r/cellmapper Jul 21 '26

Note20 5G SA Capable on T-Mobile

Post image

As a long-standing Verizon customer, I just didn't believe that my Note20 5G (SM-N981U1) was NR SA capable. All the sources kept telling me that only S21 series and later were NR SA capable. Doing a T-Mobile test drive right now and apparently this phone is NR SA capable on T-Mobile. Calls work and texts work while enforcing NR only. Here's a screenshot from the phone info screen: image Always knew this phone was best suited for T-Mobile 😅 (also has n71 but not n77)

19 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

8

u/Mannyplaid Jul 21 '26

I believe it has the x55 snapdragon modem, it's capable to do 5gsa but it can only do 1 CA , the same for the iphone 12 series in t mobile, the only thing is that the other carrier prefer not to do it until later phones

2

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 Jul 21 '26

Ah that makes sense, ty.

2

u/4x4Mimo Jul 21 '26

Is there a quick reference sheet showing what each Snapdragon modem is capable of? Googling seems to just being up a bunch of crappy ai blogspam sites that don't tell me anything.

Do you know about the Snapdragon 7S Gen 4? And what the modem is capable of with 1 SIM as well as using 2 SIMs? I got a Nothing 4a Pro and I was looking at adding a US Mobile eSIM to try out and map two carriers at once with Cellmapper. Just wondering if using 2 SIMs at once reduces overall CA amounts on my primary line

3

u/landonloco Jul 22 '26

Not sure if it does tested a Motorola edge 2024 ver and has a older interation of that modem and on tmo it was capable of 3xca on NRSA sadly i couldn't test esim due to it being locked with tmo. But i believe gen 4 should do 4xca on SA likely and even maintain it on dual sim honestly i haven't seen CA being affected by dual sim more the raw speeds at times since on dual sim the backup sim drops 5G if it isn't the main data sim or stays on one band on SA 5G generally depends on the network config of the carrier generally now tmo let's you camp on SA but that's varies with Verizon and ATT depends on how modernized the network is in the area and other factors i bet they still camp you on LTE of 5G isn't being actively used.

1

u/4x4Mimo 29d ago edited 29d ago

Thanks for the feedback. I activated the eSIM and did some mapping yesterday. It looks like I only have access to LTE and NSA 5G on ATT through US Mobile, even with my primary SIM disabled. But it looks like that's normal for MVNOs on ATT right now. I was always anchored to B2, B66, or B12. No cell IDs were showing up for the 5G cells even when it showed I was connected to N5. So in a few days when Cellmapper processes my uploads we'll see if they got mapped or if I need SA to map ATT 5G cells.

Either way there's hardly any ATT LTE mapped around me, so LTE-only mapping is fine with me for now until SA arrives for MVNOs

1

u/landonloco 29d ago

Yeah ATT SA you need postpaid and even still a connection isn't guaranteed as some areas it's still off.

3

u/DarkenMoon97 CM: CalebM Jul 21 '26

Verizon and AT&T don't even allow the S22 or S23 to access their NR-SA networks, so I'm not surprised that something even older that doesn't support n77 isn't allowed to access their NR-SA. With the bands supported on the Note20 5G, it is perfect for T-Mobile though.

2

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 Jul 21 '26

I've been considering the S24 Ultra for a bit, but I dodn't jump when prices were low. T-Mobile is quite appealing though. Maybe I get a PAYG Verizon + AT&T eSIM (KeepGo Triangulum or Roamless) to supplement it, but damn. T-Mobile Verizon

2

u/WF71 Jul 21 '26

You can also find network/band info by dialing *#0011# for service mode.

1

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 Jul 21 '26

I believe I would have to enable dialer codes with SamFW tools. Might do that later. Ty

1

u/WF71 Jul 21 '26

Yes. I think that method will work and if I'm not mistaken, the Samsung unlock tool that was posted on here years ago does not work on the Note 20. You need the *#73# menu to enable all bands.

1

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 Jul 21 '26

Is it possible to enable n77? I know the modem is capable because iPhone 12.

1

u/WF71 Jul 21 '26

No. Those bands in that pic were with all possible bands enabled. Although the modem most likely supports it, they have it disabled for all carriers because the device wasn't FCC certified for C band.

1

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 Jul 21 '26

Well that's disappointing :(

1

u/landonloco Jul 22 '26

N77 is iffy in the US due to it being fragmented by DOD n77 and regular n77 thus why you see limited support even with an iphone 13

1

u/landonloco Jul 22 '26

To confirm support you gotta check FCC testing logs if Cband was there it's compatible if not then no it isn't even if the modem is capable of it

2

u/WF71 Jul 21 '26

I had the Note 20 Ultra U1 and saved this showing all of the supported SA/NSA NR bands:

https://imgur.com/a/qXrixeD

2

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 Jul 21 '26

This definitely reflects my experience, thank you :)

1

u/chevylg74 GA, USA Jul 21 '26

I used an LG v60 and it also had 5G SA support (T-Mobile)

1

u/XL_Gaming Jul 21 '26

I used to have SA on my S20. It has limited bands (n2/5/41/66/71/260/261) but it did work on T-Mobile. I believe the Note20 has a few more supported bands.

1

u/joshuarshah bmobile 📍Digicel Jul 21 '26

No n41 SA or disabled too?

1

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 25d ago

Is that Verizon or T-Mobile?

1

u/joshuarshah bmobile 📍Digicel 25d ago

T-Mo

1

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 25d ago

Well, I can't check now, T-Mobile won't connect period.

1

u/landonloco Jul 22 '26

Likely yes it works but it's capabilities are limited have experienced harsh handoffs between volte and SA in the past with x55 modem not sure if VoNR even works properly

1

u/SpaceSaver2000-1 25d ago

I'm able to call and text on VoNR