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[Q] Nexus S SIM unlock?

Hey NSers.
I bought a Nexus S just about the week it came out from Best Buy, but I've decided to move on to another phone. I had thought that purchasing it from Best Buy meant that it shipped unlocked, with no specific carrier, but I just tried an AT&T SIM card in the phone, and it gets no service.
I called T-Mobile, but the woman I spoke to informed me that they couldn't request an unlock code because it's not a phone they actually support.
So I'm wondering how I can unlock it.
Right now, its bootloader is unlocked and it's rooted, if that makes any difference (I'm hoping there will be something easy I can do that doesn't involve contacting either Google or Samsung).
Thanks in advance for any guidance.

your nexus s IS unlocked as of google phones.
the problem is that the nexus s does not support (hardware) AT&T cellular bands.
there is a specific model of the nexus s (I9020A if i'm not wrong) that support those AT&T bands.. sorry.

Gonizahavy said:
your nexus s IS unlocked as of google phones.
the problem is that the nexus s does not support (hardware) AT&T cellular bands.
there is a specific model of the nexus s (I9020A if i'm not wrong) that support those AT&T bands.. sorry.
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Oh, really? I thought it supported AT&T GSM bands, but not the 3G bands.
And no worries. It's an i9020T, so maybe it's unlocked but still works only with TMo. Darn.

willentrekin said:
Oh, really? I thought it supported AT&T GSM bands, but not the 3G bands.
And no worries. It's an i9020T, so maybe it's unlocked but still works only with TMo. Darn.
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I think he meant to say it does not support at&t 3g bands. It should work on any GSM carrier, but may not work on 3g.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

OuncE718 said:
I think he meant to say it does not support at&t 3g bands. It should work on any GSM carrier, but may not work on 3g.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
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Right. But if I put in an AT&T SIM, it should work with AT&T's GSM frequencies, right? I'm really not looking forward to calling Samsung tomorrow.

I should go to best buy and ask if you can swap it for a i9020A.

avili said:
I should go to best buy and ask if you can swap it for a i9020A.
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I9029A isn't sold in best buy. I'd go to AT&T and get a new sim card. Your phone should work just fine on AT&T, u just won't have 3G.

I've had a similar experience with the Canadian carriers, however if the carrier supports GSM bands it will work (like previously said) it's when the carrier only supports HSDPA (like Koodo in Canada does) then you need the specific Nexus S (i9020A in your case).
You could also try adding the APN to see if that will allow you to connect (Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Mobile Networks -> Access Point Names (APN)) - the details can be found on the forums / your carriers website.

Works for me.
willentrekin said:
Right. But if I put in an AT&T SIM, it should work with AT&T's GSM frequencies, right?
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Works for me. I live in NYC, and I picked up a Nexus S at Best Buy over the Easter break as a quick temp phone till I got my Captivate fixed.
No 3g, but it certainly works on Edge. Makes calls, data works, syncs with google apps, etc.
Maybe you're just in a poor reception spot for ATT...

Thanks for the advice. Will retry. I'd wanted to confirm AT&T would work before I put it on eBay.

International

Why hasn't the international xl been released? The AT&T variant passed FCC like a month ago and is supposedly being released May 7th. The international phones are supposed to come out long before major carriers in the US -- taking forever!

maybe a shortage of kraits? there was that...
maybe because there is already an int one x...

I've heard that the international One XL does not work well with AT&T because it is not "optimized". Does anyone know:
1) what "optimized for AT&T means
2) is this something that could be fixed through a custom ROM or by flashing the AT&T radio?

paulsalem said:
I've heard that the international One XL does not work well with AT&T because it is not "optimized". Does anyone know:
1) what "optimized for AT&T means
2) is this something that could be fixed through a custom ROM or by flashing the AT&T radio?
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Optimized meaning the band frequencies are not compatible for at&t's frequencies. Which doesn't really make sense considering the international version would be a gsm phone as well and would most likely be using the same 3 bands as at&t does. It can't be fixed by flashing a radio because it's hardwired into the phone. I was going to buy the unlocked international xl to use on Simple Mobile's network here in the US. Now I'm finding nothing on the international xl other than just it saying at&t's xl is being released in late april-early may.

