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Android for overseas use?

Ok guys and gals here's the deal. I've been an android guy for years now (I have an Iphone 4 that I use as my iPod so I have some experience with iOS). But with all the recent phone releases I'm torn and heres why:
I travel overseas for big chunks of time so I am looking to get a phone that I can use with local sim cards wherever I am. I know the Iphone 4S is a global phone with the capability to just that. However I would like to find an Android phone that has the same capabilities, but the only global android phones I know of are on Verizon...with no sim slot for local sims.
Does anybody have any suggestions/experience with this? I need a phone that I can use local sims ONLY, no international roaming with us plans
thanks guys!

All AT&T phones are global, T-Mobile phones will give you EDGE data in Europe, and Sprint has the Motorola Photon that is a world phone.
I think Sprint is actually hte easiest since their phones are SIM unlocked so you can use foreign SIMS in them without having to mess around. Not sure about ATT and Verizon. Do ask sprint before you travel though just to be sure. If it isn't unlocked out of the box, they will unlock it for you.
I bought the 4S though...

greensnow said:
Ok guys and gals here's the deal. I've been an android guy for years now (I have an Iphone 4 that I use as my iPod so I have some experience with iOS). But with all the recent phone releases I'm torn and heres why:
I travel overseas for big chunks of time so I am looking to get a phone that I can use with local sim cards wherever I am. I know the Iphone 4S is a global phone with the capability to just that. However I would like to find an Android phone that has the same capabilities, but the only global android phones I know of are on Verizon...with no sim slot for local sims.
Does anybody have any suggestions/experience with this? I need a phone that I can use local sims ONLY, no international roaming with us plans
thanks guys!
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Click to collapse
Android for Any and All Use... Lol!

PMGRANDS said:
Android for Any and All Use... Lol!
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agree what you say

I'm on AT&T go phone, can I purchase the one x full retail witouth problems?

I know what you think, go phone sucks, not enough data blah blah blah. But AT&T recently upgraded their gophone data plan to 1GB from 500 mb. Honestly 1GB for me is more than enough cause I use wifi at home, wifi at work, I live in the Washington dc area and there's wifi everywhere so I barely even use my data. Do you think I'll be able to buy the one XL ( off contract of course) or will AT&T give me a hard time cause I'm a gophone customer? I'm just worry about the fact that it's LTE.

You might get some pushback from the rep or manager, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get it. You will just have to change your APN, as the only one that works with prepaid is "wap.cingular"
Sent from my Lumia 900 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

mosesman86 said:
You might get some pushback from the rep or manager, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get it. You will just have to change your APN, as the only one that works with prepaid is "wap.cingular"
Sent from my Lumia 900 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
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Thanks for the reply, I guess I'll buy it from amazon mobile that way I won't have to deal with the store reps and managers.

I don't know.... they might auto switch you. I would try to ask customer service
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App

barondebxl said:
Thanks for the reply, I guess I'll buy it from amazon mobile that way I won't have to deal with the store reps and managers.
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Typically, Amazon mobile or other 3rd party retailers, will charge more for non-contract phone than AT&T because they can't get any payback from AT&T.
Your biggest problem will be microSIM activation. You may have to buy a microSIM cutter to trim your current go phone SIM yourself. AT&T won't be thrilled to activate One X for a Go phone plan.
There is also a chance that AT&T will stop your data service once it detects that you are using a 4G smartphone (it has the IMEI number on database) on a Go Phone plan. Yes, it happened to others before.

foxbat121 said:
Typically, Amazon mobile or other 3rd party retailers, will charge more for non-contract phone than AT&T because they can't get any payback from AT&T.
Your biggest problem will be microSIM activation. You may have to buy a microSIM cutter to trim your current go phone SIM yourself. AT&T won't be thrilled to activate One X for a Go phone plan.
There is also a chance that AT&T will stop your data service once it detects that you are using a 4G smartphone (it has the IMEI number on database) on a Go Phone plan. Yes, it happened to others before.
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Thanks for the advice. I already have a micro sim cutter so I'm good on that end. I'm using a galaxy nexus on my go phone for about 3 weeks and no problem at all. It isn't 4G though so I don't know.

