gotten 4.4.4 ROMs running for T-Mobile network on the Verizon M8? I was in a time crunch, so didn't get a chance to be more systematic in testing.

I was unable to find this OP's ver 3.4 from the Android Revolutions page

Instead settled on doing a near RUU from the RUU M8_VZW files (s-off only) thread to get down to firmware 1.55.605.2.

Then I did a full wipe and Installed Fenny's
[ROM][TMO][ODEXED/DEODEXED][4.4.2][HTC 1.57 OTA] Stock+ 5/20/2014 and all seems to be working so far-- WiFi is working, voice works, MMS works, camera works.

Was curious to try the 5.0.1 GPE ROM which is supposed to be multi-carrier, anybody given it a shot?

gigawatt · Dec 15, 2014

tried, and only got voice and 3g data, didn't flash the gsm varient, just picked verizon in aroma, didn't know if it was safe to pick gsm on a verizon so didn't do it!

2ndLeaf · Dec 21, 2014

I tried 5.0.1 GPE ROM and chose gsm varient. Everything works fine. I got 4G LTE speed.

The only thing I don't like (or don't know how to change) is the network indicator doesn't show the network type. I have to either use another app, or display phone info to get network type.

vprasad1 · Dec 22, 2014

2ndLeaf said:
I tried 5.0.1 GPE ROM and chose gsm varient. Everything works fine. I got 4G LTE speed.

The only thing I don't like (or don't know how to change) is the network indicator doesn't show the network type. I have to either use another app, or display phone info to get network type.

What Verizon firmware are you running with the Lollipop? 3.28.605.4 or 2.21.605.2 or 1.55.605.2? And how stable are your connections?

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

2ndLeaf · Dec 22, 2014

vprasad1 said:
What Verizon firmware are you running with the Lollipop? 3.28.605.4 or 2.21.605.2 or 1.55.605.2? And how stable are your connections?

It's 3.28.605.4. I only used it for 6 hours before I switched back to Verizon. I didn't experience any issue.

2ndLeaf · Dec 22, 2014

I also tried ViperOneM8 3.2.1 ROM with T-Mobile tweak. It didn't work initially. Initial setup never completed after installation. Then I changed CID to T-MOB010 and re-installed ViperOneM8 3.2.1 again. Everything seemed working fine. I could even make Wi-Fi call. I only played with it for half an hour so don't know how stable it is.

vprasad1 · Dec 28, 2014

So, wife and i did a road trip from northern to southern California with our Verizon phones now on T-Mobile. The HTC M8 signal was significantly worse than my a Samsung S4 driving down highway 5. I scratched my head and started digging after we arrived.

The Verizon site lists the following for their M8:
LTE Band 13, 4
CDMA/1xEVDO Rev. A (800/1900 MHz)
Global Network: EDGE/GSM (850/900/1800/1900), HSPA/UMTS (850/900/1900/2100)

T-Mobile uses:
LTE bands 2, 4, and now turning up 12
HSPA+ on AWS and 1900 MHz
GSM on 1900 MHz

So... We're only covered for LTE band 4 with no fall back to band 2, and no indoors access to band 12 so we're a bit limited for LTE.
We're on slooooooooow HSPA (14Mbps down, 5.8 Mbps up) but not HSPA+

Pretty limited signal options!

The Verizon S4:
The Verizon site lists the following for their S4
LTE Band 13,4
CDMA/1xEVDO Rev. A (800/1900 MHz);
Global - EDGE/GSM (850/900/1800/1900), HSPA/UMTS(850/900/1900/2100)

So in theory i should have had crappy reception on both devices, but the M8 reception was far worse.

I've read that the M8 CDMA phones have different radio hardware than the GSM variants... So no amount of software tweaking or ROMing or flagging T-Mobile radios on the Verizon M8 or updating to the latest Verizon radios will improve connectivity on T-Mobile-- is this true?

Does the Verizon S4 have different radio hardware than the other GSM variants? Is this why my reception was better on the S4 than the M8?

Thinking that the M8 will probably have to be flashed back to Stock Verizon for sale on Swappa after a dedicated T-Mobile phone is found.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

seakha · Dec 28, 2014

your final verdict?

