Develop Bugs

Unlocking T-Mobile for AT&T service

hi everyone:
I have been looking via numerous thread online on many Android forums especially here and have been unsuccessful for the past 2 days now. So I figured I would need to create a thread and finally give in and ask for some help. I have a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy 3 phone and I need to unlock it so that it will work on my AT&T service. Now i understand about rooting the phone and being able to play with themes etc, but its not that great if I can't use the phone itself.
Now without coming up with some kind of answer I must have watched about 40 youtube video's hoping to find out some kind of information. Mostly what I got out of it was numerous website that offer unlocking for phones at a certain price.
unlockcodesource(.)com
unlock2go(.)com
mobileunlockcodes(.)co.uk
Has anyone ever used any of these website or can someone give me some good advise on how I can get this phone unlocked please/
~Aqua

I think the toolkit stickied in the development forum has an option to SIM unlock the GS3. I have not tried this, and do not know if it works, but if the option is there, you might want to give it a shot.

If you're on contract with t mobile and your account is in good standing with them. Call them tell them you're going over seas and need to unlock your phone so you can use it. They will send you unlock code ... then pop in an att sim card and it will prompt you to enter the unlock code t Mobil gave you. Done
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

thanks _
Crisisx1 said:
If you're on contract with t mobile and your account is in good standing with them. Call them tell them you're going over seas and need to unlock your phone so you can use it. They will send you unlock code ... then pop in an att sim card and it will prompt you to enter the unlock code t Mobil gave you. Done
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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OK thank you. I followed your instructions and they said it would take up to maybe 24 hrs for the phone to be unlocked. If it isn't unlocked than she said to call back with the conformation number she gave me. If that doesn't work than they would have to give Samsung my info and could take up to 14 days. She said when you buy phones almost all stands and corp stores have already unlocked phones.
she also said it would be auto unlocked for good. Can they lock the phone back up once it is be unlocked?
~Aqua
edited: Once I have it unlocked ( if all goes good ) do i use the same APN settings that I needed to put into the phone in order for my phone to work on the AT&T network as I did with my S2 that I got unlocked ?

Don't they use different frequencies for HSPA+
You would be relegated to edge speeds, correct me if I'm wrong

speed issue
five40 said:
Don't they use different frequencies for HSPA+
You would be relegated to edge speeds, correct me if I'm wrong
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I really don't know. That would be a great question if someone would be nice enough to help me with this information? Again i have a T mobile S3 hopefully its unlocked would I be losing speeds by being on the AT&T network?
thanks
~Aqua

AquaWater said:
I really don't know. That would be a great question if someone would be nice enough to help me with this information? Again i have a T mobile S3 hopefully its unlocked would I be losing speeds by being on the AT&T network?
thanks
~Aqua
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The T-Mobile S3 has the 850/1900 3G bands so it will work on AT&T's 3G network. It will not get LTE though.
You can unlock either by paying for a code from the various resellers online or requesting an unlock code from T-Mobile if you have an account in good standing with them. If you can't get the code from T-Mobile I suggest searching 'T999 unlock' on eBay and you'll find some good options.

The tmobile galaxy s3 will work on the ATnT HSPA+21 frequency. Same frequency the International version runs on for that network.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Edge network and 3/4G Question
I found an excellent place so far on eBay for buying unlock codes. they have almost 3800 sells with a 99% positive feedback. Great customer service. The guy answered numerous questions of mine and made sure i did everything correctly. Payment was $24.95 US, so hopefullly everything will go good.
He was talking about being on something called an " Edge " network which is a little slower, but he said you won't notice a difference between your unlocked S2 and the unlocked S3 now. Right now my S2 says I have 3G service when I use it. I dont understand how i had a inspire4G, what is the 4G for if AT&T only gives you 3G service? And where I am in United States I should have 4G service no matter what. I'm confused on that.,

AquaWater said:
I found an excellent place so far on eBay for buying unlock codes. they have almost 3800 sells with a 99% positive feedback. Great customer service. The guy answered numerous questions of mine and made sure i did everything correctly. Payment was $24.95 US, so hopefullly everything will go good.
He was talking about being on something called an " Edge " network which is a little slower, but he said you won't notice a difference between your unlocked S2 and the unlocked S3 now. Right now my S2 says I have 3G service when I use it. I dont understand how i had a inspire4G, what is the 4G for if AT&T only gives you 3G service? And where I am in United States I should have 4G service no matter what. I'm confused on that.,
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Edge is 2G speeds, which are substantially slower than 3G speeds. IMHO, 3G speeds are livable, 2G/Edge is not.
Different phones have different radios which work on different frequencies. Some phones are not compatible with other services at all, and some will work on other carriers but often not at optimal speeds.

