Is Band 1 4G Only Available On 4G+ Capable Phones?

[3Gbusters]

Bit of a technical post here

I've noticed that my Samsung A05s only accepts B3,20 and 28 4G, it has never showed B1.

My last Samsung A54 does receive B1 on 4G but then I realised that it has only ever showed B1 4G on 4G+ when CA with other bands.

Is it that 3 only allows B1 4G on 4G+ devices or is my phone (not 4G+ capable just basic 4G) faulty?

Also another off topic question for the moderators to answer: Is it true that 3 are/have switching off 3G-only masts off in areas without a 4G upgrade meaning that they have completely decommissioned those masts?

I have heard of those ones that had a recent 4G upgrade or just left switched on but also heard about 3 switching off some 3G-only sites forever with no plans to upgrade the coverage.

[JonathanB]

Hi @3Gbusters,

I had a look into this one, and although the A05s will support B1, you'll find that this will almost always be steered onto B3 by the network as there's more spectrum available on this band, and both these bands are almost identical from a coverage perspective.

Hope this helps!
Jonathan

[PeteG]

Hello. 

It looks like you've reached a conclusion to the 1st part of your question. To answer the 2nd part in relation to 3G switch off - No, areas with 3G only coverage would not be left without service.

In areas where there was only 3G coverage and no option to upgrade it yet, 3G services were left running, so even though the process of switching off 3G services has completed, there are still a few areas where a 3G signal is still active. 

Pete.

[jr0]

this is probably a shot in the dark but could be that B1 has been switched off as part of the 3G switch off as you seem to hint? A05s Samsung specs shows B1(2100) as supported...

what are you using to check the phones band/frequencies in use?

[3Gbusters]

*#0011# dial and netmonster

[jr0]

nice...

I find it a bit strange that Three or any other operator would restrict the band/freq based on devices type. Do you know if your A05s can use multiple bands at the same time?

[3Gbusters]

No, it is not a 4G+ device, it only does one band at a time

[jr0]

Do you know how phones select or pick which band/freq to connect to?

[3Gbusters]

Guessing they just do it automatically based on signal strength. What meant is that the Samsung A05s does not connect to multiple bands, just one.

[jr0 · Accepted solution]

I thought that too and I understood.

So I was thinking and pasting Samsung A05s specs from samsung page:

• 4G FDD LTE B1(2100), B3(1800), B5(850), B7(2600), B8(900), B20(800), B28(700)

so being B1 and B7 the highest freqs and requiring more power(?) I was wondering if samsung opts to use a lower freq if available (because is more energy efficient?)