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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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Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.

jiayu g2

Purchased a Jiayu g2 to play with so far the phone is very nice. It is suppose to work with 850/900/1900/2100mhz wcdma however I cannot get it to work on 3g with att I only get edge and have tried just about every apn setting I can. Does anyone else in the US have this phone working on 3g? I have it rooted. Funny never thought I would say this but it is a very nice phone.

eaa628 said:
Purchased a Jiayu g2 to play with so far the phone is very nice. It is suppose to work with 850/900/1900/2100mhz wcdma however I cannot get it to work on 3g with att I only get edge and have tried just about every apn setting I can. Does anyone else in the US have this phone working on 3g? I have it rooted. Funny never thought I would say this but it is a very nice phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of these Chinese phones state they're quadband GSM, but only have 2100 for 3G. Correct me if I am wrong.
Also, do you accidentally have GSM Only set?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

KayxGee1 said:
A lot of these Chinese phones state they're quadband GSM, but only have 2100 for 3G. Correct me if I am wrong.
Also, do you accidentally have GSM Only set?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here is the link for google translate.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://www.ejiayu.com/Product-5.html
this is the manufactures website and in the product parameters tab it shows 850/900/1900/2100 wcdma 3g and even in the engineermode menu it has them listed. i only paid 160 for it but to be honest it is a real nice phone and i was completely shocked at how well it was constructed. i even have it rooted. if there is anyone else out there that has this phone in the US or anywhere i would be interested to find out what bands you are on.

Take a look at the specshere
It shows 2100MHz for 3G
Don't be fooled by Engineering mode. It may show the options for specific MHz, but if the phone doesn't support it then the options pointless and misleading.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

KayxGee1 said:
Take a look at the specshere
It shows 2100MHz for 3G
Don't be fooled by Engineering mode. It may show the options for specific MHz, but if the phone doesn't support it then the options pointless and misleading.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hear what you are saying. but the fact that the manufacture website shows the bands. i understand that the selling sites are all diff some show 2100 some show 850/2100. but for 160 it was worth a shot.

So no one else in north America has this phone?

Hi,
I have heard that MTK6575 SoC does support 3G on 850MHz/1900MHz. Two things might prevent it from working.
1. Your cellular provider maynot be providing 3G on both 850 and 1900 where you live. It could just be on 1900MHz where you live. Could you go to some other part of the city and test it?
2. I have read that the antennae required for 850/1900MHz is different from 2100MHz. So, even if the SoC supports it, the signal strength is not strong enough to make it work.
I would be very interested in your test results since I am thinking of buying one.

KayxGee1 said:
A lot of these Chinese phones state they're quadband GSM, but only have 2100 for 3G. Correct me if I am wrong.
Also, do you accidentally have GSM Only set?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because China Unicom 3G is @ WCDMA 2100MHz.
Sent from my GT-S5570 using xda premium

eaa628 said:
Purchased a Jiayu g2 to play with so far the phone is very nice. It is suppose to work with 850/900/1900/2100mhz wcdma however I cannot get it to work on 3g with att I only get edge and have tried just about every apn setting I can. Does anyone else in the US have this phone working on 3g? I have it rooted. Funny never thought I would say this but it is a very nice phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi! Did you insert your 3G SIM on the SIM 1 slot? It is the only SIM slot capable of 3G (WCDMA). There are two slots in Jiayu G2 and only SIM 1 will work with 3G. SIM 2 is for GSM only.

toffzter said:
Hi! Did you insert your 3G SIM on the SIM 1 slot? It is the only SIM slot capable of 3G (WCDMA). There are two slots in Jiayu G2 and only SIM 1 will work with 3G. SIM 2 is for GSM only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i did. i have even tried to get help from Ejiayu.com and no one replies. the spec on the their website show is is 850/900/1900/2100 mhz wdma and it shows in the engineering menu as well but i think it is a lie i can not get it to work at all in 3g. My sim works fine in my Pantech Burst 4g LTE. i have not given u completely but i need someone who has an in depth knowledge of this phone to help

3g access
eaa628 said:
Purchased a Jiayu g2 to play with so far the phone is very nice. It is suppose to work with 850/900/1900/2100mhz wcdma however I cannot get it to work on 3g with att I only get edge and have tried just about every apn setting I can. Does anyone else in the US have this phone working on 3g? I have it rooted. Funny never thought I would say this but it is a very nice phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u might try and see what the apn setting is
u might have to input the correct apn for your carrier

can not get 4g(at&t) on verizon galaxy s3!!!

ok, i got some problem with the verizon galaxy s3. I use at&t simcard on this phone and it seems working just fine. Here's a thing, after set apn setting on the phone i just only get edge speed(2g), i need someone helps me to figure out how to get the 3g/4g speed on this phone or give me a right apn setting for this. i really appreciated. thanks very much!