UnlockedNand said:
Optimized meaning the band frequencies are not compatible for at&t's frequencies. Which doesn't really make sense considering the international version would be a gsm phone as well and would most likely be using the same 3 bands as at&t does.
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That doesn't seem correct. Notice below the 3G works, but it's spotty.
HTC sent us the international version of the One X. Though it functions on AT&T's 3G network, it has not been optimized for AT&T's network (or any U.S. network at the moment). In my time with the device, I saw erratic network performance. It found AT&T's network everywhere I took it, but dropped the connection often. Browsing performance was inconsistent, as was the ability to place phone calls. This is likely a direct result of international version's lack of optimization for AT&T. Phone Scoop will also review the AT&T version of this device, so don't place much importance on our assessment of this internationally-banded device.
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http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=10166&p=4925

paulsalem said:
That doesn't seem correct. Notice below the 3G works, but it's spotty.
http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=10166&p=4925
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Thanks for posting. That's good to know, as I was (slightly) considering the international version, and using it on AT&T. Primarily due to the increased storage, and also on the notion that LTE sucks for battery life (but still waffling on this point, and will likely go for an LTE device);.
Article sounds like it was written by somebody that actually does not know much about cell phones; as the terminology "not optimized" is conveniently vague.
I'm certainly no expert either. But if its got the right band compatibility, I don't see what could be the problem. The AT&T version will likely have an AT&T specific radio, but I don't see this making all that much a difference. I've tried various radios on my Desire Z (usually based on recommendation for a particular custom ROM) none of which are not AT&T specific, and they all worked well.
My Desire Z is the Canada Bell version, and it works perfectly on AT&T's network. But the Canada Bell and AT&T networks seem similar in various ways, maybe there are some hardware level optimizations (beyond the basic fact of band compatibility)?

Use XL on T-Mobile USA?

Can we get the ATT HTC One XL unlocked to use it on T-Mobile USA? If yeah, whats the procedure?
Thanks.

Check out my thread on getting this phone to work on WIND (similar to T-Mobile, but in Canada). http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1610323

madhad said:
Can we get the ATT HTC One XL unlocked to use it on T-Mobile USA? If yeah, whats the procedure?
Thanks.
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There's a ton of posts on the One X forum where people got it working using EDGE for data. Folks on this forum are trying to get the XL working for 3G data on Wind. If they do, it'll work on T-Mobile U.S. also.

The AT&T model does not have the correct bands to work on 3G/4G TMo. All you will get is Edge.

Red5 said:
The AT&T model does not have the correct bands to work on 3G/4G TMo. All you will get is Edge.
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There's a huge conversation going on about what's published and what the radio's capable of. There's a hack for the G-Note that folks are going to try and make work on the One X (assuming the h/w supports the bands). With the hack, the G-Note lost a bunch of signal strength and battery life so it's far from perfect.

Red5 said:
The AT&T model does not have the correct bands to work on 3G/4G TMo. All you will get is Edge.
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Hardware-wise it has.
If you go to HTC USA website you see that it does. The Tegra 3 based international version doesn't, but Rogers/AT&T version does. There is another thread where someone purchased the Rogers version and tried to use it on WIND (which uses the same band as tmobile usa), and got no data (phone is unlocked, but no edge no 3G). If the problem is due to the lack of WIND/tmobile 3G bands, he would have at least get EDGE data. He contacted HTC Canada and HTC verified that the phone hardware indeed support those band, and the issue has to do with Rogers implementation of the software.
The same happened with AT&T Galaxy Note. It supports tmobile 3G band, but was disabled in software. People here are able to open up those bands by flashing new radio on it.
It is still not know whether the AT&T One X has T-Mobile 3G bands disabled in software or not, and if it does, whether it can be easily re-enabled. But the hardware support is there.

So if I buy the att one XL outright (and dont do nothing else) and pop in the tmobile micro sim will it work..meaning make phone calls and all? And it'll just get edge right?

k87 said:
So if I buy the att one XL outright (and dont do nothing else) and pop in the tmobile micro sim will it work..meaning make phone calls and all? And it'll just get edge right?
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no
10char

I am using my Rogers HTC One XL on Tmobile right now and yes all you get is Edge + voice.

k87 said:
So if I buy the att one XL outright (and dont do nothing else) and pop in the tmobile micro sim will it work..meaning make phone calls and all? And it'll just get edge right?
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No, it's locked to AT&T man.

cmaxwe said:
I am using my Rogers HTC One XL on Tmobile right now and yes all you get is Edge + voice.
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As long as you purchase an unlock code and unlock the phone then it will give you edge + voice on Tmobile.

cmaxwe said:
I am using my Rogers HTC One XL on Tmobile right now and yes all you get is Edge + voice.
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This sucks. I'm on Tmobile and was holding out for the AT&T One X to use on Tmobile. Didnt want the One S because of the small screen. May have to go with the Galaxy Nexus for 400.00.
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using xda premium

Well assuming you unlock it and live in a refarmed 1900 hsdpa area from tmobile can you get 3G that way?

methodz said:
Well assuming you unlock it and live in a refarmed 1900 hsdpa area from tmobile can you get 3G that way?
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1900 hasn't been refarmed in my area but that would be the only option for somebody to use the One X on 3g/4g.
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using xda premium

Is there or will there be an unlock for the one x so we can use it (phone calls, edge etc) on the tmobile network?

madhad said:
Is there or will there be an unlock for the one x so we can use it (phone calls, edge etc) on the tmobile network?
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Yes...most definitely. Once the AT&T version is officially released, you'll likely see numerous posts on how to unlock. There are some threads already starting if you search...

