Can You Add B28 to a Phone?

GeorgeSr on 03/04/2019 - 17:32

My aunt has a 1-yo LG V20 she got from a Hong Kong website, which she uses for calls, navigation and that's about it.

She lives in the country and really struggles for coverage in areas where others are fine. Suspect she bought a model that doesn't have B28.

She's over it, and wants advice on a new phone to buy. I'm reluctant to ditch a perfectly workable phone just for an extra band.

Does anyone know if you can send a phone away and pay someone to update the hardware and number of bands? Or would the cost make it pointless?

Thanks in advance

Mobile LG Mobile Phone Android

Comments

  • fantombloo on 03/04/2019 - 17:37
    +15

    Like adding a couple extra cylinders to a car.

    • 87percent on 03/04/2019 - 21:33

      Op should add a big ass exhaust and add racing stripes

  • coxjon on 03/04/2019 - 17:44

    Try adding more bands

  • prisonmike on 03/04/2019 - 17:50
    +1

    You can actually add over 9000 bands. More the better.

  • CodeXD on 03/04/2019 - 17:56
    +3

    Short answer, no.

    Long answer, noooooooooooooooooooooo.

    Check the phone's setting and get the actual version to match up with info from gsmarena.

    What carrier is she with?
    What phone do you have? Does it have B28? Have you tried putting her sim in your phone to see if it has better coverage?

    • Clear on 03/04/2019 - 18:59
      +3

      Long answer is yes actually. For some phones it's possible to turn on additional bands if it's licensed to do. Downside is phones typically have it enabled if it's licensed and the process on non-MediaTek phones is very complex.

      • Kangal on 03/04/2019 - 20:36
        +1

        Damn, you beat me to it.
        This used to be the case with Samsung flagships. It's quite tedious and requires you to backup your IMIE/Settings, but was doable due to the popularity.

        Now, I think most Samsung flagships come with all the bands unlocked regardless.

        It's much more difficult with LG, since they get less love from the Modding community.

        • Clear on 03/04/2019 - 23:21

          Back in the day it would also work with some Xiaomi Mi flagships but like the Samsung flagships, very hard.

          Makes a lot more sense for a large brand to just have one version with all the bands.

      • Forfiet on 04/04/2019 - 13:52

        "the process on non-MediaTek phones is very complex" lol don't hear that often…. usually mediatek is a pain to do more than what's initially offered….

        • Clear on 04/04/2019 - 15:25
          +1

          I know right. They have something called Engineering Mode that can be easily accessed with an app and from there you can do this

          • Forfiet on 04/04/2019 - 17:11

            @Clear: I think there is a code you can dial to reach engineering mode too… seems familiar…

            • Clear on 04/04/2019 - 17:22
              +1

              @Forfiet: You can and with other brands. MediaTek are just the least restricted.

  • dcep on 03/04/2019 - 17:59
    +1

    Turn off 4g. Set network to 3g only.

    Instant full signal.

  • CyberMurning on 03/04/2019 - 18:49

    Yesus… Question of the year.

  • GeorgeSr on 03/04/2019 - 19:33
    +2

    OK cool. Thanks heaps for the responses guys.

    She's on Telstra network but too far away for me to do a range comparison. Sounds like a big no anyway.

  • JimmyF on 03/04/2019 - 20:11

    Can you add B28 to a phone?

    No /thread closed

  • Halo375 on 03/04/2019 - 20:34
    +1

    The answer is not no, its yes. You could negotiate with the manufacturer to replace the motherboard and antenna in your phone to add the b28 band. Of course this would require you to pay shipping, research and development, prototyping, componentry, licensing, testing, software development, more testing, labour costs, shipping again and a healthy margin for the hell of it. Probably cost about $800,000 I reckon.

    • Kangal on 03/04/2019 - 20:39
      +1

      No, sometimes the hardware is there but the software is not.

      If it is one of those cases, he could back it up and flash a different radio. But it's very tedious, I did it before for Samsung. However, there is a decent chance of bricking the device when you play with the underlying drivers.

      • pegaxs on 03/04/2019 - 20:45

        Can confirm. Did this years ago on a phone. The chipset supported all the different bands, but it was software/firmware locked. Did some tweaks and used another region firmware and bingo, all bands unlocked.

        Unfortunately, not every phone is that easy. So OP’s mileage may vary.

        • Forfiet on 04/04/2019 - 13:54

          Thats modem flashing right? Jeez been years since I did that…. but then again I think I changed a Windows phone into to a android one at that time also…..

          • pegaxs on 04/04/2019 - 19:21

            @Forfiet: I remember working on a jailbreak for the iPod touch back in the day to get Bluetooth working. It was the same chipset in the touch as was in the iPhone. iPhone had wifi and Bluetooth, iPod touch didn’t.

            But yeah, back in the day where I used to do a lot of phone modding with Android, there were lots of phones you could just flash a different market firmware and unlock different features…

  • alvian on 05/04/2019 - 04:50

    Free band 28 mobile: Telstra Blue Tick for better rural coverage.

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