Trouble with South Korean Sim. [SOLVED] - General Questions and Answers

Hi guys and girls, I've got a bit of an issue.
My Niki100 (HTC Touch Dual) won't seem to read my shiny new South Korean USIM.
The phone is originally from Australia, and has been quite happy roaming around on the 2100mhz 3G network here in South Korea using my Australian (3G) USIM, but it won't read the South Korean USIM.
It reads enough to pull up the number from the USIM, which shows in phone services, but it won't register on the network at all.
I was expecting it to play nicely and just forget about the GSM part of the phone and continue connecting on the UMTS (WCDMA) band, but apparently not.
I've tried a variety of ROM's and Radios without results.
Any ideas?
EDIT:
Solved: It was a combination of needing a new Sim Manager version, and the retarded IMIE lock South Korea puts on all foreign phones.

Related

Travel to Korea

Hi,
My daughter will be in South Korea for a year.
I would like to set her up with an HTC phone either the Touch Pro or Touch Diamond. I understand that either will support WCDMA or GSM.
Will there be any issues? Any suggestions on another phone or perhaps a good plan in S. Korea?
We expect to use skype on the phone. How is the open wifi availability?
I did SEARCH the forums and most hits were outdated. But, if you must, flame away!
Thanks and Regards,
Jim
jjttnn said:
Hi,
My daughter will be in South Korea for a year.
I would like to set her up with an HTC phone either the Touch Pro or Touch Diamond. I understand that either will support WCDMA or GSM.
Will there be any issues? Any suggestions on another phone or perhaps a good plan in S. Korea?
We expect to use skype on the phone. How is the open wifi availability?
I did SEARCH the forums and most hits were outdated. But, if you must, flame away!
Thanks and Regards,
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome
As far as I know the limitations won´t be on the phone so look into the provider to choose a plan that cover overseas with a good deal!
Good luck,
as far as i know if phones work outside usa and some other american countries
it works in korea too
as in things which are likely to be incomaptible would be cdma (not wcdma because that seem to be what some people call umts/3g)
and 850Mhz gsm and 2100 umts
Last I heard (and I could be wrong or it could have changed since) was that Korea used CDMA networks with SIM Cards, yeah it sounded strange to me at the time also.
You need to confirm what Bands/network types are being used in Korea then you can find your answers...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone
it's not 100% clear but seem to state that korea have several systems
"There are three major technical standards for the current generation of mobile phones and networks, and two major standards for the next generation 3G phones and networks. All European and African countries and many Asian countries have adopted a single system, GSM, which is the only technology available on all continents and in most countries and covers over 74% of all subscribers on mobile networks. In many countries, such as the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, India,, South Korea, and Vietnam, GSM co-exists with other internationally adopted standards such as CDMA and TDMA, as well as national standards such as iDEN in the USA and PDC in Japan. Over the past five years several dozen mobile operators (carriers) have abandoned networks on TDMA and CDMA technologies, switching over to GSM."
Everyone, thanks for your input. We got a Kaiser and will be setting it up over the next few days. Should have some good information from her in a couple of weeks.
Searching/Looking for a good radio now.
Regards
jjttnn said:
Will there be any issues? Any suggestions on another phone or perhaps a good plan in S. Korea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I was in Seoul and Busan last year, my GSM quad-band phone did not get any signal. The hotels I stayed at provided their customers a cell phone to use for the stay, and mentioned that US phones -- GSM or CDMA -- would not work in Korea. I would call a provider and ask, just to be sure.
Thanks pavankp, you scared me to action. You are correct, turns out a 3g phone is needed, a quad-band is not enough. Found this at att: http://www.att.com/Common/merger/files/pdf/international_calling/International_Travel_Tips-FS.pdf
Excerpt: A GSM quad-band phone (that works on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies) provides the widest coverage internationally. Most AT&T phones in stores today are quad-band. For travel to Japan or South Korea, your phone must operate on 3G technology at 2100 MHz. Phones that will operate in Japan and South Korea include the BlackBerry Bold, iPhone 3G, BlackJack II, Sony Ericsson z750, HTC Fuze, LG Incite, Samsung Epix and AT&T Quickfire. ...
Regards.
I spent time in S Korea in the Army. Camp Casey. Sucked. LOL. But that was back in 2000 so I'm sure a lot has changed. But you couldn't get regular AT&T service there. The phones you buy there are a little different. I think the technology is better in my opinion. Back in 2000 the phones there already had colored screens! Granted that most of them was not in English so I really had no interest in playing around with one to see what was so special about it. Wish her luck for me though.

