Hi Everyone!
I am still new to the Android phones and need some help. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone that I bought from T-mobile. I want to switch carriers to a different cell phone provider, but have been told that it can't be done. Is there a reason for this, or a way to switch providers with this phone? I would appreciate all help and advice, as I am completely lost. Thank you for your time!
Need more information about the phone. Give us the model. Is this Galaxy S II, Galaxy S?
I would check the phone's specs. Usually T-Mobile phones have 1700MHz 3G only so the phone can't be used on other 3G network.
This doesn't mean you can't use it on other 2G networks.
Give us the phone model and network you want to switch to.
In the states each of the carrier uses networks that are not compatible with each other. (And i mean pop out a sim card and put it in without flashing new radios and such)
This is only really a problem in the US as others in the majority of the world have standards among their carriers so all their phones are interchangeable
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
Related
Hello gents, I'll start with a short story to get you into the thread:
Me and my girlfriend live in Venezuela, our service providers are not up to par with american or european carriers in terms of available devices, so we bought an HTC Magic for each of us last year to try out Android, everything was fine, I learned how to root it, install roms and such, and we had a pretty good run with the phone and the OS.
Last week we got robbed and they took away our phones, I decided to get a Nexus S for her and I found one at a good price on eBay(270$+shipping) however this one is branded for Sprint, will I be able to go to my service provider and just tell them to attach my account to the phone I bought on ebay? or are the Sprint and Verizon Nexus S locked to those carriers exclusively?
If the answer to the second question is yes, then a third question is raised, can I in any way unlock this phone to use it on my non-american service provider?
I have seen other threads and the replies are always "the Nexus S is factory unlocked." but I dont know if this refers exclusively to the ones sold in the UK or retail stores in the US.
I apologize for any noobish behaviour, I'm a big fan of devices and gadgets yet I lack a lot of the technical skills you all seem to demonstrate.
Thanks in advance.
-Gaash
There is no such thing as a Verizon Nexus S. Sprint Nexus S have different radio bands than the regular Nexus S (I9020T/I9020A/I9023) and features a 4G radio with it. You have to make sure that the phone is compatible with your carrier's bands. Another thing to note is that the Sprint Nexus S is CDMA (No SIM card) as well.
All Nexus S models come unlocked regardless if you're on the contract or not. Sorry to hear about your incident
The model I bought is GT-I9020T, according to people on the internet(random links on google) this model works on GSM frequencies of 850, 900, 1800, & 1900. It supports UMTS 900, 1700, and 2100 frequencies.
My current provider works on 850 and 1900 for GSM and 850 for CDMA.
Do you think I will have trouble using the phone I bought for my girl?
I feel terribly dumb when I ask this, I cant explain why, hehe.
Oh, I think I figured it out, I bought for her the non branded GSM version, so yes, it will probably work on my provider.
But what happens if I buy a Sprint CDMA one for myself? Those are definitely cheaper, and CDMA seems to be better down here, at least more stable.
Thanks for your replies, and simpathy, it's been a rough week without a smartphone for both of us.
Gaash said:
Oh, I think I figured it out, I bought for her the non branded GSM version, so yes, it will probably work on my provider.
But what happens if I buy a Sprint CDMA one for myself? Those are definitely cheaper, and CDMA seems to be better down here, at least more stable.
Thanks for your replies, and simpathy, it's been a rough week without a smartphone for both of us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure and I wouldn't say the CDMA version is more stable. I personally never used the Nexus S 4G but from what I can tell from threads is that there are problems with WiFi or something of that sort.
You might want to ask the carrier yourself via phone to see if it would be compatible or so. Just let them know about the bands the phone supports.
And that's interesting if your carrier supports CDMA and GSM.
CDMA = No SIM card
GSM = SIM card
GSM is more popular around the world. Just including that just incase!
Alright, so I talked to my carrier they said the following:
-If I buy a CDMA phone with no contract on the US I will be able to register it on their network.
-If I buy an unlocked GSM phone I can register it on their network.
I guess I'll have to buy a couple of GSMs just to be sure... even tho they are about 100$ more expensive.
Thanks for all the replies, catch you later!
I noticed that the new LTE phones on AT&T need a new sim to access the LTE network; I'm coming from an iPhone 4 which of course is a micro-sim, anyone know if they can be cut down and used in an iPhone to access the HSPA+ network?
i think so but you still wont get LTE just hspa+ or 3g its just that the phone is going to have an LTE radio so it can use it
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
Ok, so I've searched all over and haven't had much luck. I have no experience with cdma phones, as t mobile is all I've ever had.