Here is an unlock site the says they can unlock the ONE X (AT&T Version) phone already. It costs in the neighborhood of $15, but that is a small price to pay to carrier unlock. If you live in a TMobile area that has reassigned their HSPA+ to the same 1900MHz Band AT&T uses it should be well worth being able to grab a tmobile sim for back up data or switching over completely. From what I have read, TMobile will be moving most of their markets HSPA+ to the 1900 MHz band in the not too distant future so this could be win win. I am going to give this a shot on May 4th when my phone is supposed to show up, I will post back with my success or failure.

Just a random thought that came into my head.
T-mobile is getting the One S, which also uses the S4. Given that the radio is integrated in the S4 chipset, and both the One X(AT&T) and One S are using the same SoC, they probably have the same capabilities with regards to the networks. In that case, it may "simply" be a matter of producing a modem driver with support for the T-mobile bands.
Disclaimer: This is all conjecture on my part, as I'm not entirely sure what is involved with cell phone radios and the more modern technologies.

mesasone said:
Just a random thought that came into my head.
T-mobile is getting the One S, which also uses the S4. Given that the radio is integrated in the S4 chipset, and both the One X(AT&T) and One S are using the same SoC, they probably have the same capabilities with regards to the networks. In that case, it may "simply" be a matter of producing a modem driver with support for the T-mobile bands.
Disclaimer: This is all conjecture on my part, as I'm not entirely sure what is involved with cell phone radios and the more modern technologies.
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Sorry, that's a negative.
There are several variations of the Snapdragon S4. Some with LTE, some without.
In this case, the One X LTE has the S4 MSM8960 with LTE. The One S has the S4 MSM8260A, without LTE.

What exactly is WCDMA AWS band? Because on the HTC website it says the One XL has that. I thought that is both bands for tmobile 4G.

[question] cdma / gsm ?

Hey guys, i would like to buy an one s the next days but i have an important question, since the c2 [s3 processor] will be the only one sold in the future in some european/asian countries (not in mine, just s4 here):
whats with CDMA / GSM? i read that t-mobile us has gsm phones but does that mean that the one s is only sold in the gsm version?
i am just asking because i don't want a phone without "enough" custom roms in the future, because there will be some for the c2 version only and if there are a lot for cdma only it won't be much for a european s4 gsm version.
thanks!

cmajetic said:
Hey guys, i would like to buy an one s the next days but i have an important question, since the c2 [s3 processor] will be the only one sold in the future in some european/asian countries (not in mine, just s4 here):
whats with CDMA / GSM? i read that t-mobile us has gsm phones but does that mean that the one s is only sold in the gsm version?
i am just asking because i don't want a phone without "enough" custom roms in the future, because there will be some for the c2 version only and if there are a lot for cdma only it won't be much for a european s4 gsm version.
thanks!
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Wrong section man.
And I'm not sure. You could Google it..
Sent from my HTC One S using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Mod please move this. But to answer, all one s phones are gsm and there are currently more roms for the s4 version but the c2 will catch up with time
Sent from my MIUI powered one s
If I helped you in any way please hit thanks!

cmajetic said:
Hey guys, i would like to buy an one s the next days but i have an important question, since the c2 [s3 processor] will be the only one sold in the future in some european/asian countries (not in mine, just s4 here):
whats with CDMA / GSM? i read that t-mobile us has gsm phones but does that mean that the one s is only sold in the gsm version?
i am just asking because i don't want a phone without "enough" custom roms in the future, because there will be some for the c2 version only and if there are a lot for cdma only it won't be much for a european s4 gsm version.
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CDMA and GSM are different ways of transmitting radio (cell phone) waves.
In the U.S., to my knowledge, only Verizon uses CDMA. All other carries use GSM and most international carriers also use GSM. If you buy the phone from T-Mobile US, you can only buy the GSM version. If you buy it from Verizon, you can only get the CDMA version (this assumes Verizon actually sold the One S). I'm not sure about international carriers, but I would expect that most operate the same way. It would not be smart for a carrier to build out both CDMA and GSM networks due to the expense involved.

No matter where you get it or which SoC it has, S3 or S4, it will be GSM.