No Service on Telecom XT network in New Zealand, Band issue 850/2100?

Hi I've had a vodafone branded Palm Treo 750v (specs below) running OK on Telecom XT in New Zealand since May '09. On Friday the 13th Of November, the carrier line on today screen showed "53005" instead of "Telecom NZ" and may have even said "o2" in the spot for a bit...but still worked. Then, from mid-day on the 13th through now (17 Nov) it's said "No service"...and meant it.
There were 3 times where I briefly (minutes) got service...twice in central Hamilton and one in Papakura (near Aucklaland). A sim card from 2degrees works in the phone when I get no service from the Telecom sim. Got a v2 simcard from Telecom today...same problem in store, but when I walked out it started working outside building in central Hamilton! When I drove out of central Hamilton today it stopped working. Despite hours on phone/email with Telecom, no solution. So, I'm thinking it might have something to do with the bands...maybe they changed something on Friday? Some clues:
The band selection is set to auto and auto. I understand Telecom runs WCDMA 850...and in some city centres it runs 2100...but my phone has only:
GSM(900+1800)+UMTS 2100
GSM(1900+850)+UMTS(1900+850)
The places where I briefly got reception match up with where there is likely 2100.
Tried re-flashing ROM, removing sim, re-flashing radio, changing band settings to manual...no effect.
Any help appreciated.
I'd swap to a different ROM - preferably a generic one.
Those Vodafone ROMs are locked down for some frequencies.
Your best bet is to follow some of the guides which let you install a different ROM on your phone - a good one give you more control of the frequencies you can choose. The MiniSD card bootloader method is what you're after.
I can't speak for NZ, as I've not been over there yet to play with the XT network, but in Australia on Telstra's NextG network, I set the network to:
UMTS ONLY
and UMTS(850)
I've found the coverage of the 850 umts network to be better than any of the others, and stopping the phone jumping between frequencies also helps things considerably.
But if Telecom haven't rolled out 850 in the urban centers yet, I'd set it to UMTS ONLY/ UMTS (2100+850).
Hi there. I should've made it clearer...phone was Vodafone branded and I upgraded to a cooked ROM that was working fine. When problem happend, I then tried a couple radios and non-cooked ROMs...same issue.
Well...since my post Telecom replaced my sim card to a V2 card. But the new sim wasn't working at telecom store...went home not hopeful but then it just started working...problem seems to have gone. Still don't know what exact issue was...but it works.
Take home point: If you have issue, try new sim card and maybe give it a few hors to work.
Hi there,
I am having the same problem on HTC Touch Pro. It is Vodafone branded. I am using NATF latest standard rom.
Does anyone have any advice? I would love a fix as I do not want to have to change networks.
From Liam
Not sure but might want to look here:
http://pdabreak.com/2008/htc-touch-pro-review/
"And here is the bad news now: It has been officially confirmed by HTC that the devices would be available as quadband, with separate versions available for North American and rest of the world markets. That means if you own the European version of the HTC Pro and afterwards fly to the US, your $1000 piece of hi-tech gadget simply won’t work on their 850mhz band or even if it does with the custom Rom pack, but in that case won’t be able to use 3G frequencies there. A disappointing fact indeed as most phones these days offer seamless connectivity to all 3G and HSPA bands throughout world. Further to agonize, the North American version won’t be available anytime sooner than December this year."