Darmokk said:
Edge is 2G speeds, which are substantially slower than 3G speeds. IMHO, 3G speeds are livable, 2G/Edge is not.
Different phones have different radios which work on different frequencies. Some phones are not compatible with other services at all, and some will work on other carriers but often not at optimal speeds.
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So than why would someone suggest that I would get "edge" instead of what i have now? I'm getting 3G now with my T-Mobile S2 unlocked on AT&T, but now I'm going to have an unlocked S3, why wouldn't it be the same?

Because the radios in the devices are different.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

So than why would someone suggest that I would get "edge" instead of what i have now?
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Because he/she doesn't know what he/she is talking about. You will be fine with a T-Mobile S3 on AT&T.

That's what I said earlier in not so many words.
Voice willl work fine you will not see HSPA+ speeds on At&t with a T-Mobile Galaxy SIII.
If the T-Mobile SIII has the hardware capability to support the At&t HSPA+ bands you would need modified radio software to unlock this ability.
I believe this was done on the Galaxy Note to tun on T-Mobile HSPA+ network before it was officially launched on T-Mobile.
kmdub I believe your the one that's wrong.

five40 said:
That's what I said earlier in not so many words.
Voice willl work fine you will not see HSPA+ speeds on At&t with a T-Mobile Galaxy SIII.
If the T-Mobile SIII has the hardware capability to support the At&t HSPA+ bands you would need modified radio software to unlock this ability.
I believe this was done on the Galaxy Note to tun on T-Mobile HSPA+ network before it was officially launched on T-Mobile.
kmdub I believe your the one that's wrong.
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I unlocked my t999 and am using an att straight talk sim getting HSPA speeds. Going to switch back to tmobile prepay because it is way faster than att HSPA with better latency. Although coverage may be lacking, i may just switch to an att ST sim.
To answer your question, a Tmobile S3 will work on ATT HSPA+ network with the HSPA+ Speeds of up to 6-7mbps in NYC area. The average I've been getting is around 2-3.5 mbps. With the tmobile prepay sim I have, it's usually around 2-18mbps down in NYC area.
The T-mobile S3 will not work on the ATT LTE network because it lacks that radio (or so they say for now); there have been other threads suspecting it's just a matter of flashing the right radio to "turn on" the ATT LTE radio. However, if all you want is HSPA+ speeds, rest assured it will work fine.
The ATT S3 is lacking the AWS bands for TMobile so it will not get the HSPA+ on Tmobile.
Best regards.

radio issue
First off, I would like to thank everyone who has been helping me along with my issues with my phone. I appreciate it a lot and I'm picking up more knowledge more and more everyday from you guys and reading heavily on the forums.
if the hardware in the phone doesn't support HSPA+ 1) will i have to root the phone and 2) change the radio? And 3 ) if I change the radio does that mean I would need to install a custom ROM i order for it to work properly?
Also, from one of the post they said "The T-Mobile S3 has the 850/1900 3G bands " - of that is true will than I should be able to have the 3G speeds correct?
I really hope I am not making some people angry, I'm new to this and trying my hardest to understand everything so I don't make mistakes. Please bare with me. Again, thank you so much everyone who has contributed so far. I still have a lot to learn. The reason why is because I just don't want it to work ( I do, want it to work ) but I want to understand why everything is working they way it is and I've over the past almost month have been picking up a lot of knowledge. Can't wait to hear from you guys

kmdub I believe your the one that's wrong.
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No, actually, you are wrong. The T-Mobile S3 does not need any modification to work properly on AT&T's HSPA network. Seems you are confusing something else with frequency. Quit spreading bad information.
OP: Don't worry about it. Some are making this way more complicated than it needs to be. As said before, if you have the T999, you will be fine on AT&T's HSPA network without any modifications (other than an account...lol). Just get the phone SIM-unlocked, pop in the right SIM, you are good to go. Seriously, it is that easy.

Well there it is, I stand corrected!
I had no idea the T-Mobile SIII supports At&t HSPA+ bands.
Is the same true to all T-Mobile HSPA+ phones?

Sorry for any issues, just learning
Hi everyone,
thanks so much for the info. Will the S2 I needed to put in certain APN settings inorder to receive MMS ( picture ) via texts. Do i use the same settings for the Samsung Galaxy 3?

kmdub said:
No, actually, you are wrong. The T-Mobile S3 does not need any modification to work properly on AT&T's HSPA network. Seems you are confusing something else with frequency. Quit spreading bad information.
OP: Don't worry about it. Some are making this way more complicated than it needs to be. As said before, if you have the T999, you will be fine on AT&T's HSPA network without any modifications (other than an account...lol). Just get the phone SIM-unlocked, pop in the right SIM, you are good to go. Seriously, it is that easy.
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I too have learned from this thread

[Q] GN LTE on T-Mobile?