The bands for AT&T 3G/4G are locked on the handset, you are going to have stick on edge sadly!!

djteotancolis said:
The bands for AT&T 3G/4G are locked on the handset, you are going to have stick on edge sadly!!
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Click to collapse
really? so there's no way to unlock these bands? I might consider to resell this phone again. Anyways, thanks for your reply!

hunbemylover said:
really? so there's no way to unlock these bands? I might consider to resell this phone again. Anyways, thanks for your reply!
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Click to collapse
Till now no one figured out how to unlock the bands! so your outta luck..would suggest trading it in for a AT&T phone!

djteotancolis said:
Till now no one figured out how to unlock the bands! so your outta luck..would suggest trading it in for a AT&T phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a worst thing though. I got this one for only 100$ off craiglist and it works just fine. It just does not work right with a data, remind me of few years back when 2g was a fastest data service lol. Thanks again for let me know this issue.

AT&T runs on GSM band while Verizon runs on a CDMA network. I'm surprised your SIM even works. What other said is correct though, you are restricted to the slow 2G Edge speeds.

DarkMenace said:
AT&T runs on GSM band while Verizon runs on a CDMA network. I'm surprised your SIM even works. What other said is correct though, you are restricted to the slow 2G Edge speeds.
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Click to collapse
Well the S3 is a World phone, hence it comes with GSM bands too! if you hit Europe or Asia you will get 3G

djteotancolis said:
Well the S3 is a World phone, hence it comes with GSM bands too! if you hit Europe or Asia you will get 3G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right it does. But they use different bands in other countries. Our phone isn't capable of using any and all bands. Only certain ones. If somehow these bands were unlocked, then you could get 3g here.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

No LTE?

I am using the phone on a T-Mobile network. For the APN I have the IPv6 setting, for some reason the icon next to the signal bars is only H+ not LTE. Was wondering if that was just me? If is just me is there a way to get LTE? I know that this phone support LTE.
Thanks.

which model is it? (D68xx..) might not support the LTE bands that T-mobile has
which area are you located in? perhaps your area doesn't have/weak LTE signal

paperWastage said:
which model is it? (D68xx..) might not support the LTE bands that T-mobile has
which area are you located in? perhaps your area doesn't have/weak LTE signal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh... damn just checked and tmo lte band is 1700 my phone supports 1800/2100.
Well that will be something I remember the next time I buy an unlocked device.

b1969 said:
oh... damn just checked and tmo lte band is 1700 my phone supports 1800/2100.
Well that will be something I remember the next time I buy an unlocked device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. Also of note, Tmo LTE only works on a more recent SIM. I tried a cut down 5 year old SIM and no LTE.

Thanks for the info!

I'll admit that I didn't do proper research prior to buying the unlocked device. After reading more into T-Mobile bands, they said that by the end of this year they will be releasing band 2 which is the 700mhz. Since this model supports that I'm guessing I can get lte?
Please clarify this for me. Thanks.

Exynos in the US?

Has anyone gotten an Exynos S7 to work in the US with any of our carriers?
I'm so desperate for a rooted S7 Edge that I'm ready to change carriers if I have to. :crying:

It probably will work but it won't work well, especially with T-Mobile (no band 12 or VoLTE). Just wait m8

I have been using g930s variant along with g930f kernel + roms in the us tmobile. I live in DC and LTE has been just fine. Maybe i am missing a band but whatever
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

I'm using the Exynos S7 on cricket and it works flawlessly. Performance is stellar, battery life is incredible and I get great LTE coverage everywhere.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

How can you confirm that? I got the Exynos international version, with T-Mobile SIM card. I have AIDA64 but not sure where to look to confirm or deny that the LTE Band 12 is not there.
Cheers,
G.
xDark_ said:
It probably will work but it won't work well, especially with T-Mobile (no band 12 or VoLTE). Just wait m8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

WarAxe said:
Has anyone gotten an Exynos S7 to work in the US with any of our carriers?
I'm so desperate for a rooted S7 Edge that I'm ready to change carriers if I have to. :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Canadian model is Exynos. Works fine in USA. Can root too as we have unlocked bootloader
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using XDA-Developers mobile app

GoyoNeuff said:
How can you confirm that? I got the Exynos international version, with T-Mobile SIM card. I have AIDA64 but not sure where to look to confirm or deny that the LTE Band 12 is not there.
Cheers,
G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile has to certify and allow the phone to work on band 12 or else it won't be able to make 911 calls. They've verified the US S7 but I don't think they verified the international version.

