My S5-G900W8 shows up as a G900F

[bauer82]

Checked it on imei.info and other sites. Shows up as G900F. Bought it as a G900W8. Please help!

[bauer82]

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@bauer82 wrote:

...And in fact I checked on gsmarena and there is no variant of the s5 listed there that has the combination of band 17 and band 20 lte. 

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Hello,

  I trust you are aware that the specifications listed on GSMArena, PDAdb.net, etc. are only preliminary specifications. While they can give an idea of what versions and specifications a phone might have, the final specifications a phone will actually have are not usually published. The actual specifications are generally pretty similar to the preliminary ones so no one usually bothers. Obviously, if there are major discrepancies people will take notice, but if the differences are minor -- as in the inclusion of an additional band -- those sites probably won't get updated.

  The more pertinent issue should be whether you are able to use LTE. By the looks of it, you are able to access the LTE networks when you let your phone select the band/frequency.

  If you are still concerned, your best option is as @FidoTerry mentioned, to contact Samsung with your IMEI.

Cheers

[bauer82]

G900w8:
4G LTE
B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B17 (700)

G900F :
LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800)

[bauer82]

Band 20 is also listed.

[bauer82]

One thing that seems insignificant possibly but the s5 has a Max download speed of 150 mbps. I have had a speedtest of 184mbps.that's what raised questions for me to start with.. any thoughts on that?

[bauer82]

With all lte bands was maybe 20-30 mbps

[FidoTerry]

@bauer82,

you can check the model on your phone settings in settings > about device > Model number. If you are worried that the model number is different, you can always contact the manufacturer directly with the IMEI. They should have a database of the IMEI and model numbers.

**edited due to typo

[bauer82]

Yes I've tried *#band# .. it shows lte bands 17. I had tried band 17 before and it didn't work. Tried it earlier today it didn't work. It has connection but when u try to use the data connection nothing goes through. On speedtest.net app, it will go about 0.02mbps at same place where a minute earlier in band selection I chose ALL LTE BANDS.

[Cawtau]

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@bauer82 wrote:
Yes I've tried *#band# .. it shows lte bands 17. I had tried band 17 before and it didn't work. Tried it earlier today it didn't work. It has connection but when u try to use the data connection nothing goes through. On speedtest.net app, it will go about 0.02mbps at same place where a minute earlier in band selection I chose ALL LTE BANDS.

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Hello again,

 So, if you entered Service Mode and selected LTE band preference, what bands are listed? If Bands 4 and 17 are listed, then the version you have is not the European G900F.

  If you're concerned about not getting service on a particular band, ie band 17, perhaps you're not in an area that is serviced by that band.

Cheers

[bauer82]

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@Cawtau wrote:

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@bauer82 wrote:
Yes I've tried *#band# .. it shows lte bands 17. I had tried band 17 before and it didn't work. Tried it earlier today it didn't work. It has connection but when u try to use the data connection nothing goes through. On speedtest.net app, it will go about 0.02mbps at same place where a minute earlier in band selection I chose ALL LTE BANDS.

---

Hello again,

 So, if you entered Service Mode and selected LTE band preference, what bands are listed? If Bands 4 and 17 are listed, then the version you have is not the European G900F.

  If you're concerned about not getting service on a particular band, ie band 17, perhaps you're not in an area that is serviced by that band.

Cheers

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And in fact I checked on gsmarena and there is no variant of the s5 listed there that has the combination of band 17 and band 20 lte. 

[Cawtau · Accepted solution]

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@bauer82 wrote:

...And in fact I checked on gsmarena and there is no variant of the s5 listed there that has the combination of band 17 and band 20 lte. 

---

Hello,

  I trust you are aware that the specifications listed on GSMArena, PDAdb.net, etc. are only preliminary specifications. While they can give an idea of what versions and specifications a phone might have, the final specifications a phone will actually have are not usually published. The actual specifications are generally pretty similar to the preliminary ones so no one usually bothers. Obviously, if there are major discrepancies people will take notice, but if the differences are minor -- as in the inclusion of an additional band -- those sites probably won't get updated.

  The more pertinent issue should be whether you are able to use LTE. By the looks of it, you are able to access the LTE networks when you let your phone select the band/frequency.

  If you are still concerned, your best option is as @FidoTerry mentioned, to contact Samsung with your IMEI.

Cheers

[bauer82]

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@Cawtau wrote:

  If you are still concerned, your best option is as @FidoTerry mentioned, to contact Samsung with your IMEI.

Cheers

---

Yes I checked my imei on samsung website.. Shows up as G900w8. Guess I was wrong!.. along with the sites like imei.info.. Thanks!

[bauer82]

17 is there but so is 20?????

Dunno but if ur saying the B17 wouldnt show up if it was G900F then why does b20 show up...

[bauer82]

I'm not saying it's for sure. I'm just saying u don't go to the source of the legitimacy in question to prove it's legitimacy. And why don't the other sites show my phone as a moto x or even one if them say anything but G900F. Obviously they are linked to some credible database..

[bauer82]

U got it from Fido I take it?

[Cawtau]

Hello again,

  I understand you also checked on some other sites, but I'm not sure how reliable a site with a 50/50 safety rating is.

Taken from here.

  If you wanted, you could search for the S5 secret codes to see which bands/frequencies the phone actually has.

Cheers

[bauer82]

FidoManuel, even the $75 s5 knockoffs say g900w8 or whatever they're supposed to there.. if you're gonna pull something like this off ur not gonna be that careless!

[KAPABLE-K]

@bauer82 if you got the phone from Fido and it says its a W8 then thats what it is you cannot take what a third party site says to be the truth.

Edit: imei.info shows my Fido Galaxy S6 as Model: G920F Galaxy S6 (SM-G920W8)

[FidoManuel]

@bauer82 Not sure what you mean by that?

We sell the G900W8 variant, and we definitely don't sell fake units. The 3rd party website doesn't guarantee the information they provide, we do. 

[bauer82]

I bought it from Fido.. I'm wondering about the band's for rogers/fido and also since my contract is almost up just the band's in general in Canada. . Or abroad. And I'm thinking what is fido doing with a G900F in the first place?

[FidoManuel]

Hey bauer82!

If you go in your Settings-->About Device--> what's the model number you see there?

[Cawtau]

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@bauer82 wrote:
Checked it on imei.info and other sites. Shows up as G900F. Bought it as a G900W8. Please help!

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Hello Bauer82,

  Where did you purchase the phone? Was it through Fido or some other online retailer? Or was it some other site such as Kijiji?

  I'm thinking if it was a recent purchase, then it probably wasn't from Fido because they don't carry them anymore. When I was researching before getting my phone, I found that many online retailers would advertise generic specifications of the phone and then they would ship whichever version they had in stock. If it's from a reputable online retailer, you may be able to return it. Unfortunately, you'll likely have to pay for return shipping and possibly a restocking fee even though it wasn't the one you wanted. If you purchased the phone from someone on Kijiji or Craigslist, then I'm afraid there is little recourse available. Live & learn. You may be able to sell it yourself as a G900F.

  Hope this helps

Cheers