New Phone not Connecting to T-mobile Network

Naffanaffa wrote:

Do you know any carrier I can use that is compatible with the phone’s 4g?

In the USA? No. It’s not on AT&T’s whitelist, so they won't allow it. It doesn't have band 13 for use on Verizon. T-Mobile's the most permissive carrier about accepting BYODs.

What little I can find online says that phone has the following bands:

2G Network : GSM EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G Network : UMTS HSDPA UMTS 900, 1700/2100, 2100 MHz
4G Network : FDD-LTE 900, 1700/ 2100, 1800, 2100 MHz (Band 1, 3, 4, 8)

Of these, T-Mobile in many places will only have GSM 1900 and LTE band 4 and the GSM 1900 is intended only to support legacy M2M (e.g. alarm) systems. This phone is a very poor choice for use on T-Mobile in 2022.

Naffanaffa wrote:

I finally found the FCC ID, it is JOYYKEA60

That's it. Unfortunately the test data submitted to the FCC is not very revealing and the user manual submitted with the test is almost entirely in Japanese and contains no information I could use to help you. I can't see how you can lock the phone in GSM mode to test if that will work.

You shouldn't buy a phone based on wishful thinking. There are too many ways for them to not work or work poorly. There was a time when I only bought unlocked phones from overseas. That was then, this is now. Our current two main phones came from T-Mobile and the backups are types known to work with T-Mobile before they were purchased.

One thing that crossed my mind is that there might be a setting somewhere under "Network" that looks like VoLTE/LTE Voice/4G Voice/etc. If this is turned off it could cause the symptom you're describing. In any event, with only one 4G band for T-Mobile, it's not a good choice.

drnewcomb wrote:

4G Network : FDD-LTE 900, 1700/ 2100, 1800, 2100 MHz (Band 1, 3, 4, 8)

Of these, T-Mobile in many places will only have GSM 1900 and LTE band 4 and the GSM 1900 is intended only to support legacy M2M (e.g. alarm) systems. 

I bought it as T-mobile's main band for LTE is 4, which the phone supports. SO it is supposed to work, right? 

drnewcomb wrote:

Naffanaffa wrote:

I bought it as T-mobile's main band for LTE is 4, which the phone supports. SO it is supposed to work, right? 

 

The phone also has to support T-Mobile's VoLTE system which is not stated in the specs I saw. Unfortunately compatibility of BYODs is entirely the responsibility of the customer. Maybe if you could provide the FCC ID of the phone I could research it some more. The FCC ID is an alphanumeric code about 7-9 digits long like "R7BJ6U43". It's found either on a sticker or in the Govt Info page in Settings menu.

I finally found the FCC ID, it is JOYYKEA60

drnewcomb wrote:

Naffanaffa wrote:

I finally found the FCC ID, it is JOYYKEA60

That's it. Unfortunately the test data submitted to the FCC is not very revealing and the user manual submitted with the test is almost entirely in Japanese and contains no information I could use to help you. I can't see how you can lock the phone in GSM mode to test if that will work.

You shouldn't buy a phone based on wishful thinking. There are too many ways for them to not work or work poorly. There was a time when I only bought unlocked phones from overseas. That was then, this is now. Our current two main phones came from T-Mobile and the backups are types known to work with T-Mobile before they were purchased.

thank you for your help and effort. I will try and see if I can return the phone, or get a replacement for a phone that works with t-mobile.

Do you know any carrier I can use that is compatible with the phone’s 4g?

drnewcomb wrote:

One thing that crossed my mind is that there might be a setting somewhere under "Network" that looks like VoLTE/LTE Voice/4G Voice/etc. If this is turned off it could cause the symptom you're describing. In any event, with only one 4G band for T-Mobile, it's not a good choice.

Do you know any carrier I can use that is compatible with the phone’s 4g?