barondebxl said:
Thanks for the advice. I already have a micro sim cutter so I'm good on that end. I'm using a galaxy nexus on my go phone for about 3 weeks and no problem at all. It isn't 4G though so I don't know.
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The difference here is that AT&T has no idea what Galaxy Nexus is because it doesn't have the IMEI number on file because it is not an AT&T branded phone. It does have all IMEI# of AT&T branded phones on file.

foxbat121 said:
The difference here is that AT&T has no idea what Galaxy Nexus is because it doesn't have the IMEI number on file because it is not an AT&T branded phone. It does have all IMEI# of AT&T branded phones on file.
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True. I'll call an AT&T store and ask them just to make sure.

It's a lot easier to do something like that with T-mobile's monthly 4g pre-paid plans. All you need to do is order a sim online from them. They don't care what you use with their plan.

If I recall correctly u need a special lte sim to use lte.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App

I don't really need lte, if I pop up my sum can I use hspa+?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Your phone won't get hspa+ or lte on prepaid service. In fact, you won't get any data until you change your apn to wap.cingular, which is a 3G apn. If you need a microsim, just go to the at&t store and tell them you don't have your phone but you want to activate a prepaid plan. Be sure to specify that you need a microsim and they will just put a dummy IMEI consisting of all 1111111.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

mosesman86 said:
Your phone won't get hspa+ or lte on prepaid service. In fact, you won't get any data until you change your apn to wap.cingular, which is a 3G apn. If you need a microsim, just go to the at&t store and tell them you don't have your phone but you want to activate a prepaid plan. Be sure to specify that you need a microsim and they will just put a dummy IMEI consisting of all 1111111.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
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I have hspa+ speeds on my nexus with my go phone plan.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

barondebxl said:
I have hspa+ speeds on my nexus with my go phone plan.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Despite the US Carrier's "4G" (fauxG) marketing blitz, HSPA is actually 3G. The LTE build out is a proper 4th generation network.

If you do not care about LTE why not import an international version and not have to worry? Also you might be able to buy one from Rogers in Canada it is the same device but AT&T shouldn't have the IMEI number

Dark lord me said:
If you do not care about LTE why not import an international version and not have to worry? Also you might be able to buy one from Rogers in Canada it is the same device but AT&T shouldn't have the IMEI number
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I've actually thought about buying one from rogers. Like the fact it doesn't have a
carrier logo, but I don't know of any shops that sells them to ship in the states.

Dark lord me said:
If you do not care about LTE why not import an international version and not have to worry?
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AT&T version has 1-year warranty while imported version likely has zero warranty. If you bricked your phone one way or another, a warranty is probably quite important to most of us.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but unlocking bootloader on newer HTC phones is done via HTC Dev, and that voids your warranty automatically ( as in they have your IMEI and know you rooted with them)?
If so, then don't worry about having warranty for bricking the device, you lost it when bootlader was unlocked.

david_ag said:
If so, then don't worry about having warranty for bricking the device, you lost it when bootlader was unlocked.
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When your phone is bricked, e.g. can't boot up, there is no way AT&T can tell which version or unlocked boot loader you are using. At least not for the clerks at warranty center. If your bootloader is still functioning. Chances are you can still manage to load another ROM on to it.
Besides, there could be other hardware defacts that you may need to exchange. A warranty is always welcome.

Dark lord me said:
If you do not care about LTE why not import an international version and not have to worry? Also you might be able to buy one from Rogers in Canada it is the same device but AT&T shouldn't have the IMEI number
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Because I rather have the snapdragon S4 processor than the tegra 3. Also the international versions as a crapload of issues right now.

T Mobile N5 used on Sprint network?