Hello there,
Well, I can confirm that LTE Discovery App shows the LTE Band 12 working with T-Mobile. I have walked around the building where I work, and it switches back and forth from Band 4 to Band 12.
Hope this helps someone asking if the Samsung Galaxy Exynos International Version SM-G930F works with T-Mobile LTE Band 12 !
Cheers,
G.

GoyoNeuff said:
Hello there,
Well, I can confirm that LTE Discovery App shows the LTE Band 12 working with T-Mobile. I have walked around the building where I work, and it switches back and forth from Band 4 to Band 12.
Hope this helps someone asking if the Samsung Galaxy Exynos International Version SM-G930F works with T-Mobile LTE Band 12 !
Cheers,
G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's frustrating that others have said recently that band 12 is NOT supported. what about wifi calling?

Hi there !
I belive that WIFI calling and the reduced Internet speed while on a phone call, are the two things that are different on the Exynos. Tell me how to check and make sure WiFi doea not work and I will try for you. I have tested the second one, and indeed the Internet speed is way reduced when talking on phone. Depending where you are, it is either H+ or 3G.
Hope that helps !
Cheers.
G.
radiohead14 said:
it's frustrating that others have said recently that band 12 is NOT supported. what about wifi calling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

GoyoNeuff said:
Hi there !
I belive that WIFI calling and the reduced Internet speed while on a phone call, are the two things that are different on the Exynos. Tell me how to check and make sure WiFi doea not work and I will try for you. I have tested the second one, and indeed the Internet speed is way reduced when talking on phone. Depending where you are, it is either H+ or 3G.
Hope that helps !
Cheers.
G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i believe there should be a setting for wifi calling within the "more connection settings". if it's not showing within the settings, then it's not supported.
as for band 12, how reliable is that app you used? a lot of people have mentioned that band 12 is not supported on the exynos model, so i'm really curious how yours has it.
thanks!

OK, there is no WiFi calling setting under there.
As for how reliable the App is, I have no idea, sorry. I searched and found it was mentioned in XDA for checking this kind of settings/capabilities. I will take a screen capture of it once I am in a building and it is showing the band used. My understanding is that LTE Band 12 is particularly good and improves signal inside buildings.
radiohead14 said:
i believe there should be a setting for wifi calling within the "more connection settings". if it's not showing within the settings, then it's not supported.
as for band 12, how reliable is that app you used? a lot of people have mentioned that band 12 is not supported on the exynos model, so i'm really curious how yours has it.
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

GoyoNeuff said:
OK, there is no WiFi calling setting under there.
As for how reliable the App is, I have no idea, sorry. I searched and found it was mentioned in XDA for checking this kind of settings/capabilities. I will take a screen capture of it once I am in a building and it is showing the band used. My understanding is that LTE Band 12 is particularly good and improves signal inside buildings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks for checking! yea band 12 is important for me, as i'm in NYC and inside buildings all the time. the extended range would definitely help.

GoyoNeuff said:
Hi there !
I belive that WIFI calling and the reduced Internet speed while on a phone call, are the two things that are different on the Exynos. Tell me how to check and make sure WiFi doea not work and I will try for you. I have tested the second one, and indeed the Internet speed is way reduced when talking on phone. Depending where you are, it is either H+ or 3G.
Hope that helps !
Cheers.
G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because the Exynos version doesn't support VoLTE. Idk about WiFi calling though
Sent from my Samsung SM-G930T using XDA Labs

http://willmyphonework.net/ This site says the global version has band 12.

Vozella said:
http://willmyphonework.net/ This site says the global version has band 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it won't work if T-Mobile won't allow it on their network
Sent from my Samsung SM-G930T using XDA Labs

Well i have Canadian Exynos Verison of S7, while roaming in US i had full LTE coverage of both AT&T and T-Mobile and with really good speeds
Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

The Internattional version does support band 12. and it works, however for VoLTE you have to find a firmware that has it which is hard. the Czech t-mobile firmware has VoLTE but no WiFi calling

The "F" international version also has Band 17 for AT&T

why do people who DON'T have the phone act like they know what they are talking about.
Works fine on T-Mo, and ATT. you just miss out on some of the bands, and also carrier features like VoLTE.
my 930F works fine on Tmo. and it'll work fine on ATT as well.