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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.

[Q] Is my Desire S going to work in Mexico?

I bought a Desire S on China...and now I am going to Mexico for a couple months. If a use a Mexican SIM Card will it work with the available mobile operators in Mexico?
**In case it does not, what do I need to do?
Thanks XDA forum guys!

lost.in.china said:
I bought a Desire S on China...and now I am going to Mexico for a couple months. If a use a Mexican SIM Card will it work with the available mobile operators in Mexico?
**In case it does not, what do I need to do?
Thanks XDA forum guys!
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As long as it is not SIM Locked, I don't see why it won't work on any GSM network...
In Mexico, the predominant cellular service company is called Telcel, currently owned by Carlos Slim. Telcel uses the GSM networks on the 850 and 1900 bands – which is the same frequencies that GSM carriers use in the United States and Canada. ref : http://www.cellularabroad.com/mexicocellService.php
And the Desire S is compatible with both these bands. ref : http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_desire_s-3776.php
Happy journey, mate. Enchilada time!!

enigmaamit said:
As long as it is not SIM Locked, I don't see why it won't work on any GSM network...
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How can I know is the SIM is locked?
**And by the way, I am anxious for some enchiladas! Yummy!

lost.in.china said:
How can I know is the SIM is locked?
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If your phone is branded (some cell operator) it will show some kind of logo either on the phone physically or splash screen etc.
Simple test - Take out your current SIM card from your phone and put in another SIM of a different carrier (different from the one you're using now). If it works, and you're able to make/receive calls, you are SIM unlocked. This is the simplest confirmatory test I'm aware of!
If you bought the phone in China, I highly doubt ANYTHING will be locked!!

If you mean "send and receive calls" - yes, it will work. In the worst case it'll require network unlock, which is something like $15, give or take a few.
If you mean "3G data will work" - no, it won't. The UMTS frequencies are incompatible with Desire S.

[Q] Will Sprint unlock my S5 for international use?

I switched to sprint about 5 months ago and I got my s5 with a 2 year contract. We also got another line with another phone. The account is in good standing with payments on time always. Will Sprint unlock it for me so I can use it on a trip im taking overseas? I'm not sure what their policy is..and I know they do it OTA, so that means I have to be on stock rom right?

Yes stock rom. Sprint more than likely unlick. Of course you will have to mnew monthly charges. But depend sd wherr your going. If going to us territories sprint will work. Just call sptint anf see

They will usually unlock it for international roaming after having the phone on your account for 90 days.
Sent from my SM-G900P using XDA Free mobile app

please note that most of the world is now based on GSM and Sprint is a CDMA based service. Once unlocked you would probably need a GSM sim card installed in order to use the S5 (this sim card can either be one from the US, a more expensive option, or a local sim wherever you are traveling to).
In Europe, especially UK, there are many cheap GSM sim operators.

Drugman109 said:
please note that most of the world is now based on GSM and Sprint is a CDMA based service. Once unlocked you would probably need a GSM sim card installed in order to use the S5 (this sim card can either be one from the US, a more expensive option, or a local sim wherever you are traveling to).
In Europe, especially UK, there are many cheap GSM sim operators.
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Yeah that's the plan for me to buy a local sim in that country so I can use the phone with a local number there. Do you know what bands the gsm works on?

euklid said:
Yeah that's the plan for me to buy a local sim in that country so I can use the phone with a local number there. Do you know what bands the gsm works on?
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Depending on the country involved they use 900 and 1800 mainly but the s5 has all the bands used in Europe. Note that T Mobile is a major carrier so you should be ok with this phone if it is truly unlocked

Hi wondering if the european version will work in us need some advice

hi wonder if the european version of this phone will work good in us?
when looking on network specs on the uk and us page it seems they support same bands and so but the us version is a single sim and the uk one is a dual sim hope somone can give a good answer thanks in advance.
here is the links to the us and uk sites.
https://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u12-plus/buy/
https://www.htc.com/uk/smartphones/htc-u12-plus-spec/

LennartL said:
hi wonder if the european version of this phone will work good in us?
when looking on network specs on the uk and us page it seems they support same bands and so but the us version is a single sim and the uk one is a dual sim hope somone can give a good answer thanks in advance.
here is the links to the us and uk sites.
https://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u12-plus/buy/
https://www.htc.com/uk/smartphones/htc-u12-plus-spec/
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the u12+ is fully unlocked and supports all bands afaik, doesn't matter if dual or single sim. unlocked even supports the carriers and you get the same phone, just different software version. but should work fine

ok are u sure about that ? .Was talking with htc on their chat. but they didn't to make any promises if it will work in us or not. From what i have understood the uk (european) version and the us one has same network capabilities. So in theory the europé version should work on same network as the us one or do i misunderstand ?

LennartL said:
ok are u sure about that ? .Was talking with htc on their chat. but they didn't to make any promises if it will work in us or not. From what i have understood the uk (european) version and the us one has same network capabilities. So in theory the europé version should work on same network as the us one or do i misunderstand ?
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If the bands are complete the same, since it's unlocked anyways and both variants share the same bands for GSM/WCDMA etc, it should be fine. You can always buy the phone and test it and otherwise send it back
Sent from my HTC U12+ using XDA Labs

So since I am in the US and have a US u12+, if I RUU using the Exodus firmware, I should be safe, correct?

I go back and forth between Europe and the US, the U11 works there, the U12+ has more bands available. You won't get band 71, unless someone works out an activation hack and somehow the hardware can still use it, even if not the specific band 71 hardware.
You'll get 4G on ATT, you'll get band 12 4G on T-Mobile. If the carriers lock anything out on non-native devices, I don't know. Also the local municipalities may not have certain bands available, either. Too many variables.
A lot of the confusion comes from Samsung and other companies that uselessly institute the same practices as them- they cripple their phones so they can't be used properly on another continent. I would buy an S10, but will be stuck with Exynos and bands not fully compatible with the US, while the US gets Snapdragon, bands specific for North America, but due to the Snapdragon, has a better chance of having the missing Europe frequencies activated.
The idiots pretty much locked out the frequencies for the other continent that would give one 4G, leaving most all others the same.

Pixel4: Buy from Australia to USA

Hi,
I have the opportunity to buy Pixel 4 from Australia (good price). I live in the USA. I have a USA Sim Card using Google Fi network.
I will update with "EDIT: Addition Q::"
Think I know but want some experts to weigh in !!
Concerns:
1) Will it work on Google Fi's USA network -- i.e.,
work on CDMA and GSM and over the other US
carriers? 4g sould be fine, yes? But what about 3g?
2) Will I receive USA-based Google updates, if I have a USA Sim Card yet phone is from Australia or is something there different that prevents this (e.g., some hardware or software prevents US-based Google updates).
Thank you!