Going to buy my friends T Mobile N5 and would like to use it on Sprint network.
Ive researched this a little and I have seen people run into trouble, saying that Sprint wont activated it because it wasn't purchased from google or sprint.
All Nexus's from North America are the same from what I understand and should be able to be used on any carrier.
Anyone have any suggestions on whether this can be done?
Thanks

Yes, all you need is a Sprint sim card
sent from my HAMMERHEAD

More accurately, if your current LTE phone has a nano SIM, then you can simply pop it out, put it in your friend's Nexus 5 and it should work. The problem comes if you need a new SIM, or if your current SIM doesn't have LTE service assigned to it. In either of those cases, you'll need to contact Sprint either for a new SIM, or to activate LTE service. At that time, they may fight you, stating that the phone isn't supported. However, if you don't back down, ask for a supervisor, or try another store, eventually you will get a reasonable person.
Worst case, call the customer service line, and say that you got a Nexus 5 from Google, and need them to send you a new SIM card. They don't have to know you didn't actually buy it from Google. Again, it may take talking to a supervisor or even multiple calls, but eventually, you'll succeed.

iammrhappy123 said:
Going to buy my friends T Mobile N5 and would like to use it on Sprint network.
Ive researched this a little and I have seen people run into trouble, saying that Sprint wont activated it because it wasn't purchased from google or sprint.
All Nexus's from North America are the same from what I understand and should be able to be used on any carrier.
Anyone have any suggestions on whether this can be done?
Thanks
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1) the NA nexus 5 cannot be used on any carrier. it cannot be used on verizon. the other 3 major carriers are fine (tmobile, sprint, and att)
2) sprint has to add the IMEI to their databases to allow the CDMA portion to connect to their network. This is how the auth the phone to make phone calls, etc. They have added the IMEI from google play devices, and obviously the ones they sell. They do not have a list of the IMEIs tmobile sells.

jt3 said:
More accurately, if your current LTE phone has a nano SIM, then you can simply pop it out, put it in your friend's Nexus 5 and it should work.
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The Nexus 5 needs a Micro SIM. If you use a nano SIM, you will need an adapter
Zepius said:
2) sprint has to add the IMEI to their databases to allow the CDMA portion to connect to their network. This is how the auth the phone to make phone calls, etc. They have added the IMEI from google play devices, and obviously the ones they sell. They do not have a list of the IMEIs tmobile sells.
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That was the case till recently. Last week, I saw a Sprint store employee call customer care for a potential customer and supposedly get the IMEI added into the Sprint database for a N5 bought from T-mo. The customer had to provide invoice etc to show that he owned the device, but I think they were able to get it sorted out.
YMMV of course.

jj14 said:
The Nexus 5 needs a Micro SIM. If you use a nano SIM, you will need an adapter
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Duh. I knew that. I don't know why I said Nano. I came from a Galaxy S4 Active, and remember being happy that it still had a Micro SIM, the same as the N5. Thanks for the correction.
As for the IMEI issue, I guess when the OP said T-Mo Nexus 5, I thought Play Store N5 used on T-Mo. I didn't realize T-Mo was selling them directly, and thought only Sprint was doing that. (Play Store IMEIs are in Sprint's system.) My mistake. Still, I know that they can add IMEIs to their network, but it usually requires quite a battle. This is one of the key reasons I'm not on Sprint.

jt3 said:
Duh. I knew that. I don't know why I said Nano. I came from a Galaxy S4 Active, and remember being happy that it still had a Micro SIM, the same as the N5. Thanks for the correction.
As for the IMEI issue, I guess when the OP said T-Mo Nexus 5, I thought Play Store N5 used on T-Mo. I didn't realize T-Mo was selling them directly, and thought only Sprint was doing that. (Play Store IMEIs are in Sprint's system.) My mistake. Still, I know that they can add IMEIs to their network, but it usually requires quite a battle. This is one of the key reasons I'm not on Sprint.
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I hear ya, and totally agree - it is a pain to get them to do something that is not their normal process! I'm still with them, just because they have better coverage outside of cities than T-Mo. But I'm getting tired of their terrible data speeds, and eCFSB issues - ugh

Hey All!
Thanks for the replies! You all are very helpful. I wasn't expecting any replies haha.
I'm currently on Sprint iPhone 5 which uses a Micro Sim.
First time ever going to android, so I"m excited.
I just hope that when I call Sprint to activate the N5, they wont give me crap. And hopefully they add my IMEI to their network.
Or hopefully, when I just switch the SIM, it'll work off the bat lol.
Ill just keep being persistent at getting them to activate it if not.