Now that T-Mobile is actually going to 4G LTE, will the Verizon GNex work on their network?

no.
CDMA is required for voice calling and it will be a different frequency.

thuer said:
Now that T-Mobile is actually going to 4G LTE, will the Verizon GNex work on their network?
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Nope.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Any ideas on whether the CDMA GNex phones will work on Tmo's LTE network? I'm visiting Vegas next week and kind of hoping I can test the network.

TheRandom1 said:
Any ideas on whether the CDMA GNex phones will work on Tmo's LTE network? I'm visiting Vegas next week and kind of hoping I can test the network.
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no. see previous answer. its like you didnt even read.

Zepius said:
no. see previous answer. its like you didnt even read.
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I mean the GSM phones that work on Tmobile, whether they will work on Tmo's LTE network.

TheRandom1 said:
I mean the GSM phones that work on Tmobile, whether they will work on Tmo's LTE network.
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no, you referenced CDMA phones which are in no way GSM.
besides, the GSM nexus doesnt have a LTE chip so the answer is still no.

Zepius said:
no, you referenced CDMA phones which are in no way GSM.
besides, the GSM nexus doesnt have a LTE chip so the answer is still no.
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I know what I referenced, my previous post was me saying that I meant to say GSM not CDMA, so why be a ****? Just answer the question.
No LTE chip, got it, that's all you had to reply with.

TheRandom1 said:
I know what I referenced, my previous post was me saying that I meant to say GSM not CDMA, so why be a ****? Just answer the question.
No LTE chip, got it, that's all you had to reply with.
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considering i read your reply before you edited it, you clearly need to back off.
you asked the same question as the OP so i replied with you didnt read, which is true.
then you made some snide little comment but realized you were wrong and i answered correctly, so you edited what you wrote. oops?

Zepius said:
considering i read your reply before you edited it, you clearly need to back off.
you asked the same question as the OP so i replied with you didnt read, which is true.
then you made some snide little comment but realized you were wrong and i answered correctly, so you edited what you wrote. oops?
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Actually, I did read, I simply posted the CDMA instead of GSM, an honest typo. As soon as I realized what I did, yes I did change my reply. Then you answered saying that what I said I meant was wrong... how you know what's going on in my brain is beyond me, but your dickish replies aren't helping. All you had to do is say "no, the GSM phone doesn't have an LTE chip" and it's done. Instead you decide to be a smartass in your posts and get me riled up. So how about you take your own advice and also back off.

How about you stop posting questions and find answers by searching?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

namtombout said:
How about you stop posting questions and find answers by searching?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Funny you should mention that since I did and this thread came up.

If you tape a VZW Gnex and a GSM Gnex back to back, then you can have both GSM & LTE.:laugh:

You just went full stupid, never go full stupid.

hmm... Galaxy siii for tmobile cheap, but im AT&T?

i was wondering, i know T-Mobile used to use sim cards (Unknowledged Now) and i had a couple of androids from T-Mobile back in 2008-2009 and modded them all to work with AT&T but i could only use edge network (only 3g out at that time). Has this changed any? Reason I am asking is I've been searching for so long in my area on local sites like craigslist for a good price on an AT&T i747 but just cant find one. Yet I have found some good deals on some T-mobile galaxy sIII phones. So I guess the questions I'm trying to ask are:
1. Does T-Mobile still use sim cards?
2. Can i use a T-Mobile GS3's with AT&T and have 4g LTE functions?
3. If it were you would you save $100 and go with the equivelant Gs3 T-Mobile, compared to paying $100 more for the AT&T version? (my situation)
I have more time than money, but I love not being limited, thats why im buying one in the first place. love my infuse 4g (4.2.2) but man... dat gsIII
and if i can just drop Clockwork on it and root it up and go on my marry way, heck yea

this seems primarily about the t999, so you should head over to that forum for better answers from people who use their t999 on att. tmobile is still a gsm carrier and uses sim cards. I would buy the t999 as I'm pretty sure you can use 3g/4g (not really 4g though as I consider lte to be 4g) with it on att. but again, head over to the tmobile forums for better answers.
sent from my i747 with xda-premium

cehf said:
this seems primarily about the t999, so you should head over to that forum for better answers from people who use their t999 on att. tmobile is still a gsm carrier and uses sim cards. I would buy the t999 as I'm pretty sure you can use 3g/4g (not really 4g though as I consider lte to be 4g) with it on att. but again, head over to the tmobile forums for better answers.
sent from my i747 with xda-premium
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thank you ill report back here with some cool information to share for others who might be curious

dahrat said:
thank you ill report back here with some cool information to share for others who might be curious
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I agree, the tmo forum may be able to help more, however to answer some of it:
1. Yes, tmo still uses SIMs
2. Most users can only get HSPA+ due to the different frequencies. So, while data will be much better than edge, it won't be as fast as LTE.
3. I would not. Due to the potential problems of not getting LTE, the 100.00 is worth it to me.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

If you do not care about LTE then go for it. That really should be your only concern.
Definitely go talk with the people over in the tmo forums. Theyd probably be of better assistance.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

[Q] Flash CDMA Galaxy S III to another carrier?

Ok first and foremost don't flame me for my stupid questions!
I was wondering if it was possible to flash a cdma Galaxy S 3 to my local carrier Nex-Tech Wireless. I've dug around quite a bit regarding ESN's PRL's and programs such as CDMA workshop & QPST but I'm a bit confused as to if it's possible and what exactly I would need to get.
A couple things to preface my question.
1. I currently have a cdma Galaxy S (the actual name is the galaxy s showcase but it's basically Verizon's Samsung Fascinate). I'm familiar with Odin and how to flash/restore to stock as well as editing roms to get mms to work. (Currently calls, text, and data/3G work as long as I use the showcase modems). This could be the first issue with using a different carrier's phone ( I don't know much about the modems).
2. Nex-Tech wireless is a small regional carrier in Kansas (similar to nTelos, C Spire, Alltel, etc.)
3. I've called Nex-Tech and they told me that they won't let me just bring in a cdma phone in and activate it. I assume this means that they don't have the ESN/MEID for unsupported phones allowed on their networks or in their database of phones. I am not sure if this is the case but its a guess.
Before I go buying a cdma GS3 I was wondering if anyone had luck flashing Verizons GS3 or the USCC GS3 to alternate cdma carriers. Or if they could point me in the right direction.
I think there are a couple issues. The first would be just getting the phone activated on Nex-tech service and then the other would be to ensure that 3G would work. MMS isn't a dealbreaker because I think I can get that going, it's really the least of my worries.

showcasemodr said:
Ok first and foremost don't flame me for my stupid questions!
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We can't flame you for asking stupid questions. This is the GT-i9300 forum, so we don't know anything about CDMA S3's. Probably less than you.
We can probably flame you for posting in the wrong device forum though

rootSU said:
We can't flame you for asking stupid questions. This is the GT-i9300 forum, so we don't know anything about CDMA S3's. Probably less than you.
We can probably flame you for posting in the wrong device forum though
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Well that is a very good point. I don't suppose a moderator would like to move this to the Sprint Galaxy S3 thread please?

click on the report button

Can i unlock for sprint?

Please help guys. And im sorry if this will lose some's paitence. Ive googled and searched everywhere but ive seen so many answers im now confused.
My gf has a tmobile S4 obviously. I want to make it work for sprint. What exactly do i have to do? I prefer to not spend money but i will if i have to. Please help. Thank u.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Free mobile app

bpsears90 said:
Please help guys. And im sorry if this will lose some's paitence. Ive googled and searched everywhere but ive seen so many answers im now confused.
My gf has a tmobile S4 obviously. I want to make it work for sprint. What exactly do i have to do? I prefer to not spend money but i will if i have to. Please help. Thank u.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Free mobile app
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Normally? No. Not a chance since one is a gsm carrier and the other is a CDMA carrier. But its completely possible considering the fact people are unlocking Sprint s4's to use on straight talk, att, tmo etc. It actually has the gsm technology. Band wise tho, you should be okay but you might want to look into what bands the tmo uses and what bands Sprint uses. First you need to unlock the device, theres a few guides in general section for free unlock, but your biggest problem may be Sprint its self and getting them to add it to their service. Might want to start there first

ShinySide said:
Normally? No. Not a chance since one is a gsm carrier and the other is a CDMA carrier. But its completely possible considering the fact people are unlocking Sprint s4's to use on straight talk, att, tmo etc. It actually has the gsm technology. Band wise tho, you should be okay but you might want to look into what bands the tmo uses and what bands Sprint uses. First you need to unlock the device, theres a few guides in general section for free unlock, but your biggest problem may be Sprint its self and getting them to add it to their service. Might want to start there first
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Very knowledgeable answer.
Good.
Pp. :thumbup: