Which version to buy: LG V20 H918 (T-Mobile only?!?) or VS995

[carpeta]

Hello and good evening,

I wanted to buy a new V20 and had found a dealer on eBay who had offered the H918.
In the auction text it said that it would be compatible with all networks/provider, so I bought it. Today the dealer contacted me and said that the H918 would probably only work with a T-mobile SIM (I’m located in Germany, O2 is my provider) but he could offer me the VS995 that would had no problems with all networks.
I didn't find much about the VS995 in terms of network/provider compatibility.

What I have found was contradictory information on the web, one time it says "Yes, only with T-Mobile" somewhere else again "The US996 would be the best choice or then the H918 as a second choice, for both the provider would not matter, would work with everyone ".

Is the H918 really only usable with a T-Mobile SIM or does it only have a T-Mobile branding and also with regard to "rooting" and installing a "Custom ROM", which version should I prefer?

After rooting and installing a custom ROM, is the H918 compatible with all networks?
The H918 seems to support more Bands than the VS995?

I would be grateful for any tip, maybe someone can help me with the dilema and the decision!
Many thanks in advance. ^^

 

[Landloord]

Hello and good evening,

I wanted to buy a new V20 and had found a dealer on eBay who had offered the H918.
In the auction text it said that it would be compatible with all networks/provider, so I bought it. Today the dealer contacted me and said that the H918 would probably only work with a T-mobile SIM (I’m located in Germany, O2 is my provider) but he could offer me the VS995 that would had no problems with all networks.
I didn't find much about the VS995 in terms of network/provider compatibility.

What I have found was contradictory information on the web, one time it says "Yes, only with T-Mobile" somewhere else again "The US996 would be the best choice or then the H918 as a second choice, for both the provider would not matter, would work with everyone ".

Is the H918 really only usable with a T-Mobile SIM or does it only have a T-Mobile branding and also with regard to "rooting" and installing a "Custom ROM", which version should I prefer?

After rooting and installing a custom ROM, is the H918 compatible with all networks?
The H918 seems to support more Bands than the VS995?

I would be grateful for any tip, maybe someone can help me with the dilema and the decision!
Many thanks in advance. ^^

I'd advise you get the vs995 and don't update, to be on the safe side if you'd want to mod

 

[carpeta]

I'd advise you get the vs995 and don't update, to be on the safe side if you'd want to mod

Thanks for the reply Landloord.

I definitely want to root the unit and flash it with a custom firmware.
So far I only had one Android smartphone that I didn't rooted.
My question would be if the H918 would accept any SIM card after the root and custom ROM flash, because the seller told me it would only accept T-mobile SIM cards. I'm asking the questions because I never had an phone that was locked from the facotory to only one provider.

Shouldn't the SIM lock be overwritten after flashing with a custom ROM or am I wrong?!

 

[C D]

I definitely want to root the unit and flash it with a custom firmware.
So far I only had one Android smartphone that I didn't rooted.
My question would be if the H918 would accept any SIM card after the root and custom ROM flash, because the seller told me it would only accept T-mobile SIM cards. I'm asking the questions because I never had an phone that was locked from the facotory to only one provider.

Shouldn't the SIM lock be overwritten after flashing with a custom ROM or am I wrong?!

Flashing a custom ROM or different firmware has no effect on the SIM lock status.

The VS995 and US996 models always come SIM-unlocked out of the box, so all you have to worry about those is that the IMEI number is clean/not blacklisted.

The H918 is a bit trickier: If it's SIM-locked, then only SIM cards using the T-Mobile USA network will work. When buying, you have to make sure that the H918 is permanently unlocked (that is done through a special T-Mobile app that connects to a server and not a simple unlock code like you see from many other locked phones). In contrast, you'll want to avoid an H918 that is temporarily unlocked (for people who travel abroad for a while), so in that case, the phone will re-lock to T-Mobile USA after a certain period of time (could be several months).

If LTE band 20 is the main band for your provider, then any of the 3 models you mentioned should work fine. You can see each model's bands on sites such as FrequencyCheck. If there are other LTE bands besides 20 that your provider uses, then I think the various H990 models (H990DS, H990N, H990TR) have the most compatible bands for Europe.

As for root and custom ROMs, the rooting procedure and available ROMs will vary depending on the model you get, so you may want to look around here first to see what your options are. Generally, it does not matter how updated the firmware of the phone is; you can simply downgrade to root for all V20 models except one (the LS997, which doesn't have LTE band 20 anyway).

 

[carpeta]

Flashing a custom ROM or different firmware has no effect on the SIM lock status.

The VS995 and US996 models always come SIM-unlocked out of the box, so all you have to worry about those is that the IMEI number is clean/not blacklisted.

The H918 is a bit trickier: If it's SIM-locked, then only SIM cards using the T-Mobile USA network will work. When buying, you have to make sure that the H918 is permanently unlocked (that is done through a special T-Mobile app that connects to a server and not a simple unlock code like you see from many other locked phones). In contrast, you'll want to avoid an H918 that is temporarily unlocked (for people who travel abroad for a while), so in that case, the phone will re-lock to T-Mobile USA after a certain period of time (could be several months).

If LTE band 20 is the main band for your provider, then any of the 3 models you mentioned should work fine. You can see each model's bands on sites such as FrequencyCheck. If there are other LTE bands besides 20 that your provider uses, then I think the various H990 models (H990DS, H990N, H990TR) have the most compatible bands for Europe.

As for root and custom ROMs, the rooting procedure and available ROMs will vary depending on the model you get, so you may want to look around here first to see what your options are. Generally, it does not matter how updated the firmware of the phone is; you can simply downgrade to root for all V20 models except one (the LS997, which doesn't have LTE band 20 anyway).

Many thanks for the detailed answer! :good:
Then the flashing of another modem would probably not override the SIM lock then either, right? ?

 

[C D]

Many thanks for the detailed answer! :good:
Then the flashing of another modem would probably not override the SIM lock then either, right? ?

Correct. Only the T-Mobile Unlock app can be used to SIM-unlock it, and I think the info on the unlock eligibility/status of any particular H918 phone is stored on whatever T-Mobile USA server that the app connects to. There may be a paid unlock service that can unlock one for you, but I suspect it may be expensive.

I should also mention that the H918 is not compatible with any other model's firmware, which means that if you try to flash any non-H918 firmware onto an H918, then it will permanently brick/kill the phone. Likewise, flashing H918 firmware onto any non-H918 model will brick that phone.

 

[carpeta]

Thank you very much for all the information C D!
I will look if there are any differences in the included accessories of both models and I guess I have to take the VS995 or look around for another model. ??

 

[C D]

No problem. If returning the phone to the seller is easy, then you'll be able to try out the VS995 and see if the signal coverage is OK.
And by the way, the VS995 (as do the US996 and Korean F800K/L/S models) has the FM radio disabled, but if you root it and stay on a stock-based Oreo ROM, you can get the FM radio back.

Anyway, it looks like you still have plenty of options regarding compatible models. And as someone who happens to have grown up in Germany, I'd say you have „die Qual der Wahl“.

 

[Landloord]

You've said it all

 

[carpeta]

No problem. If returning the phone to the seller is easy, then you'll be able to try out the VS995 and see if the signal coverage is OK.
And by the way, the VS995 (as do the US996 and Korean F800K/L/S models) has the FM radio disabled, but if you root it and stay on a stock-based Oreo ROM, you can get the FM radio back.

Anyway, it looks like you still have plenty of options regarding compatible models. And as someone who happens to have grown up in Germany, I'd say you have „die Qual der Wahl“.

Ja die Qual der Wahl! :laugh:
I have now told the seller that I don't want either model, I might look for a US996 model.

Thanks again! :good: