Ok so here it is in a nutshell. I spend half of the year in New Zealand and Half in the US, in new Zealand I am on a GSM network and have had good success unlocking IOS devices (AT&T) and buying a prepaid SIM card and using them there. I want to pick up a Samsung either a S2 or S3 and use it over there as I am just sooooooooo sick of IOS. with all of that being said. I have a few questions and I did a bit of looking but not sure.
I have a HTC Thunderbolt for Verizon (yes I realize it CDMA and wont work on GSM) and have rooted it and flashed a custom ROM on it so I am not unfamilliar with the process.
so first question
1. Do you have to Carrier Unlock Android OS phones like you do IOS devices Or do you just root and flash a new ROM to it?
2. Do all of the US based GSM carriers have SIM card slots? (I know the IOS devices on AT&T did.
3. If AT&T phones work over there will sprint and singular will work as well?
4. Since I will not be using 4G over there am I better off with the Galaxy S2, I was also looking at the Nexus as well any thoughts?
Guys I realize that there are probable 20 threads with the same questions or a variation and I have done some looking but with everything happening in my life at the moment I don't have a lot of time to make decisions about phones.
thanks.
I'm going to answer this as best as I can. A CDMA phone overseas isn't usually a hot idea. A gem phone will typically have a sim card in fact I haven't seen one that didn't... and still fell into the gsm umbrella. Get an unlocked device as the only way a CDMA phone overseas will benefit you is if you find a CDMA phone company in aus and flash it. But again gsm will be the easiest way to go. Its a T-Mobile phone call and say you want a sim subsidy unlock (current active and not past due tmobile customers only) can take up to 14 days for the code.all the phones you will get in USA will need a carrier unlock unless a software one is available. And I'd go with the galaxy s2 just because it has some beastly ROMs and great longevity
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jaidlion said:
I'm going to answer this as best as I can. A CDMA phone overseas isn't usually a hot idea. A gem phone will typically have a sim card in fact I haven't seen one that didn't... and still fell into the gsm umbrella. Get an unlocked device as the only way a CDMA phone overseas will benefit you is if you find a CDMA phone company in aus and flash it. But again gsm will be the easiest way to go. Its a T-Mobile phone call and say you want a sim subsidy unlock (current active and not past due tmobile customers only) can take up to 14 days for the code.all the phones you will get in USA will need a carrier unlock unless a software one is available. And I'd go with the galaxy s2 just because it has some beastly ROMs and great longevity
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ok just to be clear I won't be using CDMA overseas jsut GSM. does the Galaxy S2 have software unlocks?
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/sgs-2-sim-unlock-code-finder-frees-your-sgs-2/
Also most CDMA phones don't also come with a simcard slot. Gsm is your best bet so get your galaxy s2 with T-Mobile or att
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Related
Hope you guys can help me.
I will like to buy the Inspire 4G thru amazon and plan to use it in Costa Rica, where we use the same 2G and 3G bands as AT&T (850). Nevertheless I’m not sure if after the SIM/IMEI unlock, it will work with a Costa Rican SIM card? It is very common for us to buy unlocked At&t or T-Mobile phones and use them in Costa Rica.. but I have my concerns.
Last December I bought a Prepaid AT&T Phone (Samsung A107) on a trip to the US, but after doing a SIM/IMEI unlock, the Prepaid phone didn’t recognized my Costa Rican SIM card. And even before that, while still been in the US, I was not even able to use the AT&T SIM card on my unlocked Touch Pro2 (EUR version).
My worst fear is that AT&T is doing some sort of “Hard Sim Lock” to their phones.. and I will kill myself for buying an expensive paperweight.
Your thoughts and comments will be highly appreciated.
Hi, I can't 100% answer your question but I do know why your SIM cards weren't interchangeable. We lock all PUK codes on all prepaid SIM cards to where you can only use that SIM on that phone. If you would've gotten a "regular" SIM you could've used it on another carriers phone. As to why the non AT&T SIM didn't work maybe they scammed you and it never got unlocked.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Using Inspire 4G in Costa Rica.
Thanks for your explanation. So basically and after reading other posts regarding unlocking this phone, the Inspire 4G should work overseas without any inconveniences, after inserting the SIM/IMEI unlock code that you buy from any “respected” and “trusted” site (and as long as the 3G Band is 850) ?
I was going to buy the unlocked Desire HD (Eur Version), but regretfully it wouldn’t work with any Latam 3G Band (as it happened with my Touch Pro2, that only works with 3G band 2100+900).
I got an Inspire 4G on Monday, unlocked it, and my existing SIM card from another country (also in latam) worked right away. Been using it since then both in the US and back home.
So unless there is some lock on the SIM card itself, it should work fine, I think.