[Q] Is Nexus S for South Korea a CDMA phone?

Hello everyone,
Does anyone know if the Nexus S that will be released in South Korea this March, is a CDMA phone or is it a GSM phone.
I guess it will be CDMA since most of the Korean service providers use the CDMA network.
Secondly, I am thinking of getting the Nexus S, but I would like to take it back to South Africa with me when I finally leave Korea.
South Africa mostly uses GSM and 3G networks. Would I be able to use this phone there if I get it unlocked and get a new SIM card?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
You'd have to find out whether the nexus s released in your country has a GSM or CDMA radio. If it doesn't that respective radio, it won't work even if it's unlocked.
You can probably find this info when it's actually released in your country.

[Q] GTi9020t in Korea???

I own a GT-I9020t (tmobile) and just moved to south korea. I think I've read that the phone should still work by swapping SIM cards with a Korean carrier (like KT). Just wondering if it is possible or not.
Phone comes unlocked. You can put any sim card and you wont face any problems
So if I take my T-Mobile GSM Nexus S to say Korea, it will work by simply swapping to a Korean SIM Card? Like 3G and phone all works?
I thought there were some regulations like getting permission from the government to use foreign phones (like some Koreans had to do that pre-iPhone era).
Thanks!
I dunno about 3g, you should check mobile network frequencies in Korea. But yeah, you can use any unlocked GSM phone with any sim card. I live in the middle east, my phone is 9020t which I bought from the states. Never had problems with it even when swapping sim cards during my trips to Europe.
Emhalwis said:
I dunno about 3g, you should check mobile network frequencies in Korea. But yeah, you can use any unlocked GSM phone with any sim card. I live in the middle east, my phone is 9020t which I bought from the states. Never had problems with it even when swapping sim cards during my trips to Europe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as radio frequencies are same, it should work right? So if I go to Korea and Korean mobile provider has these frequencies, it should work?
T-Mobile USA owns licenses to operate a 1900 MHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) PCS (Personal Communications Service) digital cellular network and a 1700 MHz/2100 MHz UMTS AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) digital cellular network that cover areas of the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. T-Mobile USA provides coverage in areas in which it does not own radio frequency spectrum licenses via roaming agreements with other operators of compatible networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T mobile uses 850-900-1800-2100 for 2g and 900-1700-2100 for 3g. You shouldn't worry about voice since its a quad band and works in every country around the world. If any mobile network provider has the same numbers above for 3g, then you're ok
It should work fine in Korea. It's just a matter of acquiring the local sim (or USIM as they call it)or registering the phone and I'm not sure how easy it is to do it.

[Q] Is the international HTC One S version compatible with any carrier's 3g speeds?

I have both the T-Mobile and the international unlocked version. I have the latter because, in my excitement, I didn't take care to find out if it will work on T-Mobile's 3G speeds. To my dismay, it doesn't, and I have an extra phone.
I'm wondering if it will work on any other carrier's 3G/4G data speeds. Searching forums and support threads haven't gotten me any answers. Any help at all would be appreciated.
I bought mine in Britain and am using it quite happily here in Japan. T-Mobile USA has a relatively rare frequency band internationally; I think as long as you have 2100MHz and 900MHz bands, which this phone has, there should be an operator in almost every country that the phone will work on. In fact, it should work on most operators in most countries.
The phone has 850/900/2100 MHz bands for 3G; T-Mobile runs "4G" (actually 3G) on 1700/2100 aka AWS - this requires BOTH bands to be present in the phone, which is why the One S doesn't work. T-Mo USA also has 1900MHz, again not present in the One S. Can you get EDGE 2G data, which should be possible on 850MHz?
In the USA, it should work on AT&T, as they use 850MHz for 3G. Maybe you can find someone who will lend you a SIM to check it.
In Europe & Asia, it should generally work no problem.

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