I was given a new US Cellular HTC Hero s. I opened it up and saw the sim slot and though, sweet I can replace my sensation with it (I smashed the screen pretty bad). Well, that was a no go, as the phone is cdma. Looking online though, I see it can run in gsm (options global mode, cdma mode, gsm / umts mode. I unlocked the bootloader using the htc site (not sure it matters) and popped in my sim card again, and tried both global and gsm mode, though neither got signal or would dial out. (under networks, it had the tmo apn info.)
So, is the GSM mode offered on this phone only for non US bands? Would a custom rom (now or down the road) allow it to work on tmo? I read something about the HTC Merge and someone being able to switch out the modem in the rom that allowed it to work in the US, but that is well beyond me. I can follow instructions, work ADB and flash roms.. but thats about it.
Is it possible, or will it soon be, to have this phone work on GSM or am I just stuck trying to sell it as a us cellular phone (or perhaps another cdma carrier.. like I said, I don't know anything about cdma)
As a Canadian I'm not sure about who owns US cellular or if they are their own company but I'm guessing they work like Verizon world phones. They have sim card slots but will work only outside of the US. If those verizon phones are used within the States, they will only pick up Verizon's frequency, as opposed to T-Mobile or AT&T where you can unlock them and use them with any GSM carrier within the States. But yeah, you can unlock it and it will work with any GSM carrier outside the States but within the States I think it will only work under US Cellular CDMA network...please correct me if I'm wrong.
That's right, u.s. cdma "world phones" have gsm radios but are locked down from connecting to gsm networks in the u.s. This is not just the normal sim lock found on gsm phones but they are hard coded to ignore u.s. gsm networks.
Some have been unlocked to work on any network through various methods including flashing a modem from a non-us varient of the same phone and other hacks. I can't comment specifically on this phone however.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Well, that points me in the right direction, and confirms what I read about swapping modems (on the other phone mentioned).
So basically it's software telling it not use a certain frequency, and not that the phone itself is incapable of picking it up (had my doubts about that)
Pretty shady the way phone companies are allowed to operate (don't get me started on my unlimited internet in my contract [pre data caps in tmo]. "Hey! check it out, this phone uses data 5 times faster than your old one, oh, and you get half as much too) sorry, end of rant.
I'll keep searching, and post if I find something..
On a side note, can cdma phones be flashed to another cdma carrier like verizon or sprint, or is it the same deal, coded to only use a certain frequency range?
only thing I've heard of is flashing sprint and verizon phones to cricket, metro pcs and boost.
Hi all,
With Verizon releasing officially, the update making its SGS3 Global ready atleast for voice as of now, a lot of discussion is happening right now about the Global capabilities.
FYI. I'm a good reader and explorer on hofo,androidforums and xda. So any guidance is highly appreciated
So here is my question.
I have a Verizon S GS3. It is brand new.
1. Can I use it with Straight Talk T-Mobile SIM ( T-Mobile has good coverage near my house ) after doing the rooting, unlocking, etc. etc all the technical stuff
2. If I unlock the phone, will it be truly global capable, I mean, can I use my S GS3 on any GSM Network in the World, even in the USA, with 3G Speeds? Did anyone use it in any Country with 4G LTE Speeds?
3. I know this is really a very very strange question. But after unlocking the S GS3, will it be working on the AT&T LTE Netowrk in the USA? My thinking is, if it working in the LTE Network in the USA, then it will work in other countries as well, where LTE Network is going to be available in the future. Sorry, I know this is a bit weird.
If You can please refer and threads or links, it is fine with me. I'm also looking and not depending only on the answers that I get from this thread. But looking for replies/guidance/links though.
Thank You.
hope this is the answers you are looking for
qzmpal said:
Hi all,
With Verizon releasing officially, the update making its SGS3 Global ready atleast for voice as of now, a lot of discussion is happening right now about the Global capabilities.
FYI. I'm a good reader and explorer on hofo,androidforums and xda. So any guidance is highly appreciated
So here is my question.
I have a Verizon S GS3. It is brand new.
1. Can I use it with Straight Talk T-Mobile SIM ( T-Mobile has good coverage near my house ) after doing the rooting, unlocking, etc. etc all the technical stuff
2. If I unlock the phone, will it be truly global capable, I mean, can I use my S GS3 on any GSM Network in the World, even in the USA, with 3G Speeds? Did anyone use it in any Country with 4G LTE Speeds?
3. I know this is really a very very strange question. But after unlocking the S GS3, will it be working on the AT&T LTE Netowrk in the USA? My thinking is, if it working in the LTE Network in the USA, then it will work in other countries as well, where LTE Network is going to be available in the future. Sorry, I know this is a bit weird.
If You can please refer and threads or links, it is fine with me. I'm also looking and not depending only on the answers that I get from this thread. But looking for replies/guidance/links though.