Thank you for very informative post and all the details. I am also owing HTC one M8 from Verizon. I move to T-Mobile in September. I am using my phone with the HSPA and not that great data speed so far. As your final verdict, do you think it worth the hassle to go through all the process (s-off; update firmware; flash a new ROM) to get the phone working with 4G LTE? What was the most functional and stable ROM you have tested?

I very much appreciate it if you can share the information.

vprasad1 · Dec 28, 2014

seakha said:
Thank you for very informative post and all the details. I am also owing HTC one M8 from Verizon. I move to T-Mobile in September. I am using my phone with the HSPA and not that great data speed so far. As your final verdict, do you think it worth the hassle to go through all the process (s-off; update firmware; flash a new ROM) to get the phone working with 4G LTE? What was the most functional and stable ROM you have tested?

I very much appreciate it if you can share the information.

I don't remember if the stock ROM lets you adjust the APNs or if it requires a custom ROM to get to Settings / Mobile Data / Access Point Names. If so, then add the one provided here for fast.T-Mobile.com

The value of S-Off / ROM in this situation is subjective. If you're in a major metro area and you need the speed, then maybe it's worth it. If you're somewhere with limited coverage then perhaps not. I had purchased my phone already S-Off, so it wasn't an extra expense for me.

In my situation, having found the limitations of using the Verizon phone on T-Mobile, I think I'm better off getting a T-Mobile phone and selling my Verizon phone on Swappa. For me it's not worth the effort to keep backing up settings, installing a T-Mobile ROM, checking if it works with particular radios, and then restoring my backup of the test fails, etc.

My most stable configuration was the T-Mobile Fenny ROM with the Verizon 1.55.605.2 firmware.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

vprasad1 · Dec 30, 2014

Anybody tried this stuff to add additional LTE and GSM bands for T-Mobile on their VZW M8 phones?

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

seakha · Jan 3, 2015

vprasad1 said:
I don't remember if the stock ROM lets you adjust the APNs or if it requires a custom ROM to get to Settings / Mobile Data / Access Point Names. If so, then add the one provided here for fast.T-Mobile.com

The value of S-Off / ROM in this situation is subjective. If you're in a major metro area and you need the speed, then maybe it's worth it. If you're somewhere with limited coverage then perhaps not. I had purchased my phone already S-Off, so it wasn't an extra expense for me.

In my situation, having found the limitations of using the Verizon phone on T-Mobile, I think I'm better off getting a T-Mobile phone and selling my Verizon phone on Swappa. For me it's not worth the effort to keep backing up settings, installing a T-Mobile ROM, checking if it works with particular radios, and then restoring my backup of the test fails, etc.

My most stable configuration was the T-Mobile Fenny ROM with the Verizon 1.55.605.2 firmware.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

Thank you vprasad1! I could adjust the APNs with the stock ROM and I am living in a metro area that the LTE speed is a real game changer. Verizon software does not allow me to use GSM with LTE at the same time and I have no control over in Mobile data setting of the phone.

My phone still has the Verizon 1.55.605.2 firmware, so I might try the Fenny ROM to see how it works. BTW, please update us if you are successful adding new bands and radio's through the recent link you posted.

seakha · Jan 4, 2015

2ndLeaf said:
I also tried ViperOneM8 3.2.1 ROM with T-Mobile tweak. It didn't work initially. Initial setup never completed after installation. Then I changed CID to T-MOB010 and re-installed ViperOneM8 3.2.1 again. Everything seemed working fine. I could even make Wi-Fi call. I only played with it for half an hour so don't know how stable it is.

Did you have cellular connection to 4G LTE or HSPA on t-mobile? I tried ViperOneM8 3.2.1 with T-Mobile tweak. I have wifi call and that works but it does not have cellular connection (no data, no calls without wifi). I changed the CID to Super CID and T-MOB010. It did not work. I was wondering whether you had cellular connection on t-mobile?

knightofarmenia · Jan 4, 2015

I followed this guide to the letter, including flashing the new kernel, but I still cannot get WiFi. I have everything else - LTE, cell phone reception, MMS, SMS, internet, everything. But I need to be able to turn wifi on! I've read about "having to update the firmware," but this is the first thing I've ever rooted, and while I'm super excited I haven't bricked it, I'm horrified that I'll ruin it if I don't do the firmware updates right. Can someone please help me out here?

Covert HTC One M8 Verizon to Fully Compatible T-Mobile Version

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