[Q] Returning rooted and s-off phone to Verizon?

Hey guys, I have a rooted and s-offed m8 currently running viperrom. I plan on switching the phone around to another line soon.(So i would swap phones with another person on my plan, but keep my same number to clarify) Will anything the reps do flag that my phone has been modded? Also, if they will be able to know, is there anyway to return the phone to complete stock and not have the tampered sign on the fastboot screen? Or can I still switch the numbers on the phones around online and avoid taking it to the store completely?
Thanks Guys

TylerG3 said:
Hey guys, I have a rooted and s-offed m8 currently running viperrom. I plan on switching the phone around to another line soon.(So i would swap phones with another person on my plan, but keep my same number to clarify) Will anything the reps do flag that my phone has been modded? Also, if they will be able to know, is there anyway to return the phone to complete stock and not have the tampered sign on the fastboot screen? Or can I still switch the numbers on the phones around online and avoid taking it to the store completely?
Thanks Guys
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Is the phone originally from Verizon? Phones from other carriers won't work with Verizon. T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM, and although Sprint uses CDMA like VZW, their phones won't work on VZW either.
If the phone is a Verizon phone, then switching it to another line/number should be as simple as putting in the SIM card for that line.

Planterz said:
Is the phone originally from Verizon? Phones from other carriers won't work with Verizon. T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM, and although Sprint uses CDMA like VZW, their phones won't work on VZW either.
If the phone is a Verizon phone, then switching it to another line/number should be as simple as putting in the SIM card for that line.
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Yes, it is originally from Verizon. I am swapping my m8 for a G3 on Verizon. I'm not sure if the G3 has the same size SIM card like you mention .

TylerG3 said:
Yes, it is originally from Verizon. I am swapping my m8 for a G3 on Verizon. I'm not sure if the G3 has the same size SIM card like you mention .
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From what I can gather, both use a micro SIM. You shouldn't have any problems.

Planterz said:
From what I can gather, both use a micro SIM. You shouldn't have any problems.
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Thanks for all the help! I'm not positive, but i think the M8 uses a nano sim, while the G3 uses a micro, which is bigger.

TylerG3 said:
Thanks for all the help! I'm not positive, but i think the M8 uses a nano sim, while the G3 uses a micro, which is bigger.
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I think you're right. The M7 uses a micro SIM, but google searches say the M8 uses a nano SIM.

Pixel 2 e-sim question

I'm looking to buy a new Pixel 2 XL when it comes out. Researching the handset I found that it uses a new SIM, e-sim. Originally I thought it was a smaller SIM, however it looks like it's now a tiny chip permanently on the phones board.
I thought that this would act as a normal SIM, just unable to remove it from phone. However before spending money on the phone I wanted to confirm it would work OK on my network.
I'm currently with Sky Mobile in the UK and I asked them if they will support the e-sim and they were pretty vague and unsure if they would support it. Called a second person and got the same non-committal answer.
Anyone here know if it will work?
Many thanks
Tim

it may come different internationally, in the US a lot of networks didn't use sims while the UK and the rest of the world that uses GSM always has, this is only changing in america now that 4G is common as it is a GSM standard so requires a sim.
so I wouldn't worry about it yet, Google still hasn't officially announced the phones and on nearly every phone the US and international versions are different as outside of the US we use a lot more bands.
so basically wait for the official announcement as it wouldn't be anywhere close to the first time a US phone has had no actual sim while the international version have and it seems more likely this is geared towards keeping the US away for actually needing to start using sims in every device since their networks are a lot more tied down.
the non committal answer is likely due to the fact the phone hasn't been announced so the likes of EE who will actually stock it won't be allowed to answer if they have been pre briefed, while the other networks who wont stock the phone likely wont have any information until after the phone is announced and they start asking google.