Thank You.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for Q1:yes you well be able to use any network... install any mod now most of them are already rooted and unlocked
for Q2:yes you can... all you need to ddo is to download a program called hiapn.. wipe the existing apn settings.. then auto detect and you are good to go 3g and hspa
Q3: yes it works thanks to the magic of hiapn software... but not many countrys use LTE .. usa canada japan and maybe few others
Verizon SGS3 on any GSM Carrier
Hi experts,
I have a small doubt here.
If the Verizon SGS3 can be used with any GSM Carrier around the world, then that means, the Verizon SGS3 can be used with AT&T or T-Mobile as well along with Verizon Network.
But the T-Mobile or AT&T Versions cannot be used on the Verizon's Network. Is that true?
I'm have got a traveling assignment coming up to Europe this Summer and I need to know what is the best possible solution out there before I leave.
Thank You.
Verizon's GS3 uses CDMA technology for the phone calling and data, as far as I know the SIM in the verizon version is only used for LTE.
From what I have read in forum posts, (this one in particular http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2013647) if you pop in a SIM card, calling and texting should work. If you want data to work then you need to change some APNs around. Stock touchwiz does not allow this so you would need an app to do that. AOSP ROMs should have a way for you to edit APNs.
On the topic of getting 4G on any other network besides Verizon, that is fairly unlikely as they all use different technologies/ bands. Verizon has LTE, T-Mobile has HSPA+, not entirely sure what AT&T has but I think its also LTE.
This phone will take any SIM card cut to micro-size.
3G+ speeds depends on the frequency the carrier uses. The VZW GS3 uses the following radio frequencies after the JB update: GPRS/EDGE/GSM (850/900/1800/1900); HSPA/UMTS (2100) [I had to search high and low to find this for my trip to China]
Each LTE carrier uses different radio frequencies, and global countries also use LTE frequencies different than the US ones. 4G is a very varied standard at the moment.
If you want fast internet on a non VZW carrier, it better have HSPA+, otherwise you are on 3G at best.
Right now, the only truely global phone is the iPhone5 on VZW, which supports 5 different LTE frequencies. Sad but true.
The US based SG3's dont even have the FM radio that the international versions have
Edge
Mix3d said:
This phone will take any SIM card cut to micro-size.
3G+ speeds depends on the frequency the carrier uses. The VZW GS3 uses the following radio frequencies after the JB update: GPRS/EDGE/GSM (850/900/1800/1900); HSPA/UMTS (2100) [I had to search high and low to find this for my trip to China]
Each LTE carrier uses different radio frequencies, and global countries also use LTE frequencies different than the US ones. 4G is a very varied standard at the moment.
If you want fast internet on a non VZW carrier, it better have HSPA+, otherwise you are on 3G at best.
Right now, the only truely global phone is the iPhone5 on VZW, which supports 5 different LTE frequencies. Sad but true.
The US based SG3's dont even have the FM radio that the international versions have
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, my girlfriend has a verizon s3 and with straight talk she is only on edge it never changes. It makes the phone nearly useless. Ive tried to talk her into letting me flash and unlock it but she isnt real interested in it. I dont even know forsure if unlocking the bootloader downgrading to 4.1.1 and using the att sim unlock method would work but I would assume that flashing it would allow you to at least get 3-4g. not?
Hi,
I have a problem with my S5 and I was wondering if I could find any help in this forum. Excuse me for my English and if I am not posting in the correct section, is my first time in the forum.
I live in Lima, Peru and I recently bought an Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S5 model G900W8 from GSM Nation in the USA.
I choose this version of the S5 since it was unlocked for the bands in which my operator (Claro) works here in Peru (2G: 1900Mhz, 3G:850Mhz and 4G: 1900Mhz (Band 2)).
When the phone arrived, I just changed my microSIM card from my old phone to the S5 and it worked without any problem, I was able to make calls and navigate normally. But since my plan was only a 3G plan (since my old phone didn't support 4G) I decided to upgrade to a 4G plan. I went to make the change and my carrier informed I also needed a new microSIM to use a 4G plan, and I did so. But when I plugged in the new microSIM the phone it doesn't work. It shows the message "Emergency calls only" and when I try to call it shows "Not registered on network". I called my carrier for support and they said they have already made the change and activated the new microSIM and that they can't give me any further support since they only sell the Galaxy S5 G900M with their plans.
I don't know what is causing this problem, but I think it must be something related to my carrier that is blocking my phone to access their network but only with the 4G plan and microSIM.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Hi there!
If I had to guess, I'd say its 1 of 3 things,
1. An account problem with your carrier.
2. Your APN setting for the new 4g network are not right or missing. You'd have to find out from your carrier what they should be.
3. Simply a bad sim card.
All of those need to be discussed with your carrier though.
However, feel free to ask in the S5 Questions and Answers section. Perhaps someone there can offer other ideas.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/help
Good luck!