[Q] Am I screwed without a sim card? - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

I just bought a Verizon GS3 on craigslist, but it didn't come with a sim card and in my ignorance I didn't know it needed one. I don't have a verizon account and I want to use this phone on pageplus. So is a sim card necessary, or can I get a sim card somewhere without having a verizon account?

It's an LTE sim card. Not a true sim card. It's still a CDMA phone.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

dmginc said:
It's an LTE sim card. Not a true sim card. It's still a CDMA phone.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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Sorry for my ignorance, but I have no idea what this means. Can I use this phone without a sim card in it on pageplus?

joelshort said:
Sorry for my ignorance, but I have no idea what this means. Can I use this phone without a sim card in it on pageplus?
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I'm not sure if pageplus uses sim card or CDMA phones. For example, at&t is all GSM (sim card), their phones won't work on Verizon (CDMA) and vice versa.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Pageplus is CDMA, it uses Verizon's network. Without a sim card in the phone it doesn't seem to be able to find a network...but what do I know

dmginc said:
I'm not sure if pageplus uses sim card or CDMA phones. For example, at&t is all GSM (sim card), their phones won't work on Verizon (CDMA) and vice versa.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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You can have this phone on gsm. If you put a normal sim into the lte sim slot you can use other networks. The downside is you will not get 4g or in some cases you wont even get 3g.

ThePagel said:
You can have this phone on gsm. If you put a normal sim into the lte sim slot you can use other networks. The downside is you will not get 4g or in some cases you wont even get 3g.
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So you can 'technically' have it on gsm.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Related

replace with sim only after 4g upgrade, it means i cannot use 3g now?

I have a us 3g xoom , cannot i use 3g yet? When i put sim card nothing happens.
You have a Us verizon xoom? If so there is no gsm modem to use the sim card. Its only a slot for the future 4g upgrade. You won't be able to do anything with a gsm sim card.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
After upgrade can i use it?
No, you need a completely different xoom model all together.

Running Verizon 4g phones without SIM?

If I lost my 4g SIM card, could I still operate my 4g phone with voice/3g with a SIM?
Lets say I swap the ESN on my phone line from a 3g phone, to a 4g phone, but I don't have the SIM for the 4g phone. What can and can't I do with the new 4g phone?
squarepush3r said:
If I lost my 4g SIM card, could I still operate my 4g phone with voice/3g with a SIM?
Lets say I swap the ESN on my phone line from a 3g phone, to a 4g phone, but I don't have the SIM for the 4g phone. What can and can't I do with the new 4g phone?
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Nothing. You need the 4G sim.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
tjohnsonjr said:
Nothing. You need the 4G sim.
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If this is correct, then the SIM card is not just a 4g card, its a complete lock-down/control mechanism by Verizon.
So, then my next question is, why do they limit this to 4g phones? Why not all phones? Since the purpose isn't solely 4g security.
If I put my Verizon 4g card into a different Verizon 4g phone, does that automatically activate it on my account (similar function to ATT/TMobile SIM card), so what I'm saying is, there is not specific phone linked to your account, instead its a SIM card linked to your account. So, say I switched SIM's with Droid Razer with my girlfriends Thunderbolt, does it automatically switch activations/phone number/etc ?
I am pretty sure it works without the 4G sim. Because people used to take the 4G sim out to save battery I thought in the tbolt before it could be turned off via software.
ok, I think this answers a lot of my questions. Apparently, it is like a GSM sim
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1122218
Swapping SIM's will change your activation automatically.

Sprint vs Verizon sim card

How come Sprint doesn't use a sim for their LTE? Is the sim even necessary or is to bring global usage to the Verizon version?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
The SIM card is used for 4g. 3g and voice is over the cdma radio. And sprints does have a SIM if I'm not mistaken it's internal tho and cannot be accessed.
The biggest problem with the "non-removeable" sim setup that Sprint uses is you can't just pop it out & stick it in another phone.
I do this all the time with my VZ sim card.
billard412 said:
The SIM card is used for 4g. 3g and voice is over the cdma radio. And sprints does have a SIM if I'm not mistaken it's internal tho and cannot be accessed.
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thats for sprint? it looks like verizon its all handled through the sim for both lte and 3g.... right?
As far as I know its just the lte that needs the SIM. Now of course the phones are made to not function w/o them but I'm pretty sure it's only the 4g that actually relies on it