It just occurred to me that the esim is going to suck for traveling abroad
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

My question is, if someone like me and a lot of others like to change phones often, how will we go about doing so?
Now we would just pop out our sim and put it in a different phone. How does the E-sim work? Once our numbers are on them I guess the nano/micro sims we have now are trash?

RoccoN4 said:
My question is, if someone like me and a lot of others like to change phones often, how will we go about doing so?
Now we would just pop out our sim and put it in a different phone. How does the E-sim work? Once our numbers are on them I guess the nano/micro sims we have now are trash?
Click to expand...
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do you have a pixel xl, I guess if it was really important to you a pixel xl is still an amazing phone. I just got mine 2 months ago for around $500 on ebay brand new. Man it's such a sick phone. I really love it. Of course I want the new one but am really happy.
Hopefully the esim is just as easy to switch, would be nice if there was a tool where we could program it.

It will probably be like older CDMA phones. You will have to deactivate the phone and e-sim first before you can switch carriers. Once it is deactivated you will just have to give your carrier the IMEI and ICCID. Kind of a pain and you will lose your number due to deactivation unless you have a temporary phone to swap to but there should be no more missing sim card errors!

I had the regular Pixel. Sold it. Am playing with the Essential (it's not as bad as all these reviews). So I guess if I get the new Pixel 2 XL, I won't be able to swap sims back and forth?

Prediction: e-SIM won't be easy to switch, and older plans (e.g., Verizon grandfathered unlimited data plans) won't be permitted on the e-SIM as being "not compatible".
Just another means for carriers to take away control from end users. C'est la vie!

Definitely not keen on the idea of not being able to swap my sim from phone to phone. The few times I'd need to switch are usually emergency situations. I hope this rumor is wrong.

The idea of esim is still confusing for me, can anyone explain it to me?

Falitheman said:
The idea of esim is still confusing for me, can anyone explain it to me?
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You already have the answers you seek. http://bfy.tw/EEJb . I'm teaching you to fish.

zetsumeikuro said:
You already have the answers you seek. http://bfy.tw/EEJb . I'm teaching you to fish.
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Man, lmgtfy really stepped up their game. I haven't seen their results in probably a year or more. It used to be dripping with passive aggressiveness but now it's a deluge!

ok...let me ask another question: My 6P finally crapped out and Google is sending me a Pixel XL. I need to port my phone number to the Pixel. So does this mean a trip to the carrier ? ( TMO in my case )

eosaph said:
ok...let me ask another question: My 6P finally crapped out and Google is sending me a Pixel XL. I need to port my phone number to the Pixel. So does this mean a trip to the carrier ? ( TMO in my case )
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Nope, just use the SIM from the 6P.

eosaph said:
ok...let me ask another question: My 6P finally crapped out and Google is sending me a Pixel XL. I need to port my phone number to the Pixel. So does this mean a trip to the carrier ? ( TMO in my case )
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E-sim is not for the current Pixel....

galaxys said:
E-sim is not for the current Pixel....
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no one knows if its even for the next Pixel either

Falitheman said:
The idea of esim is still confusing for me, can anyone explain it to me?
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from my understanding the "SIM chip" is already in the phone and using serials and such I'm guessing there will be some black magic at the network end where they can push the SIM data to the chip on the phone, it may even end up like some of the older phones (more heard of it on the Apple side) where you actually have to go into the networks shop and have them activate the handset, either way I can see this being short lived as most of the world has used SIM cards since time began, so in these countries it will likely put a lot of people off if they have to keep dealing with the networks more so than they do now to get the network lock removed down the line.

Here in Germany you get a paper with a qr code. Just scan it and everything else happens automatically.

I hope everyone saw the announcement today, but if you haven't yet, the esim is for project Fi only. It will still have a sim tray for other carriers.

fiffan86 said:
I hope everyone saw the announcement today, but if you haven't yet, the esim is for project Fi only. It will still have a sim tray for other carriers.
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That's awesome. Man I just got my pixel XL like not even two months ago. They are pretty generous with the trade in offering $410. But I just can't figure out if it's worth it. Are allot of you guys moving from but first pixel XL to pixel XL 2