That’s the answer I was looking for!! You made my day. To be honest, I want to change from Winmo to Android so badly… that this phone seems to be the right deal.
Quick question just before going to amazon and start my order: Which system did you used to get the Unlock code? I have read in other forums, that some folks have been using htcimeiunlock with excellent results (I’m not related to that company by the way). I just like to hear a second opinion.
And once again..Thank you so much for your assistance!!
Got my phone unlocked
Hey
I'm from Venezuela, and I unlocked my HTC Inspire 4G from AT&T at unlockusa.com. I chose them because they're top-rated sellers at eBay and seemed trustworthy. I got my unlock code within 5 minutes, and everything worked as expected.
Hope you enjoy your new phone!
Yes, I used htcimeiunlock.com. Got my unlock code in a few minutes with no problems whatsoever.
maestroburbuja said:
Hey
I'm from Venezuela, and I unlocked my HTC Inspire 4G from AT&T at unlockusa.com. I chose them because they're top-rated sellers at eBay and seemed trustworthy. I got my unlock code within 5 minutes, and everything worked as expected.
Hope you enjoy your new phone!
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trestrepo said:
Yes, I used htcimeiunlock.com. Got my unlock code in a few minutes with no problems whatsoever.
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Hmm 2 new members and advertising new site?
The AT&T Inspire only has North American UMTS radios 850 and 1900 Mhz. It lacks the 2100 radio necessary for 3 and 4G in Europe.
The phone will work on Europe's 2G Edge network. HTC should have put the 2100 Mhz radio in the Inspire but they didn't. This is the real gripe I have with this phone.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Doesn't the desire hd cover the european market with 2100? I suppose if you are traveling it is an issue but otherwise I see no reason for att to be adding something to this phone that already exists in one of its twins. Also it is not marketed as a "world" phone by at&t either.
Whats the key code / combination on the inspire to check the status of the sim?
I may be new on the forums, but I've been lurking for a while. Heck, I learned about that site from here, and the various threads on the forum on unlocking/rooting were one of the things I kept in mind when deciding to buy the phone.
geogkdam asked if the site worked; all I'm saying is it worked for *me*. I claim no guarantees it would work for anyone else, and frankly, I don't care much either; I'm just happy I was able to unlock the phone I bought on Monday withing a few minutes.
newter55 said:
Doesn't the desire hd cover the european market with 2100? I suppose if you are traveling it is an issue but otherwise I see no reason for att to be adding something to this phone that already exists in one of its twins. Also it is not marketed as a "world" phone by at&t either.
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It'll work on EDGE in Europe, which sucks for data, but at 20 bucks a megabyte while roaming, why would you want to?
I'll be taking my Inspire to London and Paris in a couple months and since I need to be reachable on my own number, I will suck it up and roam, but data will be off, so I couldn't give a crap about whether or not it's EDGE or 3G. It'll just be voice and text, and not much of that. I have an AT&T Nexus One with the 2100 band that I'll be bringing along too, I'll grab a local SIM and use that for data. I'll just have personal hotspot turned on and connect my Inspire to it.
try cellunlocker.net they unlocked it for me
yg17 said:
It'll work on EDGE in Europe, which sucks for data, but at 20 bucks a megabyte while roaming, why would you want to?
I'll be taking my Inspire to London and Paris in a couple months and since I need to be reachable on my own number, I will suck it up and roam, but data will be off, so I couldn't give a crap about whether or not it's EDGE or 3G. It'll just be voice and text, and not much of that. I have an AT&T Nexus One with the 2100 band that I'll be bringing along too, I'll grab a local SIM and use that for data. I'll just have personal hotspot turned on and connect my Inspire to it.
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AT&T also offers packages which would reduce your voice, data and text costs. Have you looked into them? Here's a link
I can't provide a link since I don't have the min. number of posts required to post here but Google "AT&T World" and you'll get the necessary info. The texting deal is a good deal if you plan to text between 20 and 50 texts. If less than 20 just go with the standard .50/text sent from Europe. If between 20&50 opt for the $10 one time charge (which drops your per text rate to .20/text).
I would also assume that free Wi-FI hotspots are plentiful around Europe??? Does anyone have first-hand experience with that?
I realise it's a bit of a noob question but I do a fair amount of travelling and would look at getting a Skyrocket if I can unlock it and use different SIMS depending on which country I'm in at the time, I know from previous experience that some of the North American providers 'hard' lock their phones to only their networks.
I currently am carrying a i9100 SGS2 which I'm pretty happy with however I'm also looking at the GNote and perhaps any other Samsung phones that support 4G(LTE) and will let me swap SIMS.....all suggestions and comments welcome.
Yes it has a sim card slot
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I believe all GSM cell phones have SIM card slot(s). I am thinking to get the AT&T Samsung Skyrocket phone. But I am wondering about your statement/question ("if I can unlock it..." to use other carriers' (local) SIM cards while on travel outside AT&T service areas.
Has anybody succeeded to unclock it? And how?
jcc266 said:
I believe all GSM cell phones have SIM card slot(s). I am thinking to get the AT&T Samsung Skyrocket phone. But I am wondering about your statement/question ("if I can unlock it..." to use other carriers' (local) SIM cards while on travel outside AT&T service areas.
Has anybody succeeded to unclock it? And how?
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If you have been a customer with AT&T for some time they will give you an unlock code if requested.
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Global Swag said:
If you have been a customer with AT&T for some time they will give you an unlock code if requested.
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It depends on the device. If the device is new to AT&T they might not release the SIM unlock code. I have been with AT&T since they took over from L.A. Cellular and AT&T would not give me a SIM unlock code for my Infuse a month or so ago. The Customer Rep gave some BS excuses. Luckily Rooting and unlocking the SIM could be done without AT&T.
The Skyrocket is a different story, I am also interested but could not confirm that it could be SIM unlocked.
Some folks reporting some paying service could do it and some said they do not work.
I have spent a few hours researching this issue and I am not sure it will work out, hoping I can get some guidance from someone more educated on the subject.
I currently travel back and forth between Kuwait and the United States on a regular basis. I really like the Samsung Galaxy SIII, so I am considering buying one at full price from Verizon. I have been using Verizon's service since 2009 and have never been late on a bill or anything. I would like to be able to buy a Samsung Galaxy SIII and unlock the SIM for use in Kuwait on a local carrier like Wataniya, Zane, Viva or any other local carrier in Kuwait as long as the phone will work. Of course 4G would be nice, but I can live without it if I am stuck using 3G while out of the states. I would prefer not to pay for a separate phone for both locations, as I do not want to use some crappy flip phone while I'm in Kuwait, but I do not want to pay for two expensive smart phones either.
The representative at the Verizon store told me I would have to go with an iPhone, but I do not like to give companies like Apple money and I certainly prefer Android over iOS.
Any help / guidance would be greatly appreciated.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1809314
This may help you out.
Also the RAZR and RAZR maxx just became global ready with Verizon also.
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voodoomanx said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1809314
This may help you out.
Also the RAZR and RAZR maxx just became global ready with Verizon also.
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The RAZR Maxx is the other phone I have been considering. Are you saying that I can do what I need to do with the RAZR Maxx without all the trouble this thread implies I am going to have to go through to get it working with the Samsung Galaxy SIII?
I don't suppose there is any chance that anyone on these forums has actually used a Verizon Android phone in Kuwait on a Kuwait provider before?
Yes. The razr maxx is global ready, however you still would have to hack it to make it accept a international sim card.
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voodoomanx said:
Yes. The razr maxx is global ready, however you still would have to hack it to make it accept a international sim card.
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Do you know if there are any Verizon Android phones I could just say pay cellunlocker to unlock and go?
So I did a little research on the providers available within Kuwait and this is what it looks like is available.
Wataniya
GSM: 900 and 1800 MHz
EDGE, GPRS and MMS
3G 1900/2100
Viva
We offer Dual Band radio frequencies on GSM 900/1800 MHz, and WCDMA 2100.
We also have broadband data services (HSDPA, EDGE, GPRS and MMS) service so you will be able to check emails, read news, watch content, send and receive MMS and more while you're on the move.
Zane
Dual band GSM 900/1800 handsets, but Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 preferred
Is it likely the Samsung Galaxy SIII or RAZR Maxx will work on any of these networks? Any chance of 4G or 3G?
Again I appreciate all the responses.
Any ideas? I would like to make sure if I pay full price for a Verizon Android phone and go through the trouble to unlock it that it will definitely work.
There is a dual sim adapter and app that you can use on the s3, if you search xda you will see what im talking about. I suggest that you post in that topic and see if there is any better info.
Good luck it looks like the s3 will work but i would get as much info as possible. And the dev edition might be an option. I don't know the price difference between it and Verizon version. But it might be worth seeing if one has different specs for the area you want to use it in. Good luck
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I don't mind having to switch the SIMs out as long as the phone will work on both Verizon and one of the carriers in Kuwait.
Caldaga said:
I don't mind having to switch the SIMs out as long as the phone will work on both Verizon and one of the carriers in Kuwait.
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No need to consider the Developer version now with the bootloader unlocked. (e.g. there isn't going to be anything the developer edition allows you to do that the regular retail version will not). With regard to which bands the Verizon S3 supports, in theory the MSM8960 chipset (Snapdragon S4) supports GSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1700/1900/2199, CDMA 800/850/1900, and LTE 700/750/1700/1900. The thread linked earlier seems to offer some hope of getting it working, but such things are always going to be a little complicated.
thanx for the info guys
verizon global svc
Couple questions.
I travel overseas extensively. Mainly HK/China and EU countries.
I want to use my phone and it would be nice to not have to swap Sims as I then have to update my contact information to customers etc.
I have the unlimited plan and paid full retail for my phone.
I have rooted my phone and am running the stock debloated ROM.
Can Verizon support a modification to the phone that would allow usage on GSM networks?
Alternatively is there some sort of service available that will forward calls from my VZW phone number to a PPsim card?
Additionally, it unclear to me with these unlock processes, do I have to modify my phone upon return to the states and use of my native Sim card should I choose one of these options.
Makes no sense to me why Verizon would want to inhibit this feature on this phone. They could charge me exorbitant rates and get away with it just for the convienence of not having to screw with apn's swap Sims etc.
Thanks for the help
voodoomanx said:
Yes. The razr maxx is global ready, however you still would have to hack it to make it accept a international sim card.
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I have a Droid 2 Global (which I bought outright) and wanted to use it in Europe (instead of carrying a separate unlocked Cricket GSM phone). I called up VZN, asked them about it and they said "we see you have met your contract obligation and have not had any phones unlocked in 14 months -- here is the code and here is what you do with it".
I did what they said and have been able to pop in multiple foreign SIM cards with no problem (I did have to switch off VZN however so I did not connect to their partners).
So, my question is - are the guts in the VZN S3 such that all one needs to do is call them up and ask for the unlock code (assuming you have not done this in past 14 months)? Or is the guts of the S3 not really 'global' and hence the need to root, unlock and load new ROMs to use them abroad?
Frank
Michigan
FMinMI said:
I have a Droid 2 Global (which I bought outright) and wanted to use it in Europe (instead of carrying a separate unlocked Cricket GSM phone). I called up VZN, asked them about it and they said "we see you have met your contract obligation and have not had any phones unlocked in 14 months -- here is the code and here is what you do with it".
I did what they said and have been able to pop in multiple foreign SIM cards with no problem (I did have to switch off VZN however so I did not connect to their partners).
So, my question is - are the guts in the VZN S3 such that all one needs to do is call them up and ask for the unlock code (assuming you have not done this in past 14 months)? Or is the guts of the S3 not really 'global' and hence the need to root, unlock and load new ROMs to use them abroad?
Frank
Michigan
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The S3 has the hardware for international roaming. As I understand, Verizon announced that it will have a software update to make it work as an international phone (together with the rezound). Knowing Verizon's history on timelines, I wouldn't hold my breath.
tsachi said:
The S3 has the hardware for international roaming. As I understand, Verizon announced that it will have a software update to make it work as an international phone (together with the rezound). Knowing Verizon's history on timelines, I wouldn't hold my breath.
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Ha ha. Good point!
try this may be help u:laugh:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2231544
I'm sorry for possibly reposting such a question but I couldn't find the answer. Can a US based, Verizon S3 be unlocked to another carrier like T-Mobile? Thanks in advance.
I would like to know also there was 1 thread on this but it was closed.
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I believe so since there is a spot for a sim card. Verizon typically uses this spot for the LTE card, but I've heard that can be used as a SIM for other carriers. I'd wait for somebody to confirm what I've said before you consider it fact though.
Yes. You need to be rooted and do a few other things, but you can use it on both AT&T and T-Mobile with a bit of tinkering.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30364615&postcount=60
However, ther question is still up in the air as to whether the phone has hardware for WCDMA on a band other than 2100mHz. Only time will tell for that one.
Hey all, I got one of these brand new in the box from one of those machines that you have to try and get the stick through the hole and it knocks down the prize. The thing is, this one was branded by Sprint (did NOT say Sprint anywhere on the box, only within the phone itself on startup.)
I tried to bring it to MetroPCS, and they said they can't flash it because it was too new or something.
Is there actually a way to flash/unlock it from Sprint to use on Metro?
No, there is not. You have Metro PC which is GSM and you have Sprint which is CDMA. You can contact Sprint to unlock for international use. But it cannot be unlocked for domestic, be it CDMA or GSM.
Call Sprint international customer support.
BTW: This is Dev Section of the forum.. You may want to post in the Q and A section of the forum for questions like these. Its easier to get a helping hand.
Actually i thought the note edge was capable of both. It suppose to run on cdma or gsm like the nexus
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Actually, there is a possibility that if there is no lein on the phone itself, you may be able to contact Sprint and get them to unlock it.
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If your near Minneapolis I'll trade you an unlocked nexus 6