[Q] Verizon 4G Sim in 3G GSM device

From what I've read, you can pop a Verizon 4G sim into pretty much any unlocked LTE capable device and have it work.
Now I'm guessing this is going to be a no, but...
I got an Airtel 3G Data card (specifically the Huawei E1731) when I went to India and unlocked it, if I remember correctly it kept swapping from CDMA and GSM signals. Now if I pop the Nano SIM I got with my iPhone 5 into this data card, (I'll try to make my self a Nano SIM to SIM adapter) is there any chance of it working?
I've also heard if things like the 4G sim being deactivated when you swap to a 3G device. But wouldn't putting it in a 3G device be the same as using the iPhone 5 with LTE turned off?
And is there any chance of Verizon messing with my data plan if I put the sim in the data card and start using it with my laptop?
I just saw a a video of someone putting a nano sim in an iPhone 4s and it working so I think this should at least work on the data card, still worried about the Verizon side of this.
Also I just remembered something about different frequencies, would the fact that the data card is from India affect my ability to use it?
Actually, I'm pretty sure Verizon SIM cards are only for their devices. I don't think they work otherwise
Sent from my MB508 using xda premium
gagdude said:
Actually, I'm pretty sure Verizon SIM cards are only for their devices. I don't think they work otherwise
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I've read from a few different reliable sources, don't have any links on hand. But its the phone that is locked to a carrier, not the sim that is locked to the phone, so as long as the device is unlocked and has the required hardware, it should work with that sim.
In verizons case, at the very least the LTE should work with an LTE device, I'm not sure about voice, 3G, and 2G.
In that case you wouldn't get 3G on other phones, since the SIM cards Verizon has are for 4G LTE only, their 3G networks are CDMA and thus built into the phone.
LTE is a GSM technology which is the only reason they use SIM cards at all
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
gagdude said:
In that case you wouldn't get 3G on other phones, since the SIM cards Verizon has are for 4G LTE only, their 3G networks are CDMA and thus built into the phone.
LTE is a GSM technology which is the only reason they use SIM cards at all
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
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That is what I was thinking, but the data card seems to have both CDMA and GSM bands and when I pop out the LTE sim from my phone I lose all signal not just LTE.
Now what I'm thinking is that, since the SIM holds all the Account info, etc, not just 4G related things, that if I pop it into the 3G data card, (I've seen Iphone 5 SIM be put into a 4s and work) that it should work. That is if the Data card is compatible, which I'm not 100% sure on.
The SIM in a GSM phone holds all the account information. The SIM in a CDMA phone is for data only - the phone will work for voice/text without it. The SIMs are different software/wise.
Rukbat said:
...The SIM in a CDMA phone is for data only - the phone will work for voice/text without it....
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That's what I initially thought but, If that's true than why is my iPhone 5 not able to use Data, voice, or text without the SIM inserted?
I'm not to worried about it not working, the thing I'm concerned about is verizon messing up my plans if I try using the sim in a data card.

[Q] Switching between Sprint CDMA and GSM SIM cards and back again

I currently am using my nexus 5 (unlocked from Play Store) on sprint and I will be going out of the country for a couple weeks and want to use a local SIM card when I get there. I have a couple questions.
1) what do I need to do to switch from Sprint CDMA and LTE SIM to a foreign GSM SIM?
2) once I get back in the country what do I need to do to switch from the from the foreign GSM SIM back to my Sprint CDMA and LTE SIM
Just simply swap the sims.
That's it? No changing anything in the settings or calls to sprint? Seems too good to be true. Glad I chose a Nexus!
dplcj said:
That's it? No changing anything in the settings or calls to sprint? Seems too good to be true. Glad I chose a Nexus!
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Um.... Not sure how this would work considering sprint doesnt use sim cards?
brokenbmx06 said:
Um.... Not sure how this would work considering sprint doesnt use sim cards?
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Sprint dose have a SIM card for LTE on the NEXUS 5.

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