Samsung A3 (SM-A300Y) and Telstra 4GX startup logo

[sengork]

Hi

Telstra's Samsung A3 shows the 4GX logo when the device boots and shuts down, yet I do not see any indication that my phone is connecting to anything other than plain 4G LTE. 

Note that I am well inside a CBD area with great coverage signal.

Does anyone know whether this phone actually supports 4GX as indicated by both the box (packaging) and the software startup screen? If yes, how can I verify that I am indeed on a 4GX connection. 

Thank you. 

[Yastiandrie]

From what  i can tell from the manual, the Samsung doesn't have a 4GX indicator on its status bar. You could try a speedtest and see what youre getting

Yes it does support 4GX

[sengork]

Thanks for your reply. When I enter the hidden LTE menu by dialling *#0011# I see LTE Band 3 which from what I can find is 1800MHz not sure if this indicated 4GX. Sometimes band 28 is displayed which seems to be 700HMz which is not listed on the specifications at https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/prepaid-mobiles/samsung-galaxy-a3#specifications

Likewise I do not see the A3 phone being listed on the 4GX supported mobiles website: https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobiles-on-a-plan#!/filter/brand//os//features/is4gx/plan/s...

Which LTE category should my device be?

[sengork]

So according to 24x7 chat representative A3 is not eligible for 4GX connectivity despite having 4GX written on the official packaging box as well as it's boot screen.

This is rather misleading for buyers of this phone.

[sengork]

An update, I was able to get up to 111Mbps download speed at one point. Not sure whether this indicates the phone's category or confirms the 4GX connectivity (whilst the Android status bar shows 4G icon only).

From https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/telstra-4gx:

"In 4GX areas, typical download speeds are 2-75Mbps for 4GX category 4 devices, 2-100Mbps for 4GX category 6 devices and 5-150Mbps for 4GX category 9 devices. With a Telstra 4G device in 4G areas, typical download speeds are 2 – 50Mbps."

Based on this and the speed it'd imply category 9 which is contrary to the category 4 specs found at http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a3-6762.php

Confusing indeed...

[Yastiandrie]

I believe the A3 is cat 4 lte which should be up to 150mpbs. 4GX is Telstra's name for 4G LTE-Advanced. It uses carrier aggregation via Frequency Division Duplexing which, in theory, means it can use both the 4GX frequency 700MHz and standard 4G 1800MHz to achieve its speed

[sengork]

All of the phones in a local Telstra shop show 4G in their phone's status bar. I'm guessing both Android and iOS make no visual distinction between 4G and 4GX.

[Yastiandrie · Accepted solution]

Correct there's no distinction

[ComputerGirl1]

I don't really care personally I don't use 4GX