Thanks for your answers but it is too late, no one s from tmobile left in Vienna, they say one month... but I'm sure then they will get only c2...
Gesendet von meinem HTC Desire mit Tapatalk 2

Thread Moved​
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WCCobra said:
CDMA and GSM are different ways of transmitting radio (cell phone) waves.
In the U.S., to my knowledge, only Verizon uses CDMA. All other carries use GSM and most international carriers also use GSM. If you buy the phone from T-Mobile US, you can only buy the GSM version. If you buy it from Verizon, you can only get the CDMA version (this assumes Verizon actually sold the One S). I'm not sure about international carriers, but I would expect that most operate the same way. It would not be smart for a carrier to build out both CDMA and GSM networks due to the expense involved.
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Verizon and Sprint are CDMA. T-Mobile and AT&T are GSM. By extension, Virgin and Boost are CDMA since they piggy back of off Sprint here. We also have regional carriers like MetroPCS and Cricket kthat are CDMA. IIRC, T-Mobile US phones are better than AT&T phones with international compatibility.
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda app-developers app

Why not get Canadian GS7?!?

So, if we aren't able to get root for US variants, what would be the downfall of getting an unlocked (and root) Canadian variant and using it in the US?

How do you know the Canadian version is unlocked

duvalbmarley said:
How do you know the Canadian version is unlocked
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Because I Google it. Seriously. All versions are unlocked except US variants.
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA Free mobile app

Interesting. And a Canadian gsm device could potentially be made to work on tmo. Might take some creativity and a mixture of hybrid software and patches but it sounds feasible; I'm so glad I waited to get one! Makes me wonder if the bootloader being locked is what's taking so long to bring us variants up to 6.0.1, could they be looking to release mm by ota and locking our bl's in the process?
Edit: cuz i sure don't want to end up updating to mm only to find my T variant now has a locked MM BL!

Rx8Driver said:
Interesting. And a Canadian gsm device could potentially be made to work on tmo. Might take some creativity and a mixture of hybrid software and patches but it sounds feasible; I'm so glad I waited to get one! Makes me wonder if the bootloader being locked is what's taking so long to bring us variants up to 6.0.1, could they be looking to release mm by ota and locking our bl's in the process?
Edit: cuz i sure don't want to end up updating to mm only to find my T variant now has a locked MM BL!
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I mean, the Tmo Canadian variant has 4GLTE. WOuldn't even need to be unlocked, simply get your hands on a Canadian variant.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-...l-twrp-hero2lte-3-0-0-0-t3334084/post65844493

The Canadian one is Exynos but it's the international version. Someone would have to check if that version even supported US bands.

Does wifi calling and VoLTE work on TMOBILE with the Canadian version could someone confirm

duvalbmarley said:
Does wifi calling and VoLTE work on TMOBILE with the Canadian version could someone confirm
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It does not.

If volte and WiFi calling are important stick with the T model

The specs show that the Canadian model supports all the T-Mobile and AT&T LTE: Bands (2/4/5/12/13/17/25/30/41) as well as the 4g HSPA frequencies (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
If you live near Vancouver, Edmonton of Toronto, you can get an unbranded one from a Samsung Experience store and it comes with factory unlock codes
Of course no T-Mobile VOLTE or wifi calling. But everything else, including fully rootable
Sent from my SM-T710 using XDA Free mobile app

The whole reason we want the T-Mobile one unlocked is because AOSP does not support Exynos. There is much more potential for ROM development on the SD820 than on the Exynos. At this point though the Exynos does seem better than the locked Snapdragon. It is also possible that the Chinese version might be the best of both worlds (Unlocked BL+SD820) but I have not heard much on if it supports the important 4G bands for ATT/T-Mobile.

risestar2 said:
The specs show that the Canadian model supports all the T-Mobile and AT&T LTE: Bands (2/4/5/12/13/17/25/30/41) as well as the 4g HSPA frequencies (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
If you live near Vancouver, Edmonton of Toronto, you can get an unbranded one from a Samsung Experience store and it comes with factory unlock codes
Of course no T-Mobile VOLTE or wifi calling. But everything else, including fully rootable
Sent from my SM-T710 using XDA Free mobile app
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I think in gonna take a look at that now. I personally don't use wifi calling at all, alright i have to admit volte would be a loss for me, well with the loss of the ims service for advanced messaging and i believe native video calling, but an unlocked bootloader and faster exynos (i haven't flashed an aosp rom in forever) chip is almost a flat trade in my book. I might consider it if development for the s7 exynos starts looking promising. I wouldn't be against a fly unlocked exynos s7 edge, that'd be pretty sweet if there were a few roms and some kernel love from a couple devs, but that requires source code so.........time will tell i guess.
dgriffin2013 said:
The whole reason we want the T-Mobile one unlocked is because AOSP does not support Exynos. There is much more potential for ROM development on the SD820 than on the Exynos. At this point though the Exynos does seem better than the locked Snapdragon. It is also possible that the Chinese version might be the best of both worlds (Unlocked BL+SD820) but I have not heard much on if it supports the important 4G bands for ATT/T-Mobile.
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